episode_0424

“Hmm….”

I’ve always relied on Erin Tina for this kind of work, but this time, I decided to investigate it myself.

Just because I don’t do it doesn’t mean I can’t do a background check on someone.

Plus, I had the deceptive means of spirits at my disposal.

Spirits are usually invisible to the human eye, making it very convenient to follow and investigate.

Of course, a skilled Awakener might have a chance of sensing the presence of a spirit.

But what are the odds that such a skilled Awakener would be Frank’s biological father?

“If he was that capable, he could have protected Negi. Instead of abandoning her as soon as she got pregnant.”

He’s a cowardly man who deceived and abandoned someone he loved for his own safety.

It would have been cleaner to plan revenge thoroughly if he had been completely ruthless, but he acted ambiguously.

He showed a cruel side that led to Negi and Frank’s separation, but also showed a protective side to ensure Negi didn’t suffer any harm in prison, and even prevented Frank from sending Negi away until she turned 20.

“If you’re going to take care of someone, do it properly. If not, then don’t bother.”

I didn’t know what kind of person Frank’s father was, but I had a feeling he was cowardly and indecisive.

Since Frank finally asked for my help, I wanted to do my best on this task.

Actually…

“I didn’t like that guy either.”

At least, I thought he should suffer just as much as Negi and Frank did.

It was his own fault, so I hoped he would take responsibility for it.

Since I found out the name of Negi’s biological father, it was easy to track his whereabouts and activities.

And sadly, contrary to my wish for him to suffer, he was living quite well.

At least on the surface.

***

“I’ve been bragging about my son so much lately that my mouth hurts. Hahaha!”

“There are many classmates more talented than me, so I’m embarrassed, Father.”

It was a happy day.

It was a celebration of my son’s safe return, so there was no reason not to be happy.

I was grateful for his safe return, but I was also proud that he had excelled.

“Still, I’m glad you seem to know what’s lacking in you. If you were a year younger, you would have received much more attention than now.”

Praising his son’s noble words, the wife sighed and clicked her tongue.

“Why do you have to say such ugly things?”

Frowning at his wife’s discouraging and mean words, he knew they were not criticizing his son but themselves.

Of course, the son, who didn’t know the circumstances, looked sullen at his wife’s words.

Glancing at his wife’s actions, he criticized her silently and patted his son’s shoulder, saying, “Don’t be discouraged! You won’t be at the academy forever, and once you enlist, you can show off your skills to your heart’s content. You’ll be the best there. Plus, you went against everyone’s opposition and joined the punitive force, and you came back splendidly. Everyone will respect and admire you!”

“…Actually, I feel like I didn’t really shine in the punitive force, but rather got overshadowed by what the others did.”

“Oh! Don’t say such nonsense. You showed more than enough courage!”

Despite his talent, his son had not received proper recognition because he had been overshadowed by the actions of others.

But this summer vacation, he boldly declared that he would follow the Hwangtae Princess to the punitive force.

The household was in an uproar at the time, worrying about his son’s decision.

But look at him now.

Didn’t he come back from the punitive force with great achievements?

If his grades weren’t good to begin with, he wouldn’t have been selected for the punitive force.

“Thanks to your participation in the punitive force, we now have a princess and a leader. It’s a big deal. You have brought honor to our family. How could you, at such a young age, make such a brave choice! Admirable and impressive! You deserve praise!”

“Who said I’m not? I’m just disappointed, that’s all.”

“Tsk! If the child is admirable, speak more politely. Your tone is why the child can’t show off!”

His wife acted as she pleased, not knowing how to adapt to the atmosphere around her, being sharp and domineering.

Being so stingy even with his own child, was he preventing the child from blossoming into a man?

Every time he saw his son timidly hunch his shoulders, it broke his heart.

Still, seeing the smile return to his son’s face after praising him made him feel fulfilled.

“I was able to be brave because I trusted the princess. I believed that what she did could not fail. It’s not that I’m great, I just believed in the greatness of the princess.”

“It wasn’t the princess back then, it’s your ability to judge people well. That’s quite a remarkable ability!”

“Even though we were in the same class, I was disappointed that I didn’t have a chance to interact with the princess, but now that’s been resolved in one go.”

His wife couldn’t deny that her son had done something impressive, so she ended up praising him in the end.

Which parent wouldn’t be happy to see their hard-raised child do something so impressive?

