"There is another thing you need to know," Nolan continued, not giving Kyran time to dwell on the matter of revealing his identity to the public.
Kyran looked at him apprehensively and asked, "If its going to give me another headache, can I hear it tomorrow?"
Nolan only raised an eyebrow at him and said, "Someone wants to meet with you. He said you know him."
Kyran raised his brows questioningly, "Who?"
"You think I'd bother to ask?" Nolan snorted.
Kyran stared blankly at him.
Typical of Nolan not to care about the 'details.'
"He mentioned one of his colleagues came to visit but that the meeting did not go well. Now he asked to meet in person."
After hearing this, Kyran instantly thought of Loar. He then recalled a Sovereign of Dusk that appeared before them while they were on their way to the Regis Estate.
"Loar."
"You know the guy?"
Kyran gave him a deadpan look, "Didn't you just say you did not know who he was?"
"I never said that. I only said, 'You think I'd bother to ask?'."
Kyran finally remembered that Nolan had trouble remembering people's faces. He probably forgot Loar's name too! Then again, Loar was now a Sovereign. He probably introduced himself using his Sovereign title and not Loar.
In any case, Kyran made a mental note not to trust Nolan with socialities. He was likely to draw more enemies than allies if he did.
"What did you tell him?"
"To go f*ck himself off."
"I'm serious."
"I am, too."
Kyran sighed in his heart. It seemed like they were back to the first time they had met.
"What did he say then?"
"He would if he can. But he was busy."
...
Kyran could not help but chuckle. He remembered Loar was very serious about his creations, but he was a pretty chill guy. Nolan was probably rendered speechless when Loar replied like that.
Wait.
Why was Nolan answering all his questions? Though his answers sounded like smart-ass responses, he was properly answering them.
'Could it be...?'
Kyran subtly used his magic sense to scan his surroundings and immediately noticed a familiar presence nearby.
Judging by that person's unmoving state, that person was likely listening in on them.
Kyran smiled wryly.
No wonder Nolan was responsive even though he was being a complete ass. It was because of that person's presence.
Obviously, Kyran was referring to his mother.
Rin was likely there to check on him before leaving with Aron. But she did not go in because she sensed Nolan was inside.
It made Kyran wonder if the two had not met face-to-face now that things had settled. Now that he thought of it, when Nolan mentioned Rin's reaction earlier, it did sound like they had not met yet.
But Nolan already met with his father, so why wouldn't he meet his mother?
As if reading Kyran's thoughts, Nolan scowled at him and said, "Just think about what I said. Don't think of other things you're not supposed to."
Kyran only raised his brows in response. Obviously, the latter part was basically telling him not to poke his nose where it shouldn't.
"I told that guy I'd pass on his message. If you want to meet, I'll let him know."
"You have a way to contact him?"
"Unfortunately," Nolan replied, sighing in resignation. He paused after remembering something and added, "Here." He threw a dark blue cube to Kyran before saying, "When you've thought it through, use that to contact me."
Then he added with a mischievous smile, "Don't worry. That cube would only recognize your magic signature. It will not work if others use it."
Kyran knew that the last bit was not meant for him but for his mother.
"Do you really have to go to such lengths just to avoid her—?"
"I'm leaving."
Before Kyran could even finish his question, Nolan already left.
Black particles enveloped him, and he disappeared the moment they dispersed.
"He really is a handful," Rin said as she entered the room.
Kyran looked at her with a wry smile.
Rin returned his smile and said, "He's always been like that. Whenever he did something he knew I'd be disappointed, he'd sulk by himself and disappear for some time. Of course, I knew where he was hiding or what he was doing, but I never went to find him."
"Did he ever come around?" Kyran asked. He was curious why Nolan estranged himself from his family when Rin clearly did not want that. "Before?"
Rin chuckled, "Cade, your father, was the one who beat some senses on him before— until Anette came."
"Right," Kyran smiled, recalling how Nolan had little to zero resistance whenever Anette's involved. He had witnessed this when they were still living together in the cottage.
The sudden reminder of that time left a bitter smile on Kyran. He did not mean to, but he wondered where Cyneah had gone and how she was now.
Rin did not need to ask to know what Kyran was thinking. She then asked the most crucial question.
"What do you plan to do?"
Kyran did not reply at once. He was silent for a moment before finally saying, "I'm sorry, mother."
Rin smiled at his answer. She closed her eyes without asking why he was sorry and said, "Do what you must. Just know, your home will always be here."
Kyran only smiled in response.
A couple of days later, when Kyran fully recovered, he decided to attend to the things he had deliberately neglected.
One of them had been the reveal of his identity. There was nothing much to say on this matter. After what had happened, there were speculations about who the emperor had commanded to stop the Crown Princess's ploy.
Most were convinced that person was from the Regis Clan. There were even some speculations that Patriarch Aron and Emperor Euan had been in contact before the Crown Princess staged a coup.
A gossip even surfaced about Euan's plan to marry off Haylee to the Regis Family's young master. Because of this, many wanted to know more about the latter.
Kyran's photo from when he was still in military school even surfaced. Some of his achievements were also leaked. The leak did not come from the school but from those schoolmates— even classmates of Kyran.
When Kyran's profile picture was leaked, another rumor surfaced.
It was about the highest bounty reward ever issued to the Mercenary Hall.
When this rumor surfaced, the Mercenary Hall immediately denied it.
Still, some people managed to get their hands on the bounty poster before the Conclave could destroy them.
When the bounty poster was leaked, many questioned the real story of what happened.
Another piece of information surfaced from those who witnessed the attack in Noser.
Some witnesses claimed to have seen legendary beasts controlled by a black man. When this information appeared, they began to look at the Regis Clan with doubtful eyes. After all, they were the only ones capable of taming beasts in the whole empire.
Many speculations appeared, but none could provide a definite conclusion. In the end, the mass directed these questions to the Royal Family and the Regis Clan.
Because of this, Kyran decided to meet with Empress Iulia. From what he was told and what he had gathered, his father and grandfather had not told her anything about the truth.
They only told her about superficial things like Haylee being controlled by the First Soul Emperor and how outsiders worked with her. They never told her about the most important things.
As for how Euan realized this, Aron only told Iulia that someone from the army leaked information to him, and after confirming the claim's authenticity, he decided to act.
"Meeting the Empress is the first step," Pheobe was saying while Kyran was deep in thought.
The two were inside a carriage, going to the palace.
Kyran could have warped there, but he did not want to alarm Iulia, especially when she was under so much pressure. Not to mention, she was also pregnant.
Apart from Pheobe, there were two Regis Elders with them.
"Yes," Kyran nodded his head. "We can't announce anything without the Royal Family in the picture."
Pheobe looked at him in confusion, "Is it because the Royal Family is the empire's ruler?"
"No," Kyran replied while shaking his head. "We can't even say Empress Iulia is part of the Royal Family. She is neither a Winfrey nor an Arthall. The only thing she has right now is the position of Emperor Euan's wife.
"Because of this, she is still considered part of the Royal Family."
"So, why do we need the Royal Family in the picture?"
"It is because the people will only listen to what the Royal Family would say."
The one who answered was Abe, the elder in-charged of the Regis Clan's planning during wartime.
"Although our clan has a good reputation, with all the rumors going around, it will be difficult to assure the mass," Zeniff, the elder handling the Regis Clan's field operations team, also supplied.
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