Cui Ciyou listened quietly as Paul finished speaking, his words filled with remorse and gratitude.
He neither responded nor passed judgment.
So this was... Paul Greyrat? A contradictory yet genuine human being?
He simply looked calmly at the man before him.
In his mind, Cui Ciyou settled on an assessment of the man.
In every sense, Paul really was a bastard, a scumbag who took no responsibility in matters of love.
In his youth, Paul had been a notorious playboy in the Royal Capital, a womanizer through and through.
Perhaps somewhere in this world, there were still any number of illegitimate children he knew nothing about.
Paul wasn't a good husband. There was no question about that.
But... perhaps he truly was a good father.
In Paul's list of priorities, his wife, Zenith, always came first.
But his children probably all came before he himself did.
Cui Ciyou looked at the man before him, who always wore such a carefree, hearty smile, yet now looked so broken and wretched.
He couldn't help recalling the future events in the anime.
Paul had sacrificed his own life for Rudeus without a moment's hesitation.
In the distant future, when Rudeus was attacked by the Hydra, cornered and hanging on by a thread,
Paul kicked Rudeus out of the way without hesitation.
He traded his own life for his son's chance to survive.
The monster, the Hydra, severed Paul at the waist, yet in the final moment before his life slipped away completely, his thoughts were:
Oh!... Why does everyone look like someone is about to die...?
Oh... so... I'm the one who's going to die?
I see!... What a shame! There's still so much I haven't done!
But if only one of us, Rudeus or me, was destined to survive today...
*Then! Yes,