Chaos' Heir

Chapter 1497: Stories

"I was on my way," Khan proudly declared, "Readier than ever to put all that behind me and do the right thing."

The group watched Khan attentively, even refraining from taking sips from their cups, waiting for him to continue.

"But then," Khan added, nodding to his right, "I found this one waiting by my ship. She called me, and being the virtuous man that I am, I had to risk an interspecies war to fulfill her wish."

The target of Khan’s nod obviously was Liiza, who had her arms on his shoulder, watching him amusingly. As for the story, it was about the arranged marriage with the Kros. Azni wanted to learn everything, so it was better to start from the very beginning.

Of course, Khan’s dramatic way of telling his romantic story didn’t convince anyone. After all, he was surrounded by people who truly knew him, inevitably earning him mocking comments.

"He instantly folded, didn’t he?" George enquired from the woman on Khan’s shoulder.

"It was already too late to go back by the time I realized he had kidnapped me," Liiza revealed, and chuckles resounded around the group.

"What next?" Azni asked, eager to know more, while combing her daughter’s already straight hair with one hand.

"I made sure he took responsibility," Liiza proudly stated.

"That means sex!" Wayne exclaimed, somehow hitting the mark and being completely wrong at the same time.

"Khan is a romantic," Ilman scoffed, seemingly having taken it upon himself to educate Wayne. "That came later."

The group had long since reached the silent agreement to ignore both Ilman and Wayne until it was strictly necessary. Yet, Princess Rebecca was still on the scene, and that more explicit talk left her both stunned and intrigued.

The intrigue was self-explanatory. Princess Rebecca only lost to Azni when it came to enjoying gossip. However, there were children among the group, as well as Liiza’s own father.

Nevertheless, Deni only smiled kindly, occasionally patting Wayne’s shoulder to cheer him on. Meanwhile, the children on the scene came from open-minded species. Only Michael was an exception, but he had fallen asleep on George’s lap.

"Her exact words were," Khan said, preparing himself to imitate Liiza’s aloof tone, "I’ll consider myself a married woman from now on."

"Don’t pretend you are some kind of victim," George scoffed, looking at Liiza again. "He was happy beyond reason, wasn’t he?"

"Hey, it was a serious and critical situation," Khan defended himself before Liiza could say anything, even searching for her support. "Tell them I handled that properly."

Liiza smiled teasingly, enjoying that hint of playful desperation in her husband’s face, but ended up saying something only he would understand. "You were definitely cute."

Khan had to divert his gaze to avoid falling prey to Liiza’s captivating eyes, opting instead to cuddle his daughter and drink.

"That’s when they had sex," Ilman told Wayne. "Like true Niqols!"

"No, no, no," Azni uttered, her eagerness displayed in her heated caresses on her daughter. "It was after ten years ... I need details. Details!"

"[Mum is scary today]," The kid sitting on Doku’s lap whispered in his native language.

"[I know]," Doku replied. "[I’ll save your sister as soon as she gets distracted]."

Apparently, Doku’s kids understood the human language but couldn’t yet speak it. Still, there was another reason why Khan was using it.

"I need details, too," Jenna gasped, fully immersed in the story, almost entirely leaning over Ilman to get closer to the married couple.

"I won’t share details," Liiza claimed, her proud expression betrayed by a faint blush. "Those are only for me and my husband to know."

Khan couldn’t help but refocus on Liiza as the mention of their long-awaited reunion awakened intimate memories. Liiza matched his glowing gaze, and the two fell prey to a silent conversation only they could hear.

"They haven’t changed at all," Azni commented, finally stopping to harass her daughter’s hair. "Doku, they still do that."

Doku’s daughter was within reach, so he swiftly pulled her away, placing her on his lap, next to her brother. Azni didn’t seem to mind that, but Doku made sure to add something to prolong the distraction.

"We are still cuter," Doku declared, "Just like our children are."

"My little Princess will be the cutest of them all," Khan snorted, leaning down to rub Yeza’s belly. "Papa’s sweetest Princess."

"Wait until she threw herself into cliffs to save her Prince in distress," George muttered, hiding his face behind his drink.

"Or starts living on mountains to avoid arranged marriages," Doku coughed.

"Or has an Aduns as her only friend," Azni couldn’t help but comment.

"Or excels on the frontlines!" Ilman shouted, slightly misunderstanding the context of that conversation.

"Or falls for a human to spite her mother," Zalpa snorted, unable to help herself, only to find everyone staring at her.

"Or beheads those who insult her," Princess Rebecca added, not wanting to remain outside that interaction.

Princess Rebecca also earned herself her fair share of looks, but, unlike Zalpa, she felt happy about them, as if that confirmed she had become part of the group.

Luckily, the comments ended there, but not out of lack of other problematic examples. Still, Khan and Liiza couldn’t help but think about those, and their eyes instinctively fell on their daughter.

Everyone was joking, but Khan and Liiza had indeed done all that and worse.

Meanwhile, Yeza could already fly on her own and had even ridden Snow at the young age of four months. Her development had been nothing short of shocking and was bound to feature more surprises.

No matter what Khan and Liiza could think of, the odds weren’t in their daughter’s favor. Still, her innocent, unaware face pushed those worries away.

"They are just jealous," Khan declared, summoning a childish voice as he lifted Yeza toward his face. "Papa will never arrange marriages for you, and he will behead anyone, cliffs and mountains included."

Yeza laughed, trying to grab onto Khan’s nose, only for a yawn to interrupt her. Liiza’s attention was torn between her daughter and her husband’s irresistible fatherly charm, but that gesture made her seize the former and kiss the latter’s cheek.

"Zaza, can you put her to bed for us tonight?" Liiza asked, gently resting Yeza between her arms.

"Tamara wants to help!" Tamara exclaimed, pointing her begging eyes at Zalpa, who couldn’t even attempt to refuse.

"Wait!" Azni called, pointing at Ilman. "You still have to tell me how things got to that."

"It’s my turn," Ilman claimed. "Let me tell you-"

"I don’t trust your version for a second," Azni promptly interrupted, focusing on Jenna. "Do you mind?"

"This is fun," Jenna chirped, adjusting herself on Ilman. "Where should I start? Maybe from when Khan and I slept together."

Azni’s excitement finally faltered, and her glowing eyes slowly moved toward Khan and Liiza, who were already preparing themselves for the imminent headache-inducing story.