Juhu Beach

"I don't think that little shit wants to see tomorrow's sun, neither do I want him to"

Ace declared as he glanced at Stephan coldly and his hand moved, followed by the wind, which turned into a silent ripple before everything returned to normal as Maeve held Ace's hand.

Ace glanced towards Maeve in confusion and questioned, "What are you doing?"

"You can't kill him" Maeve replied in a calm tone.

"Huh? Why? That little brat is trying to snatch MY nightingale away from me in front of MY eyes!"

"Oh C'mon, You really thought that this would never happen? Look how pretty our little princess is, of course, many would try to win her heart. If we start killing everyone who confesses or tries to get close to her, we'll just end up killing every male in this world!" Maeve reasoned.

Ace furrowed his brows and then questioned, "There's nothing wrong in that, is there? I mean, it will be tough to find every single man but we can do it if we really try, don't you think?"

That genuine look of confusion on Ace's face made Maeve slap on her own forehead. She couldn't believe that he was actually considering that option.

"Haah… you really don't think about anything when it comes to that little princess of yours, do you?" Maeve sighed.

"Alright, listen, we can't just randomly kill everyone or we'll just end up destroying this world, okay? Calm down and think logically. He's just asking, he hasn't tried anything stupid. There is no reason to kill him, okay? He's just a 14-year-old boy" Maeve explained calmly like a mother trying to teach something to her child.

"Alright… if you say so…" Ace nodded and Maeve smiled.

"But if that pipsqueak tries to make any moves on my little angel, he's dead"

"Okay, okay" Maeve nodded.

'I'll just have to talk to Maya, I am sure she'll understand. I mean, she has to, her whole family linage is at stake here' Maeve thought inwardly and shook her head.

"Hmm? What kind of boys do I like?" Gracie questioned, trying to understand the weird question this new brother asked.

"Mhm, I mean, do you have any preference? Like, strength, looks, or something? What kind of boys do you like?" Stephan questioned, stupidly expecting our little Gracie to understand what he is trying to say.

"What kind of boys do I like…? OH, I KNOW! I like Papa! Papa is the best!" Gracie answered excitedly and before she even knew it, a pair of hands grabbed and picked her up.

"Oh, my precious little princess! Papa likes you too~ Papa is so proud of you~" Ace exclaimed as he hugged Gracie lovingly while he kneaded her cheeks with his own.

"Papa~ It tickles~ Hahaha~" Gracie giggled softly.

After hugging and snuggling for a while, Ace then turned towards Stephan with a triumphant smirk as he still carried Gracie in his arms.

"Heard that? You little shi- Umm, I mean, Stephan.

She likes her papa!

She's mine!"

"Bu-" Stephan was shocked by Ace's sudden appearance but before he could question, another person entered.

"Elder Ace, Mrs. Maeve, it's a pleasure to meet you again" Sect Master Fianna smiled.

As soon as Sect Master Fianna entered, Stephan's expression changed a little before he quickly snuck away. Of course, Ace didn't fail to notice that and smirked.

'Hmph! You shitty little coward. Didn't even had the balls to face this weak little girl and were ballsy enough to get near MY nightingale!? I see more than a million faults in you in just a single meeting, you aren't even good enough to clean my little Gracie's clothes'

"Ahh, Litt- I mean, Sect Leader Fianna, nice to meet you too" Ace replied with a smile.

"Oh! Aunt Sect Leader! Hello!" Gracie, who was in Ace's arms greeted excitedly.

"As cute as ever, huh little Gracie?"

"Ehehe~ Thank you!"

Sect Leader Fianna patted Gracie's head with a smile before turning towards Ace and Maeve.

"So, what brings you two here?"

"It's nothing really, Miss Fianna shouldn't worry about it" Maeve replied with a smile.

"..." Sect Leader Fianna stared at Maeve with confusion without saying anything.

"Miss Fianna? Is something wrong?" Maeve questioned.

"How do you even do that…?" Sect Leader Fianna questioned in confusion.

