Chapter 240: A Nanny for the Children of Hunters [1]

The following morning, Liam was sitting on the living room sofa, checking a few messages on his phone.

Beside him, Lydia was finishing up preparing the room to welcome the first candidates interested in looking after their children.

The twins had been awake for a while. Lionel was lying on a blanket, playing with a small colorful toy, while Liana was trying to reach another one lying a short distance away.

"How many people are coming today?" Liam asked.

"Three. If any of them seems suitable, we can arrange another interview later."

"I hope at least one of them has enough experience."

"Me too, although I don't think she needs to have that much. The children are still very young."

Liam nodded.

In truth, what worried him most wasn't the candidates' experience, but finding someone responsible whom they could trust. After all, they would be leaving their children in someone else's care during an operation that could last quite a long time.

"By the way, did you tell them we're hunters?" he asked.

"Yes. I don't see any reason to hide it."

"And what did they say?"

"One of them said she had no problem with it. Another seemed quite interested when I mentioned that we were offering a generous salary."

Liam let out a small laugh.

Lydia finished arranging a few toys and sat down beside him.

The first candidate arrived about twenty minutes later.

She was a woman of approximately fifty, with brown hair tied in a bun and a friendly expression. She carried a folder containing her work references and seemed quite accustomed to dealing with families.

"Good morning. I'm Gretchen. Thank you very much for having me."

"Good morning. I'm Liam, and this is my wife, Lydia."

After exchanging greetings, Lydia invited her to sit down.

The woman explained that she had been working as a nanny for over twenty years and had cared for several children from their first few months of life. She also mentioned that she was used to preparing meals, organizing schedules, and taking care of little ones' needs.

Liam was quite impressed.

'She seems like an excellent candidate.'

Gretchen also seemed genuinely fond of babies. When Lydia asked if she would like to meet the twins, she immediately agreed.

"Oh, what little darlings!" she exclaimed when she saw them.

She leaned over the blanket and began speaking to them in a sweet voice.

Lionel responded by waving his arms, while Liana watched the woman curiously.

Everything seemed to be going perfectly.

Until the woman tried to hand Liana a small rattle.

The toy was a little too far away from the girl, so the woman picked it up and slowly brought it closer.

However, before she could hand it over, Liana's arm stretched several inches farther than normal.

The little girl grabbed the rattle without even having to move.

Gretchen froze.

She looked at the baby's arm.

Then she looked at Lydia.

By that point, the arm had already returned to its normal length.

"D-Did I just see that correctly?"

Lydia smiled somewhat awkwardly.

"Ah... yes. Liana has a rather unusual ability."

"An ability?"

"Well, our children have a few special traits."

Gretchen swallowed nervously.

Liam, who had witnessed the entire scene, tried to remain calm, despite not having expected anything like that to happen.

"We're hunters, so I suppose some things can be inherited."

The woman slowly nodded, although her expression had changed considerably.

"I see..."

She didn't seem convinced.

After a few more minutes of conversation, Gretchen began gathering her belongings.

"I'm very sorry, but I don't think I'm the right person for this job."

Lydia tried to ask if something was wrong, but the woman was already looking for an excuse to leave.

"It's just a rather... different situation from what I expected. Thank you for the opportunity."

Finally, she said her goodbyes and left the apartment.

Liam stared at the door for a few seconds.

"Well... that didn't go as expected."

Lydia covered her mouth with one hand to suppress a smile.

"At least she was polite."

"I suppose so."

◇◆◇

Liam continued staring at the closed door for a few seconds before turning toward his wife.

"Wait a minute..."

"What is it?" Lydia asked.

"Don't you think you're being a little too calm?"

Lydia tilted her head slightly.

"What do you mean?"

"What do you mean, what do I mean?! Liana just stretched her arm like it was made of rubber, and you barely even reacted!"

Lydia glanced at her daughter, who was still lying on the blanket, happily shaking the rattle she'd managed to reach.

"Oh, that..."

"What do you mean, 'that'? Since when can she do something like that?"

Liam looked at the little girl again. Liana seemed completely oblivious to her parents' conversation. She was focused on her toy, moving it from side to side while making little happy sounds.

"Had you already seen her do that?" he pressed.

Lydia placed a finger against her lips and briefly glanced at the clock.

"I think we can talk about that later."

"Later?"

"Yes. The next candidate should be arriving soon, and we still need to welcome her."

Liam opened his mouth to respond, but eventually closed it.

It wasn't that he didn't want an explanation. In fact, he had even more questions now than before. However, Lydia seemed quite determined to postpone that conversation.

"Fine, but don't forget to explain it to me."

"I won't."

Liam turned his attention back to his daughter.

Liana continued playing peacefully, holding the rattle between her little hands. It was hard to imagine that just a few moments earlier, she had stretched one of her arms to reach an object that had been well beyond her grasp.

'Since when can she do that...? And why have I never noticed?'

He moved a little closer and sat down beside the blanket, watching her more carefully.

Then another thought crossed his mind.

'Wait... If Liana has an ability like that, what about Lionel?'

Liam slowly turned his head toward his son.

The little boy was busy playing with another toy, shaking it while lying on his back.

For a moment, Liam watched him with a hint of suspicion.

'What kind of ability could he have?'

He didn't reach any conclusions before Lydia called him from the sofa.

"Liam, could you help me prepare a few things before the next candidate arrives?"

"Sure, coming."

He stood up, although he couldn't help taking one last look at his children.

Something told him there were still plenty of surprises waiting for him.