Chapter 117: The Seal
Jake opened his mouth, but no sound came out at first.
The room was quiet. Outside the door, Peter stood guard in the hallway. Downstairs, servants and guards moved carefully through Silver Ash House, but none of those sounds reached the table clearly. Jenny still held Jake’s hand. Lucard watched him without pushing. He knew fear could close a throat faster than a blade if someone forced it too hard.
Jake took one more breath.
"Father said House Vardros is not only a fallen baron family."
Jenny’s eyes changed.
Lucard did not move.
Jake continued, "He said we were made as the secret weapon of the emperor."
The words fell into the room like a stone dropped into a deep well.
Jenny stared at him. "The emperor?"
Jake nodded slowly. "That is what Father said."
Lucard’s eyes became sharper. "Explain from the beginning."
Jake swallowed and tried to remember the words exactly. "Father said around one thousand years ago, when Valoria was founded, the first emperor was not alone. He had a younger brother. The older brother took the throne and became emperor. The younger brother became the first Vardros ancestor and created House Vardros."
Jenny whispered, "Our ancestor was the emperor’s brother?"
"Yes," Jake said. "Father said our blood was royal blood at the start. Not the same line now, because one thousand years passed, but close enough that the royal family never fully forgot it."
Lucard leaned back slightly.
That explained some things.
A weak fallen baron family should not have been important enough for so many hands to reach toward Jake.
Jenny’s face became pale. "Why would the emperor’s brother create a separate house?"
Jake’s voice became lower. "Father said it was because of the ten founding duke families."
Lucard’s gaze sharpened again.
Jake continued, "When the kingdom was founded, the ten founding duke families helped the emperor take and hold the land. They were strong. Very strong. Father said they became pillars of Valoria, but pillars can also become prison bars if they surround the throne too tightly."
Jenny listened without breathing properly.
Jake looked at Lucard. "So the first emperor and his brother made House Vardros as a hidden blade. If the ten founding duke families ever betrayed the royal family, House Vardros would protect the emperor’s bloodline, help the royal family escape, or open something left behind for that kind of disaster."
Jenny’s hand tightened around his.
"That means our house was created to protect the royal family from the dukes."
"Yes," Jake said. "But Father said things changed after the first ancestor died."
Lucard asked, "How did he die?"
Jake shook his head. "Father never said. He said nobody in our family record knows clearly. Only that the first ancestor died, and after his death, a war broke out. It was not a normal noble fight. It was a hidden war around the royal family, the founding duke families, and our house."
Lucard’s eyes narrowed. "What rank was this ancestor?"
Jake looked uncertain for a moment, then said, "Father called him a transcendent level powerhouse."
Jenny frowned. "Transcend?"
Jake nodded. "Above Ninth Circle mages."
That finally earned real interest from Lucard.
Not on his face.
His face stayed calm.
But inside, his thoughts moved at once. A power above the Ninth Circle in the lower world was not a small thing. A so-called transcendental powerhouse might not be a god, but he was close enough to touch the boundary between mortal and divine. If that person had left a vault, then the things inside would not be ordinary gold, old swords, or family records. It might hold bloodline treasures, high grade magic, forbidden tools, royal secrets, or even something connected to the path beyond this world.
Something like that could shorten Lucard’s road back to godhood.
Jenny did not notice the change inside him, but Jake did. He had started learning the difference between Lucard listening and Lucard becoming interested.
"The first ancestor was that strong?" Jenny asked softly.
"Father said he was one of the strongest people of that time," Jake said. "Maybe only the first emperor could stand beside him. But after he died, House Vardros lost too much. The war damaged the family. Many strong members died. Records were destroyed. Some loyal families disappeared. After that, every generation became weaker than the last. Father said by the time he was born, House Vardros had already become the weakest noble family in name and strength."
Jenny lowered her head.
It hurt to hear it spoken so clearly. They had known their house was weak. Everyone had told them. Everyone had mocked them. But hearing that House Vardros had fallen from the emperor’s hidden blade to a broken baron family made the shame feel older and heavier.
Jake continued, "Father also told me about Ash Wolf. Eight hundred years ago, they were not mercenaries like now. The Ashwolf family owned many lands around the western border. They were not a great duke family, but they had soldiers, horses, villages, and money. During one of the wars after our first ancestor died, Ashwolf helped House Vardros move people, blood records, and one hidden item away from enemies."
Lucard asked, "What hidden item?"
Jake shook his head. "Father did not know, or he did not tell me. He only said Ashwolf paid a terrible price for helping us. They lost their land piece by piece. Their enemies called them traitors. Their money disappeared. Later, their descendants became smaller nobles, then landless fighters, then a mercenary company."
Jenny closed her eyes.
"So that is why Father told you to give Ash Wolf one chance."
Jake nodded. "Yes. He said if Ash Wolf ever asked for help or came near us without harming House Vardros, we should remember the old debt. But if they betrayed us fully, the debt would become dust."
Lucard was silent for a moment.
Ash Wolf had become more useful than expected. Not only because Brant had men. Not only because mercenaries could fight, scout, and carry messages. Their past tied them to Vardros through old blood and old loss. That kind of history could be turned into loyalty if handled correctly. It could also become resentment if handled poorly.
Jenny looked at Jake. "You said the second secret was about the Vardros seal."
Jake nodded.
His voice became quieter again. "Father said the seal is used to open the ancestor’s vault."
Lucard’s eyes settled on him.
Jenny leaned forward. "A vault?"
"Yes. The first Vardros ancestor and the first emperor made it together. Father said it cannot be opened by House Vardros alone. It needs two keys. One key belongs to the royal family. The other belongs to House Vardros."
Jenny looked confused. "Where is this vault?"
"Father did not say."
"What is inside it?"
Jake shook his head. "He said nobody knows. Only the first emperor and the first Vardros ancestor knew what they placed inside. The record only says the vault is for the day the royal family is in true danger."
Lucard tapped one finger lightly on the table.
A vault made by a transcendent level powerhouse and the founding emperor. A vault meant to answer betrayal from the ten founding duke families. Two keys. One royal. One Vardros. Hidden for one thousand years.
Whatever was inside would not be simple.
Jenny slowly understood the danger.
"If someone learned about this, they would want our key."
Jake nodded with a pale face. "I think that is why someone wanted me alive."
The room became colder.
Jenny looked at him, then at Lucard. "That makes sense now."
Lucard spoke calmly. "Only partly."
Jenny turned to him. "Why partly?"
"Because one key cannot open the vault."
Jake nodded. "Yes. Father said both keys are needed."
Lucard’s eyes became dark. "Then our enemy is not only someone who wants Jake. They either already have access to the royal family’s key, or they plan to take it."
Jenny’s face changed.
Lucard continued, "That leaves two simple possibilities. Either someone inside the royal family is involved, possibly even the current royal line itself, or someone wants to replace the royal family and needs the vault for legitimacy, power, or survival."
Jake became very still.
Jenny whispered, "The royal family itself?"
"It is possible."
"But House Vardros was made to protect them."
"People often kill the lock after they no longer want the door remembered."
Jenny had no answer to that.
The truth was too large. They were not only dealing with a baron, a merchant duke family, a fire duke family, or a mercenary group. The shadow behind House Vardros might reach the throne of Valoria itself, or those who wanted that throne. Their destroyed home suddenly felt less like a small noble tragedy and more like the first visible crack of something much larger.
Lucard looked at Jake.
"Where is the Vardros seal?"
Jake hesitated.
Jenny turned to him. "Jake?"
Jake placed one hand over his chest.
"It is not a ring or stone. Father transferred it to me."
Jenny’s eyes widened. "Transferred it?"