There was no clock in this silent room based on the sound, even if there was 1 on the wall, this body couldn't even turn around properly to look at it.

  But no matter, a few small factors are more than enough to tell the time change.

  The patient uniform that changes every morning, although the color remains the same, a few rips and small stains are enough to give identity.

  Nurses who come with new faces, though their smiles remain uniform. Shifts that rotate, night to day and day to night.

  A changing rhythm of steps-some light and agile, some heavy and zy.

  Then there were voices... The chatter in the hallway, which grew louder during the day, died down towards evening.

  The sound of a stroller passing through the room, sometimes with squeaky wheels, sometimes gliding smoothly.

  Even if I really wanted to, I could count the seconds ticking in my mind, along with the minutes flowing in my consciousness.

  The sound of rhythmic footsteps could be heard in the outer hallway. Light, steady, and without hesitation. I had already recognized this step pattern. Not too fast, not too slow, but sharp enough to show that the owner never wavered in making decisions.

  Aurelia.

  Just like before. There was no sound of rushed breathing, no indication of fatigue despite having just given birth three days ago. It was as if her physical and mental presence was always in complete control. If I didn't know better, I would have thought this woman was an emotionless being.

  The door is open.

  I turned my gaze towards him, noticing the changes that had occurred since the st time she came.

  The clothes are different, but the hairstyle remains the same.

  Today, she wore a pure white cssic dress. No excessive ornaments, no patterns at all. Simple, but not in the least bit cheap-looking.

  Her skirt fell just below the knee, long enough to maintain a formal feel, but short enough to show that she didn't care for overly stiff clothing conventions. Her white shoes looked a bit like gss. The sleeves covered her elbows on both hands, a small detail that made her seem more... erudite.

  I don't see innocence there. I see efficiency. Something practical, comfortable, but still enough to present a certain image.

  I turned to her face, the expression remained the same. Ft. Neutral without a smile, without a frown, without a single emotion that could be guessed just by looking at the surface.

  But I knew it wasn't for ck of emotion. Aurelia is not someone who has no feelings, it's just that she chooses not to show them.

  Just like before, there were no pleasantries. She came, and held me in a gentle embrace.

  The hospital began to feel livelier as morning dawned. The previously silent hallways are now filled with the sound of footsteps, the hurried tapping of doctors' shoes, faint conversations between nurses, and the occasional ringing of medical monitors from inside patient rooms.

  Once or twice, people turned their heads to Aurelia, perhaps because the way she carried herself was too calm, too perfect for someone who had just given birth.

  As we finally passed through the main door, the outside air greeted us with the fresh morning humidity.

  Rows of bck cars were seen lined up, some of which slowly moved forward under the direction of officers

  Then a man with hair and eyes as dark as onyx approached us in his casual clothes....

  ××××××××××××××××××××

  In front of the hospital, several bck cars were neatly parked, with people in suits standing around. They didn't speak much, just went about their duties in professional silence.

  However, the most striking sight was not them, but the man who had just stepped closer to Dante.

  He wore a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his sturdy wrists. The bck vest that fits his body gives a neat but not stiff impression, paired with bck pants that fall perfectly without excessive creases. His steps were light, his bck leather shoes shining in the morning sun, reflecting the faint light.

  Without wasting any time, he immediately brought his hand to James face, intending to pinch the small cheek.

  However----------Sp!

  Aurelia's slender hands moved quickly, dismissing her husband's fingers without any exaggerated expression.

  Dante blinked a few times, then sighed dramatically, "You're too cruel Aurelia, why shouldn't I touch my own child?"

  "You pinched, not touched," Aurelia replied calmly, as if deflecting his words with an invisible shield.

  Dante folded his arms across his chest, pretending to be offended, "I just wanted to test the esticity of her cheeks, that's part of a father's job."

  James took it all in silently, his eyes focused, as if assessing the interaction that was taking pce.

  A man dressed in bck opened the car door silently, "The car is ready."

  Aurelia entered first, making sure James was comfortably positioned in her arms before Dante followed, sitting back with one hand resting on the back of the chair.

  As the car began to move, silence initially enveloped them, but as was common in this family, Dante broke the ice easily.

  "So, my dear wife, how does it feel to be a mother?" Dante's voice sounded light, but there was a teasing tone behind it.

  Aurelia did not answer immediately. Her gaze remained fixed outside the window, watching the buildings pass by one by one, "Same as before."

  Dante ughed softly. "So cold, I should have known you wouldn't give a sentimental answer," he retorted.

  "I know we've talked about this, but let's reconsider. How about we give it a more... dramatic name?" Dante continued, not knowing he was sticking his head into the lion's mouth.

  Aurelia turned to him this time, her expression still neutral, but there was a hint of tension in the corners of her eyes.

  "You're not trying to rehash this conversation, are you?"

  Dante smiled broadly, "Why not? How about a name full of meaning and power? Something like... Maximus? Or maybe Ignatius?"

  Aurelia let out a long breath, as if regretting this whole conversation, "No."

  Dante sighed, "You didn't even give me a chance to expin the philosophy."

  "Because I already know the philosophy doesn't make sense," Aurelia replied in a tone that felt tired.

  James remained silent, though in his mind, he began to realize one thing quite clearly.

  James felt that Dante wanted people to think he was careless and negligent, even though it was a baseless assumption.

  Dante leaned his head against the car seat, sighing dramatically.

  "Alright, alright, I accept defeat. But I'll still call him by the cool name behind you."

  In a quietly moving car, the atmosphere should be peaceful... it should be. However, the creature named "Dante" would never let that happen.

  "Hey, nameless baby," he said suddenly, his voice full of amusement as he leaned his face towards that baby.

  "Do you think this reality is an absolute construct or just an illusion that we all agree on?"

  Aurelia instantly turned her head sharply, her gaze like a newly sharpened knife, "Dante, stop your nonsense."

  But Dante, with an innocent face, kept staring at the baby in Aurelia's arms as if he really expected an answer.

  Dante squinted, taking in every detail of the small expression before him. The baby's eyes were too sharp, too contrasting, too steady. Even when asked a question that should have been incomprehensible to a species his age, there was no confusion or surprise.

  'Interesting,' Dante smiled a little while trying to hide it.

  "Or put it this way, does existence have inherent meaning, or is that meaning created based on individual perception?"

  "Dante!" Aurelia raised the pitch of her voice, enough to make the man in the bck suit in one of the chairs in front turn his head briefly before refocusing on his task.

  Dante gave a small chuckle. Ridiculous to others, but not to Dante. Everything he did was calcuted-every tone of voice, every word he spoke, even his gestures when speaking.

  People may know him as a sloppy and reckless man, but in the world of science, no one can underestimate his identity. People call him a genius. Some call him crazy. But one thing is for sure, he is not a man who acts for no reason.

  And now, he was testing his son. The nameless baby remained silent. But the more Dante looked at him, the more he was convinced that... this child is "awake".

  Maybe he didn't speak, maybe he didn't give an exaggerated expression, but his consciousness was there. There was no confusion in his eyes, no shock that would have come to an ordinary baby when hearing their father's voice for the first time.