Chapter 278
"So you’re saying my mother is mentally ill?" Kael asked quietly, his fingers gently caressing Elfie, who had curled into his lap. The little silver dragon rubbed against his chest, breathing softly in her sleep.
Across from him, Ramos sat with a somber expression. It was rare—almost unheard of—for the usually bombastic man to look this serious. Kael immediately sensed the weight of the conversation.
"What happened to her?" he asked.
Ramos scoffed. "Of course, it’s your damned father that happened to her."
Kael raised an eyebrow. "Can you elaborate?"
Ramos sighed, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his temples. "You know how your father looks—handsome, noble, and cold as ice. Even now, he looks more like your older brother than your father. Women couldn’t help but chase after him. It was ridiculous."
Kael chuckled softly. "Can’t argue with that. Compared to you, he looks like a blooming flower, and you look like someone who crawled out of a grave."
Ramos glared but ignored the jab, continuing. "I don’t understand why women have this strange obsession. Instead of falling for nice gentlemen like me, they go after the brooding, emotionally constipated types and dream of changing them. Your father wasn’t a bad man—he just lacked warmth. And your mother..."
He paused, eyes distant with memory.
"She was like a blooming sunflower under a summer sky—bright, cheerful, and full of life. A dreamer. She truly believed she could melt Ruth’s cold exterior and turn him into the type of man who’d fall hopelessly in love with her. And, well, with her status and noble background, their marriage was arranged easily enough."
Kael leaned in slightly as Ramos’s tone dropped lower, heavier.
"But reality isn’t a storybook. She married him, yes—but nothing changed. Ruth stayed the same: cold, stoic, distant. He never mistreated her. He gave her everything—wealth, status, protection. But he couldn’t give her what she truly wanted."