Entering Saltstar City at the beginning of the day, Vicente saw how quiet the city was, which was a good sign.
The people there were living their lives as they should, while no worrying signs were in sight.
On his way to the Fuller estate, he would listen to conversations, hearing things that were important to him, things that people outside of his family wouldn't understand as well as he could.
He would learn about his family's upbringing before he even reached his estate.
Not only that, when he heard about one of the local underworld groups that had grown the most in this place in recent months, he would skillfully make his way to his estate through that faction's territory.
That was a faction controlled by his Fuller family, so, of course, it would be better for him to move within their territory to draw less attention in Onyx's direction.
He could hide Onyx outside of Saltstar City, but he didn't want to do that. There were times to be discreet and hide your strength and times to show what you were really capable of.
Right now, it would do him and his family more good to have Onyx at home, something that would make the local powers better understand who they were.
In certain situations, demonstrations of power could cause problems, but in others, it worked very well as a defense. That was the point Vicente had in mind when he entered Saltstar City with Onyx on his shoulders.
Several local guards, both related and unrelated to him, saw him moving, but none approached him at first.
When he arrived at his estate, Vicente saw several of his men hiding on the outskirts and guarding the place, making signs of greeting before he saw the door of his house open and a red-haired woman appear next to a young red-haired man.
'Miss Heidi? He saw Rory's mother standing next to the man, not expecting to find this woman there.
Heidi was about to leave after a brief visit with her son when she suddenly saw Vicente arrive just as she was leaving.
"Vicente!" She exclaimed in surprise as she looked down at the young man, seeing him so tall and strong after a few years since she had last seen him in Martell Village.
Rory was surprised by his friend's arrival and almost forgot what he had said to his mother when he saw his friend and thought of everything they had to discuss.
Layla and Casey had already returned, having arrived in the city about three weeks ago. So, the whole family already knew about Vicente's progress to the 4th stage, the completion of his revenge, and the fact that it would take him a little longer to return because of a vampire.
But even though he already knew a lot of things, Rory couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief to see his friend back while at the same time feeling the power of this guy and smiling happily for Vicente.
Vicente also noticed the improvement in Rory, who had reached the end of the 3rd stage and was now a High-level Mage.
"Congratulations on your breakthrough, Rory." He said before hugging the redhead next to his friend and giving her a kiss on the cheek.
Heidi smiled with pride for her son, but she had already heard how far Vicente had come. "You're not bad yourself, Vice. I hear you're an Earth Sovereign now."
"Yes, I've advanced recently." Vicente smiled at her while she continued with one hand around his waist and the other playing with his black hair.
"Sigh... You really are different from ordinary people like me. I can't even feel your cultivation these days. Every time you progress, I feel like I'm getting older." She said with a bitter smile.
"I doubt that. You look so young that anyone would think you were Rory's sister if they saw you walking together." Vicente smiled, knowing this woman was joking with them, even though she seemed to feel far behind them.
"Well, it was good to see you again, Vice," Heidi commented as she gave him another kiss on the cheek and turned her attention to Rory. "You should come visit me from time to time. I can't keep traveling across the province to see you."
"I'll try to come to the village in the next few months," Rory promised before his mother kissed him on the cheek and went back to her carriage.
Rory and Vicente watched the beautiful redhead walk away together.
"Your mother was in the city... That never happened when we were in Millfall. Did something happen?" Vicente asked curiously.
"Yes." Rory got a little serious. "She wanted to talk to me about my father."
"Oh?" Vicente turned to his friend. "Did he go after her because of trouble, or did something else happen?"
"I grew up thinking I didn't have a father because my mother didn't know who my father was," Rory said, still looking in his mother's direction. "But the truth was, she always knew who my dad was."
"Did she tell you the truth?"
"Yes, she told me that he's from outside the kingdom and belongs to a very traditional family of the Kenyth Empire. He already has a family of his own, and he would have problems in his family if news of a bastard son spread.
She got him out of trouble by hiding the truth about her pregnancy, and she also got me out of being targeted by this man's other children." Rory sighed as he told Vicente the truth about his parentage.
"Do you blame her for that? Are you interested in going after him?" Vicente asked him.
He would do anything to help his friend. Even if it were problematic for them to get close to Rory's paternal family, Vicente would be willing to do anything for his friend.
Rory shook his head negatively. "I don't want to. I don't blame my mother. I understand her motives.
After everything we've been through together, Vice, I'm sure that if my father had known I existed, my life would be very different than it is now. But I'm exactly where I want to be and already have a family. I wouldn't trade that for a stranger with a dysfunctional family.
Vicente smiled, glad that his friend felt that way.
"It's just good to know the truth. But I have no intention of meeting him. If one day fate brings us face to face, so be it. But I won't go after him. I have no more need for a father and no more need for an alternative plan." He looked at his black-haired friend and went into the house with Vicente.
"Anyway, forget about my business. We have a lot to talk about, Vice." He said just before Vicente ran into Eve, who was already up preparing breakfast.
Nina was still asleep but would wake up in about 30 minutes to get ready for the academy.
The moment she saw Vicente, Eve couldn't help but run to his side and hug him.
"Vicente!"
