In front of Beta and the others, Alice was like a little girl who had not grown up yet. She was naive and romantic, ignorant of worldly affairs. However, in reality, she had a very high status in the family.
After all, she was a half-elf who had lived for more than a hundred years. That alone was enough to establish a great advantage in the family. Moreover, she was now an Elven Summoner. She was strong and had a bright future. In terms of status and power in the family, she was second only to Grinton.
Therefore, when she said that, the young man immediately became anxious. "Great-great-aunt, I'm the Knight you conferred. How can I not be by your side?"
Alice also smiled. Although it was a sarcastic smile, it was still very beautiful. "I'm also the Knight of the Round Table conferred by Beta. Do I have to stay by his side every day?"
When the young man heard this, he was immediately stunned. He finally remembered that when Great-great-aunt conferred him as a Second Knight, she did say that there was a master above her. At that time, he was only looking at Great-great-aunt's beautiful face and did not hear what she said.
Although the young man's judgment was clouded by jealousy, when he came to his senses, he immediately knelt on one knee and apologized to Beta. "Honorable Master, I didn't know it was you. Please forgive my ignorance and recklessness."
Seeing this scene, Beta somewhat approved of this young man. He was indeed a talent that could be nurtured. Most importantly, it was normal for young men to be foolish for beautiful women. As long as they did not make a big mistake, everything could be smoothed over and started over again.
Beta looked at the young man and nodded slightly.
The young man heaved a sigh of relief. After getting up and bowing, he left the room. The moment he walked out of the door, he looked back at Alice and then left decisively. It was as if he was using this method to cut off an invisible rope.
Ten years was enough to erase most human feelings, be it love or family.
This was just a small episode, but it also reminded Beta that he should pay attention to the status of the Knight of the Round Table and the Second Knight. After all, this was one of his trump cards in the future, so he absolutely could not let his guard down.
Alice watched the young man leave and sighed slightly. She was a half-elf and had no interest in family power. However, as a member of the family, she could not stay out of it.
After learning that Alice had the ability to confer the title of a Knight and make the person who was conferred the title stronger, she became the most popular person in the family. Regardless of whether she was familiar with or not, close relatives or distant relatives, or even some monsters that she had never seen before, they all appeared in front of her.
Everyone hoped that she would bestow power upon them.
However, Alice felt that since this power was given to her by Beta, she naturally wouldn't give it to anyone else without his consent.
The only exception was the young man named Vincent, because her father had asked her to do so. In Alice's opinion, her father and Beta had an excellent relationship, and Beta wouldn't refuse her request.
Because she had refused too many people, Alice's relationship with the family was a little stiff. Many people privately said that she was selfish and would rather keep and hide her special power than let her people use it.
Of course, they only dared to complain about these things in private, but the atmosphere in the entire family was indeed not very good at making use of Alice. But even so, they had to carry out Alice's orders. The reason was simple: one was that Grinton was in charge, and the other was that Alice herself was very strong.
In this atmosphere, Alice felt that it was good to go out for a walk. Besides, if she left this place, she would be able to get away from Kail a little more and not miss him so much.
Thinking of this, Alice turned her head and asked Beta, "When are you going to set off?"
"It's up to you. Our luggage is already in the space of Mystra's Mansion." Beta said, "From the bottom of my heart, the sooner the better, but in fact, we don't have much time."
"Then tomorrow." Alice sighed. "There are still some things I need to take care of."
That night, Grinton held a grand banquet to welcome Beta, Shirley, and Emma … Of course, Jessica, the maid, was welcomed, but because of her identity, none of the other nobles who came to the banquet paid much attention to her except for Grinton and Alice.
She, on the other hand, was happy to walk around and eat alone in the banquet. Born as a little beggar, she was unusually obsessed with food.
After dealing with a bunch of nobles, Beta and Grinton sat on the observation deck on the second floor. They watched the nobles who were divided into small groups and slowly drank fruit wine.
Shirley and Emma were dealing with a lot of male admirers, but Jessica was spared the pain because of her "unladylike behavior."
Another person who was harassed the most was naturally Alice. As a half-elf and Grinton's daughter, she was naturally one of the focuses.
"So far, nobody from the Temple of Woking has come to greet you." Grinton pointed at a few people below and said, "Are you really going to give up the force that you've worked so hard to establish in Bronze Drum City?"
