The Duke looked at his son's face and he could see the ghost of his wife overlapping in Fainyx's face and the particular way his violet eyes shimmered in the dim light of the office and his heart felt like it was being squeezed by a cold and heavy hand.
The image of Fainyx's faint smile acted like a key and it unlocked a door in his mind that he had kept bolted for three years and suddenly he was no longer standing in a room full of paperwork and the scent of old ink and instead he was back in the summer garden of the past.
******
The sun was warm on his shoulders and the air was thick with the perfume of blooming roses and the sound of a distant fountain was the only thing breaking the silence and he was sitting on a stone bench beside his wife.
She was glowing with a particular radiance that had nothing to do with the sun and her hands were resting gently on the swell of her stomach and she turned to him with a smile that was so bright it made his chest ache.
"What are you thinking about with such a serious face, my love?" she asked and her voice was like the chime of silver bells and she reached out to take his hand in hers.
"I am thinking about the future..." he replied and he looked at her with a gaze that was full of a fierce and protective devotion. "I am thinking about how the world will look when this child is born and how I will ensure that everything is perfect for them and also for his other siblings."
She laughed softly and she leaned her head against his shoulder and she watched the way the butterflies moved over the flowerbeds.
"You always worry too much about perfection and the world is already perfect because we are here together and this child will have everything they need if they have your strength."
She paused and she looked down at her stomach with a particular softness. "If it is a boy, let's name him Fainyx, for it is a name that carries the weight of the stars and if it is a girl, she shall be Phoebe."
The Duke squeezed her hand and he looked at her and he felt a surge of love that was almost overwhelming. "Fainyx and Phoebe... it is a strong name."
"Promise me something," she whispered and she turned her face to look into his eyes with a sudden and quiet intensity.
"Promise me that no matter what happens, you will always love him and his older siblings, and you will always care for him with all of your heart and do not let the coldness of the world or the burdens of your title come between you and you're own childrens."
"I promise," he had said and he had meant it with every fiber of his being but as the memory faded and the walls of the office returned he realized how miserably he had failed that promise and he looked at Fainyx and he felt a wave of self-loathing that was almost physical.
He had abandoned Fainyx to the care of maids and instructors because he could not bear to look at the child who reminded him so much of the woman he had lost and he had let his own grief turn him into a stranger to his own son. His chest started hurting with a sharp and stabbing pain and his mana began to react to the turbulence of his emotions and it started fluctuating in heavy and jagged pulses that made the lamps on the desk flicker and hiss. The Duke didn't even notice that his power was leaking out of him like a broken dam and he sat there blankly staring at Fainyx while his mana started to swirl into a dangerous storm that threatened to crush the furniture in the room.
Fainyx sat on the sofa and he watched the Duke with a neutral expression but inside he was feeling a growing sense of alarm because he could feel the weight of his father's mana pressing down on his lungs. He already knew about his illness and he knew that Ruth and Yong were working on a cure and he had spent his short life trying to avoid this kind of dramatic attention but he couldn't just sit here and let the Duke have a mana berserk.
'If he doesn't pull himself together he's going to trigger a mana eruption and then everyone will be running in here and my quiet afternoon will be gone forever,'
Fainyx thought with a weary internal sigh.
'I really didn't want to use my power in front of him but I suppose a little bit of stabilization is better than the office exploding. He won't even notice it i hope...'
He reached out and he did not speak because he was a mute who had no need for words and instead he reached across the space between them and touched his father's hand with his small fingers.
He channeled a thread of his own mana, a deep and crystalline energy that was far more refined than any normal mage could possess, and he guided it into the Duke's chaotic field.
He moved with a particular and delicate precision and he smoothed out the jagged edges of his father's power and he quieted the storm until the air in the room was still and peaceful once again. The Duke was so lost in his own regret that he didn't even realize that another mana had touched him and he simply felt a sudden and strange calm wash over him like a cool breeze.
The Duke's mind finally snapped back to the present and he saw Fainyx's violet eyes watching him and he felt a surge of shame for showing such a lack of control. He quickly pulled his mana back and he reached down and carried Fainyx gently as if he were a precious treasure that he had almost lost and he looked into his son's face with a gaze that was full of guilt.
"I am sorry, Fainyx..." the Duke whispered and his voice was thick with emotion. "I have been a fool and I have let my grief blind me to what was right in front of me and I apologize for my behavior."
Fainyx looked at him and he saw the way the Duke's eyes were still wet and he saw the way his father's shoulders were slumped and he felt a strange and uncomfortable sensation in his chest.
He was a noble in this life and he had a father who was currently breaking down in front of him and he realized that he couldn't just stay silent and do nothing.
*Pat Pat
He reached up with his small hand and he patted the Duke's head with a slow and rhythmic motion and he thought to himself that he might actually be executed for such a disrespectful act toward a Duke but he felt like he had no choice if he wanted the man to stop looking so miserable.
The Duke froze and he looked at Fainyx with wide eyes and then he let out a short and surprised laugh that sounded like he was half-choking on a sob.
He smiled and he hugged Fainyx one more time before he pulled back and wiped his face with his sleeve and he straightened his shirt and regained the composed and powerful aura that a Duke was supposed to have.
He stood up and he called everyone who was waiting in the hallway to come back inside and when they entered the room they saw the Duke standing with a new and sharp determination in his eyes.
"I have made a decision..." the Duke said and his voice was like a hammer hitting an anvil. "I will not lose my son to this Hollow Constitution Syndrome and I want all of you to find a way to cure this child's illness and if you help me in this matter I will pay you more than your instructor salaries and I will owe you a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid."
Michael the physician bowed so low that his forehead nearly touched the floor and his eyes were full of a serious and medical intent. "I do not need the money, Your Grace, for I have seen the young master's strength and I am willing to help purely to see such a rare condition defeated."
Ambrosia stood beside him and she nodded her head and her yellow eyes were bright with the memory of the grief she had suffered when her husband Smith had died from the same thing. "I will not stand by and watch another family be torn apart by this illness and I will give everything I have to ensure that Fainyx survives," she said and she looked at the young master with a protective and fierce gaze.
Then they all turned to look at Yong who was sitting on the sofa beside Fainyx and he was leaning back with a smirk that was both playful and dangerous. He pushed a strand of his black hair away from his black eyes and he looked at the Duke with a particular kind of amusement that only a master could have when watching his student's life become a legend.
"I suppose I'll also agree to that," Yong said and he gave Fainyx a quick wink that made Fainyx want to roll his eyes into the back of his head. "It wouldn't do for my favorite student to disappear before I've taught him how the world revolves."
The Duke nodded and he looked at each of them with a cold and warning gaze. "Keep this a secret," he commanded. "I do not want anyone else to know about Fainyx's condition because if the other nobles or the king hear that one of the child of the Family Von Nocte is frail they will circle like vultures and we must find the cure in silence."
They all agreed and they began to discuss the details of the illness but they were so focused on their conversation that they did not notice the small and common-looking sparrow sitting on the windowsill just outside.
The bird had been there when the duke called everyone again on the meeting and it sat perfectly still with its head tilted as if it were recording every word that was spoken in the room. Its eyes were not the usual dull color of a bird but were glowing with a faint and unnatural red light and it watched the Duke and Fainyx for a long moment before it ruffed its feathers.
It let out a single and sharp chirp and it took flight and it soared away from the mansion and disappeared into the distance to carry the secret of Fainyx's illness to someone who was waiting for exactly this kind of news.