Kyle's figure blurred, and before the old man could react, the spoon was back in his hand.
"Huh!?"
An innocent smile played at the corner of Kyle's lips as he glanced at his father.
"Not just me, Bia has also reached the (SS+)-rank."
Butler Eon, who had just entered the hall, halted in his tracks as he witnessed and heard Kyle's words and actions.
The little bird proudly raised her head and spoke up in a beautiful serene voice.
-"Of course, the majestic me is not someone who would stay behind!"
The two old figures stared at the bird with wide mouths.
Kyle let out a chuckle, and Ohan finally snapped out of his daze. He wiped his forehead, which had turned sweaty for some reason.
"You... reached what rank?"
However, instead of Kyle, Bia climbed onto his shoulder and replied proudly.
-"(SS+)-Rank!"
Ohan froze, and the little weight on his shoulder increased tenfold. After a long silence, the old man's eyes turned moist again. In the distance, Eon quickly sat down on a chair to calm his muddled heart.
Kyle panicked and quickly stood up to pat his father's back, but his father's next words nearly made him laugh.
"I don't know what... and how you did it, but I am proud of you! I was shocked when Elder Han told me you have (SS)-Rank talent... Now you're telling me you have reached a rank higher than even that...?"
"I know I never mentioned it, but in my heart, I always knew that my lazy son would achieve something big one day..."
He grabbed Kyle's hand and tapped it gently. Kyle sat down, and after Eon and Ohan, both calmed down. He asked the other servants to leave them alone.
In the next second, he raised his hand and drew a few symbols in the air, ensuring that no one could hear them. Then he glanced at his father with utmost seriousness.
"I want to know... in our ancestors, do we have someone who was exceptionally strong?"
Baron Ohan blinked and thought for a while.
"No, I was the only child of my parents, and I don't remember anyone strong in my grandparents' generation."
Kyle nodded, but he wanted to know more.
"How about further in the past... a long, long time ago? Maybe one thousand or two thousand years ago?"
A deep expression appeared on the old man's face. He thought hard and long but didn't remember anyone strong.
Kyle sighed.
"Do we have history books? Like the ones passed through generations?"
However, his father shook his head. Suddenly, Butler Eon spoke up.
"What about the ice enchantresses? I saw this book in the old house. If I remember correctly, it was quite old."
Baron Ohan chuckled and shook his head.
"That book was just an old romance story I found in my parents' study. Maybe someone wrote it in their free time. I read it, but I don't think it's something that belongs to our ancestors. As far as I can remember, we don't have any grand ancestry."
Kyle blinked when he heard 'ice' in the name. Bia gazed at him with wide eyes.
-'No way! Ask more about it! I feel like we'll get some clues about your bloodline!'
Noticing Kyle's curious expression, Ohan burst into laughter.
"Haha, it was just a romance book, but if you want to know, I'll tell you the main story. Well, it's an old tale about a beautiful woman who was known as a powerful battle mage around four thousand years ago."
"She was called the Ice Enchantress throughout the whole book."
He paused for a second to gather all the pieces of the story from his memory.
"I remember she and her two male companions were described as unique. They all had something special and they all wanted to become the strongest one day. Hmm, there is a reason why I said the story is not true. The power ranks described in the book were a little different from the ones known in our Continent. And the woman, she had something called a transcendent rank ice bloodline."
Kyle's eyes narrowed and a solemn expression appeared on his face.
"Not much was described, but the story was quite good, at least until the trio's younger days. Then suddenly, one of her male companions acquired something very strong and became someone powerful. She was happy for him, but then he became distant. At first, the ice enchantress didn't care. But as time went on, she ended up falling in love with her second companion. Unfortunately, her choice wasn't the best because the person she fell with asked her to cheat the other one. In the end, together, the two of them betrayed their third friend..."
Baron Ohan let out a sigh.
"Afterward, the story ended abruptly. At the end of the book, a few lines were written in a messy scribble. They said, 'I regret it... I regret it so much that it pained my heart. I'm sorry. I'm leaving first... I know the hell I created, but I'm too powerless. So, I'm leaving behind a part of my essence, in case someone from my family can inherit it. I hope they can use it better to protect their loved ones'."
There was silence as Kyle processed the vast amount of information in the short story his father described. His mind raced with countless possibilities, but in the end, transcendent and celestial were two different ranks altogether.
He massaged his temples and let out a bitter smile because, according to his father, the book didn't have any names.
"So, does that mean my bloodline is somehow connected to her? And why in the world did she betray her friend... just for love and strength?"
Baron Ohan listened quietly, and Kyle's words were enough to shock the old man once again. But he didn't dare to ask Kyle any more questions, fearing that his fragile heart wouldn't be able to handle it.
Kyle stood up and paced around with a frustrated expression.
"I wish I could say that it was just a storybook, but why do I feel like my peaceful life is getting too complicated with each passing day? For heaven's sake, I'm just in my twenties!"
Bia blinked at his words.
-"Just how the hell is it related to your age?"
Kyle snapped his eyes toward her.
"You don't understand! I'm not that old to experience so much. I'm already suffering because of the artifact inside my heart-!"
He clicked his mouth shut but it was too late. In an instant, two pairs of old eyes fixated on him.
Kyle couldn't help but let out a dry smile. No way was he going to worry his father with his problem. As he pondered the different ways to escape the situation, something suddenly started buzzing in his mind space.
He quickly took out the communication crystal that Yue had given him before he left.
Ohan and Eon were both prepared to pressure him for more information about the artifact Kyle had accidentally mentioned. However, the duo froze when a beautiful lady's image appeared above the communication crystal in Kyle's hand.
Yue's brows furrowed as she called out his name.
"Kyle? Can you hear me?"
Kyle sighed in his mind, feeling grateful for the timing.
"Yes, I can. What happened?"
The elven girl paused when she saw two more faces behind Kyle.
"That...?"
Kyle blinked and looked at the two pairs of curious eyes staring at the communication crystal.
"Dad...?"
Baron Ohan cleared his throat and stepped back. He quickly grabbed Eon and gave Kyle a solemn nod.
"She's pretty. I agree."
After his hushed whisper, he hurriedly walked away with Eon, giving Kyle some space. Of course, inwardly, the duo was strategizing on how to make him spill everything about the artifact.
Kyle watched their retreating figures with a bewildered expression. He snapped out of it when Yue called him again.
"What happened?"
Immediately, Yue's expression turned serious. She mouthed an apology, and another familiar old elven figure appeared in the crystal. Anlee narrowed his eyes at Kyle and let out a grunt.
"You look quite different from the past."
Kyle's expression hardened as he saw the old man. Well, he'd be lying if he said he wasn't tempted to close the crystal. After all, no matter what, he still remembered the grudge from the past. Even though the man had trained him in Kingdom tersia, he had also attacked him when he came out from the tower of opportunity. Regardless, Kyle waited patiently to hear what the latter had to say.
Anlee noticed his expression and went straight to the point.
"It was never my intention to disturb your time with your family, but I hope you remember that you owe the elven King a favor. He wants to use it now. The elven Kingdom needs as many strong individuals as possible right now, and you are the best option."
Kyle furrowed his brows, but he wasn't someone who would go back on his words.
"Alright, I'll come visit the Kingdom in a while."
However, before he could close the crystal, Anlee stopped him.
"Come to the border directly. It's not because of the monsters. We were able to control them because the monster lords hadn't attacked yet. It's because the dark mage has attacked one of our borders. He has killed too many innocent people."
Kyle nodded. He wasn't sure who this dark mage was, but if the latter was causing trouble, so it was better to take him out.
