The person's remark made the senior Pacifer's Servants who accompanied Basil widen their eyes. It wasn't because they couldn't believe they could find the Pacifers living unhard behind the Barrier, nor was it because the beautiful woman was a Maha Dmitra. It was where her eyes landed. Instead of looking at Basil, she was looking at Iliana.
"Ah! You have found the Fated Child," the woman remarked in surprise as she turned to Basil.
She scurried over to Basil and then held his hand. The woman had a very strong resemblance to his mother. Saying they might be twins wouldn't be an exaggeration. Basil didn't know his mother well but he was sure they crossed each other personality-wise.
Looking down at the woman holding his hand as if he was the saviour, Basil quirked an eyebrow. He was slightly unnerved by the stars he saw in the woman's eyes.
"My na is Margaret Pacifer. I am one of the Maha Dmitras taking care of the village."
Nodding his head, Basil remarked, "You look incredibly stunning. You remind so much of Maya Pacifer."
Margaret imdiately frowned, wondering how Basil could know Maya. "Maya never left the village after that incident…. How did you even know—don't tell …" Her eyes widened in surprise. "I am Basil Pacifer, son of Maya Pacifer. I am here to know more about your origin."
"Maya—that lass…she did that."
The muttering made Basil slightly impatient. He retracted the hand Margaret was holding and stared at her stoically. This jolted Margaret out of her daze. She turned to Iliana and Iliana stared at her back emptily.
"I am Maya Pacifer's sister…your aunt. That lass over there is your sister…in a way." She pointed at Iliana who remained silent and stiff.
Basil quirked an eyebrow, telling her to continue with his eyes. Margaret shook her head, bowed at him and then politely asked him to follow her. Gesturing at the two shell-shocked veterans he brought, he told Margaret to lead the way. Busy with their thoughts, the five people followed Margaret absentmindedly.
They were soon awakened from their thoughts when they noticed the gaze that the people were giving them. So of them were curious about who the five people were but most of them were focused on Basil, or rather, the Pacifer Seal on his forehead.
A reverent look adorned their faces as they looked at Basil. The saviour had co—they thought blissfully. They had beco increasingly sceptic over the past years. Millennia had passed since the First Matriarch declared that the Fated Child would be born. Countless tragedies had befallen them, so they couldn't help feeling cynic.
They were glad they could finally the Fated Child. To be exact, they were glad that the Fated Child was born in their era—they had never once doubted the existence of the Fated Child.
The people's gaze beca more intense as Basil reached the biggest building in the small village which had no more than one hundred people in it. Without anyone telling him what the building was or asking the Guide about it, he could already tell what it was: the building where all of the Maha Dmitras gathered.
As Basil wondered what the Maha Dmitras would say to him the mont they saw him, Xander and Cyrus looked around nostalgically. Other than the mood, the Pacifer village remained the way it was two millennia ago. It was still filled with stunning beauties, making them nervous as they were walking in it.
It was hilarious for the two old n since they thought nothing would faze them any longer. Unfortunately for them, the two millennia they spent in solitude affected them more than they liked.
"Ah, it is the Maha Dmitras…"
"Behave yourself. We are in the middle of a historical event."
Xander and Cyrus straightened their posture as five won ca out of the building. One of the won was an elderly-yet-beautiful-nonetheless woman. Two of them looked aged but their beauty and charm could top those of young won. The remaining two were neither young nor old. They looked mature and that aspect made their beauty even more irresistible.
Looking at them, none of Basil's party made a reaction. Xander and Cyrus were no longer at the age where they drooled over every attractive woman they saw; Iliana and Ione were not impressed because they were beauties themselves and Basil was…just being himself.
"Welco, the Fated Child," the oldest-looking woman greeted. "Your arrival is sothing we didn't expect but we rejoice extrely. We have been on edge for the past years, thinking we will never get the chance to witness the arrival of the Fated Child."
"Basil Pacifer," the handso man introduced himself politely. "It is nice to et you, Zina Pacifer. Pardon for being rude but I need you to tell what happened to my mother."
The eldest Maha Dmitra widened her eyes before smiling softly. "My…you do know a lot of things, don't you?" She chuckled heartily. Glancing at Iliana once, she nodded her head. "Well, soone was not being honest, I see. It is no wonder that you are curious about it."
"Will you tell about it?"
