Volume 2 chapter 58

Late Night. The Attic.

Charlo ran up to the attic, staring blankly at the night sky.

The stars here were completely different from Earth. The constellations he knew—Orion, Ursa Major, Cassiopeia—were nowhere to be found.

This alien starfield was a silent reminder: This is not Earth. You are far, far away.

Yet, he had truly integrated into this world. He had family, he had friends. He was a greedy man who wanted everything, but reality told him that was impossible.

Ideals vs. Family. Which was heavier?

One side was his dream, the fire that drove his soul. The other was his family, the blood that warmed his veins. Both were vital. Both were things he couldn't bear to lose.

But now, the conflict between them stood naked before him. He could no longer avert his eyes. He had to choose!

THUD!

Charlo punched the wooden wall, his entire body trembling. His eyes were buried in shadow.

He gritted his teeth so hard they felt like they would shatter.

"I can't do it..."

He grabbed his hair in frustration, pulling hard enough to rip it out. He leaned against the wall and slowly slid down until he was sitting on the floor.

"I can't do it... I..."

In this moment, he was no longer the spirited young genius about to become a Count. He looked like a destitute street urchin, lost and hopeless.

Charlo aimlessly swiped through the System interface, like a drowning man grasping for a straw. But swipe after swipe, he found nothing but technical blueprints and data.

Just as the System declared: It only provides technology, fertilizing the soil for civilization. What grows from that soil depends entirely on the user.

There were no answers here.

Suddenly, Charlo noticed the contact list. Clyris's avatar lit up—she was online!

His finger paused. Driven by some inexplicable impulse, he sent a video call request.

The call was accepted almost immediately. Clyris's figure appeared before him.

She was still soaking in the Mana Pool. Her long, jet-black hair floated in the milk-white water like ink spreading on paper.

Her face, free of makeup, was pale and exquisite, a masterpiece carved by the Creator. Beneath her slender brows, her bright crimson eyes reflected his image, the corners crinkling with a faint smile.

"What's wrong? I just finished a healing session and woke up to your call. Is something the matter?"

She asked with a soft laugh, seeming not to mind the late-night disturbance at all.

"Clyris..." Charlo's voice trembled as he spoke slowly. "I'm sorry to disturb you... It's just... just..."

"I apologize if this sounds offensive... but... If it were you! If your family and your ideals were placed before you, and you could only choose one... what would you do?"

"Uh..." Clyris fell silent for a moment.

Charlo didn't rush her. After asking, he sank back into his own turbulent thoughts.

"Me? If it were me... I would choose my family!" Clyris answered slowly after a pause.

"Is that so..." Charlo wasn't surprised. In her memories, he had felt how deeply she cherished her kin.

However, this didn't lift his spirits. That was her answer, not his.

"Did... something happen to you?" Clyris finally noticed his dejection and asked with concern.

"Nothing..." Charlo shook his head, laughing self-deprecatingly. "I just lost my way... I don't know how to choose... In the end, I'm just a cowardly mortal! I don't have the courage to smash everything... nor the resolve to give up! Heh... truly..."

"What is wrong with you? Why are you suddenly like this?" Clyris sat up, her voluptuous figure outlined perfectly by her bodysuit as water cascaded off her.

But Charlo didn't even glance at her body. He looked into her eyes with a desolate gaze. Those bright, unwavering eyes!

Once, he was that determined too. But now, he was the one lost in the dark.

"Clyris... do you know? I..." Charlo hesitated, then spoke slowly. "I once saw a place..."

"What?" Clyris was confused, unsure why he was changing the topic, but she didn't interrupt. She listened quietly.

"I once saw... a place where everyone lived without worry! There, no one was a slave. No one could kill another at will without punishment... Everyone could live easily, without worrying about their next meal, without fearing the winter cold, without fearing violation by nobles..."

Charlo spoke haltingly, his eyes unfocused, lost in memories of a past life.

"There, everyone had books to read. Knowledge wasn't a secret locked in high towers, but a cheap commodity placed before everyone, free for anyone to pick up! There, everyone could communicate freely. Anyone could talk about dreams, anyone could speak bold words!"

"There, there were no nobles born superior! No one could stand high above forever, treating those below like weeds! Everyone, at the most basic level, was equal. Even the weakest person could hold a weapon and kill the strongest!"

"It sounds like the Kingdom of God!" Clyris sighed in wonder.

"No! No, no, no..." Charlo shook his head violently. "It was real! It wasn't some bullshit divine realm!"

"Its existence was built by countless ordinary people! It wasn't perfect... but it was real!"

"So I yearn for it..."

Charlo looked at her, his eyes brimming with tears.

"I hope to make this world like that too... Although it had its flaws, compared to this world... it was infinitely better!"

"I long to make this world that beautiful... or even better!"

"But..."

Charlo paused here, looking at her, his eyes filled with hesitation and pain.

"But your family stands in your way... right?" Clyris finished his sentence.

"Yes..." Charlo closed his eyes in anguish. "I cannot abandon them... but... as long as I don't give up on my dream, I will eventually stand against them..."

"I can't do it... I can't raise my sword against my parents!!"

Silence filled the attic, broken only by Charlo's suppressed sobs.

After a long time, Clyris spoke slowly. "Sorry... I can't really understand your insistence on this ideal."

"Maybe you think I'm petty, but this is how I feel—what do the other people in the world have to do with me? Even if you put them all together, I would still choose my family! After all, the ones who gave birth to me, cared for me, took care of me... are only my family and friends! Not those strangers!"

