Chapter 24: The Family Confrontation

"Alright. I’m stepping away." I slowly raised my hands l. "See? Hands where you can see them. No sudden moves."

I took two steps backward, keeping my boots flat against the damaged floorboards. The pressure inside the room didn’t lighten, even though I had already followed his instruction. Lord Voulstridge stood in the doorway, his eyes fixed on the glowing blue sword resting inside the open chest.

"Smart boy," Sebastian said softly.

His eyes did not meet mine. He walked through the doorway, his boots making loud crunching sounds on the broken pieces of ice.

"Hey, I wouldn’t touch that if I were you," I warned him.

Sebastian’s hand paused half an inch above the sword. He turned his head to face me. "Are you giving me orders in my own estate, Silvester?"

"Of course not. It’s just a recommendation on my part." Despite the fear-induced sweat that was dripping from my body, I managed to keep my tone stable. "The sword is not only laying flat on the cushion, but it is wide open, yet the sword’s energy is bound by the seal. Try touching it and your arm will instantly freeze."

Sebastian stared at me for three seconds. The pressure inside the room lifted, and then the suffocating air in my chest suddenly eased.

"You can see that?" Sebastian asked, his tone shifting from cold to genuine curiosity.

"My skill can see every pathway, every mechanism, and every trap." I lowered my hands just a fraction. "Your late wife didn’t build this box to be opened with brute force. She built it with a Level 5 magic seal. If anyone forces the sword out of its casting without matching mana, the weapon will shatter."

Sebastian took my advice. He slowly pulled his hand back and then turned his gaze toward Arielle, who was lying unconscious on the pile of cushions.

"My love survived," Sebastian muttered. A proud father’s voice echoed in his words.

"She did," I said. "An idiot father should be proud."

Sebastian’s eyes snapped back to me. "Watch your words, kid."

"I’m just stating facts, My Lord," I said after crossing my arms. "You assumed that her magic was a curse or an uncontrollable monster. You left her isolated and pretended that everything was fine while she was slowly eating herself alive with fear and guilt. Do you know what was really happening?"

"Tell me then."

"Nobody is struggling against the ice spirit here," I gestured towards the chest. "She was using fear and panic to try and force it open. Whenever she thought about her mother, her mana shot up. The ice spirit fed on the fear, causing her mana to be uncontrollable. She has been killing herself all along and you have just called it a natural reaction. The spirit had accepted her when she became rogue."

My sermon ended. I could only hope now that I would still make it out of his estate alive.

Sebastian did not shout at me. He did not release his aura once more. He just stared at me with his empty cold blue eyes.

"You speak with such confidence for someone who’s only eight years old," Sebastian said in a flat tone. "Where did a boy like you learn a Level 5 mana seal and core locks?"

"I read and pay attention." I lied without blinking.

’Please accept my answer. I want to get out of here. I don’t want my adventure to end here.’

"There are no books written on how to synchronize mana with an unstable elemental spirit." Sebastian took a step toward me. "And books don’t give you the nerve to stand in front of a Duke’s mana pressure without dropping to your knees and begging for mercy. Who are you, Silvester?"

"I’m just a child who saved your daughter and retrieved the lost family artifact," I said calmly. "Unless you prefer I unlock her seal and let her spirit rampage again?"

"Hahahahaha! What a peculiar child!" Sebastian said in amusement.

"Father...?"

Arielle moved on the cushions. She rubbed her eyes and slowly pushed herself up to sit.

Sebastian’s posture changed in an instant. He shifted from a terrifying noble into a worried father, something Silvester had never experienced from his own father, Lord Lerwick.

"My love," Sebastian whispered with a voice full of paternal love. "Don’t move around. Your body has endured severe mana exhaustion."

She looked at the chest and at me. Her blue eyes widened as she remembered what happened earlier.

"Silvester..." she breathed out. "The chest seal...It’s gone."

"I told you," I retorted, smirking slightly at her. "You’re not a monster, kid. You’re listening skill sucks."

"Hmph. I am not a kid!" A faint blush touched her cheeks as she looked away. "And... you touched me you freak!"

My eyebrows went up. "I just pinched your cheeks, Arielle. Besides, you were panicking, and it was effective."

"It was rude!"

"Come on. It just saved your life," I pointed out.

"Enough," Sebastian interrupted.

He glanced down at Arielle. "Sweetheart, how are you feeling? Has the cold in your chest calmed down yet?"

Arielle placed her right hand over her chest. She stayed silent for a moment to feel her mana flow.

"It’s quiet," she said calmly. "For the first time since Mother died... It doesn’t hurt anymore."

Sebastian let out a sigh of relief. "Good job, my love."

"Father, did you know?" Arielle said, looking at him with a sudden sharpness.

"Know what?" Sebastian raised an eyebrow.

"It’s about the chest, what Mother left inside me." She stood up gently, her legs a bit shaky, but she refused to lean on the wall. "Silvester already knew. He saw the seal inside me. It’s been years, Father. Did you not know, or did you just want to keep me locked away?"

The supply room went silent.

I took a soft half step toward the door just in case everything turned violent again. I didn’t want to get involved in this family matter.

Sebastian gazed at his precious daughter for a long time. "I knew your mother sealed the ice spirit before she passed. I did everything I knew to keep you safe from the ice spirit. I’m so sorry, my love."

"Last year, you sent high-ranking mages to the Capital, and they told you that I was defective, that the ice spirit would eat away at my mind, and you believed them! Even went to the point of sending me off to a rehabilitation center!"

"Because I could not risk you destroying yourself and our estate!" Sebastian’s voice cracked. "I am the Duke of Voulstridge. I have people to protect, a bloodline to preserve, and a daughter I could not afford to lose to a mana surge! You are the only one I have. Do you think I enjoyed watching you hurt yourself?"

"Then why didn’t you look for someone who actually understood magic instead of mages who only cared about political status?" Arielle shouted back.

"My love, please... ordinary mages don’t understand the seal’s mechanism." Sebastian’s voice went soft.

"Father, look at him! He isn’t even a recognized mage of the Academy. He’s a wild child. A nobody with a strange choice of words!" Arielle yelled.

"Hey, I’m right here," I chimed in, raising my right hand.

Sebastian and Arielle snapped their heads toward me.

"Silence, Silvester! / Silence, Silvester!" they cried out together.

"Right. I’ll keep my precious mouth shut," I muttered, leaning against the wall.

Arielle took a deep breath. "He just fixed in ten minutes what your high-level mages couldn’t solve in years. He trusted me to control my magic when you just wanted to suppress it."

Sebastian closed his eyes, took a slow breath, and regained his composure. When he opened them, the anger was gone.

He turned to face me directly.