Chapter 293: A Family With Overly Complicated Relationships

Looking at the table where Lex was, Li En sighed.

He was the reason for my "awakening," and seemingly the source of this mess before me—but did he truly do anything wrong?

No, he was neither greedy nor evil; on the contrary, he was a good man in both private and public life—except in his personal life.

He possessed an empathy far beyond his time for friends, family, and even strangers.

If he had any flaw, it was that he stood at the pinnacle, wielded pinnacle power, yet lacked the capacity and inner strength to hold it.

He could have done better, but lacked the ability to do so; his fate may have been sealed the moment he climbed to that position.

Li En shook his head. Today was a day of parting—let the past rest here.

Lex, however, glanced around, leaving only "family" behind.

He removed his mask, revealing a face identical to Li En's.

The man smiled, bitter yet joyful.

"To see you all after death— I'm stunned."

His words immediately revealed poor emotional intelligence; both daughters pouted.

They knew they were posthumous children, born after their father's death—but why say it like that? As if our birth was an accident.

That was the truth: when Lex died, he had no idea his daughters were still alive—he never even imagined he'd have offspring, let alone ones so adorable.

"I'm stunned, but I'm also happy—truly happy."

The young man set his mask aside.

He sat on the steps, weary yet wearing a rare smile of contentment.

"The moment I saw you, I suddenly felt my life had meaning—at least, it wasn't entirely empty."

Beneath his calm words lay emotions tightly suppressed.

Hela stared at him, still pouting, as if unwilling to speak—perhaps from her perspective, she could not understand this joy or satisfaction.

That, in truth, was the final redemption of a failure.

A man who spent his life fighting for his family, only to be betrayed by "family"—yet when he saw his children, he found a glimmer of hope.

Regained? No, it wasn't that simple.

It was a sliver of light, a faint hope, seen after wandering too long in darkness, numb enough to deny his own life, and having rejected the call to return to the world.

I failed, yes—but at least, I still have you.

To the "daughters," however, this was just the excuse of an irresponsible father, clumsily delivered.

For Dainya, it was even more impolite—she kept her eyes fixed on the mask, unwilling to even look at her father's face.

"Uh, I know I'm irresponsible… but at the end, can't you just look at me?"

The "old man" seemed truly heartbroken; his voice even carried a plea.

Dainya sighed and shook her head. Unlike Hela, she held little resentment toward her father.

In her childhood memories, her Hero father remained the totem of the decaying kingdom; most people spoke well of him (except her mother), and he died for his country.

In the past, one of her life's goals was to kill the Great Red Dragon and avenge her father.

"I have no grievance against you. You're nothing like the father I imagined—I need time to adjust, so I won't look at you."

The father she imagined was an invincible hero, with the dignified, serious face of a middle-aged man.

But Lex, at times, carried the demeanor and gestures of a street youth, a hoodlum.

Dainya couldn't bear to look at her father because of an unavoidable reason.

As she said this, Dainya even blushed, slightly embarrassed.

"You're too much like him. When I look at you, I think of him; when I see him, I think of you."

Seeing her own knight, she thought of her father?! Seeing her father, she thought of her knight?!

It was chaotic—utterly chaotic.

The fourth person, Li En, instantly became the focus. He shrugged and spread his hands, signaling innocence—but Lex still glared at him.

"Ah."