The Main House
Robert did not raise his gaze as he continued speaking:
"In fact, I knew two women who met the same fate. The first was killed for no reason other than getting close to me. As for the second, holding her hand was Ample for them to take her out of my room and kill her."
"Just holding your hand...?"
"That was Sufficent of an excuse for them. At that moment, I truly understood that their warnings were not just nonsense, so I tried to stay away from any woman who might meet the same fate because of me."
Robert remained silent for a moment before continuing, with a rare trace of humanity appearing on his face:
"Then I met Cosette."
His voice changed as soon as he mentioned her name. His words were no longer cold as before. Instead, a faint smile appeared on his face for a moment, but Noah did not notice it.
"She was a strange woman, but without realizing it, I left the family for her and lived with her away from the filth of the nobles. We lived for years away from luxury, but with my ability as a mage, we were able to live a happy life. I never regretted what I did. I even thought that the main family had finally decided to leave us alone, which made me gradually lower my guard, but unfortunately..."
"They were only waiting."
Robert remained silent for a few moments, then continued:
"They waited until my son was born and turned six. Then they killed his mother and took him, while I was forced to return to the family so that I could regain the status that would allow me to search for him."
"Did you find any evidence that he was still alive?"
"I searched for clues after I returned. Unfortunately, I did not find the remains of a child matching his age. Perhaps they hid the body, or perhaps the Higher Blood was simply too valuable for the family to dispose of. If they kept him alive, they must be benefiting from his ability inside the main house."
Realization rushed through Noah’s mind. He then truly understood why Robert had accepted him despite knowing that the soul living in his son’s body was no longer the soul of his biological child. Robert did not need the son he had lost back again, but someone who could enter the main house and search the places that he himself was forbidden from accessing.
"So you fathered me for the purpose of revenge."
"I do not want revenge... I know my limits. I do not have that ability."
Robert raised his gaze toward him, and nothing remained in his eyes of the coldness Noah was used to seeing.
"You said that you would grant me one wish? I want you to go to the main house. There, you will search for your brother and bring him back to me if he is still alive.
"I have a plan that will grant you a name and status within the main family. It will also open the archives to you, along with places that no one from the branches can enter. Your first goal is to find your brother. As for what you do with the status you gain after that, it is your own affair."
Noah did not make a promise immediately, but he did not refuse and kept thinking about Robert’s plan.
Evening came quickly.
Noah returned to take one last look at Yelo’s body after the members of her family had left the city out of fear for their fate. Noah found no way to compensate them, which increased his guilt, and what made things worse was that the cemeteries reserved for the family’s servants refused to accept her because she had not worked in the palace for a long time.
In a moment of despair, Noah ordered her body to be burned.
He stood before the fire until it went out, then the servants gathered her ashes and placed them inside a small container. The ring he had promised her had arrived too late, so he put it on his finger. For the first time, Noah understood the meaning of love.
He had thought that love came through sharing the details of life that built affection and care between the two sides, but for the first time, he experienced a new kind: love that came from guilt.
There were two paths before him. Either he could make Yelo’s death a reason to rebel and go against the main family according to Robert’s plan, or accept the reason for her death and hold on to the status he had seized for himself.
Noah did not need to think twice before making his decision.
Yelo was one of the people who had paid the price for his choice, but Noah was not prepared to give up his noble status.
He would continue living as a noble, and if his conscience stood in his way, he would abandon it as well. But for the first time, a cold look appeared on Noah’s face. For the first time, he decided to walk a new path, the path of the unbound noble.
Hello, everyone! This is where the paid Chapters begin. Unfortunately, I could not find any way to offer you discounts, and I am sorry about that. I simply want to announce that the publishing rate is more than three Chapters every day, which means approximately ninety Chapters each month.
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