Chapter 111: A Possible Miracle

Ethan stared at Lucas for a moment, then picked up the glass in front of him. He took a sip before putting it down and asking, "Have you tried seeking medical help?"

Lucas laughed bitterly, shaking his head. "Of course I have, Brother Ethan. Do you think I’d sit around drinking if there was another way?"

Ethan raised an eyebrow. "I’m asking because I don’t know the details. Explain it to me."

Lucas sighed and leaned back against his chair. He looked tired, and the usual smile on his face was nowhere to be seen.

"My wife has been infertile since we got married. We’ve been together for years now, but she hasn’t been able to give me a child." He paused, staring at the glass in his hand. "My family wasn’t happy about it either. They wanted me to marry someone else, someone who could give them an heir. But I refused."

Ethan remained silent, allowing him to continue.

"I love her, Brother Ethan. I can’t imagine spending my life with anyone else, and I don’t want to. Even if we never have a child, I’d still choose her." Lucas smiled faintly, but the expression didn’t reach his eyes. "Unfortunately, she doesn’t see it that way."

"What do you mean?"

"She knows how much I want a child. She knows how much my family has pressured me over the years. And even though I never blamed her, she still feels guilty." Lucas lowered his head. "That’s one of the reasons she wanted to divorce me. She thought she was setting me free so I could marry someone else and have children."

Ethan frowned.

"She actually thought you’d agree to that?"

Lucas chuckled, shaking his head. "I don’t know what she was thinking. Perhaps she believed I’d eventually get tired of waiting. Maybe she thought I’d regret choosing her over my family. Whatever the reason, she was prepared to leave me for my own good."

He paused and took another sip.

"Fortunately, I managed to convince her otherwise. I told her I wasn’t interested in marrying anyone else, and I meant it. I don’t care what my family thinks. She’s my wife, and that’s not going to change."

Ethan nodded slightly.

At least Lucas had managed to resolve that problem. However, the infertility issue was another matter entirely.

"We’ve visited several hospitals," Lucas continued. "Some of the best hospitals, too. We’ve undergone all kinds of examinations, and we’ve tried the treatments they recommended. Unfortunately, nothing has worked so far. The doctors haven’t been able to give us a solution."

He sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"At this point, all we can do is hope for a miracle."

Ethan picked up his glass again, taking another sip as he listened.

’That makes sense.’

His thoughts immediately drifted to the Patriarch System.

The system had rewarded him with a Fertility Pill after he completed the second personal mission. At the time, he hadn’t thought much about it. He had simply accepted the reward and put it aside, unsure of what to do with it.

But now, everything seemed to make sense.

’Was this why the system gave me the pill?’ He thought.

The timing was suspicious. He had received the reward after helping Lucas resolve the problem with his wife wanting a divorce. Now, he had learned about the actual reason behind her decision.

’Could it be that the system had anticipated this situation?’

Ethan’s expression remained unchanged, but his thoughts grew more complicated.

’The system is sentient. It can communicate with me, issue missions, evaluate my actions, and reward me accordingly. If it can do all that, perhaps it knows more than it lets on.’

He recalled the system’s previous explanations about the Patriarch System and its objectives. It wasn’t simply concerned with his immediate family. It wanted him to build a family with influence, and its missions sometimes involved helping people outside his household.

Perhaps the system had deliberately arranged things so that he would eventually help Lucas and his wife.

’If that’s the case, it might even be omniscient.’

Ethan couldn’t be certain. He had no way of knowing the system’s true capabilities or whether it could predict every event that would happen around him. However, the possibility was worth considering.

He glanced at Lucas, who was staring into his glass again.

’If the pill can cure his wife’s infertility, then this might be exactly what it’s meant for.’

But he wasn’t going to hand it over without thinking things through.

The pill was a system reward, and he didn’t know enough about its effects. Although the system had described it as a cure for infertility, he still needed to consider whether there were any conditions attached to its use.

More importantly, Lucas’s wife would be the one taking it. Ethan couldn’t simply make that decision on her behalf without knowing what it would do.

For now, he decided to keep the matter to himself.

"Brother Ethan?"

Lucas’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

Ethan looked up. "Hmm?"

"You’ve been quiet for a while. What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing important. I was just considering what you told me."

Lucas smiled faintly. "Don’t worry about it. I’ve already accepted that we might never have a child."

"Have you?" Ethan asked.

Lucas paused, unable to answer the question.

Ethan looked at him calmly. "If you had, you wouldn’t be sitting here drinking alone."

Lucas stared at him before bursting into laughter.

"Hahaha! You really don’t know how to comfort someone, do you?"

"Do you want me to lie to you instead?"

"No, no. That’s fine."

Lucas shook his head, still smiling.

Ethan raised his glass. "Besides, there’s nothing wrong with hoping for a miracle."

Lucas looked at him for a moment before raising his own glass.

"You’re right, Brother Ethan."

They continued drinking and talking for a while. Lucas eventually became more relaxed, and the gloomy expression on his face gradually disappeared. Ethan didn’t bring up the fertility pill again, nor did he promise that he could help. He simply listened to his friend and kept him company.