Chapter 164 - talk with empress

I looked at her awkwardly and asked,

"Like what? There’s a lot about myself to talk about."

She thought for a moment and nodded.

"Then tell me, what is your goal in life? I know you’re still young, but you are the most talented person I’ve ever seen at your age, even more so than my eldest daughter."

I scratched my head.

"Ah... a goal? I don’t know if I can call it that. I just want to enjoy my life as much as possible with the people I care about. That’s one of the main reasons I chase power."

"But power isn’t everything to me. I could abandon my power anytime and just stay with my family."

She studied me for a moment and nodded.

"You said that’s one of the reasons. What is the other?"

I smiled brightly and told her,

"Of course, it’s because I love how power works. Testing new things is a lot of fun."

Then I showed her my hand.

"See?"

She looked at it, initially confused. But then she felt something and reached out to touch it.

Her hand stopped.

If she wanted to, she could easily break through it and touch me, but instead, she simply studied it.

"Hmm... What is it?"

I smiled and explained,

"After I got my class and physique, my control over Space went up a few notches. This is a Space Barrier. I’m surrounding myself with Space. It’s still nowhere near my expected level."

"But it can block many attacks from others."

She raised an eyebrow.

"That’s already a powerful application of Space. What’s your end goal with that application?"

I simply shrugged.

"I don’t have an end goal. I just want to improve it as much as I can. If you ask about my current expectation, it’s to create an absolute Space surrounding me, so no matter what attack someone throws at me, I can withstand it."

The Empress simply looked at me.

"Hmm. That’s really a good way to think. Never limit yourself."

Then she continued,

"So, tell me. What’s the real reason you refuse to become the next head of your family?"

She smiled and looked at me.

"I’ve observed you, and I know you’re a really responsible person. Whenever my daughter is around you, you make sure she’s safe from everything and even make her happy."

I looked at her and said with a little hesitation,

"It’s because I’m selfish."

She raised another eyebrow and looked at me, waiting for me to continue.

"I know I’m selfish when it comes to myself. I don’t care about others. If I get the chance, I’ll help, but I would never do something that puts the people I love in danger just to help someone else."

"I know taking the position of family head is a massive responsibility. You become responsible for all the family members. I don’t need that. I only need the people I care about."

"I don’t force relationships, so if I become the family head, I’m not sure I can be as good as my mom or sister. I always take the side of the people I love, so as a ruler, I’m not suitable."

The Empress went into deep thought and nodded.

She understood what I meant.

I wasn’t saying I was selfish because I only cared about myself.

I was saying I was selfish because I would always take the side of the people I cared about, no matter the situation.

She looked at me with amusement.

"Your values are too strong for a ruler. That’s why you’re unwilling to become one."

"Am I right?"

I nodded.

She simply smiled and didn’t say anything else about it.

Then she asked,

"So, tell me. What do you think about your engagement with my daughter?"

She observed my every reaction.

But I simply replied casually,

"It’s great. It’s fun to spend time with her."

She put a hand on her forehead and thought to herself,

What was I expecting?

She had expected to catch me off guard and make me stammer.

Instead, she got a completely casual answer.

She sighed and called Luna back.

Luna came into the room and looked between us.

I had a completely calm expression, while the Empress had a small smile.

Luna asked,

"What’s going on?"

The Empress simply said,

"Nothing. I just asked Little Gray a few things."

Luna nodded and sat down as well.

The Empress looked at both of us.

"So, you two are serious about going on an adventure?"

Our eyes lit up, and we nodded excitedly.

She simply sighed.

"Okay, fine. But remember, you two must have someone follow you at all times."

I raised a hand.

"But that person can’t interfere with us during our adventure unless it’s an unavoidable situation."

The Empress nodded.

"That’s fine."

I added,

"Besides, I have summoning items for Mom and Astrid, and I can teleport."

At that, the Empress simply laughed.

She could already imagine what would happen if someone tried to kill her future son-in-law.

It would be a complete disaster.

Then she nodded.

"Okay, fine. Go and get ready to leave."

Then she went to Luna’s side, kissed her forehead, and said,

"If anything happens, go to Elena or Seraphina."

Luna nodded and hugged her.

Then we left the room.

Before we left, the Empress said to me,

"Take care of Luna."

I simply nodded.

Then we went to find Elara.

Luna asked,

"So, what did Mom ask?"

I simply shrugged.

"It was about my plans for the future and why I’m refusing to become the family head."

She looked at me for a few seconds and asked,

"So, what did you say?"

I looked at her with a serious expression, opened my mouth as if I was about to answer, then tapped her forehead with my finger and ran.

"Why would I tell you that?"

She immediately got annoyed and chased after me.

"Gray, you...!"

I laughed.

We finally met with Elara, who was also getting ready to leave.

Before coming here, I had made peace with Luna by bribing her with a cold orange juice. Her eyes lit up, and she let me go after giving me one pinch.

Then we waved at Elara.

She saw us, and her eyes lit up as she came closer to us.

We talked with her about the Secret Realm and other things.

Then we told her that we had come to say goodbye, and she nodded.

"Hope to see you at the academy again."

We nodded.

"Same. Let’s meet at the academy."

Then we waved at her and left to find Amy and Elena.

While we were walking, Luna started a conversation.

"So, what do you plan to give Amy as a birthday gift?"

I grinned.

"I don’t know if it’s possible, but I have a plan to make something special. After I go home, I have to study about it."

She raised an eyebrow.

"Hmm. Can you tell me?"

I shook my head.

"No. If you want to know, you can come and find out at that time. But I can tell you something about the gift."

She immediately became interested.

"Oh? What’s that?"

"It’s... food. It’s connected to food."

She blinked.

"Food?"

I nodded.

"Yeah, food. You’ll see in time."

She nodded.

We finally found Amy and Elena, and we all went to the carriage to leave for home.

Amy looked at us and nodded.

"Are you two ready?"

We nodded.

"Did you two greet Aunt Aurelia before coming?"

We nodded again.

Amy nodded and said,

"She went with Mom, and Mom came after we left. So, let’s go."

Then we entered the carriage and began heading toward home.

It was a long journey. Along the way, Luna and I talked about many things, and Amy and Elena joined the conversation as well.

After a long journey, we finally arrived at our home.

It was only a few miles away now.

I got a strange feeling.

After all, it had been almost two years since I had arrived at my own home.

Then I remembered something and asked,

"Amy, in the succession, are there lots of candidates competing?"

She nodded.

"Hmm. All the branch family children will participate. They’ve coveted the position of heir for a long time."

I nodded and asked,

"So, will they do anything to get that position?"

She nodded.

"Are they powerful?"

She thought for a moment.

"Hmm. Yes, you can say that. But the most troublesome part is their tricks."

"They don’t play by the rules. They try every possible way, even if it means my death. So be careful, brother."

My eyes became cold.

"They can try. But I’m not a charitable person. Anyone who tries to harm my life or someone I care about... I’ll make sure they don’t have a good ending."

Amy smiled and brushed my hair.

"That’s the spirit, brother. Make sure anyone who tries to hurt you loses the ability to even think about doing it again."

Luna watched the two of us from the side, seeing our identical evil smiles.

She looked at Elena.

Elena simply shrugged.

"Brother like the sister."