Investing in My Crippled Wife: Every Return Makes Me Stronger

Soren quickly recovered his composure, closing the door softly behind him. He walked forward, extending a hand to exchange a respectful handshake with the older man.

”Father-in-law,” Soren said, keeping his voice steady despite the questions immediately racing through his mind.

’Why is he here? Could it be that he really was watching us this whole time? Was my suspicion about him correct?...’

Out of the corner of his eye, Soren glanced toward the bed. Ethea still hadn’t woken up yet, breathing softly under the blankets. A faint ripple in the air around the bedside indicated that a new sound barrier had been set up, sealing her off from their conversation.

Darius released his hand, his eyes scanning Soren with genuine concern. ”How are you holding up, Soren? Shouldn’t you be resting right now?”

”Thank you for asking, Sir. I am fine,” Soren replied, keeping his tone polite. He paused briefly, choosing his next words carefully before asking the burning question. ”What brings you all the way here?”

”Well, of course I have come to visit my lovely daughter and her husband after hearing what happened,” Darius said, gesturing faintly toward Ethea.

Soren let a look of confusion cross his face, pretending to be out of the loop. ”Huh? How did you hear about that so quickly?”

”Oh, I heard it directly from President Craig,” Darius replied smoothly. ”My subordinates alerted me the moment they caught wind of an incident in this city, and I immediately made my way here after learning the real situation from him.”

Soren allowed a flash of genuine surprise to show on his face. ”Oh... You are friends with the President?”

”Well, you could say that,” Darius said, a faint smile playing on his lips.

Soren kept his expression neutral while his mind clicked the pieces together.

’So I was right...’

”I see. I appreciate you coming all this way on such short notice,” Soren replied politely, and used Advanced Appraisal on him.

───────

Name: Darius Morvain

Age: 48

Status: Healthy (Experiencing minor mental fatigue)

Rank: 7th Circle (Mid Stage)

Current Mana Level: 2,847,105

Mental State: Warm, Concerned, Relieved

Abilities: Spirit Contracts

Affinities: Water (Grade 6 - A Rank), Wind (Grade 6 - A Rank), Darkness (Grade 8 - SS Rank), Space (Grade 4 - C Rank)

Hidden Talent / Traits: Linguistic Mirror, Symmetrical Perfectionist, Acoustic Memory, Mental Sanctuary

Potential: 8th Circle (Estimated)

Investment Value: Very High

───────

’Hmm, still hard to grasp his full depth,’ Soren thought, taking a quick glance at his mental state to read his emotions.

Seeing that the man was genuinely concerned and relieved, Soren relaxed slightly. At the very least, Darius cared about their survival.

Darius broke the brief silence, a shadow of regret crossing his face. ”No, I should have come earlier and supported you. Right, do you need anything? Potions? Artifacts? Resources? Money? Just name it, I’ll give you anything you want.”

”Thank you for the offer, Sir, but we—”

Before Soren could even finish shaking his head, Darius dismissed the gesture, shaking his own head instead. ”No, why am I even asking? Here, just take all of these.”

Without waiting for a response, Darius tapped his spatial ring and began pulling out items one after another. High-grade healing potions glowing with pure vitality, rare mana-restoring elixirs, protective artifacts pulsing with defensive arrays, and premium resource crystals quickly began piling up on the small table nearby.

Soren watched the escalating display, entirely speechless as the stack of astronomical wealth grew right in front of him.

”F-Father-in-law, that’s enough, please,” Soren finally managed to say, stepping forward to stop him.

Darius paused, his hand hovering over his ring before he finally let it drop. ”Ah... Sorry. I got carried away.”

Despite the apology, he made absolutely no move to take any of the items back, leaving the mountain of high-grade resources sitting firmly where it was.

Soren let out a quiet sigh, his gaze shifting from the pile of wealth back to the older man. His relaxed posture vanished, replaced by a solemn expression as he looked directly into his father-in-law’s eyes.

”Sir...” Soren asked, his voice low and steady. ”Why are you doing this?”

Darius tilted his head slightly, his tone perfectly natural. ”Do you mean giving you these resources? It is the least I can do for—”

”Sir, please,” Soren cut him off, his voice firm yet respectful. ”Don’t pretend and try to shift the topic. You know exactly what I am talking about.”

Darius went still, the easygoing warmth fading from his features. He stared at Soren for a long moment before letting out a heavy sigh, his expression shifting into one of unreadable solemnity.

”Do you... really want to know?” Darius asked.

Soren nodded without batting an eye, his gaze locked onto the man.

Darius leaned back, looking down at his own hands for a brief moment before turning his eyes toward Ethea.

”I suppose it was only a matter of time before you cornered me,” Darius said quietly, a grim smile touching the corners of his mouth. ”You are far sharper than I initially gave you credit for, Soren. Most young men would have been blinded by the wealth, or too intimidated by me to push this hard.”

He let out a short breath, the solemnity in his eyes deepening as he looked back up.

”The truth is complex, yet incredibly simple.”

”I...”

”I wanted to protect my family.”

Soren did not break eye contact, his expression hardening as he delivered a cutting response. ”Is Ethea not your family?”

Darius fell completely silent. The calculated composure he usually held seemed to fracture for a fraction of a second before settling back into his natural, unreadable state.

”No, she is my family... She’s my only lovely daughter,” Darius said softly. ”But... You have to understand my situation, Soren. On one side, I have hundreds of relatives, children, and subordinates who rely on me. On the other side, there is a force that would have slaughtered every single one of them just to get to her.”

”Is that why you abandoned her?”

”...I didn’t abandon her.”

”...”