Kairos and Relestia were escorted to Lord Yue’s study after a round of refreshments, which they both did not decline.

When the Duke had heard that Kairos would be arriving, he had returned home in anticipation. The young boy who had foiled all who opposed him was an intriguing, research subject… individual.

Soon, the two were brought into a grand hall and came face to face with a gaunt-looking man.

If comparing him to a non-cultivator, he looks to be in his seventies, but the two children made no mistake that this man before them is far more ancient than he appears.

A frightening smile crossed his face as he looked at the youngsters.

“Ah, the princess has joined us. Men, bring in chairs for our guests!” He said, his voice sounded like rocks grating together, as though the gates of hell have opened and death has arrived.

Kairos, however, was completely unfazed, but he had allowed his Soul Perception to envelop the entire area since he entered the place. With his cultivation, his range covered the massive manor completely.

“Seems like there are still areas that my perception cannot reach. There must be protective wards placed in important sections.

Aisa, what do you think about him?”

The small dragon stretched herself within his pocket, obviously waking up from a nap.

Although no matter she was sleeping or not, as long as she wishes to conceal herself, there’s no one how could find her. Aisa obediently observed the Duke with a glance. She had promised Kairos before, she would warn him of individuals whose hearts are filled with darkness. Granted, he had to shower her with food and praises – the former mostly credited to Uncle Laksa’s prearranged stash. Fortunately, the ancient True Dragon was deceptively vulnerable to bribery and now became his most-unwilling personality examiner.

After a moment, Aisa grunted, then snuggled back into Kairos’ pockets without saying a word.

Noticing the dragon had gone to sleep, he did find out anything about Lord Yue, but one thing is certain. The Primordial Dragon did not see the Duke as someone of great evil. As the Primordial being that governs of the Holy element, Aisa would’ve identified unforgivable darkness in a person’s heart and warned Kairos.

“Surprising,” He thought to himself bemusedly.

Aisa returning to her nap did not mean that Lord Yue is innocent, but at least he does not need to flee from this place immediately.

Rationally, Kairos knows that a person of Lord Yue’s station could not keep his hands completely blameless to acquire such illustrious status, but at the same time there is little chance for him to be a fiend.

After all, a top practitioner like he has been around for many centuries, and no truth can be hidden forever. Furthermore, Kairos knows that Galahad is a wise emperor, so if there were a problem with the Dukes it would have long been addressed.

However, Kairos did not let down his guard. No matter what, this person before him is the one which the Devilheart House reports to.

Despite so many things had already happened, in reality, only a moment passed, and Relestia is still greeting Lord Yue.

Kairos’ mental conversation with Aisa had always occurred at unbelievable speed. Without the need for actual speech, the exchange of thoughts between individuals is almost instantaneous.

“Lord Yue, it’s good to see you are in good health. Is my presence surprising to you?”

“No, my dear princess, not truly. I have heard word that your highness is attending school now, at the Saint Cadets Academy. I trust the new experiences was enjoyable?”

“It was fun having friends,” Relestia said in a sing-song voice, and for a second Kairos thought he saw Lord Yue’s expression softened.

“I have something of yours, Lord Kairos.”

As though chiding himself for his unseemly behaviour, Lord Yue heavily put a metal object on his black and gold table with a thud. The ten-thousand years frost metal rolling pin that belongs to Xuan Xian.

Kairos calmed the surging energies within his body that responded to his emotions. This is the inscribed equipment he had foolishly created without enough thought.

The trade war that caused the insolvency of the Hope Enterprise and the rise of the Snowdrifts chain stores had started with the short metal rod before his eyes.

Xuan Xian’s husband kidnapped their daughter to demand this prototype of his Star Rune Weapons as ransom. Afterwards, the heartless father sold it to the Devilheart family for research, hoping to replicate the runes.

In the process, the Snowdrifts’ business was nearly swallowed up by the other party, and many thrown into jail. If left to be, most probably those incarcerated staffs would be given unjust trials and executed.

