"Father." The young Godwin was much brighter than the one they knew, looking like four or five years old. "I want to eat that—"

Emanuel is leading his practice in the backyard. The incorrupt judge knight commander did not buy a mansion that made people feel air-conditioned, but chose an ordinary dwelling. The two children from the neighbors clambered up against the wall and looked curiously into the courtyard. They held the honey snack in their hands, and their eyes gleamed at the sword in Godwin's hand.

Despite Godwin Lopez's youth, that sharp iron sword was a real thing.

?"

"No." Emanuel's voice was cold. "Sweet tastes corrode your soul, pleasures corrupt you. Godwin, you're not like them."

The smile on Godwin's face froze, he flattened his mouth aggrieved, but finally lowered his head: "Yes, father."

Despite knowing that it was not his own feelings, Nemo was still very uncomfortable with the dark emotions that seemed to be burning inside. Nemo didn't think the Emmanuel in this memory was still sane—the paradoxical pain nearly dried out the young knight commander's heart, making it dark and hard as a reef.

No entertainment, no crying, no weakness, no escape. The two words he said the most to Godwin were definitely "not allowed" and "not enough."

In Emanuel's sealed memories, he looked into Godwin's eyes many times, trying to find resistance and hatred from the depths of those eyes. But he only found full trust and love, and that unreserved affection was driving him crazy. A living person trusts himself wholeheartedly, and he never thought that this feeling would be so heavy. People always say that parents are the gods of their children, but look at what he has done - he is clearly not even worthy of anyone else.

You don't deserve to be loved. Why doesn't this kid hate him, Emanuel thought?

Godwin was a good boy, Emanuel knew that. His son is strong and well-behaved, never crying. The same question is never asked twice, with one exception.

"Can I have a piece of cake, Father?" For some reason, though, Emanuel never celebrated his son's birthday. But on his birthday shortly after the training day, his son asked carefully a second time.

"No." Emanuel's answer did not change.

Godwin never asked that question again.

As time went on, Emmanuel became more and more certain that his son was the man in the prophecy. Yes, he himself did a lot of work in it, expanding his son's contacts and introducing powerful people - Godwin never let him down, and his son became as perfect and noble as he had hoped. fighter.

Just the right kind of kindness, unshakable principles, absolute control over her own desires - Godwin Lopez is even more powerful than the occasional joking Flint. His son would not slack, he would not hesitate, he would not allow himself to indulge in useless pleasures. Godwin lived extremely "standard", like an ideal puppet.

Flint was struck by what happened at the bottom of the abyss, but not his son. Being too kind and soft-hearted has always been the weakness of the elder brother. Emmanuel knows this well and has personally created a strong man who can surpass his elder brother.

But his son rarely shows a real smile, and the smile on his face never reaches his eyes.

After dragging down my favorite brother, I personally ruined the life of my wife and children. Perhaps it was all doomed, Emanuel decided.

Emmanuel looked at his hands, the veins were almost black under the shiny armor. His will is twisted, as a judge knight who has been on the edge of the abyss for a long time, the demons killed by him began to show him ambiguous smiles before death. Dark forces are gently engulfing him gradually.

No, perhaps it is he who is chasing death, deliberately touching the magic that is destined to corrupt him. His spirit has long been like a piece of sand and stone that has been weathered for a long time, and it will collapse to powder with a little touch.

It's time to let go.

Before he was completely swallowed by the darkness, before he completely lost his mind because of his guilt, he wanted a meaningful end. Emanuel could feel the rush of health and reason—he couldn't sleep at night, every breath became a burden, his eyes seemed to lose the ability to discern color.

It's time, thought Emanuel. Godwin was strong enough to not need a bad father like himself. He offered his son to God as a sacrifice to the world. If one day, Godwin Lopez can really end all the turmoil, will there be any value in what he has done?

As a chasing demon, he knows very well how to hook a superior demon and how to temporarily suppress it.

