Chapter 6: Konrad Intends to Be Filial
Wayne ate his vegetables, savoring the chili's taste of today's dinner. He'd killed someone today and didn't feel like eating meat; after all, blood still left a bad taste in his mouth...literally.
He kept his head down and said nothing, only pondering what impact his actions today would have on Konrad. Even though Wayne had lived two lives, he had no idea how to raise a child, let alone one who was a Primarch.
"What kind of person am I in your eyes?"
Konrad looked at his father; he was far more formidable than he had imagined. He was a truly human being. "A good person. Over the past two days, seeing the people who read comics, I feel you are a good person. You truly treat those at the bottom as human beings."
Wayne set down his fork. 'What did he mean? He treated those at the bottom as human beings?'
"Konrad, why do you think that?"
"Because you treat—"
Wayne's hand came down hard against the table as a loud noise echoed. A flicker of anger flashed in his eyes. This was the first time Konrad realized his father was angry.
The man did not resort to violence, but took a deep breath to calm himself.
"No. Why do you think you need to treat those at the bottom as human beings?" Wayne's voice was sharp. "People are people. Don't ever think those at the bottom aren't people. You must have this concept in your heart: people are people, no above or below nonsense. Only a very few scumbags are unworthy of being human. Most people, regardless of status, power, or wealth, are human beings, your compatriots and mine."
At that moment, Konrad realized he was wrong. He understood that thinking of treating those at the bottom as human beings meant he thought those at the bottom were not human, and that it was his pity that led him to treat them as such.
In fact, Wayne was right. He had never believed that only those of high status were human. People were people; no other explanation was needed.
Konrad had no premonition of Wayne's anger. He could see the future of others, but not Wayne's.
"Father?" Konrad lowered his head, realizing his mistake. "I was wrong."
The man sat down and resumed his meal. "And you think I'm a good person now? I dismembered someone in front of you today. Am I a good person?"
"Aren't you?"
Wayne took a deep breath and shook his head. "Yes, compared to other nobles, bandits, and gangsters, I am a good person. But a good person shouldn't be defined by comparison; it should be a concept from within people's hearts."
As Konrad listened, he realized his father was a man of great wisdom, pursuing justice and honor, striving for a better tomorrow.
But why was he content with the status quo?
Furthermore, Konrad had never seen Wayne's wealth. His food and drink were only at the lowest noble standard. To anyone else It seemed he had hidden his resources. Konrad couldn't quite figure out his father.
Wayne finished his last bite of food and sighed. "The problem is that good people like me merely have boundaries, Konrad. Don't let this world corrupt you; what you need to do is purify it."
"Then what is a truly good person?"
"....My father, Thomas. He helped others without compensation. As a low-status noble, he liked helping common folk. He possessed morality and integrity. The academies and hospitals I've established now were all his former ideas he wanted to see come true."
Wayne leaned back in his chair. "When he was young, he would save children who fell into the water. The Hive City's sewage system had monsters, and he was almost eaten by a sewer monster. Self-sacrifice, caring for commoners, establishing welfare, that was him."
"But when we were being hunted, no one helped us. I was forced to flee into the sewers, escaped from monsters to seek revenge, and now, all of this today is my father's dream."
Konrad felt that Wayne was fulfilling the wishes of the deceased Thomas. He was not just a man with boundaries, but also a filial son. The young Primarch liked such a person, and he was his father, a father who supported him unconditionally.
The child lowered his head and looked at his hands. He clearly realized he wasn't Wayne's biological child, as his growth rate far exceeded that of a Mortal. Moreover, Wayne never seemed to have a physical relationship. Konrad glanced at Adelaine briefly, watching as she refilled Wayne's plate, hmm... perhaps only Adelaine up until now; otherwise, he was an ascetic man, with no illegitimate children.
Therefore, Konrad understood he must have been adopted, and when he was reading today, there were also contents related to human experimentation. Judging by his abnormal rate of development, he should, theoretically, be an artificial genetic creation.
It was possible that Wayne found him while cleaning out a gene laboratory and, thinking the child was innocent, adopted him, or perhaps he was a technological legacy.
