Ch.137Final Battle (6)

“Father” was quite an awkward word for Evan.

Even when he was a pianist, and during his childhood, the existence of a father had always felt extremely uncomfortable.

The memories that immediately came to mind upon hearing that word were swinging a sword until his hands were raw and bleeding, and having to prepare for competitions without sleep for three days straight.

Perhaps that’s why Evan’s eyes showed not the slightest hint of joy when he saw his father after nearly 30 years. He had merely responded to the request to meet; naturally, he didn’t have many feelings left for someone who was supposed to be his father.

However, he couldn’t deny that his emotions stirred when he saw those eyes that were like looking into a mirror.

Still, whether it was because this man was his father, or because he felt inexplicably drawn by the bond of blood that seemed to bind him to this place, Evan finally sighed and plopped down on the sofa across from him.

“…So, why did you call me here?”

“Does a father need a reason to call for his child?”

“Do you really think you qualify as a father?”

“Of course not.”

Evan mulled over the name of his father, Arthur Fried, as he ran his hands over his face. Unlike before, both the way he spoke and the way he looked at Evan had changed.

His eyes, once tinged with purple, had long since returned to green. Evan recalled a letter he had read before, understanding what this meant.

Surely he wasn’t the only one who had read that letter containing the dragon’s words. All members of the Fried family possessed dragon blood, though perhaps not as much as himself.

“Has the… brainwashing been lifted?”

Arthur quietly nodded at the question. The voice that used to whisper in his head was no longer there. The terrible thought of plunging a sword into his own child no longer came to him.

But that didn’t mean his future would change. What he had done while under the Extinction’s control couldn’t be undone. Like Evan, he had been brainwashed at the age of 15, and after having Evan, he had continued living under the Extinction’s control until now.

Even if it wasn’t done of his own will, how could he simply shed this karma?

“My mind is finally clear now.”

“……”

“I’ve never had a conversation like this with you before. Fortunately… you don’t seem to take after me much.”

“I won’t live like you did.”

Arthur gave a bitter smile at the frosty tone that held not a trace of affection. Perhaps it was only natural—what he had done to his son when Evan was young were things no father should ever do.

Despite having been hurt by his own father, he ended up brainwashed and repeating the same cycle with his son.

It was unforgivable. That was reality, and Arthur wiped his mouth, tasting something metallic, before speaking again.

“…I heard you found someone. I have no right to call her my daughter-in-law, but congratulations nonetheless.”

“Well… thanks.”

In the overwhelmingly awkward atmosphere, all Evan could do was scratch his head. If his father had berated or criticized himself, that would have been one thing. But with him being so humble, Evan didn’t know how to respond.

He hadn’t planned to curse at him anyway, but the hatred still lingering in a corner of his heart prevented him from treating his father with any warmth.

After a moment of silence, with neither able to meet the other’s eyes, it was Evan who finally spoke.

“I’m getting married.”

“…Marriage. Yes, I suppose you’re that age now.”

“I’ll get married… have children too. That’s how I’ll live. My surname will probably change. I won’t be Evan Fried anymore, but Evan Yuris.”

“I see.”

“I don’t plan to expect much from my children like you did with me. I’ll just… let them do what they want. Let them eat what they want, play when they want to play. Just let them live as they please. That’s… what a father should be.”

“Indeed.”

Seeing Arthur nodding and smiling calmly at each of his words, Evan felt a surge of emotion rising within him. Why wasn’t he getting angry? Here was his son openly speaking to his father this way, denying his birthplace and insulting him.

Yet he just smiled vacantly, which only made Evan angrier.

Perhaps he was simply angry now about his childhood memories. It was a childish emotion, but driven by these unexpected feelings, Evan spoke harshly.

“…Aren’t you angry? I’m saying I don’t want to live like you, that I won’t become someone like you. When I change my surname to Yuris, there will be no more Frieds. Since you collaborated with the Extinction, you’ll all probably die. You know that, don’t you?”

“Why would I be angry? It’s exactly what I used to think myself.”

Arthur smiled faintly, then took a sip of cold water from the glass on the table. Evan wondered when that water had appeared, but Arthur looked straight at him after swallowing.

“I failed. Unlike you, I couldn’t overcome the brainwashing and lived only as Mabet’s puppet. That story had been repeating for 200 years. At least… I’m glad it ended with you.”

“By failure, you mean… you too?”

“Yes, I also received a letter like you did. While yours had my name written on it, mine had your grandfather’s name. The moment I opened it, everything I had resolved crumbled in an instant.”

His determination not to become like his father, his commitment to devote himself to the Empire, his feelings for the woman he first fell in love with in the village—all of it disappeared in an instant, and from that day on, he could only live as Mabet’s puppet.

The memory remained vivid in his mind as Arthur quietly gazed into empty space.

…The day he received the letter was a night with stars shining just like this.

After briefly indulging in nostalgia, Arthur noticed Evan staring at him and continued speaking.

“It’s shameless to say this now, but I wanted to be a good father. Like you said, I wanted to go horseback riding with my son, teach him swordsmanship personally, and help him develop his skills. Though I don’t know what makes a good father… I used to dream of such things when I was young.”

It was a dream he could never fulfill or even think about again. Evan’s gaze turned to Arthur. The look in his eyes as he said he wanted to be a good father didn’t seem to be lying.

