Chapter 5 Part I
Once he was out of the central city area, Arias headed straight to the manor. It did not take long until he was back at the family residence. It was a great mansion; beautiful and meticulously built. The exterior was built from sturdy materials, while the inside was adorned with numerous expensive wares.
As soon as Arias set foot on the manor’s ground, he was greeted by the sight of an elderly man who appeared to be waiting for him. The man was dressed in a black outfit with a splash of white. He had a polite and refined manner like a nobleman and the amount of power exuding from him was not something to look down on. This man was Kanl, the Scarcia’s butler.
“Young master, Master Farhan has requested your presence.”
“My grandfather asked for me?”
Arias repeated Kanl’s words, unsure of what he had heard. Normally, his grandfather would not ask for him if there was not an important matter. Ever since he found out that Arias was a Powerless, his grandfather had changed, and Arias only got to see him once in a while. If there was not any important matter, then Arias would not be asked for. ‘What does the old man have to say?’
“Oh, if it isn’t Arias, the clan’s worthless crumb. I didn’t expect you to recover after almost dying. I was worried sick, you know? If you’d died, I’d be so idle with nobody to pick on. Hahaha!”
The words full of insults and contempt came from a tall young man with a haughty and arrogant look on his face. His sneer, as well as his gaze, were full of contempt. The way he was looking at Arias was as if he was looking at a worthless speck of dust that should not have been in his sight. The one who said those words was someone whom Arias remembered very well, Mashelle. Every word the other said was intended to hurt Arias’ feelings.
“I don’t have time for your nonsense right now, Mashelle.”
Arias did not waste his time quarreling with Mashelle. He only uttered a brief sentence before following Kanl without glancing back at the other. The most important thing for him at the moment was finding out the reason Farhan had asked to see him. The man barely paid any attention to him ever since he was deemed powerless. If there was not anything important, Farhan would not have requested to see him like this.
“Tsk! This skunk, how dare he ignore me? Who do you think you are? You must think you’re safe with their protections. Next time, I’ll make sure you never get to wake up again!”
Mashelle gritted his teeth angrily and glared at Arias with spite. If he had a chance, he certainly would not let Arias survive. However, a part of him had also become curious. He had never seen Arias act like this before. Although Arias would always try to avoid him, the other had never acted so haughtily and brushed him off like this. Who was he, and who was Arias? He was the clan’s gifted heir, and Arias was just a worthless parasite. Being disregarded by someone whom he had treated like trash made him furious.
As he was following after Kanl, Arias accidentally let out a cold, murderous aura. If he had had enough power, he would have destroyed the other right at that moment. Although he tried to contain his murderous intent, it unintentionally slipped out albeit for a split second.
Kanl immediately snapped his head and looked backward with surprise. He glanced around until his gaze stopped at Arias’s figure and thought to himself that he must have imagined it. The young master had no magical power, how could he have let out a murderous intent like a killer? Perhaps it was the other one. Kanl’s gaze slowly moved to Mashelle who was still glaring at Arias furiously. That was the only possible explanation Kanl could come up with.
He shook his head helplessly. Having been the family’s butler for decades, naturally, Kanl knew about everything that happened within the clan. He could tell what Mashelle was thinking just by looking at him. He felt deeply sorry for Arias who, aside from being born powerless, had always been treated poorly by his own cousins. If the day came when Albert and Maria no longer lived, he did not know what would become of Arias’ fate.
Kanl brought Arias to one of the rooms in the manor. The door to this room was made out of black wood, carved with images of formidable beasts. Kanl made a stop at the door and waited to open it for Arias. Although Arias may seem like a worthless person, Kanl had never treated him with disrespect unlike many others in the clan who only thought of Arias as a parasite living out of the clan without making any contribution. Looking at the butler’s actions that spoke of his well-trained manners, Arias could not help but silently admire him.
“Right this way, Young Master. The master and the others are waiting for you.”
Kanl politely informed Arias before inviting him into the room.
“There are others here besides my grandfather?”
Arias asked curiously. Kanl did not say anything. Instead, he turned to open the door slowly as an answer.
“Hello, Grandfather. Father, Mother, why you are here as well? And that…?”
Upon entering the room, Arias was greeted with the sight of several people. There were both familiar faces as well as the unfamiliar ones. Apart from himself, there were five other people in the room. Three of them were people he knew well; Farhan, Albert, and Maria.
Farhan was a third-level knight mage. Although he was already sixty-five years old, the man still looked like he was in his forties. His skin seemed to bear almost no wrinkles from old age, his body still muscular like a young man’s, and his eyes were sharp like an eagle’s. He did not really look like an elderly mage. Even when they became centenarians, some mages could still maintain their youthful bodies and looks if they were high-level mages. Thus, appearances alone could not be used to judge a mage’s real age.
The other two, Arias had likely met them before although he could not clearly recall. One of them was a gallant-looking middle-aged man in deep blue armor engraved with golden details. The amount of power that this man held was probably close to Farhan’s. The other one was a woman with an elegant figure and a face as beautiful as a flower during its first bloom. She had rosy cheeks and cherry-red lips, and her black hair made a beautiful contrast to her pearl-white skin. She was wearing a pale pink dress slightly adorned with embroideries. From what Arias saw, she seemed to be about the same age as him.
However, the air in the room was heavy and uncomfortable.