Agatha and Valitz

Looking at the oil painting in his hand, Ronan gently ran his fingers over its surface, and tiny glimmers of light seeped into the canvas through his fingers.

Soon, a miraculous scene unfolded.

"Splash, splash—"

As the sound of turning pages filled the air, the young man in the black robe in the oil painting seemed to come to life, slowly turning the pages of the book in his hands as if he were a real person.

Ronan effortlessly lifted the entire canvas with an invisible force, firmly embedding it in the wall facing the entrance to the secret chamber. A thin layer of ice crystals rose up, giving the entire oil painting a crystal-like "mounting." This technique was enough to keep the entire oil painting from decaying for hundreds of years or even longer.

Ronan quietly admired his portrait, which had been "revitalized" using special methods, before flipping his right hand to reveal four chilling ice balls in his palm.

The frost melted rapidly, revealing pieces of metal of various shapes sealed within—a broken badge engraved with a rhinoceros pattern, an old copper pot missing its spout. Ronan grasped at it with his five fingers, and the four metal objects exploded with a "bang," turning into large, thick, reddish-brown clouds.

From within the smoke came the deep roar of a monster, and a massive, heavy body gleaming with metallic luster could be vaguely seen emerging.

Ronan remained calm, chanting a short incantation. Threads of white light shot from the tips of his five outstretched fingers and quickly disappeared into the rolling, thick clouds.

Before long, all the thick reddish-brown clouds receded and returned to their original metallic shapes, flying to the four corners of the secret room and set up quietly.

Back in the Mechanical Heart Ruins, Ronan obtained a number of metallic Elemental Lifeform, which he had kept without doing anything about, but now they were finally coming in handy.

Ronan crouched down about five steps away from his own portrait and began to trace the outline on a stone slab with his index finger.

His fingertips traced a path of faint light across the stone slab, and as the last stroke was completed, the entire rune quickly disappeared, leaving no trace on the stone slab.

Ronan gently tapped the stone slab with his hand, and the hidden runes reappeared with a crisp "click," revealing a small pit half a foot deep beneath the slab.

Ronan took out a small Storage Waist Pouch he had prepared beforehand and put it in. After thinking for a moment, he also put in the mysterious bone spur he had obtained from Andariel, which could directly strike the opponent's soul.

After doing all this, he slowly stood up.

Looking around the still empty chamber, Ronan murmured to himself, "I've set up a second-tier Rune Array and four second-tier metal elemental golems in this chamber. There shouldn't be any wizards on the East Coast capable of countering this power. It's enough to ensure the Daimien Family bloodline won't be cut off for hundreds of years."

"I have examined all the members of the Daimien Family, but unfortunately none of them have the potential to become wizards. However, there is a gardener's son who has a good aptitude. I have already instructed my father that every newborn member of the Damien family will enter this secret chamber once when they are eight years old."

If he possesses the potential to become a wizard, then he will be able to discern the hidden clues within this portrait and receive the corresponding inheritance of Meditation Technique and body-strengthening techniques.

"If he's lucky enough"

Ronan's gaze fell on the stone slab where he had just hidden his things. "And he showed enough respect to me, his Damien family's wizarding ancestor, that he was willing to kowtow a few times before my portrait."

"Then he will receive the complete set of inheritances and resources that I have stored down there, enough to support him from apprentice to second-level wizard..."

Perhaps, a hundred years from now

"Who knows, the Daimien Family might gradually develop into the wizarding family you desire."

Ronan stopped his monologue, paused, then looked at the stone wall in front of him and said softly, "Is there anything else you're not satisfied with?"

As if hearing his words, the handsome young man in black robes in the oil painting embedded in the stone wall put down his book, stood up, and quietly looked at him through the canvas.

In an instant, Ronan felt something inside him melting rapidly, and the familiar feeling of "fullness" and "clarity" rose again.

Within the Consciousness Space, the eighth Spiritual Power Crystal is also being rapidly completed.

A strange, faint light, invisible to others, emanated from his skin. Ronan raised his hand, looking at his right hand, which was "glowing" and had a semi-transparent appearance, and a slightly satisfied expression appeared on his face.

He turned and left the secret chamber. The heavy stone door slowly closed behind him, and mysterious runes flashed across its surface.

Ronan walked from underground to the castle garden, his steps never faltering. He climbed step by step into the air, until he reached the castle spire where a flag representing the Daimien Family was hanging, before finally stopping.

A gentle breeze lifted the hem of Ronan's robes as he stood atop the highest point of the castle, looking down below.