Even though he didn’t say it outright, his wife seemed pleased as well.

He had grown up like a filial son from a young age, without sullying his parents’ reputation, and even now, he didn’t disappoint them.

Raising a child well gives an indescribable sense of accomplishment.

“You make me so proud.”

“Thank you, father, mother. I will work even harder to bring honor to our family.”

“Of course, of course. Haha!”

His son’s academy enrollment, which had been highly anticipated.

At first, it was disappointing.

There were many classmates who were more impressive than his son, so he didn’t receive much attention.

He couldn’t help but feel dissatisfied because he didn’t think his son deserved only this level of treatment.

“So I pushed my son so harshly to work harder.”

But as time passed, his son’s skills began to surpass those of his classmates.

He couldn’t catch up with them.

It was agonizing and painful.

Why was his son being subjected to such trials!

He seemed to have drunk quite a bit, resenting the indifferent sky.

But one day, after seeing his son shed tears over his poor grades, he decided to change his thinking.

“I can’t just focus on my own desires without realizing that the child I once knew is falling apart. How jealousy can consume a person.”

He glanced at his wife briefly before quickly looking away.

It wasn’t that his son was inferior, but rather that his classmates were exceptionally talented.

“If he had been just a year younger, he would have always been at the top of the class.”

“Even though he may not be noticed within the academy now, once he joins the military and stands out among those exceptional classmates, his skills will be recognized.”

A contented smile involuntarily appeared.

“I’ll take my leave now. Father, mother.”

“The headmaster is being too much. It’s a time when we should be accommodating to the hero who will return after his hard work.”

“You are already accommodating enough.”

He bid farewell to his son as he left for the academy.

The house, which had been bustling, fell silent in an instant when his son disappeared.

“Cough.”

“….”

His wife ate in silence with a cold expression, and it continued until the end.

When their son was present, she at least smiled, but when they were alone, they didn’t even look at each other.

“Ugh!”

If she was so cold, he had no choice but to find a lover.

She couldn’t understand her wife, who criticized her for trying to find a lover without considering her actions.

The thought that jealousy was a dangerous emotion came to her mind as she looked at her wife.

Her wife wasn’t always like this.

“Why does that memory suddenly come to mind?”

It had been a long time.

Back then, she knew she was in the wrong.

She made her lover’s belly grow before her wife could even have her first child.

The smart lover ran away as soon as she found out she was pregnant, and her wife, who found out the truth late, scolded her and went to bed.

“I had to be locked in the room until I got pregnant.”

It was difficult and painful at the time, but it was not in vain as the son born from her wife made her happy.

However, her wife was not satisfied with just giving birth to a child and continued to hire people to find her missing former lover.

For years on end!

“Anyway, it’s ridiculous. I can’t officially acknowledge it, but it’s definitely my bloodline.”

So, secretly, she also hired someone.

She told the people her wife hired to add money and inform her first. Thanks to that, she was able to find her former lover before her wife could get her hands on her.

She also found out that the child she gave birth to was being kept locked up and raised from birth.

“It was a shame that she was from a healing lineage. If it weren’t for my wife, I would have brought her into the family and used her.”

But she couldn’t bring herself to do it because of her wife.

If she had shown herself to her wife, she would have been killed before she could grow up.

So, she had to use her hands to protect the two of them.

“I guess that child would have enlisted by now.”

She sent the child to an orphanage and imprisoned her former lover, keeping her in a place where her wife couldn’t reach her.

And she told her wife that she died while giving birth to the child.

On top of that, she was caught making a new lover at the time, so she no longer cared about her dead former lover.

“Since Mom was very beautiful, that child must have grown up beautifully too.”

Since she awakened as a healer, there shouldn’t have been any problems with her living.

So, she hadn’t paid any attention to her since the day she used her hands.

Whether it was because her son was about to enlist or because she was getting older.

Suddenly, she felt a regret that she wished the child knew how good of a person she was.

“I am a really good father. That child should know that.”

Nobles naturally like to show off.

But she didn’t think about looking for the child because of the sharp gaze of her aging wife.

She knew it was for the child’s sake.

“This is parental love.”

She slowed down her eating pace.

Eating with her suffocating and annoying wife was not going to digest well.

“Where are you going without finishing your meal?”

Her wife, who hadn’t said a word throughout the meal, opened her mouth for the first time as she watched her get up quietly from her seat.