''First of all, congrats on your awakening as an item holder. That's a huge accomplishment for someone in your situation. '' Cael adjusted his seat to a more comfortable position after realizing that his earlier authoritative demeanor was not going to be effective when communicating with Raydon. He then extended his hands in a sincere gesture of congratulations to Raydon.
''I was just lucky. '' Raydon eventually turned his attention to Cael, who was talking to him and responded with a grin. The manner in which Raydon responded appeared to be rather humble; however, everyone could tell that he was being sarcastic from the smile on his face and the tone of his voice.
'Has he found out that we summoned him for the high-rank item holder? ' Cael pondered, recognizing that Raydon had understood their true motive for summoning him—a desire to access the high-ranking item holder backing him.
''There is no need for you to be humble. Becoming an item holder requires more than mere luck; it demands talent and exceptional potential, especially for someone who has battled with illness as you have," Thalia, Raydon's mother, interjected, her emerald green eyes gazing at Raydon through strands of her blonde hair.
Although it was their intention to undermine Raydon's self-confidence, they were compelled to personally demonstrate to him that this was not the case and express their familial regard for him. In the end, they required Raydon to return to the family and, as a result, were compelled to show that they cared for him.
In addition, if they accepted Raydon's response, it would be clear that they don't really care about him and that their only goal was to make contact with the high-ranking individual who is behind him. They were concerned that Raydon would use this desire to advance his own interests and strengthen his position in the bargain.
I mean, when you put it that way, you're absolutely right. Wow, I guess I'm actually an unparalleled genius,'' Raydon said with a laugh.
Thalia was taken aback by his response and went into a state of stunned silence. Since the beginning, their attempts to undermine Raydon's sense of self-worth have been completely ineffective, and she has now given him more self-confidence by admitting that he does have exceptional potential.
Not only Thalia, but also everyone else, including Tika, was taken aback by the fact that Raydon had won the mind game that they had been playing on him with such ease.
Initially, they perceived him as a naive teenager, believing that a display of affection and attention would be enough to win him over. However, they now saw the situation with newfound clarity.
'Is this really the same person that we believe it to be? ' Thalia was speechless.
"Hahahaha, you have every right to be proud of yourself, brother. My hat is off to you for raising such a fine young son. '' Zephyr, who had been watching in silence up until this point, said with a roar of laughter.
These words caused Cael and Thalia to frown and feel embarrassed, but they kept their mouths shut. They had already discussed and planned every aspect of this meeting, including how they would convince Raydon, and they believed that everything would go off without a hitch; however, they had forgotten one important aspect. And that piece of information was that Raydon wasn't really the impression they had of him—a naive and impressionable teenager who had no prior life experience.
"Hey, Raydon, do you recall me? I'm your uncle. We haven't seen each other in a very long time.'' Zephyr got up, walked over to Raydon, and patted him on the shoulder as he spoke while he was wiping the tears of laughter from his eyes with the back of his hand.
Raydon said to the person with the ocean blue eyes and hair. "I think I remember."
Because of the person's hair and eye color, Raydon was able to determine that this individual was Galen's father. And while he was still living in the mansion, he had seen him a few times before in the past. Both Zephyr and Galen shared the same personality traits; they were generally quite outspoken, and Zephyr was one of the few people who didn't look down on him because he was disabled.
However, Raydon was actually more concerned with his uncle's strong oceanic odor than he was with his personality at the moment.
'I believe the body enchantment they use is the cause of their hair and eye colors. ' Raydon looked at Zephyr's wife, who was sitting quietly with a small smile on her face and was looking gently at him, and he saw that she, too, had the same blue hair and eyes as he did.
As he had experienced this same ocean scent from Galen in the past, he suspected that it wasn't just a result of their shared genes.
'I believe that Galen also inherited the character of his parents, as well as possibly a title that is associated with the water element. '
After that, Raydon turned his attention to Arden and his wife, and noticed that both of them had bright green eyes and jet black hair that glowed brightly like phosphor. Loran, their son and Belicia's young master, appeared to have the same physical characteristics as he recalled.
'If I remember correctly, their element and title had something to do with poison or toxins. '
As he glanced at his supposed mother and father, Raydon noticed that, despite their dissimilar physical features, both possessed an ambitious and cunning character.
After observing all three pairs, Raydon couldn't help but think to himself, 'They all seem to be a perfect match for each other. '
Raydon was deep in thought, trying to make sense of the titles and elements, when Cael's voice jolted him out of his reverie.
"Very well, let us return to the matter at hand," Cael declared, resuming his authoritative demeanor to mask his underlying embarrassment. "You seem to possess enough intelligence to comprehend the reason behind your summoning, which simplifies our task."
He came to the conclusion that they could no longer get what they desired at an affordable price and that they would have to negotiate with Raydon.
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