The office door creaked softly as it opened. Father walked in first, and I followed suit. Mother was seated behind a desk, handling paperwork after paperwork like it was nothing. She looked up and locked eyes with Father and then me.

“How was the clinic visit?” she asked, her tone cold and formal.

Father looked like he had a lot to say, but for now, he decided to answer her question. “Carine’s fine; the doctor said nothing happened to her.”

“Good,” Mother said as she returned to filing her paperwork. The room was filled with the sound of scribbling for a few moments before finally, Mother set the papers down and rose from her seat.

“I’m sure you’re surprised by the sudden changes I implemented,” she said, folding her arms as she stepped out from behind the desk.

“Surprised is an understatement,’ Father said, his brows furrowed. ‘Reyna… why are you doing this?’”

Mother scoffed as if the answer was as clear as ice. “Why else? Every precaution I’ve taken is for Carine’s safety. After what happened, I assumed you’d understand that much.”

“But this is absurd, Reyna!” Father’s voice boomed through the room. “This is beyond the sake of protection! I understand placing in more guards, but kicking out Feyt is not—”

“He’s an unnecessary risk!” Mother cut in, interrupting Father. “After all that has happened, you seriously thought I would take unnecessary risks?” She stepped back, resting her hand gently on the chair’s back. “His stay here was always temporary, wasn’t it? Why delay the inevitable?”

“That’s not the point, Reyna!” Father’s fists clenched at his sides. He exhaled hard. “I… This isn’t like you.”

“What part of me isn’t like me, dear?” she answered, her tone as cold as always. “I have always done the best I could, no matter what, for the sake of our family. That is the oath I took when you proposed to me, wasn’t it?”

Father was silent. Whether he had nothing to say, or too much to say, I didn’t know. Mother said nothing. Then her eyes flicked to me. I instinctively took a small step back.

She noticed and frowned, her eyes shifting before she turned on her heel to face the window behind her desk, folding her hands behind her back.

And then… she sighed.

“…Forgive me, you two,” Mother said, her tone… gentle. “But I need to do this to ensure your safety. I can’t afford to lose you… any of you…” Her hands clenched into fists, her nails dug into her palms.

I could see her face slightly through the reflection of the glass. She had closed her eyes, biting her lip slightly. She looked… in pain.

It was then I realized that Mother really was doing this for me… for us.

“How long?” Father’s sudden question caught both me and Mother off guard. He held his head, rubbing his temple slightly as he continued. “How long do you plan to keep this protocol in place?”

Mother didn’t turn fully at first. Just tilted her head, just enough to glance over her shoulder. Her expression was softer, less like a general, more like herself. “For the foreseeable future. Until I’m confident Carine can protect herself.”

I felt my eye twitch slightly. I felt like a kid being underestimated, which was technically happening at the moment. But I had no room to complain; the space around me was filled to the brim with the tense atmosphere to the point that breathing was almost a chore.

“So…” Father finally spoke again, lowering his arm. “I’m assuming she’ll still be attending sword lessons, then?”

Mother nodded. “Yes, but not with the others.”

I blinked. ‘What do you mean, Mother?”

Mother held her silence for a few moments before turning fully to me. “Carine, from now on, you will train with me. Only me.”

My eyes widened in surprise. Training with Mother? Alone?

I wasn’t sure if that honored me or terrified me.

“Carine, dear.” Mother’s voice dipped again. “I know you must have so many things you want to say… but before that, there’s something I need to ask of you.”

She stepped forward, just once, letting her arms fall to her sides. Her posture eased. “I want to ask for your forgiveness.”

My eyes widened. “Forgiveness?”

“Yes.” She nodded, slow and heavy. “For the harsh things I said… not just to you, but to Leila as well.”

She brought a hand to her temple, pressing the tips of her fingers as if just thinking about it ached. “I… lost control. I don’t know what came over me that day. But I hope the two of you might forgive me.”

Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

Her voice cracked slightly at the end. It was small enough for me to be unsure if I heard correctly. But at the very least, it painted the picture clear.

Mother’s apology was… genuine. I could see it in her eyes, the way she shifted it to the floor before closing it firmly. She genuinely looked like someone asking for forgiveness, yet not knowing if she deserved it.

“Mother…”

Mother raised her head again, this time turning to Father. “And Kyrat, dear. There’s something I need you to hear as well.”

Father still had storm brewing in his eyes. It was obvious he wanted to ask so many things. But little by little, I could see him calming down.

“What is it, Reyna?” he asked.

“I wish for you to trust me,” she said, holding a hand over her chest. “I am doing this for Carine’s sake. Nothing more, nothing less. You might find it unreasonable of me at the moment… But I’m sure you’ll understand my decision in time.”

Father didn’t answer right away. Instead, he closed his eyes, and took a long, quiet breath.

“One week,” he said promptly. “We’ll hold this protocol in place for a week.”

Mother took a step forward, her eyes sharp. She looked ready to argue, but then, Father raised his hand.

