There's a saying passed down to every head of the Dawson duchy.
'Protect the family and follow the path of Light.'
Like my Father and his Father before him, I strived to pursue the teaching my whole life.
I met the love of my life when I was still, but a fledgling and god gifted us an adorable and brilliant daughter not too long after.
But my faith in the Holy Light was shaken to its very core the moment our son was born. He was sick...Very sick...Not even the Archbishop could help my poor son other than giving us his heartfelt prayer.
I felt like dying. So weak without power. It was as if I was living and dragging my feet just to endure yet another day while breathing in the agony of watching my own son convulsing as though he would soon draw his last breath.
But I was the family's head. My wife, Maya, and our children needed me. It was my role to protect them...
Therefore, I gritted my teeth, dragged my feet, swallowed the food, and lived to survive. I wanted to protect my family...
Life went on and still felt like torture, but I survived...And so did Alexander.
Unlike the facade I put out on the front, I was a shallow man.
The day Alexander could see, I wept and confessed all the ugly truth and despair I had buried deep within my soul like the shamed sinner that I was to the Light. Bare without lies...
And from that day onward, songs of veneration towards the Light had found my once barren heart yet again. I came to believe in the grace of God.
I was thankful for Alexander's life, Maya's unyielding spirit that supported me when I was weak, Alyson's health, and also for myself, who was able to just keep on living.
Renewed with endless vigor, I worked my brain and bones to the limit every day so I could protect my family.
Three years of plague that terrorized the whole world had brought yet another hideous monster out in the open. Greed for both power and authority sprouted like spores all over the kingdom.
Deep-rooted schemes were brewing, and deadly traps ensued here and there, spurring the kingdom into a civil war. Chaos was hiding its ugly front everywhere, just waiting patiently for the frail balance to break once and for all.
I couldn't afford the kingdom to sink into war. Not while my daughter was just a baby girl and my son lay still on the bed every day.
No. I won't have that.
Starting from rallying the nearest fainthearted nobles in the north that I could find, down to even the most cunning opportunist in the royal capital, I did everything. To that end, the Dawson was able to spearhead the largest faction of nobles in the Boreas kingdom rightfully, in both might and politics. But I didn't stop there.
Using the ongoing mayhem itself to my favor, I managed to sabotage the coffers of nobles who wanted out their greedy hands into the royal palace, trying to rake in the big pie.
The plan was to support the merchant guild, giving them enough influence to grow further while also culling them now and then without their knowledge. They would serve as the best distraction to the nobles whose eyes were blinded by the shine of the gold coins.
With Byron's assistance and the house's firm social standing, the plan was well executed. On the surface, it would seem like Dawson only wanted nothing but the well-being of the common, while the naked truth was as dark and horrible as it could be. Some nobles lost their money, forced to sell their house, and maybe even their families. Merchants were drowned in an endless sea of conflicts against the nobles and their own, some would lose their whole assets, and some would die either by their own doing or due to the marrauders out there in the wild.
Nevertheless, all of it was the consequence of what I had done in order to pit the merchants and nobles so they would keep each other busy, and in turn, war wouldn't break in the kingdom.
I knew how heavy my sin would be, and I offered no excuse to justify my reason. God knew my heart, and I knew someone so twisted and dirty like me wouldn't have a place in the Kingdom of Light when it was my time to go.
But I would be ready for that...Because I was the Duke of Dawson, the head of my family. Before I could follow the path of the Light, I would lay down my life to protect my family first.
It was not forgiveness that I asked, but a chance to be heard...
A chance to confess my sin even if hell was to be my price at the end of this path...
Seasons passed, and my children grew up healthy. Alyson began to blossom like the loveliest rose in the whole world and Alexander was healed...Not only could he see, but he was able to hear too. My hopes and prayers have become stronger than ever, and I couldn't help but become greedy...
He was a genius...My son could only be described as a genius.
He had this gleam in his eyes, a spark of wisdom, if I may. Sometimes, I kept missing the fact that he was just a little boy. Only when I saw him play with Alyson could I sense the immature behavior a child should have.
He rarely expressed himself, but when he did, it would go beyond the norms. And that often happened whenever he used magic.
