The Patriarch remained silent for a moment before leaning slightly backward in his floating chair. His expression remained calm as he looked at Neolan and finally spoke, "You are to stay away from that Empire’s princess from now on."
The moment Neolan heard those words, he frowned and lifted his head in confusion. For the first time since the regression and everything that had happened afterward, he looked directly at his father’s face.
He had been avoiding that gaze throughout the entire conversation, but those words were enough to make him stop and pay full attention.
His father had a presence of his own, with a lean, young, and refined figure that looked almost too ordinary beneath the suit he wore. However, beneath that exterior remained the strength that had earned him the title of one of the strongest people in the world.
Neolan showed no anger or sudden irritation at his father’s order, instead remaining firm as he asked, "Why, Father?" It was the first time during this entire conversation that he had addressed Ranson as his father instead of calling him Patriarch. His gaze remained firm as he looked directly at Ranson without showing any intention of looking away.
Ranson noticed the change but didn’t immediately answer. He remained silent for a long moment before finally exhaling and speaking, "The Marsona Empire has been acting out of place lately. They have been purchasing hundreds of S-rank and SS-rank Rifts throughout the whole world." His expression became slightly more serious as he continued explaining the situation.
"There were also signs of power hierarchy and position changes among the internal Nobles of the Empire. Our spies had also been found dead among the Elites of the Elites, and they somehow found out about the Federation’s spies among them."
"From all that, it seems that... the Empire is going to rebel against the Federation." Ranson finished his explanation while Neolan remained silent, carefully processing every piece of information he had just received.
His expression showed understanding, but his thoughts were already moving much faster as he tried to connect the information with what he remembered from his previous life, ’Purchasing S-rank and SS-rank Rifts... this aligns with the Incident that occurred one year later. This definitely seems like the butterfly effect, but how is it even taking effect when I haven’t made a move yet?’
The pieces of information currently available to him felt incomplete, and the more he thought about them, the more suspicious the situation became.
The sudden change of an entire year when he had only regressed a few minutes ago felt incredibly suspicious. Neolan was still trying to understand the situation when Ranson spoke again, immediately bringing his attention back to the conversation, "Now that today is the day of the Awakening, both you and the princess of the Marsona Empire are going to awaken."
Ranson paused for a moment before continuing, "If you, the son of the Ashburn Family, were to be seen with that princess right now, the Federation and the other Noble Families would suspect our own family of having joined the Empire." His gaze remained fixed on Neolan as he finished, "And you know how we, the Ashburn Family, dislike false accusations, right?"
As Ranson spoke those final words, the entire room seemed to freeze under an unseen pressure. Neolan still showed no anger as he continued understanding the situation as a whole while immediately trying to come up with countermeasures.
After a moment of thought, he nodded at his father’s explanation and spoke calmly, "I see, alright, I will stay away from Alice for now." Ranson immediately narrowed his eyes slightly when he caught the final words, particularly the words "for now." Though He didn’t say anything about it, nor did he give the words much thought before dismissing them and continuing the conversation.
"Now that you understand that, the Awakening comes next," Ranson said. "If you were either to awaken a useless Astrine Blade or awaken a good Astrine Blade, both situations would bring trouble to the Ashburn Family if you were to continue hanging around with that girl."
Neolan nodded immediately as he understood the perspective from which his father was speaking. "If I, the only heir, awakened a useless Astrine Blade, then the Ashburn Family’s name would tarnish." He paused briefly before continuing, "And if I were to awaken a good one, word of it would spread throughout the Noble Families and the whole world, which would make them even more wary of the Ashburn Family while I continued hanging around with the Empire’s princess."
Ranson nodded at Neolan’s understanding. "It is good that you caught on, that is all the more reason I ordered you to stay away from her. Now go attend the ceremony and do not bring shame to the Ashburn Family." Neolan said nothing else and simply nodded before turning around and walking toward the door.
As he exited the room, he continued thinking about what he needed to do next. ’The Awakening is going to be the first important step, I need to spread my name as much as I can and then get a high position among the Federation...’ Ultimate Comprehension remained passively active as Neolan continued thinking about his future plans.
...
Inside the room, Ranson remained silent after Neolan’s departure, both of his elbows resting against the desk in front of him while his hands were interlocked beneath his chin.
After remaining like that for a moment, he finally spoke, "Nathan..." The moment he called the butler’s name, Nathan appeared at his right side without making a sound.
Without even glancing toward Nathan, Ranson continued, "He has changed. That aura around him and his strength both seemed alien. Did he secretly undergo some Gene Evolution?" As he spoke, he remembered the unknown energy he had sensed around Neolan earlier.
Nathan bowed slightly before answering, "No, Lord Ranson. He did not go through any Gene Evolution. I have been monitoring him since he was a kid, and I know he wouldn’t and did not do such a thing." Ranson finally turned toward Nathan after hearing his answer, his expression remaining calm as he replied, "Is that so? Then that was something else and we need to figure that out later."
Nathan simply nodded before speaking with a slight smile, "Maybe that was the pre-release of his potential before the Awakening? Who knows if Young Master awakens the most absurd Astrine Blade in the history of the Ashburn Family? Haha."
Ranson looked at Nathan’s chuckle for a moment before calmly shaking his head and dismissing the thought for now. "Alright, we shall see with our own eyes if that becomes true or not. Let us go." With those words, both Nathan and Ranson vanished from their positions.