Chapter 666: Silly Smile!

Chapter 666: Smirking!

Richard entered from the foyer, habitually scanning the living room before taking off his divine robe and hanging it on the coat rack.

The vast majority of priests treated their divine robes like a doctor’s white coat, wearing them only for work and taking them off after hours; they would have other clothes underneath, allowing them to blend directly into secular society the moment the robe was removed.

Karen, however, wore his divine robe as regular clothing, with no casual attire underneath.

This was because his office had a private lounge where he could leisurely take a shower and change into casual clothes before going out if he needed to change locations; furthermore, Karen’s divine robe was quite expensive, with many built-in small arrays that functioned very stably and well for self-cleaning and heat preservation, making casual clothes far less comfortable to wear than the divine robe.

Richard’s divine robe was not nearly as expensive as Karen’s, because his robes were all bought for him by his grandmother—well, although... Karen’s divine robe was also bought by his grandmother.

Walking to the door of his father’s study, Richard hesitated for a moment and decided not to go in, because he suddenly realized one thing: his father hadn't beaten him in a while.

A major reason for this was that he rarely came home recently, spending most of his time busy in the department.

He felt embarrassed to say he was busy in front of Karen, but in reality, he truly was; after Karen made him the office director, he only gave him a working direction, but Mr. Alfred would assign him specific tasks.

The reason he had immediately mentioned Karen’s array mentor, Piros, in the car was also because he had recently been following up on an array academic seminar that Piros was participating in, which was similar to an exceptional array master giving a special lecture series. Richard had even specially ordered a flower basket remotely in Karen’s name to be delivered there.

"Then, should I take a shower first?"

Richard turned around, deciding to postpone family fun time for now.

Upon turning around, Richard immediately let out an "Ah!" because he actually saw his young uncle sitting in the living room.

His young uncle, Inquisitor Dark, was sitting in the corner of the living room sofa, looking weak and helpless.

In this world, there really were some people whose presence was just that low; no matter the occasion, they naturally situated themselves on

Karen smiled at Dirk. "There is no need for such formality, Mr. Dirk. It only creates unnecessary distance."

Dirk was Richard’s uncle by marriage, which made him his own aunt's husband.

Moreover, in Karen's perception, Dirk was actually quite endearing; on several occasions when he visited the Goumang house, he would stumble upon him hiding alone in the flower garden smoking, merely to pass the time before dinner.

He was a devoted family man, always doing his utmost to maintain his responsibilities as a husband and a father, and even if his abilities were mediocre... perhaps this was simply what an ordinary man looked like.

"Very well, yes, of course, Lord Minister."

Dirk waited until Karen had taken a seat on the opposite sofa before he finally sat back down himself.

In his heart, he could not help but feel a wave of emotion; the first time he had met this young man here, he could still offer him guidance from his position as an Inquisitor, then gradually, when they met again, he found himself proactively offering him cigarettes, then it became necessary to use honorifics, and now, he had to call him 'Lord'.

"What were you discussing?" Karen asked on his own initiative.

"It is like this, Karen..." Before his uncle could speak, Richard stepped forward to explain the situation to Karen.

Sitting opposite them, Dirk maintained a constrained smile throughout.

Karen nodded and said, "Then the nature of this matter is different. It is likely that the person handling it pinned several bad debts onto Inquisitor Dirk, precisely because they knew of your connection to the Goumang family and wanted you to help clear them."

"Is that so?" Dirk's eyes widened.

It was not always true that those with a background had smooth sailing in their units, nor would everyone deliberately accommodate you; in fact, digging holes for you to jump into or pushing you forward to take the blame was the true norm.

Furthermore, the Goumang family had always enjoyed an excellent reputation, and Old Man Delon cherished his feathers deeply; a bishop’s family like this truly did not inspire fear in subordinates as the previous patriarch had.

