Chapter 34: A smart Son
Ronan was quite surprised by their reaction. He also wanted to know why the slave collar was so important, but when he looked at the Duke, he felt goosebumps spread across his body.
Ronan could have sworn he saw tears building up in the old man’s eyes.
Why?
Only the Duke knew just how happy he was at that moment.
Brilliant. Brilliant work, Bama.
What his son had just done made the Duke incredibly proud.
The Duke knew how much he had worried about Bama.
After all, compared to his two siblings, Bama had been born relatively ordinary.
Bama’s second-born sibling and elder sister was already at the Peak Sovereign Realm in her final year at the Ynvashi Royal Academy. She had even been declared a Knight before graduating and had joined the Knight Squad—a specialized military force directly under the Royal Family.
Every member of the Knight Squad was a King Realm expert, with its leader being a Peak King Realm expert.
Just imagine how much potential she possessed to already be part of a squad composed entirely of King Realm experts while she herself was only at the Peak Sovereign Realm.
Jani was even rumored to have the potential to eventually reach the same level as her elder brother.
And that made sense.
Her elder brother, the firstborn of the Duke, Tayin, was the most monstrous genius the Destal Kingdom had ever seen.
He was already at the Peak King Realm, and both the Duke and the Royal Ancestor had stated that he only needed the right opportunity and enough luck to smoothly break through to the Supreme Realm.
And that wasn’t all.
He was also a General of the Destal Kingdom’s army.
To top it off, his combat power was considered extraordinary even among Supreme Realm experts.
He had even once survived an attack from a Supreme Realm expert.
Imagine being born behind these two monsters.
That was Bama.
He was incredibly ordinary compared to them, and throughout his life, he might never reach their level or accomplish even half of what they had achieved.
The Duke had watched his son train hard from the very beginning.
The pressure of trying to live up to his siblings had gradually overwhelmed Bama, but unfortunately, he simply didn’t possess their monstrous talent.
Eventually...
Bama gave up.
In a strange way, that had been good news for the Duke.
It was better for Bama to accept reality and live his own life than spend his entire existence chasing after his siblings, only to spend the rest of his life looking at their backs.
But what Bama had just done changed the Duke’s entire perspective.
Perhaps they had been focusing on the wrong thing.
Maybe Bama didn’t possess monstrous talent.
Maybe his Trait wasn’t particularly powerful.
But what about his intelligence?
Bama had immediately realized that the Maiden came from a foreign continent.
Then he had thought of a way to establish a connection with her—or at the very least, create a bridge between her and the Duke’s family.
So after capturing the assassin, he had branded her as Ronan’s slave.
This...
This was smart.
By doing this, they had effectively shown the Maiden that the Duke’s family was leaving the assassin’s fate in her hands.
She could decide what happened to her.
Even if Ronan and Bama weren’t particularly close yet, they had already established an acquaintance.
There was another reason this was important.
Soul-searching a slave could potentially affect the owner as well.
After all, there was a high possibility that the slave could die during the process.
The Duke was genuinely proud.
The way he looked at his son had changed.
Yes, he had always been willing to give Bama everything he needed to live a comfortable life until his death.
But if Bama possessed another talent—something other than combat—then the Duke would definitely support him.
The Duke finally released Yen.
She immediately fell to the ground, breathing heavily as she clutched her neck.
The Duke then smiled and turned toward Ronan.
"Maiden, you might not know much about the slave collar. But since it was bound to you through a Trait, you can not only control her life and death, but you can also transfer attacks directed at you onto her."
He paused.
"Consider it a gift... and a display of our sincerity toward you."
Ronan froze.
Wait... what?
"As for the church..."
The Duke turned back toward Bama.
"If the sky falls, we will carry it."
His voice was firm and righteous.
"Don’t worry about anything."
The Elders beside him nodded in agreement.
They were the Duke noble family.
Why should they be afraid of a temple belonging to some god?
As for the true reason behind the Royal Family’s actions, they didn’t know yet.
But they would find out eventually.
Besides, they had a Supreme Realm expert—the Duke himself.
No matter what happened, the Duke’s family wasn’t necessarily weaker than the Royal Family.
And unless the Royal Family was willing to completely tear apart their relationship with the Duke’s family, they shouldn’t push things too far.
Hearing this, Bama felt incredibly proud.
See, Maiden? That’s my father.
He’s a Supreme Realm expert.
Even Ronan felt a strange sense of pride while listening.
Of course, if he had a Supreme Realm father saying something like that, he would probably be proud too.
In fact...
If I had a Supreme Realm father like this, I’d probably swear to live and die with the Duke’s family.
The meeting eventually came to an end.
Bama stayed behind to spend some time with his father while Selak led Ronan and Yen to their room.
"If you need anything, please inform the guards or maids. Your food will be brought shortly."
Selak opened the door to a luxurious room.
Ronan nodded before entering, with Yen following behind him, her head lowered.
Ah... life.
Yes, this is life.
I want this.
Ronan couldn’t help but think that as he clenched his fists.
This wasn’t merely a bedroom.
It also contained a separate sitting area.
There was a large desk, a small library, a massive bed, and several couches arranged around the room.
Outside, there was even a balcony overlooking the estate.
Ronan couldn’t help but wonder.
Is this how rich people live?
But his excitement soon faded.
Ronan and Yen awkwardly stared at each other.
One was the slave.
The other was the owner.
Ronan felt the atmosphere becoming increasingly strange.
He wanted to ease the tension, but what could he possibly say?
He literally couldn’t speak.
The awkward silence only grew heavier.
Then Ronan noticed something.
His gaze slowly settled on Yen.
She seemed to be in a trance as she stared deeply into his eyes.
Wait... don’t tell me you are...?
Ronan felt his body tremble.
If that was true, didn’t that mean Yen was into girls?
Ah... maybe that’s why she wanted to kill Bama.
Did he steal her girlfriend or something?
Ooh... juicy.
But the way Yen was looking at him...
Could it be that she had actually fallen for him?
While Ronan’s thoughts were running wild, Yen was trying to engrave Ronan’s face—even if it was only those crimson eyes—into her memory.
She swore that once she escaped, after killing Bama, she would hunt Ronan down as well.
He was the one responsible for ruining her carefully planned assassination.
But then...
"Wait... why are you coming closer?"
Yen couldn’t help but wonder as she watched Ronan slowly approach her.
Those crimson eyes...
They were beautiful.
Before Yen realized what was happening, Ronan’s eyes were only inches away from her face.
For a moment, time seemed to freeze.
What was the Maiden about to do?