CHAPTER 403: RETURN AND SELERA’S PAST

After returning to the Lionheart estate, everything went exactly as Daniel expected—without any surprises or unexpected changes.

They handed over all the evidence of Tormyn’s betrayal directly to the White Whale herself, since that woman was far more trustworthy than the other elders.

Fortunately, Tormyn was truly punished. Just because he was the Patriarch’s son, they didn’t let him off. He was sentenced to fifty years in prison, would never again be allowed to grow stronger for the rest of his life, and his current level of power was also destroyed.

As for the other traitorous elders, finding them wasn’t as difficult as expected. In fact, it seemed the White Whale already knew who they were, and she had them all arrested.

This surprised Daniel. If this woman had known everything from the beginning, why hadn’t she tried to stop it sooner? After a second thought, he concluded that perhaps there had been a plan in motion, but now that everything had been exposed, they had no choice but to abandon it.

As for the details of that plan, guessing wasn’t very hard. Still, Daniel didn’t think too much about it. In the end, it didn’t really concern him, and as much as possible, he had no interest in getting involved in such matters.

Especially now, when there were still many other things he needed to take care of.

Ilaris and Andreas also reunited. The boy hugged her tightly and refused to let go for a long while. Of course, it was obvious that Ilaris herself didn’t want to separate from him either.

This made Daniel conclude that their love was mutual. Still, the two of them were at different stages of it. Andreas had already fully accepted his feelings and only struggled with confessing them.

As for Ilaris... she still didn’t quite realize what she truly felt toward Andreas. She only knew that she had strange, yet beautiful and warm feelings for him.

That made Daniel sigh. He had never thought he’d end up as someone’s love advisor, but at this rate, maybe he’d have no choice.

In any case, if his plans went smoothly and those two ended up getting married, there would be a lot of benefits for him.

Still, this wasn’t something that could be rushed. It had to move forward slowly—forcing things could ruin everything.

"Well, since Ilaris is safe now, how about we have a celebration tonight?" Andreas said happily with a smile on his face.

"Sure—but it’s on you," Daniel nodded.

Then Andreas brought both of them into his palace and ordered the royal chef to prepare dinner for them that night.

The royal chef belonged to the Black Palace and usually only cooked for the Patriarch and his wife. But tonight, the White Whale granted them permission to use the royal chef.

Once the food was prepared, they ate with delight, talking about various topics and keeping the mood as cheerful as possible.

It was clear Ilaris had something she wanted to say, but she didn’t want to break the joyful atmosphere too soon. So, for about two hours, they only talked about positive things.

However, after a while, the mood slowly began to lose its spark. Maybe because Andreas also realized there were matters that needed to be addressed—and they couldn’t be delayed any longer.

"Tormyn is out of the way. Now only Lioran remains," Daniel finally spoke up when he saw neither of them wanted to start.

"Fortunately, Tormyn dug his own grave. But what about Selera? She’s also a strong rival," Andreas asked.

"I have some ideas regarding Selera. Still, can you tell me more about your sister? Because it seems the reason she wants to become head of the family is different from the rest of you."

"Of course, but there’s not much I can tell you. Information about each of us is heavily protected so it can’t be used as a weapon against us. Especially about Selera—her information is deeply hidden."

"She’s your sister, isn’t she? Didn’t you grow up together?" Ilaris asked curiously.

"Not really... when we were children, we didn’t have much contact. Each of us was raised by our own mothers," Andreas shook his head.

"I thought your father only had one wife?" Daniel asked without surprise. He had already suspected as much, and it wasn’t hard to guess. Still, the conversation needed to continue.

"There’s only one official wife. But there are other wives too. Depending on which child becomes the heir, the position of the main wife can also change. And before you ask—Lioran’s mother is the main wife."

"Oh? Interesting. So that’s why your father values Lioran so much. To the point that when he saw you had no talent, he sent you to the Mage Tower just to avoid embarrassment?" Daniel smirked.

"That’s right," Andreas nodded with a sigh. Even though Lioran was the most talentless, because of his mother’s status, he was always the most valued.

"Back to your question. I don’t know much about Selera. But I’ve heard some rumors that her mother died... or to be more precise, was killed. As for by whom... I have no idea. Most likely, she had the hardest childhood among us."

"I see. Then it’s possible her goal is revenge," Daniel pieced the fragments of information together like a puzzle, forming a vague picture of the girl’s true purpose.

If his guess was right, then maybe there was a way to pull Selera to their side. There might not be a need to eliminate her.

"What about your mother? Where is she?" Ilaris asked again. She had spent some time here, yet had never seen Andreas’s mother.

"Well, my mother returned to her family. As for the reason, she never told me much, but I think it was because her family needed her. I used to visit her sometimes, but as you can see, I’ve been too busy lately."

"Do you know anything about Selera’s mother’s identity?" Daniel then shifted the topic.

"Not much. But if I’m not mistaken, she wasn’t human. In fact, I don’t even know what race she was or where she came from. Like I said, her information is heavily protected. You’d have to ask my aunt or Selera herself." Andreas shook his head with regret.

"That’s fine. I was planning to talk to Selera soon anyway. It’s time I gave her an answer."

"So she tried to recruit you? Let me guess—she offered you a high-ranking position?" Andreas asked with a smirk.

"She said she’d marry me."

"...."

"What?" Andreas and Ilaris both shouted in shock.

"Forget it. Leave Selera to me. Anyway, Ilaris, it seemed like you had something to say. Did you make your decision?"