When the morning sun rose above the horizon, the caravan continued its journey. After several hours of travel, the majestic walls of the Steelheart Family’s manor finally ca into view, towering high like a fortress forged from stone and steel.
Nestled at the base of Blackfang Mountain, the Steelheart manor was more fortress than residence. Its walls stood nearly fifty ters tall, built not only to impress but to defend as ever once in a while, a beast tide would descend from the mountains, threatening the surrounding area.
...
In front of the massive gate, there were several people standing up as if they were waiting for the arrival of soone.
At this ti, Nyxrael’s voice echoed in Jas’s mind through their connection, catching him off guard.
"My Lord, there’s soone here at the Legendary Knight Rank. And he’s not a newly ascended one either."
’So my sister wasn’t lying when she said Father broke through to Legendary Knight?’ Jas thought to himself for a mont before asking Nyxrael to confirm it. "What does this person look like?"
"A handso middle-aged man in his mid-forties," Nyxrael replied. "Short white hair, red eyes, and an aura that’s calm yet carries terrifying sharpness."
’It’s him... Father.’ Jas exhaled slowly, his thoughts swirling in confusion. ’But why didn’t he even tell his own son about sothing this big?’
Before he could ponder further, Uncle Gareth nudged him from the side."What are you thinking about? We’ve arrived."
"Oh?" Jas raised an eyebrow and chuckled. "Let’s go. I don’t know why, but I feel like I’ve been away for so long."
Gareth shook his head helplessly and got out of the carriage first, followed by Eldric.
’It seems my life won’t be so dull since even the Steelheart Family itself contained so secrets that even its young master had no idea about.’ Jas grinned widely as he stepped out of the carriage.
However, just as he shifted his gaze at the Legendary Knight Rank, who smiled satisfiedly at him, he noticed that a small figure sprinted toward him at full speed.
"Big Brother Jas!!"
Instinctively, Jas caught the tiny body that leapt into his arms. It was his little sister, Elara, her eyes brimming with tears.
"Elara, why are you crying?" Jas patted her back softly as he tried reassuring her even though he had no idea why she cried.
"M-Mom and Dad said you were going to fight bad guys... That’s why Daddy sent Uncle Gareth and Halden to protect you!" Elara tightened her grip on his clothes as she said sothing that Jas hadn’t realized.
’Wait, he also sent Sir Halden?’ Jas raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised about the information because Gareth himself said that he was the only reinforcent that was sent by his dad.
He then glanced at Nyxrael, asking him through their connection from the system. "How many Epic Knights are currently in here?"
"Excluding myself and your uncle, there are two Epic Knight Ranks inside the manor, My Lord." Nyxrael replied.
"So that’s how it is... Seems like we’ll have quite a few things to talk about later, Dad." Jas smiled and looked at the handso middle-aged man, who shook his head helplessly with a bitter smile.
"Cassian, enjoy your family reunion," Gareth patted the middle-aged man’s shoulder and whistled. "I’ll head to the border in case anyone tries sothing stupid."
"Be careful," Cassian replied with a smile. "If anything happens, contact imdiately."
Then, he looked at his son and sighed softly. "We’ll talk later."
Subsequently, his eyes shifted toward Eldric, and his expression brightened. "Sir Eldric, welco to our humble manor."
Eldric quickly stepped forward and cupped his fists respectfully. "Duke Cassian, please don’t be so formal with . I apologize for visiting without prior notice and causing any inconvenience."
As Cassian and Eldric greeted each other, a gorgeous woman who looked like she was still in her early 30s ca over to Jas with a worried expression. "Jas, are you okay?"
"Evelyn, what are you worrying about now?" Gareth chuckled as he mounted his horse that he had just called.
"Oh, shut it, Gareth!" Evelyn snapped without missing a beat. "Stop loitering and go already!"
"Loitering, my ass." Gareth rolled his eyes and nudged the horse, imdiately leaving the scene as he couldn’t be bothered to argue with her.
"I’m fine, Mom." Jas responded with a warm smile, looking at the gorgeous woman with black hair and blue eyes that looked exactly like his.
"That’s good." Evelyn nodded her head in relief before pulling him away towards the gate. "Let’s eat first. I’ve prepared all your favorite dishes."
"Elara helped too!" Elara said excitedly, looking up at Jas as if she wanted to be praised.
"Really? Elara’s the best." Jas petted her hair with a smile, making Elara smile cutely as she enjoyed being petted by her brother.
""The best, huh? The best at tasting everything before it even reaches the table, maybe." Evelyn smirked mischievously and pinched the little girl’s cheek on Jas’s arm.
"Mom!" Elara pouted adorably, turning her face away in mock anger as Jas and Evelyn both laughed.
’So this is what it feels like to have a family.’ Jas smiled, holding himself back to not cry from happiness because this was the first ti he had ever felt such things, as he was an orphan and grew up in an orphanage in his previous life.
He clenched his fists slightly, swallowing the lump in his throat as a quiet smile spread across his face.
’I’ll protect this... no matter what.’
As they passed through the grand gate, Jas couldn’t help but admire the familiar yet breathtaking view before him.
From the gate to the main building stretched a wide stone path, nearly a hundred ters long, lined with well-tended gardens on both sides. Lush greenery filled the area as rows of trimd hedges, blooming flowers of every color, and towering oak trees that swayed gently in the breeze.
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