Chapter 94: Prospective Father-in-Law

Chapter 94: The Prospective Father-in-Law

"The finger of the God of Light summoned the will of the God of Order, which then aided the Young Master in completing the purification.

Words fail to convey my current state of mind; it is nothing short of a divine miracle!

A genuine miracle, well worthy of the Young Master, for only his purification could evoke such an awe-inspiring manifestation!"

Purr rested its two paws upon its belly, dropping its eyelids as it stared at Alfred; it was exhausted, longing for nothing but sleep.

Consequently, this radio sprite, so eager to hear a story, was utterly insufferable!

"Woof! Woof!"

Beside them, Kevin the golden retriever, lying on the sofa, barked twice at Alfred in deep discontent.

Kevin was also exhausted and yearned for sleep, yet Alfred kept grasping one of his dog legs, shaking it up and down continuously, forcibly dispelling his drowsiness.

Alfred looked at Kevin and smiled.

"When listening to such a magnificent tale, what a monumental shame it would be if there weren't an evil god by our side to share it!"

"Woof! Woof!"

Alfred turned his gaze toward Purr and inquired, "What is it saying?"

Purr replied, "It says you are the true dog here."

Just then, the bedroom door was pushed open from the outside, and Karen walked in.

"Oh, my dear little Karen, unplug that radio sprite's power cord immediately; I am dying of sleepiness, meow~"

Instead, Karen picked Purr straight up, walked over to the billiard table, and opened the French window before it, allowing the chilly outside wind, laden with moisture, to rush in, flattening Purr's fur against its body.

"Bede is a follower of the Church of the Wall."

Taking advantage of Purr's "forced lucidity," Karen spoke directly.

Mr. Bede believed that Karen would certainly keep his secret, and Karen had indeed done so, but Purr was no outsider.

Well, strictly speaking, inside the bedroom right now sat a cat, a dog, and a radio; not only were there no outsiders, there were no humans at all.

As the cold wind blew across Purr’s muddled feline face, its features instantly wrinkled up, yet upon hearing Karen's words, they immediately relaxed:

"Ah, such a wonderful turn of events exists?"

Indeed, Purr would not feel angered simply because a member of the family chose to believe in a heretical cult rather than the First Ancestor.

"You told me before that Mr. Bede said the reason he let Lady Jenny and Eunice take his place to go to Lorgar City was because he wished to view an art exhibition at the time."

"Yes, Old Anderson said so during the family meeting; he went to Sampur to view an art exhibition." Purr immediately continued, "Hmm, are you implying he didn't go to Sampur for an art exhibition?"

"Yes."

Karen placed Purr atop the ball rack and spoke to Alfred, who stood at the steps of the billiard table:

"Alfred, bring me my notebook."

"Yes, Young Master."

Karen did not have the habit of keeping a diary, but he was accustomed to recording certain thoughts and images.

Since moving into the Allen residence, matters concerning his clothing and daily necessities had been taken over by the Allen family, but the private items Karen brought with him had always been kept under Alfred's care.

Soon enough,

Alfred brought Karen's notebook over.

Karen sat down on the steps of the billiard table and began flipping through the notebook, turning to several consecutive pages of drawings; these were all the sketches he had "copied" from Linda's paintings.

Alfred and Kevin the golden retriever leaned close to watch, while Purr, resting in the ball rack above, stuck its head out to look down.

Upon seeing several of Karen's drawings, it could not help clicking its tongue:

"Oh, Karen, your artistic skills are truly... so abstract."

Alfred immediately countered, "The Young Master has never studied drawing; to be able to sketch like this is already highly impressive."

Purr rolled its eyes at Alfred.

Karen found the specific page and tapped his finger against the "drawing."

This drawing was a copy of the mural he had witnessed in the studio at Piaget's home.

In the mural, Piaget stood upon the rooftop of the grand building, Linda flew in the sky, and further above, deep within the dark clouds, loomed the figure of the giantess—the evil goddess Rielsa.

At the very bottom of the drawing was an enlarged altar.

Upon seeing "Rielsa," the golden retriever leaned its head even further forward, and then began to laugh:

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

Evidently, the golden retriever must have recognized Rielsa, because although Karen's sketch was quite casual—even somewhat abstract, as Purr had remarked—he had grasped the crucial details with emphasis.

Particularly Rielsa's hands: her left hand was a pond swirling with various colors, while her right hand held a massive, multicolored feather.

