Chapter 48 - 2.9

Xu Jiaqi entered with her head lowered, which Reginald interpreted as the girl giving up with her attempts to fight back.

In fact, Xu Jiaqi was just trying to control her intense desire to mock the Duke for not realizing that he could have literally made a human weapon out of Ariel if it wasn't for his wrong foresight that did not account for her mother's potential.

The System did some research on Ariel Maine's mother, and it turned out that she was actually a runaway performer from another empire. Although the details were not disclosed, her mother, whose name was Maria, came from a tribe that specialized in magical attributes. They dealt with ancient subjects, such as old fashioned spells, charms, or even curses. It was an eccentric lineage, but they were indeed quite special.

This bloodline, mixed with the noble Maine bloodline who is known to be very suitable to cultivating magic, concocted Ariel Maine, who had a very high aptitude towards using magic. In particular, her Holy magic was the most polished out of all the elements.

Xu Jiaqi sneered inside as she watched Reginald look at her as if she was just some measly trash when in truth, it was Reginald's huge loss since the very beginning.

"This lady.. would like to bring someone with me to Palla. Would that be allowed?" Xu Jiaqi tilted her head, smiling as she bubbly requested.

The Duke raised a brow at this request. He felt very unsettled, but he did not know why.

"Who might the unlucky person be?" He questioned, not denying the request right away. It was just the loss of one person. As long as Xu Jiaqi did not ask for someone who was out of her league, and was disposable to Reginald, he planned to grant it.

"You know the knight who escorted me here? Yeah, this lady will bring him with me."

"...A knight? For you? It seems like you still don't understand your situation here. I'm sending you off to die. If you think that Palla is that righteous and glorious, then why would I not send Ariana there? It's because they're trash people. And you are the one who is going to take the brunt of it, a meat shield. Are you trying to make that knight die for you? It'd be pointless." Reginald laughed condescendingly.

"If I am granted the request, then I shall act accordingly to a proper noble's manners and not stain the Maine's reputation. I just want to bring someone down with me, and that knight offended me earlier. Is even this too much of a request for you?" Xu Jiaqi looked, sighing as she batted her eyelids as if she was tired from everything in the world.

"Well, that knight... is a peasant, so you could take him without any repercussions. Adam, arrange for the knight's transfer. Seek for his replacement." Reginald ordered.

Xu Jiaqi internally grinned in delight.

"I understand.. However, Lady, the knight's name is Zenith Ahgren, a member of Maine's First Knight Order. As a peasant, getting into his position takes every drop of his blood, sweat, and tears. This matter of you desiring to bring him to Palla means that you are destroying all of his hard work, and killed his path off. Are you still going to proceed?" The counselor spoke. He was well aware of Zenith, who was famed to have climbed the impossible stairs.

When the others were of a noble pedigree or a rich civilian, he was a poor peasant who rose to his position just using his sheer willpower. He was also strong, so losing him will indeed be a bit detrimental to Maine.

However, at the same time, replacements for someone like him were aplenty and did not need to be fussed about. This was akin to the lady's dying wish, since she will most definitely die in Palla and not even be buried intact. Thus, it could still be granted.

"Of course. this lady just wants to see his devastated expression as he realizes that... that his future has been uprooted with just some simple words." Xu Jiaqi calmly stated.

"..Very well then. It shall be arranged according to your wishes." The counselor relented.

"Is that all?" Reginald hurriedly spoke. He never liked to see this daughter of his because of how her mother used to be.

At first, he had been attracted to the woman who entranced him and captured his attention after just a few sessions of getting to know each other. He grew to learn more and more about the woman, and engaged in various nightly activities with the exotic beauty. She was akin to an intoxicating alcohol. Poisonous for him to consume.

However, the woman turned out to be a liar. Not only was she just a peasant, she was also a member of an indigenous tribe that used curses and did strange rituals. It was still perfectly normal to have several wives and lovers, but if people knew that his lover's origins were like that.. It would be deadly to his name.

Thus, he discarded her, barred her off from ever seeing him again, and even injured her when she was  pregnant with Ariel Maine. The baby was undetected, but after a few months, the pregnancy was clear.

From there, Maria began to descend into insanity, and when she gave birth to Ariel, she thought that the baby could be a way for her to get Reginald to love her again. To give her the glory and wealth he once promised.

But when she sought Reginald out bringing Ariel in her hands, she was thrown out brutally and had her fingers cut off, her eyes dug out, and her tongue pulled out because Maria attempted to latch herself to Reginald for the last time, betting on her charm to get the man's heart one more time.

When it all failed, she truly went ballistic. However, according to the news, she later died because of bleeding and infections in addition to a serious sickness that plagued her.

Remembering all about his former partner, Reginald clicked his tongue in displeasure. This daughter of his was such an eyesore.