Chapter 118: Threads of Fate

Meanwhile in Northwatch — Guest House

After Lady Aisha left, Ethan remained in the room and set straight to work. He took out the herbs he’d gathered that morning from his Inventory laying out the fresh bundles on the wooden bench, along with the remaining three century-old ginseng roots he still had left after using for both Peter and Luna. First, he drew out large quantities of Moonleaf and Silverleaf, both known for stabilizing vital energy while gradually removing impurities from the body.

These herbs also helped increase strength steadily, without placing any heavy burden on an ordinary person’s constitution. Ethan then added the century-old ginseng, along with a handful of other supporting herbs, and let the process continue for several hours. Finally, a shimmering, golden-blue liquid formed within the cauldron. Ethan studied it with quiet satisfaction, then brought out a few dozen small containers and filled each one carefully to the brim.

Ethan planned to increase Elene’s strength steadily, so that by the time he finally acquired the elixir meant to cure her, her body would actually be able to withstand its overwhelming potency. The rest of the herbs, meanwhile, would help control her symptoms in the interim, easing what little suffering the holy energy couldn’t remove entirely.

After finishing with everything, Ethan made his way to the private suite on the third floor. Iron Wolf stood guard at the door, and upon seeing Ethan approach, quickly bowed. Given the circumstances earlier, Ethan hadn’t had the chance to properly ask what had happened, so he took the opportunity now. Iron Wolf explained, in careful detail, the reason for his delay.

I should have known. Given his cautious personality he would be reluctant to meet a stranger... and it also seems Kael is on the verge of his breakthrough, close enough that he managed to slip past Iron Wolf’s senses entirely. Ethan considered the thought calmly.

He thought Iron Wolf would be able to sense anyone with the strength of a Great Knight... but he didn’t expect Kael to continuously use the Night Sovereign Art to escape his senses.

"Get up," Ethan said.

Iron Wolf rose, his posture rigid, clearly bracing himself, assuming Ethan must be furious over both the delay and the trouble it had caused the Ashwood family. Instead, Ethan simply told him to register as a mercenary at the Adventurer’s Guild and report back once it was done. Only then did visible relief sweep through Iron Wolf’s entire frame.

Ethan knocked at the door. A young maid answered, offered a small nod upon seeing him, before quietly stepping out and closing the door.

Ethan stepped inside, Elene sat propped against the plush headboard, the colour returning to her cheeks as Sepharina and Anna seated beside her on the bed resting their heads comfortably on her shoulder as their mother gently ran her fingers through their hair. William remained in the wooden chair nearby, a warm smile settled across his face at the simple sight of his family together and at ease after so long. The moment they heard footsteps, all of them turned, and upon seeing Ethan, quickly rose to their feet, their expressions still carrying nervous awkwardness from the sheer luxury of their surroundings.

"Young Master..." they said in unison, bowing immediately.

Earlier, after the Bishop had finished treating Elene, William had very nearly dropped to his knees entirely, tears welling in his eyes, and both sisters had moved to follow his lead, only for Ethan and Aisha to step in quickly and stop them before they could. Ethan had gently reprimanded them afterward, telling them plainly there was no need for such things between them.

Ethan offered a calm smile and gestured for everyone to sit. He could already sense how uncomfortable they felt, unused to an atmosphere this unfamiliar and grand, but for now, ensuring Elene received proper care and nutrition and constant monitoring to fight off the disease mattered more than easing their discomfort over the surroundings.

They’d tried to refuse when they first learned they’d need to stay for several weeks, knowing full well a place this lavish would cost at least a few dozen gold a night, to say nothing of the staggering expense of a Bishop’s healing. But Ethan gently insisted they make themselves at home and set the worry aside entirely.

"Are you feeling well, Mrs. Ashwood?" Ethan asked softly.

"Much better, Young Master," Elene replied, her eyes shining with profound warmth as she looked at the boy before her. " The pain has eased considerably."

Ethan then brought out the elixirs he’d prepared. Every set of eyes in the room widened at the sight of them. He gave the family a moment to take it in before explaining that Elene would need to take one of these elixirs every day, steadily building her strength in preparation for what was still to come.

Elene and William desperately wanted to ask whether all of this was truly all right, in the span of a single day, they’d witnessed more than they’d seen across their entire lives combined, but remembering Ethan’s earlier words, they found themselves swallowing the question down instead.

