"One of the few, I'd say" Hal said with a small as maids walked into the dining hall and began serving the meal.

Andrei snorted,

"Silva Duchy. What about an absolutely boring place to be" he said and Hal chuckled but did not deign to respond.

In truth, no Duchy other than the Doxon Duchy, actually put as much stock into Dual cultivation as they did, after all, they were called the Dual cultivation capital for a reason.

So, the dislike Andrei felt for Silva was not just because they were 'prudes' but also because of the rivalry that always existed among the two differing Duchys.

"I'm just glad that our dear niece followed along the righteous path. Clearly, Emily did not slack off in her parental duties. She was firm and did not allow any of that conventional nonsense to gain ground within lovely Amelia" Dimitri added.

Hal smiled inwardly and knew both Emily and Amelia were having the same reactions. Mainly because Emily would have gladly let Amelia go down the 'Conventional' path.

After all, why else would she allow her daughter to become a disciple of the Fiery Lotus sect?

Hell, she even facilitated it all by introducing Amelia to her friend who took her in as a personal disciple.

Speaking of which, said friend was already contacting her to request Amelia's return and did not look ready to let go of her role as Amelia's Master anytime soon.

According to her, once Amelia was a disciple once, she was a disciple forever.

Of course, Emily was not actually worried.

For one thing, the moment it became public knowledge that Anelia was an Antonov, the Fiery lotus sect itself would disown her as a disciple.

The part that actually surprised Hal in all this was how well Amelia was taking the fact that she would no longer be a disciple of the Fiery Lotus sect. According to her, the only one she would miss was her master but she did not need to be a disciple to meet her.

But we digress,

"I wouldn't go as far as to say she is " all there", Uncle. I truly see my Aunt's attempt and I respect them but there is only so far one can lecture to change how the other person is fundamentally." Jelena said while the meals were getting served and with another wink at Hal who eyed her with a look of indifference.

She would never admit it, but it affected her.

Why was this unbelievably desirable man looking at her like that?

Amelia chuckled,

"If not for my always increasing respect for uncle Andrei, I would have 'fundamentally' marred that face you're so proud of" she said.

"You go, girl!" Karmen cheered without any attempt at lowering the volume of her voice.

"Oh? You're that eager to be manhandled? Even a 'genius' can't handle a three-on-one handicap" Jelena said with a sneer.

'Now that is thoroughly untrue' Hal thought but did not actually say.

"Girls, play nice" Emily said and Hal knew that was the most she would say on the matter.

"And leave me out of your issues" Nicole said with an icy stare at her sister while she began to eat her meal just as everyone else picked up their cutlery.

"What, Nicole, are you scared?" Jelena asked in a mocking tone.

As nonchalantly as possible, Nicole replied,

"Fear? I don't know such an emotion"

Jelena scoffed,

"There you go, acting all cool. No one is buying it" she said and Nicole actually looked up this time and into her eyes,

"Whether you're buying it or not, I don't need other people with me to deal with her" she said and looked at Amelia who was dutifully eating her meal without any acknowledgment that she had heard the two.

Talking was not going to do anything. Action would.

The whole reason she was not too against the idea of going to the garden of perils with her cousins was because she knew it was going to be an avenue in which they would attempt to harm her.

Maybe not to the point of killing her, but causing her immense injury was very much on the table and she could not help but smile to herself at the surprise they would be getting.

Unfortunately for the trio of bitches, thanks to her boyfriend, she was a succubus.

And while that did not actually cause that much of a change in her personality, she had never truly been against the use of dirty tricks.

"I don't need you either. It's just to guarantee a win" Jelena sneered.

Hal could almost not believe what he was hearing. Here, they were at the dinner table with Anton and his children eating while his grandchildren were planning to bully his other grandchild and he simply acted as though he did not see it.

Actually, he did act as though he saw it, he even gave a nod of approval once in a while.

"You are really going to let this go on?" Rita asked him suddenly and all eyes turned to her but the Antonov Patriarch only smiled,

"Without adversity, there cannot truly be growth. My sons got bullied a lot in their youth..." He began but Karmen interrupted with a question,

"By each other?"

Anton shook his head,

"No, by Emiliana. She made their lives hell. It was much worse cause she was younger..."

"Father!" Dimitri protested and actually stopped stroking his beard,

Emily chuckled,

"What, are you embarrassed. Widdle Dimitri?" She said in a mock baby voice that turned his face red.

Anton cut in,

"Anyway, it made them grow. Pushed them to better themselves and look at them now. they are the pride of the Antonov lineage.

Unfortunately, the bullying left them scarred and they remain scared of their little sister" he said with a sigh.

"We're not scared of her" Andrei said and Emily chuckled,

"Keep telling yourself that" she said.

Andrei furrowed his brows and then sighed before looking at his daughters,

"I think it goes without saying that killing and maiming each other is out of the question."

"You're sucking all the fun out of it, but oh well, what that heck?" Helena said.

Amelia however sneered,

"No promises"

It was quite incredible how deep the rivalry and dislike between the two already were despite not even knowing each other for a month yet."

Andrei's lip twitched and then he said,

"The one who returns with the Primal fruit among you is named the victor. That should settle things for a while" he said.

"What are we, invisible?" Boryan asked in outrage.

"Yeah. We need the Primal fruit too, you know." Cheslav said.

For the first time, Nicole actually chuckled.

It was a small restrained sound but it was a chuckle all the same,

"Why? Because you are men? Haha, I'll just stick the fruit down the throat of some poor sucker and then suck him dry before he can actually make use of it. That fruit is important to me too"

After which she began to imagine the level of progress she would make once she had the fruit.

In case you are wondering, the fruit in question is of a grade that is only useful to cultivators at a particular level of cultivation. Cosmic Aurora realm and below.

Of course the lower the cultivation, the more dangerous the fruit is.

Jelena then turned to Hal,

"So Hal, you have the eyes of a Doxon but are not one so why not tell us a little more about yourself." She said and cleared a space before her to place her elbow and rest her cheek on her fist.

Hal took a long swig of wine and then said,

"Well, I killed my entire family and took over my city while also unraveling quite a conspiracy and plotting grander plans in secret. I think that about sums it all up"