Although in the end, Kairos managed to salvage the whole situation, however, till date, Ling’er had not yet recovered.

Seeing the object is in the hands of the Duke, Kairos made no move to retrieve the half-arm-length metal rod back.

He looked at the Duke without a change in his expression, but in his mind, he knows that this is the man the Devilheart family answers to. He had not forgotten the debts that the Devilhearts had yet to repay.

If the Duke is the mastermind behind everything, Kairos is prepared to make this place a repeat of what happened to the Silent Lambs Empire.

Relestia watched silently, not knowing the story behind this ordinary looking rolling pin, but as a Soul Healer she could sense the turmoil in Kairos’ spirit, a seething temper underneath his calm composure.

The princess couldn’t bear to see her friend this way, but she stifled her urge to interfere.

Her father, Emperor Galahad had specifically told her not to reveal that Lord Yue is their man, for the implications are far too wide-effecting if too easily exposed.

And at any rate, if Kairos knows of the Duke’s veiled relationship to the crown, it might damage the trust between the boy and his emperor if mishandled.

However, Lord Yue was comfortable with the silence.

The Duke did not reveal the sacrifices he had to make to help the boy. It wasn’t him that caused Ling’er to suffer, nor was he the one that desired to reverse-engineer the Star Rune Weapons, but he retrieved the ice rod being kept by the Devilheart family.

In fact, this wasn’t the first time he had helped the boy either; He had suppressed the news when the Origin Cultivation Manuscript had disappeared, then he aided Kairos’ disciples in retrieving their Soul Slips and granted them their freedom from the Devilheart family. It had been an easy thing to do for him, but something life-changing for the fifteen.

And further back in time, during the academy’s first-year auction he had asked the Dark Sword Clan to outbid everyone on Kairos’ first Star Rune Weapons, for the simple purpose of helping the boy with a start-up fund.

Time had proven that it was a worthy investment for the Snowdrifts to grow, even if Kairos did not know that the money came from the Dark Gods family.

Contrary to the Duke’s intent, Calculus managed to nick one of those swords in an attempt to humiliate Kairos, it was unavoidable thanks to the conflict of interests of those in the Third Prince’s faction.

It is ridiculous for a superior to hinder his subordinates for the sake of aiding an enemy, but if given the choice between Kairos and Calculus – even adding in the whole of the Devilheart family – Lord Yue would not hesitate to choose the former.

It is an opinion that no normal person would consider, but the Duke is not a common person either. One must know that at that time, Kairos was merely a viscount of common birth and without a single backer.

Instead, of the boy’s background, he values a powerful drive and a brilliant mind far more than deep pockets inherited from the backs of previous generations.

In fact, he - like Emperor Galahad - had secretly placed their hopes on Kairos. Though, the one in question need not know this.

Finally, after a long, uneasy, silence, the Duke spoke, “Pass what belongs to Lord Kairos to him.”

There was a quiet shuffle of feet as an attendant took the rolling pin and handed Kairos respectfully. The boy kept it in his Time-Space Ring, but his eyes remained as sharp as before.

“Leave us.”

The attendants bowed and quickly made themselves scarce.

“Lord Yue, I shall …,” Relestia raised slightly from her seat, intending to leave the two alone together but she felt a jolt from Kairos’ soul and sat back down, “uhh, Lord Yue is it okay for me to stay?”

The princess had noticed that Lord Yue had some secrets to say to Kairos, and did not wish to intrude, but she stayed because her presence seemed to have a calming effect for her friend.

“Of course, your highness, please stay,” The Duke gave an eerie smile. Although, he meant for it to be sincere, it looked as if he was about to remove the heads of his enemies and gloating.

“Lord Yue, you have thrice invited me here. I assume you have important things to discuss?”

“Yes, very important matters indeed. Lord Kairos, I am not going to beat about the bush. Tell me, would you and your Snowdrifts like to join us?”