Chapter 193: On One Knee
Meanwhile, the rest of the household stood frozen, dumbfounded. The conversation between the two had been vague, yet the meaning wasn’t hard to guess.
Among them, Ares was the first to break the silence, his eyes wide. "Master Gara... is pregnant? And the father is Madha?"
Della and Fian turned sharply toward Ares, their gazes sharp. They’d suspected the same—but hadn’t dared to say it aloud.
"It’s true," Gara admitted with a nod.
The truth hit like a stone. Della and Fian both swallowed their heartbreak.
Della managed a smile, though her eyes glistened as if she might cry at any second.
Fian, on the other hand, froze—expressionless, his face stiff as stone.
While Gara held his mother close, Madha quietly slipped into his room.
When he returned, Gara was the only one in the living room still happily smile. The others wore mixed expressions: confusion, sadness, disbelief.
In the center of them all, Madha stood tall. His voice was calm, almost solemn. "Gara, I’ve been holding onto this since that day... but the timing never felt right."
Gara blinked, puzzled, until Madha reached into his pocket and drew out a small velvet-covered box.
He knelt on one knee and opened it, revealing a ring set with a diamond-shaped crystal the color of hazel—just like Gara’s eyes.
"I love you, Gara," he said, voice unwavering. "I want to be with you, always—through everything.
Will you spend the rest of your life with me?"
Gara froze, utterly stunned.
In both of his lives, he had never been in a serious relationship. Only fleeting ones, never something that lasted.
But deep inside, he had always dreamed of this.
To be surprised by someone he loved, to receive flowers, to have a man kneel before him and confess his feelings, to share a kiss in a chapel on their wedding day...
All those simple, cliché things.
Things he’d never dared hope for—
And now, he was finally experiencing one of those dreams in this fantasy world.
Without hesitation, Gara nodded. "I do."
Madha could no longer hold back his wide smile or the tears welling in his eyes. With trembling hands, he gently slipped the ring onto Gara’s finger before pulling him into a warm embrace.
"Chirp, chirp, chirp."
Plop, plop, plop.
The sound of tiny claps and cheerful chattering echoed around them. Rea and her little ones—no one knew where they popped out from—were happily celebrating.
From within Madha’s sturdy arms, Gara turned his head toward the little squirrels and smiled, recognizing their excitement as heartfelt congratulations.
"Thank you, everyone," he said softly.
Their reaction was in stark contrast to the rest of the room. Everyone else still stood frozen, eyes wide. One bombshell hadn’t been enough—this couple had just dropped another one.
...
The awkward tension lingered in the house until the next morning. But Gara had already given everyone enough time to process it. Today, he wanted to explore the long road beyond the gate.
Leaving his room in Yuvika’s house, he found the brunette woman waiting downstairs.
Her face brightened the moment she saw Gara coming down with Madha and Fian. Finally, they had come out of their rooms.
"Going somewhere?" Yuvika asked, smiling. "I can take you around. I’ve been to the capital once or twice before."
Gara nodded. "Can you take us somewhere that sells horses?"
"Horses?" Yuvika blinked, confused. But the beautiful man before her gave a serious nod, so she didn’t press further.
Soon, the four of them boarded a carriage and left the city, heading toward a horse ranch—since there were none within the city center.
Throughout the ride, Yuvika kept glancing at Gara with curious eyes, hoping he would explain why he suddenly wanted to buy a horse.
But all she saw was Gara leaning against Madha’s shoulder, while Madha gently massaged his hand, making sure he was comfortable.
The Sir Gara she admired so much looked... a little different from what she imagined. But rather than fading, her affection for him only deepened.
Maybe—just maybe—she could take Madha’s place someday. After all, what’s wrong with a bit of motion sickness?
When they finally arrived, Yuvika seized the moment to ask, "Sir Gara, why the sudden interest in buying a horse? We’ll be staying in the academy dorms later, so I don’t think we’ll really need one."
"It’s for leisure," Gara replied casually.
Yuvika wasn’t convinced, but she decided not to push further.
...
The fence wall surrounding the dimensional house had grown taller and sturdier. And besides the striking new wall, a tall tower now stood beside the gate—just as eye-catching.
"That looks like a watchtower," Gara guessed.
"A watchtower? For a house?" Madha stared up at the eight-meter structure, stunned. "It’s like something you’d see on a border wall!"
Gara didn’t answer. He simply walked toward the small entrance door, followed by Madha, Fian, and Ares.
The four of them were inspecting the dimensional space after returning from their horse-shopping trip.
Inside the tower’s ground floor was an empty room—spacious enough for a small bed, a table, and a few chairs. It could easily serve as a guard’s quarters.
A spiral staircase coiled upward along the wall. They climbed it and soon reached the top.
A large bell hung in the center, gleaming faintly under the light. Two wide windows opened on opposite sides. One facing the house, the other looking outward.
The space was surprisingly roomy. Even with the four of them, it didn’t feel cramped at all.
"We can actually see the entire dimensional space from up here," Gara murmured, stepping toward the window that overlooked the house.
From this height, he could see the edge of the small forest behind the house, and beyond that, the thick wall separating the land from the swirling mist.
"This mist... looks familiar," Madha muttered.
The others turned toward him, silently asking if he meant what they thought he meant—because yes, that was clearly mist.
Gara moved to stand beside him. Fian and Ares joined them at the window, gazing out over the hazy horizon.
Madha’s expression hardened as his eyes fixed on the fog. Something about his look made Gara uneasy.
"This mist..." Madha said slowly, "it’s exactly like the one near the borderline, the mist where the Mist Monsters live."
...