"Aahhhh…"

Northern released one hell of a satisfying breath. Then he leaned back into the chair and zoned out for a couple of seconds, his right hand resting on top of his stomach.

Roma sat there… awed. He actually finished it all.

Her eyes darted between the scraps of whatever was left on the plate—the soup, the rice, the meat, and the other vegetable side dishes that came with it. Northern had been absolutely unhinged through it all.

How can someone have no sense of sympathy?

She didn't want to become spiteful over some food, but really, this was too much. Isn't he supposed to be a man? Aren't men supposed to be… nice? Like when they saw a damsel in distress, weren't they supposed to show concern?

For some reason, her mind seemed to find its way back to hers and Northern's first meeting.

'If I think about it deeply, he has always been like this.'

That time too, she had saved him… or at least was convinced that was the case. Even if it was the other way round, wasn't it a grand gesture that deserved a word of thanks?

But no. Northern was absolutely unhinged and ungrateful. She never really liked him, actually. If it wasn't for the fact that he saved her life… multiple times. She never really liked him at all.

But she never really hated him either.

"You're looking at me like if you're given the chance you could drive a stake through my heart. Is it because of the food?"

Roma merely closed her eyes, gritting her teeth painfully as she answered in her mind.

'Oh, now you care?'

Northern sighed and leaned forward.

"Anyways, I want to ask you something. Something personal, if you don't mind."

With his words, the atmosphere shifted, becoming serious. Roma still eyed him with some suspicion but answered with a little ladylike attitude.

"Okay?"

"Your mother… Do you care to tell me about her? When her sickness started."

Roma's expression stilled like the surface of unmoving water.

"Oh…" She looked down for a moment. "Well… there's not much to say."

Northern observed her keenly.

"I thought you said she's a Drifter…"

She nodded. "Yes… she is… because of it she has always had a fragile body. Her ability does not strengthen her body—she's not physically strong like others. Despite being a Drifter, my mother grew up not being able to lift a weapon. It sickens her, and too much movement damaged her body, such that she would have to be bedridden for days."

She looked up at Northern. Her eyes seemed glassy one moment, then clear as he stared harder.

"So she had intensive care around her. After she gave birth to me, things grew really worse. If moving around usually earned her days of sickness, can you try to imagine what giving birth to five children would've cost her?"

Northern really did try to imagine. For someone with a frail body like that, it had to have been a lot.

He couldn't truly fathom the pain of childbirth, but he had heard a thing or two about how difficult it could be, especially in his old world.

'Deciding to birth five would've been a mountainous task. Or were they just careless?'

Looking at the way King Ruger loved his wife though, Northern didn't think he'd be careless to keep forcing the idea of a child on her, especially after their first child was a boy.

People like this, one usually just found them with a single child. But he had five. Four hefty males and one pain in the ass female.

Roma looked at Northern with suspiciously narrowed eyes.

He shook his head and responded:

"Well, to an extent, I can fathom. But at the end of the day, I'm not a woman and I've never given birth."

Roma nodded, folding her arms. "I didn't expect you to understand either. Would've been weird if you claimed to, in fact. But it does give you an idea of how painful and stubborn my mother can be. After me, things worsened—consistent coughs, anorexia. She couldn't even stand for a minute without getting dizzy and falling."

She sounded hurt but tried to mask it with the strength of her voice.

"We had to force her to stay in her bed more often than not…"

Northern gently interrupted.

"The physicians that came to examine her… what were their observations?"

"Essence Depletion. They said her body was constantly leaking essence, more than she was gaining… For a Drifter, once they awaken, essence becomes a crucial part of how their body functions, they said, so it was really anomalous that she was leaking. Although there were a few other physicians that said her body does not accept her essence—it's simply failing instead of choosing to be sustained by it."

Northern took into account all that she said, rubbing his chin as some crumbs of hair there really felt scratchy.

'Essence rejection… that's something else entirely.'

"I see…"

Roma studied him carefully for a few seconds.

"Why… do you ask? What did Father say?"

Northern took a moment to respond. After about three seconds of staying silent and thinking, he raised his head and looked at her.

"Oh, he was concerned. Really concerned… so, I asked if I could take a look. And…" He smirked slightly. "Who would have thought that your reason for following the stimulants was because of your mother. You managed to really convince me with your lies. I despise lies, by the way. Everybody around me just seems to live a life full of lies."

Roma looked down, a bit despondent. "Ah…" She raised her head, looking more despondent now. "I'm sorry."

Northern raised a brow. He wasn't expecting her to apologize. Certainly didn't mention it for her to apologize.

"You had your reasons."

She sounded somber. "Still… what happened between us, especially with the disagreements we had and things we spoke about—it just painted me as a hypocrite that I hid things like this. I… I just didn't want to burden you, when you've had enough."

Northern looked at her and shook his head.

"I wouldn't have complained. But it's all in the past. Forget about it."

He sighed and stood up, looking at the vast and colossal shelves of books.

"If you'll excuse me now though, I have work to do."

Roma looked slightly shocked.

"Are… are you sending me away?"

'At such an emotional moment?!'

Northern smiled and nodded.

"Yes. There's much to do."

Her mouth hung open.

This guy… he really never ceased to burst her bubbles.

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