"What is it saying?" Karen asked.

Purr translated, "It is mocking Rielsa for being an idiot."

The golden retriever nodded immediately, indicating that Purr's translation was entirely accurate, and then continued:

"Woof! Woof! Woof!"

Purr continued to translate, "An idiot who went to paint a mural depicting the end of the God of Order back when the God of Order was at the absolute zenith of his power."

Karen cast a glance at the golden retriever and spoke:

"Purr, Dis once told me that after conducting an extraordinary divine descent ritual, someone would come to help him clean up the aftermath, entirely erasing any suspicion surrounding the extraordinary divine descent ritual."

"Hmm? Wasn't that Linda?"

"Did you know it was Linda beforehand?" Karen asked.

"I... actually, I don't know much. I did offer some assistance, but the one who truly contributed and exerted the most effort was Little Hoffen."

"So, what do you know?"

"I only know that Dis should have had a contingency plan arranged, because he couldn't possibly allow his grandson to remain forever trapped within a vortex of investigation and suspicion."

"Then what about Mr. Hoffen?"

"He likely knew more than I did, but Dis always had a habit—a habit just like yours—which is that unless you take the initiative to ask, he sometimes won't tell you his arrangements. Perhaps he felt there was no need for you to know, or that whether you knew or not made no difference, as things would proceed that way regardless."

Hearing this, Karen unconsciously reached up and rubbed his nose.

Indeed, he still hadn't told Purr about his conversation with Count Recar, because his reasoning matched the description Purr gave of Dis.

In any case, unless the Allen family encountered a true crisis they could not resolve, Karen would not attempt to awaken that arrogant Count again.

"Alfred, what would you like to drink?"

"Yes."

Alfred immediately went to pour some ice water, handing it into Karen's grasp.

Holding the chilly cup in his hand, Karen continued:

"When Mr. Bede came to Lorgar City last time, he became acquainted with Lady Jenny, who was a native of Lorgar."

"Yes, what about it?" Purr asked in confusion.

"Since he possessed the ability to court someone, he must have already been an adult the last time Mr. Bede visited."

Purr chimed in, "At least older than Lunt."

"Mr. Bede told me that he had converted to the Order of the Wall at a very early age, which completely severed any possibility of him ever awakening the Primordial bloodline again."

"Oh, that's fine, young man. His father and two older brothers don't exactly look like paragons of talent anyway. I'm sure even the Ancestor wouldn't want his descendants blindly hanging themselves from his single tree without ever looking for a better spot."

"Dis met him in the study."

"Oh, of course. Dis has always been exceedingly patient with the fools of my Allen family. In the early days, I was actually touched by it, thinking Dis was doing it for my sake.

Only later did I realize that Dis must have set his sights on the Allen family bloodline long ago. That boy Dis has been deep and calculating ever since he was a child, humph."

"So, back then, could Dis tell that Mr. Bede, sitting right across the desk from him, had already changed his faith?"

"Naturally," Purr said with absolute certainty. "Dis condensed three divinity fragments during three different eras. Even cathedral elders sat face-to-face with him. If Bede had changed his faith back then, Dis would definitely have seen through it.

Oh, I see, Karen, you mean to say..."

"Yes. I believe there was another reason Dis chose the Allen family, and that is this very Mr. Bede—my prospective father-in-law.

I always thought that the person Dis mentioned who helped clean up after the beyond-specification deity descent ritual was Linda;

after learning about Linda's identity, I even purposely went into Dis's study in the afternoon to speak with him about it.

I said: 'Grandfather, I know who the powerful aberration was that you mentioned helped us clear our suspicion last time.'

And at that time, Dis only gave me a single response: 'Oh.'

In truth, Dis had never explicitly told me that the person was Linda."

"It was Mr. Bede?" Alfred asked immediately. "He didn't go to see the art exhibition?"

Karen shook his head and said,

"No, he did indeed go to see the art exhibition."

"Rip!"

Karen tore the drawing from the sketchbook and held it up before them.

"Look."

Alfred, Goldie, and Purr all leaned their heads closer to Karen, staring at the paper held up in front of them—at this very drawing.

"What if we don't look at it as a drawing, but treat it as a photograph instead?

This is clearly

the perspective of an observer!"

"So, Mr. Bede was also in the City of Roja at the time? He witnessed Linda using the altar to summon Raelisa, the Deity of the Wall, through the beyond-specification deity descent ritual?"

