Inside Ronan'sOffice
Ronan Valden finally leaned back in his chair after finishing the mountain of documents spread across his desk.
The candlelight flickered softly across the quiet room while exhaustion lingered visibly on his face.
For a long moment, he simply remained silent.
Then slowly, he picked up the tele-crystal resting near the edge of the table.
The crystal glowed faintly.
A voice soon echoed from the other side.
"Sir, this is the Dravik Guild. May I know who is calling?"
"This is Duke Ronan Valden. Is Guild Master Drake available right now?"
"Duke Valden, sir… please wait a moment. I will confirm with him."
Ronan patiently waited as the crystal emitted soft beeping sounds.
"Yes, sir. Guild Master Drake is available now. I'll connect the call. Thank you for your patience."
The crystal flickered again.
Drake answered almost immediately, as though he had been waiting for this call the entire time.
His voice sounded exhausted… yet desperate.
"Duke Valden…"
"Did Young Master Aarav say anything about that night?"
Drake tightly gripped the crystal while waiting for Ronan's answer.
Ronan remained silent for a brief moment before speaking carefully.
"Guild Master Drake… I apologize for calling this late."
"It's regarding the investigation."
"I heard the case has been handed over to Kaiser Draven."
Drake immediately replied,
"Yes."
"The king personally assigned him to it."
Ronan's tone slowly changed.
The cold noble composure disappeared completely.
What remained was simply the voice of a worried father.
"I know you're going through a lot right now…"
"But is it possible to remove Aarav's name from the witness list?"
The moment those words left Ronan's mouth. Drake slammed his hand against the table and abruptly stood up.
"Sir… My guild master .... my best friend died."
"Do you understand the condition we found him in?!"
His voice trembled with suppressed anger.
"His limbs were scattered."
"His body was burned beyond recognition."
"We had to seal the coffin shut so nobody could see what remained of him.They had to bless him over the coffin"
Drake took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
"And now you want me to exclude a witness…"
"…...just to protect your noble pride?"
Ronan closed his eyes briefly.
Then quietly answered,
"I'm not asking this as a duke.I'm asking this as a father."
"If Aarav were emotionally stable, I would personally hand him over for questioning ."
"But…"
Ronan's voice faltered slightly.
"You saw the letter too.He wanted to commit suicide."
Silence filled the room.
Ronan slowly continued,
"You know better than anyone how Kaiser Draven conducts interrogations."
Drake's anger slowly cooled.
He rubbed his tired eyes while quietly listening.
Ronan lowered his voice further.
"Aarav is already emotionally unstable."
"If he gets pushed too far…"
"…I'm afraid he may attempt it again."
"For now, please…"
"Let me help him recover first."
"If Aarav himself decides to speak about that night… .I promise on my name I'll inform you immediately."
The room fell silent once more.
Eventually, Drake let out a long exhausted sigh.
"…Fine."
"I'll remove his name from the witness list."
Before Drake could continue further ,Ronan immediately replied,
"Thank you Thank you so much for understanding.And if you ever need my help in anything.You can call me anytime."
Drake leaned back in his chair while yawning tiredly.
"…Sure."
"Goodnight, Duke Valden."
The call ended shortly afterward.
________________________________________
Ronan quietly placed the tele-crystal back onto the desk.
Then he took a deep breath to steady himself.
After several moments of silence ,he activated the crystal once more.
A woman's voice soon answered.
"Hello, this is Professor Alice speaking."
"This is Ronan Valden."
The woman immediately sounded nervous.
"D-Duke Valden?!"
"I apologize, my lord. I didn't recognize your voice."
"It's fine."
Ronan's tone returned to its calm noble composure.
"I'm calling regarding my son, Aarav."
A brief silence followed.
"I heard there was an incident involving another student."
The teacher immediately sounded hesitant.
"My lord… about that situation…"
Ronan calmly interrupted her.
"I already know Aarav was at fault."
"And the other student has Principal Aldron's protection."
"So there's no need to explain further."
The teacher fell silent again.
Then Ronan continued,
"Also I'd like to request a three-month leave for Aarav."
"He's emotionally unstable at the moment."
"And I believe he needs some time away from the academy."
The teacher quickly responded,
"O-Of course, my lord."
"If you submit a formal notice to Principal Aldron, it should be approved immediately."
"You may simply send a knight with the document."
Ronan slowly stood up from his chair.
"…No."
"I'll deliver it personally."
"When is Aldron available?"
The teacher sounded slightly surprised.
"…Tomorrow evening at five should work, my lord."
"Very well."
"And thank you."
The tele-crystal dimmed shortly afterward.
Silence returned to the office once more.
Ronan quietly slipped a small tube of ointment into his pocket before leaving the room.
_______________________________________
The mansion corridors remained silent at this late hour.
Eventually, Ronan stopped outside Aarav's room.
For several seconds, he simply stood there quietly.
Then slowly he pushed open the door.
The room was dark except for the faint moonlight entering through the window.
Aarav lay asleep beneath the blanket peacefully.
Ronan quietly walked toward the bed before sitting beside him carefully.
For a moment, he simply stared at his sleeping son.
Then silently, he opened the ointment tube and gently applied the medicine onto Aarav's cheek.
"I'm sorry, son…"
His voice sounded unusually soft.
"I lost my temper."
Inside the ring, Vyom silently watched everything unfold.A faint smile appeared on his face.
Ronan quietly placed the ointment back into his pocket before slowly leaving the room again.
________________________________________
Ronan entered his bedroom and found Elena quietly reading beneath the dim bedside lamp.
The moment he entered, she looked up from her book.
"Oh?"
"Finished with work?"
Ronan sighed tiredly before sitting beside her.
"…Yeah."
For a brief moment, neither of them spoke.
Then Ronan quietly asked,
"Did Aarav eat anything before sleeping?"
Elena smiled faintly.
"He stuffed himself completely."
A small chuckle escaped her lips.
"He even asked for more soup."
Ronan unconsciously relaxed hearing that.
Then Elena's eyes noticed the ointment tube still resting in his hand.
A gentle smile slowly appeared on her face.
Without saying anything, she quietly wrapped her arms around him.
"Well… just so you know….I already healed his cheek this afternoon.So I don't think he's still in pain. So dont worry ."
She gently took the ointment from his hand and placed it on the bedside table.
"You really are a good father, you know."
Ronan frowned slightly.
"…But I slapped him."
"Yes."
"But you were scared....scared of losing him."
Elena rested her head against his shoulder.
"He just needs time to understand that."
"And you need to stop worrying so much too."
Ronan remained silent for a while before finally nodding slowly.
"…I contacted the academy."
"I requested a three-month leave for Aarav."
"I just need to submit the report tomorrow."
Elena smiled warmly.
"That's a good idea."
"He needs some distance from that place."
"Maybe then he can focus on himself properly."
Ronan quietly leaned back against the bed.
Then suddenly he spoke again.
"…Isn't Aarav's birthday in nine weeks?"
Elena blinked before smiling softly.
"Yes."
Ronan turned off the lamp beside the bed.
Darkness slowly filled the room.
Then quietly almost awkwardly he muttered,
"…Maybe we should throw him a grand celebration this year."
"Something to cheer him up."
Elena smiled gently in the darkness.
"I think he'd love that."
"But isn't ninety days a little too early to start planning?"
Ronan answered after a brief pause,
"…I want to make it bigger than usual this time."
Elena softly laughed.