Or… beg them? Ask them not to leave him?
If that worked, would he still be here?
Scene after scene flashed through Moff's mind. The more he thought, the sadder he became. If that was how it was, then he'd rather never have known in advance.
That way, the final memories of being with his parents would still be beautiful.
As he kept thinking, Moff's eyes filled with tears. He clenched his jaw and fought hard not to cry.
The truth was, he understood everything. He'd been abandoned—he just refused to accept it. He desperately wanted to ask why. Why him?
"There is no why. Aren't you the one who calls yourself an adult? Then I'll tell you: this is the adult world."
Luke could tell from Moff's expression exactly what he wanted to say. He spoke with a cruelty that didn't sound like something you'd say to a child at all. "If you insist on a reason, then here it is: you were a burden. You dragged the family down. Maybe you love them—but they don't love you."
That line broke Moff on the spot. Tears fell one after another onto the floor, and the next second he let out a wail and completely fell apart, sobbing at the top of his lungs.
The crying immediately drew plenty of attention inside the church. The Illuminators saw it was the prince teasing a kid and didn't plan to interfere.
Still… this prince really had a nasty sense of humor. He'd made a child cry and was still grinning.
The children who'd been playing around also heard the sobbing and looked over.
"Moff is giving everyone a demonstration of how to cry your heart out," Luke said with a smile.
He knew his words had been harsh, but he could tell Moff could take it.
Because Moff already understood everything.
No one had just ever spoken it out loud to him.
At that moment, the kids crowded over, faces full of amazement.
"Wow, that's awesome!"
"He's crying so realistically! I thought it was real!"
"I can only cry like that when my mom hits me with a stick!"
Surrounded by a bunch of kids like a zoo animal, getting gawked at and commented on—
Moff ended up crying so hard he started feeling embarrassed. Little by little, he ran out of steam.
His eyes were red. He sniffled and wiped at his tears.
"Alright, show's over. Scatter!" Luke waved a hand, and the kids immediately chattered as they ran off.
Then he looked back at Moff, still cheerful. "Aren't you an adult? Adults cry like that?"
Moff glared at him, jumped off the bench, and pointed angrily. "You're awful! When I grow up, I'm going to beat you up!"
He'd never seen an adult say something that cruel to a kid.
Only this guy.
Not only did he swindle candy from a kid—he also stabbed a kid right in the heart!
"Then it wouldn't be too much if I beat you up first, right?" Luke dropped the smile, stood, and stepped closer.
Moff was instantly scared and backed away repeatedly, fear flickering in his eyes. Was this guy really going to hit a kid?
Seeing that, even Lux couldn't help wanting to walk over and stop him.
Because she genuinely suspected Luke was capable of doing it.
But Luke wasn't quite as bad as they feared. He sat back down and mocked him instead. "You scare that easily and you still want to beat me up someday? With my status, I wouldn't even need to lift a hand to deal with you."
Moff asked instinctively, "What status?"
"Do you know who the king is?"
"I do."
"That's my father."
Moff froze.
Even at his age, he knew what "the king" meant. Which meant the guy in front of him was… a prince?
Staring at this rather good-looking man, Moff found it hard to believe.
If this was what the prince of this country was like… did it even have a future?
Luke asked, "So? You still want to beat me up?"
Moff thought about it, then tested the waters. "If I beat you up… would I be punished?"
This time, Luke paused.
This little brat's brain really was stubbornly direct—after all that, he was still considering it.
"You'd probably get thrown into a dungeon for a very, very long time," Luke said after snapping back to himself. "By the time you got out, you'd be an old man with white hair."
Moff pictured it, coughed, and said, "Then never mind. I don't want to beat you up anymore."
"Good. I like how sensible you are," Luke said with satisfaction.
Lux and Kahina were both speechless.
Did Jarvan III know that his son was over here bullying a seven-year-old?
"Come here. I want to talk to you in private," Luke said, beckoning.
Moff hesitated, but still walked over and hopped back onto the bench.
"I don't admire people like this very often, Moff. You're pretty impressive," Luke said, rare praise in his tone. "Now I'm going to give you a mission."
Moff looked confused. "What mission?"
"See that group of kids over there? They'll be very useful to me in the future, but I don't know them well." Luke nodded toward the children playing. "I'm ordering you to become their leader, and in the future, you'll be used by me."
Moff asked blankly, "How am I supposed to do that?"
"However you do it, you have to succeed. Understood?" Luke patted Moff on the shoulder with heavy, serious emphasis.
The moment that hand landed, Moff's emotions surged uncontrollably.
In Luke's eyes, he saw trust.
Even though he'd hated this guy earlier, right now, Moff realized he'd been wrong.
Because from the very beginning, only this guy had treated him like an adult.
And now he was entrusting him with something this important.
I… can actually help the prince?
The thought made Moff even more excited.
He jumped down from the bench, raised his hand over his head solemnly, and said, "I will complete the mission!"
After that, he shot Luke a look and marched straight toward the group of kids.
Chest out, head high, he called out loudly, "That's not how you play the game! If you want to play Eagle Catches the Chicks, put your thumb up!"
The second he said it, it grabbed all the kids' attention.
"I want to play! I want to play!"
"Me too!"
"I'm in!"
The innocent kids immediately raised their hands with their thumbs up, showing they wanted to join.
So Moff started organizing them, and before long, he was completely absorbed into the group.
Lux just stood there, stunned.
She turned to Kahina, baffled. "Why did their relationship suddenly get so good? Why would Moff rather play with this guy than play with me?"
Lux couldn't understand it. Luke had literally made Moff cry, and Moff still went running after him happily.
She'd been so gentle, and Moff couldn't have cared less!
Kahina tilted her head, thought for a moment, then said, "Maybe because you're dumb?"
"?"
Lux slowly produced a question mark, her expression growing increasingly dangerous.
"What is wrong with you today?! I've been putting up with you for ages!"
Miss Crownguard pounced on Kahina.
"Wait—no, I'm sorry!" Kahina yelped and took off running.
The two girls chased and wrestled playfully, and inside the Illuminators' church, it was like the sadness had vanished—bursts of laughter drifting out now and then.
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