1968 Conqueror of American Rock - Chapter 171



Only Noblemtl

171. I’d Do Anything For You (3)

“Wisconsin?”

Director Robert Smith looked surprised.

“Yes, Angela said there’s a castle there that would be perfect for filming.”

“Well, most castles in New England are magnificent, grand, and open. It doesn’t have the same feel as Beauty and the Beast. Then, let’s go on a field trip together. In order to shorten the filming period as much as possible, we need to plan the storyboard perfectly. We also need to find out if it’s possible to film in that castle.”

A few days later, we set off for Wisconsin with a field trip team. Director Robert Smith brought plenty of cameras and film, and a sketchbook and pencils to draw the storyboard. I also brought a notebook with me to write down the scene direction.

“Sir, it’s on the right at the fork in the road.”

Angela, who knows the local situation better than anyone else, joined us.

“Wow, it’s snow, snow!”

Even Annie, who had nothing better to do, followed along.

The whole world was covered in white snow. The van we were riding in entered a narrow dirt road. The driver stopped the car for a moment and put chains on the wheels. Then we went through the snow again.

“Director, do you see that pointed roof over there in the forest? That’s the castle I told you about.”

“Wow······ It’s really in a remote place.”

First of all, the atmosphere was passable.

Until we reached the castle, there was no sign of people, not even a single rabbit. The snow was falling non-stop, but there was barely any wind. The forest was filled with a quiet silence.

Click, click.

Robert got out of his car and captured the scene on camera.

The castle was larger and more magnificent than I had imagined. The walls were covered with withered ivy, and the garden was full of withered grass that had grown haphazardly. There was absolutely no trace of human presence.

“Angela, is this the place where people live?”

“Yes, Grandpa Gerard is the patriarch here, and he used to go to our church. He started coming less often a few years before I left Wisconsin.”

The gates were now firmly shut. There was no sign of footsteps or cars, and no smoke was rising from the chimneys.

“It seems like no one lives there now.”

“Maybe Father Daniel would know.”

We had no choice but to turn the car around and head towards Holy Hill Cathedral.

* * *

I visited Holy Hill Cathedral again after a year and it was still beautiful. I heard that the fall foliage was so spectacular, but somehow I ended up coming again in winter.

The children were happy to see Angela and Annie, screaming and hugging each other. Emily, the Korean child Annie is sponsoring, is now walking quite well. Noah, who had his eyes on Annie when they first met, has grown a lot in just a year.

Annie decided to spend time with the kids, and we went to the priest’s office.

“Welcome, James. Happy New Year, haha.”

“Happy New Year, Father Daniel.”

“Blessing······?”

“This is a Korean New Year’s greeting, haha.”

Father Daniel welcomed us warmly, and I introduced him to the bishop.

“Father, I’m sorry I was planning to come this Christmas.”

“I’m sorry, no. Thanks to the donations and gifts from James’ company, I had a fun and abundant Christmas with the kids. And I enjoyed watching the street festival on TV. James is truly an angel sent by God.”

“Oh, no. The value of sharing is something I learned from Father Daniel, Sister Maria, and Mr. David Jones. I still have a long way to go. Please teach me more in the future.”

After briefly asking each other about their recent activities, Angela brought up the main topic.

“Father, I’m on my way back from Grandfather Gerard’s castle. But it looks like no one lives there now.”

“······.”

The smile disappeared from Father Daniel’s face.

“That’s right. About three years ago… I went to see Mr. Gerard because he hadn’t been to the church for a while. He had difficulty moving due to old age. So my eldest son must have taken him in.”

“Do you know where that is?”

“I heard it was Milwaukee. It’s a big city and a good place to raise kids.”

Angela explained that Milwaukee is the largest city in Wisconsin.

“Father, is there any way to contact you? This surname, which has not been maintained for several years, fits the picture I am looking for.”

An old and worn-out castle hidden in the mountains. What’s more, no one lives there now, so the atmosphere was eerie, like a cursed castle inhabited by wild beasts.

“The address on the last letter exchanged with Mr. Gerard is probably my eldest son’s house.”

The priest personally wrote down the address on another piece of paper.

“But it will probably be difficult to meet.”

The priest’s expression was still dark.

“Mr. Gerard has a great affection for the castle. However, his children living in the city want to sell the old castle or rebuild it into a resort to make money. So Mr. Gerard said that he would rather give back to society than pass it on to his children, and it seems like there is a lot of conflict.”

Regardless of the era, money has always been the issue. In my past life, I have seen many cases where relationships between friends, relatives, and parents and children became bad because of money.

In the end, the reason I had to let go of the woman I loved and the reason I couldn’t protect my band members was all because of money.

* * *

The place Father Daniel had written about was a three-story mansion surrounded by tall trees. It had a large garden that looked like a miniature version of the British royal family. Statues and fountains could be seen through the iron bars of the main gate.

Judging from the sign on the front door that said ‘Glen William’, it seemed to be the house of Mr. Gerard Williams’ son.

Ding dong.

When I rang the doorbell, a middle-aged man of considerable stature came out. He had a rather sinister look about him.

“Who are you?”

