It wasn’t just one golden Pegasus, but…
One, two, three…
Little Clarus stood by the balcony door, silently counting the guests.
Though they were all Kuranta, these golden Pegasi seemed noble by birth.
Even their bodies appeared to shimmer with light.
At the front door, Clarus’s grandfather Henry, an elderly Kuranta himself, allowed a faint smile to soften his usually stern features when he saw another old Kuranta approaching.
“Oh, Henry.
You’re still exactly as I remember you.
You look like you could pick up a lance and charge through an Ursus battle line with me all over again.” Seeing his old friend still in such good health, the elderly Pegasus smiled with genuine delight.
“Good heavens, Kirill.
If I ever got the chance, I’d love nothing more than to kill a few more Ursus cubs for old times’ sake.” Henry gave Kirill a knightly salute.
“It’s good to see you again, Sir Kirill.” Kirill Nearl returned the salute in kind.
“And it’s good to see you again, Campaign Knight Henry.” “Ioleta probably couldn’t come because of her position, but we’re old friends.
We don’t need all those formalities between us.” Kirill chuckled and raised an eyebrow at Henry.
“What, are you planning to leave us standing outside?” Henry stepped aside and laughed heartily as he welcomed the group inside.
“My apologies, Kirill.
Looks like I’ll have to bring out the good wine I’ve been saving today!” The golden Pegasi entered the house while Clarus stood nearby, curiously watching everything unfold.
“Hey!
What a well-behaved little fellow.
Come here and let Grandpa have a look at you.” Kirill had noticed the little foal standing quietly to the side long ago and smiled at him kindly.
Clarus didn’t hesitate.
He walked up to Kirill, a living legend of Kazimierz, and greeted him politely.
“Hello, Grandpa!” “Very composed, young man.
Calmness and composure are essential virtues for a knight.
You’re doing very well.” Kirill crouched down and carefully looked Clarus over before nodding in satisfaction.
Clarus responded at just the right moment with a smile.
“Good heavens, I like this boy.” Kirill nodded approvingly again before turning toward a child whose hand was being held by another female Pegasus.
“Perhaps the two of you will get along, Zofia.
This little fellow is…” “Clarus Veyr.
Kirill, we named him Clarus Veyr.
He’s three years old now,” Grandfather Henry supplied at just the right moment.
Kirill nodded, then looked toward Zofia.
“Go play, Zofia.
And young Mr.
Clarus, you’re older than she is, so make sure you protect your little sister Zofia.
Protecting ladies is an essential lesson for every knight, after all.” “Yes, sir!
I promise I’ll protect…
little sister Zofia!” Clarus tried to imitate the knightly salute the two grandfathers had exchanged earlier, but his movements came out so awkward and misshapen that everyone burst into laughter.
“I’ll look after Margaret for you, Zofia.
You should go relax and have some fun too.
You don’t need to be so strict with yourself, and there’s no need for you to personally watch over Margaret all the time.” Yolanta Nearl, Margaret’s mother, crouched down and smiled gently at tiny Zofia.
The two-year-old Zofia clearly wasn’t willing to accept that.
If anything, there was a stubborn glint in her eyes.
“No!
I’m Margaret’s attendant, I—” “That’s enough, Zofia.
Don’t say things like that anymore.” Yolanta gently interrupted her.
“It doesn’t matter.
You’re part of our family too.” “But…” Zofia still wanted to argue, but at that moment, an even smaller Margaret, still nestled in her mother’s arms, began babbling and reaching out with her tiny hands toward Zofia.
“Margaret wants to come play too!” The clever little Zofia immediately realized how she could convince the adults to let her bring Margaret along, and an excited smile blossomed across her face.
“Oh my, what a crafty little foal.” Kirill burst into laughter before nodding toward Yolanta.
“Let the children go play, Yolanta.
I’m sure Zofia can take good care of Margaret.” “Besides…” Kirill turned toward Clarus and gave him a perfectly formal knightly salute.
“Little knight, are you confident you can protect our two princesses?” Imitating Kirill, Clarus finally managed to perform a proper knightly salute.
“Yes, sir!
Mission accepted!” Kirill’s smile grew so wide that wrinkles gathered all over his face.
“Oh, what a brave little knight.
Go on and have fun.” Children were still children, after all.
Playing came naturally to them.
Zofia was the first to grab Clarus by the hand and eagerly tried to drag him outside into the courtyard.
Meanwhile, Clarus took Margaret from Yolanta’s arms.
He struggled to hold the baby with one arm while enduring Margaret’s tiny hands grabbing and pawing at his face, while his other hand remained trapped in Zofia’s as she pulled him toward the garden.
Watching the tiny figures of the children run off to play, the adults all began chuckling.
Kirill, in particular, couldn’t resist teasing his old friend.
“Henry, you’ve got yourself a fine grandson.
Boys like that aren’t easy to come by.” Grandfather Henry snorted through his nose, looked Kirill up and down, then grinned.
“Then how about we trade?
You give me your granddaughter to raise for a while.” “Absolutely not!” The old Pegasus immediately bristled, practically blowing his mustache in outrage.
“She’s my precious little darling!” Everyone burst into laughter before heading inside together.
Only one young man standing at the very back of the Nearl family’s group seemed somewhat uneasy about leaving the children outside alone.
His gaze drifted between the interior of the house and the courtyard, as though he couldn’t decide whether to follow the adults inside or remain behind to watch the children.
Kirill glanced back at the young man, whose face still carried traces of youthful arrogance and untamed pride, and smiled faintly.
“Młynar, come inside and tell us about what you’ve been up to lately.
I’m sure your life as a wandering knight will give us plenty to talk about over the dinner table.” Młynar withdrew his gaze.
Normally proud and unruly, even he set aside his arrogance now, because he knew that both the elderly Pegasus before him and the aged Campaign Knight inside were men deserving of his respect.
“Yes, Father.” Before entering, Młynar glanced back once more at the little black-haired, black-eyed Kuranta.
For some reason, he had a feeling that this boy would be involved in no shortage of trouble in the years to come.
But then again…
He was Młynar.
…
TL: Author be yapping (relatable), so here’s the TL;DR: Some aspects regarding canon aren’t explicitly stated in the canon lore or the author might have missed some, so the author has taken a bit of liberty for example when Auntie Zofia joined the Nearl family is debatable.
So for this story, she grew up with the Nearl family from childhood.