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Paul, Zenith, and Lilia had already rushed to the entrance of the courtyard in a panic. Paul stood there with his mouth agape, staring in shock at the intense standoff between Philip and Allen. He opened his mouth several times as if to speak but quickly closed it again, seemingly afraid of saying the wrong thing.
Meanwhile, Zenith and Lilia watched Allen with deep concern.
This scene reflected in Rudeus's eyes, and he felt as if the blood in his entire body had turned cold.
Ever since Allen's identity had been revealed, there had been an unspoken agreement among everyone.
Allen could not be allowed to reunite with his father.
His background was complicated. As the eldest son of Philip, the mayor of Roa, he had been sent to the royal capital at a young age to be raised as the "son" of James, the next head of the Boreas family. Now, he had fled the capital and was even under a wanted order.
If he were to acknowledge his biological father, his identity would be exposed, violating the traditions of family succession and forcing him to return to the capital.
And James, who was in the capital, had almost certainly issued the wanted order with the intention of eliminating Allen, who had become aware of his true identity as Philip's son.
This was unacceptable.
"We must protect Allen."
Had he never experienced familial love?
Then we would become his family.
This had become an unshakable consensus among all members of the Greyrat household since last winter.
And now, at this very moment, Philip stood before him, less than three meters away.
What should they do?
This was too sudden.
Why had Allen's father suddenly appeared here??
Had Allen's identity already been exposed?
Rudeus glanced at Paul and Zenith, noticing the unease in their expressions. They seemed to want to speak but were afraid that doing so might prematurely reveal Allen's identity.
Clearly, they knew why Allen's father had come, but they had been caught off guard and were now hesitant to speak, fearing that any word might draw Philip's attention further toward Allen.
Although the situation was already bad enough...
Rudeus swallowed hard and stiffly turned to look at Allen beside him, only to find that the boy still wore his usual cheerful smile, seemingly unbothered by the risk of his identity being exposed.
Allen continued to gaze at Philip, his demeanor relaxed.
In his line of sight, dust intertwined with whispered thoughts.
'Tell me, how memorable must I, a mere passerby, be to Philip for me to immediately receive a participation score?'
'Or is it that these 2 participation points had already been earned earlier, but only now, as I officially enter the tutoring period, have they been revealed?'
[Don't you already have the answer in your heart? It seems to me that you've already thought through all the possibilities during the journey.]
'...Indeed, I've pretty much thought through everything, and all possibilities have been considered.'
'But what I'm more concerned about now is...'
'Is there a mission? Or is this like with Paul and Zenith, where I'll autonomously gain participation points?'
The system's dust danced in front of Allen's face, as if laughing.
[Instant Mission Released: Philip's Test and Expectations.]
[Half a year ahead of schedule, the host has met his biological father. As a shrewd politician, over a decade ago, he lost in the power struggle in the royal capital merely because James, being older, had two more years of influence there.]
[What is his purpose in coming here?]
[Complete the tests, respond to the expectations, and choose your path among the vastly different possibilities of the future.]
[Tests (0/2), Countdown: 24:00:00. Mission Reward: Participation Points: 10.]
[Expectations (0/2), Countdown: 48:00:00. Mission Reward: Participation Points: 10.]
[Mission Begins.]
Under the tense gazes of Sylphiette and Rudeus, Allen showed none of the sense of crisis that Rudeus had imagined. Instead, he simply watched as the text faded away, his eyes glancing past the carriage beside him before returning to Philip.
'I was just worrying about how to get to Roa to start the tutoring period, and Philip comes to deliver the solution on a silver platter.'
'A test? Interesting.'
Not far away, Philip nodded with a smile, as if acknowledging Allen's thought of "interesting."
But aside from this father and son, the entire Greyrat family had fallen into a state of frozen shock.
The scene had descended into an eerie silence.
Allen, who stood at the center of this whirlwind, seemed oblivious to the tense atmosphere. He calmly averted his gaze from Philip, lowered his eyelids, and gently took Sylphiette's hand, intending to walk toward the house. But in the next moment, he felt a slight resistance.
In just that short moment, her palm had become completely drenched in sweat.
??
He looked down at Sylphiette in surprise.
Her reddish-brown eyes darted around nervously, and she unconsciously fiddled with her smooth white hair. Her gaze wandered over her white dress, as if she had noticed several mud stains on it.
But the dress was spotless—there was no dirt to be seen.
Allen blinked, somewhat confused, and turned to look at Rudeus.
Rudeus wore a similar expression.
Allen instantly understood what the two were worried about and simply said softly,
"It's fine, let's go."
Only then did Rudeus and Sylphiette glance at him and finally take a step forward, following him.
Step by step.
The distance of three meters was short.
The group, each lost in their own thoughts, soon stood at the doorway.
Paul made various facial expressions, trying to catch Allen's attention;
But Allen simply smiled at Philip, his expression relaxed;
Philip, meanwhile, glanced at Paul, a flicker of understanding in his eyes, and then narrowed his gaze as he looked back at Allen.
No one spoke.
Finally, Sylphiette broke the silence.
She blinked and, under Rudeus's subtle urging, took a deep breath and spoke nervously.
"Are you a guest of the knight's family? Hello!"
Philip blinked, shifting his gaze from Allen to Sylphiette.
In an instant, the strange, frozen atmosphere between them melted away.
Rudeus clenched his fist.
'Well done, Sylphiette! Now we just need to keep Allen completely in the background. As long as he remains a nobody, his identity won't be exposed. And this man definitely won't recognize Allen—according to Allen, Philip has never even seen him! Not to mention that Allen's appearance has completely changed now!'
Everyone's attention turned to Sylphiette, who stood beside Allen. She shrunk back slightly, her white hair swaying against the skin of her neck, and looked at Philip with a lack of confidence.
Philip tilted his head, his gaze lingering for a moment on the hands of Allen and Sylphiette, which were still clasped together. Then he bent down and patted her head.
"Yes. Your hair color is very cute. What's your name?"
"Thank you... My name is Sylphiette."
"Sylphiette? That's a lovely name. My name is Philip Boreas Greyrat. You can call me Philip."
"...Thank you, Uncle Philip."
Rudeus breathed a sigh of relief.
'His attention has been diverted. Great, now we just need to find a chance to coordinate with Paul and Zenith, and we'll be fine...'
Just as this thought crossed his mind, and as Rudeus's smile began to widen, Philip suddenly spoke again.
"Are you Allen?"
He turned to look directly at Allen, his gaze piercing as if trying to see into his very soul.
Note: So far this story is published up to chapter 145 on my patreon, go check it out and remember that if we reach the goal of 40 power stones I will publish the next chapter.