By Zephyria 
At the gentle suggestion, the child immediately voiced what he wanted. As Koi smiled and nodded, Grayson stepped forward as if he had been waiting.
“Can I go too? It’s okay, right, Bliss?”
Seeing his son’s bright, smiling face, Koi answered before Ashley could say anything.
“Yes, go together. See over there?”
The children readily nodded when they looked in the direction Daddy pointed. Grayson, who had stepped forward to get ice cream while holding Bliss’s hand, received the strawberry ice cream Bliss wanted and handed it to him.
“Here you go.”
“Thank you. Thank you.”
Bliss, who seemed to have calmed down a bit, spoke calmly and also thanked the employee who gave him the ice cream. The employee pulled up the corners of his mouth and nodded contentedly. Seeing his favorite ice cream, Bliss’s mood quickly improved. Ah, he opened his mouth wide to take a bite of the soft cream, but…
“Ow, ow, ow.”
His already swollen eyes stung, and he couldn’t help but let out a pained sound. Frowning and pressing a hand to his eye, he heard Grayson click his tongue from above.
“That’s why I said, why are you hurting yourself? You’re so stupid.”
At those words, Bliss’s anger, which had barely subsided, surged again.
“I told you! That jerk made fun of me for not having purple eyes!”
While Bliss argued his point with wide eyes, Grayson remained as composed as ever.
“So, I’m asking why you hurt yourself.”
Repeating the same words as before, Grayson leisurely added.
“Only you lose if you get hurt. Why do you have to turn your eyes purple just because of what that jerk said in the first place?”
At the unexpected criticism, Bliss paused. Huh, come to think of it, that might be true…?
“Then, what should I do…?”
Looking at his hesitating younger brother who asked quietly, Grayson beamed a bright smile.
“You just have to make sure that jerk can’t say things like that.”
Hearing the unexpected words, Bliss’s mind couldn’t keep up.
“…Huh?”
“Make it so he can’t spout nonsense about purple or not purple.”
Facing his still-uncomprehending younger brother, Grayson explained once more. Then, looking down at Bliss with narrow eyes, he gave a faint smile.
“Want me to teach you how?”
“Yes!”
Unable to contain his impatience at his brother’s teasing attitude, Bliss nodded vigorously.
“Tell me, tell me quickly, Grayson! What do I do? Tell me quickly, quickly!”
Watching his younger brother stamp his feet impatiently, Grayson answered with a satisfied expression.
“Shoot him in the mouth with a gun. Then no one will ever be able to spout that kind of nonsense at you again.”
At the unimaginable answer, Bliss was startled, his eyes widening.
“A gun?”
A gun? Hadn’t Papa said many times that such a thing should never be used? There was a gun at home too, but it was inside a secret safe, and he only knew of its existence, never having seen it. Yet Grayson was so casually telling him to shoot a gun… was that really okay?
Without realizing it, he looked back, and Papa and Daddy, who had been watching them until then, came into view. Shifting his gaze from Daddy, who was smiling and waving at his son, Bliss lowered his voice as if checking to see if anyone might hear.
“How do I shoot a gun, that kind of thing…”
“Of course, when you don’t have one like earlier, there’s nothing you can do.”
Bliss, who was about to say ‘No,’ was left speechless again by Grayson’s following words. That’s not what I meant. Looking at his younger brother, who was just blinking, Grayson cheerfully suggested an alternative.
“Then pick up anything nearby and hit him in the mouth. Knock out three or four teeth, and he won’t be able to say things like that again. Even better if his tongue gets cut and he can’t speak for life. Then he definitely won’t be able to spout that nonsense again, right? Other guys will learn a lesson from seeing that too.”
“Uh…”
There was nothing wrong with Grayson’s words. Except for a slight unease in one corner of his heart. Bliss blinked blankly for a moment, then nodded, saying, “Mmm-hmm.” At that reaction, Grayson arrogantly lifted his chin.
“If you have any worries, tell me anything. I’ll suggest solutions like I did today.”
“Yeah, okay.”
Nodding again this time, Bliss still tilted his head but expressed his thanks.
“Thank you, Grayson.”
“It’s nothing.”
Smiling, Grayson took his vanilla ice cream from the employee and added.
“Helping others is always my greatest joy.”
\ \ *
What on earth are they talking about? Watching his two children whispering in front of the ice cream bar, Ashley Miller subtly furrowed his brow. Surely Grayson isn’t spouting nonsense to Bliss. Just as he was feeling uneasy inside, Koi suddenly muttered beside him.
“To think something like that happened when I looked away for a moment.”
Glancing sideways, he continued, staring at the children just like Ashley.
“I didn’t think Bliss would care about such things. I thought he was still too young to understand about traits…”
Everyone in the family except Koi and Bliss had the same trait. Purple eyes were one of the characteristics of a Dominant Alpha; upon manifestation, the original eye color changes to purple. Papa Ashley also had bright blue eyes before manifestation, but now, like his other children, he had deep purple eyes.
Only Koi and Bliss had blue eyes because Koi was a Dominant Omega and Bliss was only six years old and hadn’t manifested yet. If Bliss also manifested as a Dominant Alpha, then Koi would be the only one in the household with different eyes.
That is, if that child manifests as a Dominant Alpha…
Suddenly recalling that fact, Ashley felt complicated. The reality that five out of the six children born between him and Koi were Dominant Alphas was hard to accept. If even the youngest, Bliss, who resembled Koi, manifested as a Dominant Alpha, he would sincerely deny God’s existence.
Not that he believed in one in the first place.
“Hey.”
Koi’s cautious voice brought Ashley back to reality. Silently turning his gaze, Koi continued.
“Should we teach Bliss about traits?”
“No.”
Ashley shook his head without even thinking long.
“He wouldn’t understand properly yet, and no one knows what trait that child will have.”
“That’s true.”
Koi agreed with a reluctant expression. If he learned about traits in detail, he would naturally come to expect something, but if he ended up with a trait different from his family’s, he would be terribly disappointed. So maybe it’s better to leave him be, knowing nothing.
Of course, Ash would never want that outcome.
“Bliss wouldn’t understand. He’s not very smart, you know.”
The voice that suddenly chimed in belonged to Stacy, Grayson’s twin. Seeing the child’s confident face, Koi was taken aback.
“Stacy, saying that to your younger brother… No, never mind.”
He was about to scold the child again but ultimately gave up. He didn’t know how many times this had been repeated today. Feeling exhausted already, Ashley spoke to Koi.
“Then let’s talk about this more later… Shall we head back now? It seems our business here is done.”
As if that was the signal, Nathaniel was the first to turn and walk toward the entrance. Watching his grown son stride away, followed by the other children, Ashley remained standing with Koi, waiting for Grayson and Bliss to return. Let’s think about the rest later. With this, all the day’s tasks are over…
Or so he thought, but an unexpected situation arose. Suddenly, Bliss ran off in one direction, and Grayson returned to them alone. Ashley immediately furrowed his brow and asked.
“What happened? Why did you come back alone without your younger brother?”
At the natural question, Grayson answered nonchalantly.
“He went to the bathroom to pee.”
A sigh escaped Ashley’s lips. Unconsciously pressing a hand to his forehead, he spoke in his usual low voice.