LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 66
TLed by NolepGuy
Chapter 66
A drink with my son after a long time.
Rowen felt secretly pleased to be drinking with his son, whom he hadn’t seen much lately due to his recent Aura awakening.
Malik always delivered results that met expectations.
Though Rowen saw many shortcomings in him, Malik showed he was not lacking in following the path his father had walked.
Even though Malik had been spending more time away, claiming he needed to train alone, Rowen appreciated his son’s dedication to self-improvement.
If Hanna had come…
She wouldn’t have been greeted so warmly.
Rowen thought he would have said harsh words to her.
“Put down the sword already.
It’s dangerous for you.”
Even if she argued that she had talent, Rowen believed he wouldn’t have compromised his stubborn principles.
‘Come to think of it, I must be crazy too.’
Rowen found himself ridiculous.
Drip.
Malik poured liquor into a fresh glass.
Rowen lifted his now-filled glass and spoke.
“So, what brings you here? You didn’t come for no reason, did you?”
“Can’t a son just want to have a drink with his father?”
“Haha… That’s not how I raised you.”
Malik gave a bitter smile.
Hanna wasn’t the only one who had suffered under Rowen’s obsession with the sword.
Clearing his throat, Malik began to speak. The tension in his trembling voice made Rowen feel an inexplicable bitterness.
“Father. It’s about Hanna.”
A familiar name.
Hearing a name he never expected from Malik’s lips, Rowen gripped his glass tightly.
“What about Hanna?”
“She’s my sister, isn’t she? I just thought of her after a long time and wanted to mention her.”
“…”
Malik stared only at the rippling liquor in his glass. To him, his father was a figure to be feared.
To Malik, Rowen was always a stern father who placed a heavy burden on his shoulders, even if not as much as Hanna. Bringing up such a topic required immense courage.
Malik cautiously spoke, wetting his hand with the condensation on his glass.
“I know it’s presumptuous of me, but… Father, what do you think about apologizing to Hanna?”
“Apologize?”
A sharp voice escaped Rowen’s lips.
The word “apology” was deeply unsettling to Rowen, who was not accustomed to it.
He believed that if one committed a wrong, they did so knowing they might be hated for it. An apology wouldn’t erase that hatred.
Moreover.
“Why should I apologize to Hanna? Isn’t it Hanna who should apologize to me? Ignoring her father’s letters asking her to return and still not coming home—do you think that’s right?”
Rowen didn’t feel any sense of wrongdoing toward Hanna. He resented his failure to make her put down the sword, blaming himself for that mistake.
If raising her strictly was a sin, then every parent in the world was guilty.
Rowen didn’t consider the “stick of love” he wielded to guide her toward a better future to be a crime.
If that led to the outcome of an apology.
It was Hanna’s fault for not complying.
Rowen couldn’t accept Malik’s request.
A slight tremor rippled through the liquor glass in Malik’s hand. His father’s unyielding stubbornness felt suffocating.
A father who always imposed the sword.
A rigid father who had been harsh to Hanna.
Malik spoke in a trembling voice.
“Didn’t you show favoritism, Father? Not just toward me, but in general.”
“It wasn’t favoritism; it was a rational decision. I simply focused on nurturing you, the key to carrying on the name of Histania.”
“Our household has grown enough.”
“Without me, it would have fallen behind.”
“Isn’t that just the way things are? You and I are different, after all…”
“That statement is quite unpleasant.”
Malik bowed his head.
“I’m sorry.”
Rowen let out a deep sigh. Seeing the next head of the family so indifferent to the household’s future only deepened his worries.
Hanna, Malik—they were all the same.
Everything seemed to have gone awry after they met that man.
Rowen asked Malik, who still had his head bowed.
“Two days ago, I met that swordsman you spoke so highly of—Ricardo.”
“Ricardo?”
“Yes. He treated me like a peddler.”
“A peddler?”
A small smile crept onto Malik’s lips, which had been stiff with tension. In a voice too low for Rowen to hear, Malik muttered, “Crazy bastard.”
At the same time, he felt curious about what Ricardo might have said to his father.
Thanks to Ricardo’s words, Malik had found the courage to seek forgiveness from Hanna.
But contrary to Malik’s expectations, Rowen wore a grim expression and crushed his hopes with his next words.
“He was an arrogant bastard. Serving the fallen Young Lady of the House of Desmond, achieving nothing but early success at a young age, and then lecturing me as if I were wrong—it was laughable.”
Rowen downed his drink and continued.
“That insolent man told me I had no chance of reconciling with Hanna.”
Malik asked Rowen.
What exactly had been said to provoke such a response? The Ricardo he knew wouldn’t make such inflammatory remarks without reason.
Even if his words were sharp.
They were always true.
“What did he say… for Ricardo to say that?”
In response to Malik’s question, Rowen answered confidently.
“He asked me to help Hanna put down her sword.”
“Father!”
Malik slammed the desk as he stood abruptly. Frustration filled his gaze as he stared at Rowen, who remained seated with an arrogant expression, glaring back at his son.
“Malik. This is your second warning.”
Malik refused to back down.
“How long will you keep this up? Hanna has already proven herself! She loves the sword, and instead of helping her…”
“You don’t understand. You don’t know why I’m doing this.”
