Felis never denied that he was selfish.
But the only unconditional kindness he had ever received in his life had come from Carpenter.
Of course, he was grateful for Russell's help too, but Russell had clearly only helped for Carpenter's sake. He had also made it very clear to Felis that if he wanted to repay the favor, he could repay Carpenter.
Russell himself had no intention of building any sort of familial bond or friendship with Felis.
As for his biological mother... Felis knew that living well was the best repayment he could give her.
After being abandoned, Felis could no longer do anything beyond that.
In any case, after all that rotten business, his mother had actually managed to remain, in name, the wife of a Hainalson. Even if they did not live together, she at least had official standing in the Hainalson Family and all the resources that came with it. That was more than enough.
Felis did not even want to remember how bizarre and absurd his expression must have been when, after everything was over, he visited Hainalson Manor in the Outer Ring of the Black Enigma Tower and saw his young stepfather and the baby boy his mother had just given birth to.
Of course, Felis soon figured out that his mother's popularity was not just because she had him for a son, but also because of Carpenter.
Carpenter might even have been the more important factor.
After all, Russell and Carpenter were different from him. Neither of them would ever completely abandon their family.
Although, in a sense, those two had already given their relatives enough benefits that, materially speaking, they owed them nothing.
But affection was affection. As long as their families did not cause trouble, Russell and Carpenter would inevitably remember