“Don’t move around, okay? This Measuring Ruler is very sharp.”
Sephine was currently measuring the heights of her two daughters.
She had noticed that she was only a little more than a head taller than these two newborns.
‘Most importantly, why do newborns already have clothes on? This is too weird. Could these be some random kids who ran out from somewhere to pretend to be mine? I don’t think I could have given birth to children this size.’
However, Sephine had used magic for a Paternity Test, and these two really were her children.
It was strange—did all children in this world come out like this?
Sephine hadn’t seen any other babies born, so she had many doubts.
‘Are the Demon King’s children really this overpowered? They can walk and jump around right after being born.’
But Sephine hadn’t even thought of names for the children yet, so how was she supposed to take care of them?
Sending them to the Demon King… no.
“I don’t want my children becoming psychos.”
But Sephine could barely support herself now, so how would she raise the two of them?
Oh, right! She had accepted a private commission before: teaching at the Academy!
“Wait, it seemed the Academy was gone, so what was there to teach? Oh, dammit.”
“Mother! Hungry!”
“Hungry… but I don’t have any milk.”
Sephine looked at her flat chest; it was hard to say she could feed them.
This was truly bad.
In the Royal Capital, the most expensive things besides luxury goods were baby formula.
“I still have some cow’s milk. Do you want to drink that?”
The two little ones shook their heads and pointed at Sephine.
“We’ll be full as long as we stay by Mother’s side.”
“Huh? Oh, you grow by absorbing Magic Power.”
Only then did Sephine remember the Demon King telling her that these two children absorbed Magic Power.
They would likely need to continue doing so during their childhood.
“Then come over here.”
Sephine’s Magic Power was quite high, but she didn’t know if it would be enough for two children.
Sephine picked up one child and placed her on her left, then picked up the other and placed her on her right.
The three of them sat on the sofa together by the fireplace, which was very warm.
The two little ones had traits of the Demon Race.
They were very sensitive to the cold, so Sephine chose to keep the fireplace burning to keep the house warm.
“Mother, where’s Father?”
“Father is very busy; he won’t come to check on us.”
“Oh.”
The two children held Sephine’s arms tightly.
The little ones were a bit warmer than Sephine expected.
They were only wearing thin white dresses.
Sephine didn’t have any clothes in the house that fit them; to be more precise, she barely had any women’s clothing at all.
She could only cover the three of them with a single blanket.
The fact that the two children could speak as soon as they were born was the easiest thing to accept.
This was a fantasy world where anything was possible; Sephine just hadn’t figured out the reason yet.
To distinguish between the two little ones, Sephine planned to give them names.
Generally, this was decided by both parents, but since Sephine was now a single mother, doing it alone was enough.
“From now on, you’ll be Karin Kulin.”
“And you’ll be Fara Kulin.”
Although the two children looked almost identical, their most defining feature was their hair color. One was black, and the other was white.
The black-haired one was Karin, and the white-haired one was Fara.
“The names Mother chose are so pretty!”
“Mother, can you hold me tight…?”
Young children were so energetic—much more so than an “elderly” 22-year-old grandmother like Sephine.
Years of overwork had long since drained Sephine of the vitality typical of her age.
Now that she was out of a job, she could finally rest for a while.
She also didn’t have to face that arrogant Demon King every day.
“I’m full!”
“I’m full too!”
The two sisters shouted in unison.
They seemed to have a psychic connection, showing incredible chemistry.
They were full, but Sephine was completely drained.
She slumped on the sofa, not wanting to move at all.
“Go play now that you’re full. Remember to be careful and don’t fall.”
This was one of the benefits of the children growing up fast—they were considerate and not annoying.
They played by themselves once full and slept when tired without making a fuss.
“Yay!”
The two of them climbed the stairs and ran to the second floor to play.
Sephine used to like collecting small toys, which were now perfect for the children.
It was a good way to put them to use.
“The firewood is almost gone; I should go buy some. We’re out of ingredients, too.”
Sephine shouted toward the second floor, “Don’t run around! Mother is going out for a bit.”
“Okay. Be safe, Mother!”
The children were almost unnervingly considerate, making Sephine wonder if their souls had also come from another world like hers.
However, she hadn’t found any evidence yet, so she could only treat it as a guess.
It was always a good thing for children to be obedient.
Sephine changed her clothes, grabbed a few silver coins, and left.
As Sephine closed the door, Karin poked her head out to look.
“Mother’s gone… come here, quick!”
“She’s finally gone. Acting like a little brat is so exhausting!”
“I didn’t expect our mother to be such a shorty.”
“You’re not allowed to talk about Mother like that! Aren’t you a shorty, too?”
“Dummy! We’re going to grow taller!”
Karin gave Fara a light smack on the head.
It stung a little, but a child’s strength wasn’t much, so Fara just rubbed it gently.
“How much do you remember?”
Karin asked.
Fara shook her head, indicating she knew nothing right now.
“This is terrible… we actually underwent Reincarnation into the Mortal Realm! And it doesn’t even seem like a wealthy family.”
Karin touched the wooden wall where the paint was peeling, looking miserable.
“Oh, come on, just be satisfied. Some gods have to start their mortal experience as pigs.”
“Hmph, why don’t you compare us to the better ones?”
“Hehe. If you ask me, we should enjoy this life. Having a mother feels pretty good.”
Fara really liked Sephine as a mother and wanted to stay with her every day.
“Pah! Don’t forget why we came to the Mortal Realm in the first place!”
“What else would it be for? To eventually go back to being Gods.”
“Exactly, so the more resources we have, the better! That’s the only way to achieve our goal faster.”
“If you ask me, maybe our father is an emperor. Look how beautiful Mother is—who else but an emperor could marry her?”
“An emperor would let his wife live in a place like this? If so, there’s clearly something wrong with that emperor’s head!”
*Knock, knock, knock —*
Karin saw that Sephine had taken the keys when she left.
“Who could this be?”
“Karin, should we open the door?”
“Don’t rush. Haven’t you heard of Little Red Riding Hood? We need to wait.”
The person outside seemed to be in a hurry; the knocking grew more frantic.
“Um… Lady Sephine, are you there?”