After spending almost an entire day in the Dream Space training nonstop, Aziz felt it was time to take a break.
"System, that's enough for now. Take me out of the Dream Space. I want to rest now."
[Actually, you spent almost a full day training. A mental break would be great indeed. Rest well.]
[Ding! Exiting the Dream Space.]
As soon as he heard the system's confirmation, Aziz noticed his vision blur and his consciousness slightly confused, as if his body was readjusting to the real world.
After his well-deserved rest, he woke up — but something was strange. The softness and warmth that always surrounded him when he lay down… was no longer there.
He got up abruptly and noticed he was alone in bed. That was the first time, since he had reincarnated in this world, that he woke up without Astrid and Isis by his side.
A feeling of loss and loneliness slowly began to settle in his heart.
"System, what happened? Where are my mother and Isis?" — he asked, worried.
[Relax, no need to worry. You were the one who slept much longer than usual. Your mother and Isis left the room a little while ago. They just left you sleeping, not wanting to bother you.]
[Oh, and just so you know, you only woke up later because of the time difference between the Dream Space and reality. But don't worry, this will only happen this once. Your consciousness wasn't used to it yet.]
Before Aziz could reply to the system saying he understood, he heard the door opening — and saw his mother and Isis entering.
"My dear, you finally woke—"
The rest of the phrase got stuck in Astrid's throat when she saw Aziz's expression: hurt, a little lost… desolate.
As a mother, she immediately understood what had happened. In the blink of an eye, she teleported — and the next moment she was already hugging him tightly, burying his face between her own breasts.
"I'm sorry, dear… I… I didn't want you to feel alone."
Hearing the tremulous tone in his mother's voice and seeing the remorse in her gestures, Aziz felt guilty for having worried her.
Lifting his face from between her soft breasts, he met those beautiful sky-blue eyes full of guilt and affection.
"Haa… no need to worry, Mom. I just… felt strange. Not having you two by my side in bed like every night and morning… it wasn't a big deal," he explained, lying a little. After all, the feeling of loss he'd felt… was not small.
As powerful and perceptive women as they were, Astrid and Isis immediately realized Aziz was lying. But they also knew he only said that not to worry them, even if deep down, it was important to him.
Isis ran to him and hugged him from behind, forming a "sandwich" with Aziz as the filling.
"From today on, no matter the reason: we won't leave you alone in bed again, my young master. We promise. Right, my lady?"
Hearing the declaration from her longtime friend, Astrid nodded quickly, looking like a chicken pecking corn.
"Yes, you're right, Isis. From today on, we'll only get up after my baby is already awake."
Hearing what they said, Aziz felt reckless for not having hidden his feelings better. Still, his heart warmed with the love and care of those two.
Once again, he reaffirmed to himself that he needed to become strong. Strong enough to protect that love — from anything in this world.
"I love you both more than anything," he whispered, his face turning as red as a tomato. That was the first time he said it out loud, even though he'd loved them for a long time.
Hearing that, Astrid and Isis were genuinely shocked.
In the nine years since Aziz's birth, he had never verbalized that he loved them — even though in his eyes there was always genuine love when looking at them. But even with everything they already knew, hearing it from his mouth was… different. It was special.
The long-nurtured desire was fulfilled. The two beautiful women couldn't — nor tried to — hold back their radiant, happy smiles.
"I love you much more, my love," said Astrid, covering Aziz's face with wet kisses.
"I love you too, my dear young master," said Isis, kissing and sniffing him from behind.
No one knows how long they stayed like that — sharing affection and love among themselves.
But what Aziz didn't know… was that this scene **did not go unnoticed by the little fox**, who had not left the room the whole time.
"Humph… so that's what you were doing?" Sofia grumbled quietly, stepping away from the open bedroom door.
To tell the truth, she didn't even know why she felt upset seeing her only friend being hugged by family.
"I'm going to ask Mom what this strange feeling in my chest is…"
---
Some time after the trio finished their moment of affection, they finally left the room and headed to the dining room.
"I'm sorry for the delay, Stella," said Astrid apologetically, seeing Lady Stella still sitting at the table, waiting for them for breakfast.
"Actually, it was me who overslept today. Sorry about that," added Aziz.
Hearing the apologies from mother and son before her, Lady Stella just smiled and waved her hand, unconcerned.
"No need to worry about something so trivial. Now sit down, let's eat."
With that, everyone settled into their proper places, and Aziz sat next to Sofia.
He found it a little strange she didn't talk to him. She only gave him a glance and quickly turned her face away. But he didn't pay much attention — after all, they were still friends… right?
What he didn't know was that, just before entering the dining room, his good and only friend had had a little conversation with his mother about the strange feelings she was having.
"Hmm… maybe it's jealousy, my daughter. It's normal to feel that. After all, he's your only friend."
Hearing that from her mother, Sofia initially thought it wasn't true. But when she saw the trio entering, her eyes were naturally drawn to Aziz. And at that moment, she knew her mother was right. She really was jealous — jealous of seeing other people so close to her friend.
But now she was confused again. From the moment he entered the room, her little fox heart was beating faster. And now… she couldn't even look him in the eyes.
'What is happening to me? Didn't Mom say this could happen…?' — she thought, dazed.
What she didn't know… was that her cheeks were visibly reddening.
Seeing Sofia seemed frozen and hadn't even touched the food on her plate, Aziz thought she was mad because he'd taken so long.
'What do I do to make it up to her?'
While his mind worked, seeking a way to make her smile again, a simple and effective idea came up.
"Sofia… here, say 'aaah'," he said, grabbing one of the sweets he knew she liked. He put a piece on the spoon and brought it near her face, which was still turned to the other side.
Coming out of her thoughts and realizing Aziz was talking to her, Sofia slightly turned her face — only to find a spoon right in front of her, with one of her favorite sweets.
"Come on… are you just going to stare at the spoon? Open your mouth and say 'aaah'."
Lifting her eyes a little from the spoon, she looked directly at Aziz — and saw herself reflected in his eyes, her cheeks flushed.
She looked down again, wanting to get it over with. Then she opened her little mouth and ate the sweet he offered.
While chewing, she thought:
'Being fed sweets by him… actually isn't so bad.'
Aziz noticed she was blushing but thought it was from embarrassment at being fed. He thought she was shy.
However, he was completely mistaken.
But that… is a story for another time.
At that moment, only the three women at the table, watching the scene, truly knew what was unfolding in the little fox's heart.