Investigation

The dust had permeated the entire room. The smell of burnt household items still hung in the air. All the servants remained still and kept their heads lowered in fear. The wrath of the clan leader might bring them a disaster.

“I want to know as well why you are accusing my sons of murdering yours. If my sons really killed him, then is that a ghost standing right there?”

Merson wiped the blood off the corner of his mouth as he glared at Albert. He actually wanted an answer as well. A long time had passed since Arias fell into the river, so there was no way Merson could have put the pieces together and realized that it was that incident that sparked the major fight this time.

“Stop joking with me and get your sons out here right now!”

Albert shouted in anger. The fire of his rage was still burning even after he was reprimanded by Farhan.

“Hurry and drag them out here, Merson. Before I lose my patience with you!”

Maria said in anger. Her eyes burned with the desire for vengeance. Water began to swirl above her palm, and another Hydro Spear was created, ready to strike.

“I said explain, not fight like rabid dogs in front of me!”

Farhan shouted in irritation. As a clan leader, he never wanted to see people in his family trying to destroy each other. In his heart, he felt a gnawing pain as he watched the scene in front of him. The two sons that he had brought up were now turning against each other with weapons in their hands. Though the two of them grew up together, their temperaments could not have been more different. One was cunning and ruthless, while the other was kind but too quick-tempered. Sometimes he thought that if their mother was still here, they would not have grown up to be such enemies. It was probably his fault for failing to raise them properly.

“May I be the one to explain this!?”

Arias stepped forward slowly, his voice drew all eyes to him. The sight they saw was of a tall young man with a slightly muscular body. Many of them gazed at him with amazement in their eyes, not sure when the young man had changed this much. The skinny boy who always looked frail and sick was gone, replaced by the graceful young man in front of them. With the bravery and calmness that he now possessed, he looked very different from the boy he once was.

Before he became a mage, Arias was like an unwanted part of this world, a world where even the smallest grass grew with the help of magical energy in the ground. A powerless was like a castaway in this world, and Arias was like a black sheep, a useless presence. That was why no one cared about him or his existence. Almost no one knew when he began to change. His parents were the only ones who had always been there to watch him grow.

“Go on.”

Though Farhan’s reply was brief and sounded nonchalant, he turned to Arias and waited for him to explain. In the past, he would not really count on Arias to give him a good explanation. But perhaps it was because of many recent events that Farhan had started to see Arias in a new light.

“Everything Father said was true. About two months ago, I fell into a river. I believe you already know about this.”

Arias explained in a calm tone of voice. His demeanor was prudent.

“Yes, I know.”

Farhan replied.

“But there was one thing that you probably didn’t know. I am not sure as well if Uncle is aware of this, but I didn’t fall into that river by accident. I was pushed in there, by someone in this family…”

No matter how calm he tried to be, Arias still could not suppress the anger in his heart as he spoke the last sentence.

“Could it be Mashelle and Danesse!?”

Farhan interrupted. He did not want the answer to be what he thought at all.

“That’s right. It was the two of them.”

He felt like lightning had struck him right in the middle of his chest. Farhan could only listen to Arias. His heart was burdened and he could not say anything for a while. Though he had partly anticipated this answer, he still did not want to believe it. Since hearing about this situation, he had been praying that his guess would be wrong. He did not want anything like this to happen at all, to have people in his family trying to destroy one another, to have the resentment from one generation passed down to the next. These two grandsons of his were not even twenty yet, but they were already so cruel and heartless.

“What proof do you have to be accusing my sons like this? Nothing but words from someone like you?”

Merson interrupted the conversation in an irritated voice.

“That’s right. The only proof I have are my own words.”

Arias answered plainly. He turned to face Merson without any fear.

After hearing Arias’ answer, Farhan went quiet as if he was deep in thought. The look in his eyes as he turned to Arias was full of pity. Meanwhile, Albert and Maria looked concerned. They both knew that Arias’ words alone would not be enough to prove anyone guilty. The two of them might believe what Arias said, but that did not mean others would too. Merson sneered victoriously.

The servants all exchanged glances as if they wanted to say something. Not one of them believed that what Arias said was true. Some of them were even thinking that he only did it to gain attention. In this world, the words of the strong were absolute, and no one would listen to the words of the weak. If they had to choose between Arias and Merson, they would no doubt choose to be on Merson’s side.

“Hahaha…so you take the nonsense from your useless son so seriously that you were about to go as far as to kill me, Albert? I didn’t know that you could be so credulous.”

Merson laughed. The words he said were full of insults and mockery.

“You…!”

Albert was enraged, but he seemed to be unable to come up with any retort.

“Why are you taking me here!? I told you I’ve got nothing to do with this!”

“Didn’t you see that we were in the middle of practice!? I’m going to tell my father about this.”

The shouts came from two young men. When everyone turned to look at the noise, they found Mashelle and Danesse who were being led here by Kanl. Though the two were not being confined in any way, it was clear that they were being brought here against their will.

Arias narrowed his eyes at the three newcomers in mild surprise. Finally, he knew where Kanl had disappeared to. He must have been ordered to get Mashelle and Danesse here by Farhan. ‘Why would the old man ask me if he already knew what’s going on?’ Arias complained to himself.

“Master, I have brought the two young masters here.”

Kanl humbly lowered his head, paying respect to Farhan before he proceeded to give his report about the order. The man paid no attention to Danesse's and Mashell’s complaints. Though he was just the family’s butler, Kanl directly served under Farhan. Thus, he was not afraid of the threats they were making. In fact, he had heard these threats more than enough on the way here and was already tired of them.

“All of you, follow me inside…you too, Kanl. And the rest of you, leave and get back to your duties. Do not come near this room until I give my permission. And I hope that not a single word about today’s incident gets anywhere outside of this manor. If I knew that any of you spread the word about this, I am going to cut off your tongue by myself!”

Farhan darted his eyes around the area and all the servants lowered their heads in fear. Farhan might not be a cruel person, but they all knew how strict he was. That last part he said was not a request, it was an order. Internal conflicts between members of the clan naturally brought with it a disgrace and could even lead to the clan’s downfall. The Scarcia Clan was not without enemies, and whenever these enemies found a way to undermine the clan, they would certainly not stand idle. This was why Farhan wanted to keep this incident a secret.

Upon hearing Farhan’s order, the servants quickly went their separate ways. No matter how curious they might be, they did not dare to pry on this any further than they had.

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