"How about this, Richard? When you return, have Vick go and help untangle this matter. Whichever responsibility belongs to whom will stay there, and the issue will be resolved."

"Alright, I understand," Richard responded with a smile.

Dirk also let out a long sigh of relief; he knew that with Karen’s word, the matter was as good as settled. Though he might receive a reprimand and perhaps even a demotion, no major disaster would unfold; he had not committed any corruption.

With a creak, the living room study door opened, and Mr. Eisen stood at the threshold.

Richard sprang up with a buzz; the tension had not vanished, but merely transferred.

Mr. Eisen’s gaze first fell upon Dirk; Dirk offered Eisen a smile, and Eisen managed a stiff nod before his gaze shifted to Richard, his fist suddenly clenching.

Little Jerry inside Richard’s body sensed his host's reaction and immediately entered a combat... no, a preparation-for-a-beating state.

But in the end, Eisen turned his gaze toward Karen: "Karen, you are here."

"Yes, Mr. Eisen."

Karen stood up and walked toward the study on his own initiative. Eisen stepped aside to let him in, then closed the door.

"You weren't injured, were you?" Eisen asked with concern.

"I am fine, it was nothing serious."

"Last night, Father went as well."

"Yes, he did. Grandmother dragged him along, haha."

"I was quite surprised, truly. In my understanding of him, Father would never engage in such outrageous behavior, especially since he only recently became a bishop."

"Mm."

"Therefore, Father really has changed, and changed a great deal."

"Uncle, are you laying the groundwork for something?"

"Ah..." Eisen opened his mouth, and only after a moment did he say, "Is it that obvious?"

"Not obvious, just not hidden well enough."

"Today is Father's birthday," Eisen said.

"I only just learned of it myself, but Richard and Dirk do not seem to know."

It was quite normal in other households for the younger generation to forget the birthdays of their elders; those who were favored always acted without fear.

Yet the Goumang family still possessed a rather thick traditional atmosphere; by secular definitions, it was a conservative household, and as the head of the family, Delon's birthday ought to be a major annual event for the clan.

"Because Father has not celebrated his birthday for many years. His birthday happens to be the anniversary of my sister's death."

"Oh, so that is why."

"Though that was not the exact date of my sister's passing—it was likely the date the Church officially recognized her accidental death during that mission—Father does not know, so he will never celebrate his birthday."

"I see."

No wonder Grandmother had chosen this day, making everything so... tightly scheduled.

It was just like in a kindergarten, where a child named 'Grandfather' had just done a good deed, and Grandmother immediately took his hand to come and seek a reward; there were multiple factors at play here.

"Yet Father never displays his longing for my sister in front of others. If nothing goes amiss, during these few nights, he will work and live like a normal person by day, but at night, he will sleep alone in the basement, staring at my sister's portrait for the entire night. For all these years, this is how he has lived.

He has always carried a tremendous guilt over my sister's death, believing that it was his high expectations of her that led her into that department, which ultimately resulted in the accident.

My sister was once the greatest pride of his life."

"This is much more sincere," Karen smiled.

"Eh?" Eisen froze for a moment, then immediately came to his senses and smiled along. "This wasn't groundwork."

"I know, so there is no need for you to lay groundwork, Uncle. It doesn't suit you; you are better suited to being straightforward."

"Is that so..."

"Grandmother told me that she intends to inform Lord Delon about my matters."

"Really? When?"

"Let it be today."

...

"It seems my soup is ready," Madame Tangli said as she walked into the kitchen, catching the aroma.

"Yes, I can hardly resist sneaking a bowl beforehand," Delon replied with a laugh.

"However, it will be a while before dinner is served. I need to stir-fry a few more dishes; after all, Karen is here, and I want him to help me critique them."

"Of course, my dear. As long as you are happy. I shall head down to the workshop first."

"Alright, go on then."

Delon stepped out of the kitchen and walked straight down to the basement; his workshop was below, its layout mirroring his office quite closely.

