Chapter 184: Son-In-Law Vs Father-In-Law [2]
"..."
Soren looked at his father-in-law, the silence between them taut.
On a purely pragmatic level, he understood the logic. Just like President Craig, his father-in-law had simply chosen the lives of the many over the life of one. Yet, perhaps that one life was his wife, and Darius’s own daughter, Soren could not bring himself to fully accept it.
Was total abandonment really the only option available to a 7th-Circle powerhouse?
Even if keeping her in the main household was too dangerous, a man of Darius’s stature surely had better options than forcing her into an arranged marriage contract and hoping for the best.
Well, he got to meet Ethea thanks to that, so he could not entirely resent the outcome, but the methodology still felt incredibly reckless.
’Could it be...’
Soren squinted, thinking perhaps the man was protecting her from the shadows. But that theory fell apart immediately.
If he were really doing that, then there would have been hidden guardians or something,’ Soren thought. ’They would have acted when she was about to get assassinated on the wedding day, or during the chaos yesterday.’
But no such thing happened. So, it did not make sense. And the more Soren looked at the info he had, the more it felt like Darius was just monitoring them, not protecting them.
’No, wait...’
Soren paused, recalling a specific detail from Darius’s profile.
’His ability was Spirit Contracts. Then...’
Perhaps those guardians were not entirely human, but invisible entities bound by his spirit contracts. Since Soren had no affinity with them or the spiritual realm, he obviously could not sense or see them. That might explain why he missed them if they truly were lurking nearby. But a seventh-circle cultivator’s spirits should have been powerful enough to stop yesterday’s mess, right? There was no reason for them to remain idle while Ethea was in danger. Then why?
’Hah...’
Sighing inwardly at the messy web of half-truths and hidden motives, Soren decided to test the boundaries of the older man’s justification.
"...Can you tell me ’how’ you did not abandon her?"
"I..."
Darius paused, looking at Soren for a few seconds before he answered.
"I gave her a... new family."
Soren just stared at him, his expression screaming, ’Are you serious right now?’.
The excuse was ridiculous. It was just passing the buck to a complete stranger. Until recently, Soren had been nothing more than a regular dude with no power. He was nowhere near strong enough to shield someone from a massive threat. Heck, if the assassin hadn’t run away and fought seriously, he would have been dead long ago.
"..." Meanwhile, realizing how he sounded under Soren’s heavy stare, Darius let out a sigh, his shoulders dropping slightly.
"No... you are right," Darius said, looking away. "Ultimately, I did abandon her. I left the burden on your shoulders. And it breaks my heart every single day."
He looked back up, admitting the truth without his usual polished mask. "I feel the guilt of it constantly. I am not a good father, Soren. I failed her completely, and choosing to run from the problem doesn’t change that. But... Back then, looking at what we were up against, I felt like I had no choice."
Soren let the room go quiet for a second, processing the answer before pushing for the real truth.
"Then... why me?"
He raised his hand slightly to stop the older man from giving a generic answer. "Before you misunderstand, I am not saying I regret the marriage or that I don’t want her here. In fact, I love Ethea, and I am happy to have her as my wife. But... Looking at it logically, back then, I was nobody. Why did you choose me?"
Darius didn’t blink. The vulnerability from a moment ago vanished, replaced by a cool, steady gaze.
"Don’t you already know?" Darius asked. "We had a deal with your family, remember? And... Isn’t that the exact reason you agreed to the marriage too?"
Soren fell silent.
He knew exactly what the man was doing. Darius was shifting the topic, and masterfully too. Bringing up the arrangement was an easy way to shut down the question and reframe everything as a settled matter between their families.
But Soren didn’t let it slide.
"That deal doesn’t explain the choice. And there were other circumstances as to why I agreed." Soren said quietly. "I still don’t understand why exactly it was me. I am sure there must have been better candidates out there. Powerful families, influential individuals, or even royalty, people who actually had the strength to protect her. My family isn’t exactly powerful, and as you might already know, they aren’t good people either. So why?"
Darius watched him for a long beat, his shoulders dropping slightly as if he were finally giving up the defense.
"Because I wanted her to have a normal life."
"Huh?" Soren became dumbfounded.
Darius let out a slow, heavy sigh, the exhaustion finally catching up to his voice.
"You know... Ethea... She has been living under crushing pressure since she was little," Darius said, staring blankly at the floor. "She was always incredibly smart and perceptive, even as a young child. Because she picked up on things so quickly, everyone praised her constantly. They called her a once-in-a-generation genius, the future pride of the family. But that praise became a cage."
He shifted slightly, running a hand over his face. "As she grew up, she became consumed by the need to live up to those expectations. She never allowed herself a single moment of weakness. She trained until she collapsed, studied until dawn, and forced herself to become the flawless successor everyone demanded she be."
"And because of that," He paused, a bitter edge creeping into his tone, "she didn’t get to have an ordinary life. Do you understand what I mean, Soren? She couldn’t enjoy her childhood like other kids did. Even when she went away to the academy, where she was supposed to have some freedom, she still kept up that same grueling pace. She never let herself breathe."
"I... I always blame myself for that."
