Followers and... Bloodlines?

"So..."

"What about you?"

Lin Ke turned his cool gaze toward the head maid and the captain of the guards. Though only six, he carried an air of quiet authority.

He had developed it in his previous life.

"I swear to defend... unto death..."

"I swear..."

The other two instantly dropped to one knee, then bowed their heads and swore their oaths.

Lin Ke nodded in satisfaction and turned to the first wife, whose face was full of interest. "And what about you, Lady Brando?"

He had not addressed her as his aunt, but as "Lady Brando."

"Are you still loyal to Azan?"

Lin Ke narrowed his eyes, his small frame advancing toward the first wife, who was only in her twenties.

A deathly silence fell.

The three kneeling figures dared not even raise their heads, let alone breathe loudly.

They had never witnessed anything like this!

"I will not betray Azan." After a long pause, the first wife gave a soft laugh from her elegant seat.

"Then... tell me where you've taken my mother!" Lin Ke stepped forward, watching her coolly.

His voice was childish and even, yet it made the three kneeling servants shudder. They nearly collapsed in fright.

"Your mother? What does that commoner's disappearance have to do with me?" Seeing that Lin Ke was a little angry, the first wife raised an eyebrow, like an adult teasing a younger relative.

"My personal valet told me you took my mother away to punish her. On what grounds?" In this world, a personal valet was the most loyal of servants, and the person most worthy of trust.

As though forcibly suppressing his anger, Lin Ke said solemnly, "That father of mine will return in the Month of Falling Fire. I hope you'll still be this relaxed then!"

A threat!

This first wife had grown accustomed to doing whatever she pleased in the castle, while his bastard of a father had been away since his birth and had yet to return.

Six years!

At the thought of the castle's true master, the first wife's intrigued expression turned flat. She seemed to lose interest. "And what if he does?"

Lin Ke smiled. "You wouldn't dare hurt us. You'd suffer for it too!"

A trace of amusement flashed in the first wife's eyes, but she abruptly slapped her chair and rose, shouting, "How dare you!"

The three servants on the floor were frightened into dropping onto both knees and lowering their heads.

"How dare you!" Lin Ke raised his chin and snapped, "I am Lin Ke Azan! The eldest son of Viscount Azan!"

Neither would give an inch!

He had lived here for six years.

Lin Ke still remembered being alone in his room as an infant.

The first wife had slipped into his bedroom, gently touched his cheek, sighed, and then...

Drawn a dagger.

If Steward Billy had not knocked just then and asked, "Is the second wife here? May I come in?" Lin Ke would probably have died!

Ever since, Lin Ke had been intensely wary of that venomous woman.

"How can you speak to me like that!"

The first wife stared down at six-year-old Lin Ke.

Lin Ke refused to back down, his eyes full of resolve.

The three kneeling servants beside them dared not move, as though terror had turned them into living statues...

If one ignored the cold sweat streaming down their faces.

"Hmph."

After a while, the first wife gave a soft snort and walked out with small, graceful steps, leaving Lin Ke in her room.

Once outside, she closed the door.

After closing it, the first wife let out a deep breath of relief.

She looked back longingly, her expression brimming with affection, then took a small pouch of copper coins from her pocket and handed it to her personal maid. "Go, give this to little Sophie. She did well."

As she spoke, the corners of the first wife's mouth lifted slightly, though no one knew what had come to mind.

"My lady, why did you..." The maid beside her hesitated.

The first wife smiled and murmured, "Little Lin Ke is so clever. Adversity like this is the best environment for him to grow..."

The maid nodded, only half understanding.

Inside the room.

"Phew..."

The three kneeling servants let out long breaths of relief in unison.

They had come back to life.

"Please get up, all three of you."

Hearing Lin Ke's voice, they raised their heads.

Lin Ke, who had looked so cold moments before, was now all smiles. He looked at them with innocent charm, extending his soft, pale little hands to help them up.

His smile felt like a warm spring breeze, yet it sent chills through all three of them.

Everyone in the castle knew their young master was precocious, but only Steward Billy, the first wife, these three, and the farming captain knew that his precocity had already reached a terrifying level.

The guard captain and the procurement captain exchanged a meaningful glance.

Their young master was only six!

Six!

Was this what it meant to have Azan blood? Powerful enough, and enviable enough.

"So... do you know where my mother is?" Lin Ke asked with a smile.

The guard captain and the procurement captain hurriedly shook their heads.

The head maid stammered, "I think she's... she's in there..."

Trembling, the head maid pointed toward the adjoining study.

Lin Ke treated the castle's lowliest servants very well, and he was also kind to Steward Billy and his own mother.

Only the first wife was at odds with him, while he was extremely strict with the head maid, the guard captain, the procurement captain, and the farming captain.

Lin Ke did not know what she was thinking. He simply followed the direction of her hand.

There were only two studies in this castle: his father's large study and the first wife's.

The place he wanted to read was his father's family study. The first wife's books had all come from the Brando family and were books for ladies.

Without hesitation, Lin Ke stepped forward and opened the study door.

"Mother!"

As soon as he opened the door, Lin Ke saw his mother sitting at the desk, quietly reading a book aloud. Beside her was a cup of black tea with rich milk and various spices, and she looked perfectly at ease.

Lin Ke's mother wore a bright red aristocratic dress. Her skin was delicate and fair, and there was something distinctive about her bearing.

Simple, sweet, and innocent.

"Little Lin Ke? Why are you here? Didn't John say you'd gone out to play?" Lin Ke's mother turned around in surprise, apparently puzzled by his presence.

