As time passed, second by second.
At last, the head of the Olden Family, the missing noble's father, could no longer endure it.
He rose from his chair, walked straight to his wife, and patted her as she wept pitifully, telling her to let go of their eldest son.
"I mean, cry if you want, but why are you clinging to our eldest? Be good. Let him go!"
"I won't!"
"I've already lost one son. No matter what you say, I won't let go of this one!"
The lord's wife cried out emotionally. Not only did she avoid her husband's hand, but she hugged her son even tighter.
"Ugh..."
The lord let out a helpless sigh. What a headache. Where had that delicate, demure little bird from before their marriage gone?
Seeing that speaking directly did not work, the lord had no choice but to change his approach.
He softened his voice first, then moved closer to his wife and began reasoning with her.
"Look, our eldest just came back from fighting monsters. Never mind that he hasn't even taken off his inner armor—he hasn't even had a sip of water."
"How about you switch targets? Hold me instead. I'll be your hostage, and let our eldest go get some rest first, all right?"
The lord's wife was, after all, the eldest daughter of a noble family. Though she was overwhelmed by emotion, she was not an unreasonable shrew. She could still listen to reason.
Thus, after hearing her husband's persuasion, she hesitated for a moment before finally releasing her eldest son and crouching on the floor to continue sobbing.
Yet even after his mother released him, the eldest son remained standing there blankly. Looking at his crying mother, he did not know what to do for a while.
Only after seeing his father repeatedly wave him away did the eldest young master finally understand. He bent down beside his mother, promised that he would not go out again for a while and would stay home, then left the room first.
After the eldest son departed, the lord looked at his wife, who was still crouched on the floor crying. He reached out and patted her shoulder, then opened his arms and said,
"Come on. I've traded places with our son as the hostage. Hug me instead."
"Get lost!"
The wife showed her husband no mercy, opening her mouth with the refined speech of the imperial capital.
"Who wants to hug you? Until our son is found, don't even think about touching me."
"You heartless man! If you hadn't pushed our second son every day to become a warrior, our son would never have gone missing."
"And after you took him out for training, he's been missing for three days! Yet you, his father, didn't notice a thing!"
"When I first realized something was wrong, you wouldn't even let me post missing-person notices outside!"
"If it weren't for you, I would have found our son already."
Seeing his wife like this, the mighty lord outside could only squat down helplessly beside her, explaining and comforting her at the same time.
"Don't say that. I'm still that child's father, not his enemy."
"I noticed something on the first day he went missing. I just didn't take it seriously. After all, this child had slacked off during training and run away more than once or twice."
"And most of the time, he ran to you, or you had someone hide him away, afraid I'd catch him and give him a beating."
At that, his wife's sobbing paused slightly. "Who told you to set such a heavy training load for our son? He's my son. When he came back because he couldn't bear the hardship, how could I ignore him?"
Hearing this, the lord's eye twitched twice. But he had finally managed to coax a few words out of his wife. Now was not the time to lose his temper.
Seeing that his previous approach had worked, the lord continued speaking softly beside his wife.
"You should stop letting your imagination run wild, too."
"I've already sent people to investigate the city's defensive Magic Barrier and the guards stationed at the gates several times. I also went to inspect them personally."
"There were no traces of Demons infiltrating the city's defensive Magic Barrier."
"The guards at the city gates did not see any suspicious individuals entering or leaving either."
"So the only possibility is that your precious second son left home without saying a word."
"Wasn't that because you pushed him too hard every day!"
His wife rose from the floor and spoke to her husband in dissatisfaction, punching his chest several times with her fists.
"You know perfectly well that our second son doesn't have the same talent for being a warrior as his elder brother. Fine, then—but did you have to force him to become a warrior every day?"
"If your Olden Family can't even afford to feed this child at home, send him to my family to raise. I'll have him change his surname!"
"I guarantee my father and mother will like this child. They'll even give him a share of the family businesses to inherit, ensuring that he can live without worries for the rest of his life."
Upon hearing his wife's words, Lord Alden's brow twitched again and again, and a small burst of nameless anger rose within him.
In the end, in a fit of anger, the lord got angry for a moment.
The fury in his chest turned into a helpless sigh as he exhaled. Leaning against the wall, he said to his wife,
"Yawa, you know this."
"This child carries the blood of the Warrior's Homeland. Becoming a warrior is the ancestral teaching passed down through generations, and making him undergo warrior training is my final bottom line."
"Yawa, as the child's mother, I know you love him dearly."
"But think about it. If we truly indulge him and let him grow up pampered, then when the Demons launch a massive attack, how will he protect this city?"
"Will he push the citizens behind him as a shield and flee for his own life?"
"..."
Yawa stopped sobbing and fell silent.
On this point, her husband was right.
It was even this very quality in him that she had fallen for back then, stubbornly marrying him from the imperial capital to this dangerous frontier outpost, Fortress City - Frich, despite her family's objections.
"But... he is our son, after all."
"..."
At this moment, Yawa's attitude had completely softened. She leaned into her husband's embrace, using her sobs to pour out her unease.
Seeing his wife like this, all the displeasure in Lord Alden's heart vanished completely. He gently wrapped an arm around her waist and held her in his embrace.
"All right."
"Didn't I already listen to you and have people post missing-person rewards throughout the city?"
"Besides, you truly are the eldest daughter of a noble family. You really know how to spend money."
"For that child, I thought a reward of ten Hutrall Gold Coins was already wasteful enough. I even felt bad about it for a while."
"But you secretly raised the amount, adding another full thirty Hutrall Gold Coins."
"Now, with a reward like this, forget ordinary citizens and adventurers—even the legendary Shadow Warriors said to exist within the Empire might consider whether to make our son their target."
"The guards under my command have been whipped into a frenzy by this reward. Every day, they inspect passing vehicles with incredible diligence."
"Then... do you think they can find our son Milo?"
Yawa asked uneasily.
"No problem. Go rest without worry. News of our son will return before long."
After seeing his wife to bed to rest, Lord Alden walked out of the room, leaned against the corner of the wall, and silently lit himself a cigarette.
"Don't let anything happen to you, kid."
Inside the room.
Yawa watched the smoke gradually drift up outside the window, and tears welled in her eyes once more.
But this time, she covered her mouth with her hand and did not let herself cry aloud.
This was not filler. This person would play a key role in the later plot.
Before you continue