Emmanuel Lopez was sitting in the living room, wearing the battle armor that had accompanied him for many years, waiting for his son to come home. The letters that Flint had sent him were burning in the fireplace, the dry petals smelling faintly in the tongue of the fire, then quickly charred—the last proof that he was a human being, and they didn’t need to continue. .

Godwin will come, his son has always been obedient.

This will be the last cruel thing he can do in his life, and it will be the last time he hurts his loved ones. Emmanuel closed his eyes.

It all happened quickly.

Before the darkness completely invaded, he grabbed Godwin's shirt tightly, nervously explaining his last words. He put a simple word at the end, but didn't have time to say it—

His son attacked him in the gentlest and fastest way possible.

He didn't have time to say "I'm sorry".

The memory turned to pitch black.

"Typically, the memory fragments in the Glory and Confessions need to be censored." Emanuel's apparition whispered in the darkness. "I did a little trick to hide this part of the clip and record it in real time. So don't be surprised if you see my deathbed."

He was silent for a while. "...this vision is just a message, I don't know how I'm going to die, but it must be ridiculous. This is what you see, young man. I'm a strong man for now, and I hope these memories will help you comprehend."

"Don't go down the same path as me. As you can see, I'm a miserable loser."

The illusion disappeared.

The two sat back at the table, fiddling with their quills stiffly. Oliver couldn't write a word at the moment, he was about to break the flimsy pen. Emmanuel Lopez's confessional record doesn't solve many problems, it's more confusing. And he doesn't seem to be... able to deny Godwin Lopez from his heart any longer.

Oliver couldn't imagine a childhood like that. Flint, as a father, is conscientious, albeit clumsy. He was dissatisfied with his father's concealment from the bottom of his heart, but in comparison...

"It's not right." He sighed hard. "Father is acting a little strange."

"Well." Nemo replied with a sullen face, "Although I am not familiar with your father, I have read quite a few biographies related to the Tin Soldier. Combined with the memory fragment just now, Flynn T Lopez shouldn't be the type to just disappear without saying a word. And..." Nemo's voice hesitated.

"And?"

"In the former Demon Lord Ulysses... no, in my memory. I did kill most of the Tin Soldiers." Nemo clenched his fists and said almost grimly. "But it was an upright battle. And before that, I probably didn't do anything to your father, at least when we parted, he was in a good mood."

"I believe in you." Oliver frowned, lost in thought. "Honestly, Nemo. I don't think my father left his brother because of a breakdown. There must be some other reason. My mother was five months pregnant with me, as Uncle Emanuel knew. He died, and Godwin was born not long after that, right? But before that, my father disappeared completely and completely. It doesn't make sense - I know my father, and no matter how decadent he is, he certainly doesn't. Will ignore the birth of Godwin."

"The biographies I have read are probably like this." Nemo nodded, "It matches the memory fragment, it should be true. Died five months pregnant... Most people really don't think that the child will still be alive. Survive. I suspect Godwin looked into your father as well, and he seems to be more comfortable with 'you're alive' than his father."

"What the **** is my mother..."

"Oliver," Nemo cleared his throat, "Did Flint tell you about Trent blight?"

"No." Oliver rested his forehead with both hands, his hair ruffled by himself. "what's wrong?"

"...Nothing, I'll check it out myself. But I have a guess as to why your father didn't tell Emmanuel."

"I have one too." Oliver smiled reluctantly, "but I sincerely hope I'm just thinking too much."

"It is estimated that our guesses are very similar." Nemo said with difficulty, "I will say it clearly, it was your father who gave me the last blow last time, not Abbas God Steyr. He was...by me in the middle of the war... Anyway, your father was supposed to be a real hero. But he gave perjury and insisted that Abbas Alastair was the last blow to me The man—if I'm not mistaken, he must have a pretty good relationship with his deputy commander."

