Horst Manor...

Amelia was in her room, changing into outdoor clothes and thinking of the day's events, wishing she had taken Frank's place and participated in the competition in his place.

But even then, according to the news of how strong the assailants had been, she had to admit that there was no assurance that she would have survived.

The Competition had officially ended about an hour ago but long before then, the Horst scions had already returned and sometime later, Frank arrived as well.

When the knowledge of all that had happened in the forest had been relayed to her in full detail, Amelia had not seen her brother as a coward, on the contrary, she now believed his prophecy had been real.

She was no idiot. She knew that the difference in their talent was bound to cause envy. As someone who had seen life outside of this City, the prospect of staying here, even with the title of Horst lord, was not something to celebrate.

Had their roles being reversed, Amelia believed she would be resentful as well.

And that was why she forbade any of the scions from calling Frank a coward. Admonishing them to put themselves in Frank's shoes.

She would not have been this defensive if the attack on the Horst scions had not been to kill Frank specifically, as he was the future lord of Horst Manor.

Which brings us to how they had all managed to survive.

It had nothing to do with the Horst protectors who were taken care of easily.

In that situation, there was absolutely no hope and had it not been for Hal's intervention, they would all be dead.

There was also some news about some Men who took on all the Plebeian assailants and killed all of them. Apparently, no one knew who they were and if someone did, they were not saying anything.

Amelia sighed as she put the finishing touches to her dressing and then turned to see her mother standing in the doorway,

"Heading out?" Emily said with a light smile.

Amelia frowned and declined to comment.

As she mulled things over and sought someone to blame and relieve her guilt, her mother's face was what always came up and it was understandable why it was so.

After all, it had been Emily who insisted Frank should go to the forest.

Amelia knew she should not have been so harsh with her mother, since, at the time, they had no idea, the Great family scions would be targeted and her actions were merely to toughen up her son. Even then she could not help but feel a little twinge of resentment.

"You're upset" Emily said.

Amelia looked down, a little embarrassed that she was being so unfair.

"You should be" Emily did and Amelia's head snapped up to look into her mother's face.

"What?" She was incredulous.

Emily shrugged with a sigh,

"I said you should be angry. Even more so since I believed the prophecy"

Amelia's eyes widened slightly,

"You believed it?"

Emily stepped into the room,

"Well, believe is a little strong. Let's just say, I did not dismiss it as easily as it outwardly seemed. I accepted that there were too many things beyond understanding in the Cultivation world.

Besides, I've heard rumors of a sect shrouded in secrecy that deals with such things"

Amelia was taken aback,

"You have?"

Emily nodded,

"They are rumors and not totally credible but it was enough to sow doubt. That said, I dismissed it to give your brother some peace of mind.

It does not bode well to dwell on prophecies and for something I did not completely believe, he was obsessing on it too much"

"So why did you make him participate in the competition that had the potential to be life-threatening? Did you just not care?" Amelia said with a clenched fist and anger.

Emily looked as though she had been slapped,

"Of course I care. I can't believe you would even doubt that. He is my son and it is the duty of a mother to make her child strong.

Frank was too insecure and envious for his own good and nothing I did was making him see reason"

Emily took a deep breath and sat on Amelia's large princess bed, her slightly gray eyes, cloudy with emotion.

"That said, once he failed to become Master Swanson's apprentice -which I did not expect him to succeed at- I began to wonder if the prophecy might truly be bogus.

But then, the Holgers were killed and to block the events from public eye, a Dome of Astral energy surrounded it. Judging from its two colors, the dome was clearly of two energy signatures. The fact that no runes had been involved was very peculiar. It wasn't something a Rune Master should be capable of. Especially not in this city"

Amelia nodded,

"With your peerless deduction, you figured Hal was the cause," she said.

Emily chuckled,

"Yes, I did. Insisting Frank participate in the Competition was my way of giving him a fighting chance. If Hal participated in the Competition then the Forest was the right place for Frank to be.

