Kallen ate this slightly delayed lunch with considerable restraint.
As for the Allen Family's image,
and the treatment he might receive after arriving at the Allen Family estate,
he had imagined many possibilities before coming, but the scene before him fell outside every one of them.
When Kallen put down his fork and picked up his napkin to wipe his mouth, old Mr. Anderson immediately instructed Eunice:
"Take Master Kallen to his bedroom to rest. Of course, if Master Kallen feels like it, you can show him his study first."
"Yes, Grandpa."
Eunice rose and walked over to Kallen. Kallen stood as well, nodded to everyone seated there, then followed Eunice out of the dining room and up the stairs.
At the entrance to the third floor, Eunice pointed at the study door ahead.
"Kallen, this is your study."
"My study?"
The study had a large door, with understated, antique decorations on either side. Once Eunice opened it, Kallen immediately realized that this was by no means a study casually cleaned up for him. It must have had an owner all along.
Because it was possible to clearly sense whether a room had been left unused or regularly occupied.
Many paintings hung on the study walls.
Three immediately caught Kallen's attention.
The first depicted a middle-aged man in island attire, wearing an eyepatch, with a richly dressed woman wearing a crown in his arms.
Following Kallen's gaze, Eunice explained, "This is our ancestor, Earl Recar. He was the pride of our family's history and once led the pirate fleet of the Longqin Sea."
"And the woman in his arms is..."
"His lover, the reigning Queen of the Vien Royal Family at the time-Gloria III."
Vien had originally been an island nation, gradually developing into its present empire through maritime supremacy;