“The army did what?” Anette asked, her mood shifting 180 degrees.
From the time Kyran left and Nolan asked who wanted to share information first, Anette had only been listening in silence. However, the more she listened to their conversation, the more she got confused, especially regarding the part where Kyran visited the Conclave. She was also confused why the Regis Patriarch requested Silas deliver an item clearly meant for Kyran. Why did the Patriarch have to ask a different person to deliver the item to Kyran when he could ask one of the Regis clan members to do that?
Anette knew how dangerous the item the Patriarch wanted Kyran to have. So she did not believe he would trust an outsider to deliver it. Honestly, she could still understand it after Silas confirmed that he became the Regis emissary. However, not long after the Patriarch gave the item to Silas, he also gave it to Gage. And Gage was clearly an outsider.
Because Silas and Gage did not want to answer without Nolan’s consent, they could only remain silent.
Before Anette’s mood changed, Nolan finally told Silas and Gage to leave the cottage first so he could talk to her alone.
The two complied because Anette appeared to be at her wit’s end. They did not want to receive the brunt of her anger when it happened.
Nolan and Anette remained in the cottage while he gave a brief explanation of Kyran’s actual situation. Before he could finish the explanation, she already understood the gist of the story and was now seething in anger.
“Yeah, I know.”
Contrary to how Nolan usually acted when there were people around, his attitude right now was very different.
Anette glared at him.
“Why did you not tell me?”
“The less who knows, the better.”
“You dare agree with the army?” She exclaimed.
Nolan’s eyes narrowed while looking at Anette. He understood why she was angry, but her outburst would not help Kyran or the whole Regis’s situation.
“Tell me. Is it better to let everyone know about the kid’s magic? Would you rather see the whole empire fear him and despise the Regis Clan for hiding him? Having the army conceal the truth is better. At least we can prepare for a turnaround.”
“Don’t give me that! The army or that double-faced family has done a lot of damage to the whole empire for hundreds of years! It has to stop!”
“And it will. But not now. The Regis are strong, yes, but if Kyran’s secret is known by the other factions, even with the discord among them, do you think the Regis could protect him? They are not omnipotent, especially Cade. Though I admit his domineering aura can give people that impression, the truth, it is all a facade. You know that perfectly well.”
Anette wanted to argue. However, she understood what Nolan meant.
Though there was hidden discord between the different factions in the empire, once Kyran’s secret of having Void Magic was known, they would definitely put aside their differences in the pretence of dealing with a common enemy. After all, they were dealing with a person that could become the second Dark Sage. When that happened, the Regis, no matter how strong their combat abilities were, would not be able to fight against them.
Seeing that Anette had finally stopped arguing, Nolan gave a faint smile and said, “Luckily, the kid is a f*cking genius. Once he grows, not only his magic control but also in knowledge on different studies of magic and arrays, then the time to retaliate will definitely appear.”
Anette finally looked a little convinced.
What Nolan said was true. The Regis alone could not fight against the combined strength of all factions in the empire, but there would definitely be a great upset if you added a Void Master to the equation.
It was not an exaggeration. That was how powerful the Void Master was.
Kyran was the new Void Master, but his strength was a far cry from his predecessor. However, it would be a different story once his mastery over his magic improves.
“For how long? If Kyran has only started learning magic then—.”
“As I said, the kid’s a f*cking genius to the point I’d like to crack his head open and see if his brain is still human.”
Anette glared at Nolan’s words.
“You—.”
“I won’t, though. I don’t want to face Ri—Cade’s wrath. Anyway,” Nolan hastily changed the subject, “You’ve seen him use the Regis technique. His mastery over it is the same if not better than Cade when he was his age.”
Anette sighed. It was true. When Kyran evaded Nolan’s punch earlier, she almost saw Cade’s shadow in his movements.
“Cade taught him well. Now what he lacked is magic knowledge,” Nolan continued. He paused briefly after recalling something and added, “But he’s learned quite a lot from the time I left him.”
“What do you mean?”
