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Like every morning, even before the sunlight caressed his face, Desmond was already up. The day’s first task was to organize his room, something simple enough since Desmond rarely spent time in it. Since Desmond’s mother, Samantha Astryd, did not share the same habit of getting up early and being the one in charge of breakfast, Desmond was busy with other tasks before breakfast.

As the one who instilled such habits in Desmond, Eiden Astryd had also been awake for some time, taking care of his own business. Not long ago, Eiden would have spent a few hours teaching his son the art of the sword that took him decades to perfect, but that was over; Eiden no longer had anything to teach his son when it came to combat.

There was a point when Eiden tried to teach Desmond his trade as a military investigator, seeing how absurd his son’s talent was. Desmond never seemed too interested; Eiden always suspected that Desmond just hated tedious paperwork.

Although father and son had nothing to teach each other, they still spent some time together, mainly making repairs or improvements to the house. It had become routine for Samantha to wake up to see her son and her husband covered in dirt with tools in hand. It’s not like the house was disrepair; they just couldn’t sit still.

Samantha could still remember when she and Eiden were just dating and asked him about his habit of always being busy with something. The answer she received was that the men of the Astryd family are like sharks; they will die if they stop moving. Nostalgia filled Samantha’s smile with tenderness; despite her age, she was still a gorgeous woman, full of mature charm.

Breakfast, as always, was bountiful and noisy; only God knew that the men of the Astryd family had the appetite and manners of a bear at the table, although, after an affectionate wake-up call, the pair of father and son behaved better.

In essence, it was just another ordinary day in the daily life of the Astryd family. As soon as Desmond finished eating, his first reaction was to jump out of his seat, pick up his plates and cutlery, put them in the sink, and run out of the house.

Seeing their son run with excitement, Samantha and Eiden shared a knowing gesture. This has been going on for several years, and it all started when the Lynwood family moved in next door.

.....

Desmond’s father, Eiden, had been in the military for years before becoming a military detective. During those years, Eiden made many friends and comrades, including Jack Lynwood, who moved in next door with his wife and daughter.

For Eiden and Samantha, the Lynwood family’s move was great news. It was good to have such close friends right next door; the couple did not expect this event to be even better than they expected.

The reason was simple: Desmond, his son, who had always been somewhat withdrawn and hyperactive, perhaps even aggressive, fell almost instantly in love with Claire, the daughter of the Lynwood family.

The fact that their children could get along was obviously good news for both families, but only Eiden and Samantha knew how much that friendship changed their son. Through Claire, whom Desmond viewed as a sister, Desmond learned to care for others, empathize, care, and show affection, things his parents had never seen directed at anyone other than themselves.

As for Claire? She practically adored Desmond. Being the brave and protective type, Desmond grew up to become more caring and loving; Desmond was the best kid in the world in the eyes of the young and naive Claire.

Nobody knows when it started, but both Claire and Desmond began calling each other brothers, which caused some misunderstandings when there were visitors.

Today, taking advantage of the fact that it was summer vacation, both families decided to go for a walk and visit a nearby lake so that their children could swim and play in the water, which is why Desmond ran so excited to look for Claire.

Spending hours in a car with two small children in the back seat wasn’t exactly the most pleasurable experience in the world. But Desmond was always more mature and knew when to behave, while Claire was energetic but very obedient, so their parents didn’t have to suffer as much in their hours on the road.

As expected, when Desmond and Claire set their sights on the lake, their eyes began to sparkle with excitement. Being so used to the city, being able to swim and play in the water was an experience that they could only enjoy once or twice a year.

Desmond and Claire played nonstop as hours passed, laughing and enjoying every moment. Being the oldest, Desmond had to always keep in mind to be careful with Claire, who was considerably more fragile.

By the time the sun started to go down, Desmond had finished teaching sweet Claire how to swim, though, given her little frame and age, Claire could only do it for a couple of seconds before getting tired.

During that time, both children’s parents lounged and chatted while occasionally drinking some alcohol. From time to time, Samantha and Claire’s mother shared a look of concern after seeing their children. Being more attentive to these things, both mothers worried about their children’s relationship.

The concern of both mothers was not strange; after all, Desmond was already twelve years old and about to enter puberty, while Claire was only nine years old, and both were in very different stages of their development. Both mothers were concerned about how much time their children spent together instead of with other children their age.

Perhaps taking advantage of the fact that it was one of those rare occasions when everyone was together, Samantha tried to tease her by asking Claire and Desmond what they thought of each other and if they wanted to bring more friends to the lake another time. Still, the answer she got left her speechless.

While Desmond and Claire’s response wasn’t exactly the same, it could be summed up in one sentence: I don’t need anyone but him/her. Her mother’s wordless expression was still etched in Desmond’s memory.

Oddly enough, Desmond and Claire hadn’t changed much in that regard. Although their relationship had long since changed in nature, and the innocence had been lost, they still saw each other as the most important thing in the world.

That last thought brought a wave that blurred the sea of ??memories which Desmond had submerged, disturbing his sleep and causing him to wake up. The ceiling was other than the one he saw in his dream but was still familiar.

The first thing Desmond saw when he looked down was Claire, who snuggled against his chest like an adorable kitten, but the extra weight on top of him told Desmond that Claire wasn’t the only person on the bed. On the other side of Claire was Sasha, clinging like an octopus to Desmond’s body, that intense but strangely comfortable body heat that was unmistakable.

“I guess some things did change.”

Desmond commented to himself, remembering how Claire was the only person next to him in the past.

Sudden wetness startled Desmond, who only now realized that tears had begun to trickle down his cheeks. It wasn’t pain or sadness that Desmond felt, but a strong nostalgia and longing for those memories of a distant past.

Looking at Claire’s cute but tired face resting on his chest, Desmond couldn’t help but think how he was all she had. Who knew how many dreams like this Claire had? Claire rarely talked about it, but how could she not miss her parents?

When was the last time he allowed himself to be vulnerable? Desmond didn’t know it, but the tears continued to trickle down his cheeks, and his watery eyes focused on a diamond-like candle that glowed nonstop in the corner of the room. That candle was the one that Desmond bought when he was in Serefia the last time, and it had images and memories of Desmond with his parents engraved on it, an object full of nostalgia and mourning.

“I miss them so much, Revna.”

Catching Revna, who had been watching silently by surprise, Desmond addressed her without taking his eyes off the candle. Revna didn’t know how to respond; this side of her Master was entirely unknown to her; she didn’t even know what Desmond was talking about. Still, Desmond didn’t expect an answer in the first place.

“I’m a little surprised to see you out of your shadow. What happened?”

Having a question she could answer, Revna immediately jumped into an explanation. Desmond finally understood what had happened after his experiment with his new law, and the results were both good and bad.

On the good side, it had worked; details aside, Silvia had emerged stronger after the baptism of fire and the law of contradiction. On the other hand, using the Law of Contradiction in such a way was too heavy a burden for Desmond, and he fainted shortly after using it.

At first, Claire and Sasha just pushed him aside and rested with him in the yard, but they began to worry after seeing that he didn’t wake up. After Cecilia gave him a check, everyone understood that Desmond was simply exhausted, so he was brought to his room to rest. Eventually, both Sasha and Claire snuck into the room and onto the bed, which ended up in his current situation.

Revna was ready to leave the room after seeing that her Master was fine; lurking at night was not something she still did, but Desmond stopped her in her tracks with a single sentence.

“There is enough space for you in the bed.”