Chapter 962: Alternate Timeline: Your share

Meanwhile, Eamor quietly observed him from the side.

Even after everything that happened to House Silver...

This former young master still carried refined manners impossible to erase overnight.

After several minutes of careful calculation, Arceus finally raised his head. "The final amount," he announced softly, "is 10,596 gold coins."

Without hesitation, Ares Frost directly took out medium-quality ether crystals from his storage ring.

Scarlet-colored crystals appeared one after another upon the table with soft clinking sounds.

Each crystal was approximately ten carats in size.

Each is worth one hundred gold coins.

The spiritual energy radiating from them spread faint warmth throughout the room.

Kiara’s eyes immediately brightened.

Compared to gold...

She actually needed ether crystals far more.

In the end, exactly 106 crystals rested neatly upon the table.

Eamor then stored all purchased weapons in his storage ring one after another while trying not to think about how terrifying this store might become in the future.

After everything was completed, Ares Frost slowly rose from his seat.

"I shall take my leave now, Kiara."

His tone became slightly softer afterward while handing over what looked like a parchment more than a talisman. "If you need anything, contact me through the advanced communication talisman. This will cover up to 8000 kilometers of distance. So, it won’t be a problem to reach out to me. Consider it a parting gift."

Kiara smiled naturally. "Thank you."

The smile this time genuinely contained satisfaction.

After all...

This meeting had yielded far greater profits than expected.

Not only has her resolution of vengeance hardened, but she has also turned her wasted time into money along the way.

Ares Frost then glanced around the store once more.

His eyes briefly searched the surroundings.

But Serestia was nowhere to be seen.

A trace of disappointment flickered deep inside his old eyes. It was somewhat unfortunate. He had hoped to properly meet his grandniece before leaving.

Still...

He could only sigh inwardly and turn away.

Soon, the pair exited the store.

Outside, the winged horses waiting quietly beside the alley immediately reacted upon sensing their masters.

Neighhhh!

The beasts shook their manes proudly while spreading massive feathered wings, dust swirling softly beneath their hooves as they approached.

Several nearby pedestrians instinctively stepped backward in awe.

Ares Frost and Eamor mounted the creatures smoothly.

Then, with one powerful flap of wings, the pair soared into the sky above Carlo District before gradually disappearing into the distance.

Back inside the store, silence lingered briefly after the unusual guests departed.

Then, Kiara calmly stored every remaining ether crystal into her inventory.

Except for two.

She slid them across the table toward Arceus.

"Mr. Manager," she said lightly, "Your two percent share of the sales."

The scarlet crystals glowed softly beneath the lantern light.

Arceus froze.

Visible surprise crossed his face immediately.

"Why are you giving these to me?" he asked slowly. "I did not even sell them the weapons."

Kiara leaned casually against the counter. "It does not matter."

Her tone remained firm.

"A contract is a contract."

Then, after a short pause, she added, "They may also help improve your cultivation. You no longer have bodyguards protecting you everywhere. Increasing your strength is important."

However, instead of accepting them, Arceus quietly sighed. "There is a reason my cultivation remains stuck at 2-star, Miss Kiara."

His fingers lightly tightened around the notebook.

"Ether crystals are useless to me."

The words made Kiara’s eyes narrow slightly.

Arceus continued calmly. "Forget two crystals... even if you gave me two thousand, the result would remain the same."

His voice lowered faintly.

"My father once explained that my constitution cannot absorb ether energy from crystals."

He looked toward the scarlet stones silently.

"I can only cultivate slowly by absorbing natural spiritual energy from the surroundings."

Kiara immediately fell into thought. Ordinarily, Spirit Warriors lost compatibility with ether crystals only after reaching their natural limits.

But Arceus’s situation clearly differed.

That strange constitution...

Combined with Noah’s discomfort around him...

Combined with the system’s unusual generosity regarding him...

It all started forming a faint web of suspicion inside Kiara’s mind. Indeed, there should be something mysterious hidden inside Arceus’ body that the system might want.

And the moment the word mysterious surfaced...

Another face appeared in her thoughts.

Callista Frost.

Her cruel biological mother.

A supposedly ordinary civilian woman.

Yet completely unaffected by Absolute Freezing.

