Chapter 1294: 52. The Warmth of Home

In the quiet courtyard, father and son stood just a few steps apart, looking at each other.

To be fair, before coming here, Muen had imagined countless possible scenarios for their reunion.

Scheming against each other, deception and intrigue, smiling while hiding a knife, turning against one another... But once they actually met, he realized all of that had merely been wild speculation.

After all, this was the father who cared about him more than anyone else. How could he possibly truly hurt him?

"It's good that you're back. It's good that you're back."

Lorne practically flashed in front of Muen. One large hand suddenly rose, but in the end, it merely landed very gently on Muen's shoulder and brushed away the dust there.

"You... have gotten thinner."

"Have I?" Muen smiled, warmth naturally flowing through his heart.

"Of course. Could my eyes possibly be wrong?" The mighty Lion King, who had once remained completely unfazed even while facing the combined assault of several demonfolk Grand Dukes, now spoke in a slightly hoarse voice. "My good son, you... must have suffered. That dragon didn't do anything to you, did she? Your father was useless and couldn't help you back then. But don't worry. I've already been studying ways to deal with that evil dragon. Sooner or later, I'll rescue you from her clutches..."

"What do you mean, rescue me? Aren't I standing right in front of you now? Don't worry. Miss Dragon may have a temper, but she isn't some cruel and violent person. She wouldn't do anything to me."

Muen smiled bitterly in helplessness. He could already imagine just how many times he would have to explain the same thing in the future."

But being able to explain it was already a good thing.

Take his reputation, for example. Although so many people wanted to smear him and falsely accuse him, as long as he continued to conduct himself uprightly and properly, then sooner or later, everyone would understand that he was a good man.

"Is that so? As long as she isn't cruel, that's good. That's good..."

Lorne breathed a sigh of relief, but after finishing his inspection of Muen, his gaze uncontrollably began drifting... behind him.

"Hm? Father, what are you looking at?"

"Ahem... nothing. I just didn't expect my good son to come back alone. It was a little surprising." Lorne quickly withdrew his gaze, his expression extremely unnatural.

"How many people did Father expect me to come back with?" Muen was speechless.

"Ha... there's nothing wrong with coming back alone. I definitely wasn't expecting to see grandchildren carrying dragon blood or anything, and I definitely wasn't curious whether those grandchildren would be born from a womb or hatch from eggs..." Lorne repeatedly waved his hands. "Let's not talk about that for now. Let's not talk about that for now."

"Father actually believes those ridiculous rumors about Miss Dragon being pregnant?" Muen's cheek twitched.

What did he mean, "let's not talk about that for now"? Judging from that expression, he clearly cared about it more than anything!

And talking about live birth or eggs... maybe this old bastard had already picked out names!

"Those are nothing but rumors. Miss Dragon and I are completely innocent. How could she possibly be pregnant with my child? Besides, how long were we even gone? Judging purely by the timing, it would be completely impossible!"

Muen said irritably, "Father, did some rumor-loving bastards get to you too?"

"No, no, absolutely not. My good son, you know your father has always trusted you. How could I not know what kind of person you are?"

Lorne patted his chest, but as he continued speaking, even he seemed to lose confidence, so he hurriedly changed the subject:

"My good son, you came back so suddenly that I don't really have anything prepared to welcome you with. How about... the two of us have a few drinks?"

"A few drinks?"

As though some keyword had just been triggered, Muen instantly became vigilant.

From the corner of his eye, he glanced around while rapidly extending his perception, terrified that the moment his father threw down a wineglass, two hundred axemen would immediately rush out, tie him up like a dumpling, and escort him straight to the Imperial Palace.

Even if there weren't any hidden axemen, judging from the several painful lessons he had already learned, drinking alcohol itself was something dangerous under his current circumstances...

"What are you thinking about, brat? Do you really think your father is the kind of person who would lay hands on his own son?" Lorne's face darkened.