"Mother, weren't you..." Lin Ke was dumbfounded.

Wasn't she supposed to have been arrested for stepping into the bedroom with her right foot first???

And little John, just you wait! We agreed you wouldn't tell her I'd gone out to play!

Also, isn't this door a little too soundproof?? It was practically a world war out there, and she didn't hear a thing?

"Darling, why is your hair all wet?" Lin Ke's mother was exceptionally pretty, looking only twenty-five or twenty-six, with an innocent, guileless air.

She came over and touched Lin Ke's head.

"It's nothing." Lin Ke instantly understood. "I was just taking a bath."

Either his personal valet, John, had betrayed him, tricking him into a confrontation with the first wife for some secret purpose.

Or the story had been distorted as it spread, until a repeated rumor became accepted fact.

Or Lady Brando had deliberately spread the news.

Or... some combination of the above.

Of course, considering his personal valet's loyalty... this was probably just a distorted rumor.

Lin Ke said no more and turned to leave. "Mother, remember to come back as soon as you've finished reading. Don't disturb Auntie's daily routine."

Seeing his grown-up manner, Lin Ke's mother instead caught him and knocked firmly on his forehead. "You! Always acting like a little adult. You're not cute at all!"

His mother was only twenty-five.

Helpless, Lin Ke began acting cute. "All right, Mother, I'm going back now. I was taking a bath! I'm not all clean yet~"

"Okay! Go take your bath! I'll read a little more of that book. It's about professionals, and it's so interesting. Heeheehee..." Satisfied, Lin Ke's mother pinched his cheeks.

"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm..." Lin Ke gave a few perfunctory replies and hurried out, failing to catch what his mother had said.

After all, at twenty-five, his mother was probably reading something like The Domineering Count Falls for Me or Three Lives, Three Worlds, Ten Kilometers of Roses.

He was from Blue Star.

He had his own parents, relatives, friends, and career.

Even after transmigrating, he had never been able to forget them. He had even thought he might develop depression because of it.

Depression at three years old.

But then that day had come.

On his third birthday, when he was ill with a high fever, the love his mother here had poured into caring for him had made him truly accept everything about this world.

He was no longer "Lin Ke," but Lin Ke Azan.

Six years had passed, and by now he had more or less adapted to this identity.

Now that his mother was safe, he could relax a little. It seemed the first wife did have some limits.

His mother often told him that the first wife actually liked him very much, and that the two women were close as sisters.

But he had never forgotten the sight of the first wife holding a dagger, her face twisted into a vicious expression.

Someone who could bring herself to hurt an adorable newborn-a future heartthrob, no less-would hardly spare a sweet, naive second wife.

"So boys have to protect themselves when they're away from home, or transmigrate to another world and all that. Especially handsome ones like me. Sigh..."

He greeted the little maids along the way, their faces freckled and their skin rough.

When he returned to his bedroom, Billy was still there.

"Young master, is everything settled?" Billy bowed.

Lin Ke nodded. "Prepare another bath. Don't add any fragrances. Also, have John come see me after I've finished bathing."

John was his personal valet.

After giving his instructions, Lin Ke sat in his own designated seat. A manservant naturally came over to fan him and dry his still-damp hair.

After a while, the bath was ready, and he went in alone.

Unless he called for someone, no one was allowed inside. No one was even permitted to remain in the bedroom.

He was going to investigate the system!

Soaking alone in the bathtub, Lin Ke finally relaxed completely.

"Looks like I'm still not used to being waited on. I'm destined to work for someone else all my life!"

Even being attended by Uncle Billy, the person closest to him, would not do.

The butler's name always made him feel a little strange.

"Hmm, let's take a look at what I got..." Lin Ke blinked deliberately, and a line of text appeared before his eyes:

[Reward: awaiting collection]

A reward!

He clicked the box in his mind.

The next instant, a mass of light poured into Lin Ke through the center of his brow, as though filling him with sudden enlightenment.

The light was dreamlike and illusory, hazy and indistinct, unreal yet real, like divine aid, like glue and lacquer, like...

"Like hell! That's it???" Lin Ke looked utterly bewildered.

Was there something miraculous about it that he had failed to notice?

He felt none of that legendary cleansing of marrow, meteoric progress, instant ascension to godhood, or control over the laws of reality.

In fact, he felt nothing at all. It was as though a light had merely flashed before his eyes.

He'd killed a god... and this was it?

"System, what's this supposed to mean? What good does this thing do me? And what about that curse from before?"

But the system did not respond at all, and there were no further notifications about that supposed curse.

Before Lin Ke could complain any more, the interface changed again.

[Quest: before awakening your bloodline, find an opportunity to proclaim yourself the King of Azan!]

[Reward: a follower with exceptional potential]

The King of Azan...

His father wasn't dead yet!

How was he supposed to say that?

Lin Ke was rather speechless.

Still, he began thinking it over. After all, even if he could not complete the quest, he still had to keep living, right?

Besides, this quest did not seem to have the same warning as the previous one.

The previous warning had said that failure would mean his family's ruin and death.

So quests didn't all come with mandatory execution for failure?

Or was this second task the only one without mandatory execution? Did odd-numbered tasks mean execution, while even-numbered ones didn't?

It seemed he would need a few more tasks before he could figure out how this system worked.

Beyond the system itself, there were also its tasks...

He mulled over those few words from the system, extracting whatever useful information he could.

Enlightenment... Bloodline?

Followers?