I don't know if the prophecy was real but at least, your brother survived and he did so because of Hal"

While Frank had not been with the Horst scions when Hal had helped them, the two still believed Hal had been involved in securing his safety.

Emily fell into deep thoughts. There were too many mysteries with Hal. Too many peculiarities.

Amelia walked past her and it brought her out of her thoughts. It was obvious where Amelia was off to.

Emily sighed and stood from the bed.

She might as well tag along.

Amelia turned to look at her and smiled before interlocking their arms and they left the room together.

If there was one thing she prided herself on Other than talent, it was the ability to understand her mother's motives.

Meanwhile, ever since he returned to the Manor, Frank was back to taking his Cultivation seriously. Putting himself in seclusion for that very reason.

...

The Mansion...

Lillian watched Hal closely with clear animosity. She was well justified to feel this way, after all, Hal had killed her son and made a mess of what she had once considered peace.

Since that day, nothing relating to the Paynes had meaning to her and all she wanted was to make the two bastards pay.

The first was Gregory. While he had been the reason Rad had even fought in the first place, her hatred for him went beyond that. Rad's death had dredged up past pain that she no longer had any intention of ignoring.

As for Hal, although he had dealt the blow, her hatred for him also went beyond that and related to the very same thing that she was now putting to bed.

That said, Gregory was still much too powerful and surrounded by his forces. It was best to start from Hal, the easy target.

Fitting too.

Start with the son and end with the father.

She gripped her Cosmic Armament tighter as she studied Hal's posture and released the pressure of her cultivation base subtly.

Even though she was at the Mid-stage of the Cosmic Armament realm, Lillian had no intention of underestimating Hal's prowess.

However, she could not help but be skeptical that Hal could have possibly attained the strength to contend with her. Such progress would be inhuman!

So when Hal released his in the same manner and she realized what his cultivation was, she sighed in relief but did not relax her vigilance.

Hal was after all still a Runemaster.

"It's been a while, Stepmother" Hal greeted in a polite tone that Lillian took for mockery.

She was not surprised he had figured it out. Although she had never told him outright, Lilian had never treated him like a son. She had mostly ignored him.

"I really do blame Gregory. Just because he could not keep it in his pants, he got seduced by your slut of a mother. That Witch!" Lillian said with spite.

Being the first time he had heard, from Lillian's lips, about the mother of this body, Hal was a little intrigued.

Even if all he had heard -from Lillian- so far were insults.

Lillian continued,

"It was his fault. He brought you into our lives and I and Rad paid the price. But it's fine, I will put an end to it all. If only I had been more assertive back then, all this could have been avoided"

Hal smiled,

"Oh? What was your solution?" He asked

Lillian grinned and licked her lips,

"To kill you of course"

Hal could feel the pressure of her cultivation but he was not fazed in the slightest.

As long as there were no surprises, Hal was sure he could contend with her with just his peak Cosmic Pearl realm cultivation and the reinforcement of his flesh by his Bloodline.

If he summoned Executioner, it would be laughably easy, but considering how the more he made use of his Bloodline Armament, the sooner he was bound to face another Curse tribulation, he would rather not unless he absolutely needed it.

As soon as she made her declaration, he expected her to attack but she simply stood in place, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.

When she opened her eyes, her face seemed to morph and gain a feral beauty.

The difference was easy to spot since her looks were normally just above average. Her eyes also gained a crimson tint.

Hal signaled for Castor and the other guards to step back and they did.

'Just my luck, just when I thought of surprises, she showcases one. Can't this just be easy?'

"Haha... Haha... Hahahaha" Lillian laughed with a hint of crazy and in a flash, she crossed the little distance between her and Hal and swung her Armament at his neck.

*Bang!*

The Sound was kind of explosive as the broad sword made contact with Hal's hand which he had raised at the last minute to block the broadsword by slamming it on the flat side of the blade.

The force of the contact slammed him away and into the Mansion walls...

*Bang*

*Crack*

...cracking it just as Melinda arrived at the scene.