Oliver nodded bitterly: "Father does this kind of thing, to be honest, I'm not surprised. Every time the bard makes a fuss about the hero, he always blows them out of the hotel. "

And in Emmanuel's memory, Flint Lopez's toughness is an undoubted fact. Oliver's thoughts are very pure, if there is anything that can make that power completely bow down—

"He renounced this honor and gave it to Abbas who was killed in action - which was indeed the wisest thing to do in the big picture. And until then, whether he passed Abbas or not I have been in contact with Alban's royal family, and I will always be in touch that time." Seeing that Oliver didn't say a word, Nemo continued to analyze in a low voice. "Flint Lopez is always a citizen of Alban, if he's forced to make concessions to something..."

"Alastair family, isn't it?" Oliver twisted his fingers, his voice a little erratic. "Yeah, the prince was killed in battle, but he obtained the only title of 'Brave' on the surface. This was indeed very important to Alban at that time, and he could even gain a certain advantage in the war. For such a big thing, my father must have come into contact with Arras. The Tell family."

"Emmanuel Lopez was the Knight Commander of Judgment at the time and was sheltered by the Rudd. Even the royal family couldn't take action against him without clear evidence. Ollie, Your father is probably protecting Emmanuel. But I really can't think of the reason, according to the existing speculation, he should be on good terms with the royal family."

"The best I can guess is that this has something to do with the royal family." Oliver shook his head, "As for the reason...I said, he never told me a word about his past."... And is that also a protection?

The more they know, the more remote the truth seems.

"Forget it." Nemo sighed and put down the quill in his hand. Moonlight poured in from the window, and the sky darkened quietly at some point. "Let's go to sleep first, Ollie. I still have some clues here, I'll check it out tomorrow."

"But my report still..."

"I'm done for you," Nemo said, pushing a roll of parchment to Oliver's elbow, which was undoubtedly Oliver's own handwriting. "Get some rest early, it's been a long day."

They tacitly did not mention Godwin again, and the two of them huddled on the couch and lay down quietly. Nemo stayed up all night again, staring at the black book with Emmanuel's name written on the table—Oliver held him extra tight that night.

Clement Cathedral not far away.

Adrian Cross was on one knee on the thick carpet and prayed nightly prayers in the prayer room attached to the church residence. Since meeting the Pope, Jesse Dillon has given birth to a lot. It's just that on the night of meeting the Pope, the blond young man disappeared again, and he hadn't had time to ask the other party's plan—

Sly guy. Adrian ended his prayer and pinched his brows with a headache.

"Thinking of me?" A frivolous voice sounded from behind.

"Please remember to knock on the door next time." Adrian said without looking back.

"If you don't deny it, you are thinking of me." Jesse, who disappeared for a day and a night, leaned over to him, the blue coat still had the cool air of the night. "It's not frank."

"Indeed, because you promised me 'speak up, not cover up'. Then he turned his head and ran away." The knight commander was expressionless. "Although I don't know what level of your strength is, the Isamel labyrinth may be more dangerous than you think... At least for me, it is not a good place to deal with."

"Thank you for your concern." Jesse bent down, her long blond hair hanging down to the black monk's uniform, which looked particularly dazzling in the candlelight. "I do have a good plan, and I'll tell you all about it...well, but it's early and the mood is good. We might be able to do something else first."

He blew suggestively into Adrian's ear: "How is it, Ed?"

Adrian pressed his forehead, his tone was flat: "I have no opinion, but I need to prepare a little—"

Before he finished speaking, there was a dull sound behind him. With a random gesture, Jesse slammed the prayer room door shut and latched it herself.

"...Please don't do this." The former knight commander's voice fell, and he glanced at the candelabra and the small statue of Zeni on the table, intentionally or unintentionally. There wasn't even a chair in the cramped prayer room. "This is the prayer room."

"I think it's fine." Jesse shrugged, "Why not?"

This time, the blond young man did not stick to the bone as if he had no bones, but folded his arms and showed an inexplicable smile. "As I said, you will definitely regret it."

(m..=)