Guidelines for the Perfect Goodbye - Chapter 274
The man sailed on ships, but he was neither a merchant engaged in trade nor a fisherman piloting a fishing boat. His clothes were worn, but always neat, and he always dressed the same way.
He claimed his clothes were military uniforms distributed by the army. Logan did not believe him.
What kind of soldier had no armor? With rags like that, the man would be the first to die before he could protect anyone.
The fabric of his issued clothing was so shabby, it was only natural for such thoughts to arise.
But he did not speak the local sailorsâ dialect, and he could read and write.
Logan kept his meetings with the man a secret from his grandfather. But in the end, he was caught.
Grandfather did not like Logan speaking to outsiders. Above all, speaking to people from the capital or to nobles was strictly forbidden.
In Loganâs eyes, the man was no noble, but at the very least, he was from a region where standard speech was used.
The old man of the Harper family scolded Logan harshly, and a sudden rebelliousness surged within Logan as he asked,
âWhy canât I talk to just anyone? Are you afraid theyâll find out I was abandoned by my parents?â
The old manâs face turned as red as a brick, then gradually shifted to a muddy color.
âDid that bastard spout such nonsense? I shouldâve wrung his neck like a chicken when I had the chance!â
âYou said my parents died from illness.â
âThatâs right.â
ââŚThat was a lie, wasnât it?â
âIf thereâs a liar here, itâs you, with all the lies youâve told me so far. I let you go to the market because you said you wanted to experience commerce, but you snuck off to the harbor instead? Are you trying to send your grandfather to an early grave?â
âMy parents. Theyâre not actually dead, are they?â
âYou little bratâŚâ
âThey abandoned me and are living well on their own, arenât they? The two of them, happy together, while I was just left outâŚâ
âNonsense.â
âThey abandoned me.â
âThey did not abandon you!â
âThey did!â
ââŚâŚâ
âWhy did they abandon me? Was it because they had no money? Then, couldnât you have helped? You have plenty of money, Grandpa. If the four of us lived together hereââ
âYour mother is dead! She died giving birth to you! She died from illness!â
The old man shouted.
âSheâs dead! My daughter is dead! How many times do I have to tell you before you understand?!â
His gold eyes gradually turned red.
âMy daughter⌠is deadâŚâ
Tears gathered at the corners of his eyes, streaming down his wrinkles like rainwater in furrows.
It was the first time Logan had ever seen his grandfather cry. Until then, his grandfather had always been the coldest, strictest, and most frightening person in Loganâs world.
And yet, the old man wept.
Logan hesitated, but only for a moment. He did not back down from the stubbornness inherited from his motherâs side of the family. He had questions, and he had not yet heard the answer.
He had to know the truth, even if it turned out to be the source of his own deficiency.
âIf Mother died⌠what about Father?â
ââŚâŚâ
A dazed gaze settled on the young grandsonâs cheek. Logan glared up at him with wet eyes, pressing for an answer.
âDid Father die, too?â
ââŚâŚâ
The old manâs lips remained firmly shut, as if to say that no matter how many thousands of times Logan asked, no matter how many tens of thousands of times he resented him, he would never tell.
But that was a misunderstanding.
It was not that he wouldnât tellâhe simply never spoke of it.
It was a truth he buried, as if it were too filthy even to name.
It was not truly for Loganâs sake. It was the selfishness and stubbornness of an old man who loved his daughter. But, looking back at his age, his feelings are not so strange.
Logan was the child of the daughter he loved most, and of the man he hated most.
The grandfather raised him under harsh circumstances. But since he did not even let Logan know of his own hatred, one could say he fulfilled his duty.
Therefore, he could only carry with him the obligation to atone for his lifelong inner agony.
Marriage was, after all, an obligation. It was the only time Logan had accepted defeat in a conflict with his grandfather.
***
One day, on the eve of his wedding, Logan thought of the man he had forgotten. The man who wore a ragged army uniform, one even shabbier than Loganâs own.
Even after learning his fatherâs name, what first came to mind wasnât the prestige of House Pierce. Rather, it was that man. At the time, instead of seeking out the ducal house, Logan pursued the manâs whereabouts.
But he had already passed away.
The man who died during the first Gatpolla expedition. Since no one had retrieved his remains, he was buried in the national cemetery, and the compensation allotted to him returned to the national treasury.
He never fulfilled his dream. And the family he had so desperately longed for, Logan gained without any effort at all.
The words he used to murmur echoed in Loganâs mind.