Except he did not immediately resume the research from his office; instead, after sitting down, he retrieved a photo frame from a drawer. Inside the frame was not a photograph, but a delicate oil painting.

The painting depicted a family of five.

He and his wife stood side by side, his right hand holding a still-young Eisen, his wife cradling their infant youngest daughter in her arms, while their eldest daughter stood between him and his wife, smiling radiantly, already a beautiful young girl.

Through the glass, his fingers brushed over his eldest daughter's face, over and over again.

His eyes gradually began to grow moist.

In his mind, there emerged the day he received news of his daughter’s accident, and his wife's sharp, stern reproach to him: "Delon, you promised you would protect our daughter!"

"I am sorry..."

Delon murmured softly to himself, and then, he suddenly snapped his head up; the words from a moment ago had not just drifted through his mind, they had resonated in reality.

Then, he watched as his wife walked in carrying a fruit platter, upon which lay a bunch of freshly washed grapes.

“Do you still remember the promise you made to me when our daughter was just born?” Lady Tangli asked.

“I remember, my lady, I promised that I would use my very life to protect the safety of you and our daughter.”

“You broke your word.”

“Yes, I broke my word, if I were given another chance, I would absolutely never...”

“She is already gone.”

Delon closed his eyes and nodded: “Aye, what is the point of saying all this now...”

“If nothing had happened to our daughter, she would have been married long ago, even before Eisen, and her child would likely be a bit older than Richard.”

“Yes, that is true.”

“We might have had a grandson or a granddaughter, and they would surely have been magnificent, because our daughter was magnificent.”

“Of course, without a doubt, the blood of you and me flowed through her veins, and while she was still sitting in her cradle, she awakened the Key of the Rubik's Cube, playing with it as if it were her own toy.

The man she would deign to look upon would surely be exceptionally brilliant as well, and their child would certainly inherit their excellent bloodline, bound to be a genius!”

Lady Tangli suddenly spoke up: “Just like Karen?”

The old master Delon blinked and froze, a look of contemplation and struggle flickering across his face, before he finally shook his head:

“My dear, I believe that is impossible, because Karen's excellence surpasses our understanding and imagination, I wouldn't even dare to dream such an exaggerated dream in my sleep.

Do you know, he is even proficient in arrays, the true kind of mastery, just what kind of genius is he, how on earth did he manage it!

In my eyes, only those high and mighty Children of God within the Holy Church could possibly possess such terrifying talent as his!”

“What if, and I am only saying what if, our grandson happened to be someone just like Karen?”

Delon gave it some serious thought, then spread his hands and replied:

“Then I suppose when lying in bed at night, I would suddenly toss and turn back and forth, and then burst out laughing like a fool, just like how you, my dear, have been in bed these past six months...”

Delon abruptly stiffened, because he recalled those very actions; over the past half year, his wife had frequently done this in bed, sometimes tossing and turning back and forth for no rhyme or reason, burying her face in the quilt, letting out muffled laughter.

“Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!”

Delon heard the pounding of his own heart, his lips feeling somewhat dry as a sudden possibility struck him, a possibility so clear and obvious, a clue that could have long been discerned from the string of special treatments his wife had shown Karen ever since she met him.

Some matters, though originally shrouded in mist, become instantly clear once you catch the scent and deduce backward from the finish line, and his wife's words just now were already practically an explicit revelation.

The spring shifted once more,

With a heavy thud, the old master bolted to his feet, utterly ignoring the chair beneath him as it flipped over, his eyes wide as he stared intently at his wife, his fists clenched tightly:

“My dear, is it true?”

Lady Tangli picked up a grape, placed it into her husband's mouth, and gently brushed her fingertips against his lips, which had turned pale from excitement, as she reminded him:

“Tonight, when you laugh like a fool, remember to keep it down, do not disturb my sleep.”

———

Everyone can read the next chapter when you wake up tomorrow morning, holding you all close!