Chapter 222: Family Problem
A few minutes later, the vehicle stopped in front of the seed storage building.
The two of them stepped inside. Large sacks of seeds had already been arranged neatly against the walls while maps of the agricultural zone covered almost every table.
Several pages filled with calculations were scattered everywhere, making the building look more like a research office than a warehouse.
The two women were standing on opposite sides of the room. Neither noticed them immediately.
"So..." Gideon folded his arms. "What’s wrong?"
Ammy’s head instantly snapped toward him. The moment she saw Gideon, her entire face brightened.
"Boss!" She hurried over while carrying a thick stack of papers.
"I’ve finished the soil analysis for every farming sector." She excitedly handed him the reports.
"I also organized a four-field crop rotation plan and listed compatible crops that can be planted side by side without competing for nutrients. If we follow this schedule, the soil quality should remain stable for several growing seasons."
She looked at him expectantly. "I even added alternatives in case one of the crops fails."
Gideon accepted the report with genuine surprise. "That was fast."
Ammy couldn’t stop smiling. "I stayed up a little longer last night."
Only then did Gideon’s eyes drift toward Delilah. She was standing beside another table with her notebook open, pretending to examine several seed samples.
Pretending... Because every few seconds, she secretly glanced in his direction before immediately looking away again.
Her lips were pursed ever so slightly. She was pouting.
Gideon almost laughed. ’So she really is jealous.’
Delilah noticed the smile tugging at the corner of his mouth and immediately looked away again, suddenly becoming very interested in a sack of wheat seeds that she had already examined at least three times in the last minute.
He smiled before looking at Ammy.
"Good work, Ammy. At this rate, I think our agricultural zone will develop much faster than I expected."
Ammy’s eyes immediately widened, and she almost jumped in excitement.
"Really?!" She quickly straightened herself before clearing her throat. "A-Anyway, I’ll also start researching the livestock we’ll raise after this!"
Without waiting for another response, she hurried back into the second room.
What had once been an empty space had now turned into a small library filled with books about agriculture, livestock and animal husbandry, all of which she had already begun organizing according to their subjects.
Watching her disappear behind the shelves, Gideon couldn’t help smiling before turning his attention to Delilah.
She had been quietly standing there the entire time, staring at the report in her hands with a tired expression.
"What’s wrong?" he asked as he walked over. "Freya still doesn’t want to talk to you?"
Delilah let out a quiet sigh.
"That’s part of it." She lowered her eyes. "But she’ll be fine. She’s... used to being angry at me."
Her fingers tightened around the report.
"And... about Ammy." She hesitated before looking at him. "You seem to trust her a lot. You didn’t even read her report before approving it."
"I trust her."
The answer came without hesitation.
"But if it makes you feel better, you can review everything she writes before it reaches me."
He casually handed the stack of documents to Delilah.
She blinked in surprise before accepting them. The reports were filled with detailed handwritten notes, neat diagrams and carefully organized charts that showed far more effort than she had expected.
A faint smile slowly appeared on her face.
It wasn’t because of the reports.
It was because Gideon trusted her enough to give her that responsibility.
Johan looked at the two of them before quietly standing up.
"Well," the old man said with a chuckle, "I’ll leave you youngsters alone. I’d rather see how the barn is coming along while the two of you... do whatever it is you usually do."
He waved his hand before leaving the room.
Once the door closed behind him, silence returned.
Delilah continued reading the report while Gideon remained standing beside her.
"I heard Freya has started packing her things," he finally said. "Is she really planning to leave?"
The question immediately made Delilah stiffen.
She slowly lowered the report onto the table before answering.
"Yes."
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"She wants to find out the truth about her father herself."
"You’re not going to stop her?"
Delilah remained silent for several long seconds.
"I don’t think..." She lowered her head. "I have the right to."
"And you’re just going to let your daughter throw her life away?" Gideon sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. "I really don’t understand your parenting."
He shook his head. "My sister would’ve beaten me senseless if I tried something that stupid. Maybe you should do the same. Gentle parenting clearly isn’t working on Freya."
Despite the seriousness of the conversation, Delilah let out a helpless laugh.
"It’s... complicated." She looked at him with tired eyes. "You wouldn’t understand."
After another brief silence, she quietly asked,
"But... Could you talk to her instead? I think she’ll listen to you more than she’ll listen to me."
Gideon narrowed his eyes. He knew that wasn’t really because Freya trusted him more.
