Chapter 233: Meeting Cassian

Naturally, the door was locked.

"Warren, Xiao Tao."

Qiu Nuoya knocked on the door and called out to them. After a brief silence, Warren’s voice came from inside.

"Is that you, Nuoya?"

"Thank goodness. I’ll open the door now..."

Before he could finish, the supposedly locked door quietly swung inward.

Qiu Nuoya froze in surprise. At that instant, Viktor, who had been standing behind him, pulled him backward and wrapped an arm around him protectively.

The person standing at the door was the same man Qiu Nuoya had seen in the portrait in the hallway.

As though nothing unusual had happened, the man smiled warmly at them.

"Welcome. I’ve been waiting for you."

"Just who exactly have you been waiting for?"

Viktor’s voice was tense as he continued holding Qiu Nuoya protectively.

"Don’t look so frightening."

The man laughed, shaking his long, beautiful blond hair like a child who had just pulled off a successful prank.

"I merely invited my wayward son home. He hardly ever comes home these days. I certainly never expected to find you traveling alongside the Hero."

"I was disowned a long time ago, if I recall correctly."

"Your expulsion from the Silvermere family was something the elders decided on their own, was it not? It has nothing to do with our household. At this point, I have no objection to abandoning the Silvermere name myself. I continue to use it for convenience, but I think it is about time I cut ties with it as well."

The man’s pleasant expression suddenly became completely serious. The corners of his mouth still held a faint smile, but his narrowed eyes were devoid of warmth. A chill ran down Qiu Nuoya’s spine.

His beautiful face looked remarkably similar to Viktor’s. Despite clearly being quite old, his youthful appearance gave no indication of his true age.

Elves really are impossible to guess the age of. Just how old is this man?

"I wish I could have heard you say that while Mother and my sister were still alive."

"Humans are such short-lived creatures..."

He lowered his eyes with a faintly sorrowful expression.

There was no doubt about it. The man who had just called Viktor his son was Cassian Silvermere, the Minister of General Affairs of this country.

"...What exactly do you want? Why did you go so far as to kidnap Xiao Tao? Why did you go through all this trouble just to lure us into this house?"

"At first, it was simply a matter of protecting the Hero. The Hero disappeared shortly after manifesting in this world, after all."

"Wasn’t that something you did, Father?"

"Why would I do such a thing? Why would I interfere with the Hero whom we deliberately summoned here for a national emergency?"

Cassian answered with a faint, almost amused smile, but Viktor continued pressing him with a stern gaze.

"Then what about that crest? That was meant to track Xiao Tao’s location, wasn’t it?"

Despite Viktor’s interrogating tone, Cassian remained calm throughout.

"Ah, that was only placed there to ensure the safety of the Hero and the Saintess. There was no other intention behind it. I do admit that I should not have inscribed it without permission, but the Hero disappeared before I had a chance to explain the situation in detail. I already explained that to the Hero earlier and apologized for it."

Watching Cassian’s demeanor, Qiu Nuoya could not tell that he was lying. When he glanced toward the back of the room, his eyes met Xiao Tao’s as the boy sat on the sofa. Xiao Tao gave him a small nod.

"Then why didn’t you immediately go after him when he disappeared, Father?"

"It was not that I chose not to pursue him. I simply could not. After the Hero disappeared from the castle, I tried to follow him immediately. However, it was as though the Hero had erased his very existence. He disappeared completely, and I had no way of tracking his whereabouts. There was nothing I could do."

Viktor still did not look entirely convinced, but after hearing that explanation, he finally released Qiu Nuoya. However, he remained on guard and stepped forward, positioning himself between Qiu Nuoya and Cassian as though shielding him from view.

"Standing around and talking is hardly comfortable, so why don’t you all come inside? Ah, Hero, you may lie down if you are feeling unwell. I’ll have tea prepared for everyone."

With that, Cassian invited them into the room and snapped his fingers once.

A dignified old gentleman dressed in a tailcoat appeared from seemingly nowhere. After receiving Cassian’s instructions, he immediately began arranging the tea.

The preparations were so meticulous that it was as though the servants had been waiting nearby all along. A maid appeared in the room as well, despite there having been no sign of anyone else in the mansion. Qiu Nuoya could not hide his astonishment.

Where on earth had they been hiding this whole time?

On the long sofa, Xiao Tao slowly leaned his body against the backrest, still looking pale with Mochi perched on his head. Qiu Nuoya suddenly remembered that Xiao Tao still had a fever. He hurried over and held out the fever medicine he had just bought, but Xiao Tao accepted it and shook his head, saying that he had already taken some and was fine.

"You’re not giving Xiao Tao some suspicious medicine, are you?"

"Hahaha, what would I gain from doing something like that? It is the same sweet syrup I always gave you whenever you had a fever as a child."

"That’s an expensive medicine..."

"Is that a problem?"

Apparently, Viktor knew exactly what kind of fever medicine it was, judging from his complicated expression. Qiu Nuoya had also often taken herb-gathering mission, so he had some idea what kind of ingredients might be involved. Medicines made into sweet syrups were indeed often extracted from herbs that were difficult and dangerous to obtain.

They really did say that good medicine tasted bitter. Most medicines were unpleasantly bitter, but those that were both easy to take and highly effective often sold for a high price. Considering that, Qiu Nuoya could easily imagine how expensive that "sweet syrup" must have been.

Still, judging from the conversation between the two of them so far, the image of Viktor’s father did not seem to match the impression Qiu Nuoya had of Cassian, the Minister of General Affairs, at all.