Becoming the Villain’s Family - Chapter 287
Chapter 287
Caught in a predicament where Elaina would cry inconsolably if she didn’t leave the castle with Luca, they found themselves in a difficult situation.
“Ha, she enjoys coloring with me more anyway.”
No need to boast about just stacking some blocks. Luca, the sore loser, kept grumbling from behind.
Elaina glanced at him as if he was being too loud, and he promptly shut up.
“Elaina, want to meet the Emperor?”
“Dyadya.”
Aria asked, holding out the invitation to Elaina, who was thoughtfully placing blocks.
The baby’s eyes sparkled at that.
She seemed to like the gold trim and seal on the invitation.
“Kya!”
Elaina clutched the invitation tightly, and with that, their visit to the palace was decided.
“Ella.”
“Dyaa.”
“Try saying Vincent.”
“Ppii…”
Elaina made a chick-like sound with a serious face.
“Ppi, Ppii-n.”
It was a considerable effort on her part.
Vincent couldn’t help his lips curling and burst into a silly grin at her reply. He then lifted the baby up high.
“Looks like we have a genius here!”
She hadn’t managed to pronounce ‘Vin’ correctly, but Vincent still declared her a genius.
Normally, Vincent might have lashed out with harsh words like ‘are you stupid’ in such a situation, but now was different.
To Vincent’s eyes, that was exactly how she appeared.
In front of Elaina’s strong charm, his exceptional personality vanished and left only a doting reaction.
“Will you be my future junior at my academy, perhaps?”
Indeed, she was quite articulate for her age.
Cloud sent an envious gaze towards Vincent, who was cradling the baby.
“Try Cloud too.”
He quickly seized the opportunity.
“Kuu…”
Elaina scrunched up her face, attempting the impossible pronunciation.
Vincent observed the struggling baby and chided him.
“Think before you speak. ‘Cloud’ is still difficult for a baby, isn’t it?”
“‘Vincent’ isn’t any easier.”
“Are you really comparing a name with four syllables?”
“Coming from someone with seven letters in their name.”
Vincent gasped with eyes widened in disbelief.
“You knew the spelling of my name…”
“How much of a fool do you think I am?”
A talking gorilla, perhaps?
It was while Vincent regarded Cloud with a newfound perspective.
Luca watched from a distance as the two men bickered.
He looked like a ghost haunting Elaina’s side while shrouded in shadows.
“How long are you planning to stay like that?”
Feeling the sting of his pointed look, Vincent finally had to comment.
Luca murmured mournfully.
“Ella…”
“Hng.”
He sighed as he watched Elaina turn her head away with a huff.
‘How did it come to this?’
No matter how much he ruffled his hair in thought, he couldn’t find an answer.
They were going to visit the imperial palace soon, and with the uncertainty of what could happen there, he had to stick close at all times.
He wanted to mend their relationship back to how it was before that.
‘What if Elaina wanders off on her own and gets hurt or something happens…’
The possibility of the one-year-old toddling off on her own wasn’t even a consideration for Luca.
“Is there no alternative?”
Luca, who was imagining the worst scenarios, suddenly perked up and asked.
Vincent replied, as if it were absurd.
“Do you have something in mind?”
“A genius of the century should be able to come up with wisdom that even my thousands of years of memories would admire, shouldn’t they?”
Wisdom that would impress thousands of years of memories.
That remark overly stimulated Vincent’s pride and competitiveness.
“You seem to be using your head for once.”
He let out a dry laugh, then closed his eyes in thought.
“Any other methods?”
“If that had worked, would we be in this situation?”
“Hmm, a way to instantly mend the relationship…”
Luca, who was always quick to challenge, watched him anxiously.
“Can you transform into another form, besides your current one?”
Another form?
“Of course, that’s possible.”
Luca was in human form thanks to his transformation ability.
And his current appearance was, if one had to label it, ‘default.’
A state he could maintain effortlessly, as natural as breathing.
Transforming into another form would quickly deplete his energy and make it awkward to move.
“Then, transform back to how you were before.”
“Back to how I was?”
“Transforming into a small, cute animal that a baby might like could be one approach. However, deceiving by transforming into another creature doesn’t truly mend a relationship. Become younger, as close to your original form as possible.”
Vincent suggested that being smaller and younger, closer to Elaina’s own size, might be less intimidating than a large, threatening adult.
‘That’s the solution?’
Luca gave Vincent a skeptical look.
How was he supposed to protect Elaina in a younger form?
‘But what other choice do I have?’
He has no other choice.
He took a deep breath and activated his transformation ability.
A white glow enveloped him, and his height that had once rivaled Lloyd’s, shrank rapidly.
Setting himself to appear about five years old, his limbs shortened and his perspective dropped significantly.
“Is this okay? Now what…”
Luca felt irritated that he had to tilt his head back to look up at Vincent.
But then…
“Lukka?”
Elaina, who was cradled in Vincent’s arms, looked down at him with eyes that sparkled excessively.
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