Return of the General's Daughter
Chapter 168: Alaric’s Childhood 2

Chapter 168: Alaric’s Childhood 2

Sandoz stirred again, throwing himself into Lara’s arms. His sobs were quieter now but just as broken. Lara wrapped her arms around him, stroking his back and threading her fingers through his hair with soothing tenderness.

Reya and Jethru joined her, enveloping the boy in a cocoon of warmth.

Alaric’s heart twisted.

He looked away, trying to ignore the tightness in his chest. But it was too late.

That fragile, long-forgotten part of him—the boy deeply hurt and abandoned, the boy who was blamed for his mother’s death and loathed because of it- took over him like water in a dam breaking through its barrier.

He stood without saying anything and exited through the back door. He needed fresh air; otherwise, he would suffocate. His strides toward the Narra tree at the far end of the backyard became urgent.

When he finally arrived, he punched the hard trunk with all his strength. Even when his knuckles bled, he did not stop.

Inside the house, Agilus noticed the dark aura surrounding Alaric when he passed by. He called him several times, but he seemed to be not himself and did not acknowledge him. He knew his friend too well, and he knew that in his state, no one could reach him.

He remembered a time when they were in a faraway village. He saw a family of three walking on the road. The boy was maybe three years old. His father lifted him and spun him around three times, and the boy giggled. Then his father placed him on his shoulder, and with one hand, he held the hand of the woman beside him. The woman had beautiful black hair that cascaded down to her waist.

Alaric’s mood shifted, and he suddenly he punched the tree beside them. Agilus panicked and tried to stop Alaric, only to be hit by his punches, and he blacked out.

He didn’t know what happened, but when he woke up, Alaric was fine, as if nothing happened, while he suffered a few bruises from his beating.

When he passed by earlier, Agilus recognized that look. It was the same one at that time he tried to intervene. He had learned his lesson and knew that there was nothing he could do anyway, but maybe Kane ... no, Lara, could.

"Doctor Kane... I mean Doctor Lara." He called tentatively.

Lara seemed oblivious to Agilus’s frantic call as she was still busy comforting Sandoz.

Samuel, who had seen the shift in Alaric’s aura and heard Agilus’s desperate voice, also sensed something was wrong. He had once been his student. Though he did not become his full pledge disciple, he had spent so much time with him that he understood where Agilus’ desperation was coming from.

"Lara," he called, his voice breaking through the tension in the air as he gently tapped her shoulders with a reassuring touch. "You need to hand over Sandoz to Reya and Jethru. Prince Alaric needs you by his side more than ever right now."

Lara, oblivious to what had happened—she did not even notice that Alaric had come out—was confused as she lifted her head to meet Samuel’s wise gaze.

"Me?" She pointed at herself. "Alaric seemed fine a minute ago." She said.

"You are a doctor. Trust me. He needs you at the moment. The more you delay, the more dangerous it will be for him." Samuel sighed. He knew something was wrong with Alaric, but he couldn’t grasp what it was.

"Girl, it’s time for you to go now. Trust my master," Jethru helped her up and pushed her to the back door. Of course, this was one opportunity for him to play the matchmaker. He would not let it slip through his finger.

Lara narrowed her eyes when he looked back to the people who could not wait to push her out of the house. Then, she exited from the back door. But her eyes went wide at what she saw. Alaric was using the hard trunk of a tree as a punching bag. Even from afar, she could see how badly hurt his knuckles were.

And by instinct, she ran toward the tree.

What the hell is wrong with him? Why is he punching the tree? Didn’t he know that it was a hard tree?

"Alaric, what are you doing? Stop it! " she shouted at the top of her voice, but Alaric did not hear. He continued with his punches, and the tree shook, a testament to how forceful his punches were.

"Alaric, what on earth are you doing? Stop it right now!" Lara shouted even louder, her voice echoing like a clarion call through the air. Panic surged within her as she watched him, completely immersed in his actions. It was as if he was in his own world where there was only him and his punching bag.

"Ari, please stop. You are hurting yourself." Lara called him by his nickname, hoping that it would have some effect. He paused but only for a fleeting moment. He continued punching the tree.

"Ari!" she shouted at the top of her voice. The urgency of her words hung in the air, but it was as if a thick fog had cloaked his senses, leaving him unresponsive to her frantic plea.

From running, Lara turned to sprinting, and she reached him in no time.

"Ari, listen to me. Stop. Don’t you want your hand anymore?" Lara stood close beside him.

Alaric continued as if he did not see her.

When he punched again, Lara tried deflecting his hand, and she succeeded. But the next moment, Alaric changed his target—her.

Lara cursed as she tried to dodge his punches. Alaric was a formidable opponent. He was fast and he was not holding back at all. If Lara was hit, she would surely pass out.

At first, Lara enjoyed the fight. She learned a few moves from Alaric. But as he continued to punch her relentlessly, Lara was getting tired, and her movement started to be sluggish.

"Alaric Kromwel, Ari," Lara called out both his names in the hope of waking him up from his current state. "Do you really want to hurt me?"

Alaric blinked, and he paused. But then he raised his fist once more and was ready to release another punch, but Lara suddenly had an idea. Her movement was fast and she was behind him.

Then she tried to restrain him by hugging him from the back.

"Ari, what’s wrong with you?" She asked, her voice gentle like a breeze.