Regardless of the situation, Konrad was very grateful for Wayne's upbringing. He was his true father. The being who created him might just be an asshole.
Most importantly, Wayne had not married for his sake, for Konrad's sake. That was the most crucial thing.
In fact, it wasn't that Wayne wanted to be ascetic, but that the nobles played too wildly. For example, drug abuse, promiscuity, and so on were common, and there were even those who hunted common folk while engaging in romance.
Under these circumstances, Wayne couldn't establish a relationship with any noble, and common folk would kneel when they saw Wayne. Wayne also didn't want them to be dragged into noble politics.
So he ultimately chose to keep himself pure. He couldn't possibly abuse drugs, slaughter commoners, and then do things with someone in a place covered in blood and gore, could he?
"Father, you have really sacrificed too much for me." Konrad's voice trembled. Wayne constantly educated him, allowing him to find satisfaction and happiness within himself. For a non-human creation like him, he was simply the most perfect father. "You dont even have a lover for my sake? Sniff~ You are great."
"Silly boy, you're only six months old, looking three or four. Why think so much? I haven't married because I haven't found a suitable person."
Konrad innocently spoke, gesturing toward Adelaine. "What about Adelaine?"
"Cough, Cough" x2
Adelaine choked a little on her vegetable as she quickly drank a cup of water, while Wayne sighed deeply, lamenting the fact that his son was growing too fast for his own good.
"Adelaine is my secretary, our housekeeper, my true friend whom I trust more than I trust myself sometimes. We have a relationship; we do want to be with each other. Nothing much needs to be spoken; I know what she feels, and I hope she knows how I feel for her. It's just that she doesn't want my status, and I can care little for titles."
"Why?" Konrad was a little curious; the two clearly had a relationship. Adelaine even seems to love him, so why is there so much silence between them? "Could it be that you don't really like her?"
Wayne paused, then turned his gaze toward the narrow window slit, where the city's eternal night pressed close.
Adelaine sat beside him at the dinner table, close enough that he could sense her presence without looking. She was a classic beauty of Nostramo: skin pale to the point of bloodlessness, eyes black and steady, hair dark and unadorned, falling straight against her back. Her clothing was severely close-fitted, shadow-cloth wrapped along her legs and waist, functional and austere, designed for warmth and movement rather than display. Nothing about her was soft, and nothing needed to be.
She ate in silence, posture controlled, every motion measured. Her loyalty to Wayne was absolute. Wayne knew that, compared to the elevated monsters who ruled by title or mutation elsewhere on this planet, Adelaine would never be considered beautiful by their standards.
Yet to him, she was irreplaceable.
Konrad noticed this point, which was why he asked.
"Because I killed her entire family." Wayne suddenly looked back, his gaze steady on the Primarch. "Her parents were scumbags, preparing to dismember her and sell her pharma nobles as medicine."
As Wayne spoke, his face was expressionless, as if it were an ordinary matter.
But Konrad was momentarily at a loss for words; after all, how could he have imagined such a thing?
The Primarch was unaware that this was a remnant of the Dark Age of Technology. The darkness and madness of the Dark Age of Technology persisted, with some technologies using humans as medicinal ingredients to prolong life.
And Adelaine, as a girl with excellent genetic purity and no congenital diseases, was taken by such nobles to be used as a medicinal ingredient. When Wayne conquered the region, he rescued Adelaine and, incidentally, killed her scumbag parents.
From then on, Adelaine wanted to be with Wayne, but she feared him because she felt unworthy of him, of his status, even when Wayne insisted otherwise; her nature was stuck.
The two were thus stuck.
Konrad now guessed it was because Adelaine was suffering internally, and Wayne also had no such thoughts, so that they couldn't progress further.
They would only get together a few times when they had such thoughts; they had no intention of starting a family.
Konrad understood that he shouldn't just study well now, but also repay Wayne for what he has done. Since that was the case, why shouldn't he bring both of them together?
After all, Konrad wanted to be filial to Wayne.
[End of Chapter]
Ooo La La~