"That straightforwardness reminds so much of your mother, Maya. She abhorred dilly-dallying." Basil gave no reaction, prompting Zina to smile bitterly. "In a way, I am your great-grandmother, you know?"
"How is it relevant to what happened to my mother?"
Zina's mouth twitched as her fellow Maha Dmitras chuckled. The Fated Child indeed resembled Maya greatly. Though, they wondered why he didn't look like his parents. Even Iliana who was the exact copy of Maya still had so resemblance with her father, Halton Rotherre.
Of course, they were just pretending to be clueless so they had an excuse to entertain such a thought. They knew it was because of what Maya had done and it made them worry.
They wondered what Basil's reaction would be when he heard the truth. What would hurt him more? The fact that his mother had never been by his side or what his mother had done to procure him. Either way, it would be more hurtful if they kept it a secret longer.
Their thought finished when they reached the private guest room that they had prepared for this situation. They didn't expect to use the room when they built it, but they were glad they got to use it.
Sitting on the sofa across from the one Basil sat on, the six Maha Dmitras took a deep breath collectively. They instinctively did that the mont they locked their gaze on Basil's golden eyes. They couldn't fathom what it conveyed at all. However, one thing was sure: those eyes made it clear that he was the real owner of the Pacifer.
"Kuhum! It is extrely surreal to think that my in-a-way grandson turns out to be the Fated Child. Gosh, that lass! She always liked doing things without telling in advance," Margaret lanted with an empty chuckle. "Also, I am glad that my descendants can finally outlive ."
Margaret had three daughters. She raised them on her own because her husband died the mont she gave birth to them—the Pacifer's Curse. She loved them dearly, yet fate was cruel to her. Each raid took one of them from her. She had waited for two hundred years to have them, yet she lost them over decades.
It was truly heartbreaking for her—to bury the child she loved so dearly. She had more than once wished to take her daughter's place. She would rather die than bury her daughter again. Alas, it happened again. Only one of the three twins survived and it was the one who gave birth to Basil's mother, Maya Pacifer.
She raised Maya lovingly and more carefully than she did her daughters. She had had enough of burying her descendants, so she wanted to keep this one alive as long as possible. Alas, this one was too adventurous for her good. She had tried to shelter her from danger, yet she still ended up coming at it herself.
She eventually gave up telling the granddaughter what to do and she was glad she did that because she could once again see her descendant cradling a baby. Her partner was a good man and her child was cuter than she had been.
Things would have been perfect if it remained the sa. Much to her indignation, she also lost her granddaughter in a raid. Fortunately, she still had her great-granddaughter. Unfortunately, the said great-granddaughter was not with her until this mont.
Seeing her healthy and alive sitting on the sofa across from her was enough to make her shed tears of happiness. Added to that, she also got to et the great-grandson whom she thought she would never et, who also happened to be the person they had been waiting for two millennia.
"Kuhum! Halton Rotherre was a strong man. He surprised when he declared he was ready to bear the burden of becoming a husband of a Pacifer. I like that lad more than I do my husband." Margaret chuckled. "I an it. Only a few n can live more than a year after impregnating a Pacifer woman."
Looking at Basil's reaction, Margaret was t with a look that said 'why do I even need to hear it?' She chuckled again, wondering if she was talking to her daughter.
"From what I rember, Maya had you when she and Iliana were with Halton in Lichtenberg. She was afraid that travelling might endanger you, so she stayed there. She beca fond of the place and refused to co ho eventually. Fortunately, her attachnt to that place disappeared right when you were born."
It was the ti when Maya thought it was ti to return. Iliana involuntarily recalled the day. Small and young she was at that ti; she could perfectly recall the mory. She was peeking at her little brother who was sleeping in the crib. She wanted to see her brother's eyes badly. Those black eyes of his couldn't stop fascinating her.
"Iliana, do you like your brother?"
"Hm? Of course!"
She was only two years old but she could already speak clearly. She was beyond intelligent amongst her peers and even surpassed those five years older than she was.
"Are we going back to the village?" her big red eyes stared at her mother curiously.
"Yes, we are going back to the village. Your brother needs to see his grandmother," Maya replied with a chuckle.
"Then, daddy, why do you look like you are going to the battlefield?"
"That is…" Her father hesitated before smiling wryly. "I feel like so bandit will stand in our way."
Her father looked like she was joking, so she laughed as he chuckled helplessly. What happened afterwards would separate her from her brother for more than a decade.
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