***
Back to the time before Jash fainted.
Inside the master bedroom of the Ramille Family Mansion.
A man with jet-black hair with a few strands falling on his temples sat on a comfortable chair, his green eyes looking at the neatly arranged documents on the table.
His hands moved at the speed of a blur as his eyes scanned the documents before signing them or putting them onto a different stack.
He continued to go through the documents submitted by the nobles under him, merchants in trade, new guilds, approval of budget and various other aspects concerning his territory.
—Creak
The door creaked open loudly, yet the man remained undisturbed.
The sound of heels clacking against the marble floor echoed amid the rustling papers.
However, the man's attention didn't waver in the slightest as if the newcomer hadn't even entered the room.
—Clack Clack!
The sound of footsteps became louder before stopping. A slender hand snaked its way onto the man's neck before a sweet voice entered his ears.
"Edward did a good job, right?"
Despite the sweetness of her voice, the man just nodded instead of voicing his opinion, knowing fully well she just wanted to start a conversation.
Not minding his response, the woman remarked, "It's close to midnight. It's their 13th birthday."
Suddenly, the man stopped going through the documents before he turned to address the woman.
"Sera, my dear, we've been over this already."
Hearing her husband's gentle tone, Sera couldn't help but bite her lips lightly.
She wanted to yell at him that it wasn't over, yet she didn't have it in her to fight with her husband.
While she was absorbed in her thoughts, her husband stood up and hugged her from behind in silence.
Taking her to the bed in his arms, she sat in his lap as he held onto her hand and caressed it.
Recalling the time his son refused to awaken, he thought, 'She is too worried about Jash.'
'Haa... She almost went crazy back then...'
Looking at the frown on his wife's face, his heart pained, but he didn't want to force his son into awakening.
'Failing it is not worth it and she knows it too.'
Absorbed in his thought, he jolted when he heard his wife speak in a rather low tone.
"Say, Carcel, what if something happens to Jash because he doesn't awaken? He only trains a little at night. He's too weak."
Carcel chose his words carefully before speaking gently, "I know you are worried, and I am too. But forcing him is not the way here. We can only hope he chooses to awaken before it is too late."
Hearing her husband's reassurance and feeling his warmth on her body, she didn't feel the need to say more.
The two knew each other like the back of their hands. It was easy for them to figure out each other's thoughts too.
"Darling, you're focusing too much on Caera, it might backfire in the long run," Carcel said in a reprimanding tone.
"So what? Brandon is in the academy and won't leave till he is 18. But when he graduates, Jash and Caera would already be in the academy!"
"Haa... You're being overprotective."
Sera didn't reply to Carcel's last comment. It was the truth, after all.
The two cuddled for the next few minutes in silence, enjoying the rare moment of reprieve from their day-to-day lives.
They didn't need to sleep for extended periods of time; they had a high degree of control over their bodies and emotions.
Thus, they didn't crave carnal activities much. But that didn't mean they never did it.
Well, they did have 3 children, so it was a no-brainer.
...
Out of nowhere, the couple felt tigs at their mind and immediately poured their mana into their storage rings.
Several items of different shapes—cuboids, cubes, spheres, keys, bracelets, tabloids, and many others—shot out.
Seeing so many of their artifacts ringing simultaneously, the couple immediately became alert, their eyes widening as they shot forward at incredible speeds.
The bed behind them cracked with the sheer strength they had used to kickstart their momentum.
The door was spared, as they left through the open balcony.
Nothing but a blur remained of their presence as the air whirred and split apart from their sheer strength.
It took them less than ten seconds to reach their destination: Jash's room. They entered directly through the balcony.
Their speed didn't give enough time for the runes to react to their mana signature and open, causing the balcony gates to shatter into pieces.
Sera dashed forward, leaving Carcel behind, who masterfully prevented any stray splinter from entering the room.
Arriving inside the room, Sera's blood froze as she saw Jash sprawled on the ground, unconscious.
Before she could rush forward and force-feed him healing potions and elixirs, Carcel held her wrist, stopping her.
"What?" She shouted in anger, her mana flaring up, ready to attack if he didn't let her go.
But when she turned to look at Carcel, she found his gaze fixed on Jash. The look on his face made her shut her complaints.
She could feel his trembling fingers and seething rage barely reeled in. 'He is the same as me...'
Sera had forgotten for a second that Carcel loved their children just as much as her, if not more.
Still, his stance of not inspecting Jash bugged her.
"There are no signs of attack. No mana signature except the artifacts."
With just these words, Sera momentarily calmed down, trying to find out what happened to her son, even if his condition took precedence.
Suddenly, a figure flashed by them and they both turned to look at the lean man, neatly dressed despite the time.
His deep black hair bore a striking resemblance to that of Carcel and Jash. The only difference being his graying hairline.
"Father..." Sera muttered in a low tone, her eyes slightly teary.
Cornelius focused solely on sensing the room with his mana sense, sending pulses into the surroundings.
"Strange..." mumbled Cornelius, a glint flashing in his eyes, as he couldn't quite put his finger on what transpired here.
The couple, who heard his mumble as if it were the loudest sound, were shocked, to say the least.
Unlike the general consensus, the duo knew much better about the extent of Cornelius's adventures during his youth and old age.
They had a hard time accepting the fact that he was unable to figure out what happened here.
"This isn't the time for this!" Sera shouted, realizing the father-son duo forgot about Jash lying there.
She barely restrained herself from rushing to check on him, unwilling to waste any more time.
Who knew what would happen if they kept delaying it?
Cornelius awkwardly averted his gaze, then stepped forward and appeared beside Jash. His mana enveloped the fainted boy, lifting him gently to the bed.
The white mana enveloping Jash appeared tainted with black, a sight that didn't surprise the couple—it seemed natural.
The mana cleared Jash's remaining sweat before Cornelius used his exceptional mana control to send tendrils of mana into his body.
'Hmm? He seems totally fine, internally and externally...'
A strange look appeared on Cornelius's face, as he couldn't find any irregularities or the cause of Jash's fainting.
By the time Cornelius checked Jash, just over a minute had passed since he fainted.