'Oh, I'm in a deep shit...' My heart pounded madly as the two of us exchanged glances quietly.

"Come down and get on the bed. I'll close the window. It's cold outside." Father stood up and headed towards the window.

"How long have you known, Father?" Following his suggestion, I landed gently on my bed.

"Just now. Master Norman, who manages our castle's barrier, said that some strange phenomenon has been happening to our barrier. Irregularly at first. But nowadays, it is almost constant."

'Damn it! How did he know?' I barked inside.

I was frustrated because I didn't see how I could remedy that. I needed to know what the problem was first before I could use word magic to effectively eliminate them. And since I didn't know the first thing about how these barriers were made or worked, blunders like this happened.

Sure, it was not entirely impossible for me to figure out another way. I just need to spend a boatful amount of mana and some patience and let my word magic do its thing. But I didn't see any merit in that, all the more so when I decided to pick Renata's habit of conserving mana whenever I could.

"Alexander." Called Father, snapping me back to the ongoing reality. "Let us talk. Man to a man..."

I could see the flicker in his sky-blue eyes. It was calm and collected. There was a trace of something foreign in between, yet I couldn't quite tell what it was.

"Yes...Father." I replied cordially.

"How long have you been doing this?" Began Father.

'Let's see, when was it again...After I met Renata, so since I'm six or so...?' I looked up, remembering the first outing I had. "It's been some time, Father."

He didn't say anything about how vague my answer was and kept his patience. "Is it something you want to do? I'd rather you tell me what it is rather than me finding you like this."

'Well, it is not something I want, but I must...' I replied inside.

"You know, sometimes it feels like you're not here with us even when you are, Alexander...As if you're detaching yourself from us." Said Father out of the blue.

'Huh...?' Shocked as I was by the sudden confrontation, I could somehow guess what he was on about, but to have someone suddenly address the issues just left me so confused about what I should do. Hence, I chose to play the fool. It's the best I could come up with, after all. "What do you mean, Father...?"

"Like just now. You're talking to me, but it feels like you're somewhere. Not here with me..." Replied him, barreling through.

'...' I couldn't say a thing. I didn't know what to say, and frankly, I didn't feel like doing it all that much. Caught off-guard, my brain just refused to function.

It was weird, even to the most vile and horrendous people out there, I could hold my weight with no problem, but here, in front of this man, I just couldn't seem to do it...

"Alexander. I am a man who loves his family more than any other thing in his life. I will protect them with my life if I must. As my son, I hope you can do that in my stead when I get older and weaker in the future." His hand landed tenderly on my head, stroking it lovingly as if each stroke was his last.

'...I will...But it is probably different than the one you imagine, Father...' I closed my eyes, savoring the touch. "I will protect the family. Our family, Father...But your place is not for me. Adam will have to do it instead."

His face twisted sadly at my answer. "Why? Is it because of what people say? I can make it all go away, Alex. Give me some time. All you need to do is keep getting better and healthier, as you have done so far. Your Father will do the rest."

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'I will recover, Father...But...' I wished I could tell him. I really do... "Father...You ask me to talk from man to man. Do you mean that?"

He blinked in surprise gathering his thoughts before fixing his gaze on me. "I do, Alexander. Speak. You can tell me anything."

I took a deep breath, arranging my thoughts. "Is there something you're searching for in your life, Father? Something you must do no matter what it takes?"

"...I have found that something. Your Mother. And now, I've found you three, my children." He paused for a brief moment before answering.

'Yeah...that is so like you, Father...' I smiled. "Like you, Father, I have something I need to do. And I will do it...I must do it, no matter what."

Father listened in silence, taking my words seriously as he promised, and not treating it as a rambling of a boy.

"Tell me what it is. I will help you, Alexander." Declared the man in a heartbeat.

'No, you won't. Cause I won't let you...' I couldn't look him in the eyes. "You're helping me as it is, Father. Just like this. You're keeping me safe until I am ready. It's all I need."

Reading the hidden meanings behind it, he asked. "Will you leave us...?"

'...'

"Yes..." And I answered him.

"When?"

"When the time comes, I will tell you."

Sighing, Father got up from the bed and walked back toward the window. He opened the window he had just closed a minute ago, welcoming the night breeze into the room.

"Don't tell your Mother about this, okay?" He then lighted a cigar tucked into his chest pocket with magic.

Father took in a deep, long breath, savoring the cold wind along with the substances that entered his lungs, calming his nerves.

"I didn't know you smoked..." I said in a low voice.

"I used to. But Maya told me to quit for good when you came around. So I did." Confessed Father.

I grinned. "You really do listen well to her, Father."

"Yes...I just want to. Does that sound strange, Alex?" Probed him lightly, gazing far into the endless sea of stars.

"Rather than strange, I think you're just being you, I guess."

"Haha. Nicely put, my son..."

We stop talking once again. Following him, I cast my gaze out to the open.

"That something you must do...Is that the reason why you're going out more and more these days?" Asked Father, puffing a smoke.

"Yes, Father."

"And it includes that maid of yours?" Added him.

I tilted my head, surprised that Renata got mentioned all of a sudden. "...Did you also figure out about Renata?"

"Not at first. Not until your Grandparents met her, that is."

"So Grandfather caught her?" I asked.

"Your Grandpa is one thing, but it was my Mother who actually told me to check up on her." Said Father, nodding sideways.

"Grandmother? Ah, that explains why she said that back then..."

"Your Grandma is more terrifying than you might think, Alex. There's a reason why nobody dares to slight her despite her staying as a Novice Magician her whole life." Shaking his head, Father expressed.

"As expected of the Lion and Lioness of the North."

Soon enough, he had finished up his cigar. He burnt the rest to ashes to hide the evidence before closing the windows and the drapes for the last time.

"...Your Mother will kill me if she hears this...So listen to me well because I will say this only once, Alexander Von Dawson."

Tracing his steps back, Father sat on the bed once again. Clear as the distant horizon is his eyes.

"Do what you must. I won't pry about your secrets but don't feel like I'm stopping you from sharing anything. Tell me if you feel like it and ask me for help if you need it...And the last one...If it's too hard, then come back. You'll always find us here. You know that right?"

"...I know, Father." I nodded.

"Good boy." He patted me gently, running his long fingers through my silky white hair before tapping my fat bouncy cheeks twice as he got up.

"F-Father...? Can you like...get closer...?" I didn't know where that came from, but unknowingly, I had reached out to the hem of his suit.

"..." Father didn't say anything and only stepped closer in response.

"...Thank you..."

With my eyes closed tight and my face burning, I hugged him.

'D-Dad...'