There was an expression on his face that seemed to indicate that he was not particularly pleased with us. Even though it was our first time meeting, it felt a bit cold.

“Hello, my name is Angela, and I am a bride-to-be at Holy Hill Cathedral······.”

“I think you’ve come to the wrong place. Please go back.”

He cut Angela off.

“Wait a minute! Are you by any chance Grandpa Gerard’s son?”

He narrowed his small eyes even further.

“······.”

“I came here to see Grandpa Gerard. Please.”

He had a displeased expression, but he led us into the house. He sat down on the living room sofa and gave us a brief introduction.

“Why are you looking for my father?”

“Ah, when I was little, I sometimes went to my grandfather’s castle to play with the priest. There, I drew pictures with my grandfather, and planted flowers in the garden with my grandmother······.”

He frowned as he listened to Angela.

“Did your father say that he was donating his family name to the cathedral?!”

Angela was startled and speechless by his fierce expression.

“No, it’s not that. We wanted to film at the castle. We came from LA to ask permission, but it seemed like no one was living there. So we asked Father Daniel, who we were acquainted with, and came here despite the rudeness.”

When I explained the whole story, he let his guard down a little. Then he complained that his father’s stubbornness was giving him a headache.

“My father is currently in a nursing home. Even though my family has lived in that castle for generations and has childhood memories, what good is that castle now? It’s just an eyesore. The world is changing. It would be better to tear it down and build a fancy resort.”

He argued his case for a long time, but all I could hear was money, money, money. He already lived in a luxury mansion in a wealthy neighborhood in Milwaukee, drove a luxury car, and his clothes and watches were all luxury goods.

“First of all, since our purpose is to film, can we meet your father?”

“I can give you the address, but you won’t meet me. Even when your children go to see you, you won’t meet them. Even when I, as their guardian, go, you won’t even look at me or say anything.”

He sighed deeply and wrote down the hospital address.

* * *

The hospital was on the outskirts of Milwaukee, overlooking calm Lake Michigan. The snow had stopped and the winter lakeside air was refreshing.

“Angela, will Mr. Gerard meet you?”

“If you remember me, you will meet me. You seemed to like me quite a bit.”

We entered the hospital and applied for a visit at the information desk, and after a while, a staff member guided us to our room.

An old man was sitting in a wheelchair, looking out the window. His hair was white, but he had a great figure. Perhaps the eldest son had inherited his father’s physique.

“Mr. Gerard Williams, we have a guest.”

The caregiver who was holding the wheelchair turned around. I was a little surprised by the scary-looking face. His expression was exactly like my eldest son’s.

“You······ You are Angela······.”

“grandfather!”

Angela ran to Mr. Gerard and hugged him, smiling as if she wasn’t scared.

“You’ve really grown up a lot. It seems like only yesterday that you were a little girl, and now you’ve grown up into such a fine lady.”

His speech was slow, but his pronunciation was so precise that it stuck in your ears. His voice was young for his age. It was a soft, low-pitched voice. It was a good voice that seemed like it would be suitable for a voice actor.

“Grandpa, this is my friend and he is a film director.”

Mr. Robert Smith and I greeted Mr. Gerard Williams politely, and Angela introduced us briefly.

“Oh, how wonderful it is to be able to do such a great thing at such a young age. I wish my sons had half, or even half, of James’s character. It’s all my fault for raising my children so poorly.”

Mr. Gerard sighed even louder than his eldest son whom he had met a moment ago. His body’s resonance chamber was so large that it sounded like a large lion breathing.

“My family has been very wealthy for generations. We had several large buildings in addition to the castle. However, my sons were not very interested in studying and had nothing they wanted to do. I organized the buildings and gave them a real estate rental business. However, the two boys were quite talented in real estate-related work. So now, they are living very comfortably without having to work.”

He paused for a moment, lowered his head, and then continued.

“All my children left for the big city, and I stayed in the castle with my wife. I hired a few employees and decided to spend the rest of my life in the castle.”

Mr. Gerard smiled happily as he talked about his wife. He looked scary, but his smile made him feel warm.

“Oh, right. Where is Grandma now?”

“······.”

He shook his head silently.

“Ah······I’m sorry.”

He reassured Angela that it was okay.

“After my wife left, I only spent time in the castle. From then on, I probably went to the cathedral less often. The castle was filled with memories of my wife. We met at a young age, fell in love in the castle garden, and even got married in the castle. Until my children went to study abroad in the big city, our family was happy in the castle. But my sons made some money in real estate and became so wealthy that they talked about selling the precious castle or tearing it down and building a resort······.”

He clutched his chest, his breathing becoming increasingly difficult.

“Grandpa, here, please drink some water.”

He took a sip of the water Angela offered him, took a few deep breaths, regained his composure, and continued speaking.

“I said I would not pass my family name down to my children and that I would return it to society when I died. But, man, I have to trust my country. There’s no guarantee that they’ll keep my family name for a long time······.”

America is a country that values ​​capital over the values ​​of history and tradition. Even if we give back to society as Mr. Gerard said, the fate of the castle could change depending on the government’s purpose.

then.

“Mr. Gerard Williams, how about we try this?”