Hill was surprised, "Grandfather has resigned from his court position?"
"I gave Prince Edward and his son a beating," Fran said with a smile. "Then I angrily quit the Magic Tower."
Hill glanced at Adrian, who explained, "That's why I came back so quickly. Teacher found the person who conspired with Perast back then, Helen, the sister of Sarna, Edward's wife."
"Why? Melanie has nothing to do with these people!"
"Edward had no ability to become a Professional. Back then, he only managed to marry the youngest daughter of Marquis Fein," Adrian said, "His family's eldest daughter was famously beautiful, known as the Pearl of Saral, with many suitors. Later, she married the eldest son of Duke Kral."
Hill suddenly looked up at him, "Kral? The one who died young?"
Adrian said with a sneer, "Exactly, the one who died young trying to breakthrough to become a Sky Knight and succumbed to the backlash of failure. The Kral family believes it's because he married the Pearl, constantly being challenged to duels, which led to his untimely death. They were very harsh on Helen. For her, it was painful to almost become the future Duchess only to have it slip away. Luckily, her sister married Prince Edward, who could protect her in the Capital, even if he was incapable."
"But for Helen, who was once proud to climb up to the Grand Duke, living dependent on her younger sister, whom she never respected, is too painful," he spread his hands out. "For such a woman, who in the Capital could be stronger than Edward? Charles certainly wouldn't want her."
Hill said softly, "The King!"
"Yes!" Adrian said with disdain. "For our King, who only loves beauty, how could he resist the Pearl that came to him willingly? She was quite skillful, and also a Knight, favored for decades."
"It's just that we haven't paid attention to court affairs," Fran suddenly said. "I didn't know this Helen was the King's mistress. I only knew she was the sister of Edward's wife, and I ignored her the few times she tried to speak to me."
"As she grew older, the King started looking for new pleasures," Adrian said. "By that time, Helen and Edward had an understanding: she would act as a matchmaker for the King. After all, if Edward ascended, her sister would be the Queen, her nephew the future King, and her future could be secured. Plus, for Helen, who had been entrenched in the court for decades, the pain of losing power completely was something she didn't want to experience again."
Hill thought for a moment, "But just offending her is not so serious. Was it the Old King?"
Adrian said angrily, "Nobody knows when that guy saw Melanie. At that time, Melanie was already a Mage but she had just come of age! After Helen found out he was eyeing Melanie, she went to test Teacher. She saw that Teacher didn't want to get involved; they didn't want a Female Mage staying by the King's side."
Fran suddenly said, "A Mage who immerses herself in magic should have no offspring, and if she does, she should stay away from these people. No amount of benefits can withstand the malice of men's hearts."
"They're too vicious! There are plenty who don't want to get involved!" Adrian said angrily, "And Melanie, no matter how naive, couldn't possibly fancy a 200-year-old geezer!"
Hill rubbed his forehead, "So it was just when Perast became a widow and went to the Royal Capital to seek a new partner that they hit it off?"
"Duke Kral was hoping that Perast would wait until Manton was a bit older before considering remarriage," Adrian said solemnly. "Helen not only kicked a thorn from her eye out of the court but also took the opportunity to disgust the Kral family."
"So the Kral family, unable to offend Helen, took out their resentment on my mother?"
Fran said, "At most they taunted her verbally. If she was strong-willed, how could a Mage not withstand such tactics? A heart solely filled with love is worthless, even with the best Talents!"
"It was Perast's fault!" Adrian said, "He succumbed to lust, seduced Melanie with malice, and used her as a pawn to form an alliance with Edward. Who knew in less than two years, the younger son of Duke Kral would become a Sky Knight. Then he deliberately hurt Melanie, telling the Kral family it was all her seduction!"
Fran continued, "Both her mother and I are determined individuals. How could we have birthed a daughter who is devastated without love!"
Adrian turned to Fran, "Teacher, shut up!" He was completely unaware of what he had done, and continued passionately, "Melanie may not have known the truth, but she executed the best revenge! She completely broke off with Perast, isolated herself, and ignored the affairs of the world. Perast, that scoundrel's claim that it was Melanie who seduced him was believed by no one! He became a laughingstock for over a decade until Melanie blew herself up in an experiment, taking that scoundrel down with her!"
Fran delivered a hefty slap to the back of Adrian's head.
Adrian immediately stood up, obediently saying, "Teacher, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it!"
Hill hurriedly said, "No wonder the Earl could only marry the daughter of a Young Baron in the end."
"Of course! He could only sacrifice his wife, whom he pursued back, to curry favor with the Kral family," Adrian glanced at Fran. "Which Nobles would give away a dowry for nothing. In the end, he could only marry a girl from a minor family within his own fief."