Recalling his memories, Rowen spoke to Malik.
“Hanna is young and lacks the depth to think things through. If she keeps rushing forward like this, she’ll end up in danger someday. Gaining sudden power might lead to success, but it’s not safe.”
“…Then why don’t you help her, Father?”
“I’m already busy enough looking after you.”
“That’s absurd.”
Rowen glared at Malik and spoke.
“Then what about you?”
Rowen delivered words that pierced through the current family dynamics.
“You treated Hanna poorly too. You ignored her, discriminated against her… If you thought it was wrong, why didn’t you stop it?”
“I…”
“It doesn’t matter who’s better or worse. You’re just like me.”
Malik clenched his fists tightly and lowered his head.
Rowen’s words were undeniably true. But unlike his father, Malik had apologized to Hanna and continued to approach her with a heart seeking forgiveness.
It was true that he had been harsh to Hanna, just as his father said.
But before things worsened further, Malik genuinely wanted to seek her forgiveness.
That’s why he had come here—to convey his true feelings and urge his father to apologize as well.
Rowen looked at Malik, who stood silently, and spoke.
“Whatever the case, my decision remains unchanged. Raising Hanna to be strong? If she crumbles under such minor hardships, how does she plan to survive in this world?”
Malik stared directly at Rowen and said.
“Isn’t that just a justification that suits your own preferences…”
“Justification… What nonsense. I have never once regretted my decisions. My life has proven it, and your success is proof of it as well.”
Rowen glared at Malik and spoke one final time.
“This is the third time, Malik. If you push further, I won’t hold back.”
Malik gritted his teeth and said to Rowen.
“You will regret it. Just as I did with Hanna…”
“The one regretting is Hanna.”
Through this conversation, Rowen became certain.
That making Hanna put down her sword was the right thing for the future.
Even if it meant resorting to underhanded methods, ensuring Hanna abandoned her sword was the best way to guarantee her safety and allow Malik to focus on his success.
A brief silence passed.
Rowen waved his hand to issue an order to leave to Malik.
Continuing this fruitless conversation was a waste of time. Waving his hand, Rowen spoke to Malik.
“Leave…”
As Malik clenched his fists tightly and lowered his head, preparing to leave the office.
-Bang!
A loud noise erupted from outside the estate.
Along with the sound of something breaking, the startled voices of the servants could be heard.
-Ah… Young Lady…
-Where is she…
-Why has the Young Lady come here…
-Where is Father?
It was a voice he hadn’t heard in a long time.
Not the youthful voice of a daughter who once asked him for duels and guidance, but a furious voice filled with raw hatred echoed through the office door.
Thud, thud, thud…
The urgent sound of footsteps climbing the stairs reached the door, and a servant, out of breath, burst into the office.
The butler of the estate, panting heavily, called out to Rowen in a flustered voice.
“Huff… Huff… Master… The youngest daughter has arrived.”
At that moment, Rowen’s firmly resolved heart wavered greatly. The determination to make her put down her sword crumbled as if collapsing. He couldn’t think of anything.
Only one thought remained. He just wanted to see her face.
“Hanna has come…?”
“Yes…! You must come out quickly! That… that is…”
-Where is he!
Hanna’s shout resounded through the estate.
A cry mixed with resentment.
Hanna’s voice weighed heavily on Rowen’s shoulders as he sat in the office.
About ten seconds passed.
As the sound of footsteps climbing the stairs reached its peak.
A familiar silhouette shoved aside the butler guarding the door and stormed into the office.
“Move. Before I kill you.”
“But Young Lady… This is where the Master conducts his work…”
“I said move before I kill you.”
His daughter, drenched in orc’s blood, walked into the office.
Histania Hanna.
Hanna stood before Rowen, panting heavily.
Her bloodshot eyes glared at him with resentment, and the sword gripped in her hand trembled violently.
Seeing his daughter, who looked as though she might cry at any moment, Rowen’s heart wavered greatly.
-I will become a great swordsman like you, Father!
The daughter who once looked up to him with admiration was nowhere to be found.
Hanna threw a letter at Rowen.
“Did it really have to come to this?”
──────────────
-To Histania Hanna,
Return to the household.
This is the final warning.
Come back and pursue your studies.
The best tutors have been arranged, so there will be no shortcomings.
If you avoid returning to the household again, I will have no choice but to bring you back by the worst means possible.
Even if it means using an engagement.
──────────────
Hanna glared at the crumpled letter and spoke to Rowen.
“I really hate you, Father.”
──────────────
1. Read the letter sent by Histania Rowen. (1/1)
2. Meet your father, Histania Rowen. (1/1)
3. Subjugate the elite orc warriors of the Hamel Mountain Range. (30/30)
──────────────
Hanna was crying.
*
In a hidden space atop the office roof.
A man crouched on the roof, watching the melodramatic scene unfold, let out a deep sigh and placed his hand on his sword.
[Limit Break is testing the efficiency limits of the Potion of Concealment.]
The man, who had erased his presence.
The red-haired man, watching them, muttered softly.
‘Ah… I miss the Young Lady.’
Ricardo, who had come to steal a fortuitous encounter, sensed that he was screwed.