Even Sage Eyes failed to inspect her properly despite functioning perfectly on Supreme Realm experts like Vann Silver.

The more Kiara thought about it, the stranger everything became.

Then suddenly another thought struck her.

Her sister.

Serestia Phoenix.

Kiara’s expression changed slightly as she looked around instinctively.

Serestia was nowhere nearby.

Immediately, she turned toward Alucard. "Where is Serestia?"

The young welpire hesitated faintly before answering. "She said she remembered something important and left about an hour ago."

Kiara frowned instantly. "She left without taking my permission?"

The temperature around her seemed to drop slightly.

Sensing her displeasure, Arceus hurriedly explained. "No, actually, she originally went upstairs intending to speak with you."

Kiara’s heartbeat paused for half a second.

Arceus continued carefully. "But after realizing you were in the middle of an important conversation with the guests, she chose not to disturb you and left quietly."

The moment those words entered her ears...

Kiara’s face darkened.

If Serestia had gone upstairs... then had she overheard something?

A cold, uncomfortable feeling spread through Kiara’s chest instantly.

That possibility was dangerous.

Very dangerous.

She absolutely did not want her real family to discover the truth before she finished making preparations.

Still...

She forced herself to calm down.

Panicking without confirmation would only create more problems.

Maybe Serestia arrived midway through the weapon demonstrations.

Maybe she heard nothing important.

Maybe...

Kiara silently exhaled.

For now, she decided to observe Serestia carefully during their next meeting before making further decisions.

Pushing those thoughts aside temporarily, she reclaimed the two ether crystals and instead said, "Anyway, Mr. Manager, since you don’t want the crystals, I will add 212 gold coins directly to your wages instead."

Nearby, Alucard quietly stared with undisguised envy. His own monthly salary of 120 gold coins already surpassed many lower-ranking imperial officials. Yet Arceus earned nearly double that amount from a single transaction.

The disparity genuinely shocked him.

Especially because both of them technically remained low-level Spirit Warriors.

So why such a huge difference?

Was it because Arceus belonged to nobility?

Or...

Alucard’s eyes drifted briefly toward Arceus’s stunning appearance.

Because he was handsome?

Since Alucard knew nothing regarding House Silver’s collapse or the supposed engagement, he could only assume Kiara was intentionally favoring him.

Still...

After comparing his current life to his miserable past as a homeless orphan, he quickly forced himself to be content.

At least here, he was treated like a person.

Meanwhile...

Far away inside the Imperial Palace, things unfolded almost exactly as Kiara feared.

Only slightly differently.

The moment Serestia Phoenix learned the truth, fury erupted inside her like boiling fire trapped beneath sealed iron.

She marched through the palace corridors so quickly that the servants nearby lowered their heads nervously while hurried footsteps echoed against polished stone floors.

Her destination was obvious.

Her mother.

Originally, Serestia intended to storm directly into the chamber.

However, the moment she learned her father was also present inside...

She barely stopped herself at the last second.

Her fingers clenched tightly.

The guards standing nearby instinctively stiffened.

For a brief, dangerous moment, it genuinely seemed like the princess might shove them aside and break through the doors personally.

Still...

She controlled herself barely. Her breathing remained heavy while she ordered the guards coldly,

"Inform my parents that I have arrived."

Since the chamber doors were not locked, the guards quickly entered after knocking lightly. Inside, servants and maids were still present. Clearly, the Emperor and Queen Consort were not discussing state secrets.

Permission came almost immediately.

Serestia entered without delay.

The first thing she saw was her parents calmly playing Go together.

Black and white stone covered the board peacefully.

A game that is hundreds of years old emerged from the Eastern Continent. A game Emperor Alexander preferred over chess because he disliked applying foreign strategies to real wars and politics.

Normally, such an atmosphere would have appeared elegant and peaceful.

But today...

Serestia saw none of that.

Rage clouded everything.

Without caring about etiquette, she strode directly toward the table.

Then with one violent motion...

CRASH!

The board flipped upside down.

Black and white stones were scattered wildly across the chamber floor, bouncing loudly against marble tiles. Both Emperor Alexander and Callista Frost stared at her in complete shock.

"What is wrong with you, Sera?" her mother snapped while frowning deeply, reacting before the Emperor responded.