After listening to my mom, my dad sighed deeply. "I gradually started depending on your mom. But when it rains, it pours. We only stayed in that house for a month." "Why?" I asked.This content ? N?v/elDr(a)m/a.Org.


    "Your mom didn''t have time to work to support us while taking care of me. Plus, she had spent all her money while I was in the hospital, so thendlord kicked us out.


    "That was the cruel reality. Your mother and I sat side by side with our luggage on the streets of Nocturnia that evening. At that moment, I vowed to myself then and there that I would be wealthy, well-known, and provide Moira with a secure home so she wouldn''t regret saving me."


    My hand subconsciously tightened around As''s hand, imagining the embarrassment they must have felt.


    As gripped my hand solidly to show that he recognized how I was feeling.


    "Where did you go then?" I asked weakly.


    I could guess how easy it would be to go astray in such a situation.


    My dad shook his head, looking at me and As. "When someone hits rock bottom, they''ll cling to anything they can as if it were a lifeline. We were the same. We were homeless, and although we were discouraged, we also clung together more tightly. "Fortunately, one of my ssmates helped us out and let us stay in his house. He was our lifesaver!"


    My dad chuckled. "Then, I met a businessman in cosmetics from Cirencester. He was my ssmate''s uncle. My ssmate praised me to the skies. A top student, an academic star, the most promising talent..."


    "He said that?" I couldn''t help but interject.


    "Yes, he carefully set up the trap step by step, luring me in. He asked his uncle if any projects could earn us some extra money, like providing us with technology or form for cosmetics while they handled the marketing. To be honest, I was very interested in my ssmate''s proposal."


    "The trap he set was tailor-made for you," I sighed.


    My father chuckled bitterly with a sour expression. "I didn''t expect his uncle to give me a chance."


    "He was the one who led you astray?" I murmured.


    bet


    My dad nodded in frustration. "At that time, purification technology in Nocturnia was very advanced. He asked me to research a form for cosmetics, saying that the sales of this particr cosmetic were very promising and could make a lot of money.


    "He said that if I could help hime up with the form, he would pay me amission. The amount he mentioned was astronomical for me!


    "That... was the first step that led me


    astray. I earned my first pot of gold with my knowledge. The


    He suddenlyughed, a somewhat bitterugh that made us uneasy.


    Greed!


    Desire!


    Those were the greatest demons in everyone''s hearts, especially when there was no defense against temptation in circumstances like these.


    I nced up at As, who had been listening attentively.


    But my dad continued with a sneer,


    "After I got the money, I wanted to grow and get revenge, which made me decide to buy a house on the spot. I didn''t want to worry about not having a stable ce to live


    anymore, and I didn''t want to see the woman who was with me suffer. That''s how your mom and I finally got our own home in that indifferent and cold ce, and I lived together with Moira, starting a worry-free family life."


    "But misfortune began to approach us step by step." my mom sounded desperate.


    "Because after that, little by little, the form for cosmetics began to change... When I realized that, I was already deeply trapped and unable to extricate myself..."