"But..." Clyris paused. "Whatever choice you make, I will support you!"

Hearing this, Charlo froze. He slowly lifted his head, eyes wide as he stared at her.

"D-don't look so surprised! I told you, I choose family and friends! You are my friend... so of course I support you!" Clyris felt a bit embarrassed under his gaze. She turned her face away, whispering, "I don't know your family... so who else would I support but you!"

"Thank you! Clyris!" Charlo finally smiled, thanking her softly.

"Alright! Just cheer up! I'm logging off! My wounds aren't healed yet!!"

Clyris covered her face, lay back down, and cut the connection.

Charlo didn't mind. After saying it all out loud, the heaviness in his heart had dissipated significantly.

He slapped his cheeks and stood up again.

"Charlo?!"

At that moment, his mother's voice came from the stairs.

Charlo turned to see his mother, dressed in silk pajamas, standing on the stairs looking at him.

"Mother?" Charlo froze, then stammered an explanation. "Ah... haha! I couldn't sleep, so I came up to watch the stars... haha..."

"Really?" His mother clearly didn't believe him. She walked up to him.

"Your father told me everything... about the talk tonight!"

"Wh—" Charlo was startled, but seeing his mother approaching, he gave up trying to explain.

She simply walked to his side, looking out at the starry sky, her gaze distant.

"Did you know? Charlo, I once had dreams too!"

Charlo looked at his mother's face. Though still youthful and beautiful, under the moonlight, he noticed the fine wrinkles of time.

She was a Sixth-Rank Knight. Even with careful maintenance, at over 180 years old, she was young for a Seventh-Ranker, but for a Sixth-Ranker with a 400-year lifespan... she wasn't young anymore.

Normally, makeup hid it. But now, bare-faced in her pajamas, the truth showed.

"Your mother... was once a wild girl too! Back then, I feared nothing in heaven or earth. I devoted myself to training, wanting to surpass my younger brother and inherit the title!" she said nostalgically.

Charlo was surprised. Not that she vied for the title, but that his mother—always the doting, coquettish woman—had once harbored such ambition!

In this world where power decided everything, succession wasn't gender-locked. "Primogeniture" applied to the first child to advance. A daughter could inherit just as easily as a son if she was strong enough.

"Back then, I was young and unconvinced... I always thought I could advance before Charlie..."

Charlie de Lorde, the current Count Sword, Charlo's uncle. A Count even younger than his father Sachs, his talent was basically a copy of Drake's.

Third Rank at twenty, Fifth Rank at forty-two, Seventh Rank and inherited the title in his nineties.

"At that time, I absolutely didn't want to marry!" his mother continued. "I didn't want to be a tool for family alliances. I wanted to lead the family myself!"

"But my talent was indeed inferior to Charlie's... That was an irrefutable fact! Even though he was twenty years younger than me, he reached the Seventh Rank before I did! Back then, I was still stuck at the Sixth Rank..."

"From the time he became the new Count Sword until I married your father... that was probably the most painful time of my life! I couldn't accept the result, but I had to. I had to... marry for the family! I had to give up my dreams, my ambitions, and submit to another man! Because the family had invested so many resources in me, I had to be used to exchange for more resources... This is the basic duty of every noble!"

"And marrying Sachs... was the best option to get the maximum return for my value!"

"This..." Charlo was shocked. Looking at the indifferent expression on his mother's face, he couldn't tell if she was bitter or resigned.

"Thinking back... I actually had other paths! Like joining the Royal Knights or the Court! A Sixth-Rank Knight can do well anywhere!"

She sighed with emotion, then looked at him. "But in the end, I chose to marry your father. Do you know why?"

"I..." Charlo was speechless.

"Because my father..." She turned back to the stars. "Your grandfather—the previous Count Sword, Williams—told me this: 'Everyone has dreams, but not everyone has the ability to realize them! If you look at the sky but your feet are still on the ground, you must first learn to watch the road under your feet, or you will fall into the abyss!'"

"He told me he could let me go to the Knights or the Court. But the value a Sixth-Rank Knight could produce would never match the value brought by a Seventh-Rank Knight and a Count's family!"

"So, I submitted to the family's arrangement. I married your father, and gave birth to you and your brother!"

"Mother..." Charlo looked at her, his tone heavy. "Are you here to persuade me to give up too..."

"Of course..." She turned to him, beaming. "NOT!"

"?!" Charlo looked up in shock, seeing his mother's playful smile.

"I mean—You already have enough power to fly into the sky! So you don't have to compromise like I did! Just crush anything in your way!"

"Mom..." Charlo tried to speak, but she hugged him tight.

"My baby... as long as you stick to your dreams, it's fine! No matter what you want to do, Mom will always support you!"

"You are the most outstanding child I have ever seen! You shouldn't be bound! Just fly high... Ignore your stubborn old father!"

Feeling his mother's warmth and hearing her firm words, Charlo's heart shook.

"I understand..." Charlo raised his arms and hugged her back.

"Thank you... Mom!"

After a long hug, she let him go and waved goodbye. "Alright, go back to sleep now! It's getting late!"

"Mother, right now..." Charlo hesitated, then asked, "How do you feel about Father?"

"How do I feel?" She tapped her lip and giggled. "Of course, he's my beloved darling!"

With that, she hurried downstairs. Charlo could faintly hear her sweet voice calling his father's name...