Chapter 810: I Am a Hypocrite Too

Henwell looks coldly at Melissa. "So you used this opportunity to make the decision for me and turn me into a ruthless ruler?"

Melissa takes a step forward. "That is my responsibility! I am your wife and the mother of our children!"

"I cannot leave someone alive who understands Peace Haven and could stab us in the heart at a critical moment."

Henwell's eyes turn red. "You know how Uncle Jansen and his family treated me."

"Except for Kaku, they truly regarded me as family."

"I left home when I was eight. I fought my way through every hardship, surviving one life-or-death crisis after another."

"That only changed after the Phoenix family accepted me."

"I was no longer alone. They always stood behind me and gave me their full support."

"I could have handled this."

"But now everything is ruined. Your ruthlessness killed them. You drove them toward death one step at a time."

"I regarded them as my family in this world. How could you harm them? How dare you?"

Henwell raises a hand and swings it toward Melissa's cheek.

Melissa does not dodge. She simply waits for the blow.

At the last instant, he stops himself, and his hand comes to rest on her shoulder instead.

The power of both locks erupts from Henwell as blood energy rolls off his body. He bellows, "Stop talking!"

The shock wave hurls furniture and books across the room. Windows shatter in several rooms, including the study.

Even as Henwell loses control, his power continues protecting Melissa.

Henwell reins in his aura and forces himself back to normal, though his breathing remains heavy.

He gently pulls Melissa into his arms. "I am sorry. I lost control."

Melissa is not angry. She looks up at him in concern. "I know. But something has been wrong with your emotions, both just now and over the past few days."

"Is this a consequence of leaving seclusion early? How serious is it? Will it continue?"

Henwell takes a deep breath and motions for the Lord Iron Guards who rushed inside to withdraw.

"I am fine. I just need time to adjust. There is a foul-mouthed creature beside me that never stops trying to corrupt me."

"Because I advanced so recently, I have to use a great deal of spiritual power to suppress the abnormal agitation inside my body. That is why this creature keeps affecting me."

As he speaks, the Light of Civilization extends from Henwell's palm and settles over Melissa.

Melissa immediately jumps in fright.

She can now see a savage beast crouching in the room, half of its body reduced to bone.

Countless chains bind its body, yet it continues snapping its jaws as it tries to bite Henwell.

When Barbarossa notices Melissa looking at it, the dragon gives her a vicious grin. "Female human, is there a wish you want fulfilled?"

"Offer up a little of your soul and flesh, and the great Barbarossa the Deathwing will grant your desire."

Henwell backhands Barbarossa, making the dragon's form shrink slightly.

The blow enrages Barbarossa, and it continues snapping its jaws at Henwell.

Melissa studies the dragon. "Is that a dragon? It looks terrible. Why is it following you? Is it some kind of spirit?"

Henwell leads Melissa into another room and begins explaining Barbarossa's situation.

When he finishes, Melissa looks conflicted. "Henwell, why didn't you tell me sooner that someone already knew about your parents?"

Henwell knows Melissa is blaming herself. The reasons she gave earlier were not what truly drove her to kill Jansen's family.

What hardened her heart was learning that Jansen's family seemed to have uncovered the truth of Henwell's origins.

Melissa knew how important the secret was to Henwell and how vulnerable he would become if it came to light.

Obian and his family still lived in western Livos territory, close to the church and the empire.

If Henwell's origins were exposed, both the Western Federation and Ika Kingdom would move to seize them.

Even eastern and western Lumir would send people to intervene.

After all, Henwell's family could provide valuable leverage against him.

No matter how they felt about Henwell, any of those powers could use his captured family to extract enormous benefits from him.

To protect her own family, Melissa began tolerating Peace Haven's actions against the Phoenix family and quietly fanned the flames.

She did not want to harm Jansen's family, but to protect her own, she was willing to kill anyone.

Even if Henwell blamed her for it, she was prepared to bear the consequences.

Now, however, Henwell has revealed that Ika's Grand Princess Dilina already knows the truth of his birth.

Everything Melissa did was meaningless. Her choices cost Henwell several people he loved and left him to bear the infamy.

How could she not blame herself?

At this moment, she almost wishes Henwell's earlier slap had landed on her face.

Sensing his wife's pain, Henwell sighs. "As I said, Grand Princess Dilina is a Fate Warlock."

"She has already obtained a nascent godhead and will gradually kindle divine fire."

"Before long, she will begin touching power at the level of laws."

"You are not strong enough. If you learn these things, either she or her teacher, another powerful Fate Warlock, could sense it."

"Sometimes, learning certain truths before reaching the proper level is dangerous."

"While I am here, neither she nor her teacher can sense your existence, much less interfere with or influence you."

"But once you leave Peace Haven's territory, even thinking about these matters..."

"...could alert them, allowing them to follow the threads of fate straight to you."

Henwell continues comforting her. "You do not need to blame yourself. This was my mistake."

"I thought I would emerge from seclusion in a little over a year. I never expected it to take almost three years."

"I was too naive. I believed the church and the empire, even the Veil, would set aside their schemes against me because of the Calamity War."

"I underestimated how much a single Glory-rank professional could influence every faction and shift the continent's balance of power."

"I should have resolved this before entering seclusion."

"My attempt to avoid the problem allowed matters to reach this point."

Barbarossa sneers from the side. "Human, you truly are a hypocrite."

"You may not have been able to save your uncle, but you had more than enough time and power to stop your aunt from taking her own life."

"Yet you did nothing. You simply watched her die beside him."

"Deep down, you wanted both of them dead. You wanted the secret of your birth to remain hidden."

Henwell remains silent for a long time. "Yes. I am a hypocrite too."

"Deep in my heart, I wanted the secret to remain hidden until I had time to make enough preparations."

Only then does Melissa understand why Henwell has made no effort to refute the rumors spreading outside.

First, he wants to preserve Jansen's reputation and prevent him from being remembered as a man who betrayed his family and kin for an outsider.

Second, Henwell's guilt makes him willing to bear the blame himself.