As soon as Aria and the Holy Cross delegation accompanying her left, everything in the capital city of Serendity, Westirifer Duchy, returned to normal.
The common people of the duchy had no idea that such a large delegation from Holy Cross had even entered their territory. Those who did know about it mostly belonged to the capital city—Serendity, Valemare Town, and Gigori Wall Town.
This was because the Holy Cross delegation had entered Westirifer Duchy through Valemare Town and reached the capital, Serendity, via the route through Gigori Wall Town.
Moreover, it wasn't just a small group of 8-9 people. One could say it was practically a small army. The Holygrill family of Holy Cross had brought 8,100 soldiers with them.
When such a large group passes through the narrow mountain roads, it is impossible for people not to notice.
Yet the remarkable thing was that despite the arrival of such a massive delegation, there was no disturbance whatsoever, and the common people did not face any inconvenience.
Just as Lucifer and his group exited the Ducal Training Arena and started heading toward the Ducal Palace, Lady Talmora asked him,
"Lucifer... the day before yesterday, while addressing the Holy Cross delegation, and even today while talking to Elder Guntor... you mentioned your shadow-wives and shadow-daughters. Who exactly are they?
I only know the wives I met inside the Ducal Palace. As for your daughters, there are only Daisy and Trainy, right? So who are these shadow-daughters of yours?"
Lucifer listened carefully to Lady Talmora and then replied,
"Lady Talmora... if you remember, the day before yesterday in the courtroom, I said that Bellatrixa, Aurethia, Kaelith, and Severina eradicated the Morgen family in Morgen Duchy and established Westirifer's rule there. Similarly, Nocturna, Velerica, and Almyth, along with Artemis, conquered Hector Duchy. And Zyrene is currently in your Keilname State.
Out of these, except for Artemis, all of them are my wives. They are not in the duchy right now, which is why you couldn't meet them. However, Elder Guntor and Jeffrey are quite familiar with my wife Almyth and my daughter Mara."
The moment Lucifer said this, Elder Guntor remembered that terrifying moment when Almyth had defeated him in a single strike, as if he were not an SS-rank Earth Mage but an ant.
Meanwhile, Jeffrey still hadn't forgotten the punch he received from Mara. So when Lucifer mentioned Mara and Almyth, both Guntor and Jeffrey's faces showed a strange mix of fear, anger, and embarrassment. But they couldn't express their true feelings to anyone.
Hearing Lucifer, Lady Talmora said, "I see. So they are not in the duchy right now. But what about your daughters? Are they also not here?"
Lucifer replied, "No, they are in the duchy. And I am completely confident that when the Holy Cross delegation arrived in front of the Ducal Palace, my daughters were present there as well."
Talmora said, "But I was standing with your aunt Ruby the entire time, and I also saw the delegation entering. I didn't see your daughters anywhere."
Lucifer replied, "You probably didn't notice carefully."
Saying this, Lucifer called out,
"Herlina."
"Vritra."
"Almirae."
"Lovertia."
The moment Lucifer called their names, four feminine figures emerged from his shadow. As soon as they appeared, all four said together:
"Dad..."
"Papa..."
"Daddy..."
"Dad..."
They rushed forward and hugged Lucifer at the same time. Lucifer affectionately stroked their backs and said,
"I'm back. Good work, all of you. I'm proud of you."
Just these words from Lucifer were enough. All four daughters melted even more into his embrace.
After hugging them for a while, Lucifer took out three spatial storage rings from his space storage and gave them to Vritra, Almirae, and Lovertia.
"Almirae and Vritra, your mothers left for Hector and Morgen Duchies three days ago. They haven't rested or eaten properly since then.
Take these rings. Each contains four days' worth of food. One of you go to Morgen State and the other to Hector State. Deliver these to your mothers. There's a share for both of you as well, so you can eat comfortably with them. And tell your mothers to return in four days."
After speaking to Vritra and Almirae, Lucifer looked at Lovertia and said,
"Tia, take this third ring to Keilname State. Zyrene also hasn't eaten anything. Tell her to return in four days as well."
After sending off Lovertia, Vritra, and Almirae, Lucifer lovingly picked up Herlina, placed her on his shoulders like a child, and asked,
"So, has General Herlina been taking good care of the duchy along with her sisters?"
Herlina grabbed Lucifer's silver hair like horse reins and replied,
"Yes, Daddy. You know what? This morning, Sister Mara and I caught 19 spies who had come from the Kingdom."
Hearing this, Lucifer felt a pang of regret. Last night he had been so aroused that he hadn't checked the notifications from his [3D Sandbox] skill, allowing some Kingdom spies to infiltrate the duchy. But he was also happy that Herlina and his other shadow-daughters had caught them.
After Herlina finished telling him the recent events, Lucifer gave her a ring as well and told her to take it into the shadow world, eat with her sisters, and rest comfortably.
Herlina first kissed Lucifer on the cheek while still sitting on his shoulder, then took the ring and disappeared into the shadows like the others.
After Herlina left, Lucifer said to Lady Talmora without turning around,
"Lady Talmora, you saw them, right? These are my shadow-daughters. Among them, Lovertia is the eldest, and Herlina is the third youngest. Besides these four, I have eight more daughters."
When Talmora heard the full explanation, she was stunned.
She had learned from Ruby and Jeff that Lucifer was only 18 years and 7-8 months old. Seeing these shadow-daughters of his, especially ones who looked his age, left her extremely confused.
Curious, she asked, "Lucifer, aren't you only 18 years old? You'll turn 19 in the next two months. Then how do you have daughters who look the same age as you?"
Lucifer laughed lightly. "Hehe... Haha... Hehe... Ha."
Then he said, "Lady Talmora... you may not know, but my Lovertia isn't my age. She is only about 4 months and 64 days old, I think."
Talmora burst out laughing. "Hahahaha... Lucifer... Hahaha... You are quite funny."
"Do you think I would believe such nonsense?"
Lucifer replied calmly, "Believe it or not, I don't care. You asked, and I answered. That's all."
Saying this, Lucifer continued walking at his normal pace, followed by his mother and wives. Meanwhile, Talmora and the rest of the Keilname family remained frozen in shock and confusion.
Seeing their bewildered faces, Jason walked over to them. To ease their confusion, he looked at Talmora and the others and said,
"Aunt Talmora... and everyone else... What my big brother said is the truth.
My eldest niece is no longer in this world, and that's a forbidden topic. After her, my niece Lovertia is the eldest.
I know why you all are so confused, but don't overthink it. Big brother has some confidential contracts, so he cannot speak about these matters. He hasn't even told us everything. It's better not to dwell on it too much. Just accept it and move on."
After saying this, Jason turned and rejoined the group following Lucifer.