I still could vividly recall the very first time he tried to comfort us with the help of magic. He told us that he was alright despite the harsh seizure he had, scaring the living daylight out of everyone...
The boy could use magic as if it was second nature to him.
No incantation, no sigils, no staff to help him stabilize the mana flow or a mana crystal as medium, nothing...
My son was beyond talented when it came to magic. If the world knew of his power, there would not be a corner in this broken world that these weak hands of mine could hope to hide him.
Though as capable as he was in that regard, I couldn't hope but worry for him.
Take that instance when he chose a random maid as his exclusive maid as an example. One day, Alexander said that he wanted a certain maid whom he had never seen before to stay and accompany him in the room.
It spelled a huge amount of headache for both Byron and me.
Byron had continuously and adamantly tried to dissuade me from agreeing with Alexander's demand. In short, Byron didn't trust her one bit and I also shared the same sentiment albeit not as strong as he was. But that was the very first thing he had ever asked for...Ergo, the headache.
I wanted to give the boy everything that he wanted as his father, and I literally mean everything if I could. On the other hand, I didn't dare to slight Byron's intuition, especially if it was regarding my son's safety.
So, I chose the obvious one. To reject her...
I called her to my office and let Byron handle it. Contrary to what we expected, the maid didn't struggle and listened with a calm look. It was as though she herself was admitting just how suspicious she was to us.
But that wasn't the end. The maid, Renata, knelt down out of the blue when Byron was done with his piece and begged us with the saddest tears I've ever seen in my life to let her serve Alexander. She narrated how Alexander was the one to notice the shackles that bound her broken and dirty life and liberated her.
It was nonsense, and I didn't even need Byron's timely reminder to help me judge the story as such. However, the reason didn't matter because, in the end, the result far outweighed whatever reason she may have had.
From the side pocket of her uniform, she fished out a neatly folded piece of paper.
A mana contract...A paper that could turn someone into a slave with just a sliver of mana and a drop of blood.
It looked cheap yet also new.
We never expected in our wildest dreams that she would take such a drastic measure.
Byron snorted and tore the contract in front of her before replacing it with one of the highest grades. He then reminded her of all the consequences that would befall her should she violate the contract, taunting the maid.
She didn't even let him finish and bit her finger before stamping the blank contract, asserting her resolve. It was baffling...
After that day, despite still being wary of the maid, he never went out of his way to make her life miserable. Seeing her took the contract of full servitude against Alexander, might very well play a huge part in that account...
In the end, everyone got what they wanted. For me, Alexander's safety and how I was able to give something he asked for. Meanwhile, he got his own personal maid, and she got to serve Alexander just the way she wanted. Maybe not so much for good old Byron, but everything was good.
Everything was good.
Yes, it was...
Work was still hard, and even the tiniest negligence could snowball into the break of a kingdom, but I was happy.
The Lord had given me yet another boy in recent years, and he was growing healthy and strong. Alyson had partaken and learned from her mother how to host her own party, and she was brilliant at it, garnering praises from all corners of the kingdom.
She was the belle of every party, and I was not saying that simply because I was her Father.
Meanwhile, Alexander had come to me with another one of his requests...
He wanted to meet and make friends with kids his age. I swear, I could never read the boy. At a glance, what he asked for all seemed normal for kids his age, but there was just something in the way that he acted that I couldn't put a pin on.
It appeared harmless at first, but there were so many things that I had to consider.
Was he healthy enough, starving wolves would rush their way in the minute we opened our door, and now that we have Adam, they would trouble Alexander with his right to claim the heir of the head as the firstborn son of the family.
The vassal family, outsiders, or the world would try their best to drive a wedge between the two brothers. I can't have that.
After trading words and negotiating for a while, we both agreed that Alexander would be attending a birthday party, of our youngest, Adam, instead of hosting one for himself.
I was ridden with guilt, but it was a small price to pay. Fortunately, Alexander didn't seem too bothered by it...
So, with the matter regarding Alexander's attendance was set in stone, I now needed to decide who his entourages should be.
And who would be more fitting other than the lion and lioness of Dawson to protect their own cub?
Those rats-like nobles would scurry their way out the minute they so much showed their shadows to Father and Mother.
And this, I, George Von Dawson, know best.