In a luxurious and bright bedroom, display stands filled with expensive gold and silver jewelry spread out on both sides, revealing a hidden passage behind them.
Alan walked out from there, and what caught his eye was an obese man lying on the bed, with several beauties using healing magic on him.
Several rows of beautiful women, dressed in light and transparent dresses, stood on both sides, standing still and rigid like wooden dolls. Faintly visible on their bodies were the marks of slaves left by The Mark of Abandonment.
"It seems you still have no self-control. Despite the circumstances, you still keep so many beauties by your bedside!" Alan said as he walked through the crowd of beauties.
Upon hearing Alan's words, Ruibo, with his eyebrows slightly furrowed, trembled and turned to Alan.
"You finally came back! If you were any later, I would not have made it!" Ruibo spoke with his chest heaving, his expression filled with effort.
"Cheap old man! You've gone to such lengths to use your most precious collections to prolong your life. It can't be just because you wanted to see me, right!" Alan's expression carried a hint of disappointment.
"There are three things! I have three things I must tell you! First, give me a cigarette!" Upon hearing Ruibo's words, Alan took a step forward, crouched down, took out a cigarette, and placed it in Ruibo's mouth. With two fingers, he snapped his fingers, and a flame ignited at the tip of his finger, lighting the cigarette.
"After spending so much money and training for a month, you only learned a fireball spell, but it's a smaller version than usual. It's fine, it can replace a match! What would you do if I died?" Ruibo said. "Lastly, I'll give you the most powerful magic!"
The surrounding beauties automatically stepped back as Alan took a deep drag from his cigarette. He took a small beheading knife that was prepared in advance from the bedside table, placed his right arm on the blade, and tightly held Alan's right hand with his palm.
Seeing this, Alan also lit a cigarette for himself.
"Yah!" With a roar, blood splattered and Alan watched helplessly as his father severed his entire right arm.
A blood-red light flowed, and the mark of abandonment's blood-red imprint transferred to the back of Alan's right hand.
Covered in splatters of blood, Alan took a deep drag from his cigarette, clenched his teeth, and didn't bother wiping the blood from his face and body or make any melodramatic pleas.
"This is a conspiracy. Someone wants to take control of Castle Enchim's slaves and wants to kill us, father and son. You managed to escape, but I, I am truly old!" Ruibo spoke, and his eyelids gradually drooped.
"Do you think it's the president of Auction House No. 1, Haibolin, or the Internal Financial Minister, Eter, or maybe the neighboring Helanshi family, or someone from the church?" Alan speculated.
"It's all of them. They have been coveting our family's wealth and status for decades, and they finally found an opportunity!" Ruibo spoke with anger in his eyes, using his last breath to express his anger.
"It seems like I am completely helpless now!" Alan silently exhaled a thick smoke, falling into worry.
Although being a second-generation heir was good, there were still times of crisis.
For the past sixteen years, Alan had always grown up under the jealous eyes of countless people.
But now, with his rich-dad gone, how many people would envy him, look up to him, and be jealous of him? When one's walls collapse, how many people would come and laugh at him!
"Are you scared?" Ruibo looked at Alan with heartache. "Even though you have The Mark of Abandonment, controlling all the slaves here, even these magicians and beautiful elves by your side. However, the other side has bought mercenaries from the Iron Peak Plateau, the Iron Wolves, and remnants from the Holy Angel Church. Your situation is very dangerous."
"Hmm! It does sound like I'm doomed!" Alan took a drag from his cigarette and locked eyes with his cheap old man.
"Just who are you? Are you really my son? I noticed when you were very young, you were always so calm even in times like this. Completely unlike a sixteen-year-old.""Your mother, in fact, is the Queen of the Stana Principality - the sister of Ristaya!"
"What?" This was something Alan hadn't expected. The queen who had done everything to weaken his own family turned out to be his aunt. How could this be?
"Your mother was the most beautiful woman in the entire Stana Principality at that time, and she was also the heir to the throne. I had been envious for a long time. So, I helped her sister seize your mother's throne, at the cost of turning your mother into my slave!"
"You're really sick!" Alan forced a smile. "I wonder why I'm so handsome while you are so ugly! It turns out you improved our family's genes with this method!"
"Don't you hate me? I gave you a dishonorable, evil, and ugly birth!" Ribo said with a laugh.
Alan shook his head, "Hating you, would it be of any use? It doesn't affect the future anyway! My mother is already dead."
"It does have an impact. You still have a sister. After your mother gave birth to both of you, there were knights from the kingdom who risked their lives to infiltrate my castle to save your mother! But your mother was controlled by the slave mark and couldn't escape. She didn't want to burden the old knight commander and left a dying wish for the old knight commander to save you and your sister. In the end, the one-armed knight commander only managed to take away one of you, and that was your sister!"
"What?" Alan took a sharp breath. For sixteen years, he had always thought he was an only child. Now he learned that he had a never met younger sister living in this world.
"And then?" Alan looked at Ribo, wanting to know more.
But his old man, with his eyes wide open, stared at the ceiling and never said another word!
From pushing open the door, to the meeting, to the gory revelation, there was not a single sentimental word, not a drop of weak tears. Only cold dialogue, just like the two slowly burning cigarettes, the farewell of a man.
Looking at the back of his right hand, The Mark of Abandonment, the slave mark said to be able to control even the gods, now belonged completely to him.
Just like how he had forcibly controlled Erika using his father's blood just now, Alan no longer needed his blood. He could do it with just his own right hand!