“But, after that, we’ll still keep security strong as they are now,” he said. He turned his attention towards me, standing by his side. “I wanted the best for Carine as well, but I don’t believe that isolating her from the other students will bring much growth.”

Mother looked like she had something to say, but then, she closed her mouth gently and gave a small nod. “I understand, dear.”

There was no doubt about it. As the head of the family, Father had all the power to revert all the changes Mother made and turn things back to normal in an instant. But the reason he didn’t and negotiated with her was… perhaps he was trying to calm her down, or maybe please the part of her that was preventing her from calming down.

In the end, he still had her well-being in mind even after all of this.

“Ah,” I said out loud, realizing something.

Father and Mother turned to me at the same time.

“What is it, dear?” Mother asked.

I wasn’t sure if asking this question was right, but since none of them were bringing it up… I reluctantly gulped and decided to ask anyway.

“About Feyt… is he still being kicked out?”

Both Mother and Father blinked in silence. I felt like I just said something I shouldn’t have.

Perhaps in an attempt to save face, I almost blurted out how I wasn’t worried about him or anything… But then I thought of that sentence a little bit more and realized how I dodged a bullet by biting my tongue.

And so, I kept my face ice-cold and quiet to prevent myself from having a potential tsundere moment.

“Well, yes, about that child…” Mother cupped her chin, her eyes flicked to the side as she fell into deep thought.

“We shouldn’t kick him out,” Father said firmly, stepping slightly in front of me as if shielding me.

Mother raised an eyebrow, slowly lowering her hand from her chin.

“He’s unfamiliar with the capital,” Father said, his voice gentle yet booming like it usually was. “Throwing him into some inn alone would be irresponsible. He has no contacts and no idea how the capital truly works.”

Mother’s lips thinned. She didn’t respond immediately, which in itself was a kind of progress.

I looked at Father, then back to Mother. I felt something in my chest, hope. Were they seriously considering letting me stay despite all the chaos?

That hope, however, was nearly crushed when I saw Mother shake her head.

“I still believe allowing him to stay here poses a risk.”

“Then, just keep him close.” Father’s words were composed and precise, as if he expected Mother to respond that way. “If you believe that he might pose danger, then it would be best to keep him where you can watch him, correct?”

Mother narrowed her eyes slightly, seemingly intrigued. “And what are you proposing?”

Father exhaled slowly, like this idea had been brewing for a while. “You said Carine will be training with you from now on.”

Mother nodded.

A chill crawled down my spine as I realized what Father was planning.

“Then, why not train him as well?”

That silenced the room real good. Even our breaths were caught.

Mother looked at Father like he’d just suggested having a stray dog sleep on her side of the bed. “You want me to train him?”

“Yes,” Father said simply. “You said it yourself; he’s a potential threat. So, why not put him under your watch and under your command?”

Mother crossed her arms, her gaze sharpening. She looked like she saw tons of problems with Father’s suggestion, but her silence told me that she really was thinking about it.

“Feyt, that kid… he had protected Carine at least twice now,” Father said, a small smile creeping onto his face. “I’m sure you know how he helped Carine during that kidnapping incident. But have we ever told you that he was the one who followed that mage from the castle incident all the way to their base?”

Mother’s fingers twitched. “What?”

Wait, Mother didn’t know?

“I purposefully let that detail out of the official reports. I couldn’t risk having him be involved in that attack any longer than he should,” Father admitted, shrugging his shoulders slightly. “But, it is true. Thanks to him, we located the group faster than we ever could’ve on our own. If he hadn’t acted, they might’ve vanished entirely in the chaos.”

Mother said nothing. She turned toward the window again, though this time, her reflection didn’t look quite so sure of itself.

Silence returned to embrace the room once more.

Then, finally, she spoke.

“So you want me to waste my time training a random commoner?”

“It’s not a waste if he’s as capable as you fear,” Father replied. “Besides, isn’t that exactly what you’d want? To see for yourself what he’s truly capable of and what his true intentions are?”

Sother’s jaw tightened. She looked like she wanted to shove the whole idea into a fire and watch it burn. But there seemed to be a logic that her mind couldn’t let go of.

She closed her eyes, breathed in deep, and opened them again with a reluctant sigh. “Fine.”

I was utterly shocked. Not just from the fact that I wouldn’t be kicked out, but also Mother actually considering keeping Feyt near Carine.

“Feyt may remain in the estate. But if he proves himself to be anything other than cooperative, I will personally strip his title as one of our students once and for all. No arguments.”

What?! That’s worse than being kicked out!

“That’s fair enough,” Father said, clearly relieved. “I have complete trust that he will not disappoint you.”

Hey, don’t decide my fate for me!

But, as always, I had no room to complain. Both Mother and Father looked pleased with their planned arrangements…

I used to think training was the only way I could calm myselves whenever I felt down. But now, even that was stripped away from me with a cold-hearted yank…

The world was cruel.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep