While Mia was quietly recounting her and Lucifer's shared past to Ruby, their conversation drifting into its tender final moments, Lucifer suddenly moved.
With a quick flick of his wrist, every single sunstone bulb vanished into his spatial storage.
He turned toward Thomas and the others, voice calm but carrying unmistakable weight.
"Thomas."
"Yes, Master?"
Lucifer's gaze softened slightly.
"How many years has it been since you married your wives?"
Thomas answered without pause, pride and weariness mingling in his tone.
"About twelve years, Master. I took all five of them as my wives within the first year or two."
A small nod of acknowledgment from Lucifer.
"And in those twelve years… how many times have you gotten them pregnant? How many children do you have now?"
The question landed like a stone in still water.
Thomas's face crumpled for a moment before he steadied himself.
"Young Master… I impregnated Riva once. Four years ago, roughly. But… we have no living child in our family."
The pain in his voice was raw, unguarded.
Lucifer's eyes flicked to Riva. Tears as large as pearls were already rolling silently down her cheeks.
He couldn't stand it.
In two strides he closed the distance, one arm sweeping Thomas close, the other drawing Riva in. He wrapped them both in a fierce, protective embrace.
"Don't cry like that — either of you," he murmured against their hair. "How are we supposed to get anything done if you're both breaking apart? Tell me what happened. I told you the moment I arrived — we're one big family. All of us. If I can call every one of you mine… then you can lay every wound, every grief, at my feet. Don't hide it. Thomas… Riva… talk to me."
Around them, the others watched in stunned silence.
A duke-tier noble — hugging commoners. Calling them family. Not with empty courtesy, but with fierce, unguarded sincerity.
Something warm and unfamiliar cracked open inside every chest watching the scene.
After a long moment, Thomas and Riva gently eased back. Thomas drew a shaky breath.
"Master… four years ago Riva carried our child. In her fourth and especially her fifth month… we could all feel him move. Little kicks against her belly. I felt them. My other wives felt them. We were so happy…"
His voice fractured.
"But when the time came… when she gave birth… the baby was still. No breath. No movement. The priest and the healer examined him for a long time. Then they said… babies born without movement are evil. They refused to let us even touch him. They took him away."
Thomas's shoulders began to shake.
"After that… Riva was shattered. She barely spoke for a whole year. And ever since… whenever the wish to be a mother rises in her again… those words come back. 'Evil.' She's terrified."
He swallowed hard.
"We kept trying, Master. Many times. With me. With my other wives. I even asked my childhood friend Tello for help. Nothing. And worse… some of my wives… and even I… we endured things no one should — rape — thinking maybe… maybe that would force a child. Still nothing. It feels like the Goddess simply decided we're never allowed to be parents."
By the end, tears stood in Lucifer's own eyes.
He didn't hide them.
"Thomas… yes. Sometimes babies are stillborn. That's true." He turned gently to Riva. "But not every child who lies still at birth is dead. And no newborn — no child — is ever born evil. What you described… it could have been apnea. Neonatal apnea. A condition. Not a curse. Not evil."
The words struck like lightning.
Thomas froze. Riva's hand flew to her mouth. The others exchanged wide-eyed glances.
Could it be…? Could the priest and healer have…?
Lucifer's voice became firmer, more certain.
"Sister Riva — you don't have to be afraid anymore."
He looked back at Thomas.
"Tonight at the twentieth past bell, my three-day competition with Uncle Jeff begins. Sex. Impregnation. I swore to him that if I can't keep going for three full days… or if I impregnate fewer than twenty women… I lose."
A small, dangerous smile touched his lips.
"But I also made a promise to myself. Anyone who comes to me during those three days — anyone who wants my child — I will give it to her. No matter who. No matter the circumstances. These bulbs?" He gestured vaguely toward his storage space. "They're decorations for that very battlefield."
He met Riva's tear-filled eyes.
"And soon I'll open my own medical center. When that happens, this is my vow to you — to everyone in Westirifer: never again will you have to beg a priest or healer for your life or your child's. I'll treat you myself."
Turning fully to Thomas again:
"If any of my sisters — or any of your wives — wish to come to me… bring them. The ducal grounds will be lined with stalls. Every expense comes from my personal treasury."
Then, almost casually:
"Thomas, bring some of the bulbs you made too. Show them off. Let the whole duchy see what we're preparing for winter. But the manufacturing method stays secret. People from other duchies, even kingdoms, might show up. Price stays at fifty copper coins — just enough to cover raw materials. Run it all day? Two months. Use daylight and only light it fourteen hours at night? Four to six months. I want every home in Westirifer to have one before the first snow falls."
He stepped closer, voice dropping with conviction.
"I'll pay you one hundred copper coins per bulb you produce. You handle raw materials. Sunstone is discarded like trash near every mine — mountains, foothills, streams. Form teams. Pay them at month's end: two silver and five thousand copper each."
Lucifer's emerald eyes burned.
"So, Thomas… will you help me? Will you help make winter bearable for all of Westirifer?"
Silence.
Then Thomas's voice, thick with emotion:
"Yes, Master. I'm in."
Immediately after, Riva, Ilina, Bekky, Rebeca, and Yuri stepped forward.
"We'll come to you too," they said almost in unison. "We swear it on the Goddess of Fertility — this stays between us."
The oath was taken solemnly.
Half an hour later, after final words and quiet plans, Lucifer emerged from the forge carrying all one hundred sixty glowing bulbs.
Outside, he found Mia and Ruby sitting together on the same wide stone slab where he'd once comforted Mia.
He approached slowly, voice softening.
"Mommy… Mumma… what are you two doing out here?"
Ruby smiled, warm and teasing.
"Nothing much, darling. Just sister talk. Catching up. Waiting for you."
Lucifer's gaze shifted to Mia. He froze.
"Mommy… why are there tears in your eyes?"
The air temperature plummeted.
Frost raced across the stone. Ice crystals bloomed on the leaves above them. Lucifer's emerald irises flared violent violet.
Mia quickly caught his hand.
"Luci. Breathe. No one hurt me. Talking with your aunt just… brought back some old memories. Not happy ones."
Lucifer whipped his head toward Ruby, betrayal flashing across his face.
"Aunt… you made Mommy remember painful things? You made her cry?"
Ruby blinked, startled, then softened.
"Lucifer… how dare you suspect me — and call me *Aunt* instead of Mumma?" She sighed. "I didn't ask. She told me herself. From her heart."
Lucifer searched Mia's face. She nodded gently — truth.
His shoulders dropped. Voice cracked.
"Mumma… forgive me. I can't bear even one tear in Mommy's eyes. I can endure anything else — everything else — but not that. When I see pain in her… it feels like my soul is being torn apart piece by piece."
He sank to one knee, eyes glistening.
"I swore to myself long ago… if I'm ever the reason Mommy cries, if she ever feels she doesn't need me anymore… that same moment I'll end my own life. Please… forgive me for doubting you. You're like a second mother to me. I shouldn't have spoken that way."
Ruby's lingering irritation dissolved into pure, aching tenderness.
She reached out and pulled him into her arms.
"I was only pretending to be angry, silly boy. Hush now. No more tears."
After a long embrace she pulled back just enough to look at Mia, then at Lucifer.
"Luci… why do you love your mommy *this* much? What is it about her?"
Lucifer's answer came without hesitation, quiet and absolute.
"I don't know. She just… is my life. Even if she stopped loving me tomorrow, I'd still love her — maybe even more. It keeps growing. Never stops. Never fades."
He looked between them.
"Even if she weren't beautiful on the outside… she'd still be my goddess. My first love. Always."
A small, helpless shrug.
"Mumma… I don't have an explanation. And before you ask — I don't have one for why I love you, or Wess, or sister, or anyone else either."
He smiled faintly.
"I'm nothing on my own. My soul is Mommy. My consciousness is you and sister. My heart is Wess. My family is the rest of my body. You don't need a *reason* to love yourself… and neither do I."
He stepped back gently.
"Mommy, Mumma… let's head home. The competition starts in an hour. Rest a little… or if neither of you feels like being with me tonight, just say so. No pressure."
Mia and Ruby exchanged a glance — then both smiled wickedly.
Mia spoke first.
"Lucifer… being with you is bliss. We don't need rest. We're ready."
Ruby leaned in.
"But you'd better fuck us so hard Jeff's arrogance shatters. He teased you. He teased my Jason. I want to watch him lose spectacularly."
Lucifer's eyes gleamed with mischief.
"I just thought of my second demand. But I'll need both of you to make it happen."
Ruby raised a brow. "Tell us."
A slow, devilish grin.
"I'm going to feed Jeff and his team green pills for five straight days. And every non-pregnant woman in the household gets them too — so they can enjoy the newly transformed girls. Whoever manages to impregnate Jeff, his teammates, or anyone else… I'll grant her every demand. No matter how wild."
Mia and Ruby stared at each other.
Then burst into delighted laughter.
"Deal," Ruby said, grinning. "Men have had their fun with us for long enough. Time we got to play."
Laughing together, the three of them turned toward the ducal home.
When they arrived, the grounds were already transformed.
Moonwood torches blazed everywhere. Bonfires roared at intervals. Two large platforms stood ready. Jason moved like a general, directing preparations, with Westeria and Amelia hurrying at his side.
From a distance Lucifer called:
"Jason! Over here!"
Jason sprinted to him. "Yes, big brother?"
"Put out every moonwood torch. I brought something better for light. Go fetch some thick ropes — lots of them."
Jason relayed the order and dashed off.
Moments later Westeria and Amelia appeared, curious.
Lucifer opened his storage and began pulling out bulb after glowing bulb, followed by coils of copper wire.
He twisted twenty rings, fitted eight bulbs into each, creating perfect little constellations.
"What are you making?" Amelia asked.
"Are those… chandeliers?" Westeria added.
Lucifer only smiled.
"Ask Mommy. Anything she can't answer… wait for Thomas. He'll explain everything soon."
Jason returned dragging ropes.
Lucifer cut them into even lengths, tied each chandelier cluster securely, then hoisted them onto the tall pillars ringing the field.
One by one, he activated the bulbs.
Light exploded — soft, golden, impossibly bright.
It wasn't torchlight.
It wasn't fire.
It was morning — captured, bottled, and hung across the ducal grounds like a constellation brought down to earth.
Everyone stopped and stared upward in wonder.