"When was the last time you visited me, son?" Mr. Royall asked, his eyes fixed on Evan as he forked a piece of filet mignon and brought it to his lips.
"More or less a year ago," Evan answered, taking a sip of his wine. "Why'd you ask, Father?"
"You look... different since the last time I saw you," Mr. Royall said, hesitating before finishing his sentence.
"Do I look older?" Evan meant it as a joke, but much to his surprise, Mr. Royall nodded in agreement.
"Yes, exactly!" the Royall patriarch exclaimed. "You look like you've aged a decade in just a single year!"
"Ah," Evan replied dryly. "Freiheit said something similar when we last saw each other."
They were currently eating dinner inside the Royall Mansion, specifically in its unreasonably large dining room. The room was designed to accommodate at least a hundred people, yet tonight, only two of them, Mr. Royall and Evan, sat at the massive table.