Fran ignored him, "At first, I didn't suspect Edward, because he had some enmity with the Kral Clan. The Sky Knight of the Kral family sided with Charles. Charles is such a person, even when seeking allegiance, he acts arrogantly; no one in the Mage Tower likes dealing with him."
He sighed, "I didn't think I had offended Edward. As for Helen, I hadn't considered her role."
Hill comforted him, "Grandfather, it has nothing to do with you. These people calculate against whomever they please regardless of whether they've been offended. As long as there are benefits, they don't care who gets hurt."
Fran had actually gotten over the stages of grief and anger long ago, but remembering still brought a tinge of sadness and regret. He was naturally serious and somber, and Melanie had disliked being close to him since she was a child. It's unknown when she became engrossed in romance novels and couldn't extricate herself from those ungrateful disciples. Little did anyone know that Melanie's talents were so great that, even without focusing entirely on magic, she had become a Mage before reaching adulthood. Once those ungrateful disciples knew that I had in mind to train Melanie as my successor, they lured her into the court for some leisure. Then, with Helen's help from inside and out, they led Melanie astray.
Fran closed his eyes and spoke in a low voice, "When they seduced Melanie onto the wrong path, it was because of Melanie's superficial nature that she was deceived, and I couldn't just kill them outright. This time, I used that as a reason to beat Edward's entire family along with Helen, and threw them into the lake—I even gave up the Mage Tower. Charles won't miss the chance to attack Edward,"
He turned his head to look at the sky outside the study, "The King's recently favored mistresses were all sent by Helen. Edward was already in disarray because William had become a Sky Knight blessed by God. Now with Charles attacking, Edward can only have peace of mind if the King dies now."
Adrian said, "As long as Edward makes a move, neither Charles nor William will let him off. He will definitely deal lethal blows."
Hill suddenly said, "In one month, 50,000 from the Undead Tribe will be here. Do you think Edward will take action upon receiving this news?"
"Definitely!" Adrian said with conviction, "They have been unscrupulous for decades for that throne, making so many enemies! If they fail, the whole family will die. The victor will never allow his son to ascend to Sky Knight!"
Before dawn broke, Hill felt someone watching him, and with a smile, he said, "Miss Alice, good morning. It's been a long time, I've missed you."
"Good morning, Hill," a calm female voice replied, "I've missed you too. A frightening person has come to your lands."
Hill sat up abruptly with a "pfft," "That's my grandfather, Mage Fran."
"He looks at me as if he wants to skin me."
Hill almost laughed out loud, "It's hard for a Mage to attract a Spirit of Nature. They are curious about everything. Don't worry, he's just looking."
Mages who acted against Nature Spirits were almost universally shunned by nature. Blood-soaked lessons from the past warned their successors.
Unless they were Necromancers who had completely abandoned nature, hardly any Mage would dare to harm a Spirit of Nature now.
"Adrian is a good man, but if it were his territory, I wouldn't stay. There's a strange smell about them that nature doesn't like. You, on the other hand, Hill, smell particularly nice," Alice said as she licked her left front paw and began washing her face with elegance.
"Of course, my dear Alice, you are always welcome here."
"Miss Alice, do you know the High-level Magical Beast in the mountains behind here?" Hill also got up to freshen up.
"That black panther? He's very fierce."
"Miss Alice, you know him?" Hill said in surprise, "If he's a friend of yours, it would be best for him to come with us today."
"Is something wrong?" Alice asked, "He's so far from you and doesn't come down from the mountain. Do you need to drive him away?"
"Mage Fran is planning to build a Mage Tower nearby," Hill said earnestly, "Their towers are to be built on the Spirit Land. I can choose at will since I have an Earth Elemental tribe. And because my Mage Level is low, when I need High-level Crystals, the Elementals I summon can produce enough. But it's different for them; only that place nearby can accommodate the construction of a Magic Tower."
"But he was here first."
"Dear Alice, in this world there's no such thing as first come, first served."
"If he doesn't move, will he die?"
"That's why I want you to come with us, can you persuade him?" Hill crouched in front of the dismayed Alice, "I hope he can sign a residency Contract with Mage Fran."
"What's that?"
"It's a Contract created by friendly Magicians. High-level Magical Beasts don't need much Spirit Land. If they promise not to harm humans and help defend the territory when attacked, the Mages will agree to their residency."
"What if he still refuses?"
"I can only guarantee that Mage Fran will let him leave," Hill stroked Alice's ears as she lay down, "Alice, if he leaves and then attempts an attack, I can't promise that Mage Fran will let him go multiple times."
Alice looked up at him, "Although Merkel is fierce, I don't want him to die."