Your Worthy

Gwendolyn looked different from what Gris remembered. Her familiar dark gray hair turned brown. The previously non-existent burns also marked her face.

Her left eye, touched by the burn, had just a white eyeball. She seemed taller than Gris recalled.

Wearing the same white attire as other alchemists, she had no special features except for her burns.

"I'll approach her naturally," Gris signaled Leander and Declan to maintain their escort distance.

His legs felt weighed down as he approached Gwendolyn. It wasn't a sensation he recognized. And when Gwen glanced back at him, his heart skipped a beat.

The word "sister" almost came out of his mouth. Fortunately, his brain had already memorized that this was a secret meeting.

"Your hair, like my favorite almonds, drew my attention. Please pardon any lack of manners. I'm Griswalden from the Silverth family," Gris introduced himself to Gwen as if this was their first meeting.

That was not wrong, tough. For him, this was indeed their first encounter.

Gwen was shocked to see the person she believed was dead standing in front of her. The Silverth family had not mentioned anything about this.

To send a letter, she had to bribe several people so that it arrived under another identity. Because it was too risky, Blayz rarely sent letters back.

"Nice to meet you. Are you the son of Sir Blayz?" Gwen smiled, following her brother's lie.

The alchemists she was with attracted to Gris because he was related to Blayz, the brilliant alchemist respected in the Amarthia empire and other places.

After going through the short conversation with the other alchemists, Gris finally managed to get Gwen to talk to him alone in a tent. They stated that they wanted to exchange ideas in private.

Declan and Leander stood guard to prevent others from eavesdropping on their conversation.

"I didn't think you were still alive," Gwen did not hesitate to express her thoughts. The look on her face was hard to read.

Gris showed no emotion, just like the real Griswalden. Although he cared a bit for her sister, he was still a strange child who rarely showed a change of expression.

"I... met Mother in a dream," he looked down, worried that his lie would be exposed because Griswalden's feelings were still attached to him. "I've been trying to bring her back to life to the point of doing crazy things. She asked me to stop."

"It's good that you realized. Death is a consequence for those who live. It cannot be avoided. You're wasting time with all those stupid experiments."

"You're right. I always thought I wasn't afraid of death. When I was sent to the forest of death, my first instinct was to flee from the god of death."

Gwen glanced at Gris, who still had his gaze lowered. She knew her brother as a mere mortal, animated flesh.

Since childhood, he survived solely because the gods granted him life. Adelind was his only source of joy, so he lost his sanity when his mother passed away.

He dared to experiment because he was unafraid of the consequences. If the empire caught him, he'd face a death sentence, and Blayz would prioritize saving himself over worrying about his reckless son.

It was strange because Gwen caught the hope for life in Gris' eyes. Her odd little brother ended up behaving even more strangely.

"Whatever it is, I'm glad you have a new goal. I can't spend much time with you because people can get suspicious. You already know why I came to the empire, right?"

Gris nodded. "Alberic said you brought news regarding the academy and the textbook. Give me that book."

"I'm just summarizing so the Silverth family's children can understand what they will learn."

Gwen took a scroll from her leather bag and handed it to Gris.

"The scroll has been treated with magic. It only contains a list of medicinal ingredients. But it will reveal its true content in a few hours, probably around three hours."

Gris accepted the scroll gratefully. Although it was only a summary, learning what would be learned at Pandemonium Academy was helpful.

"Then what about additional information about the academy?" asked Gris, hoping his sister would tell him something other than what Solnisca had told him.

"The academy accepts new students in a week. I didn't say it in the letter because it's too risky. Let me know which members of the Silverth family passed the Forest of Death Test."

"That's me, Alaric, Rowan, Rowena, and Joana."

"Alright. Tell them to prepare everything. The academy will pick you up in a week."

"How?"

Gwen leaned towards Gris, whispering, "The committee has hired a cult in Amarthia to riot at the Silverth family mansion. You and your four siblings will die in the riot, understand?"

"I don't like dying too soon," Gris raised his head.

"What do you mean?"

"If I could make a request, I would like to be taken hostage by the cult, and they demand something from the Silverth family. But after the demand was given, the cult sent my dead body instead."

"...."

Gwen could not utter a word as Gris said that with a smile. It seemed that her brother had gone crazy from those disgusting experiments.

"I'll think about it."

"Thank you very much."

Gwen entertained the request not because Gris was her blood relative but because of its advantages.

The Doomsday Committee wanted to do everything quickly. No one thought about profits. However, Gwen needed a new laboratory that was separate from her colleagues.

"Since you are my brother, I believe you are worth five horse-drawn carriages full of gold," Gwen smiled sincerely for the first time since the meeting.

Gris could not help but beam with satisfaction. "Please leave some for me."

"Sure."

"Is this all we discussed? I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation."

Standing up from the chair, Gwen closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I'll meet you at the committee. I'll be waiting for you."

"Thank you... sister."

Gris felt a lump in his throat when he called Gwen by that name. But the strange, uncomfortable feeling vanished when he saw her smile in response.

Their conversation was short but quite memorable. Gris felt strange happiness when Gwen believed he could join the committee.

'Ah, this is the real Griswalden feeling.'

He gazed at the paper roll and unrolled it. Indeed, it was only the list of medicinal ingredients, at least for now.

He would be joining the academy soon. His initial plan did not go well, but he could fix it.

Gold served as a universal form of exchange. Money was essential for survival.

The cult might disclose who instructed them to hold Gris captive. However, even if they implicated the Committee, the empire would not suspect Blayz, who tragically lost his son in such a horrific manner.

The public would not blame him either. Instead, they would sympathize and hate the Doomsday Committee even more.

Thus, Blayz could send gold to Gris and Gwen without the empire needing to investigate further. It was just a demand for his weak son, whom the villains kidnaped.