is filled with boundless remorse, but there is no way for me to do right by you two any longer. I only hope that you two will be able to live for a long period of time in peace, which is why I have instructed your Uncle Hillman to only provide this letter to you when you have become a warrior of the seventh rank.”
When he read this, Linley’s heart felt sour.
“Let me live for a long period of time in peace? I imagine that father never had expected me to become a magus of the seventh rank so quickly. After all, based on the normal rate of progression, from the sixth rank to the seventh rank would take a considerable amount of time.”
“Linley, within my heart, I have held a secret for many years. Your mother did not actually die when giving birth to Wharton.”
These words from his father caused Linley’s heart to shudder.
Ever since he was a child, Linley had known that his mother had died when giving birth to Wharton. But apparently…that was a lie.
“That year, when your mother was pregnant with Wharton, both of us were very happy. But the medical facilities at Wushan township were simply too poor, so I went with your mother to Fenlai City. Within Fenlai City, your mother safely gave birth to Wharton. Little Wharton was very adorable, and both of us were overjoyed. Shortly after he was born, filled with joy, your mother and I took young Wharton to the Radiant Temple to pray for Wharton to be blessed. That day, both your mother and I were extremely happy. Afterwards, we left the Radiant Temple and stayed overnight at a hotel in Fenlai City.”
“That night, a group of mysterious people came to the hotel and forcibly abducted your mother. Totally outnumbered, I was only able to protect young Wharton…but I did see that on the arm of one of the assailants, there was a red, spider-like birthmark.”
As he read this, Linley himself felt as though he had been transported back to that night, ten years ago.
Under the combined attack of many assailants, unable to ward them all off, his father had only been able to protect Wharton, and could only watch powerlessly, unable to save his beloved wife.
“I know that this group of people was definitely not an ordinary group of people. The weakest of them was a warrior of the fourth rank, while the strongest was even stronger than me. Fortunately, their target was only your mother, as otherwise I would’ve died long ago. Someone capable of mobilizing a squad such as this, definitely would be a major figure in Fenlai City. I didn’t dare to go public on this affair. I took little Wharton back home and told everyone else that your mother died in childbirth. Only your Uncle Hillman and Housekeeper Hiri know this secret.”
Seeing this, Linley’s mind was filled with questions.
Within that gang of people, the strongest was even stronger than his father, but they didn’t care about his father, only about abducting his mother. But why was his mother worth their time to abduct?
“I couldn’t let you know about this. During these past ten or so years, I have always buried this secret deep in my heart. I didn’t dare tell anyone…and I couldn’t even go by myself to investigate your mother’s whereabouts, or to find out if she was alive or dead, or who that group of people was. I didn’t dare.”
His father’s words caused Linley’s heart to feel so much pain that it clenched.
“I am the successor to the leadership of the clan of the Dragonblood Warriors. At the very least, I had to raise you until you were grown. I cannot allow the Baruch lineage to come to an end in my hands. Year after year, I could only secretly endure…but every night, I found it difficult to fall asleep. The question of whether your mother was alive or dead constantly tormented me. I have endured…I have endured eleven years!”
“Linley, you have made me incredibly proud. First, you became a student at the number one magus institute in the Yulan continent. And then, you became one of the top geniuses there, at the Ernst Institute. I am filled with confidence towards you. What’s more, even little Wharton’s density of Dragonblood in his veins has reached the requisite level. I am extremely proud. For both of my sons to be so outstanding…I feel that I have done right by the ancestors of the Baruch clan! But despite all of this, I still did not dare to investigate your mother’s whereabouts, because Wharton still needed a large amount of gold to sustain his costly studies.”
“And so I have endured for eleven years. But when you came back from the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts and gave me that large sack of magicite crystals, I knew…finally, I could give up everything and go investigate whether your mother is alive or not. Although your mother has not come back in the past eleven years, and there is a probably 80% to 90% chance that she is dead, I am unwilling to give up. Even if I die, I will avenge her.”
Seeing this, Linley’s hands began to tremble again.
Linley understood now. In the past, because he had to support the burden of Wharton’s tuition, his father didn’t dare to risk his life in investigating his mother’s whereabouts. But when he, Linley, had brought back that sack of magicite crystals worth 80,000 gold coins, his father no longer had any burdens left.
“Finally able to go investigating, I altered my appearance and put on a disguise as I snuck into Fenlai City. I began investigating what happened that year.”
“But too much time had passed. Knowing that one of the assailants had a red spider birthmark on his upper arm, I spent an entire year searching. Finally, I found that man with the red spider birthmark. Following up on this clue, I continued to investigate. Slowly…I found out who it was that had stood behind this group of assailants.”
“This group of assailants were directed by a member of the current royal clan of the Kingdom of Fenlai. And that person…is none other than the younger brother of the King of Fenlai: Duke Patterson [Bo’de’sen]!”