When Aish reached Artemis, she was standing outside the training grounds, watching over Amelia's physical training. Asher was training her today, or more like playing tag with her, as they were just running after each other for now.
Artemis looked at Aish and said, "Are you feeling fine now?"
"Yeah, don't worry. It was just a nightmare." Aish reassured me.
Artemis nodded her head while saying, "Don't stress too much; once your body is perfectly fine, the effects of the curse will all vanish. Till then, just rest properly."
"Okay." Aish replied, while busy watching as Amelia was now lying on the ground, huffing loudly while Asher was standing a little far from her acting tired. Aish smiled a little when he saw Amelia suddenly stand up and jump to catch Asher off guard, only to fall face first on the ground.
Artemis, too, looked at the scene and said without turning her head, "Myra said you're planning on taking the potion first. Any reason you are feeling confident about it?"
"The book had detailed information about the potion recipe and its effects. It's a completed research journal, so don't worry." Aish said while looking at Artemis, trying to see what she was thinking, only to be stumped because he could not read any expression on her face.
Artemis finally turned her head and looked at Aish, and this time asked in a much more serious tone, while looking at Aish's face unblinkingly, "Myra also said you're planning to get a slave from Belmont's."
Artemis watched as Aish's face turned serious at that mention, and gone was the playfulness from before. She then continued, "You do know that even if we don't fight within ourselves. The rest of the duke family are our competitors. Plus, your father does not like slavery; are you sure about your decisions?"
Aish took a deep breath, knowing all his future depended on this moment. If he cannot convince Artemis, then there is only one option left for him, and that is to act as a seer.
'I really do not want to take that route. Though it would benefit me at the beginning, as the plot progresses and I change stuff, my star card will turn useless.'
Aish opened his eyes and said in a serious tone, "She is Esme's sister, mother."
Aish watched as Artemis had her eyes widened, a surprised look for a second, and then her eyes started turning red in anger.
'So, she already knows about Esme. Fuck'
Artemis was surprised because just yesterday she figured out about Esme being a vampire spy who was using a bloodline suppressor artifact to conceal her vampire traits. Artemis thought that Aish was doing this because he was emotionally attached to her, or it was one of Esme's schemes to ruin the relationship between the two Duke houses.
Aish, already expecting what Artemis was thinking, continued saying, "I already knew about her secret mother."
If Artemis was surprised to learn that there were spies planted in her house, then now she was shocked that her own son, who knew about it, had hidden the fact. "How and since when?" she asked, her tone a little bit colder now.
Aish, without avoiding eye contact, said, "It's been a long time." Aish watched as Artemis clenched her fists in anger, but before she could ask for anything else, he took charge of the conversation and continued, "She's not the enemy's mother. At least not now. She was also the one who told me about Beric and Chiron, and in return I promised to help her in freeing her sister."
Artemis took a deep breath to calm down as she thought about everything that I said and any motive for Esme to help us catch the traitors. When she could not figure that out, she asked the other question, "You still haven't explained how you knew about her being a vampire and why you decided to keep that information to yourself."
"I had signed a contract for secrecy, mother. Before you ask, it is not with Esme, and I cannot tell you anything else about this. Not till my awakening at least." Aish said.
"You didn't agree on becoming an avatar of some God, did you?" Artemis asked in a high-pitched tone. She forgot all about previous problems; this one took all priorities. If her son is tricked into being an avatar of some random god, the effects it could have on his future would be unimaginable.
_
*** [Becoming an avatar meant being selected as a chosen one of any God. Now this is good news, as you can get the full legacy and all the powers of that God. But it also brings you trouble too, as that God's sole successor—his followers, his friends, and his enemies—will all take notice of you. And getting thrown into that mess while not having the strength to protect yourself would only lead to certain death.
Though losing an avatar would affect the god too, as they will lose one of their powers forever, which their avatar was most proficient in. But some gods still trick people just to entertain themselves.
One God can only have one avatar at a time. But blessings can be given to anyone, anytime, without any restrictions, but the avatar or chosen one needs the approval of both parties.
_
Aish held her hand and said in a calm tone, "Of course not, mother. It was only about me not sharing their identity till my awakening, nothing else. Don't worry."
Hearing his words, Artemis calmed down, as the worst results that she expected did not happen, but still, a god who hides his/her identity was a big red flag in her eyes. She got lost in her thoughts as lots of questions started rising.
'Is it a fallen God or some evil one?'
'Why would they sign a contract with a kid?'
'When did this even happen? Why didn't she know?'
'And what kind of God watches when their contractee is cursed and dying?'
'Should I ask her for help? Her magic is a loophole for secret contracts.
When the last thought crossed Artemis's mind, she finally calmed down. It looked like she had found the perfect solution, and in a way she had. But Aish did not know anything, so he was relaxed seeing Artemis. If he did, he would be cursing his luck for the N'th time today.
