Currently, within the Ezraeil palace, the Emperor, Empress, Grace, several people, and I were gathered in a room.
“Can you tell us about the situation, Grandpa Bruce?” The Emperor spoke respectfully to an old man at his side. The old man had white hair, green eyes, and a white beard. The ravages of time had left a few wrinkles on his face. Bruce Ezraeil, is the grandfather of my mother and the Emperor, which means he’s my great-grandpa. Oh, one more thing, he’s an imperial.
“This is incredible, to think both the girls would awaken their bloodline, one leading to great military might and the other leading to elemental strength.”
“This generation of kids is amazing.”
Bruce sighed with both happiness and regret. Happiness because of their talent, and regret because they might not live up to it. Looking at Grace, his granddaughter who had gone through a lot, he hesitated if he should speak, but in the end, decided to be truthful.
“Grace, for them to fully awaken, they must go through the trial of our historic world. But with their current situation, there’s a 0% chance of them succeeding.”
The words Bruce spoke brought the room to silence. Even the usually cold-faced Empress frowned, and Grace paled completely, almost falling to the ground.
But I was there, and I caught her, giving her support. After that, I spoke.
“Can’t they choose not to awaken it?”
“No, if they choose not to, then they would be crippling themselves.”
Bruce then sighed, and he looked towards the boy holding his mother. He still couldn’t believe that the timid boy from before had completely changed. He always had the nagging feeling that something was up with this boy, but he never felt any threat from him, so he let him be.
“Is there any other method?”
It was the Emperor who spoke this time. Bruce hesitated a bit, but he still spoke.
“There is a method, but the price to pay for it won’t be small.”
He then spoke about a method of using Grace’s life force to support the bloodline, to which I instantly exploded and refused.
“No, no way would I agree to it. If you want, you can use my life force, not mom’s.”
My determined words caused a wave of surprise among the people gathered, who instantly gave off some affection points. When I was about to argue more, Grace placed her hands on me.
“No need, Austin. Mother will do it. You don’t have to worry about it. I can’t have anyone leaving me again.”
Angry, I pushed her and left the room. Once I made sure I was far away, my angry expression faded away, and only calmness remained.
‘Looks like I will have to use that method.’
There was a simpler method to solve this, which was to have a single person carry Nora and Elda and take the test for them. The historical world that the Ezraeil Empire possessed contained the powers of all the past bloodline holders.
It contains their treasure, weapons, and inheritance. But the problem is that a person is only allowed to enter it once, and the others have already done it. Plus, the historical world was “real” in a sense. It means that if you die in it, you die, even if you are an imperial. The test would automatically adjust to your strength. So taking Nora and Elda along with you, you’d have to do the test for three people, which is a death sentence. Who would jump into something when the end is death?
Controlling myself, I moved towards the room containing my sisters. Entering, several maids were doing their best to look after them. There was also Olivia sitting, looking worried. She, too, had changed. Not only did she become more beautiful, but the whole aura around her had changed, giving out a strong, confident woman.
After entering, I spoke.
“All the servants within the room have to leave. I need to speak privately to Her Highness Olivia.”
After I spoke, all the people in the room moved out.
“What is it, Austin?”
“Before I speak, could we move to a more private space?”
Saying so, I pointed to a room connecting to the current one we were in. She looked at me for a bit but nodded in the end. Entering the room, I spoke.
“Olivia, remember what you said three years ago, that you owe me?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Then I need you to pay it back to me today.”
“What do you want?”
She asked me back, her eyes scrunched.
“I want you to secretly get me and my sisters inside the historic world.”
“What!! Are you crazy?”
Being a smart person, Olivia instantly understood my intentions, which she strictly disagreed with.
“No, no way. You would die.”
“I am not as weak as you think, Olivia.”
Saying so, I released my sealed cultivation for her to sense.
“Y-you, how?”
Even though she couldn’t tell my exact cultivation, she knew that I was above her, someone who was an Origin Level 2! One must know that she had awakened her founder’s bloodline and had extensive resources, which gave to her current power. But I was above her. This had dealt her pride a huge blow.
But she pulled herself back quickly.
“No matter how strong you are, it’s too dangerous. I won’t allow it.”
“Oh? Is the famed princess going back on her word?”
My words angered her, and she brought out her mana to mobilize her spell. But before her, I moved faster. In the blink of an eye, I reached in front of her.
I tripped her leg, brought her hands to the back, and forced her to kneel, immobilizing her. Currently, she was forced to kneel with her mana restricted.
“Yo-you, do you know the outcome of what you are doing?”
Olivia roared with anger and shame. She, the esteemed princess, was forced to kneel. Just this was enough to have Austin’s head rolling. Having her kneel, I was just accurately at her height.
“I don’t care. If I could save my sisters, then death would be a happy end.”
I roared back at her, increasing my strength on her. My words caused her heart to beat faster, and my domineering presence brought her hidden desires to the light.
“I don’t care, and I won’t allow it.”
Olivia stubbornly replied.
‘Oh, I see, so that’s how you want to play it, huh?’
Seeing how stubborn she was, I didn’t get angry. Once Olivia decided on something, it was almost impossible to change her mind about it. Almost impossible.
“So? You won’t listen to me, huh?”
“Austin?”
Seeing the sadistic smile on my face, Olivia felt as if something bad was going to happen. She could feel that Austin was different.
“What are you going to do?”
“Nothing. I am just going to punish you.”
Hearing my words, Olivia’s eyes opened wide. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Was this the same Austin she knew?
“Punish me?”
“Yes, bad girls need to be punished, after all.”
