On a grassy hilly terrain, a flabbergasted Roel stared at his ancestor quietly.

  The wind blew and the grass rustled. There was a slight spurt of blood from Ro Ascart’s chest. Roel stared at his overexcited ancestor as a question popped into his mind.

  How in the world are you spouting such perverted atrocities with such an innocent face?

  “Pardon me, but what did you just say?”


  “I said that you should knock up the female offspring of the Ackermanns……”


  “Okay, you can stop now.”


  Roel raised his hand to stop Ro Ascart as he massaged his temples to ease the headache that had started setting in.

  “Didn’t you leave behind a message on Kayde’s body, telling us not to trust the Ackermanns?”


  “I did, and I still feel the same way. But is there a contradiction between knocking up a daughter the Ackermanns and trusting them?”


  “Of course there is!” exclaimed Roel.

  He glared at the incredibly composed Ro as his cheeks swiftly reddened. He took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself down before continuing on.

  “Doesn’t knocking someone up entail marrying that person? How could you marry someone whom you don’t even trust?!”


  “Does it entail marriage? That’s an oddly old-fashioned thought coming from someone of the future generation…… Cough cough! Anyway, you can just decide for yourself!”


  Noticing the ‘Are you a scumbag?’ look coming from his descendant, Ro swiftly changed his tune. It would appear that his descendant had a proper upbringing, which nurtured a strong sense of morals and responsibility within him. It was unlikely someone like that would knock someone’s belly up and shirk responsibility.

  On one hand, Ro was gladdened by that since having an excellent character was the most important foundation for someone who had awakened to the Ascart Bloodline. A person who harbored filth in his heart would only provide opportunities for his enemies to bring him down.

  But on the other, having an excellent character wasn’t beneficial to the mission he was assigning to Roel. Just looking at Roel’s reddened face was enough to make him shake his head.

  Judging by how embarrassed he is, he must have never held a lady’s hand before.

  Ro couldn’t help but worry that the lineage of the Ascart House might just end in Roel’s hands. Oblivious to him, while he was not wrong to say that Roel hadn’t really held a lady’s hand before, it was only because it had almost always been the ladies holding his hand instead.

  In any case, Roel’s lacking offensive ability when it came to courting girls was a huge issue here.

  The Ackermanns was the imperial family of the Austine Empire, the chief propagators of the bloodline purity theory. It was impossible for a daughter of the Ackermanns to harbor any goodwill toward the men of the Ascart House; if anything, it was more likely for her to be guarded against them. Roel might still stand a chance if he was a veteran player, but he just had to be a newbie in the field.

  There’s no way he would possibly be able to win her heart……

  Unable to figure out any good solution to this quandary, Ro clenched his fists anxiously. In the end, he gnashed his teeth and instructed sharply.

  “I don’t care how you go about doing it, but you must bear a child who carries the bloodline of the Ackermanns. If you can’t seduce her, just use force instead!”


  Ro would have never suggested such a plan under any other circumstances, but this matter was of vital importance that it had to happen by hook or by crook. In his view, Roel would surely fail tragically under normal circumstances, but if he were to put his incredible strength to use here, there might still be a sliver of hope.

  Forget it! If you can’t seduce her, just kidnap her over or something. You have the strength to do so anyway!

  As long as Roel could somehow get the matter done, the Ackermanns would have no choice but to take this one lying unless they wished to wage a war against the Saint Mesit Theocracy. Of course, this would mean that the Ascart House would be holing themselves up inside their fiefdom in the future too.

  The good thing about this was that there was no need for intricate schemes. The only difficulty lay in whether he could pull it off or not, and Ro had great faith in Roel regarding this.

  She’s just a daughter of the Ackermanns. How strong could she possibly get?

  Ro was too busy snorting in disdain at the Ackermanns’ fighting prowess that he didn’t notice the subtle changes in Roel’s expressions when he proposed his idea.

  You want me to kidnap Lilian Ackermann and force myself on her? Wow…… I really don’t know what I should say.