"Aren't you? Before, you were the one telling me that House Campbell was too lowly and powerless to have any say, that you were too weak, and that you were truly sorry..."

"Ahem, that was actually just an accident, all right?" Lorne coughed awkwardly twice. "What parent doesn't want their child to start a family as soon as possible? Her Majesty made such a demand, and her attitude was so forceful. What could I do? I couldn't exactly obstruct Her Majesty over something like that. Besides, when I wrote that letter to you, I never expected Her Majesty's methods to be... quite so extreme."

"The way you put it, Father, it sounds like you weren't at fault at all."

"Fine, I was wrong, all right? My good son, please forgive me..." Lorne spoke with complete sincerity.

"All right, all right. Let's not talk about the past for now."

Muen waved his hand as though he couldn't take it anymore, then asked suspiciously, "There really aren't any traps here?"

"Don't worry." Lorne smiled faintly. "There is no ambush and no surveillance of any kind. This really is still the ducal estate—the ducal estate you can always return to without worrying about anything."

"She didn't force you again?"

"Hmph. Although your old man did say some embarrassing things before, I'm not so pathetic that I'd be reduced to that extent. No matter what, your father is still the mighty Lion King, one of the pillars supporting the Empire. Her Majesty will always show me at least some consideration. How could she possibly force me to do something that would harm my own son?"

"......"

True.

No matter how extreme or impatient she might be, repeatedly forcing the Grand Duke of an entire nation into submission would look terrible both openly and behind the scenes.

Not to mention that this Grand Duke was also her future father-in-law. With her personality, she probably wouldn't do something so brainless.

Thinking this, Muen finally withdrew his perception.

He had already swept his perception across the entire ducal estate. Aside from certain core areas that, as always, were concealed behind formations, there genuinely wasn't any sign of a trap anywhere else.

It seemed he had been overly cautious.

This really was an excellent place to set a trap, but because she was constrained by her own status, she actually couldn't simply do whatever she wanted here.

Using absolute authority and brute force in this place simply didn't work on a fundamental level.

The reason Father had taken her side last time was merely because she had found a clever loophole.

"Sorry. I wrongly suspected you, Father."

"Hahaha, we're father and son. What's there to apologize for? Come, come, let's talk. It's been a long time since the two of us had a proper heart-to-heart."

Once everything had been said openly, their relationship immediately became much closer. Lorne promptly pulled Muen over to a small stone table in the courtyard, somehow produced a bottle of red wine, and without caring about any distinction between father and son, personally poured Muen a glass.

Muen accepted the glass. After hesitating for a moment, he finally drained it in one gulp.

Mm.

No poison.

The final bit of tension hanging in Muen's heart completely disappeared.

"Speaking of which, where are all the maids?"

Muen let out a long breath {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} and asked, "It's broad daylight. Why is Father the only person I can see?"

"Have you forgotten? Aside from the few people who absolutely have to remain behind to guard and maintain the estate, everyone else went to help your mother."

The moment Lorne brought this up, his face filled with smiles. "I won't hide it from you, my good son. Wait another two months. Once your little sister is a little older and the weather gets warmer, your mother will return to Belrand as well. When that happens, this estate will finally become lively again, instead of being so cold and deserted like it is now."

"Really?" Muen's eyes lit up.

Mother... and his little sister...

Come to think of it, because everything had happened so quickly, he had either been dealing with one Evil God or fighting some terrifying organization, either suddenly tricked into coming back to get married or dragged away by a certain dragon to save the world. After all this time, he still had never even seen his own little sister with his own eyes.

"You really are a rather unqualified older brother."

Lorne deliberately put on a stern expression. "Your mother has complained to me about it several times."

"Sorry, sorry. I'll definitely make it up to her properly from now on."

Muen smiled bitterly again and again. On this point, he really was in the wrong.

Hopefully his little sister wouldn't dislike him.

"We'll talk about making it up to her after your mother comes back. When that happens, she'll definitely grab your ears and twist them hard... No, that's wrong. She won't have the heart to do it to you. She'll just twist my ears instead."