"Hmm? What do you mean?"

"Your skin…" Sect Leader Fianna muttered as she touched Maeve's cheeks with an amused look.

"You look exactly the same as I met you 8 years ago, still as young and beautiful as before… How do you do that?" Sect Leader Fianna questioned.

"I know right!? I always wonder how she does that! Not only her, even Elder Ace. He also looks the same as before. It is as if they don't age!" Maya, who returned with Gracie's cookies, commented in amusement.

"Cookies!" Gracie exclaimed as she extended her hands towards Maya who gave her a bag of cookies which she started munching almost at the same time in a joyful way.

"Umm… I-it's our family secret" Maeve answered awkwardly.

Well, she can't just tell them that they actually don't age, can she?

Why? Because no one would believe that and they want to waste their time in these senseless talks.

"I am envious" Sect Leader Fianna sighed.

"So, what did you wanted to talk about?" Maya questioned.

"Miss Fianna, you can leave if you are busy, we were just here to talk about something and Gracie also wanted to meet you and Maya, it's nothing important" Maeve spoke with a smile.

"That's very sweet of Gracie" Sect Leader Fianna patted Gracie's head who nodded with a bright smile and continued eating her cookies again.

"Alright, I'll take my leave since I do have something to deal with"

Ace and Maeve nodded and Sect Leader Fianna left the house.

"Brother Ace, Sister Maeve, please have a seat" Maya gestured and Ace and Maeve sat down.

"Well, we three planned to go on a family trip, do you happen to know about some good beaches in this city?" Maeve questioned and Gracie's ears perked up as soon as she heard the word 'beach'.

"Yes! I want to go to a veerryy biig beach! The biggest one in the world! Do you know where it is Sister Maya?" Gracie questioned and Maya smiled at her.

"Brother Ace, Sister Maeve, it is surprising that you two don't know about Juhu Beach. I thought that it was the reason that you two decided to live in this city" Maya answered and seeing their confused expressions, Maya explained further.

"Juhu Beach is one of the biggest and the most beautiful beaches in our country. It is also the specialty of our Espade City. Many people from different cities and even different countries come to Espade City to visit Juhu Beach. You will find many people from the Royal capital there too. It is without a doubt, one of the best beaches in our country"

Ace and Maeve nodded in approval as they heard about this Juhu Beach and decided to visit it.

"So, where is it exactly?" Ace questioned.

"It is to the extreme east of the Espade City, if you hire a carriage, you will reach there within a day. Then you can stay at the inns there and enjoy your trips for a few days. Though it will be a little expensive, it will be nothing for a Great Elder such as Brother Ace" Maya explained.

Ace and Maeve nodded while Gracie had an excited expression on her face. Though she couldn't understand even half of what her Sister Maya said, she smartly concluded that this Juhu beach is a very good place.

"Papa! When are we leaving? Should we leave today?" Gracie questioned excitedly.

"Well, Papa and Mama have important things to do today, so we will leave tomorrow morning, is that alright with you?" Ace questioned as he glanced at Maeve with a corner of his eyes when he said ' important things' before turning his gaze back towards Gracie.

"Okies~ I can wait" Gracie replied with a smile before continuing munching on her cookies and Ace patted her head for being so good.

On the other hand, Maeve tried to keep a straight face since she knew perfectly well what those 'important things' Ace talked about were.

She now regretted being so bold and trying to tease Ace, while Ace had a smile on his face as the words 'You can do whatever you want with me' echoed in his head.

"Brother Ace…" Maya called out.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Ace questioned.

"Well, brother Ace, I am facing troubles with my Cultivation, can you help me with it?"

Ace smiled wryly while Maeve just shook her head. How could she not know what Maya was trying to do? But since she trusted Ace and Maya did help them today, she decided to allow it and nodded.

So for the next hour, Maeve played with Gracie, Maya asked some basic questions while Ace taught her without much interest and whenever Maya tried to close some distance between them, Ace steps back, making Maeve chuckle lightly.