"There's really no need." Beta smiled and said, "I'll have my own territory very soon. The Temple of Woking in Bronze Drum City will be handled by someone else. Sometimes, it's not good to be too greedy."
Grinton shook his head. "Actually, it's just that it's not worth it for me to help you."
Beta still shook his head. As long as the Temple of Woking in Bronze Drum City didn't deviate from his previous plan, it wouldn't matter who was the leader.
"Fine, I have nothing to say about you being indifferent to fame and fortune." Grinton sipped the fruit wine and pointed at the nobles below. "The holy war is coming, but not many nobles can see it. Most of them were like the group of people below them, living a life of constant change. They have no sense of crisis at all. "
Beta looked at Grinton, not knowing why he was bringing this up.
"If the holy war really breaks out … Do you think they will accept me if I return to the Elven Forest?"
Beta was stunned for a moment before he said helplessly, "You spent the first half of your life trying to gain the approval of your family, and now you want to make some sacrifices to return to the elven race? Just now you asked me if it was worth it, and now I'm asking you the same question. In order to return to the elven race, are you really going to give up your identity as a human? Is it worth it? "
Many people thought that half-elves would always be half-elves, but in reality, half-elves could become elves again. All they had to do was purify their bloodline. However, the prerequisite was also very strict, which was that they had to reach the Legendary level.
Only then would they be able to purify their bloodline.
Furthermore, after becoming a full-fledged elf, they would have to give up their identity, status, money, and pass the test of the Forest Goddess before they could return to the elven race.
Giving up things like money and power was not a big deal. However, things like family were extremely difficult to find again once they were given up.
Beta had always believed that race and identity weren't all that important. What was important was which side one's family stood on. If all of his family were on the evil side, then Beta would naturally be willing to commit all sorts of atrocities for them.
Oftentimes, it wasn't their understanding of good and evil that determined whether or not a person was good or evil. Instead, it depended on their position and alignment.
Different perspectives required different ways of doing things.
Beta was unable to understand Grinton's desire to return to the elven race, and he said, "I personally don't recommend that you truly return to the elven race. Also, even if you're a half-elf, the elven race has never treated you as outsiders. They only forbid you from returning to the holy land to worship the Forest Goddess. Seeing as there's not much of a difference, there's no need for you to become an elf again."
"But I think it's worth it."
Beta gently patted the armrest of his chair and sighed. "After 300 years, I thought you'd become more intelligent, but who would've thought that you'd still be like this … Wait, you're not such a rigid person. If you really had made a decision, you wouldn't have come to me. Something big must've happened in the elven race that requires a powerful being of your caliber. "
Grinton's body stiffened before a wry smile appeared on his face.
Beta thought for a moment before saying, "You mentioned the holy war just now, and your decision to return to the elven race most likely has something to do with the holy war as well. However, I've been investigating recently, and the divine power of the Forest Goddess has become very weak. Only the Forest Goddess would be able to make a person as responsible as you leave your own city to help the elven race. "
Grinton didn't say anything for a long time. Only after sizing up Beta a few times did he ask, "Why do you think that?"
Beta chuckled. "It's just my intuition."
Grinton clapped his hands as he said, "As expected of the master of my dream; your eyes are still as sharp as ever. That's right. The Forest Goddess secretly contacted me two hours ago. She hoped that I would return to the Elf Forest and become one of the elves. "
"The Goddess sent a messenger." Beta smiled. "That's a great honor."
Grinton didn't seem to hear the sarcasm in Beta's words. He knew very well how proud the Golden Sons were. He raised his cup. "I do hope that you can congratulate me."
"Of course I do." Beta also raised his cup. He suddenly said, "However, I'm very curious. When will you announce that you're leaving Hollevin? To be honest, you're quite a man who values love more than friends. I invited you to go out with me at noon, but you refused with the excuse that you were too busy. Now that a beautiful woman has invited you, you're in a hurry to go to her. Tsk, tsk. "
Grinton hurriedly coughed. "Be careful with your words. She's a goddess, not an ordinary person. Don't talk nonsense. "
Grinton knew that the Golden Sons had no scruples when they talked. If he allowed Beta to continue, he might say something blasphemous.
"I'm just joking." Beta said casually, "Don't tell anyone about my identity as a Golden Son or what happened in your dream. You can't even tell the Forest Goddess, or you'll be in trouble."