Way of the Knights

Chapter 837: Family Bonding

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"Oh god…" Vanessa buried her face onto her hands. Feeling her cheeks warming up from embarrassment. 

Raven couldn't help but let out a loud cackle. It was fun to tease his daughter. Now he understands why adults do it most of the times. 

"How did you even know about that?" Vanessa groaned. She can't quite look at her father's face because she felt shy. 

"Princess, we might be literally worlds apart but it doesn't stop us from knowing what you're up to." Raven tool another sip of tea and continued: "That's like, my job as the Leader of the Dawn Council you see. I'm supposed to know many things. Especially when it concerns my own family, no?" 

"I even know that Kyle is dating my twin sisters yet I remained quiet about it. I am protective of you but not to the point where I'll be suffocating you with tough love. At the end of the day, this is your life, Princess. I am here to support and guide you, not tell you what you're supposed to do." 

"…" Vanessa was speechless. Yes, she should've expected this from the very beginning. Her father's close to an omnipotent being, there's little to nothing that escapes his vision. "Well, yeah. It's about him. Should I even explain what happened?" 

"Up to you Princess." Raven offered, "If anything, I only know the general gist of what happened. I appreciate you being honest with me more than anything, really." 

"You're not mad?" 

"Is there a reason for me to be mad?" He countered.

"I don't know…" Vanessa sounded quite unsure. "I mean, I thought you didn't know. I wanted to tell you but you weren't there. I just…I just thought that he needs to be uh…'grilled' as Grandpa Luis says by you." 

Raven let out another cackle at that. Vanessa also heard her mother chuckling from behind, taking a seat next to her bringing food on the table. 

"I was freaked-out too you know?" Luna admitted, "I actually was the first one to discover. I didn't tell your Dad because he might suddenly come there and smite the poor boy." 

"Well, if he dared to violate your innocence. I won't hesitate to do so of course." Raven interjected with a snort. "If he touched you anywhere without your consent, he'll be castrated on the spot. He better thank his ancestors for teaching him proper etiquette or else I would've reduced him to ash by now." 

"Well, he didn't any of those, thankfully." Vanessa sighed. 

"As he should." 

"But he was an opportunistic prick, that's why we broke-up. Don't kill him though. It's just…whatever. I respect his ambitions and determination at least." 

The name of Vanessa's ex-boyfriend is Eric – a young and ambitious lad. 

They met at a mission and they instantly clicked. Vanessa enjoyed his company greatly and were impressed by how high his dreams were. He wanted to climb the peak of their home world and follow the footsteps of her father. He even said that he'll surpass Raven. 

When they started dating, everything was going fine. Eric was a gentleman and genuinely showered Vanessa with affection. Unfortunately, it was all an act. 

Apparently, Eric's one of the few people that knew who Vanessa truly is. He approached her with the intent of getting closer to the legendary figure that is Raven. In simple terms, he wanted to use her for his own benefit. 

He didn't expect that Vanessa was clever though. He didn't know that she discovered his hidden intentions almost immediately. Vanessa gave him a timeframe but never told him explicitly. If Eric came out clean and admitted his ill intentions, Vanessa would forgive him and even point him to the direction where Raven left his inheritance. 

Unfortunately, Eric didn't do that so she broke it off and revealed his schemes right in his face. 

All things considered though, they broke-up rather peacefully. Vanessa had no intentions of punishing him for his foolishness. If anything, she respected his hustle and ambitions. 

It is largely because of that, that Raven left the boy alone. Even then, Raven would, at most, send one lightning bolt down to the boy as punishment. 

Like what Raven said, Vanessa ought to enjoy her youth. He wasn't a petty father that wards-off every single suitor his daughter will have and lock her up in a huge, cold castle. He wants her to experience some semblance of normalcy, even if a little bit. He wants her to experience the ups and downs of life since that will teach her many things that he can't. 

He will protect his daughter but he won't keep her away from experiencing life at its finest. This is Raven's virtue when it comes to parenting. 

"Well, now that you're staying with us. You will never run-out of suitors." Luna chuckled.

"She would know because she never lacked one." Raven said in a flat tone, slightly displeased. "Even with me around. Until now, there are still some people groveling at our gates, begging to be her servant just to fulfil their nasty fantasies about her. We've lost count on how many we've kicked out at this point." 

"Aww, is my Dear Lord Husband feeling jealous?" Luna teased playfully. "Don't worry my Love. None of those stinky bastards will even catch my eyes. Even if you leave me, I still have your Avatars to keep me entertained don't worry." 

"Mom! Hello? I'm right here??" Vanessa protested, followed by the merry laughter of her parents. "Seriously!? I didn't need to hear that! Come on!" 

"Oh, Sweetheart. We're just teasing you." Luna pinched Vanessa's cheeks and smile sweetly. "But like I said, once everyone knows who you are, you'll never run out of handsome lads at your beck and call. Your Aunty Anne will probably give you some tips on how to deal with them."

"Oh, I can already hear their hearts breaking already. I can already see my little girl using her charms to turn a man into her slave. Oh, don't touch me I'm sensitive." Raven dramatically blew his nose with a table cloth and pretended to wipe his tears away. 

Vanessa was almost steaming in embarrassment. Her parents are just relentless when it comes to teasing her. She's kind of regretting her decisions about staying now. 

Needless to say, at the depths of her heart, Vanessa loved this. She liked spending time with her parents even though they tease her for the most part. This is what she's been missing on for a long time and he finally got it back. 

Of course she's aware that deep down, her parents only wanted the best for her. She knows that they will be behind her at every step of the way, and frankly, that's enough to keep her going. 

—

The time before the start of the Final Phase is about to begin. 

People started filling the spots that meant for the live viewing of the Final Phase. The Supervisors of the Dawn Council were still nowhere to be seen though but nobody really asked questions since it's not in the business to know. 

They are spending quality time with their own family. Now that their child is here, everything else becomes a lesser priority. 

During this time, not only did Vanessa caught-up with her parents, she even got to know them in a deeper level. They told he stories about their youth, their adventures and what they did here in the Divine Realm. 

Raven didn't mince words with Vanessa. He told her the true state of the Divine Realm and even showed her the areas of improvement they're trying to work on. He wouldn't include her in this if necessary but Vanessa insisted. She wanted to help in anyway she could and wanted to feel responsible too. There's no way he could deny that. 

Vanessa know what their future plans are. She even knows what Raven was planning to do once the Grand Youth Meet is done. 

Knowing how much responsibilities fell onto her parents' shoulders, especially her father's, ignited Vanessa's own passion. She wasted no time and immediately entered the School they built for the geniuses of Divine Realm. 

She still agreed on making a public appearance though with a few conditions. She wanted to hide her face for now. This means that she's fine with people knowing that she's their daughter but she didn't want to reveal what she look like for now at least. 

Of course, her parents respected her decision and made it work. Additionally, Vanessa, Richard and Jeanne will officially enter the Dawn Council's Academic Roll for the next batch which make them quite excited.

Vanessa took advantage of what little time she has left to ask her parents for pointers in her cultivation. Raven and Luna didn't hold back to say the least, in fact she's entitled to a seemingly endless amounts of resources for her own use. 

Sufficed to say, Vanessa was immensely satisfied right now. She gets to stay with her beloved parents and she gets to experience what Divine Realm has to offer. 

For now though, she needs to quell her excitement since there's another matter at hand. 

The Final Phase is about to begin.