Sometime later, outside the town, the entourage from the Armstrong Duchy was returning. Kron sighed in relief, thankful that things hadn't escalated too much and that the Cromwells still showed some common sense.
If they had killed Hendrix, with the support of the King of the Vermilion Kingdom and the numerous guilds associated with the duke, the Cromwell lineage would have been wiped out.
However, as they continued their journey, Kron noticed something strange. Hendrix had been unusually quiet; he was often silent, but this time it felt different, it felt more unsettling.
"Young master, are you all right?" he inquired.
Hendrix didn't reply and simply touched his throat and shook his head.
Kron still didn't understand, confused at his gesture. While he pondered what Hendrix could mean, his eyes shot wide open in shock. "Y-you can't speak anymore? Your lungs and mana veins have been broken?"
Hendrix nodded his head, confirming Kron's thought process, and the latter's heart skipped a beat. When one awakens their class, they also awaken mana veins, which help circulate mana through the body to cast various skills.
When a mage depletes their mana, they must meditate to replenish it. The ambient mana flows through the veins, the only receptors, before being stored in the heart, where the mana pool is located.
'Doesn't this mean... that woman essentially crippled Hendrix? This is not good... how can she be so fearless?' Kron thought.
With his mana veins damaged, it would be extremely difficult for Hendrix to perform mana-related skills. Typically, recovering depleted mana took only a few hours, but in this condition, it could take a day.
'Damn it, how do I explain this to the duke?'
The happy moment abruptly turned into dread, and he couldn't help but shiver when he thought about how the duke would react.
However, something seemed off... Kron narrowed his eyes.
Hendrix didn't seem bothered by this.
Back in the Cromwell Barony, Nathan and the others were having a meeting about the upcoming tournament in five years.
Although five years seemed like a long time, they knew it was crucial to start preparing, training, and screening the children to select the best for the competition.
In the end, Hans and Nathan had suggested training the town children. As for Nyx, she would be personally trained by Aina herself.
For Nox, since he was a unique case, Nathan had already chosen a tutor for him.
However, before anything else, they needed all the children to awaken their classes!
"Mom." Nox woke up groggily, opening his eyes to see his mother cleaning his body with a warm cloth.
"Stay still." Aina sternly reprimanded Nox, who was trying to move his body. Beside him, he saw Nyx with a pout on her face, absently looking at the wall and avoiding his gaze for some reason.
'At least she's in better condition,' he thought with a smile. But when the scene of Hendrix smashing her face into the cobblestones replayed in his mind, his smile faded, and an intense aura began to emanate from his body.
~Meow~
Fluffington, who was sleeping on the same bed, stretched, jumped down, and walked toward Aina, who picked him up. He looked at her with those adorable cat eyes that would melt all hearts of ladies.
[Give me milk. I'm famished!]
"Seems like someone is hungry." Aina commented with a smile. Even though she didn't understand the cat, she could tell it was hungry.
During this time, Nox carefully examined Fluffington and noticed that the cat was unharmed.
The twins stayed in the clinic for a few more days. Fortunately, Serena, Aina, and Celine were always on standby, catering to their every need. Even Grandpa Nathan visited from time to time.
Nox and the old man often bickered about the slightest of things, making Celine reprimand them on more than one occasion because they were disturbing the peace of the clinic.
'Accepting to be Terra Vasal was the best decision I made in my life.' Touched by the abundant love and care he received, Nox smilled.
Little did he know that this decision would come back to bite him in the future.
A few days later, Nox and Nyx were finally discharged from the clinic. Without a word, Aina pulled Nyx to another part of the mansion, mentioning they had something important to do and that Grandpa was looking for him.
Because he didn't know about the meeting, Nox was confused by this action but didn't comment much. He was about to activate the dimensional key at this moment, but restrained himself.
Ever since the beating he had received from Hendrix, he had been itching to kill some monsters and increase his strength as fast as he could. At this point, he was almost obsessed with getting stronger to the point his eyes were bloodshot.
Once he gained this strength, he swore to go to the ends of the world to find that white-haired kid and repay him tenfold for the beating.
"Sigh, I need to calm down... Grandpa must be summoning me for something very important," Nox thought, massaging his temple.
"Ugh, just five years and I have to kill two people already... For some reason, I feel it'd be easier to kill Kron than the white-haired kid."
***
When Nox arrived in Nathan's study, he found the old man sitting across from him with a serious face. A rare occurrence for someone who always wore a silly smile.
"Sit," Nathan gestured to the seat opposite him. Nox obeyed, and the old man locked eyes with him.
"I know you've been curious about your father all these years and wondered why we don't talk about him much," Nathan said. "Today, I'll tell you everything about him and why he's not here."