Childhood Promises

Damien grabbed a firm hold on both Gwen and Felix's arms, dragging them both outside without their consent. He somehow managed to accurately grab both of them despite there being no eye holes in his mask. It happened so fast that Gwen could barely react to it, by the time she came to her senses she was already outside her mother's room.

"Felix, I'm sure you're already well informed about the contents."

"Yes, Sir Damian," Felix answered eloquently and nobly, his mannerisms befit his status as a noble.

'But Mom said to tell us.' Gwen internally already regarded Carol as her mother, whether it was to be in character or to be accustomed in the future, it was easier to play along for now. As much as Gwen wanted to speak out, she still didn't know how the internal dynamics of the family worked this early on.

"Good, you explain it to Gwen then. I have more important matters to attend to. Gwendolyn, I can see that look in your eyes, don't think that I'm loyal to anyone else other than the Lady of the House," Damian promptly waved his hand, gesturing for Gwen and Felix to go away. He kept his stance and stood in front of the door, clearly intending to stand guard even if it means going against Carol's words.

"Lady Gwendolyn, would you mind going with me?" Felix gave a dry laugh as he reached out his hand, waiting for Gwen to take it. This was the proper method of asking a lady to move out.

Gwen uneasily reached out her hand as Felix tightly gripped her tightly, leaning in to kiss the back of her hand, "Lady Gwendolyn, I'm thrilled to be invited as a guest. I'll try my best to show proper decorum."

Gwen's face turned beet red, 'Am I really getting embarrassed in front of a child? He's really bold, though. Really bold.'

"A-Alright…"

Felix took the initiative as he gently tugged her hand, leading her to the internal garden which was filled with rare herbs and plants, all of which vibrantly shone in a multitude of colors, completely disregarding the night sky's darkness.

'That's so pretty.'

Felix escorted her to the center of the garden where they sat at the marble table and seating in the middle. He took his seat and Gwen followed suit, facing each other as they basked in the aesthetically pleasing garden. Flowers were blooming as the open sky showed the bright white moon illuminating the surroundings.

"This view never gets old, does it, Lady Gwendolyn?" Felix's delivery made it seem like he had seen the vicissitudes of life yet his childlike appearance made it extremely weird.

"I guess it never does. So… what's the contract all about?" Gwen's eyes glanced at Felix's tattoo which was still colorfully emitting a rainbow color, making his entire appearance even more otherworldly than it already was.

"Lady Gwendolyn, the 5th child of the Aria family, your family has kept a lot of things from you."

"I realized."

"How do you view the Aria family?" Felix kept his calm and composed polite smile the entire time.

'In the story, the Aria family was known as one of the anomalies in the continent. Each and every single person in the family was a monster that broke whatever common sense there was. Their very foundation was in question as they suddenly rose up with Nio Aria single-handedly making a name for himself out of nowhere, creating the Aria Estate using his strength as the basis for connections. The novel didn't delve too deep into the Aria family, only focusing on Gwendolyn's character. This left a lot of questions and intrigue with the Aria family.'

"A strong family."

"Strong," Felix gazed up at the skies, admiring how clear the skies were here. "I guess you could say that. Then what do you think about your father?"

"He's… a strong man…"

"Other than strong, what can you say about him?"

Gwen had to make an impression of Nio using the tidbits of information he had from both her experience and her memory of the novel. In the novel, Nio Aria dominated countless battlefields, being the signifier of the end once he arrived. The only thing that made Gwen hesitate about calling Nio a madman was that he clearly had a goal, Nio helped out Pia from time to time as she continued on her journey, even holding back his daughter from making a move occasionally.

"Father always has his family in his best interests."

Felix slightly chuckled as he heard what Gwen muttered, "Gwendolyn, you truly are sheltered but… that's not a bad thing. That's enough small talk for now. I'll start by explaining what this contract is. See how my tattoo shines brightly, compared to your dull black pupils?"

"Yeah? What does it mean?" Gwen had never known that Felix was always like this, in the novel, he had always been described as a simple man who had honest morals. The 'Felix' that Gwen was looking at right now seemed even more shrewd than even the greatest merchants of the continent.

"The ever so colorful light that's shining through is my talent. You're going to be taking my talent away from me."

"Take… what?" Gwen's heart almost stopped from the sheer shock of what Felix just said.

'That can't be right. The novel said that Gwendolyn was an unparalleled genius, even capable of surpassing her father. This doesn't make sense! What's happening right now?!'

"Confused as I expected," Felix stood up, taking his steps slowly and methodologically, as Felix was a footstep closer to Gwen, her heart rate spiked as well. She suddenly got caught off guard that what was said in the novel wasn't what the world had in store for her.

"That's the secret of your family, Gwendolyn. Your father researched forbidden arcane techniques and derived the ability to steal other people's talents. That's what your Aria Estate's all about, siphoning the talents of every single person in it to fuel its descendants. Shocking, isn't it?"

"Why are you telling me this?" Now that Gwen had this puzzle piece in her mind, so many things started to make sense. From being unable to feel mana to even having Rachel be unreasonably terrifyingly strong, to how unparalleled the Aria family was. The only thing that remained was what her father's goals were and what Felix's goals were.

"That's not too hard to answer, see, out of your siblings, only your eldest brother knows this secret. And out of everyone else in your family, only my family, the Mascre, knows about this secret. That's why I want to make you a deal."

"Deal about what?" Gwen felt something was odd, the three-year-old kid in front of her seemed to have turned into a devil in human skin, surreal.

"Gwendolyn, please promise me, save the world," Felix kneeled down in front of her, acting completely subservient to her whims. His previously demonic tone turned warm and soothing, he seemed to be acting out of his true intentions.

"Huh?"