In the open space in front of the castle, nearly a hundred young men were lined up neatly, undergoing the selection of guards and knight apprentices.

Children ran around and played inside the castle, while servants busied themselves with their duties. In an open space on the shady side of the castle, Sandrine, an apprentice witch with a large, ugly birthmark on her face, was busy training the dozen or so undead servants she had just trained.

The relevant spells were taught to her by Ronan. For a Wandering Wizard roamed the East Coast, making a living by a few tattered notebooks and plundering the property of mortals, the knowledge Ronan imparted to her was already an unparalleled inheritance.

Sandrine is now, at least on the surface, absolutely devoted to Ronan, and probably wouldn't be willing to leave even if you asked her to.

It remains to be seen whether, as time goes by, her loyalty to Ronan will gradually shift to the Damien family.

Upon seeing Sandrine, Ronan couldn't help but recall the red-haired boy who had chased him off the ship when they arrived at the East Coast.

Ronan also left something for the red-haired boy. If the boy can find this place, it might become a force to maintain the Daimien Family bloodline.

Ronan stood under the sky, idly lost in thought, and finally found Moriel on a rooftop covered with blue glazed tiles on the side of the castle, basking in the sun and watching the stable boy trimming the donkey's hooves below.

Ronan stepped closer and gently landed beside Moriel.

Have you resolved all your issues?

Moriel turned to look at him.

Ronan shook his head. "There's one last thing left. Come with me to a place. It shouldn't take long."

Moriel nodded and stood up from the rooftop with a cheerful air.

Ronan used his mental power to envelop her, his robes unfurled, and like a great bird, he carried Moriel in one direction.

In his mind, the words Felesha Earl had spoken to him a few days earlier echoed one by one.

"Lier fell in love with the son of the Baron of Fragrant Flower Territory, and they got married before you even returned..."

The following summer, Lier gave birth to a daughter, but tragically, she died in childbirth.

The child's name is Agatha.

"By now, he should be able to walk..."

"Quiet down, my dear, close your eyes, the stars are twinkling, it's time to go into the night."

The moon shone softly, casting its light on the sea.

Dream of the miracles you will witness.

Sleep well, little one, in this sweet cradle.

"Go to sleep, my dear Agatha. Before Green Water Lake freezes over, let's go see the Black Swan tomorrow."

In the empty room, the young nanny gently kissed the girl's forehead, tenderly comforting her.

Once the girl closed her eyes and peacefully drifted off to sleep, the nanny stood up, blew out the candle, and tiptoed out of the room.

"Creak—"

The door closed gently, and moonlight, like a transparent silver veil, spilled onto the floor, making everything in the room appear extremely peaceful and tranquil.

Suddenly, a gentle breeze blew in, and the floor-to-ceiling window on one side of the room, which was close to the balcony, was gently blown open.

Under the moonlight, two figures quietly appeared.

Ronan pushed open the door and slowly walked into the room.

He knelt down beside the crib, his black robes spreading out on the floor like ink.

On the bed, a two-year-old girl was sleeping soundly.

Ronan's gaze slowly swept over the girl's face, hair, and body, before suddenly landing on the toy she was tightly clutching in her hands.

It was a small bear made of plush fabric, crudely made with crooked and old-fashioned stitching. One of the buttons that made the bear's eyes had fallen off.

"Lier."

Ronan looked at the toy bear, his lips moving slightly, a hint of emotion flickering in his eyes.

If he remembered correctly, this toy bear was made by his predecessor for Lier's fifth birthday. She loved it so much that she played with it until his predecessor, "Ronan," left home.

Unexpectedly, the teddy bear has now ended up in Lier's daughter's hands and has become her favorite toy as well.

Ronan gazed tenderly at the sleeping girl in the cradle, watching her quietly. Moriel stood beside him, looking at him with a strange gaze, as if she were seeing him for the first time.

Time flows slowly, like a river flowing calmly under the moonlight.

Ronan gradually awoke from his reverie. He reached out and gently stroked the girl's face, unexpectedly feeling a strange, blood-related throbbing sensation.

This throbbing of blood was much stronger than when he faced his biological father Felesha Earl, and his biological mother.

Ronan thought for a moment, then pricked his finger, and a drop of blood seeped out. It was then quickly sealed by frost formed from the void, eventually forming an incredibly beautiful ice crystal gem.

