Chapter 201 - The Man in the Royal Bed [2]

"How... do you know that?" Cale asked.

"Guess how."

Thinking for a few seconds, Cale realized it. "You were one of those there when that inner world broke."

"Indeed. To think I’d see someone of our bloodline pull such a miracle. Hehe, that was quite interesting. But there are always two sides to a coin. Now that people know about you, they’ll easily learn about me. And if they know about me, a bit of research here and there, and the entire world would be hunting us."

"Uncle, you haven’t left this place for decades. When the hell did you even offend anyone else?"

"Oh, if only you knew how many are after my life. Hehe. Now that I think about it, the same number of people are after yours too."

Cale sighed. "True enough. We both just want to get stronger. I don’t understand why people are after our lives."

"Exactly! You couldn’t have said it better." The two of them sighed together and took a sip of tea from the table.

’To think this man shares the same ideals as me.’

Sirius’s gaze drifted to Cale’s shadow and lingered there.

"Uh... what are you looking at?"

"Your second body. Interesting..."

Cale grew more and more uneasy. This man knew far too much about him, and Cale didn’t know a thing about the man in return.

"How did you... I doubt you saw that much just from a nascent soul that day..."

Sirius let out a laugh. "You see, kid, these two eyes I have—"

[Heavenly Eyes Of Truth.]

"Heavenly Eyes of Truth!" Cale finished the sentence for him. He shot to his feet, eyes wide. "To think I’d ever see them. Uncle, where the hell did you even get those?"

Sirius sighed. "Just like how you got yours."

"Huh? No, but mine..."

"Right, you don’t remember how yours appeared at your first rejuvenation, do you? That’s how it is. Those who inherit the true ancestral dragon’s bloodline form these eyes as the first step. Now that you’re an Emperor, slowly your skin will start to harden. Not even Quasi-Divine Stage swords will be able to cut through it easily."

Shocked, Cale listened, then asked suddenly, "Wait. The bloodline. Does that mean you too?"

"Of course. My case is quite different, though."

"Different? How?"

Sirius made a zipping motion across his lips.

Cale sighed. "So it’s linked to that topic you won’t speak of."

Sirius nodded.

"I see. You’re such a stinker, Uncle, not even telling your nephew about it. I bet Father knows, right?"

"Well, yes, he does."

Cale leaned forward, his expression serious. "Then tell me this. Is the death of my siblings related to this bloodline too?"

The smile on Sirius’s face faded. He let out a long sigh.

"You figured it out, huh."

Cale nodded. "I doubted it at first. But why would so many people die like that? Before, I thought they were so far away I’d never meet them. Only now do I realize...

You can’t dodge this. I don’t like any of them, but I still need to know whether such a thing threatens me too."

Sirius smiled faintly. "Don’t worry. People like you and me are safe. Oh yes, your father too."

"Huh? I can understand us both. It must be related to the bloodline, right? But why Father?"

"I saved him from dying. Ah, how horrendous that day was. I nearly died pulling him out of the Soul Reaper’s grasp."

Cale was shocked again. "You can save them?! Then why did you let the others die? Some of my siblings too. Even Emma and the others are about to die. Hell, your own children!"

Sirius rose and leaned back in his chair. "It’s not that simple. Didn’t you hear me? I nearly died myself. Does this look easy to you? This is a curse, you see. A curse passed down through centuries."

"A curse? In our family? How? No, fuck, tell me what it is!"

Sirius shook his head. "I can’t. I still can’t trust you with such information."

"Huh, why? Why the hell not? I’m the first one in our family to become an Emperor without reaching my forties or fifties. And it’s not like I’m asking for something unreasonable. Although they aren’t that important to me, they shouldn’t be dying like that! Dying like flies to something unknown! That’s a life worse than a fly’s..."

Cale was enraged. Why couldn’t he trust him, even a little?

"Father, Mother, you, those elder advisors, everyone! Every single one of you is like that! Why! Why can’t you... ugh!"

Sirius moved a single eye, and Cale fell silent. He couldn’t speak. Involuntarily, he sank back into the chair. His hands and face were bound by a tape-like material, woven from Sirius’s qi.

"Hmf!"

In a few seconds, Cale’s entire body flared with Chaos Flames, burning away everything that bound him. Yet somehow, the chair didn’t burn.

Sirius pointed at him. "You wanted to know why? You see that? That’s why."

"Huh? This..."

’I see. They could have misunderstood.’

"I’m not related to that Merth guy—"

Sirius sighed and waved a hand. "That’s not what I’m talking about. There’s no Merth to begin with."

"Huh? What?! There’s no way that’s tr—"

"But it is. You know about avatars, so there’s no way you can’t guess what I mean."

Cale grew more and more shocked. "It was you?! but how?! That was four hundred years ago!"

Sirius nodded. "That’s the secret. Leaving that aside, do you think people are idiots?"

Cale stared at him with a blank face.

Sirius sighed. "So you actually do, crazy kid. No, should I even call you a kid? Don’t you understand why your father or I never gave you a second thought before? It shouldn’t be that hard."

"I-isn’t it because I had the bloodline but didn’t turn out strong, and was a was—"

"Sigh. Idiot. Why do you think we suspected you? Think about that."

"Huh? Suspected me?" Cale pointed at himself.