“Go on.”
Arlo waved his hand. This was Roy’s cue to ask a question.
“How did you lessen the Count’s prejudice against me?”
Arlo directed a mysterious smile in Roy’s direction. “That’s a secret I can’t tell you.”
‘That confirms it. He really is the reason why the Count’s attitude towards me has taken a turn for the better.’ Roy thought, seeing Arlo in a new light.
A moment of silence passed between the two before Roy questioned Arlo a second time.
“Why was the Count indifferent to my well-being for over 16 years and disgusted with me? Why was he trying so hard to make it seem like I didn’t exist? You can’t treat someone like that without a good reason, especially if they are your flesh and blood.” Roy was certain that he was the Count’s son, as their facial features were somewhat similar, and his mother was never known as a promiscuous woman. What’s worse is that there was barely any news about her. It was as if someone had suppressed all there was to her. “But why is it that I don’t remember ever offending him since I was a child till today? So why… why did he treat me like that?”
Unless you are a psychopath or a sociopath, you need a reason to hate a person or deny their existence.
As it was quite common to see him find genuine joy in helping others, it was impossible for the count to be either.
He liked making life easier for the commoners and had the ability to empathize with others, feel sorrow at the death of loved ones, and so on..
Thus, the Count ought to have a reason as to why he was so indifferent to him.
And Roy wanted to know what it was.
Arlo looked at Roy with pity. But the emotion in his eyes was covered up before Roy could notice.
“You’ll regret knowing why he treats you like that.”
Arlo didn’t know how worse Roy would feel after knowing that the person he considered his father wasn’t his father but instead was the person who sealed his magic gate and gave him mental retardation in the process, but Arlo was certain that he would feel hurt.
If possible, he wanted to keep this secret a secret from Roy forever.
But Roy had the right to know it, and Arlo wasn’t the type of man that would dishonor the basic rights of a human, much less his nephew.
Thus, he was willing to tell Roy what caused him to suffer from injustice.
“I still want to know,” Roy said in a determined voice.
Arlo sighed and pulled out an envelope from his inter-spatial belt and handed it over to Roy.
Roy glanced at the envelope in his hand, twirled it, and then raised his head to put his eyes on Arlo. “What is this?”
Arlo didn’t immediately answer him. What he was about to say shouldn’t be heard by an outsider, but Julian was still around, eavesdropping on their conversation like a spy. Hence, Arlo took a few moments in order to erect a sound-canceling barrier around him and his nephew.
Now, although Julian could see their lips move, he could not hear what they said.
Only then did he answer Roy, “There’s a letter inside it which contains the answer to your question as well as one of the greatest secrets of the empire and the Baldwin Clan and how you’re connected to them. It’s valuable. So don’t lose it.”
Hearing his words made Roy’s eyebrows raise.
“How many secrets do the Baldwins have?”
Arlo placed his hand on Roy’s shoulder and said, “You already know two of them. The third one is inside of this. Except for them, there is one more, and it’s the most closely guarded secret of our clan—only a handful of people who are the best at what they do know of it. The day I consider you a grown-up, a man who can hold his own against a crumbling sky, the deepest secret of the Baldwins and the responsibility that comes with knowing it will be shared with you. Don’t die before then. I want to see you grow from a little chick to a towering dragon!”
“I promise I won’t be felled before then,” Roy said. “I will live up to your expectations.”
Arlo was promised that he wouldn’t be disappointed.
Roy tried to open the envelope. But… it wouldn’t open no matter what he did.
Was this some kind of a prank?
He raised his head and gave Arlo the stinky eye.
“Why can’t I open it?”
The truth was in Roy’s hands’ reach and grasp, but he could not hold it in his eyes.
How irritating!
“I’ve sealed it using my personal runic item, Joker’s Lock. You can’t open it without meeting the requirement to pull out the invisible nails bolting it.” Arlo answered the lad.
“What do I need to do to unseal it?” Roy questioned his annoying uncle.
Arlo showed him his stretched-out finger. “Step on all the unawakened like they are stones. Get first place in the Adulthood Ceremony.”
‘Surely he couldn’t have the same reason as Arthur, right?’
Roy was taken aback by his words.
“Why do you want me to do that?”
Arlo cleared his throat. “Rumors have it that the Glorious Sun Emperor will bestow a fief to the best candidate among this generation of unawakened. You can refuse the bestowal in return for something equally precious that won’t require you to take up the responsibilities of a feudal lord. “
“… And what is that?”
“Merit points. The merit points you will receive for refusing to accept the bestowal will be sufficient to purchase the land the size of this county. But if you hold on to them, you’ll only need a thousand more to acquire the title of Count. You have the chance of becoming the youngest count in the Empire. You can earn merit points by doing meritorious deeds for the empire. They can also be used to buy a big piece of land and have it transformed into a county! When you become a count, Badulf will have no choice but to look at you as his equal. You can also settle your grievances with him then. There’s no rule stopping a count from challenging another count as long as it doesn’t damage their territory.” Arlo clarified the situation to Roy. “Basically, I want to have two counts in my family. That’s why I want you to get the first position.”
His ideas sounded good to hear, but they were too far stretched.
“Uncle, do you think I can do that?”
“No, I am certain you can do that. But you must first become the strongest unawakened in the Far West to accomplish that.”
“Eh? I am at an unrivaled level of body tempering. I can defeat Weapon Masters and Rank-1 mages. You saw for yourself how I overwhelmed Noah. I don’t think there is an unawakened better than me in the Far West.” Roy said confidently.
“That’s where you’re wrong.” Arlo gave him a big no-no. “You depended heavily on your ability to win against Noah. That’s a very bad move. Soul Herders become deadly tired if they use their ability without caution, unlike you. I am surprised you can even talk and walk like your misty form didn’t explode and regenerate multiple times in one battle.”
This was why Roy didn’t use his ability at the very start of the battle. Using ability consumes a soul herder’s energy. That was common knowledge. He knew about it as he had read the novel that was about Far West. The surprising thing was that he didn’t feel his energy decreasing, although he used like a suicidal maniac.
Arlo exploded a bomb on Roy with his words, “Besides, there is a person back in the forbidden capital who is far more ridiculous than you are. The way you’re right now, you’re not his match.”
Roy was taken aback.
Just who among the ranks of the unawakened was better than himself?
“There’s no way that’s possible. You’ve got to be kidding me.” He was unwilling to believe it.
“I’m not,” Arlo said with a straight face.
“Who is it?” Roy asked about the identity of the unawakened held in high regard by Arlo.
Author’s Note:-
+7 Chapters Coming Soon!