Legacy of the Dark Sage

Mimi's thoughts were not entirely wrong.

Only a few people knew about the Spirits' relationship with the previous Void Master, and the Royal Family was definitely one of them. Or at least those members who had blood relations with the old Royal Family— the Winfrey Family.

As the new Soul Emperor, the Crown Princess would definitely want to eliminate every existence that could aid the new Void Master.

Zuri shook her head, seemingly unconvinced by Mimi's theory.

"I feel that there is more to this than that. Why would they start with me? I may be the Patriarch's daughter, but I don't have a contracted Spirit," she reasoned.

"I don't think that matters," Mimi replied. "As far as I know, the Crown Princess has grand ambition. I don't know the full details, though."

"What about you? I heard from the Void Master that your family works for the Crown Princess. Now that you openly oppose Claudias, they might suspect something."

Mimi shook her head, "I'm not too sure. Uncle Eoin has not received any news from the Crown Princess."

Zuri leaned on her chair and looked up at the tent's ceiling. Her expression turned solemn as she said, "I don't know about you, but I feel like we are up against more than one faction."

The reason she thought this was because their 'enemies' were uncoordinated. A good example was the Emperor. Initially, they thought he knew about the Crown Princess, but after he made a different move from the army, they realized he was also oblivious to the truth.

Then there was the Crown Princess's Royal Knight, Lira. What she did to the Emperor seemed to be according to the Crown Princess's order, but at the same time, it felt like she did it on her own accord. They had thought of this because the Grand Marshal did not know what Lira had done.

Speaking of the Grand Marshal, Gael also seemed to have continued the attack in Noser on his own accord.

Now, there was Deputy Marshal Ingrid. The Courtenay Family was clearly already working for the Crown Princess, so why did she not approach them and instead target the Lumley Family?

Mimi looked at Zuri thoughtfully. She also felt the same. However, her knowledge of what was happening was superficial. Thus she could not draw any conclusion.

"I get what you want to say," Mimi replied after a few seconds.

Zuri looked at her and smiled slightly, "You know, I never imaged a time would come that I'd get the chance to talk to you like this."

Mimi was slightly taken aback by her words. Then she laughed softly and agreed, "I feel the same. It is also my first time seeing you without a mask on."

Her last remark made Zuri raise her brows in surprise. Typically, she would not remove her mask in front of other people. One could say that she removed her mask without thinking much of it.

"Well... since you are helping the Void Master, I just..."

Mimi's expression turned solemn, and she asked, "I heard Patriarch Ezra willingly swore allegiance to... him."

"Yes, and we all agreed."

"Aren't you afraid? If you ever thought of betraying him, you all will— ."

"You know how our family used to be slaves of the Dinaeri Family?"

"Yes."

"I guess you could say we still have it in our blood. As slaves, we only serve and will never think badly about our Master. Of course, we of the new generation wanted to change that. But in the end, we are still a Montgomeray."

Mimi fell silent at Zuri's explanation. The way she had said those last words felt like being a Montgomeray was equivalent to having a mindset of a slave. Somehow, that made her sad.

"You're a little different from us," Zuri continued, looking at Mimi curiously. "You don't have a mark."

"I don't," Mimi replied, not wanting to hide the truth.

"So you are free to do what you want," Zuri said with a slight smile, "Yet, here you are. Showing concern about us, who have the mark. I wonder why."

Mimi's cheeks turned slightly red, "I may not have a mark, but most of our elders do."

'Besides, that guy has Millie,' she added to herself.

Zuri tilted her head slightly and said, "So you're being threatened in cooperating because your family elders are marked."

"Yes."

Zuri chuckled and said, "For someone being threatened, you don't look the part."

Mimi's cheeks had turned into a deeper shade of red, "I know what you're implying, and you're wrong."

Zuri shrugged. Then she smiled teasingly and said, "I'm not implying anything. But the fact you thought I am makes you guilty of something."

"I-I'm not— !"

"Don't worry," Zuri could not help but chuckle at Mimi's flustered look. "I won't tell anyone. Besides, given his personality, I don't think he will notice anyway."

Then with a slight pause, she added, "When I said 'his' personality, I meant his 'real' personality. Not the one he shows when posing as Tyr."

"W-What are you even saying—?"

A member of the Montgomeray family entered the tent at that moment and said, "Lady Zuri, we have lured away the Lumley family members. I can escort you both to Noser to meet with the others."

"Okay, let's go," Zuri responded and stood up. She put on her mask and looked at Mimi, who was still looking at her with a red face, "You're coming, right?"

"I am!" Mimi replied a little too loud.

The Montgomeray member was slightly surprised but did not think much about it. He then gave both a coat.

"Please put on the coat. It will hide your presence and change your body appearance."

Zuri took another mask from her storage ring and handed it to Mimi, "Wear this too."

Mimi took the mask with a slight frown, "Won't this make us attract more attention?"

"If the mask is worn without the coat, it is just a normal mask," the Montgomeray member explained patiently. "But together, the mask will let others see you with a different face."

Mimi was somewhat surprised, "So these two form a set."

Zuri nodded while putting on the coat, "Yes. It is enchanted using Spirit magic."

"I've always thought you're only wearing masks to hide your faces," Mimi remarked and also put on the coat.

"There is that, but it's also a way for Spirits to recognize we are one of them."

Mimi wore the mask and said, "That kind of make sense. At least they will not end up playing a prank on you."

Once they were done, the Montgomeray member escorted the two out of town. With the assistance of the Spirits, they all went to Noser.

As for Claudias, she and the Lumley Family remained oblivious.

*

Kyran heaved a sigh after hearing Alary.

"You take Max and Reuben with you," Mannick said before Kyran could say anything. "We'll secure this area."

Kyran looked at him and nodded, "Thanks."

He looked back at Alary and asked, "Did they say where I should meet them?"

"The Regis Throne Room, Void Master."

"Alright," Kyran looked at Max and Reuben and said, "Let's go."

Without further ado, Kyran warped to the Regis Throne Room with Max and Reuben.

Inside the Regis Throne Room, three people were waiting inside.

Patriarch Aron, Rin, and Jared.

Jared also possessed black hair and dark gray eyes. However, unlike most Regis members, he had a slightly smaller frame and delicate facial features. He wore a long black robe, and a small white pouch dangled at the side of his belt. At a closer look, the pouch looked similar to the one Kyran had.

Aron, sitting on the high chair, raised his head and said, "Here they come."

True enough, crackling sounds reverberated at the center of the room as a purple light flashed before revealing three figures.

As soon as the light disappeared, Kyran raised his head and looked ahead. He immediately saw his grandfather and uncle. However, his eyes were drawn to his mother's smiling face.

The moment he saw her, a myriad of emotions filled him, but ultimately, the only thing that stood out was how much he had missed her.

Wearing a gentle smile, Rin walked toward Kyran and said, "How long has it been? Three, four... years?"

When Kyran heard her, his eyes widened as his emotions threatened to burst out like a floodgate. However, he managed to hold it in this time, unlike when he was with his father.

With a slight smile, Kyran replied, "More than five."

"You've done well," Rin said while crossing the last few steps and embracing him, "Son."

Kyran returned her embrace and said, "I missed you, mother."

*

Meanwhile, in a huge, dimly lit hall, a golden light appeared at the center, revealing two silhouettes.

Several galleries with people in red hooded robes filled the hall.

As soon as the silhouettes appeared, one of them disappeared and reappeared a few meters away, resulting in gasps of surprise from the gallery.