Did he really think that way? But… even if he did, nothing would change. The wounds inflicted in childhood wouldn’t fade with just a few words.

It had all become a thing of the past.

They both knew that hating and tearing each other down now would bring neither benefit nor harm. It would only make them look like they were whining like children, clinging to the past.

Evan remained silent. He simply stared at Arthur’s face, which he felt he might never see again.

His wrinkled face looked much older than Evan remembered. In his youth, Arthur had been the most terrifying existence to Evan. There was a time when he was more frightened by his father’s appearance than by ghosts.

It was surprising how none of that mattered anymore. Arthur looked pitiful now. His slumped shoulders and deeply etched wrinkles. A man who could never rise again looked more wretched than any other being.

“Don’t live like me. That’s… my last wish for you.”

“……”

“You know better than anyone what will happen to me now. Go ahead and take me in. I’ve said everything I wanted to say.”

Evan quietly gazed at Arthur as he extended his thin wrist. If he took that wrist and brought him to where the Imperial Army was stationed, Arthur would soon be dead.

He would likely be placed on the guillotine, his head severed just as Airin had died. Did he understand the meaning of arresting his own father with his own hands?

Having lived two lives, the concept of a father had long since become quite vague to Evan. Two fathers—though the two weren’t very different, the hatred he felt was split in half.

Evan didn’t take Arthur’s wrist. Instead, he brought up a different topic.

“A child will be born soon. Twins will likely be born by the end of summer. One girl, one boy.”

“……”

“The girl is Robelia, and the boy… Airin doesn’t know yet, but I think she’ll name him Arthur. When they’re born, I won’t treat them like you treated your child. So… we’ll live happily.”

Ignoring the gaze fixed on him, Evan continued.

“I won’t wake them at dawn to hold a sword, I won’t make them swing a sword until their palms are torn and bleeding, and I won’t make them hold heavy rocks until their shoulders dislocate. Every morning, I’ll prepare meals with expensive ingredients, and I’ll bring in tutors to teach the children.”

“…I see.”

“Sometimes I’ll sleep in with the kids, and I’ll sneak them out to play behind the tutor’s back. Airin will catch us and scold us. When they don’t listen, I’ll have to discipline them, but I won’t be too harsh. I’ll play the piano for them, and I’ll perform duets with Airin. And… that’s how…”

Evan, about to blurt out the words that had risen to his throat, bowed his head deeply.

His throat stung. He hadn’t intended this, but he couldn’t believe that all his past experiences would end so futilely.

He had thought about what he would say if he ever met his father again, but face to face, he couldn’t say any of it. Evan opened his mouth slightly and whispered quietly.

“…I’ll live happily.”

“I’m glad.”

Arthur smiled gently. He didn’t ask why the son’s name was Arthur, nor why Evan was telling him all this. He simply listened to the story, nodding his head, thinking how fortunate Evan’s words were.

“You were so small when you were young.”

Recalling the young Evan from his brainwashed days, Arthur’s lips moved. Though these might be memories Evan didn’t want to hear, for Arthur, they were painful yet precious memories.

Memories he would never see again, and could never reminisce about. Arthur quietly smiled as he remembered his son struggling to pick up a sword because he was so small.

“You’ve grown up well.”

Evan’s gaze no longer turned to Arthur.

Rising from the sofa, Evan turned his back to Arthur and spoke while looking at the empty space.

“I’ll be going now. Staying here too long might arouse suspicion.”

“You’re not taking me with you?”

“…I’ll be going now.”

Evan didn’t look back. The cold wind touched his cheeks.

It should have been a dry wind, but the moisture-laden breeze made Evan’s eyes damp.

Perhaps only he could feel this moisture. It was a needless emotion.

A feeling that now had no meaning, one that no one would understand if they saw it.

The conversation with someone he had never considered a father throughout his life had stirred something in Evan. He bowed his head. The snow falling from the sky briefly touched his neck, spreading a chill, as Evan started walking again, snow slowly accumulating on his shoulders.

Memories gradually fading, yet the affection he had never felt in those memories—it was too awkward an emotion to accept.

“Don’t die.”

Though he wasn’t sure if his voice would reach, Evan muttered once before walking forward again. He had committed too many sins to die; he deserved to suffer from that guilt for the rest of his life.

Dying at the hands of the Imperial Army would be too easy a death.

Love and hate—Evan walked in silence. Snow crunched underfoot, fallen leaves crumbled, and he continued walking for a long time.

Passing through the desolate trees, Evan stopped as he was leaving the clearing where he had met his father.

*Thud*

What was this sound, faintly heard through the wind?

Though he seemed to know, Evan decided not to think about it anymore.

There was nothing good in thinking further. A wind colder than before touched his cheek. Lonely and desolate.

It was a season where even the falling leaves seemed sad.

After staring at the collapsed castle of Terazein for a long time, Evan finally turned his back and moved forward.

The white snow was slowly covering the castle. When would this snow melt completely?

It was only the first day of January, so it would probably take quite some time.

Among the snow that looked like falling stars, when he turned his face to the sky, what entered his vision was starlight so bright it hurt his eyes.

Despite the season, it sparkled like spring or summer.

But the chill felt in one corner of his heart was probably the truth.

It was winter.

Cold and chilly. And therefore unforgettable.

That kind of season.