Nolan smiled faintly, “The first day we met, the kid practically had zero knowledge about magic. He did not even know anything about magic arrays, not to mention their difference with array creation. But earlier, I saw him read through this cottage’s array calculation and knew he must have learned something back in the Conclave after waking up.”
Anette slightly frowned after being reminded of the Conclave.
“Can we really trust the Conclave?”
Nolan grinned.
“Don’t worry, the Conclave’s missy is infatuated with the kid. She will not betray him.”
Looking at him with a blank expression, Anette wondered how this grown man could tease about these things like some youth in his puberty.
“Now, I only need to test how much the kid has improved. At least then we can have a better picture of how much strength he still needed. I reckoned the kid already thought of a plan in retaliation to the army, and he will definitely ask me about it.”
“Hence the ‘let’s talk later’,” Anette commented, remembering what Kyran had said to Nolan before he left.
Nolan nodded.
“The Conclave’s missy also asked me to train him, but I already decided to do that even without her asking. But if I do train him, I will have to take him away.”
“Are you planning to take him to that place?” Anette asked, her expression turning solemn.
“Yes. At most, the Regis could hold for a month or two. Until then, I will prepare the kid.”
Anette fell silent. Thinking about the place Nolan had mentioned, she also thought it was a good place for Kyran to improve. But everything would still depend on Kyran’s ability to learn and improve.
‘Apart from this, his condition at the moment is…’ Anette thought, remembering the unstable flow of energy she felt around him.
Other people would not be able to perceive this energy. It was an ability that few possessed, and Anette was one of them.
“Before then, let me take a good look at him first,” she finally decided.
As much as she wanted to help save her dear friends, the only thing she could do was keep their son safe while they came up with a plan on how to fight back.
Nolan recalled Anette’s words about Kyran not being in good condition, and he frowned slightly. He was aware of her ability, and because of this, she became an irreplaceable member of their team.
“What is wrong with the kid?” He asked.
He remembered Kyran fell into a coma because his magic had become too powerful for him to contain. But since he had woken up, Nolan thought he had already recovered. Remembering Anette’s words, however, bothered him.
Seeing Nolan’s concerned expression, Anette could not help but smile.
‘You acted like an ass and indifferent around him, but the truth, you do care about him.’ She thought.
“The flow of energy in his body appeared to have been disrupted by something. Nothing really critical at this point. What I am worried about is more with his overall mental and physical condition,” Anette explained and remembering how Nolan insisted on letting Kyran create another scroll, she glared at him.
“And yet you still acted like a prick and insisted on letting him make another scroll!”
Nolan scowled at her as he remembered he had lost the last two transmission scrolls.
“I needed those scrolls!”
“Are those scrolls more important than Kyran’s health?” Anette replied with a soft growl.
Honestly, she understood Nolan’s unwillingness in letting go of those scrolls. After all, acquiring such a treasure was really hard. Most of all, he was not aware of how the scroll was made. If he knew, he would not have acted like this.
“How will it affect him? It’s not like he’s going to sacrifice his life just making one!” Nolan grumbled.
Anette did not reply after hearing this. She just stared at him meaningfully.
Her silence proved to be effective as Nolan stared at her suspiciously.
“No way… I’m right?” He asked with his eyes widening in realization.
Anette sighed.
“I made a promise not tell. So I’ll leave it to your imagination. You can ask Kyran if you want. Whether he answers you or not depends on him, of course,” she replied.
Nolan heaved a sigh but no longer pursued the subject. He and the kid would have time to catch up later.
“Now, let’s get one thing straight first. I have not changed my mind about going with Kyran to the ruins,” Anette changed the subject.
“No.”
“Yes,” she interjected. “I told you about his condition.”
“You just said it was nothing serious! What the hell is really wrong with his condition?”
Anette sneered, “You’re that concerned about him? Have you finally decided to act like a proper un—.”
“Argh! Fine! Go with him! I don’t f*cking care!” Nolan interrupted with a growl.
“I will look after him,” Anette said solemnly.
Nolan did not reply. He just sat with his arms crossed across his chest with a scowl on his face. Anette chuckled at this because he looked like a sulking kid.
Suddenly, a knock came at the door, and Gage’s voice sounded from behind.
“He’s back.”