Stella patiently narrated what happened after Kyran blacked out while he listened in silence. All the while, his expression was unreadable even when she explained what happened after Obstruction pulled Cyneah into the vortex.
Anette and Malia also listened intently because they were curious about how everything concluded.
They were happy the conflict had ended. However, they wondered why there was no clear winner.
In this battle, the ones at the center had been the Soul Emperor and the Void Master. However, most knew the one behind the latter was the empire's emperor, Euan.
The story went like this; the Soul Emperor used her position as the Crown Princess to mobilize the nobles and the Royal Army, while the Void Master— with the decree given by the emperor— gathered the rest of the empire's factions— Aureole, Conclave, Templar Code, the Regis Clan— to assist him in 'retaking' command of the empire's military.
Ultimately, the Crown Princess escaped with her helpers outside the empire while the Emperor, along with a few of his subjects, went missing. There was even a rumor stating the Head Master of the Conclave went missing with him.
Most believed the war started because the Crown Princess initiated a coup d'état, wanting to overthrow the Emperor because he wanted to change his successor. While some believed the Crown Princess rebelled against her father because the latter wanted to demolish the nobility system.
Of course, these were only the majority's guesses. There has been no official announcement as of yet.
Besides, unlike the masses, Anette and Malia knew the truth. Thus, they were curious as to what had truly happened.
Especially in Anette's case. Others could not see it, but she was devastated after hearing that the outsiders had taken her only apprentice, Cyneah. She had the urge to leave the Human plane and look for her. But since she did not know what truly happened, she was hesitant, especially when she found that Cyneah caused Kyran to black out.
If Cyneah truly did that, it meant she wanted to be taken. If not, why would she stop Kyran from making a move?
On the other hand, Rin was the only one who had most of her attention on Kyran. He might be indifferent the whole time Stella explained what happened. But as his mother, Rin could sense the brewing chaos inside him. After all, the 'calm' he felt right now was forced on him.
Once that effect disappeared, what kind of emotion would erupt?
It took Stella almost half an hour to explain everything. Though it seemed short, given there were so many points she had to explain, that was all it took because no one asked questions.
Even when Stella was done, and Anette and Malia had doubts, no one voiced them. Not when the other party involved remained silent.
Ultimately, Anette suggested letting Kyran rest while having Rin stay with him. Obviously, she also sensed the emotion that had yet to come out from her godson. Thus, she thought it best to have his mother stay.
Rin knew her son best and would know how to handle the situation once his real emotions were released.
Malia and Stella did not refute. They left obediently with Anette.
When the three ladies left, Rin sat on the bed to have a closer look at Kyran.
Kyran knew why his godmother asked his mother to stay. And to be honest, he felt half-grateful and half-anxious about it.
He was grateful Anette thought of letting his mother stay and help 'calm' him down once Cyneah's spell came undone. At the same time, he was anxious because he could almost guess the questions brewing inside his mother's head.
Even now, Kyran could practically see Rin's eyes filled with curiosity as she studied his expression.
Compared to his father, Kyran was definitely an amateur in acting indifferently in front of his mother. If Rin could easily spot Cade's true intentions even when wearing a poker face, Kyran would seem like an open book.
Nevertheless, because of Cyneah's spell, Kyran's real emotions were hard to read. But that did not stop Rin from trying.
"And~...?"
When he heard his mother's sing-songy voice, Kyran suddenly felt cold sweat trickle down his back.
"... Cyneah is that young lady... Sisi, who Anette took as her apprentice, right? But I heard you call her Neah. That's a rather cute pet name."
Kyran could not help but groan inwardly. He did not expect a time would come when his mother would grill him about a girl. Then again, this was the first time this happened, and she was obviously ecstatic about it.
"It's not a pet name...." Kyran started, but seeing his mother's smiling face at the corner of his eye as he said this, he could not help but let out an exasperated sigh.
"Tell me more about her," Rin asked after a short pause. "Anette said Nolan kept insisting you kidnapped her. I did not expect you to be so bold. Zephyr said she was your first mistress. When I heard it, I was shocked. You already have two mistresses? Who is the second one?
