Chapter 154: Acknowledgement(8)

"Commander Luke! Please look this way!"

"Commander, please allow me to introduce myself-!"

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you!"

Luke frowned at the throngs of people swarming around him. He was swarmed by people as soon as he took a slight step away from Lance. Luke became stressed because he didn't know who to talk to because everyone was talking at the same time.

"Move."

The nobles flinched and turned their heads toward the voice's owner. They then noticed Liam staring at them with cold, piercing eyes. The nobles looked at Liam for a second before moving as he told them to. Liam then walked calmly towards Luke and drew him out of the crowd. Luke exhaled a sigh of relief.

"Thank you for rescuing me."

"No problem brother, but are you all right?"

Liam was concerned as he looked at Luke. Liam had noticed how stressed Luke appeared earlier, and he was extremely pale, which caused him concern.

Luke takes a deep breath before smiling and patting Liam on the shoulder.

"Yes, I am fine. Thank you for your concern."

Liam's face brightened at Luke's response, but he quickly became serious when Luke approached him and whispered something to him.

"I need you to take care of Jay and Ava for me."

Luke and Liam then noticed Jay and Ava being scrutinized by the nobles on the other side of the banquet. Jay and Ava began to appear uneasy as a result of the stares that made Liam and Luke eerily quiet. Liam then nodded slowly, as if he understood.

"I'll take care of them."

"Good, good."

Liam then marched forward, and Luke just stood there staring at him for a moment before turning around to be greeted by a swarm of noble ladies all looking at him with interest. Luke then frowned internally.

'Oh no, not this again.'

Luke then pondered whether he should call Liam back to handle this mess for him, but in the end, he chose not to. When he was about to be swarmed by noble ladies, he heard two adorable voices calling out to him.

"Dad! We've been searching for you! "

"Dad, here you are!"

Luke and the ladies all turned their heads towards the source of the voices, where they saw two adorable children dressed in adorable but exquisite attire running towards them. The ladies' shocked expressions on Luke made him nervous.

"Dad?"

"He is a dad?"

"Who is that young boy?"

Luke ignored the ladies' questions and went straight to the kids. The kids had just made a way out for him, so he took advantage of it right away. When Luke got closer to the children he then patted their heads and tried to hide his proudness.

"Good job."

Snow smiled and Nash rubbed his nose while acting smug.

"Selena told us to do this whenever one of our family members was feeling uneasy."

"And it really did work!"

"Ho..."

Luke then turned around to see Selena, Lina, and Yulia giving him thumbs up while drinking wine. Luke just sighed and shook his head before standing up straight and letting the kids grab his hands.

"Let's get something to eat."

The children's eyes twinkled with delight as he spoke.

"Okay!"

"Sounds good!"

Luke and the children then proceeded to the long table loaded with food. The three of them grabbed their plates and took food from the table. While doing so, they then heard Lance's voice coming towards them.

"So this is where you've been, kids."

The kids turned around and dashed towards Lance.

"Uncle Lance!"

"Come pick food with us!"

"Oh? Sounds good."

Lance then turned to look at Luke, and he noticed that Luke was also looking at him. He then realized that Luke was peering behind him. It seems that Luke finally found out the reason why Lance approached them. Lance simply sighed and took the plate Snow had given him. Luke then spoke.

"It seems that you are very popular with the ladies now, your highness."

"So you saw the ladies behind me huh?"

"There are far too many to ignore."

"True. I can also say the same thing to you."

Luke came to a halt and looked over his shoulder. When he noticed several ladies staring at him, he shivered. He felt like he was about to be eaten, so he averted his gaze.

"Fortunately, the kids rescued me."

"The kids are surely capable of anything huh."

"Yes, they are very smart and talented."

"Of course they are."

Lance and Luke continued to add food to their plates after that, as well as assist the children in selecting their foods and going to a table. Luke then abruptly came to a halt, causing Lance, Nash, and Snow to do the same. Lance turned around to see Luke frowning at him, which baffled Lance.

"How come you're staring at me like that?"

"You are going to eat with us?"

Lance's brow furrowed.

"Yeah, what's wrong with it?"

"You, crown prince, will sit at a table with us, complete nobodies whose status is unclear."