Ronan retrieved a necklace with [Protection] magic from his Space Ring, strung the ice crystal gem that contained a drop of his blood onto it, and then placed the necklace beside the girl. On the inside of the necklace, he had personally engraved a line of small words. "[To Agatha. —Ronan Damien]"

Agatha Christie

Ronan murmured, and it seemed as if he could hear the girl sleeping soundly in the crib, her eyelashes fluttering as if she was about to wake up.

Ronan gently touched the girl's forehead with one finger, and she was immediately soothed and fell into a deep sleep again.

Just then, soft footsteps came from the corridor outside the door.

Ronan tilted his head, then leaned down and gently kissed the girl's cheek.

"Let's go."

The door opened quietly, and the maid carrying an oil lamp walked in.

She walked quickly to the crib and saw the sleeping girl. Only then did her heart relax.

"Huh, why is the window open? Did I forget to close it?"

The nanny suddenly noticed the half-open French windows on the balcony. She walked over in confusion, but the balcony was quiet and there was nothing unusual about it except for the occasional hooting of an owl.

"The moonlight is so beautiful tonight."

The nanny, captivated by the moonlight outside, couldn't help but exclaim, "May the moonlight bless our poor Agatha!"

She closed the French windows tightly, turned around, and went back into the room.

She didn't see that right above her, under the night sky, two figures were standing in mid-air, silently looking down at her.

"She has good potential."

Moriel suddenly spoke, referring, of course, to the little girl Agatha.

"Yes."

Ronan nodded. "It's much better than when I was. Perhaps we'll have a chance to meet again in the future."

Ronan withdrew his gaze, and when he turned around, his expression had completely returned to calm.

He beckoned Moriel to leave.

On his way back to the Earl Territory from Fragrant Flower Territory, an unprecedented "drastic change" began to take place within Ronan's body.

As the last and greatest obsession of his predecessor, Lier, came to an end, Ronan clearly felt all the "congested" lumps within his soul dissolve completely at this moment.

Images of memories flashed before his eyes, all the memories belonging to his predecessor "Ronan," from the moment he could remember.

From then on, this memory was no longer a "memory" of a previous life; like in the past life, it all belonged to Ronan.

At this moment, Ronan felt that he had finally become a complete whole.

Soon, the two arrived above the Earl's castle.

"I need to go into seclusion for a while..."

Ronan looked at Moriel, Moriel waved her hand dismissively. Ronan didn't bother with any more words, took a deep breath, and quickly descended, arriving in the secret chamber at the very bottom of the castle in the blink of an eye.

At this moment, his mental power within his Consciousness Space was growing rapidly, a result of a significant increase in his Soul Power.

Before his soul was complete, the fragments of his soul left behind by his predecessor "Ronan" were superfluous parts of his soul, and could even be considered impurities.

However, now these fragments dissolve and become nourishment for his soul, allowing it to grow stronger.

"Once this anomaly ends, my soul's aptitude might be able to advance to the next level."

Ronan thought to himself, then silently closed his eyes. Soon, a strange light emanated from every pore of his body, illuminating the entire secret room.

That night, many people living in the castle felt a strange unease in their sleep and woke up for no reason. As the days passed, Ronan never came out again after stepping into the secret chamber that night.

One afternoon, as usual, Moriel was sitting on the roof watching donkeys being repaired to pass the time when she suddenly seemed to sense something. She looked sharply in one direction, and all the laziness on her face disappeared.

She leaped off the roof, seized a horse, and charged out of the castle. Because of her special status, no one dared to stop her.

Moriel galloped along, through the jungle, across streams, and over hills. When she was some distance from the castle, a look of pain suddenly appeared on her face, and she fell off her horse without warning.

Just as Moriel was about to land, the entire space suddenly froze completely.

The drifting clouds in the sky, the blowing wind, the galloping horses, the flowing water, and Moriel falling—everything was frozen in time by a mysterious force.

In this absolute stillness, countless crimson points of light emerged densely, quickly converging to form a tall and slender human figure.

The figure strolled up to Moriel, stretched out a hand, and gently fiddled with the void behind Moriel.

"Collapse--"

Some invisible string snapped.

With the next breath, everything that had been still resumed to move.

"Bang!"

Moriel fell heavily to the ground and rolled around a few times, looking rather disheveled.

When she got up and saw who it was, a cold and complicated expression immediately appeared on her beautiful face.

"It really is you... Valitz."

Emerging from the countless crimson lights, a handsome young man in an exquisitely beautiful golden robe, exuding an indescribable air of nobility, looked at Moriel and smiled as he softly said, "You should call me Uncle, my dear Moriel."