"Grandfather said that a beyond-specification deity descent ritual requires an immense price," Karen said. "He also said that he could not possibly succeed."

Alfred: "So, the one who reached a cooperation with Dis to help the Inmmorales family wash away the trouble of the deity descent ritual was him, while Linda was the price he chose?"

Karen lowered the paper in his hand

and said,

"So, I have yet another reason for coming to the Allen family. Even Grandfather's insistence on me being with Eunice gains another layer of meaning.

Because in Dis's plan, the cooperation of this prospective father-in-law of mine was indispensable."

Lying in the ball basket, Purr instantly shrieked:

"Meow!!!"

Purr began to frantically swing her cat paws at the empty air,

cursing,

"Heavens, Dis has plucked my Allen family absolutely bald!"

But very quickly,

Purr rolled onto her side and started laughing:

"Well, this means the Allen family did produce a decent little fellow after all. Bede, oh ho ho ho, he hid himself so incredibly well. I didn't notice a single thing. Karen, how did you figure it out?"

"After the purification, I saw an unfinished painting of his," Karen replied.

"A terrifying perception of atmosphere," Purr envied. "Is this the effect of a purification personally presided over by a god?"

Alfred added immediately, "I rather think it is because the Young Master has always possessed the heart of an artist, which allows him to discover these details."

Purr rolled her eyes at Alfred once more,

but soon said,

"Then it seems that in this generation of the Allen family, there is still someone who amounts to something. So, the Allen family isn't as hopeless as I thought; he's just used to hiding himself."

From Purr's perspective, she really ought to feel comforted. She had finally discovered a non-idiot among a flock of fools, and this one was even qualified to cooperate with Dis.

"There is something I want to remind you of," Karen said to Purr.

"Hmm?" Purr looked at Karen curiously. "Speak."

"More often than not, when a family falls into decline, its progression closely resembles a slow, chronic death."

"Yes, I know. Just like the Allen family."

"And under such circumstances, it is easy to produce a..."

"Genius!" Purr said.

"But in most cases, this genius cannot bring about a revival for the family; instead, they accelerate the family's destruction."

"This..." Purr muttered.

"Watching the family slide downhill piece by piece, facing external threats, yet sitting in the position of the patriarch while doing absolutely nothing, continuing to play the role of a simpleton, only to remain immersed in his own artistic atmosphere.

Do you think such a person can be trusted?"

"Woof! Woof!" Goldie barked twice.

"What did he say?"

Purr translated, "He said that devout believers of the Order of the Wall, just like Raelisa, the Deity of the Wall they worship, are thorough, paranoid madmen."

Karen thought of Linda, and thought of Piaget.

He cautioned,

"Let us put this matter and Mr. Bede's identity aside for the time being. He isn't the patriarch anyway, so let him continue to immerse himself in his artistic self-absorption.

A person like him usually appears to enjoy the family atmosphere, but deep in his bones, he doesn't truly care.

Otherwise, Linda wouldn't have done something like having her husband burn her corpse and then use her ashes as paint."

"Sigh." Purr wagged her tail. "It wasn't easy to find one that grew well, only for him to turn out to have thorns, and maybe even poison. The Allen family has it so hard."

"Let's leave this matter at that for now. Everyone get some rest. There shouldn't be anything else happening today."

...

This slumber, Cullen found, was far from peaceful.

It was likely due to the purification he had just undergone, rendering his perceptions somewhat excessively vibrant.

Upon drifting off, he remained acutely aware of his own sleeping state, yet fragments of past memories continued to surface incessantly in his mind, as if he were re-examining his own history.

The scene of his first awakening, the days spent in the Immeris household, the journey to Wien... until finally, the imagery froze beneath his feet, surrounded by a vast expanse of white, with only the patch directly under him cast in an exclusive shadow.

The vision arrested itself at this juncture.

The moment Cullen subconsciously turned to look behind him, he awoke;

simultaneously, the day had dawned.

Cullen rose from his bed, washed up, and stepped out of the bedroom, where Borge was already waiting: "Young Master, I shall instruct the kitchen to serve breakfast."

"Mm."

Cullen entered the study and spread his copy of *The Light of Order* across the desk.

He did not actually participate in the practical operations of the Allen family, so this luxurious study was, for now, truly being used by him as nothing more than a pure reading room.

