Chapter 99: It's Time For a Counterattack
Chapter 99: It’s Time For a Counterattack
In the royal palace, after sending away Marquess Carter, Holy Eminence John leaned back in his chair and exhaled deeply.
How long had it been since he last proactively pushed his ideas on another person?
For many years now, he had never needed to take the initiative to carry a discussion. His guests would respectfully speak non-stop in his presence, and all he needed to do was to indicate with either a nod or a shake of his head. He had never thought a day would come where he would have to coax another party like a desperate salesman once more.
Ey, I guess it can’t be helped. It’s all for the children.
Just the thought of his precious granddaughter made John heave a deep sigh. For his granddaughter, who had been completely out-of-it ever since she returned from the ordeal, he could only put down his pride and personally make a move.
Indeed. Just like Alicia, Nora hadn’t been eating much recently either. It was normal for those of the Angel Bloodline to require some time for their powers to settle down after an awakening, and it would typically take around 10 days. However, for a person whose first observation after opening her eyes was the absence of Roel, 10 days was far too long.
Nora had fallen unconscious shortly after being egged on by Victoria into kissing Roel, so she was unaware of how Roel was doing at the moment. Of course, she did receive news from the Ascart House that Roel was faring well, but still, her heart simply couldn’t rest easy unless she were to verify it in person.
And when a child starts losing appetite, the ones to suffer are the parents. This is simply how the world worked.
The reason why John was able to harden his heart and send Nora in together with Roel for his trial was because he thought that it was an ordeal that the Xeclydes had to overcome. When it came to everyday life, however, John was just the typical doting grandfather.
Putting aside his worries for Nora, he was actually rather concerned about Roel’s condition too.
From Nora’s account, he learned of Roel’s actions during that snippet of history, and he wasn’t surprised to learn that Roel had ties with a powerful ancient being. Nevertheless, he was concerned about the colossal strength that the ancient being had displayed through Roel.
According to Nora, Wade had already advanced to Origin Level 2. Despite being limited by a last moment breakthrough and severe injuries, it was still unthinkable that he would actually be defeated by Roel. After all, Roel was someone who didn’t have an Origin Attribute yet, so he shouldn’t have been able to exert the true strength of the ancient being.
Looking at history, the members of the Ascart House who had managed to awaken their hereditary bloodline eventually became notable figures, and they were a stalwart ally of the Xeclydes in their respective generations. In a sense, the Xeclydes’ offer to protect Roel was kind of like an investment that was almost guaranteed to profit them handsomely—and there was a good chance that they could buy over their ‘invested business’ too.
It was out of consideration of this that John decided to go all out this time.
He had no intention of forcing the two children together, but nevertheless, it wouldn’t hurt for him to give his granddaughter a little push. After all, this was the first time that Nora was showing any interest in her peers.
To be honest, there were many people with bizarre quirks in the history of the Xeclydes. John hadn’t noticed Nora’s sadistic streak yet, but his tingling senses were telling him that there was definitely something there. Considering Roel’s nature, he might just be able to embrace her shortcomings too.
“I’ve already done what I can to help. All that is left is to wait and see how far they can get.”
The old man sighed deeply again before rising from his seat and heading toward the depths of the royal palace.
…
Roel learned something new today, and that was humans had limits.
“Is Alicia eating in her room once again? Haaa…”
Roel stared listlessly at the sumptuous lunch spread before him as he fiddled with his soup with his spoon. A human could still survive a week without food, but a day without Aliciatonin was like a year without rain. Mealtimes were supposed to be his daily doses of happiness, where he satisfied both his appetite and healed his heart. But now…
“How bland. Everything is so bland…”
Roel ate the food carefully prepared by the chefs with an expression so impassive he might as well have been munching on wax candles. He knew that this was simply a byproduct of his horrible mood, but what could he do about that? If humans could control how they were feeling, they wouldn’t be humans anymore.
“Is it because we aren’t blood-related? Is that why Alicia has already grown sick and tired of me in just half a year?”
He had already gotten so close to Alicia, and he thought that their relationship would remain that way till parted by death. But how did everything come to this point…
Roel continued stirring the soup before him in a daze. He was in such a horrible state that even the maid standing behind him couldn’t stand it anymore. It was true that Anna was the manager of the Roel X Alicia Ship fanclub, but before that, she was Roel’s personal maid. It was her job to take care of Roel’s needs.
“Young master, you need to pull it together.”
Anna approached her slouching young master and advised him respectfully.
“It has already been several days now, and I imagine that Miss Alicia has already cooled down by now. You need not be so pessimistic.”
“Pessimistic? Am I being pessimistic here?”
Haaa, what do you think?
Anna stared at the downcast Roel so intently that it brought a sliver of self-realization to him.