Lance rolled his eyes and continued on his way.

"So what?"

"Well..."

"Just shut up and eat will you?"

"Alright then."

Luke shrugged and walked over to the table with Lance and the kids. The kids seemed overjoyed that Lance was eating with them, as they both sat beside him rather than Luke this time. Luke simply stared at Lance and the two children who were happily conversing while eating. Luke suddenly felt like a random stranger sharing a meal with these three bright rays of sunshine.

'Should I move to a different table?'

Luke reflected as he sipped his wine slowly. When he overheard the kid speaking to Lance, his attention was drawn.

"Uncle Lance, is there any way we could repay you for the gifts you bought?"

Lance paused for a moment as if taken aback by the child's unexpected question, but then smiled and patted Snow on the head.

"There is no need for you to repay anything."

Snow and Nash exchanged glances, clearly dissatisfied with Lance's response. Nash then made a grumpy face and crossed his arms which made Lance and Luke look at him with a questioning look.

"But we want to repay you..."

Lance hid his chuckle from Nash by covering his mouth with his hand. Nash is so cute that you can't help but smile. Luke just stared at him quietly, deciding that since he couldn't interrupt the conversation, he'd just observe them. Lance then opens his mouth to speak, attracting the attention of the two children.

"Well, if you're going to pay, I'd like you to do one thing for me..."

Snow and Nash both looked at him with sparkling and curious eyes. While waiting for Lance's words, Luke sipped his wine once more.

"Then, why don't you two call me 'papa'? Just once."

"Pfft!"

Lance, Snow, and Nash turned to see what was causing the sudden burst of voice and discovered Luke choking on his wine. Nash and Snow leaped from their seats, patted Luke on the back, and made him drink water. Lance just sighs and stares blankly at this.

"What's the matter with you? Suddenly choking out of the blue like that?"

Luke coughs briefly before speaking to Lance, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"You want them to call you 'papa'?"

"Why not?"

Luke then pointed to himself which made Lance cock his head to the side. Luke stared at him intently while pointing to himself.

"You want them to call you 'papa', in front of me, the one they call 'dad'?"

Lance squinted his eyes for a moment before responding.

"I don't see anything wrong? Godfathers are sometimes referred to as 'papa,' you know?"

Luke blinked a couple of times.

"So you're now their godfather?"

"Is there anything wrong with it?"

Luke remained silent; if there was a word to describe what was happening to him, it should be 'buffering.' He's trying to make sense of what he just heard.

'So, Lance is their godfather now, a prince, a crown prince at that. That means he can take care of the kids and support them and I won't have to do anything anymore... If this isn't a jackpot then I don't know what this is.'

Luke was suddenly grateful for the children's charm for allowing him to catch such a loaded Godfather. If Lance is the Godfather, he no longer has to worry about the children's expenses and can simply sit back and relax.

Luke hid his grin by covering his mouth. He wanted to laugh right now, but he knew he couldn't. Lance didn't notice this and just paid attention to Nash and Snow walking back towards him. Nash and Snow then locked their gaze on Lance, making him nervous. Lance's eyes widened when he heard what Nash had to say.

"How can we call you papa when we already have a dad?"

Lance took a deep breath in before smiling.

"It's okay if you don't call me papa, I understa-."

Lance's sentence was cut short when Nash burst out laughing.

"I am just kidding, Papa!"

Lance felt as if his entire world had come to a halt. He can only hear Nash's sweet voice saying the word 'papa' to him. But, just when he thought that was the end of it, Snow came to deliver another blow.

"We love you, papa."

Lance's heart felt like it was about to burst. He then covered his face with his palms, but it was futile because Luke, Snow, and Nash could see Lance's ears reddening. When Lance noticed them looking at his ears, he buried his face in the table, which drew the attention of some of the nobles. Luke just stared at it in disbelief.

"Your highness, the children are killing you."

Lance continued to speak while his face was still buried in the table.

"S-stop talking."

"This is the first time I am seeing you look like this, your highness."

"I said shut up or I will throw you."

Luke quickly zipped up his mouth. What Lance just said may appear to be a joke, but Luke knows it isn't because he witnessed Lance's strength firsthand.