  Looking at the ‘easy-peasy’ look on his ancestor’s face, he felt tempted to ask him—“Are you intending to end the lineage of our Ascart House?”


  One must know that Lilian Ackermann was a prodigy who reached Origin Level 3 at 16 years old, the same age as Ro did back in his era. More importantly, unlike the ‘dumbed-down’ version of his ancestor that he had faced earlier, Lilian Ackermann was a sharp-witted individual capable of formulating complex combat strategies.

  If Roel really were to go all out in a fight against her, there could only be two possibilities. Either Lilian would curb and kill him, or he would slip up and accidentally kill Lilian.

  There was no third possibility.

  Roel couldn’t afford holding back against an enemy of Lilian’s caliber, but if he were to go all out, every strike he dished out would be a plausible killing blow. He wouldn’t be able to retract his attack at the very last moment, and it was unlikely that Lilian would be able to survive even if they had the greatest doctors waiting on standby.

  After great hesitation, Roel decided against telling Ro that the female offspring of the Ackermanns in this era was actually a monstrous prodigy. Instead, he moved on to ask why Ro was so obsessed with the idea of a union between the Ascarts and the Ackermanns.

  Unexpectedly, the latter shook his head at the question.

  “I’m not too sure either. It’s a teaching passed down from the ancestors.”


  “A teaching from the ancestors?”


  “Yes, I saw it in a confidential document while I was investigating the Twilight Sages Assembly. It came from Emperor Charles from the final years of the Second Epoch.”


  “Emperor Charles? You’re referring to the ‘Departing Emperor’?”


  Roel’s heart jolted upon hearing that piece of information. Charles Ackermann was simply far too significant of a historical figure that all historians would have been familiar with his name. Ro also nodded affirmatively to confirm Roel’s doubt.

  “Indeed, I’m referring to the final emperor of the Ancient Austine Empire. At the end of the Second Epoch, the Arde House fell apart and the top brass of the empire was mired in corruption. According to the historical records, Charles was a young and ambitious emperor, and he attempted to re-establish relations with the direct descendants of the Ardes, which is our Ascart House.

  “What I found was a handwritten letter from him that contained the following sentence, ‘When the bloodlines of the Twin Eagles converge, the gates will open and glory shall return to the world.’,” explained Ro solemnly.

  Roel widened his eyes in astonishment. The content of the latter might sound abstract to the layman, but those who were well-versed in history like Roel would be able to interpret the meaning of those words right away.

  The Twin Eagles referred to the ‘Twinheaded Eagle’ insignia of the Austine Empire, but what was interesting to note was that this insignia had changed a little over time.

  Back in the Second Epoch, the ‘Twinheaded Eagle’ insignia of the Ancient Austine Empire didn’t exactly have two heads. To be more precise, the eagle head on the left was brighter than the eagle head on the right, and this was a commonly used painting technique in that era to express ‘overlapping objects’. To put it in other words, the ‘Twinheaded Eagle’ of the Ancient Austine Empire was actually two eagles overlapping over one another, just that the one below only had its head revealed.

  Many historians thought that the fact that one eagle was hidden behind the shadows of another had some hidden meaning to it, just that they weren’t able to come to a conclusion on the matter. At the inception of the Third Epoch, the Ackermanns equalized the color tones on the two eagles and created the current ‘Twinheaded Eagle’ insignia, an act which many historians viewed as an attempt to bury some sort of secret.

  Roel was also rather perplexed about this prior to his trip to the Karon Forest, but learning about the existence of the Arde House from ‘Chronicler’ answered many of his doubts.

  The eagle beneath likely referred to the Arde House, which sought to protect the Ancient Austine Empire from the shadows. Looking at it from such an angle, the content of the letter left behind by Charles Ackermann was indeed pushing for the union of the Ascarts and the Ackermanns.

  That being said, there were still many questions here that hadn’t been answered yet.

  What did the ‘gates’ refer to? Was it a real gate or just a metaphor? And what did ‘glory shall return to the world’ mean too?

