Hm? This woman really resembles Nora……

  This was Roel’s reaction when he first set eyes on Victoria. She looked so nearly identical to Nora that it was impossible for him not to be surprised. However, he soon snapped out of it.

  As someone who had played the game in his previous life, Roel knew very well that the similarity was only temporary. In terms of facial features, there would probably not be many differences, but when it came to their figure……

  Let’s just say that Nora will become much more shapely compared to the regrettably childlike Victoria.

  Doing a rough estimate, Victoria was likely in her twenties, but her body was a proportionate enlargement of the 10-year-old Nora.

  Roel’s attention switched over to the black-haired man standing behind Victoria, and he couldn’t help questioning his knowledge.

  Wait a moment, that isn’t right. Based on the diaries left behind by Ponte, isn’t Victoria his type then? Why did he end up rejecting her?

  Initially, Roel thought that Ponte was some scum who went around flirting with younger girls, but as they started conversing, he soon realized that their relationship was more complicated than he had imagined. Not only was Victoria a ‘legal loli’, but she seemed to have some sort of leverage over Ponte that allowed her to curb him entirely.

  1 reply – 20 hours ago

  “Teacher, it’s great to see how close they are to one another.”


  “Y-yeah, indeed.”


  “Now that I think about, there are nobles that have begun opposing conventional political marriages, especially those in the younger generation. Those old-fashioned ideas about having to choose between responsibility to one’s house and happiness are gradually being rejected.”


  Naturally, Ponte understood the deeper meaning behind Victoria’s words, and he shook his head helplessly. Nevertheless, Roel could see that, to a certain extent, Ponte did dote on her. The two of them appeared to have each other in their hearts.

  Roel didn’t just look at their interactions but the atmosphere around them and the subtle gestures they made too. While Victoria had hidden it well, from time to time, she would still exude a certain disposition that he was deeply familiar with. He shot a glance toward the well brought up Nora, and he suddenly understood where her sadistic tendencies had originated from.

  It’s a hereditary trait that shows up once every few generations, huh?

  Perhaps it was because she had sensed Roel’s thoughts, but Nora suddenly turned her head over and stared at him. Under her intent gaze, he quickly averted his eyes, only to be met with Ponte’s gaze right after. The two boys of the Ascart House exchanged looks, and they suddenly felt a sense of camaraderie with one another.

  It was a feeling of deep connection created by mutual sympathy for one another, due to suffering through the same plight. They were like oppressed peasants ready to raise up in arms against the Xeclyde girls……

  though it was not as if they would really dare to do so. Their rebellion would probably just be quelled in an instant.

  Ponte and Victoria talked about a lot of stuff with Roel and Nora, but surprisingly, they didn’t question their identities. They seemed to believe that Holy Eminence Ryan had been hiding these two children, and it was only due to the sudden outbreak of chaos that their existence was revealed.

  Naturally, Roel was more than willing to pin it all on the faraway Ryan. Nora was a little conflicted about soiling her predecessor’s reputation, but she still chose to keep her silence as well.

  “Child, you must have suffered a lot over the years. You have to believe that our father is not someone who would abandon any of his family members. I don’t know what Wade has told you, but his words can’t be trusted. He’s walking down the path of a tyrant.”


  Victoria grabbed Nora’s hand as she began to counsel her ‘little sister’ warmly. Seeing these two sadists acting so gently with one another made Roel’s eyelids twitch in discomfort. He shot a glance at Ponte and saw an expression of astonishment on his ancestor’s face too.

  “Mister Ponte, I have some questions regarding our lineage that I wish to ask you about. Is it convenient for you now?”


  Roel made use of this opportunity to speak to his predecessor, and Ponte also nodded in response to his question, not putting on airs at all.

  “Your name is Roel, right? I am the current patriarch of the Ascart House, so feel free to ask me anything regarding our family.”


  As the patriarch of a house suffering from a lack of offspring, Ponte hoped that the family tree could expand a little bit more. A member of the side family like Roel didn’t have the right to succeed the Ascart House, so it was unlikely that he would get into any internal strife with the other family members. If he accepted Roel into the family, there would be another pair of helping hands to rely on when crises occur.

  In view of this, Ponte wasn’t averse to Roel’s sudden appearance.

  It was just that, to his surprise, Roel asked not about returning back to the Ascart House but one of the core secrets surrounding their lineage.

  “Mister Ponte, our lineage has a hereditary bloodline, right? Can you give me more information about it?”


  Roel looked at Ponte with a firm look in his eyes as he posed the question. On the other hand, Ponte was momentarily stunned before he suddenly recalled something. An anxious look appeared on his face as he asked.

  “One moment. The prowess you showed earlier on the battlefield, does it have anything to do with our family’s bloodline?”


  “I think so……”


  Roel’s hesitant response made Ponte widen his eyes. Ponte instantly stood up and pulled Roel out of the room with him.

  “Child, come with me!”


  “Ah? Ponte, where are you leading the child off to?”


  “We’re heading to the study. There’s something I need to discuss with this child in private. You need not pay us any heed.”


  After shaking off Victoria and Nora, Ponte led the perplexed Roel through numerous metal doors before finally arriving at the study. The room appeared much emptier compared to how Roel remembered it. The two of them settled down around a table.

  Ponte didn’t rush right into the topic but, instead, prepared two cups of tea for them. There was a long pause as if he was sorting out his thoughts before he began speaking.

