They Hated Me in My First Life, But Now I Have the Love System

Chapter 473: What Family Means to Me

If his grandchildren were thrown out, he would never be offended.

Stephanie felt her throat go dry. In that moment, she finally understood, she had overestimated her place in Carl’s life by miles.

The one person who fully understood what was happening was Elder Knox.

He knew Carl better than almost anyone alive.

People often said Carl was a man who valued loyalty and friendship, and that was true. But what many failed to realize was that he valued family even more, sometimes to a degree that bordered on unshakable devotion.

Elder Knox had quietly kept tabs on Carl over the years. He had been sworn brothers with Carl’s grandfather and had watched the boy grow from a remarkable child into the formidable young man before them.

When Carl’s parents died so suddenly, Elder Knox had worried he might never recover. That kind of loss could hollow a person out.

But not Carl.

Not only had he survived, but he had carved his name deeper into the annals of power and had been steadily reclaiming control over his kingdom with an almost frightening steadiness.

And every year, without fail, on the anniversary of his parents’ deaths, Carl would leave whatever matters he was handling, no matter how important, and return to Riverum Castle.

No one knew exactly what he did there during those twenty four hours. He never spoke of it.

But the next day, he would reappear, composed as ever, and resume his duties as though nothing had happened.

His personality never wavered. His focus never slipped.

It was this unyielding steadiness, and that quiet, hidden grief, that made Elder Knox realize just how much the simple word family meant to Carl.

And from what Elder Knox had observed over the years, Carl wasn’t faking it or putting on some flawless act. He was genuinely kind, patient, gentle, and caring, a man with a rare depth of emotional intelligence.

Till today, Elder Knox still couldn’t understand how someone who had walked through so much tragedy could come out of it all...undamaged. Yet, somehow, Carl had.

This mystery only made Elder Knox respect him more, fueling his curiosity and admiration. Again and again, he found himself drawn to Carl’s side, choosing to work alongside him just to stay close and learn from this remarkable young man.

After years of collaboration, Elder Knox was certain of one thing, Carl didn’t just say he valued someone; he proved it through every action, every small detail.

had learned, it was this: the people Carl accepted as family were

that he had openly acknowledged a little sister, something he had

very much.

lacked the level of discernment he always believed she had. Clearly, she

parents had praised her too much...so much that

coldly, that he was here today to witness her true

pride, Elder Knox silently crossed her name off the list in his mind. The opportunity he had planned to give

later, begging and trying to persuade him to

squander such a chance on someone who

a long talk with his son and daughter in law. They needed to hear the truth, how they had failed

these two were still young. It wasn’t too late to correct them, to humble

deep wave of

believe I was actually planning to recommend her to Carl...even consider

ever since she was a little girl, but even a blind fool could see she would

only ever had one person in his heart, that girl from the other

now, after all these years of silence and uncertainty, not knowing whether she was even still alive...Arthur

Unmoving.

Loyal to a fault.

seeing that made Stephanie’s shallow scheming look all the more

was simply destined to be alone. And if he kept

been more than a decade already. If she or her parents were alive, they would have returned long ago. Elder Knox had accepted

his granddaughter. Carl was patient, gentle, refined, so effortlessly kind, with a depth of

doubted that if Stephanie married Carl, she would be cherished and protected beyond

But now...

arrogance and shallow judgment, he realized with cold clarity that Stephanie was not worthy of

would have let the boy down, he thought, a trace of shame flickering in his chest. Even mentioning her name to him in that

have to break a person’s spirit. Only the best, most sincere girl deserved to

only now truly realizing how serious the situation had become. A chill spread through her chest, her confident calculations unraveling

her eyes to her grandfather, silently pleading for help, for some kind

to get close to Arthur, not when she had pleaded for a single word of endorsement that might finally set her above all the

she could make Arthur forget his first love. She

that didn’t involve trying to control Carl, her father and mother had tried their best, doing everything in their power to give her

it had been so much more than enough, so much privilege and favor