Lorne sighed. "Forget it. Let's not talk about that for now. Let's talk about you instead. I have a feeling your stories are probably far more exciting than anything this old man has to tell."

"Actually, there isn't much to say. I was just swept along by damned fate..."

Muen picked out a few of the less dangerous stories and, over red wine, leisurely recounted them to his father.

Lorne listened patiently as well. Occasionally, he would interject with a sentence or two, but more often, he merely sighed and lamented.

"You really have grown up."

After one story came to an end, Lorne looked at Muen's face with a complicated expression:

"Three years ago, I was still thinking that even if you never amounted to anything, you would still have your old man here to protect you. But in the blink of an eye, your wings have already grown this strong. It really makes me feel... rather defeated."

For a father like him, perhaps the most regrettable thing in the world was watching his good son continue to grow while having taken absolutely no part in that growth himself.

"Father doesn't need to think like that. There's still plenty of time ahead of us, isn't there?" Muen shook his head.

"That's true."

Lorne immediately composed himself and gave Muen a heavy slap on the shoulder. "We've talked for so long already, so I won't say anything overly sentimental. In short, no matter how far you fly, this will always be your home. You don't need to worry or doubt anything. Whenever you're tired, you can always come back."

"Father..."

Muen looked at the middle-aged man before him making such an imposing declaration, and his heart grew warmer and warmer. His nose even stung slightly, and he felt ashamed of all the wary thoughts he had entertained earlier.

That's right. This was his home. Why did he need to be wary of anything here?

The entire world might be dangerous to him, but this was the one place where he could completely lower his guard.

"Go take a bath and get some rest, then go back and have a look."

Lorne said softly, "Your room is cleaned and tidied every day."

"Mm."

Muen nodded firmly. He really was somewhat tired, and considering how many people he would have to deal with afterward, he immediately stood and headed toward his room.

Only Lorne remained seated where he was, smiling as he watched Muen's departing back.

"Home..."

Finally, he drained the rest of the red wine and sighed wistfully:

"My good son, I didn't lie to you. For you, this place... really is a warm home."

......

......

Bathhouse.

Hot spring.

Flowers covered the surface.

Although there were no maids attending him due to the lack of staff, the various facilities of the ducal estate still allowed Muen to once again experience the noble luxury he had almost forgotten.

What kind of life had he even been living before this? Sleeping under the open sky, constantly on edge, and getting tormented by wicked women at the slightest provocation.

Home really was better.

Muen stood up, dried the water from his body, put on a bathrobe, stretched, and headed toward his room.

His days and nights had been completely reversed lately, and after soaking in the bath, he was starting to feel drowsy again.

There shouldn't be any need to worry about Miss Dragon's side for the moment. There hadn't been any movement from the other side either, so he should still have enough time to take a short nap.

Thinking this, Muen pushed open the door to his room.

A faint fragrance of incense washed over him, instantly sweeping away some of his fatigue while making his heart even calmer.

He hadn't expected Father's taste to be this good. Not only had he ordered someone to clean Muen's room, he had even used such high-grade incense.

Aside from being a little too feminine, Muen couldn't find the slightest fault with the character or quality of the fragrance.

"Home really is warm after all..."

Muen sighed once more. After yawning, he crawled directly into the familiar bed.

Wonderful.

Muen curled up beneath the covers and sighed contentedly.

Even the bed was so warm...

Hm?

Wait...

Something wasn't right.

Muen abruptly snapped awake.

No matter how thoughtful Father was, he might have someone clean his room every day, use incense to keep it comfortable, and even maintain the temperature at the most suitable level...

But why was it warm underneath the blanket too?

And...

Muen reached out beside him, felt around, and gave something a squeeze. An astonishing softness immediately met his hand, teasing his sensitive nerves that had yet to fully recover.

Cold sweat instantly seeped out.

Was it his imagination?

Wasn't this place... a little too warm?