Chapter 330

“Well—that should do it.”
Adeshan muttered to herself as she removed her glasses, her work done. This extended her contract with Caravelle Top for another five years. The sunlight streaming in through the wide windows warmed her office.
I sat at my giant, dinosaur-like desk with all the agenda items that needed to be taken care of this month. I’ve always loved this kind of thing, and I’ve done a lot of similar work when I was student body president at Pileon, so it wasn’t hard for me.
Suddenly, Adeshan’s gaze fell on a picture frame in the corner of his desk. Inside the small square was a picture of Iril and Schlieffen kissing, with people scattering flowers around them.
It was the ‘photo’ that Didikan had developed and now commercialized. She smirked at the image of herself and Ronan smiling.
“—I miss you.”
It’s been ten years since that day. Ten years of changing mountains and changing people. She who seemed to remain a maiden forever is now a married woman with a child.
Adeshan twirled his fountain pen and reminisced about the past. Ding. A knock sounded on the door, followed by a familiar voice.
“Mom.”
“Huh? Lance?”
Adeshan grunted. Slowly, the door opened and a ragged-faced boy walked in. It was Ronan and her first son, Lance.
At eleven years old, Lance was struggling with early puberty. Her black hair and dark eyelashes made her look like herself. When she didn’t answer, Adeshan asked again.
“What’s wrong, my boy?”
“—Why did my mom marry such a lousy person?”
“Uh, huh, what does that mean all of a sudden?”
“Follow me.”
Adeshan was taken aback by the unexpected question. Ranseh walked over, took her hand, and led her out into the living room. In the sprawling living room, a shaggy-haired hulk lay asleep on the couch.
“Bigger—pooh-pooh—.”
“Ko-o—.”
I could hear him snoring beneath the magazine covering his face. Ronan hadn’t gotten home until this morning. His second daughter, Erin, now nine years old, was fast asleep in his arms.
“Oh well. Go back inside and grow up.”
Adeshan smirked at the sight. He hadn’t changed since they were in love. Rance asked, his eyes dripping with honey.
“—Mom, you didn’t marry her under duress, did you, like, take advantage of her weakness?”
“Hey, what is she talking about? Why would her mom do that?”
“But common sense doesn’t make sense. Mom is so busy, and Dad is always sleeping.”
Lance pouted. Not knowing the details of Ronan’s past, he couldn’t understand why they had married.
From an objective perspective, Adeshan was the perfect mother. Despite her many responsibilities, including managing the estate, she never neglected her household chores and cooked at least one meal a day from scratch.
Unsurprisingly, her children were terrified of her, so Lance and Erin grew up with plenty of love. She took great care of herself and never looked like a married woman with two children. The only person prettier was Aunt Irene, who was married to Uncle Schlieffen.
By comparison, Ronan was just an old man with a bad beard. People hailed him as a hero for saving the world, but he could never defend himself if he knew the truth. Lance muttered.
“The more I look, the more I don’t understand. My mom is so busy, and my dad sleeps all the time.”
“You can’t say that to my dad, he works so hard for our family, and he comes home late every day because he’s busy working.”
Squatting down, Adeshan tapped his son’s nose with his index finger, though he realized that Ronan’s return from work was usually around the time Lance was asleep.
“And he’s a really competent guy. He’s the reason we’re all smiling like this. My son, do you believe me, Mommy?”
“Hmm. I’m sure they don’t like me, though.”
“Hey, that can’t be right.”
“—, but you didn’t even show up for my graduation. I was head of the martial arts class.”
Ronan hadn’t actually been able to attend his son’s commencement, Lance muttered. It was certainly unusual, given the tradition of the whole family coming to celebrate no matter what.
“That, that’s—.”
The shock was compounded when Principal Nabiroze asked him separately if Ronan had come. Adeshan, stunned, was trying to think of something to say. A gust of wind from the balcony knocked the magazine off Ronan’s face.
“Ugh—ahhh. Damn—.”
“Oh, I’m up.”
Ronan stirred and opened his eyes. He was still lightheaded from lack of sleep. Slowly he raised his head to see his daughter sleeping soundly on the boat, and his son in the distance, his axe-eyes peering at him. He yawned raggedly and waved.
“Haaaaam—good morning. Son.”
“What’s morning. It’s midday?”
“Why are you standing up like this again today, did you pee in your sleep?”
“Moo, what nonsense, when are you going to bring this up!”
Lance, blushing bright red, shouted. She couldn’t like this guy after all. Ronan chuckled as he set Erin down on his personal couch.