"You know, the Regis Family has always been monogamous, and that is perfectly fine with me. But the Ada Family did practice polygamy at some point.
"That was after one of our ancestors was falsely charged, and the rest of our ancestors were forced to flee and hide because they were sentenced to death. Because most of our male ancestors were killed trying to let the rest escape, the wives they left behind were taken by the remaining few. Though those few were also married."
Judging by Rin's story, she was talking about Caelan being falsely charged and the Ada Family, who was his mother's side, were also forced to flee and hide after the Royal Family decreed the Ashton Family's death.
But this point was ignored by Kyran. As a matter of fact, he wanted nothing more but for the ground to swallow him whole.
What was his mother even telling him? Monogamy? Polygamy? What had that got to do with the recent events?
Did his mother say Anette and Zephyr told her these things?
Those two... just what were they telling his family?
It finally occurred to Kyran that his decision to ignore Nolan and Zephyr's misconception about Cyneah and Stella was wrong. Now his mother thought he was some casanova!
However, he was grateful to know how others were doing from this seemingly out-of-the-blue conversation. Though he was not happy about the fact they were gossiping about him!
Rin paused and smiled gently after seeing the disgruntled expression slowly appear on her son's face. Honestly, she had been worried all this time they reunited after so many months.
Few Regis members noticed anything different, but Rin immediately sensed the changes in Kyran. It was not only about his physique but also his mentality. She also knew that although they had only been separated for a few months, Kyran had endured the situation of his clan for years.
It was not foresight that made Rin see through these things but a link she possessed.
In any case, after Rin learned her son was experiencing something a teenager would, she was ecstatic. Besides, topics about the heart were truly a rare dish for a mother to partake in, especially when it involved their son!
"Mother...," Kyran started. However, he did not know how to refute her, so he could only start but did not know how to proceed.
Seeing Kyran at a loss for words, Rin chuckled and leaned sideways, resting her head on his shoulder and linking one arm to his.
"For her spell to work wonders even with the nature of your magic could typically counter such spells meant how much you have your guard lowered around her."
The sudden shift in their conversation took Kyran by surprise. Then again, this had been their conversation from the start, and Rin was the one who got sidetracked.
...
That was not entirely correct.
Rin did not get sidetracked. She forced the conversation in that direction to let Kyran relax a bit. Though the topic she chose was not one bit relaxing, in Kyran's opinion, it did help divert his attention a little.
"Hm," Kyran grunted a soft reply.
Rin smiled at his son's subtle acknowledgment of how important Cyneah was. After all, Kyran would only let down his guard to people who he cared about.
"Once the spell is lifted, I don't want you to brood over everything alone. Talk to us... talk to... Nolan. You see, he blames himself for letting Ruin enter the plane. He was convinced that if Ruin did not cause that rift to appear, you and Cade would have been able to protect Sisi."
Kyran was surprised to hear his mother talk about Nolan. He asked, "Did Nolan come?"
Rin shook her head.
"No. I sensed his thoughts. I'm sorry I could not introduce you two properly. His... disappearance had been hard for me. Apart from that, we had to act as if he was already dead, or the Royal Family would continue to pursue the matter."
Kyran did not respond, but he nodded his head in consent. He already guessed as much.
"Your uncle and I are twins. Identical twins... Most believed that identical twins could only be of the same gender, and if they were different, one would not be 'normal.' As you can see, we are beyond normal, so I suppose that holds half true."
Kyran chuckled despite himself.
"You can say we split the 'not normal attribute' of identical twins and became something beyond normal in our own right.
"I have a very strange relationship... almost creepy— as others phrased it— with the Spirits, while Nolan has a gift of Runes. Thus, we are genuinely beyond normal identical twins.
"What's more, we also have a special link. Your uncle would never admit it, nor would he be caught dead using it, but we can be connected through an empathylink."
Rin leaned back and smiled at Kyran before saying, "That is how I know he found you and took you to the Tower of Tribulations."
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