Harry Potter: Journey to Godhood

The little girl's face bore a striking resemblance to Alaric's companion from earlier, yet had her own uniquely adorable features.

Coupled with her ornate clothing, clearly unbefitting a servant, her identity was obvious.

In fact, Alaric had seen the young girl once before, at last night's banquet.

However, Illucia had been crying her eyes out over the loss of her two brothers, so the two hadn't exchanged a single word.

Now, after accidentally bumping into Alaric in her rush, the little girl hastily apologized.

"I'm sorry, big brother... I... I didn't mean to."

Seeing the teary-eyed little girl in front of him, Alaric crouched down and gently patted her head.

"It's alright, Illucia. Accidents happen to everyone."

"Y-You're not mad at me?" His words clearly soothed her a little, but she still looked up at him uncertainly.

It was obvious from her cautious response to a minor mistake that she had been well brought-up, shy, timid, and very much the opposite of Alaric's clever and mischievous student, the genius Jaina.

Faced with such a pitifully adorable little girl, Alaric felt his heart melt. He smiled warmly and said, "Of course not. It was just an accident. Who could blame such a sweet little girl?"

"Uuh… Sweet?" Illucia suddenly turned red, shyly covering her face at being complimented by such a handsome older brother.

After a moment, she murmured, "Thank you, big brother. You're such a good person."

That was all it took for her to decide he was a good man?

Alaric didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "This sort of thing really isn't a big deal. You can't judge whether someone's good or not just based on something like this."

But Illucia shook her head seriously. "No, it's not like that… Alex and Wilton always scold me when I mess up. They yell and push me and say that I'm a rude, clumsy little girl…"

As she mentioned her two brothers, Illucia's eyes reddened again, on the verge of another crying fit like last night.

Seeing this, Alaric immediately scooped her up and comforted her gently. Onyxia, too, rarely showing such motherly warmth, softly offered a few consoling words.

Illucia's comment, however, had already earned her unfortunate brothers a mental black mark from Alaric.

To treat such a sweet younger sister so harshly, what kind of people were they really?

No wonder they ended up dead over a succession dispute.

Finally, once Illucia had calmed down, Alaric tried to steer the conversation elsewhere to distract her.

"Little Illucia, why were you running around here just now?"

"I was looking for my mommy," she said softly. "She disappeared early this morning, and I couldn't find her anywhere in the castle. The maids wouldn't tell me anything either."

As she spoke, she looked at Alaric with hope sparkling in her eyes.

"Big brother, Illucia knows you're a good person. Mommy told me you're a powerful mage with all kinds of amazing abilities… do you know where my mommy went?"

"Uh…"

Faced with those innocent, hopeful eyes, Alaric couldn't bear to lie, but he also had no idea how to answer.

He couldn't exactly say, "Your mom's in my room. We just… did things."

Or, "From now on, I'm your new dad."

Hmm… actually, that second one had potential.

But it wasn't the right time to say something like that.

Still, the idea of making up a lie to deceive such a pure, trusting little girl made him uncomfortable.

As Onyxia watched with an amused glint in her eye, Alaric found himself caught in a dilemma.

Just then, the sound of familiar footsteps came from behind.

Lady Janice Barov had arrived, saving him from the awkward situation.

Seeing her daughter cradled in the arms of her "little man," Janice was first surprised, then her eyes lit up.

From her perspective, the scene before her had all the warmth of a genuine father-daughter moment.

She watched them for a while, clearly pleased, before speaking up.

"Oh, Illucia, my darling, what are you doing in Sand's arms?"

Her mother's voice filled Illucia with joy. She immediately wriggled out of Alaric's arms and ran to Janice, hugging her tightly.

"Mommy! You're finally here! Where did you go? I couldn't find you anywhere, so I came to ask big brother!"

Janice looked momentarily embarrassed at the question. After a pause, she answered awkwardly, "This morning, I went to chat with your big brother for a bit."

Illucia turned to Alaric for confirmation, and he nodded quickly.

Together, they barely managed to gloss over the awkwardness.

Thanks to the events of the morning, Illucia, who had originally been shy and even scared of strangers, grew noticeably more comfortable with Alaric by breakfast.

She even mustered the courage to start conversations, asking all kinds of questions about magic.

Of course, her interest might also have had something to do with her fondness for her handsome "big brother." Alaric found the little girl delightful and responded to every question with warmth and detail.

As for Lady Janice, the current head of House Barov, she was more than happy to see this development. Beyond her personal feelings, she understood perfectly well: the closer Alaric became with her and her daughter, the more likely he was to look after the Barov family. Conversely, the more Illucia accepted Alaric, the smoother their family's future would be, even if, someday, it might no longer be called Barov.

Onyxia, meanwhile, sat watching the cozy family scene with a pang of jealousy in her heart. The sight stirred something deeply maternal within her draconic soul, the desire to someday lay a proper clutch of her own eggs was growing stronger than ever.

Just as Illucia was happily chatting with Alaric, Janice suddenly asked, "Sand, what do you think of my daughter?"

Alaric was caught a little off guard by the question but still answered honestly. "Illucia is adorable, thoughtful, and a very good child, though she is a little shy."

His praise made Illucia beam with joy, though her instinctive shyness soon had her hiding back in her mother's embrace.

Watching her daughter and her "little man," Janice gave a soft, satisfied smile.

"In truth, Illucia is already old enough to begin schooling. Based on my tests, she has even stronger magical potential than I did at her age.

She's genuinely interested, too. Originally, I planned to teach her myself… but now… I've been away from Dalaran too long.

I'm not up to date with the latest magical theories. And with those three men… gone, I've had to personally oversee our family affairs. I may not have much time to educate her. So… may I ask you a favor?"

"Go ahead, Janice." Alaric had more or less guessed what she was going to say, and smiled at her. "Whatever it is, I'll do it for you."

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