Artemis planned to ask for help from someone who was the avatar of the Greek goddess Psyche, her sister, the queen of Schilla, Athena von Schott, also known as the sear of the soul.
_
As Artemis had figured out a way to learn the secret identity of this God, or whoever it is, she had calmed down. As for Aish's request to help Esme's sister, since Esme did help them in catching the traitors and all she asked in return was to free a slave, she agreed too. But Aish's next words surprised her again.
"I also want you to release Esme from prison, mother," he said.
Artemis glared at him and asked, "Why?"
"Because she's not the one who cursed me," said Aish.
"Even if she didn't, I wouldn't allow her to stay anywhere near my children. And that's the end of it." Artemis said in a stern tone, clearly stating her final terms.
"That's fine. At least she'll be alive." Aish sounded disappointed, like he reluctantly agreed since he had no other choice. While in his heart, he was jumping happily that he finally did it.
Artemis smiled and pulled his ear—"Don't try to act smart with me, kid."
Aish, whose head turned 45° sideways as Artemis rolled his ear, said, trying hard to act just like how original Aish used to in these situations: "Ahh, ouch, ouch, mother, it hurts."
"Say this is what you wanted, right?" replied Artemis, pushing his hand away with mana.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Aish said as he looked the other way, trying to whistle, but all he did was blow air.
"Don't forget I'm your mother, my dear Aish. and you are still a 10-year-old kid," said Artemis as she let go of his ear, which is now deep red in color.
'She really does like to tease and torture her kids, huhh,' Aish thought as he massaged his ear, which was stinging in little pain now.
"Hmmm, should I share what you used to do when you were my age? Aunt Athena was a little so happy to tell me all about your secret adventures when she visited us last time." Aish said with a smug smile; he knew all too well what kind of character this villain's mother had. It was only after she married into the Floren family that her personality changed a little; otherwise, she was a soaring trouble magnet.
Artemis coughed and avoided the look while thinking about teaching her sister a lesson on not spilling her secrets to her son.
_
Far away from Damascus, in the capital city of Haven, an enchantingly beautiful lady who was currently playing with a little girl had a shiver run down her spine as she looked in the north direction, confused by this sudden instinct to hide. As for just confirming her doubts, she heard a sweet voice in her head that said, "It was nice knowing you, human. We'll meet each other soon."
The lady pouted in response as she thought, 'Damn Psyche, you better save me if something happens. I am your favorite girl, right? Which earned a soft chuckle from the voice as a response and nothing else.
'Looks like one of the kids ratted me out,' the lady said in her heart.
"I warned you to keep quiet," the voice said.
The lady looked at the little girl playing alone and thought, 'Should I cancel her birthday celebration?'
_
Artemis cleared her throat and asked, "So what do you plan to do with Esme?"
Aish said, "Her sister is sick, and she promised me some gifts if we take care of her."
"Gifts that were enough to entice you, my little fish. Are you getting greedy, or is she being generous?" Artemis asked in a teasing tone, intrigued to learn what kinds of gifts this vampire promised, which could make the heir of a duchy agree for help.
Though Aish was a kid, he was taught by the best people in the empire, so his knowledge about the world was far beyond what kids his age should have, plus the genes of two geniuses also helped. [So, no one doubts why Artemis did not think Aish agreed to help for a lollipop.]
"Don't worry, I'll share." Aish said while smiling.
Artemis just hummed a little and said, "That aside, it looks like you've been keeping lots of secrets from me, Aish. Do you not trust us, or did you grow up too fast?"
Now this was a question that stumped Aish, as he had no answer for this. Though he could continue lying like he did till now, something told him that Artemis would not ignore this.
So, he used his trump card, the divine move, an act that he knew would never fail, something that he learned from original Aish's memories. He hugged Artemis and planted a kiss on her cheeks, saying, "I'm always my mama's boy." So just trust me with this once, pretty please."
Artemis' smile bloomed on her face as she heard those words and said, "Fine."
'Damn, so embarrassing,' Aish thought as he looked at Artemis's face, but a little smile did form on his face as he watched her smile.
Artemis patted his shoulder and said, "But you better explain everything before Rebecca's birthday."
She smiled a little when she saw the shocked look on Aish's face and thought, 'That's what you get for trying to act smart with your mother. hmmh'
With that, she left to play with Amelia, who was now hiding behind a tree, peeking every few seconds, holding her laugh as she looked at Asher looking around for her.
_
Aish, who was left standing there alone, had a grim look on his face after hearing those words. As he understood the true meaning behind them, he thought, 'dammit. solves one problem and another arises.'
'I could have fooled Artemis by putting all the blame on the goddess who will give her blessing to me during the awakening, but how did I forget about her powers? She will know everything in just one glance.'
'Fuck'
'Though, on a side note, I do wonder what my soul would look like in her eyes.'
'Wait, am I getting distracted so easily? Damn, being a kid stink.'
"I should just go and get my vamp first."
##