Grrr

When he heard a bone-chilling growl beside him, Luke almost jumped out of his seat. He then looked at his left side while holding his heart from shock. What he saw after that was even more shocking.

'Wait, you can let these in here?'

"Calm down, Raphael. I know you are excited to see him, but calm down."

Luke looked around for the source of the voice and noticed Ruth stroking Raphael's fur as if to calm him down. Ruth then noticed Luke's stare and turned to face him.

"It's been a while, friend. I am glad to see you alive again."

Luke then faked a smile to hide his nervousness as Raphael stared at him intently.

"Haha, King Ruth, nice to see you again."

"I told you, call me Ruth."

"Right... What is uhm, Raphael doing here?"

"I requested permission from the crown prince to let him in."

"The crown prince? You mean Lance?"

"That's right."

Luke and Ruth then looked at Lance, who appeared to have returned to his original state. Lance then spoke with a smile on his face.

"I've let Raphael in because I heard he had an interesting gift to give you."

Luke then pointed to himself and expressed his astonishment.

"To me?"

Lance smiled and nodded. Luke then looked at Raphael, who appears to be sitting obediently while looking at Luke. Ruth continued to speak while stroking Raphael's fur.

"Give him the gift, Raphael."

Raphael made a low growl and slowly stood up and approached Luke, making Luke slightly nervous. When Raphael approached, it slowly opened its mouth and bit something that appeared to be hidden inside his fur. Luke was puzzled, whereas Lance and the children were amused. Raphael turned his head forward again, this time biting on a bag handle. Luke then said something while staring at it.

"Is that for me?"

Raphael nodded and slid the bag into Luke's lap. Luke slowly examined the bag; it appeared to be made of leather and was very well polished, despite being plain. After inspecting the outside of the bag, Luke opened it and discovered a black box inside. Luke took it out. Before opening it, he then looked at Raphael and Ruth and they both signaled him to open it. Luke gulped for a moment before opening the box, and Ruth spoke as he did so.

"It's not easy to gather pretty shells like that, especially when some strange people are guarding it."

Luke then completely opened the box and discovered a gleaming and colorful shell bracelet inside. Luke then examined it closely; there appears to be a sloppy-looking knot protruding from the gap between the shells. If Luke is to make a guess, Ruth appears to have made this himself. Luke then looked up towards Ruth when he heard him asking him.

"Do you like it? We almost got pierced because of those shells."

"Wait a minute, what? Pierced?"

"It's a long story, but did you like it?"

"Y-yeah, I do, and I appreciate the gift."

Raphael and Ruth then looked at each other, they seemed proud as their faces clearly formed smug expressions. Luke just stared at them with a blank face and turned his head to the side when he heard Lance's voice.

"Ho, why don't you look at this? A noble being gifted by a king."

Lance simply shrugged his shoulders while Luke frowned. Luke then overheard the children conversing.

"Wow! The shells are stunning! "

"They're so bright. It looks wonderful."

Luke ignored their compliments and gradually raised the bracelet to get a better look. The shells look familiar for some reason, but he can't place where he saw them. Luke simply shrugged his shoulders after a few seconds of trying to remember. He then put on the bracelet, which is quite loose where it dangles on his wrist but not so loose that it falls out.

Luke isn't going to lie, it does look wonderful, just like Snow said.

Luke turned his head towards Lance when he felt him staring, and as he thought, Lance was staring directly at the bracelet with an odd expression plastered on his face. Luke smirked at him, resting his chin on his bracelet-wearing hand.

"Are you jealous, your highness?"

Lance cocked his head sideways.

"Jealous?"

"You look at the bracelet as if you want one; if you want, I can make one for you."

'Treat it as payment for being the Godfather of the world's two strongest children.'

Lance's brow furrowed.

"How come you think I'm envious of the bracelet? I'm just curious where they came from; they appear to be rare."

"Hmm?"

"Forget it. By the way, the awarding ceremony will take place in a few minutes."

Luke made a disgusted expression.

"Why are you telling me that?"

Lance flashed a wide grin.

"Do you want a medal as well?" "

Luke spoke without hesitation while staring at Lance dead in the eyes.

"No thank you."

"If you say so."

Luke frowned, while Lance simply shrugged his shoulders and returned his attention to the children.