At the bustling dinner party, Anna smiled with a cup of red wine in hand.
She was talking with relatives that came all the way from Sundome, one of the biggest cities in the neighboring country.
Their faces were sun-kissed and radiant with joy as they shared stories of their journey.
At that moment, Anna felt a hand touch her shoulder, and when she looked around, she saw her husband, Jack, standing beside her with a look of worry in his face.
“Is something wrong?” She asked, her joyful tone diminishing as she felt like something was wrong based on the look on her husband’s face.
“Most likely not.” Jack replied with a strained smile and then looked at the distant relatives and said, “Excuse me, can I have a talk with my wife?”
They nodded with understanding and stepped away to give them some privacy.
“What is it?” Anna turned to her husband, her voice quieter than before—almost a whisper.
“Look over my shoulder.” Jack said and took a long sip of the drink in his hand.
Anna tiptoed slightly, looked over his shoulder, and, to her surprise, she saw a wise-looking elderly man speaking with a black-haired young man.
“Mark is speaking with Jesse…”
“Mm.” Jack nodded with a deep frown. “I didn’t expect Jesse to join us.”
“It should be fine, right?” Anna said, her round eyes having a tint of concern.
“It should.” Jack nodded. “Mark has no power to control our side of the family.”
“Mm.” Anna nodded, but she was still worried and curious about what they were saying out there.
After Nyx escaped to fetch some food, Jesse was left alone to deal with Mark, and even though he was already an elderly man, pushing his 70s, he still had the vitality of a young man.
“Hmm, we all thought it would be Zach that inherits Jack’s legacy, but you are the older one…” Mark rubbed his wrinkly chin and chuckled. “What a strange turn of events.”
Jesse shook his head.
“I am not inheriting anything. I am forging my own path and living on my own.”
He was aware that since he was Jack’s oldest son, he would be the one to inherit his empire, but he didn’t want to.
Jesse thought it belonged to Zach and not him, who just popped out of nowhere.
Also, Jesse was very aware of his limited lifespan. He wasn’t sure whether he would live to his 30s, and he didn’t want the burden of controlling the whole Rothsmith family.
He simply wanted to enjoy the last remnants of his life, free from any responsibilities or obligations.
“Forging your own path, you say?” Mark chuckled. “You are still living here, though. Under the shelter of Jack and Anna, how is that living on your own?”
“For now.” Jesse replied and looked out of the window towards the great horizon.
There were greater aspirations, which he wanted to fulfill until his eventual death.
He didn’t want to stay here forever, playing a video game in his bedroom.
He wanted to also experience the vastness of the world.
“Oho.” Mark chuckled, his aged eyes twinkling for a brief moment. “How do you plan on doing that? Borrowing their money?”
“No, haha.” Jesse shook his head with a smile. “I’ll be fine on my own.”
Mark’s eyes shook for a moment.
He wondered where this high-as-the-sky confidence came from.
As he was aware of Jesse’s condition—Humanoid Imperfecta—he expected him to be a depressed young man who relied heavily on others for support.
Now, not only did he seem confident, but he also displayed a level of independence that surprised him. 𝑜𝔳𝑳xt.𝗇𝓔t
“If you truly want to witness the vastness of the world, that is expensive, y’know. Nothing in this world is free.” Mark said with a smile.
“That’s true.” Jesse replied with no change in tone.
He was well aware.
“Mm.” Mark chuckled and carefully patted the young man’s shoulder, as he didn’t want to accidentally break it.
“You are not too bad.” He said and then walked away to mingle with other relatives.
‘His presence is indeed exhausting.’ Jesse thought as he watched the elderly man walk away.
Without anyone noticing, his back was actually covered in cold sweat.
It was simply way too exhausting to stand in the presence of the head of the Rothsmith family and maintain a composed demeanor.
“Jesse.” Jack then walked over with a drink in hand, his face masked with a concerned look.
“Yes, father?” Jesse replied, trying his best to hide his own exhaustion.
“Mind coming with me to the medical wing?” Jack asked with a sigh. “We’ll need your blood sample. Sorry for having to do it today.”
“Ah, I don’t mind.” Jesse said, and followed Jack as they left the dining hall.
After a while, they arrived at the medical wing and got seated in a small examination room.
The door then opened, making Jesse’s eyes widen slightly in surprise as he saw someone familiar.
It was the doctor who examined him last time, but he should be working back at Nocklund’s Primary Hospital.
Without speaking out his curiosity, Jesse allowed the doctor to take his blood sample in silence.
Jack watched from the side, tapping his silver-handled walking cane against the floor with a certain tempo.
After a short while, the doctor put a small bandage on Jesse’s arm and thanked him for his cooperation.
Jesse nodded and stood up from the chair, wanting to return to his bedroom as the ship that was currently cruising through Dark Waters might reach Borneo Island soon.
He, at least, hoped that nothing happened the last night, which would’ve sank the ship.
It would be a tragedy to spawn at the bottom of the ocean.
“Son, are you returning to the party?” Jack asked.
“No, I think I’ll be returning to my quarters.” Jesse said and glanced at the familiar doctor. “Mind telling me if something is wrong with my body?”
The doctor glanced at Jack, who briefly nodded, and then said, “Of course, young master.”
Jesse nodded and then left the medical wing with steady yet powerful steps.
After closing the door, Jack walked next to the doctor, who started calculating the results of the blood sample, which might take several dozen minutes.
“Just tell him that his body is fine, if he asks.” Jack said and leaned against his walking cane. “He doesn’t have to know about this just yet.”
“Understood.” The doctor said, “He must’ve noticed that his health has improved, though. It should be easy to notice since he had lived with way worse health his whole life.”
“I think he has grown way more than you expected.” Jack pulled out his phone and pulled out some photos, then showed them to the doctor. “See?”
“Hmm?” The doctor nudged his glasses and looked at the photo.
It was a picture of Jesse when he was in his early twenties.
In the picture, he was pale like a ghost with a skinny and malnourished body.
His hair was messy and dirty, with heavy eyebags under his dead-looking blue eyes.
“This is him?” The doctor exclaimed in surprise. “He is… so much different. Not only his body, but his whole demeanor.”
“I have some more recent photos, and it seems like his body went through a significant transformation, almost like it happened over a single night.”
“That is truly spectacular.” The doctor replied, amazed at the drastic change. “I have never seen anything like this before.”
“As long it’s not harming my son, I am fine with it.” Jack said and then walked over to the door. “I have to return to the dinner party. Bring me the report of the results tonight.”
“Yes, sir!”