"!!!" Zack Flamante’s body shook. The entire hall was silent, including the king.
Zack walked toward the soldier who brought the ssage. He grabbed his collar and glared at him. "What did you say? You must have brought the wrong ssage!"
The soldier also wanted to say he really did bring the wrong ssage. However, there was almost no soldier that didn’t admire the symbol of the Azilia Kingdom’s military, Sword Saint Sullivan.
That was why the soldier could only cry because that was the reality.
"You..." Zack gritted his teeth, but there was nothing he could do that would change the outco.
"..." Zack’s grip loosened as he felt like he had lost all his strength.
The rest of the ministers and the king couldn’t believe what they had just heard either.
Zack’s face darkened as he looked at the king with a hollow stare. His voice, which was usually calm and collected, had cracked. "Your Majesty. My deepest apologies. I might not be able to attend the rest of the eting..."
"Y-Yeah..." The king couldn’t respond to Zack completely, as the man had already walked out of the hall.
Zack was staring at the city from the balcony. It was supposed to be a beautiful city, but it felt like the world had lost its color.
His hand was shaking and moving instinctively to the sword.
It reminded him of what happened when his mother died.
When Vanessa died, he still rembered vividly Sullivan still swinging his sword during the night.
"Aaaahhhh!" Sullivan’s swings were frantic and contained a lot of anger. It was as if he was angry at the world for taking his wife so soon.
However, that anger only lasted for a day. The next day, he had yet to stop his swinging record.
Still, when Zack saw that swing, he felt empty. The swing was so hollow, as if there was no trace of anything.
He deeply admired Sullivan’s swings. They were full of vigor and made Zack want to follow him.
But this ti, his swing was so hollow, as if his soul had left his body.
There was one word that might be able to describe what he saw from him the most. Loneliness.
The Sword Saint was lonely. Zack had his familiars. His familiars actually did their best to cheer him up, knowing full well the sadness of losing soone important.
However, his grandfather had nothing but swords. The only way he could release his emotion was by swinging his sword.
It might be after this ti that he stopped admiring Sullivan and his swing. That might have made him feel even more isolated.
That was also the last ti he saw him at ho. Vanessa was always the person Sullivan returned to. She was the one who made the world less lonely.
Once he lost her, he lost his ho.
Zack ca to learn that Sullivan was distracting himself from all that loneliness by fighting on the front line. He swung his sword again and again, as that was the only thing left for him.
Until one day, Sullivan had actually returned ho.
It was the day he heard Zack was about to beco a father.
At that ti, soone knocked on the door. Normally, he would have known if there were any visitors.
Since it was an unexpected visit and he happened to be near the door, he opened it himself.
"!!!" Zack was taken aback, seeing the figure that he had lost for years. "F-Father..."
"..." Sullivan bit his lip. "I’m sorry..."
Zack widened his eyes in shock. Sullivan had always maintained his dignity. This was the first ti he had even heard him apologizing.
"When I lost your mother, I felt like I lost my ho. I had nothing but my sword, so I kept swinging, swinging, and swinging. I didn’t even know why I was swinging in the first place.
"I had forgotten that I was never alone. I had you." Sullivan suddenly dropped to his knees.
"Father? What are you doing?"
"The mont I left this house to distract myself, I had lost my ho twice. I lost you... son."
Zack’s heart shook when he heard that word again. ’You’re wrong. Both of us were wrong. I shouldn’t have isolated you as well. I knew how much you loved Mother...’
Sullivan raised his head. "After I heard that you are about to beco a father, I rembered everything. I know what I have done is unforgivable, but please... if you still have even the slightest feeling about your worthless father, please forgive ...’
Zack was shaking. He couldn’t contain his tears. He thought he had lost both parents a few years ago. But his lost father had finally returned.
Zack just couldn’t contain himself and hugged him tight. "Father. Welco ho."
Even Sullivan couldn’t hold back his tears. "I promise... I will do whatever I can to protect this family. I will never let go of you anymore..."
Rembering this mory made Zack clench his hands. He recalled every last thing that happened onward.
It was a bit awkward at first, but his wife also accepted him back. When William Flamante was born, Sullivan finally laid down his sword and resigned from his position as the marshal to finally beco a grandfather.
Because everything had been taken care of by Vanessa before, Sullivan truly didn’t know how to take care of a kid.
Zack even had to teach him how to hold the baby correctly. But Sullivan fulfilled his promise. No matter how many tis he failed, he would practice it again and again. He learned how to cook and even made toys for their kids.
He showed his grandchildren love and hoped that they wouldn’t follow his path only to find that the end of the path was nothing but loneliness.
"You have fulfilled your promise, Father. I’m sure that Noelle is not alone anymore, that child has the people around her to support her." Zack could imagine Selena and the others by Noelle’s side.
"That’s why... leave the family to and go back to your ho, Father." Zack took a deep breath. The death of Vanessa, the loss of ho, and the broken road. Ultimately, he returned to the path he belonged to.
"It was truly one hell of a journey, wasn’t it, Dad?"
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