Paul, Zenith, and Lilia had already run to the courtyard gate in a panic. The former stood with his mouth agape, stunned by the 'grand scene' of Philip and Allen's staring contest. He tried to speak several times but immediately clamped his mouth shut, as if afraid of saying the wrong thing.
Beside him, Zenith and Lilia looked at Allen with great worry.
This scene was reflected in Rudeus's pupils, and he felt the blood drain from his body.
After Allen's identity was revealed, everyone had a consensus.
Allen could not acknowledge his father.
His background was complicated. As the eldest son of the mayor of Roa City, Philip, he had been sent to the capital as a child to be the 'son' of the next head of the Boreas family, James. Now, he had escaped from the capital and even had a warrant out for his arrest.
If he acknowledged his biological father and his identity was exposed, it would violate the family's tradition of power succession, and he would be sent back to the capital.
And James in the capital was basically confirmed to be the one who issued the warrant, with the aim of eliminating the root of the problem by killing Allen, Philip's son who had become aware of his identity.
This was definitely not an option.
'We have to protect Allen.'
He hasn't experienced family affection?
Then we are his family.
This was a consensus that had been like a steel brand in the minds of all the Greyrat family members since last winter.
And, at this very moment, Philip was standing right in front of him, less than three meters away.
What should they do?
It was too sudden...
How could Allen's father suddenly appear here??
Could it be that Allen's identity has already been exposed?
Rudeus looked at Paul and Zenith and saw in their expressions a sense of helplessness, a desire to speak but a fear that speaking would inadvertently lead to Allen's identity being exposed even sooner.
It was clear that they knew the reason for Allen's father's visit, but they had also been caught off guard and were now hesitant to speak, afraid that a careless word would draw more of Philip's attention to Allen.
Although the situation was already very bad...
Rudeus swallowed, and stiffly turned to look at Allen beside him, only to find that he still had that smiling expression, as if he wasn't worried about his identity being revealed at all.
He was still looking at Philip, his posture quite relaxed.
In his line of sight, smoke and dust were entangled with his thoughts.
'You tell me, just by meeting, how impressive would I, a stranger, have to be to Philip to immediately get a participation score?'
'Or, has this 2-point participation score already been accumulated before, but only appeared now that I have officially entered the tutoring period?'
[Don't you have an answer in your heart? I see that you have already thought through all the possibilities on your way here.]
'...I have indeed thought through almost everything, and all possibilities have been deduced.'
'But what I'm more concerned about now is...'
'Is there a task? Or is it like with Paul and Zenith, where I just get a participation score on my own?'
The system's smoke and dust danced in front of Allen's face, as if it were laughing.
[Instant Task Issued: Philip's Tests and Expectations.]
[Half a year ahead of schedule, the Host has met his biological father. As a cunning politician, he was only defeated in the power struggle in the capital a decade ago because James was older and had two more years to operate in the capital.]
[What is his purpose in coming here?]
[Complete the tests, respond to the expectations, and in the midst of completely different future possibilities, choose your own path.]
[Tests (0/2), Countdown: 24:00:00. Task Reward: Participation Score: 10 points.]
[Expectations (0/2), Countdown: 48:00:00. Task Reward: Participation Score: 10 points.]
[Task begins.]
Under the nervous gazes of Sylphie and Rudeus, Allen felt none of the sense of crisis that Rudeus imagined. He just watched the words dissipate, his gaze sweeping past the carriage beside him and then returning to Philip.
'I was just worrying about not being able to go to Roa to start the tutoring period, and Philip came to deliver a pillow.'
'Tests? Interesting.'
Not far away, Philip returned a smile and a nod, as if acknowledging his 'interesting' thought.
But apart from this father and son pair, the entire Greyrat family was frozen in place.
The scene fell into a strange silence.
Allen, at the center of the vortex, seemed unaware of the atmosphere. He just faintly withdrew his gaze from Philip, lowered his eyes, and gently took Sylphie's hand to walk towards the door. But in the next moment, he felt a slight 'resistance' from her hand.
In just that short time, her palm had become completely soaked in sweat.
??
He looked down at Sylphie in surprise.
Her reddish-brown pupils were darting left and right in a panic. She was unconsciously tidying her soft white hair, her gaze wandering over her white dress, as if she had found several mud spots on it.
But the dress was pristine white. Where were there any stains?
Allen blinked, a little confused, and turned to look at Rudeus beside him.
Rudeus had a similar expression.
Allen instantly understood what the two of them were worried about and just said softly.
"It's fine, let's go."
Only then did Rudeus and Sylphie look at him and finally move their feet to follow him.
One step, one step.
The distance of over three meters was very short.
The few people with different thoughts were already standing in front of the door.
Brother Paul was trying to get Allen's attention with various facial expressions;
Allen, on the other hand, was smiling at Philip with a relaxed expression;
Philip glanced at Paul, a flash of understanding in his eyes. He narrowed his eyes into a slit and looked back at Allen.
No one spoke.
Finally, it was Sylphie who broke the silence.
She blinked, and at Rudeus's signal, she discreetly took a deep breath and said nervously.
"Excuse me, are you a guest of the Knight Lord's family? Hello!"
Philip blinked, and his gaze left Allen and fell on Sylphie.
In an instant, the strange, tense atmosphere between them immediately melted away.
Rudeus clenched his fists.
'Well done, Sylphie! Right now, we should make Allen seem like a complete stranger. As long as he's invisible, his identity won't be exposed. And this man definitely won't recognize Allen. According to Allen, Philip has never even met him! Let alone now that he has a completely different appearance!'
Everyone's gaze turned to Sylphie beside Allen. The latter shrank her neck, her white hair swaying against the skin of her neck. She looked at Philip with a lack of confidence.
Philip tilted his head, his gaze lingering for a moment on the hands of Allen and Sylphie that were holding each other. He then bowed and patted her head.
"Yes. Your hair color is very cute. What's your name?"
"Thank you... My name is Sylphiette."
"Sylphiette? A good name, very pleasant to hear. My name is Philip Boreas Greyrat. You can call me Philip."
"...Thank you, Uncle Philip."
Rudeus breathed a sigh of relief.
'His attention has been diverted. Great. Now we just need to muddle through this and find a chance to coordinate our stories with Paul and Zenith.'
Just as this thought crossed his mind, as Rudeus's smile was just beginning to bloom, Philip suddenly spoke.
"Your name is Allen, isn't it?"
He turned to look at Allen, his gaze as if it wanted to see straight into his soul.
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