The car arrived at the outskirts of Soran, and people were startled to see such an expensive car. Many of them immediately started to disperse, not wanting to be involved with anyone of high status.
Asher and Emmy got out of the car and started walking towards their destination, passing by many one-story houses packed closely together, connected by multiple alleyways. As they kept walking, Asher saw many small children running around and playing with each other. Although life was tough, these kids had already adapted to it.
They eventually arrived at the end of an alleyway, where Asher saw a one-story house with cracks in its walls. Emmy walked up to the house and nodded to Asher, signaling that this was their destination.
*ping*
[Quest Issued]
Asher saw the details and accepted the quest without giving it much thought and closed the interface.
Asher moved forward towards the house, but suddenly a child, who looked to be less than 10 years old, appeared in front of him. The child had black hair and sharp red eyes, and looked a bit similar to Asher.
"Do you need anything, sir?" the child asked calmly.
"What is your name?" Asher asked.
"My name is Lucas. Do you need anything from me?" Lucas knew that the person in front of him was rich, just by seeing his clothes and manners. He had done many crimes and knew that answering him calmly and not agitating someone like him would be in his best interest. Although he was a young child, his life and circumstances had made him mature beyond his peers.
"I see. Can we talk inside your house?" Asher asked, showing no emotion on his face.
Lucas was troubled by this request. If he were alone, he would have had no problem inviting them in, but his ill sister was also there, and he did not want to bring her into any trouble. Seeing his hesitation, Asher decided to calm him down.
"Don't worry, we're not here to harm you or your sister," he said, openly letting Lucas know that he already knew about him.
Hearing this, Lucas was alerted, but he did not make any moves. He knew that the other party already knew about him, and the fact that they had not attacked him yet made him believe Asher a bit.
"Okay, you can come in," Lucas said, leading them inside his house.
The interior of the house was covered with grey tiles, and the room was a bit hot. The walls were painted a dull blue shade, and the only window was cracked and covered with a piece of cardboard. Despite its small size, it was enough for two kids to live in. There were two beds on the edge of the room, and on one of them lay a little girl with black hair, sleeping. She had a pale complexion, and her rough breathing could be heard across the room.
Lucas saw Asher and remembered what his mother had written in her diary just before she died, when he was 4 years old. She had mentioned a big family with the same hair color and eyes as him, and she had warned her kids not to look for them unless they came for them. She had said that there were many families that did not like illegitimate children, and since she had never mentioned their father, she had been pregnant with his kids before he died. She knew that her only support was gone, so she decided to raise her kids on her own rather than risk their lives by going to the Greville family.
"You know that you and your sister carry the blood of the Greville family, right?" Asher asked him with his usual indifferent face.
Lucas could not tell what Asher was thinking because he never showed any changes in his expression. He was nervous because of his mother's warning, but he decided to answer him regardless.
"Yes," Lucas nodded in response to Asher's question.
"Then why did you -?" Emmy started to question Lucas, but stopped when she saw Asher stop her.
"You had a reason, right?" Asher waited for Lucas's response.
Lucas was quiet for a moment, but then decided to narrate what his mother had told him and warn them to be careful not to reveal their origins. His mother, while on her deathbed, had forgotten that they might not be able to survive on their own in this cruel world. Her mentality was already weak from raising two kids alone. It was very difficult for a single mother with no support to afford and protect them.
She had moved to the outskirts of Soran to get away from city life, where everyone knew about the Greville family. She had always believed in not using Ivar Greville for his money and had waited for him to marry her. Although she had felt insecure about Ivar's background and fame, her love for him had given her some strength. When she learned of Ivar's death, the fear that her children, the only proof of her and Ivar's love, would die scared her.
A woman alone, raising two kids with her shattered mentality, never imagined that she would die early, leaving her two kids behind and alone. The fear clouded her mind, and her judgement led Lucas to never meet the Greville family in Asher's previous life.
Lucas had also been thinking about reaching out to the Greville family to save his sister, but he had decided to wait for two more months before risking it. His perspective on the Greville family was negative, as he had followed what was written in his mother's diary from a young age.
"So you decided to contact us in two months to save your sister?" Asher asked Lucas.
Listening to his response, Lucas nodded his head.
"But she will die in a week," Asher said with his usual indifferent voice.
Hearing this, Lucas's face turned pale. His heartbeat quickened, and his hands were trembling. He had done many things to save his sister up until now, such as killing small gangsters stealthily to rob them, stealing money and other necessities. Although he had been caught stealing a few times, he had just endured the beatings and kept doing these acts.
Hearing that all his efforts were going to waste, and that his sister was going to die soon, scared the young child.
"Can you save my sister? I'll do anything you say. I can do any dirty work for you!" Lucas was heavily breathing.
<Quest Issued>
Objective: Save Lucas's sister Livia
Rewards: 500 Fate points, Levels +5
Penalty: Lucas Loyalty will become 0
[ Do you want to accept this quest (Y/N) ]
"Calm down you don't need to worry about her. Don't forget you are a Greville, never, I repeat never lower yourself in front of anyone. " Asher told him with his eyes exuding coldness but strangely it didn't scare Lucas.
'Even without this quest, I was going to save her anyway' Asher thought in his mind.
[ Quest added to the [Quest] tab ]
*ping*
<Quest Completed>
[ Objective ] : Get Lucas to follow you
[ Rewards ] : Item Duplicate X 1 (Rank Limit None), 2500 Fate points
Asher smirked at the amount of fate points he recieved.
'This guy really is my lucky star' Asher thought while looking at young Lucas.
