LUCIA

DAMIAN(6)

'I have to give my thanks.'

He was looking for a reason to change Damian's boarding course to something else and this was perfect. Changing a course involves dealing with the foundational rules, so an amendment was difficult. Hugo could exert a great deal of influence over the board of directors, but he didn't have the decisive vote to change the foundational rules.

Among the courses at the academy, was a two-year intensive course. As long as you wanted to, during those two years, you could attend any course you wanted to. It was part of the academy's business insight. In exchange, no certificate for graduation or completion was given. In order to prevent the falsification of academic level due to changing from the intensive course to another course, it was stated as a closed construct rule that one course couldn't be changed to another.

From the way the dorm looked, it was obvious that not just one or two coins were stolen. If this was audited, there was likely going to be a few board of directors caught. From the looks of it, he was going to be able to secure the decisive vote in the board of directors. Since he had now found a way, his wife's request was practically solved.

Hugo turned to Damian and looked him over, up and down. He looked bigger than the last time he saw him. Whether it was Damian or Evangeline, once he looked away and turned back, something about them had changed.

"Do you have something left to do?" (Hugo)

Damian had been standing nervously ever since his father's gaze fell on him, so he quickly replied.

"No, I do not." (Damian)

"If there's anything you need to pack, pack it now. We're going home." (Hugo)

"But I'm currently under confinement..."

"That's taken care of."

"Did something happen at home, by any chance?"

Damian was quickly filled with worry after his surprise over his father's visit had settled down. The face of his mother and younger sister quickly flashed in his mind.

"'Something happen'? Well, I can't say nothing happened."

As he listened to the pair of father and son talk to each other, Chris stealthily approached and continued to alternate glances between them. When he saw them separately, he thought they looked similar, but seeing them side by side, they didn't just look similar, they looked exactly alike. Anyone could tell that they were definitely not strangers. Despite that, if you didn't hear the call of 'father',  your first thought would definitely not be that they were as father and son. You would think that they looked more like brothers with a huge age difference.

'So Damian is really the son of the Duke of Taran? But why doesn't anyone know?'

He could not understand why people didn't know that someone as famous as the Duke of Taran had a son as big as Damian.

Hugo frowned slightly, seeing the boy who had stopped a few steps away from him, shoved his head forward, and was blatantly and rudely staring at him.

"Who are you?"

Chris realized his mistake and stiffened to attention. His father's strict eyes flashed before his eyes. If Chris' father, who was always talking about prudence in appearance, saw Chris' action today, it wouldn't just end with a few smacks.

"That was rude of me. I apologize. I am Chris, an academy classmate of Student Damian. It is an honor to meet you."

Hugo stroked his chin as he watched Chris bend over till he was practically in half.

"You seem familiar." (Hugo)

"I'm sorry? Ah...I once gave you my greetings at the New Year party earlier this year." (Chris)

'Don't tell me he remembers something from almost a year ago?'

When his father was introducing him to people, he had greeted the ducal couple only once.

'Oops. I didn't introduce my name properly.'

While Chris agonized over whether to introduce himself again after realizing his mistake, Hugo's memory came back to him. Hugo's memory was extraordinary, the only problem was that he hadn't really cared about it.

"The second son of Marquis Philip." (Hugo)

"Huh? Y-Yes, you're right." (Chris)

"Academy classmate, you say? What are you doing here?"

"For that, I..."

Chris was going to confess that he had a huge responsibility in Damian's suspension. But Damian spoke first.

"He's my friend."

Chris has stayed in his room continuously for several days but Damian couldn't define his relationship with Chris. But after he said it, he realized. Chris was his friend. The first friend he made at the academy. He looked at Chris and found the boy grinning at him and he laughed.

Hugo looked at the two boys with intrigue in his eyes. His wife was very interested in Damian's friendships.

[Damian never mentions friends in his letters. Could he have no friends?]

[Such things aren't necessary.]

Hugo had never had a friend in his life, nor had he ever wanted one or thought it was necessary. When he said that, his wife looked at him prudishly.

[Well, for me, I hope Damian doesn't end up resembling you in that area.]

Hugo felt wronged; he was criticized even though he was innocent. He felt like at this rate, if Damian had no friends, he would hear that Damian really took after him to be like that. He had been considering sticking a few similar henchmen-like friends by his son's side. But with this, his wife would definitely love to hear that Damian had someone to call a friend.

"You said you were Chris, right? Are you also boarding?" (Hugo)

"No, sir. I will be going home soon." (Chris)

"That's good then. Come with me too." (Hugo)

"...Pardon?"

Hugo urged Damian, not answering Chris' puzzlement.

"If you've packed everything, hurry up."

There wasn't even time to pack but Damian simply carried Asha in his arms without complaints. And as he followed after Hugo, who was heading to the door, he spoke to Chris, who was just standing there, spaced out.

"What are you doing? Let's go."

"You mean me?"

As he looked at this back of his cold-blooded friend, who didn't bother to reply a second time, Chris followed, still dazed. To him, the way this pair of father and son talked was strange.