At night, Charles stood on the balcony of the Governor's Mansion with a square glass in his hand, gazing out at the encroaching sea. He couldn't sleep. His mind was filled with thoughts of the mother and son he had met that day. Glancing sideways, Charles saw his daughter on the bed, reading. Shanshan seemed to never need sleep; she spent every night just reading.
Just then, a vine with black leaves climbed up from below. Bandage stepped onto it and ascended to the balcony. "Captain… are you… hesitating…?"
Charles gave him a look, poured him a glass from the bottle on the adjacent table, and handed it over. "How did you know?"
Bandage took it. "Rest… lasted too long… something's wrong…"
Charles lowered his head with a smile. "You really know me well. Honestly, ever since Lily was taken again by the Pope, I've been wondering if I made the wrong choice."
"I have no family left. You are all my family now. But I keep putting you all in danger. Maybe I'm just being too selfish."