“Or don’t, why are you yelling at me? You’ll wake your brother.”
“My dad is talking nonsense, I’m not a kid anymore!”
“That’s not very convincing coming from a guy who doesn’t even have a hair on his body, and who can poop or pee whenever he feels like it–oh, my God!”
“Why, what’s wrong?!”
Lance’s shoulders slumped in anger. Ronan’s eyes, always half-closed, were wide open. He fumbled around for something he could use as a weapon. Suddenly, with a lurch, Ronan was in front of Adeshan, squeezing her hand.
“I thought an angel had appeared, but it was my baby, and I’m sorry for this.”
“Oh my. You too—.”
Adeshan blushed. Ronan kissed the back of her hand, which he still clasped, and scooped her up in his arms like a princess. He stared into Adeshan’s face and clicked his tongue.
“Your hair’s bad, your face is tired, and you’ve had a lot of trouble with this–this little monster?”
“Who are you kidding, you’re a monster, put her down!”
Ronan stretches out his leg and kicks Lance in the butt. The spirited Lance tried to lunge, but his foot was blocked and he couldn’t get close enough. Adeshan shook his head in disbelief.
“I’m just a little tired, and the hard work is all for the love of it.”
“What a sweetheart–I can assure you, one of the two best events of my life was asking you to marry me.”
“What’s the other one?”
“You’ve accepted my marriage proposal, let’s go!”
“Gee, not now!”
After one lap, Ronan pretended to walk to the master bedroom. Adeshan, who let out a happy squeal, tapped him on the shoulder. Lance gagged at the sight he couldn’t open his eyes to see.
“Ewww.”
“Son, I’m sorry, but can you take Erin out for a little while? Just for an hour–no, two hours–and then come back.”
Ronan fumbled in his pocket and held out a silver coin to Lance. It was an occasional event that occurred at the height of their flirtation.
Lance took it in his grasp, looking at it as if he were looking at his sister’s corpse. With a small sigh, he picked up his sister, who was sleeping on the couch.
“Woof—brother?”
“Let’s get out, Erin. This house is hopeless.”
“Woohoo—?”
Erin clung to him, unable to speak English. Her snow-white hair cascaded down the nape of Lance’s neck. Pausing before the door, Lance looked back at Ronan and growled.
“I hate my father.”
“Yeah. I like you.”
“Profit—!”
His white face flushed once more. There was more to be said, but Lance slammed the door harshly behind him.
A bang echoed across the porch, the sound receding into the distance. Ronan, standing still, smirked.
“He’s got a temper. Who does he look like?”
“Wow, you look a lot like you did when you were younger. Although your face looks more like me.”
“That’s a good thing. If he looked like me, he’d be getting all sorts of trouble.”
“I like this face though. Now get some more sleep, eh?”
Adeshan stroked Ronan’s cheek gently. His coarse beard and dark eyes revealed the hardships he endured. After kissing her lightly, Ronan set her down on the floor.
“Thanks. I’ll sleep for another hour.”
“Come on, get some sleep. You’ve been overworking yourself lately, and I’m afraid you’re going to collapse.”
“Never mind. It’s business. Is he–is he upset?”
Ronan asked cautiously. He wasn’t shy, but he was worried about his son, too. Adeshan sighed.
“Yeah. I don’t know about anything else, but I think he’s hurt that he didn’t get to go to the commencement ceremony. At this rate, he’s going to resent you for a while—can you not tell him the truth?”
“Of course not. Don’t tell him. It’s the kind of story that gives boys his age a sense of adventure rather than caution.”
Ronan said firmly. He knew it was better in so many ways to buy his hatred for a while. Adeshan grumbled.
“That’s right. Did you catch him?”
“Not yet. We’re narrowing the field, but we’re not getting anywhere. I don’t think he’s a regular guy, either, judging by the way he’s been struggling.”
Ronan clicked his tongue. He’d been following a recent spate of disappearances in the islands. Nearly a hundred men and women had disappeared in the past month, leaving no trace and terrorizing the entire population.
His reason for joining the search party, unasked, was simple: half the missing were children. Ronan ran a hand roughly through his bangs.
“I’ve been through a lot of shit, but nothing like this. No trace, missing people unaccounted for, who the hell is this asshole?”
“Well, I can’t track it with Shadow’s mana, so—.”
“Never mind. You don’t have to worry about it.”
Adeshan gulped. Ronan, who’d reassured her with a hug, growled low.
“I’m going to protect my kids, no matter what.”