208 Boy Talk (1/2)
”It's probably Lady Nystrom,” Brother Mikhail said with a smile. ”She's finally back.”
”But why did we leave without leaving a secret message for her?”
”We can't be too careless, Flint,” he said while shaking his head. ”Lady Nystrom wasn't trying to hide. That means she knows that His Majesty is still keeping an eye on her. But there's a reason why she's doing that.”
His brows furrowed in confusion. ”What's her other reason then?”
”This is just my hunch but I believe that Lady Nystrom is openly using herself as bait,” the captain explained. ”She's blinding the enemies with her brightness so that we can safely do our jobs in her shadow.”
He didn���t really get it but it sounded like what his Big Sister Tilly would do.
She's still the selfless big sister that I know.
”I guess this isn't the time to reunite with her yet,” he said in a sad voice.
”We can do that later, Flint,” Brother Mikhail said, then he gently patted his back in an attempt to comfort him. ”For now, we have to head back to the North and report to the Golden Tiger.”
Flint smirked when he thought of something as a little payback for the Golden Tiger's years of ”bullying” them through his harsh training. ”I wonder if Lord Ainsworth would cry when I tell him that Big Sister Tilly is back.”
***
RED HAIR, deep purple eyes, pale skin.
Winter almost didn't recognize Julian. But thanks to the light of his flaming dagger, he managed to successfully make out his features. And he also noticed something.
He's taller than me!
Well, Julian was almost two years older than him but still, it was annoying because he couldn't wait to be taller than his current height.
”Oh, it's you,” Winter said. He only pulled back his dagger when Julian did first. Brother or not, he wouldn't let his guard down when it comes to fighting. ”How are you, Brother Julian?”
His brother looked shocked by what he called him.
Which reminds me…
”Why are you calling me 'Lord Winter?'” he asked when he remembered the way he greeted him a while ago. ”You can just call me by my name, you know?”
Much to his surprise, tears silently rolled down Julian's cheeks.
”H-Hey, why are you crying?” Winter asked in panic. ”Are you hurt or something?”
Julian smiled while wiping off the tears on his face with his hand. ”I'm just happy to see you again, Winter.”
God, he's a crybaby.
***
”My lord, please pardon me but I think we should let the boys talk by themselves first,” Amilo said. ”I noticed Lord Julian's presence as soon as he entered the annex. But I decided to pretend that I didn't because I don't think he's here to hurt Lord Winter. I also felt their Mana. But they're not releasing bloodlust, which means they're not going to kill each other.”
Before Kiho left the annex, he left some little ice cubes near his room. Once somebody who didn't have permission step foot near his son's chamber, the ice cubes would melt and then send a signal to him.
As soon as he felt the signal, he rushed to the annex building.
He only calmed down when he realized it was Julian when he felt him use his Mana. But he got worried again when he felt Winter use his power. He could vaguely tell that the two were entangled in a fight.
Julian probably noticed that I was hiding something in the annex so he went here to investigate.
”I'm still worried, Amilo,” he admitted. ”What if Julian accidentally hurts Winter?”
”Are you only worried about Lord Winter, Your Grace?”
Okay, that had to hurt.
His conscience kicked in but it was already too late. He was already hit by the realization that he refused to acknowledge before.
”I care more about Winter than Julian because Winter is my real son. He's the fruit of my and Tilly's love for each other,” he admitted with a bitter smile. ”I'm an awful father, am I not?”
”That doesn't necessarily equate to being a bad father, my lord,” Amilo said. ”Would you like to have a drink with me?”
He nodded because it was better than doing nothing while waiting for Julian and Winter to finish talking.
A few moments later, he was now sitting on the sofa across from Amilo. They went to the tea room in the first floor. But instead of tea, they had alcoholic drinks, of course. For the past five years, he often drank alone almost every night to cope up with loneliness so that wasn't new to him.
But now that Winter is here, I'll stop drinking since I'm not lonely anymore.
He froze when he realized that he was thinking about Winter's sake only.
I didn't stop drinking every night for the past five years even though Julian was my side.
Now he felt awful about himself even more.
”I had two sons in the past, Your Grace,” Amilo started in a sad voice later. ”When my wife and I weren't still blessed with a child after five years of being married, we decided to adopt a five year old boy from the orphanage. But just after two years, a miracle happened and my wife finally got pregnant.”
Okay, that got him hooked instantly. Amilo had it rough, huh?
”My wife and I showered our second child with so much love that we began to neglect our first child,” the jewel maker said in a voice filled with regret. ”I only noticed how cruel we were to him when he ran away from our home. My first son was only ten then.”
He gulped because that was exactly what he was doing to Julian now.
In an attempt to lessen the heaviness in his chest, he took his glass of whisky in one gulp.
”I looked everywhere for our first son, determined to make it up to him. But no matter how hard I searched for him, I didn't even find a trace of him anywhere,” the jewel maker continued. ”Several years later, while I was on my way home to celebrate my second child's 15th birthday, I came across my first son. Behind him was our burning house.”
He let out a soft gasp. Oh, no…
”My first son burned our house down while my wife and my second child were still inside,” Amilo continued in a cracked voice. ”I was devastated, of course. When I asked him why he did that, he only said one thing: ”Father, if only you and Mother gave me half of the love you have showered your real son, I wouldn't have done this.”” This time, the jewel maker was already crying silently. ”After saying that, he killed himself in front of me.”
He turned his gaze away from Amilo because he was afraid he might break down and cry with him, too. God, he went through hell.
And of course, as a father himself, he sympathized with Amilo. Especially since he was kind of in the same position as him right now.
”I apologize for breaking down in your presence, my lord.”
”No, don't apologize for that,” he said when he turned to the jewel maker. ”Amilo, I'm sorry to hear that.”
He just smiled and nodded. ”My lord, I know that I'm not the best person that could give you an advice on how to be a better father. But may I still give you one?”
”Of course,” he said. ”I badly need an advice right now, Amilo.”
”My lord, as a father, I believe you shouldn't divide your love and attention between your two sons. Instead, you must multiply it– even if one of them isn't your real son,” Amilo said with a sad smile. ”Please don't make the same mistake I did, Your Grace.”
Kiho, taking Amilo's heartfelt advice seriously, nodded. ”Thank you, Amilo.”
***
”I CAN'T believe we're talking normally now,” Winter said while munching on a chocolate bar. Before his daddy left, he put a stash of snacks on his bedside table. He shared them with Julian so right now, they were having midnight snack on his bed as they sat in lotus position opposite each other. ”We used to talk telepathically when we were babies.”
Julian stifled a laugh before he turned to her. ”Winter, you're still a baby.”
”I am not,” he insisted. ”And you're one to talk. You're not even two years older than me.”
He just smiled at that. ”You're not going to answer my questions even if I ask about where you have been for the past five years, are you?”