At the crack of dawn, Isolda was still half asleep when she complained about the noise coming from the front gate. The butler calmly explained that a crowd of reporters had gathered outside, which immediately sent Leona's mother into a mild panic.
That panic didn't last long. The moment the butler added that it was about Leona being caught in a scandal with High Priest Nathaniel, her reaction flipped completely. Instead of worrying, she relaxed. For one simple reason. Leona had never shown the slightest interest in men, not even once. She didn't listen when told to try dating, didn't pretend to care, and definitely didn't look like someone who would secretly romance a high priest. To Isolda, the rumor sounded so ridiculous it barely deserved attention.
The countess joined her and casually asked about the gossip floating around. Both women laughed it off until the butler insisted they at least read the paper.
The laughter died instantly. Right there in print was a headline claiming Leona was involved in a pregnancy scandal. At that point, both of them stared at the page and wondered what kind of soap opera nonsense they had just been dragged into.
On the other hand, Nathaniel was having a meeting with his superior, who gave him a light scolding, mostly out of formality. Nathaniel hadn't done anything wrong.
The truth was that Leona had shown up yesterday, demanding that he summon the angel because Rean had supposedly turned into a child. The problem was that no matter how much he prayed, the angel hadn't responded. All he could do was ask Leona to wait in one of the Holy See's guest rooms.
His superior laughed about it and even joked that a child inheriting Nathaniel's divine power would be a blessing. Still, jokes aside, he couldn't deny that the little boy truly resembled Rean. There were differences, though. When he remembered Rean as a child, the boy had always had a cold, sharp gaze and spoke far too well for his age. This child felt softer.
As for the rumors, the man said he would request a correction from the newspaper and send official letters to both the countess and the Grand Duke. With that settled, Nathaniel bowed and left.
Once outside, Nathaniel sighed. If a child with powers like his really existed, someone who could help the world, he had to admit the idea was intriguing.
Back in the guest room, Leona was still fast asleep while the little boy shook her desperately, asking for food. No matter how hard he tried, she didn't budge. It wasn't until a loud bang echoed from the door that she finally stirred.
Groggy and annoyed, Leona opened the door to find a very angry Rean standing there, demanding to know about the newspaper article claiming she had a secret baby with the high priest. She immediately grabbed his face and patted his body just to make sure he was real.
That was when a small voice behind her called her, "Mama."
So if this was Rean, then who exactly was the kid behind her? Sadly, neither of them had an answer.
After Leona explained everything, Rean finally cooled down. He stared at the boy and muttered that he didn't understand how such a dumb-looking kid could possibly resemble him. Leona instantly covered the boy's ears and scolded Rean for not watching his mouth.
As usual, the two of them slipped into bickering like it was second nature. So the kid started crying.
Leona panicked and hugged the boy, trying to calm him down. But this time, it wasn't working. Rean sighed and casually suggested using a sleep spell. She was horrified. That spell was meant for enemies.
Rean, confused by her reaction, admitted that was how he'd been raised. His father would knock him out with a sleep spell whenever he fussed. He even promised to make it painless, completely missing the point.
Leona stopped him and said that kids cry because that's normal, and that what his father did to him wasn't right either.
That left Rean stunned. In the end, he backed off and followed her lead. He'd always thought Leona was a clumsy oaf. But watching her now, she actually looked like a decent guardian. When he glanced at the boy again, though, he noticed the kid grinning at him like he'd just won something.
Then there was a knock at the door. The high priest asked for Leona's input on the official statement being prepared. Rean opened instead, and Nathaniel's confusion only deepened when he saw Leona still holding the child. After a quick explanation, he left again, saying he would handle the false report first, and advised them to stay with the child and learn whatever they could.
Leona complained non-stop about the angel still being missing, while Rean stared at the boy and finally admitted that he really did look like him. He recalled how furious he'd been that morning, and even briefly wondered if his father had secretly given him a younger brother.
Thinking it through, Rean suggested this might be caused by a distortion in the space-time axis. Then, blushing, he reminded her of what the angel once said. There was a chance this child could be theirs from the future.
Leona immediately made a sound like someone about to throw up. Both of them agreed that the thought alone was enough to make them sick.
Suddenly, the angel finally appeared, crying as she called out to both of them and admitted that she had messed up. The angel finally stopped sobbing long enough to confess what she had done. While investigating how the vampire clan ended up siding with the demon king, she decided to peek into the past. It was supposed to be a quick look. Instead, she poked where she shouldn't have, tore a hole in space-time, and accidentally dragged someone through.
That someone was now a small boy clinging to Leona.
Leona gently told the angel to calm down first, so they could actually fix the mess instead of crying around it. The first question was obvious. Who exactly was this kid? Since he popped out while the angel was looking into the past, did that mean he was Rean as a child?
The angel gave a very unconvincing answer and said it was probably the case.
Rean immediately pointed out that at that age he was busy memorizing magic formulas and definitely not acting like this. His conclusion was that the child must have been altered while passing through the broken space-time rift. Something went wrong on the way.
Leona lifted the boy and nodded along. So the problem wasn't just time travel. It was a damaged delivery, which meant their job was simple in theory. Send the child back.
Rean suggested asking the gods for help. He admitted they were annoying, but there were gods from other dimensions who might help. All the angel needed to do was open her dimensional stream.
That was when the real problem hit. The angel had no power left. She had used everything digging through the vampire clan's past. The only solution was for Leona and Rean to keep the child with them for two days while she recovered.
As if that wasn't enough, the angel warned them that the boy couldn't come into contact with anyone else. If he did, things could spiral into an even bigger mess. That meant no help, no handoffs and no excuses. They were the babysitters.
Before vanishing to recharge, the angel tossed something into Rean's hand and said she had found it inside the space-time rift where the child came from. Then she disappeared like nothing happened.
With no other choice, Leona and Rean agreed they couldn't take the child to either of their family homes, so they headed to Rean's safe house instead. The moment Rean activated the spell, a massive mansion appeared. It looked like something straight out of a fairy tale. Leona stared at it in silence before commenting that it didn't feel like Rean at all.