Before long, a breakfast that was both tedious and rich in nutrients was brought inside;

Cullen ate with an expressionless countenance, contemplating whether he should have Old Anderson arrange a separate small kitchen for him on the third floor.

Just then,

the study door was knocked;

Cullen pressed the bell, and Mr. Mike entered in his wheelchair.

Seeing him, Cullen finally recalled Purr telling him that he could help resolve Mike's bodily issues, allowing him to resume his practices.

Now that he had completed his purification and become an honorable servant of God, he could attempt to see this matter through.

"Young Master Cullen, the estate just received a phone call. Early this morning, Prince Henry left the palace with over a hundred Royal Guards, heading toward our manor."

"Oh?" Cullen expressed some confusion, "To do what?"

"Unsure. He was presumably drunk last night and uttered a great deal of intoxicated nonsense, including grievances directed at our Allen family, likely because of Miss Eunice."

"Who called?" Cullen inquired. "An informant of the Allen family within the imperial palace?"

"No, it was a warning call personally made by the Queen's personal lady-in-waiting. Palace personnel have already been dispatched to pursue Prince Henry. However, the lady-in-waiting also expressed her apologies and explained that the Queen has sent people to intercept him.

Of course, in all probability, once Prince Henry sober s up halfway through the journey, he should turn back on his own accord; it is highly unlikely he would truly commit such an absurdity."

"Truly quite low-class," Cullen appraised.

"Indeed," Mike agreed. "But do not worry, Young Master, nothing will go awry. Even if he does arrive, the Allen family will turn them back. Though the family has fallen from grace, we still possess considerable connections."

"Mm." Cullen pointed at Mike. "I have just completed my purification."

"Yes, Young Master, congratulations. The transformation in the performance hall's pool yesterday truly left me..."

"No, that is not what I meant." Cullen interrupted Mike's words. "Grandfather knew about your physical condition."

"Lord Dis knew of my situation?"

"Yes, Grandfather cares deeply about everyone in the Allen family."

"Truly... gratitude to the great Lord Dis."

"Therefore, Grandfather taught me a method that, once my purification was complete, could help resolve your current affliction. Though your severed legs cannot be restored, it will allow you to resume your cultivation."

"Young Master, truly? Truly!"

Mike grew exceedingly agitated, his hands gripping the armrests of his wheelchair as if trying to hoist himself upward.

At this moment, the knocking at the door resounded once more.

Cullen pressed the bell again, and Mr. Bede hurried inside:

"Young Master Cullen, this is bad..."

"Prince Henry has arrived?" Cullen asked.

Mr. Bede looked astonished: "You know already?"

Somewhat impatiently, Cullen leaned back into his chair. He truly had no desire to undergo the drama of maneuvering and bickering with a romantic rival; he found it utterly childish.

It was likely due to his upbringing... yes, the upbringing of the Immeris household.

Just like that afternoon when he went to Dis to explain the situation regarding Siso's family, analyzing the latent power behind those prominent figures of massive households, only for Dis to respond to him with:

"Them? What sort of things do they even amount to?"

Consequently, an impulse was genuinely beginning to stir in Cullen's heart: should he risk everything to awaken Count Recar and have him resolve this issue?

To bypass the nuisance of the interim process, could he perhaps exhume Count Recar's coffin beforehand, secretly transport it to the palace walls within York City, and "awaken" Count Recar at that very spot?

Afterward, it would remain to be seen whether Count Recar's first instinct upon waking would be to return home for a look or to scale the wall to reminisce with his old lover's descendant.

"Was it your doing, Young Master?" Mr. Bede asked.

"Hmm?" Cullen's train of thought was disrupted. "What was my doing?"

"Prince Henry, that is," Mr. Bede said.

"I shall refrain from meeting him. After all, is my identity not unsuited for public exposure? You can handle him, can you not, Mike?"

"We can, Young Master," Mike nodded.

"No..." Mr. Bede spread his hands. "Prince Henry has already been handled."

Mike smiled: "Father moves remarkably fast. Was he awoken by the commotion as well?"

Cullen also breathed a sigh of relief, saying: "My thanks to Mr. Anderson for his trouble."

What he desired was out of sight, out of mind. So long as Prince Henry did not appear at the manor to curry favor with Eunice, he could not care less about that incestuous spawn of the Gloria family.

Mr. Bede fetched a sigh,

and said:

"Because the Prince Henry who just entered the manor has nothing left but a head."