"My son." Carlos Madigan was confused as to why his son wasn't sitting next to him. "What's wrong with you?" His son also suddenly looked at him with wide eyes.
Tristan cleared his throat. The second task of the system almost gave him a heart attack. He would think more deeply about the task when he went to bed.
"I'm okay, Dad." Tristan was confused; he wasn't good at lying, and he was sure he couldn't sit comfortably next to Carlos Madigan.
"Why don't you sit next to me?" Carlos Madigan couldn't move his limbs; only his eyes and mouth could move.
Tristan wasn't sure he could be the Tristan Madigan who was so close to his father because he wasn't like that with his father. He always kept his distance from his father, who liked to hit him for no reason.
"I want to see you from a distance first before I see you up close." Tristan sat on the edge of the bed, facing Carlos Madigan, who was lying under a thick white blanket. He tried to relax so that Carlos Madigan would not suspect him.
"You're already grown up. Trust me, your mom is proud of you." Carlos Madigan was so sad. He couldn't even hold his son's hand, let alone hug him.
"I believe." Tristan nodded. He remembered his mother, who died a month after he was imprisoned. At least he and Tristan Madigan have something in common; their mothers were dead.
"Dad!" Laureen stood at the door. "I want to see you." The soldiers forbade her to enter because their king was inside, but their princess was very stubborn.
Tristan looked at the dark brown mahogany door, which looked sturdy and old. "Let them in."
Laureen and Leonardo entered after the soldiers opened the door according to their king's orders.
Laureen didn't show any guilt. In contrast to Leonardo, who apologized to Tristan.
Tristan didn't mind at all. He was actually grateful for the presence of the twins. He didn't need to feel awkward just being with Carlos Madigan in this spacious room.
"Dad." Laureen hugged Carlos Madigan who was unable to return the hug. "I miss you."
Carlos Madigan smiled broadly. "I miss you, too." He motioned for his daughter to bring her cheeks closer because he wanted to kiss her chubby cheeks.
Laureen blushed, and she hugged her father again.
Tristan watched the scene with a strange feeling rising in his heart. He was increasingly unsure if he could pretend to be close to Carlos Madigan.
Leonardo also hugged his father. Carlos Madigan pouted and said that Leonardo was just like Tristan, who didn't want to accept his kisses.
Tristan watched and listened to Laureen and Carlos Madigan's conversation. The 11-year-old girl was very talkative and eager to tell stories. Tristan had never met someone like Laureen in his previous life.
When Tristan looked at Leonardo, the 11-year-old boy was staring at a giant photo of Carlos Madigan on the wall. The photo was taken exactly the day after he was crowned king.
Tristan didn't know whether he should be proud that he is a king in his current life because Tristan is in Tristan Madigan's body.
Why didn't the system make him experience reincarnation?
***
Night has come. Tristan was already in his spacious and luxurious room. He had just soaked in a warm pool, and he was still wearing a white bathrobe.
He wasn't used to letting a male servants rub his body with soap and then massage him. The tiredness disappeared, but shame came over him.
"Okay. Now is the time to think." Tristan sat on a single sofa with a glass of avocado juice in his hand. The room lights weren't turned on; he wanted to enjoy the moonlight coming in through the window, which wasn't covered with curtains.
"The system gave me a task to ensure—" Tristan stopped his words when a memory appeared in his mind.
"Have CCTV or sound recording devices been found in this world?" Tristan's body stiffened, and his heart pounded. It was lucky he hadn't mentioned Carlos Madigan's name.
"When were CCTV and voice recording devices invented?" Tristan didn't know at all. He even forgot who the scientist who created the lamp was. "Were those two objects discovered in the 20th century?"
It was a shame that no one could help Tristan, and he also couldn't find answers to the question that was making his head dizzy after reading thousands of books in the library.
"I am a king." Tristan straightened his back and nodded, "If in this world an object similar to a CCTV or sound recording device was found, they would not possibly put this object in their king's room."
Tristan looked around the room. Still he felt worried. This kingdom has many enemies.
They could do anything to get the information they needed.
"They should put a device like that in the king's meeting room or throne room," said Tristan.
"The king was in his room only when they were sleeping; they would only hear the sound of moaning and the mattress creaking." Tristan chuckled.
"I have to be serious." Tristan finished the avocado juice and then placed the glass on the table. His hands were on the arms of the sofa.
"I don't know the year in this world. I only know that this world is not modern, not like my previous world." Tristan didn't see any guests arrive at his coronation in cars, motorcycles, planes, or buses. Horses and chariots carried them to his kingdom.
"There are no cell phones, landlines, or faxes." Tristan was listing all the things he hadn't found in this world to persuade himself that there were no voice-recording devices in his room.
"Second task." Tristan leaned back on the sofa, his head raised, looking at the ceiling, which was blue due to the moonlight shining through the blue window glass.
"The second task lasts until Carlos Madigan dies. The question is me or him who dies first."
Suddenly, fear seized him. He was worried that sooner or later people would suspect him, even though a person could change his attitude after he had a position.
"Why does the system ask me to make sure Carlos Madigan doesn't recover from his disease that makes him unable to move?" Tristan was so confused.
The system seemed to be giving him a task he would never have imagined before.
"Is it because Carlos Madigan will realize I'm not his son?" Tristan's eyes widened, and his heart stopped beating for two seconds. That assumption could be true.
If he remembered correctly, when Tristan Madigan was 15 years old, and he could already use a sword well, he struggled to find medicine for his father. He traveled around the world for 2 years.
Tristan Madigan returned to the kingdom to undergo his training to become king. He was devastated that he was unable to find a cure for his father.
However, now Tristan was doing things differently with Tristan Madigan. He won't be looking for a cure for Carlos Madigan. No one should know about this.