The whole family remained deeply curious about who Ethan actually was, and why he was going to such extraordinary lengths for people like them. They could sense nothing but genuine kindness and honesty radiating from him, something entirely unlike anything they’d known in their lives before this, and yet some part of each of them still struggled to fully accept the sheer scale of what they were receiving.

Finally, Sepharina and Anna gathered their courage.

"Y-Young Master... can... can we ask who you are?" they stammered, their voices barely above a whisper.

William and Elene gasped, both looked at their daughters in surprise, having never expected either of them to actually voice the question aloud, even though they themselves had wanted to ask the very same question, but had never dared to voice it for fear of offending their saviour.

Ethan had already been considering revealing his identity to them eventually, though he’d assumed they wouldn’t be ready to handle it just yet. Sepharina’s sudden question caught him slightly off guard, though perhaps it shouldn’t have.

Still, he certainly hadn’t expected Anna to ask as well. Of the two, Anna had always been the more reserved, but the very first time they’d met, sepharina treated him differently than the rest of her family, less like a benefactor to be treated with respect from a careful distance, and more like someone familiar, almost like a friend, rather than addressing him with the same careful formality the others instinctively used. Only now did he fully register just how much her manner toward him had shifted since then, carrying genuine respect now, but the earlier curious girl who asked questions about how he got so strong and shot back when he mentioned talent disappeared.

She was better off that way, he thought. Something about Sepharina’s early behavior reminded him, faintly, of someone from his previous life, a subordinate no... closer to a true friend, someone who’d continued treating him exactly the same even after learning precisely who he truly was.

He glanced around at the rest of the family and could sense that all of them were waiting, equally eager to hear his answer. They already understood, from everything they’d witnessed, that he was almost certainly a scion of high noble house, but hearing the truth stated plainly was an entirely different matter from simply assuming it. Everyone in the room swallowed hard, bracing themselves. Even Elene, weakened as she was, watched him with unmistakable, quiet anticipation.

"I am Ethan Ravencrest. The Sword of the North’s child."

The moment the words left his mouth, William’s expression shattered into pure shock. His legs buckled beneath him, and he gripped the armrest of his chair hard enough to whiten his knuckles before fainting entirely.

"Father!" Anna and Sepharina gasped, their mouths hanging wide open as they stammered incoherently, their minds utterly paralyzed by the revelation that the boy standing in front of them was the direct lineage of the Northern Overlord.

Ironically, only Elene, despite possessing the most fragile strength of anyone in the room, managed to absorb the revelation with calm. Though her hands trembled against her blanket, she stared at Ethan with an awe-struck gaze.

---

Unknown Location — Northern Frontier

In the endless, pitch black expanse, a pair of crimson eyes ignited like twin stars.

"Did you find out what they did to her?" The woman’s voice echoed softly through the dark void.

"No, my Lady..." the man said, his voice heavy with disappointment.

"What happened?"

He recounted the events carefully, detail by detail, finally explaining how he’d been forced to retreat once the Masked Man intervened.

The woman remained silent for several long seconds.

"Find out if it’s opened," she instructed him.

The instant the words left her lips, the man’s humanoid form distorted, retreating back into the shape of a massive silhouette of an ancient beast. With a swipe of its massive claws, a massive spatial rift tore open in the void, and the beast stepped through, vanishing into the rift before it snapped shut.

The woman’s thoughts drifted toward the small, silver-furred cub she’d glimpsed beside Ethan. At first, she’d sensed only a faint, unplaceable familiarity, but slowly, her memory stirred further, until she finally recalled the Calamity Beast she’d once encountered, long ago. She’d only recently learned what had happened to it, and precisely who was responsible. A thread of genuine wariness crept into her eyes the moment the thought fully surfaced. Still, her expression remained outwardly calm as she turned the matter over carefully, her mind moving through an entire ocean of quiet calculation.

They shouldn’t have emerged this early. And yet, they have.

And that Calamity Beast, is it truly...

Hours stretched into days, and days into weeks, yet the woman remained rooted to the same spot, her thoughts drifting endlessly between the three threads now tangled together in her mind, the Calamity Beast, Ethan and them.

Slowly, the corner of her lips curved upward into a subtle smile as something brushed against her senses at last.

Then, without another word, the woman vanished.