Chapter 014: Father

With this delay, another ten-odd minutes passed, but Daniel just stood by, watching without saying anything. However, the servants also had some self-awareness. Seeing the household manager standing by the third young master, they assumed he still had matters to attend to, so none of them dared to waste words. After exchanging a few greetings, they quickly left.

Du Fan didn’t seem bothered by this and merely smiled slightly, saying, “Although I’ve had servants serving me these past few months outside, it’s still more comforting to have servants from my own family around!”

Daniel replied calmly, “Hasn’t the third young master always treated these servants as nothing but servants?”

Du Fan was momentarily stunned, then forced a wry smile. Though he still wanted to maintain his previous mindset, the influence of these days had gradually given him a sense of being in a higher position. If his father found out, he wasn’t sure whether he’d be happy or sad.

With these thoughts, Du Fan gave another wry smile and simply gestured for him to go ahead.

Daniel only chuckled softly, seemed to gaze at Du Fan deeply, then said nothing more. Instead, he continued toward the inner chambers. But as they neared the inner area, Daniel suddenly slowed down, walking side by side with Du Fan. Then, in a voice only Du Fan could hear, he whispered, “Third young master, your actions this time were somewhat impulsive. You must remember that it’s only been in recent years that relations between our Green family and the Belinger family have improved slightly. Your actions could ruin all the duke’s years of effort… The duke will surely be furious… But deep down, isn’t he also pleased? When you speak to him later, you’d better keep a clear mind about the limits—what those limits are is up to you to decide carefully…”

Du Fan was slightly surprised. What did it mean for Manager Daniel to suddenly say such things to him? He couldn’t help but look up, only to find that, somehow, Daniel was already one step ahead of him, as if he had never said anything just now.

Du Fan smiled bitterly. As butler Daniel, what could there be in the duke’s mansion that couldn’t be said? Now, even reminding himself had to be done so mysteriously—it seemed his father was truly angry this time… If he didn’t handle things carefully, he might even be sent to the Belinger family to apologize… After all, without the support of his family, no matter how strong he was, it wouldn’t mean much! What good was having a Saint-level warrior at his side? Against the power of an entire nation, even several Saint-level warriors would be of little use… They could exhaust you to death with sheer effort…

With these thoughts, the two soon reached the door of the study in the inner courtyard. Daniel gently knocked twice on the door, then smiled before quickly retreating.

Standing at the door, Du Fan couldn’t help but frown slightly. This study was a place only his father could enter. When he was young, he could go anywhere in the mansion, but whenever he approached this study, the servants would look terrified and wouldn’t let him in no matter how much he cried or pleaded. Back then, out of curiosity about this new world, he had tried sneaking in a few times, but he would faint inexplicably even before reaching the study by dozens of meters.

Du Fan hadn’t understood it then, but now, with his broader knowledge, he could see some clues after just a brief glance. The study was located in a small garden within the inner courtyard. From the outside, it seemed ordinary, with not even a single guard. But how could one underestimate the centuries-old legacy of the Green family? The Northern Army was full of talented people, and the old Duke Green, having spent his life in military service, surely possessed some hidden strength. The guards of this study were likely protecting that hidden strength.

When Du Fan first entered the study, he had faintly sensed several weak killing intent flashes around him—probably because they recognized his identity and chose not to attack. If someone unaware of his status had come here, they would likely have fallen silently within moments.

Moreover, Du Fan also sensed that both the garden and the study were enveloped in a mysterious and strange magic array. Although he could recognize some magical fluctuations, he couldn’t immediately determine what kind of magic array it was.

It was just such a small study that seemed unremarkable on the outside, but inside, there were so many intricate mechanisms—truly astonishing. Perhaps the entire duke’s residence had the most stringent defenses right here.

As he was pondering, a deep and authoritative voice came from the depths of the study: “Is Du Fan here? Come in!”

Du Fan quickly took a deep breath, shook off all the distractions in his mind, slowly pushed open the study door, and stepped inside at a brisk pace.

The study wasn’t large, with tall bookshelves on both sides. The Green family was a martial lineage, so naturally, the books there weren’t traditional ones. Du Fan guessed they were mostly military documents or military-related papers.

In the center of the study, atop a large desk, there was nothing—everything was neatly tidy. Only on the left side of the desk stood a small, exquisite ink bottle with a quill pen inserted inside.

Du Fan glanced up and saw his father, the current head of the Green family, the Duke of Green, holding a document of unknown content and studying it carefully.

The Duke of Green appeared to be in his early thirties, with his hair neatly groomed. His face resembled Du Fan’s to a large extent, except for an indescribable aura of authority and coldness. Only when his icy eyes flickered occasionally could one discern traces of his age. Aside from that, his face showed no signs of aging at all. Though he was Du Fan’s father, he looked more like Du Fan’s elder brother.

However, Du Fan knew well that his father had mastered the Star Combat Qi to its extreme. It was precisely because of years of dedicated cultivation of combat qi that he had remained so young.

This was simply a characteristic of Star Combat Qi, so it wasn’t particularly surprising.

Still, Du Fan had hardly seen his father since he was a child. Even during the few rare times they met, there were only brief glances exchanged. Having lived two lives, Du Fan could naturally discern his father’s thoughts… It seemed he hadn’t liked Du Fan much since childhood due to his aptitude issues, while his two elder brothers had always treated him very well…

It was just unclear what attitude his father would have toward him today.

With these thoughts, Du Fan found himself feeling a hint of anticipation. He took a deep breath, slowly stepped back to one side of the desk, and stood silently with his hands at his sides, looking utterly obedient.

They stood there for who knew how long before Duke Green seemed to come back to his senses. He reached in and pulled out the quill from the ink bottle, then wrote a few words on the document. After a moment, he put down the quill, arranged the document neatly, and finally raised his head to glance at Du Fan.

Yet there was neither sorrow nor joy in his gaze, as if he wasn’t seeing his long-absent son but just a passerby…

Du Fan also raised his head to look at his father, feeling uncertain about his emotions. Although he had initially resisted this father, he had been fairly kind to him over the years. But why did he still feel a bit disgusted upon seeing such an indifferent look from him?

The two stared at each other calmly for a while. After a long pause, Duke Green sighed slightly and said, “Du Fan… you’re finally back.”

Du Fan took a deep breath and lowered his head slightly, saying, “Yes, I’m back… my respected father.”

Upon hearing Du Fan’s words, Duke Green’s brows raised slightly, and the corners of his mouth curled upward, as if with a hint of sarcasm. He said indifferently, “Father… hehe… Father, Du Fan, you’re sixteen years old now. In all this time, you might not have even seen me ten times. I haven’t heard you call me ‘father’ very often either.”

Du Fan was taken aback. He hadn’t expected his simple greeting to provoke such a reaction. He didn’t know quite what to feel. Deep down, calling him “father” felt forced, but after all, this man had raised him for so many years—so wasn’t there a hint of willingness in that greeting?

But with Duke Green saying that, Du Fan didn’t know how to respond and could only remain silent.

Duke Green seemed to notice his son’s embarrassment. He cleared his throat softly to break the silence and continued, “I remember last year when I saw you, you were only this tall…” He made a gesture, then added, “But now it seems your height is almost at my shoulders!”