“Is that really so? Was I being too pessimistic? But, what I said is the truth! Alicia doesn’t need me to feed her anymore, so I have become useless to her. She detests me and doesn’t even want to see me anymore. Ahh, is this the end of the world?”
“Young master, you could be misunderstanding something here. Why would Miss Alicia detest you?”
“She doesn’t detest me? If she doesn’t detest me, why would she refuse to meet me? This doesn’t make any sense at all! Now that I think about it, girls at her age tend to change their preferences very quickly. I get it now. I was too complacent. I thought that I had already left a favorable impression on her, but the goodwill she feels for me has already expired, right? I’m nothing more than a speck of dust in her history now…”
It was like an endless chain of negativity; Roel was constantly looking for new excuses to shut himself down. Looking at how her young master was on the verge of becoming a cripple, Anna felt that she really had to do something or else things could blow up.
“Young master, Miss Alicia’s feelings for you haven’t changed. She’s just… throwing a tantrum after seeing your unseemly appearance with Her Highness.”
“I know that too. Alicia is a person who lacks security. It’s only normal for her to be fearful of my improving relations with Nora…” replied Roel with a deep sigh.
He understood that children were very vulnerable to jealousy and fear. When he was younger, he remembered how betrayed he felt when a friend who used to always play together with him chose to play with other kids. He had never spoken to that friend ever since then. But, it was different between him and Alicia. They were family members, so how could he possibly abandon her for Nora?
However, it would be difficult for him to convey this to Alicia properly. After all, Alicia didn’t even want to see him anymore.
While Roel thought that he had already accurately identified the root of the problem, Anna was starting to realize that there was something very wrong with her young master’s train of thought.
Security? Fearful?
“Young master, regarding that… I don’t think that Miss Alicia is fearful. She’s just throwing a tantrum out of jealousy.”
Jealousy? What jealousy?
Roel frowned in confusion. The expression on his face caused Anna’s eyes to widen; she was speechless. She suddenly felt incredibly exasperated and vexed. There was a long moment of silence before Roel gradually understood the meaning behind Anna’s words, and he burst into laughter.
“Hahaha! Anna, what are you talking about? Alicia is a child!”
“Child? Young master, there’s only 2 years of difference between you and Miss Alicia. There isn’t too huge a gap between the two of you.”
“You’re right, but we’re siblings! You’re really thinking too much into this.”
Roel waved his hands confidently with a proud look that said ‘there’s no one in this world who knows Alicia better than I do’. His response struck one of Anna’s nerves, and she had to summon her inner nirvana in order to not lose her temper.
I shan’t get angry. I shan’t get angry. I shan’t get angry…
Anna tried her best to soothe the rage that was on the verge of bursting forth as she silently took deep breaths. She looked at Roel and considered whether she should relay Alicia’s feelings to Roel. In the end, she chose not to interfere too much in their relationship.
It was one thing to support the two of them, and it was another thing to get involved in it herself.
Besides, even though Roel was having a major misunderstanding over here, it didn’t change the fact that he was already firmly in Alicia’s grasp, to the point that he was almost an addict. Looking at it from this perspective, it could be said that their relationship was still quite stable. They were so emotionally dependent on one another that they could hardly stay apart.
In any case, the foundation was already there. If they were to walk down this journey a step at a time, their feelings for one another would surely be stronger than ever.
With such thoughts in mind, Anna calmed her emotions down as she suddenly felt a feeling of enlightenment. Such small turbulence wasn’t an issue at all.
That said, it wouldn’t do for the two of them to keep remaining estranged from one another. Of the three masters of the Labyrinth Villa, one was hardly around and the other two were just gloomy all day long. The atmosphere was simply too heavy to bear. Even the chefs in the kitchen had noticed that something was wrong, and they spent long hours staring at the plates that had barely been eaten from in shock, wondering if their culinary skills had deteriorated.
“Young master, do you wish to reconcile with Miss Alicia?”
“Of course! If it was possible, I would have already done it by now! It’s just that she keeps avoiding me, so how can I find an opportunity to approach her…” replied Roel with a sigh.
An unfathomable smile curled on Anna’s lips.
“How about leaving it to us then?”
“You all?”
“Indeed. We’ll create an opportunity for you to reconcile with Miss Alicia. What do you think about that?”
Roel looked at the smiling maid before him with doubtful eyes. He had already spent the last few days attempting all sorts of things, but nothing worked at all. What could Anna and the other servants possibly do?
“If you’re confident about it, you can go ahead and do what you need to.”
Roel replied listlessly, clearly not bearing much hope. He couldn’t have known that he had just released the powerful secret organization that had been lying undercover in the Ascart House, the Roel X Alicia fanclub.