It was because Delilah’s guilt had already convinced her she no longer deserved to be heard.
"I’ll try," he said after a moment. "But you can’t keep avoiding this forever, Delilah."
He gently rested a hand on her shoulder.
"They’re adults now. They deserve the truth, and they deserve to hear it from you before they make a decision they’ll regret."
Delilah didn’t reply. She simply lowered her head and gave a slow nod.
Afterward, the two of them continued inspecting the agricultural zone together.
Once they confirmed everything was progressing smoothly, Delilah decided to stay behind with Ammy while Gideon headed toward William to check on the apartment construction before finally returning to his house.
The house felt unusually quiet now that Kilian and Aaron had returned to Climber Rift.
Freebound needed every available pair of hands to search for the suspected infected, leaving only Kanna and Oliver behind to help maintain Cinder Dusk.
Gideon let out a long sigh.
’I can’t even take a proper break before I have to knock some sense into Freya.’ He rubbed his temple. ’Honestly... I didn’t expect her to be this impulsive.’
He walked toward her room first, only to find it empty.
Thinking she had already packed her belongings and headed for the parking area, he turned around, but before he reached the entrance, he heard voices coming from Summer’s bedroom.
Summer had been sleeping most of the day because of pregnancy, so very few people visited her room unless necessary.
Gideon quietly stopped outside the door.
"Why won’t you believe me?!" Freya’s voice sounded frustrated. "Mom really said that! She admitted Dad is still alive, so I have to find him!"
"Are you an idiot?!" Summer immediately shot back. "You’ll freeze to death before you even leave White Death, and even if you survive, you won’t find him!"
"How do you know that?" Freya’s voice trembled. "What if he’s waiting for us? What if he wants to be found?"
"He doesn’t."
Summer’s answer came without hesitation.
"Because if Dad truly wanted to come back he would’ve found us first."
The room fell completely silent.
Freya didn’t argue anymore. It seemed even she couldn’t deny the possibility.
Only then did Gideon gently knock before opening the door.
"Hey."
Both sisters immediately turned toward him.
"Gideon!" Summer looked visibly relieved.
Freya quickly wiped the corner of her eyes before standing up.
"Don’t even try to stop me," she declared immediately. "I’m not abandoning Dad the way Mom did!"
"Oh, I wasn’t planning to."
Gideon calmly stepped aside and opened the door even wider.
"You’re free to go."
Both sisters froze.
"Gideon! What are you doing? Stop her!" Summer exclaimed.
"I will!" Freya proudly declared before grabbing her large travel bag and marching toward the door.
Gideon remained perfectly calm. "You know... once you leave, you won’t have hot baths anymore."
Freya continued walking.
"Your hair will become greasy, your clothes will smell, and you’ll probably spend weeks without washing properly."
"I don’t care!" She walked right past him.
Gideon nodded thoughtfully. "I see."
He waited until she reached the hallway.
"Oh, right."
Freya stopped.
"Most aberrants living around White Death during winter are insect-types."
She slowly turned around. "So?"
"Well..." Gideon shrugged. "Some look like giant centipedes. Others resemble flying cockroaches the size of a dog. They like clinging to warm bodies with those long, skinny legs and crawling all over people’s backs."
Freya’s entire body stiffened.
"They also have a habit of climbing into sleeping bags when they’re looking for warmth."
Her face immediately paled. "You..."
She pointed at him with a trembling finger. "You’re doing this on purpose!"
"Am I?" He tilted his head innocently. "I mean... you stopped walking."
Freya’s cheeks instantly turned bright red.
"You’re the worst!"
She stomped back into her room before slamming the door so hard the entire hallway shook.
"I’ll leave later!"
"Sure," Gideon answered casually. "Whatever works for you."
He quietly closed the bedroom door before turning back toward Summer.
She had already collapsed onto the sofa, letting out the biggest sigh of relief he’d heard all day.
"Oh my God... I seriously thought you were going to let her leave."
"Freya has already gotten used to living comfortably here." Gideon sat down across from her. "She isn’t really leaving."
He smiled faintly. "She was just acting on impulse."
Summer nodded, unable to hide a small smile.
After a brief silence, Gideon looked at her curiously.
"I expected you to react the same way she did." He leaned back in his chair. "I thought you’d be angry at your mother for lying."
"But instead, you became the older sister. Why?"
Comments