That day, when he found out he had been appointed a noble, he happened to be passing by the harbor with the young Elanna. Remembering the event, he took her there.
"Why are some people nobles, some commoners, and others slaves? Now that our family has become nobles, does this mean we'll be different from now on?"
At that time, sitting on one side of his table, the mother in a normal family of three turned to look at him, her face filled with reverence and longing.
As a Transcendent professional, he immediately noticed the calluses on the couple's hands. Clearly, they couldn't be regular patrons of this restaurant.
Judging from their slightly worn but clean clothes, they must have had something worth celebrating to come to this restaurant... just like he and Elanna.
At that moment, he looked at his daughter and said...
Back then was exactly like this moment now.
Baron Newman laughed heartily and said very seriously to Elanna, whom he had cherished since she was a child:
"At that time, I asked you if your room was painted in different colors, with red being the one you liked the most.
You said, 'Yes, Daddy.'
I said, if I took away the other colors and left only one color on your wall, would you like it compared to the way it was before?
You said, 'No, Daddy, I like it because they all look beautiful.'
And then I told you, 'The great creator made people with different statuses, perhaps because having only one color on the wall would be too monotonous?
Maybe the creator made people of different statuses and appearances to let us appreciate the true beauty in their real forms, and the nobility's aesthetics are meant to protect their subjects.
So you should become someone useful to your subjects, someone who doesn't exclude those of different statuses. This has always been the case, and it should be.'"
Upon hearing Baron Newman's words, the girl chuckled softly: "Since you won't exclude people of different statuses, why are you hesitating now, Father, and belittling your beliefs because of an Earl?
Once the marriage contract is set, it shouldn't change because of his status. This is the time for me to practice the lessons you taught."
Seeing this exchange between father and daughter, Kael was also moved for a moment.
What a fierce Lady Knight.
No, it should be said that a good father would not raise unworthy children.
On the contrary, his thoughts were a bit too narrow-minded.
Even if he said binding the Newman family to his chariot wouldn't directly provoke Count Rezhe's underhanded tactics, making such a decision required significant courage.
"Since it is my daughter's decision, there is nothing more to say. Of course, I will support you all the way. Hahaha~ You are right, it's just getting involved in the Charles family's messy waters.
I can't play noble politics better than he can. After all, the Charles family was taught all this, but these noble lords haven't come to the frontier to open up new territories for years. The methods that country bumpkins can play with, these noble lords cannot.
Good daughter, you certainly have your own opinion. Once the marriage contract is set, do not betray it. And... Elanna, I don't recall teaching you to always turn your back on your fiancé."
Baron Newman winked at Kael behind him.
Elanna's shoulders trembled as if she had deflated. The arrogant aura she had just now instantly weakened.
Realizing the situation, her face reddened. When she regained her composure and saw the exceptionally handsome young man, she met his warm gaze, causing her heart to skip a beat.
Her cherry lips moved slightly, just wanting to say something. But she saw the young man's expression change slightly and thought it was because she had hurriedly rushed out and her clothes were in disarray, so she instinctively glanced at herself.
However, there was no problem.
Could it be because of her boyish attire?
For a moment, Elanna felt a bit anxious.
"Don't overthink it. It's just that, seeing Miss Eilanna for the first time truly took my breath away, and made me lose my focus. It's no wonder I heard of Miss Eilanna's beauty even while working at the Mage Academy."
Upon hearing Kael's unabashed praise, Elanna slightly suppressed her doubts.
Maybe she had just seen it wrong earlier?
Baron Newman, on the other hand, found the atmosphere between the two quite good, but still slightly reminded them:
"But Kael, you need to prepare yourself mentally. Count Rezhe comes with ill intentions. Although your health has improved significantly over the years, you must remain cautious.
Some people, when they can't solve a problem, will chose to solve the person who made the problem. Rezhe's ancestors were merit nobility. If they truly wanted to cause trouble, it would be a thunderous strike. You need to be well-prepared."
Baron Newman rarely spoke to him so candidly. Kael didn't refuse his kindness but just smiled and said:
"I have already asked Grandpa White about my uncle's situation. Although Rezhe is the Clan Leader of the Charles family, he ultimately isn't the legitimate heir of the Lion Heart.
With the Lion Heart above him and the Federation Noble Council controlling the power shifts of the elites, as long as I don't make mistakes, I merely need to find the protection of the Noble Council.
If it comes to that point, the easiest solution for him would likely be to directly come after me."
"Your health... seems to be much better than Brother Anthony mentioned." Newman sighed, "Did Brother Anthony finally make his choice?"
Kael frowned and said: "Did Father tell you so?"
"More than that, Anthony has already prepared himself mentally. If your health didn't improve over the years, he would look for an opportunity to take a Federation mission and go after those Holy Sanctuary Madmen hiding in the Land of Lawlessness."
Kael shook his head and said: "Is it really necessary to go that far... If it came to that, how could I risk Father's safety for my pride?"
Baron Newman lightly tapped the table and said: "Your health has a problem. It's not just the long-term lack of essence extraction. Even if you were filled with the best essence, it wouldn't help.
This is a bloodline disease. There are many ways to repair it, the simplest being to replenish the bloodline with the essence of the Holy Sanctuary Crystal. This is why your father never forced you to extract essence, because it was fundamentally ineffective."
Kael nodded to show his understanding, but involuntarily thought of a piece of data on his system panel.
[Race: Human⅓·Incubus⅓·Unknown Bloodline⅓]
Even if The Gate of the Lower Realm was a fanciful world that didn't care about science, such a bloodline ratio was clearly problematic.
This also cleared Kael's doubts.
He couldn't understand why Anthony, who loved his original self so much, would let Kael slowly die.
It wasn't that he didn't want to, but that he couldn't.
"Since you have already formulated your plan, I won't interfere much. But as family, I must remind you... to think more and act only when you're sure. You can't afford to lose now."
Kael smiled and promised: "Don't worry, I understand."