  “In any case, the Ackermanns is vital to the resurgence of the Ascart House, but the problem is that the Austine Empire is at loggerheads with the Theocracy, making it nigh impossible for the two houses to come together. As someone who has awakened the Ascart Bloodline, it’s your responsibility to find a way to obtain their blood!

  “However, you should pay careful heed not to allow the Ackermanns to find out about this matter. The Ackermanns of this era is not the same as that of the previous era. Much can be seen from how they changed their insignia. There must be something amiss with them, so by no means should you trust them.”


  “.……”


  Roel fell silent listening to those words.

  You want me to somehow win Lilian over and quietly take her away without alarming the Austine Empire? Isn’t this practically elopement?!

  Just what in the world made you think that I would be able to charm an esteemed princess of the Austine Empire into abandoning her glory to elope with me?!

  Roel was feeling utterly exasperated by the absurdly high expectations that were being heaped on him here. In the first place, he was already greatly disadvantaged in this race coming from the Theocracy, so how could he compete with the countless other suitors Lilian had back in the Austine Empire? That was practically asking for the impossible!

  “Keep this matter in mind and make sure you accomplish it no matter what, alright? Other than that, I need to talk to you about ‘Academic’ too.”


  “!”


  Roel’s wandering thoughts were immediately pulled back on track upon the mention of ‘Academic’. Ro took some time to gather his thoughts before he began speaking.

  “My consciousness only traces back to my third year in the Saint Freya Academy, when I’m sixteen. Back then, I haven’t managed to find ‘Academic’s’ trail yet, but I’m certain that he’s a survivor of the Second Epoch who knows of many secrets. That’s the only clue I have right now.”


  Ro raised his hand and took off the ring on his finger. It was a familiar looking ring to Roel, just that its color was slightly off.

  Blackrose Ring?

  Roel stared at the black gemstone on the ring and frowned in confusion. Based on what he knew, the Nine Rose Rings didn’t consist of black color.

  “This is the very first Rose Ring, and it used to be in ‘Academic’s’ possession. Its unique nature allowed for the retention of my consciousness, which is why I’m able to speak to you right now. Rumors have it that the Blackrose Ring has the ability to guide, but it has never reacted while it was in my possession. Our meeting is a sign that the Blackrose Ring has chosen you, and your victory against me proves that you’re worthy of it.”


  Ro watched enviously as the Blackrose Ring automatically flew into Roel’s hand. The moment the two came into contact, the ring emanated a glow that receded Roel’s injuries and the afflictions he was suffering from.

  “This is……”


  “It looks like you won’t have to return as a crippled man,” remarked Ro with a smile.

  At the same time, Ro started emanating a faint light as his body began dissipating.

  “Ro, you……” exclaimed Roel in horror.

  “I already told you that my consciousness is merely retained inside the Blackrose Ring. It’s time to bid each other farewell.”


  “.……”


  Ro’s words carried a hint of regret. He looked at the sorrowful eyes of his descendant and found his emotions suddenly pouring forth.

  He’s even younger than me, but his life is destined to be fraught with troubles and dangers. Still, there’s always a tinge of hope in the face of despair. All inheritors of the Ascart Bloodline grow up amidst difficulties. Such is the fate of our people.

  It’s the same for me, Winstor, and even our ancestors back in the Second Epoch. Even when it’s getting harder and harder for us to awaken our bloodline, the Ascart House still continues to forge its way forward, and that’s enough.

  He was pessimistic about the future because he had an idea of the horrors Roel could possibly face in his life, but even so, he couldn’t help but feel anticipation……

  As long as fellows like him continue to appear, it’s only a matter of time before we seize back our previous glory.

  With such thoughts in mind, Ro pulled out the short sword in his chest and tidied up his clothes and his hair. He wanted to put on his most dignified appearance before his descendant.

  “I guess this concludes my will then. There’s no need to grieve. It’s a miracle that someone from the past like me is able to come into contact with someone in the future. You’ve been here for a long time now, and it’s time for you to return to where you belong.”


  Amidst scattering fragments of light, Ro directed his most brilliant smile toward his descendant.

  “It has been a pleasant meeting. Farewell, Roel Ascart.”