A pale, blond, and handsome middle-aged man wearing a magic robe was standing outside the study door. His complexion looked somewhat tired, and there were faint traces of fatigue around his eyes, the kind that came from spending too many hours immersed in magical experiments rather than from ordinary work.
This man was Kaelan Markey, Lucien's father.
He usually cared about very little besides magic.
Experiments, formulas, magical theories, the endless process of adjusting one spell after another. Those things could occupy his mind for days without him noticing how much time had passed.
Today, after finishing another experiment, he had decided to leave his workroom and get some fresh air. He had not intended to listen to the conversation inside, but when he heard Lucien discussing the idea of hoarding grain, he stopped.
Lucien looked at his father and felt a familiar mixture of affection and helplessness.
Kaelan had always been like this.
