2. Cedric's girlfriends

After facing the reality of becoming a father and discovering the magical note that announced this new stage in his life, Cedric was forced to find a balance in his life.

Instead of spending the rest of his time alone reflecting on his situation, Cedric decided to return to the tavern where he had spent much of the previous night. There, he met with his friends and tried to share with them what he had discovered upon waking up: a basket with a three-month-old baby, whose origin and meaning were mysterious.

Cedric's friends, understanding the unusual situation he now found himself in, began to mock him. However, when he attempted to feed the baby without much success, his actions were exposed in front of his companion Theron, who taunted him.

"Finally facing consequences. Now you have to take care of someone other than yourself," mocked Theron.

"I'll find the mother and return Lysander," Cedric said without showing much enthusiasm for taking responsibility.

Amid Theron's pressure and limited understanding of how to care for such an unusual being, Cedric couldn't hide his hopelessness that this situation wouldn't last long. But as his thoughts oscillated between the fear of failure and uncertainty about why and how he ended up with the baby at home, Freya entered.

Freya looked at Cedric with hatred and repulsion as she saw him holding the little baby. Then, without further words, she approached the child, taking him in her own hands to demonstrate how to feed and care for him effectively. At that moment, the baby smiled again, as if recognizing Freya as a loving and secure figure.

As Freya brought the baby a little milk to his lips to feed him, she stopped and looked at Cedric with a friendly smile mixed with a hint of reproach. With a voice full of admonishment, Freya said:

"I see you have some common sense about feeding a baby, my foolish friend. You can't abandon your responsibility so easily and think of finding his mother."

While Freya spoke, Cedric felt whipped by his lack of attention to Freya. She continued talking, not missing a chance to insult him with every word. His gaze reflected confusion and sorrow for having overlooked his duty as a father. However, when he saw how Freya took on the task of feeding the baby calmly and effectively:

"Thanks for your help, Freya," Cedric said, appreciating how she fed his son without any apparent problem. "I knew I had to do it right, but in my desperate defense, I forgot how to feed a child."

Once Freya had finished feeding the magical baby and returned him to his arms, Cedric told her with an effort to maintain his optimism:

"Don't worry, Freya. All this will normalize again; I'll return the baby to his mother, and you won't have to worry about him."

Freya made a disdainful face.

"You're an idiot; he could be anyone's child. I don't think you keep a list of all your adventures."

"Maybe you have a point, Freya, but I do remember each of the girls. For the age of Lysander, the list is narrowed down to ten girls."

Immediately, everyone's eyes turned to Cedric and other friends who had been listening silently. Some remained silent, while others couldn't help but smile at the conversation and the reduced number of candidates.

As the conversation between Cedric and his friends continued, they heard the noise of someone entering the room. They looked up to see Evangeline, who walked in with visible fatigue on her face. Her abrupt entrance caught everyone's attention, and she found a place to sit with her friends.

"We've been working too long trying to control the problems caused by dark wizards, and I feel exhausted to the bone," she said, leaning forward and asking someone to bring her a cold beer. "I haven't had a moment to relax and forget my troubles for a long time, so I hurry to take advantage of this opportunity while I can. Cedric, sorry, but I don't have time to hear about your adventures."

"It must be tough; there have been too many attacks by dark wizards in the area. Controlling the whole city must be chaos."

"These days have been the worst," Evangeline pointed out. "They gather like bees, organizing, attacking carriages and homes from a distance. They never leave witnesses, although strange things always happen. My superiors theorize that they are looking for something in the area, something so powerful and devastating that we have to stop them. But we can't even capture one alive; they all prefer to die before revealing anything."

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