novelxo Chapter 573
It was expected that Rachael would make Hesper the target of her frustrations. After all, even before Hesper came back, Rachael had shown her resistance to Hesper on many occasions. Fortunately, Hesper probably would not meet Rachael too often.
"I'll never let her affect you again," Matthew promised. "... You should also understand that she just came back not long ago, and she's not as competent as you in all aspects of life, so it's rather natural for her to be a little more sensitive when you're mentioned."
Hesper did not say much about that.
'The relationship between me and Rachael is indeed sensitive. Although I don't usually go around offending others, she always makes the first move and comes at me first. I've been showing her a lot of patience out of guilt, but from now on, I'll show her no mercy.'
The two finished their breakfast in silence and then went to Arthur's study one after the other.
"You're here." Arthur was already fully dressed. He turned his head when he heard the sound of the two walking in, and with a kind smile on his face, he welcomed them. "Come, take a seat. Let's talk." Hesper and Matthew exchanged gazes and sat down.
"About Nathaniel's backstory, the story goes back to your parents' era. It's already quite a distant event for you two." Arthur sighed. "We should start with the son that I'm most proud of, Benjamin Lane. That's your... Ahem, Matthew's father. He met his wife during a mission."
"Benjamin, Simon, and Nathaniel's father, Idris Tucker, were in a military squadron that was in charge of rescue at that time. They rescued countless people in various dangerous places and situations, so it was no surprise that time around."
Next up, Hesper and Matthew listened to a story about a damsel in distress and her hero. The hero of the story was naturally Benjamin, and the damsel was, of course, Matthew's mother.
"Originally, this mission went smoothly. Matthew's parents became very close and fell in love with each other because of this incident. However, unexpectedly, a few years after the rescue mission, something happened."
Because the story contained a handful of secrets, Arthur tried his best to avoid all the sensitive topics as much as possible throughout his narration, but Hesper and Matthew still managed to obtain the most critical information from just a few simple words.
For example, this mission was related to the research and development of a very specific type of drug, and Matthew's mother was one of the test subjects in the concentration camp. However, a few years after that laboratory was taken down, this drug reappeared on the market out of the blue, causing many cases of addictions and deaths.
"After the drug resurfaced, Benjamin and the other two took all the blame and punishment. Matthew, you were almost two years old, and your mother had gotten pregnant again, this time with Rachael. The higher-ups in the military demanded Benjamin and the squadron own up to their mistakes and do something about it by going after the person who developed the drug. Your father then became a deserter." Matthew raised his head when he heard that last word, his eyes full of disbelief. Hesper frowned.
After saying that, Arthur seemed to have aged a lot in an instant, and a hunch appeared on his straight back. "No one believed it, but your parents really did disappear all of a sudden after receiving the military order that day. After that, Idris took over the mission. Meanwhile, Simon refused to believe that Benjamin would become a deserter. Because he was distracted during the mission, he came up with an inaccurate psychological profile of the enemy, which led to Idris's death... And for that, he accepted the punishment and left the army."
His mistake led to the death of his comrade and best friend; it was no wonder Simon chose to leave.
Everything linked together and made sense now, especially the reason why Simon hated Rachael so much. Perhaps deep down, he always felt that his elder brother would never become a deserter. If it weren' for Rachael, he would never have left.