Hayna had just left not long ago when James Moriarty returned home with a heavy suitcase in tow.
"Have the folks from the Supervisory Bureau just left?"
Old James asked as soon as he entered the door.
He apparently had met Hayna at the manor gate and exchanged pleasantries for a while.
James was a genteel old gentleman with distinct wrinkles on his face. His grey pupils were somewhat cloudy, his eye sockets deep, and his hair white and sparse. However, his skin was remarkably well-maintained. With gaunt cheeks and prominent cheekbones, he seemed skinny in his coat, but it was immediately apparent that he was not frail once he took it off.
Whenever he spoke, he did so softly and with an elongated, gently curling elven accent. One could tell that he was well-educated and certainly possessed a fine temperament.
He set down the suitcase at the entrance, took off his double-breasted overcoat, handed over his hat to the personal manservant waiting by the door, and said, "They didn't grill Aiwass for several hours, did they... Ah, thank you, Wade. Remember to bring this suitcase to Aiwass's room later."
"Yes, sir. I have noted it," his personal manservant responded quietly as he took the items and retreated.
"Miss Hayna has been late."
The old elf chose not to cover for her but directly expressed his dissatisfaction, "It's always the same with her, thinking of the hat and forgetting the tie, so absent-minded. If she keeps this up, she'll sooner or later miss something big and get a harsh lesson from her superior."
"Let's wait for 'sooner or later' to happen before we talk about it; if she makes a mistake because of her bad habits, let her mistakes teach her."
The old man just smiled, narrowed his eyes, and said warmly, "Don't scold her now for mistakes she might make in the future, Oswald. You are only her instructor, not her superior."
He was quite friendly and close to his elf butler named Oswald.
This was normal because when he was about the same age as Aiwass is now, more than sixty years ago, he had also been raised under Oswald's care.
Besides the old butler, the mansion employed sixteen other live-in servants—including a housekeeper, two personal maids, two personal manservants, two maids, five manservants, a cook, two assistant cooks, and a coachman. Edward Moriarty, Aiwass's elder brother, usually did not come home. Aside from him and Yulia, there were only the old master left in the house.
James usually conducted himself with modesty and steadiness and was polite even to the servants. Although he rarely smiled, he never lost his temper with the servants.
—Or to be more precise, no one had seen him lose his temper or get angry in decades. Even when faced with the most impolite guests, the old man always maintained his dignity without arrogance or servility.
Yes, the old man.
Although James was nominally Aiwass's adoptive father, he was old enough to be Aiwass's grandfather in reality.
And that made sense... he had adopted Aiwass when the boy was only six years old. And now Aiwass was eighteen.
Edward Moriarty, the elder brother of Aiwass and Yulia, had been adopted by James at the age of eight. He was now thirty-five.
"...Dad."
Standing beside Aiwass, Yulia came over and greeted him softly.
She was like a well-behaved kitty, nestling close, and the old man affectionately stroked her head.
"How are you feeling today, Yulia?"
He asked earnestly, "Did you take your medicine properly?"
"I have taken it already."
Yulia replied gently, her voice carrying a dream-like transparency.
"Go to bed early, don't read too late. Knowledge is something you can never finish learning."
The old man tenderly admonished, "You shouldn't sleep later than nine in the evening, your health isn't good—did you hear me, Yulia?"
As he spoke, Yulia's gaze began to drift aside, so he raised his voice a bit, emphasizing, "Yulia?"
"Mm, I understand."
Yulia responded absently.
The old man sighed helplessly and reiterated, "Don't stay up late, you silly girl.
"You don't go out anyway, day or night makes no difference to you. Better to sleep early and look at whatever books during the day. It's also better for your eyes."
As he continued, Yulia fell silent again.
Old James had no choice but to stress, "I'm old now, I can't stay up late. I need to sleep by ten at night, and I won't be able to answer your questions. But if you read during the day, you can come to me with any questions at any time. I don't have classes tomorrow, and I will be home for several days. Whatever you don't understand, you can ask me, okay?"
"...Okay."
This time, Yulia didn't pretend not to hear; she looked up earnestly, her ruby-like eyes fixed on the old man, "I've recently been reading books on alchemy... Discussions from the 'Balance' Path. Do you understand this topic, Dad?"
"I know all the books at home," said the old man calmly. "I understand a little about all nine Paths."
His tone was even, yet a sense of confidence naturally emerged.
"Then I will definitely go to bed early today."
The girl raised two fingers next to her ear, pointing to the sky, and earnestly said, "I swear, my word is my bond—"
"Don't."
But the old man just reached out, gently bent the girl's fingers back, and made a fist.
"Don't do that."
James spoke sternly, "That's a [Simple Oath], a gesture with spirit. If you break the promise, there will be real consequences."