Magus Reborn

81. Secrets of Inheritance

Arzan’s mother was a magus?

Veridia’s words were like a bolt straight out of the sky and it took more than a second for him to register them. A lot of thoughts turned in his mind as he felt like the hidden piece of a puzzle he was looking for was finally revealed to him.

But it also brought out a lot of confusion with it.

Therefore he turned around, masking his confusion and vulnerability with a polite smile.

Archon moved forward and extended his hand— there was a thin strip of yellow parchment, designed with green embroidery in the corners.

"This is the temporary pass for the library," he said with a gruff voice.

Kai gave a curt nod and noticed that the man’s aura was stranger than before and his eyes seemed to bore into him. Even Jasper showed similar annoyance, but he hid it way better. He couldn’t blame them since he doubted the tower had many instances of losing out like this.

Not only they could do nothing to him on Actra’s death, they even have to compensate him.

He gave them one last look and turned around to leave.

As he exited the room, he felt Veridia’s gaze burning into his back, a heated intensity that sent shivers down his spine. The glare that bore behind his back made him wonder if she was going to go back on her words and simply attack him, but he maintained his composed stride, disappearing down the hallway.

Once safely out of sight, Kai allowed himself to breathe. Thankfully, no one stopped him for anything more and it allowed him to recap the entire interrogation.

It had been a high-stakes dance for sure, and while he’d managed to stay one step ahead, the revelation about his mother made him rethink everything he’d known about Arzan so far.

He replayed Veridia’s words in his mind: "Your mother would be proud that you were able to access her inheritance. The tower only had a handful of magus and she was a special one even among those."

Arzan’s mother, a magus of Archine Tower? It wasn’t hard for him to believe that a lot of people in his family were Mages.

After all, his initial potential had been pretty good, but he hadn’t entertained the possibility of his own mother being a powerful magus and one that probably had a history with Veridia.

His thoughts went back to anything and everything he could think of her.

The diaries, the only link he had to his past, had offered no mention of her. He’d simply assumed she was from a noble house, someone who’d passed away early, leaving Arzan with no memories of her. Now, it seemed the truth was... far more complex.

The inheritance, then, wasn’t from the Duchy, but from his mother herself. An inheritance that others assumed to be powerful enough to unclog his mana veins and awaken his magical abilities.

Had Actra killed him for the inheritance if it was so powerful? He doubted it since it was usual for only the successor to be able to access it until a Mage had decided to make it a competition.

A thousand questions swirled in his mind.

Everyone around him was probably going to assume he had gotten the inheritance. But only he knew the truth. The question of what type of inheritance it was, who actually was his mother and where was this inheritance located bugged him.

As he walked, he pushed these questions down, deciding to use the tower’s library to see if they had any records on his mother. Knowing how they publically boasted of their former powerful Mages, they would have a lot of information for the novices and apprentices to read through.

Suddenly, he thought back to the awakening of his ice element and the voice he had heard. Was that some sort of a soul imprint left by his mother? It could definitely be that, but he couldn’t come to a conclusion before getting more information about her.

If he was lucky, he would even be able to find more information on his whole family in the library.

It wouldn’t be a bad choice to look into this inheritance since it was bound to contain some sort of artifacts, spells or powers that Arzan’s mother would have left for him. It was sad that he would never be able to get his hand on his rightful inheritance, but he was here in his place.

"My territory had gotten signs of a beast wave. I had already confirmed it and it’s approaching fast. I’m here to seek assistance from the kingdom since if the beast wave isn’t stopped, a lot of lives would be at stake."

A murmur rippled through the court at his words. He felt more eyes on him. Kai ignored it, focusing on Sullivan’s increasingly serious expression.

"A beast wave, you say? How many beasts are you talking about?"

"Around a thousand, your highness," he said, exaggerating the numbers, causing another ripple through the nobles.

"That’s no trifling matter. Isn’t your territory around the Vasper Forest?"

Kai nodded, a bit surprised Sullivan remembered it. He saw something flickering through his eyes and the disinterest in them slowly faded and for a few seconds, he saw pity.

"I understand. This is no trifling matter, young Arzan. The kingdom will lend its aid." He clapped his hands and gestured to one of his servants who promptly moved.

After a few minutes in which he answered a few more questions on the beast wave, a door at the back of the room hissed open, and a figure emerged.

Kai’s breath hitched seeing the person. His eyes settled on him as he recalled a painting he had seen while entering the castle.

He had white hair, the colour of freshly fallen snow which was a sharp contrast to his dark eyes. Other than that, his face was a bit plain and if we removed his hair, he would look like any other commoner, but he noticed that the man walked with a stride that seemed to suggest that he trained everyday.

He was the first prince— Eldric Sullivan Lancephil.

He hadn’t planned to meet him on his journey to the capital, but as Eldric stood before the King, he knew his plans were hardly going to matter here.

King Sullivan gestured to the prince. "Eldric, I’m glad you have come here at such a short notice."

"I was in the castle, your majesty," he said, bowing in greeting.

"Dark clouds have moved themselves towards our kingdom again, Eldric and with them, they have brought upon a beast wave on Baron Arzan’s territory. Ensure he gets all the help we can offer."

Kai felt Eldric’s gaze on him as he bowed in gratitude. He didn’t particularly like it, never taken well to any nobles he had crossed paths with, but this was a part of his life now, so he could simply get it over with.

The voices from the sides died down as soon as Sullivan ordered the prince to take over the matter. Though, he did saw a lot of people whispering.

Things moved rather fast after that as Sullivan dismissed him, saying that he had heard enough for today and wanted to move back to his chambers.

The audience ended abruptly, Kai ushered out by a flustered chamberlain who led him to one of the rooms in the back which seemed to be a plush waiting room.

After giving him a steaming cup of tea, he left, leaving him alone.

Kai didn’t particularly care about how he was treated, but whatever he observed in the court confirmed most things Malden had told him. Sullivan was really not interested in handling the kingdom’s affairs anymore.

As he took his first sip out of the tea, the door creaked open.

Prince Eldric stepped into the room, followed by a few guards who stood by the door and a man who seemed to be some sort of an advisor who followed him to the table.

Kai rose to his feet, looking over at him and hoping that his first meeting with the future mad king would be smooth.

"Baron Arzan," Eldric said in a far more cheerful voice than he had expected. "I’ve been meaning to talk to you for a while now."

What did he just say?