  “I thought that you were a heretic, but it looks like it’s something…… more than that. If you have really awakened the bloodline of our Ascart House, it would really be a huge matter.”


  “Mister Ponte, what do you mean?”


  “As a long-standing noble house, the Ascart House does have a hereditary bloodline, but it has nearly died out by now. We don’t know when our hereditary bloodline began fading, but ever since the start of the Third Epoch, we have already lost the means to awaken it.”


  “Ahhh, I see…… Does that mean that it’s bad news that I have managed to awaken our hereditary bloodline?”


  Roel was a little confused about this. Judging by the grim look on Ponte’s face, it seemed like the awakening of his bloodline wasn’t something to rejoice over. He couldn’t understand why gaining greater power was a bad thing here.

  Ponte smiled bitterly in response to Roel’s words.

  “It’s rare for our family members to naturally awaken our hereditary bloodline the way you did, but in the past few centuries, two of our predecessors have managed to do it. However, do you know what kind of fate befell them?”


  “Did something bad happen to them?”


  “The two of them went missing. To this day, we still don’t know what happened to them.”


  Roel was speechless. He suddenly recalled the ‘Extremely Dangerous’ notification that the System warned him with. Could it be that this warning referred not to the process of awakening but to the events that would be triggered as a result of the awakening?

  “Winstor Ascart and Ro Ascart, these are the names of the predecessors who managed to naturally awaken our hereditary bloodline. They served as the patriarch during their time, and the Ascart House grew to new heights in their hands. However, after a short period of prosperity under their leadership, they suddenly vanished from the face of the world; that resulted in the decline of the house for the next decade afterward.”


  Recalling the historical records left behind by the ancestors of the Ascart House, Ponte sighed deeply. Roel took some time to straighten out his thoughts before he decided to inquire deeper into Winstor and Ro Ascart’s affairs.

  “Mister Ponte, are there any links between the disappearances of the two patriarchs?”


  “There aren’t any significant links between their disappearances, but one thing worthy of note is that the two of them were avid adventurers. Before they went missing, they would often spend long periods of time traveling around the continent, exploring ancient ruins. According to the records, the two of them were unimaginably powerful, so it’s unlikely for them to have been assassinated…… My guess is that they lost their lives in the midst of exploring an ancient ruin.”


  “I see…… Do you know what is the ability of our Ascart House’s hereditary bloodline?”


  Roel felt a little uncomfortable hearing the plights of his two predecessors as it seemed to cast an ominous portent for his future too. He hesitated for a moment before deciding to ask one of the key questions.

  Unexpectedly, Ponte fell silent upon hearing that question. A bizarre silence lingered in the air for a long moment before he finally squeezed a few words out.

  “I don’t know.”


  “Huh? Why?”


  “The ability of our hereditary bloodline is not stated in the family records.”


  “A-ah…… I didn’t think that it would be like that.”


  Roel was quite taken aback by the answer, and Ponte quickly elaborated with reddened cheeks.

  “Our records aren’t complete; there are some portions that have gone missing over the generations. Nevertheless, based on what’s left, it seems like the two patriarchs have difficulties trying to depict what the ability of the bloodline is. Furthermore, their abilities differed from one another too. The only commonality between the patriarchs is that they were both history buffs, devoting their lives to uncovering the past.”


  Ponte looked a little stifled as he spoke, thinking that the information he had wasn’t helpful at all. However, Roel felt that his mind was ready to explode after listening to the key points of Ponte’s short description. ‘Uncovering history’, wasn’t that precisely what he was doing at this very moment?

  Thinking about it, the Labyrinth Villa could be considered as a historical artifact in his own era. Roel felt like there were simply far too many mysteries surrounding the Ascart House and its hereditary bloodline.

  “I’m not telling you all of this to intimidate you. I just hope to offer you some advice so that the same plight doesn’t befall you.”


  “Advice?”


  “Indeed. I would advise you not to wander around carelessly, but I suspect that there’s a good chance that our hereditary bloodline requires you to go around uncovering ancient remains. That being said, I hope you can realize that great power comes with great risks. The two predecessors who brought our Ascart House to greater heights ended up dying prematurely. Just because something is within reach doesn’t mean that you have to grasp it. Living a peaceful life is also a viable option for you.”


  Roel could feel the sincerity behind Ponte’s words. He knew that Ponte was showing him earnest concern as an elder in the family, and he was touched by the gesture too…… but it didn’t seem like living a peaceful life was a viable option for him anymore. As one destined to become a villain in the future, it was likely that trouble would come knocking on his door even if he chose to remain still.

  “You’re on good terms with that child named Nora?”


  “Ah? Why are you suddenly asking this question? I guess it’s still alright……”


  “Sometimes, it isn’t necessarily a bad thing to rely on the royal family a little……”


  What should I do? My predecessor is blatantly telling me to pimp myself out to Nora! Should I heed his advice or not?

  Roel stared at Ponte numbly. Somehow, even though the two of them weren’t married, Ponte was looking more and more like a henpecked husband under Victoria’s tyrannical rule.

  Roel’s first reaction was to reject Ponte’s suggestion, but he suddenly recalled those words that Nora had just spoken to him earlier in the room, and it made his face redden a little. He lowered his head to ponder over it for a while.

  Just as he was about to give his response, Ponte suddenly took out a book and a pen and began jotting something down,

  「 9th March, sunny……

  」