Talking about the first wife and her children was a very delicate thing because they have always been known to be unwelcoming to the rest of the family. Queen Bethsha didn’t know all the details, but from what Richard had told her, the first wife grew extremely jealous of the fact that he had taken multiple other women as his wives, and she hated and scorned him for it. Richard had four children with his first wife, and the first wife had managed to poison the minds of all four of them, so they also held the same hatred for the rest of the family that the first wife did.
There was once an incident where the fifth wife went to try to talk to the first wife since she didn’t want there to be any fighting in the family, but the first wife had gotten angry, and this led to her son, Gregory, attacking the fifth wife and almost killing her. If not for the ring that Richard gave to all his wives as protection, then the fifth wife would have definitely died! Richard had punished Gregory by sending him to war on a distant world for a long time, and this had only fuelled the anger that the first wife had towards the other wives. All the other wives knew that the first wife wouldn’t stop just because Richard told her to. If the first wife got an opportunity, then there was every possibility that she would plot to kill all of them.
’And with that son of hers, it’s very possible that she could.’
Queen Bethsha’s eyes narrowed when she remembered the first time she met Gregory. It was a long time ago, and it was just a passing greeting that didn’t last for more than a few seconds, but she could vividly remember how similar Gregory was to Richard back then. Gregory was older than Bethsha, so he had grown into a young man, and he kept both his hair and beard in the same way that his father did, and this made him appear more like Richard’s brother than his son. But it was the sheer power that had been flowing off Gregory that really stuck with Bethsha! It was more than the TITANS, and high enough to be in the PRIMORDIAL level! If not for Jason, then Bethsha would have said that Gregory was the one who resembled Richard the most in both appearance and mana, but now she wasn’t so sure.
"The first son and the last son. It’s ironic that the both of them would resemble their father so much and also possess so much power. I fear that the future will not be as peaceful as we hoped. Things are about to become far more complicated than we could’ve ever predicted."
The old man stared down into his glass of wine as he said this, and Queen Bethsha chuckled as the old woman smacked him on the shoulder and told him to stop being so morbid! They were family, and family sometimes fought, but they weren’t going to start killing each other over something so minor! The old man rubbed his shoulder and smiled apologetically, and Queen Bethsha looked to the opposite side of the table and watched as Jason was drilled by Kai and another teenage boy about what his powers were and how strong he was. Queen Bethsha had felt Jason’s mana earlier, and she knew that he was intentionally suppressing a lot of it to prevent those around him from getting frightened, but if she had to guess, she would say he was somewhere in the high SSS-Rank, or maybe even the low TITAN-Rank?
’But it’s difficult for him to be in the TITAN-Rank. He hadn’t even been alive for up to twenty years yet, and he’s only had his powers for a year at most. Even Richard didn’t reach the TITAN rank that quickly, so the chances are very low. But even if that is the case, it’s still impressive that he has come this far in such a short time. If he continues to grow this way, he might surpass Gregory and become the strongest of the Marc children. Oh, but there is also that girl, Valerian. The daughter of the fifth wife. She has been travelling across battlefields and growing stronger really quickly, and it’s obvious to everyone why she’s doing it. She wants to get revenge for Gregory attacking her mother. Hopefully this doesn’t become something serious down the line.’
Queen Bethsha let out a small sigh as this thought crossed her mind, and she was about to get back to her dinner, but she blinked when she saw something moving across the shadow beneath the table. Queen Bethsha would have quickly taken a fighting stance, but she realised she didn’t need to when she only saw a hand pop out with a piece of paper held between the fingers. Queen Bethsha took the piece of paper gently, and she watched in fascination as the hand melted back into the shadows. Queen Bethsha opened the piece of paper, and she read what was written there.
’We need to talk after the meal.’
Queen Bethsha immediately looked up, and she saw Jason staring right at her with a serious expression. Jason nodded to her, and Queen Bethsha took in a breath and nodded back as she folded the paper and kept it away. If Jason had gone to the trouble of making sure no one else knew about this message, then she was sure that it had to be about something really important. Queen Bethsha smiled as the older woman started speaking to her again, but there was one question that continued to run through her mind at that moment.
’What sort of abilities does Jason have?’
....
Later that night, Queen Bethsha found herself sitting with Jason in her large meeting room. The entire room was decorated in royal blue and dark brown mahogany wood, and there was a sense of aristocracy that only something belonging to royalty could have. Jason was sitting on an extravagant chair on one side of a large table, and Queen Bethsha had her hands folded across her chest while sitting on the other side of the table. She leaned forward before she asked.
"So, what is it that you wanted to speak to me about? If you couldn’t say it in front of my family, then it had to be important."
There was a seriousness on Queen Bethsha’s face that reflected the curiosity in her heart. Just from the few hours that Bethsha had known Jason, she could already tell that he was not the sort of person to joke around when things were meant to be serious, so his message had actually put her on edge. Jason nodded to his stepmother’s words before he spoke.
"Your son’s kidnapping wasn’t as much of an accident as you thought. I’ve been listening in on some conversations around the castle, and I managed to pinpoint a few people who were part of the ploy to kidnap Kai."
Queen Bethsha was immediately on edge, and Jason could feel the tension in the room grow by various degrees! The serious look on her face bled away and was immediately replaced by a look of anger as her eyes narrowed and she spoke in a sharp tone.
"What? Are you sure of this, Jason? This isn’t the sort of claim you can make without being a hundred percent certain."
Queen Bethsha studied Jason’s expression with all the experience of a ruling Queen, and she tried to see if there was even a single shred of doubt on his face, but from what she could see, there was nothing at all that even resembled doubt! It was obvious that Jason was a hundred percent certain of what he was saying! Queen Bethsha could feel her anger growing even more and she immediately asked Jason to tell her who it was, and the name Jason spoke was the last person Queen Bethsha expected!