Sinister
Today was a big day. Early in the morning, the elders gathered the disciples to make an announcement. As expected, the opening of the secret realm was official now, and everyone was made aware of it. The realm itself was set to open in a week at minimum, and two weeks at maximum. The time frame was not precise. Nonetheless, the realm was arriving sooner than Edrick had anticipated. He had thought that it would be at least a month away.
However, noticing no surprise on Xiao’s face, it seemed like this was the normal course of events. Naturally, both Anoteros and Xiao were called by the elders privately to be told that they had been chosen to take part in the exploration of this realm. They were also told a bunch of things both of them already knew.
Amongst those chosen to go into the realm were the core disciples, Yin, and several others. Including Yin’s and Hui’s friend group. Most of them were inner disciples who were pushed to train as much as possible by their tomboyish friend, so they ranked quite high amongst the inner ring in the eyes of the elders.
His fifth wife being selected was to be expected and was quite a handy event. Thanks to her, Edrick not only had one great ally in the realm with whom he could cooperate fully, but he would also have her friends, whom he knew fairly well.
Anoteros had a precise list of things to harvest, and he had to gather them on behalf of his family, not the sect... So he needed to be careful not to reveal his intentions. Although the Myriad-Arm Sect wouldn’t do anything about it, it could potentially sour relationships if discovered. With some assistance, Edrick should be able to do this without a problem.
Unfortunately, he couldn’t bring Luxuli. Her appraisal ability would have been rather useful to know the quality of what he was gathering. But she lacked combat capabilities, so bringing her along would be a bit too dangerous for his liking... After all, he wouldn’t want one of his precious properties to get damaged just for the sake of a bit of convenience.
Naturally, Lisha would not be participating, as it would be tantamount to revealing that his guardian maid was actually a core disciple supposed to be gone on a journey. Even if most people would not think to link Li, a man, and Lisha, clearly a woman, the other core disciples would surely be familiar with her spear technique…
In any case, with the secret realm potentially opening in as little as a week, Edrick needed to take care of Jania and Tylia. His prolonged absence could potentially allow them to think more deeply about things, and cause them to lose a bit of the spark of innocence that clouds their vision, which would be a shame.
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Not long after Anoteros had left the two sisters in that grove, Jania had sent Tylia away so that the eldest sister could gather her thoughts and get a change of clothes.
She had to speak with her parents about the proposal Edrick had made to her. The noble scion had been rather direct, and although Jania would have agreed solely based on how she felt about him, it was undeniable that, as far as husbands went, Zixuan Elt would be an incredible one.
There was no downside to marrying him. He had everything a woman could want- Both peasant and noble girls would be enthralled by his charms.
“Father, Mother… What would you say if I told you I wanted to marry Mister Anoteros?” having collected herself and taken some time to let her emotions settle, Jania appeared like the composed young noble lady that she typically was.
Though there was an undeniable glint in her blue eyes and a small smile that was desperately trying to form upon her face, it was stopped by the practised composure learned through noble etiquette.
Her parents could naturally discern these subtle signs and looked at one another, Galdon speaking first.
“I would say that it is fantastic! Sir Anoteros is a man of high stature, and absolutely worthy of your hand… But I am afraid that it will be complicated to accomplish. Despite our proximity to the crown, we are undeniably lower in status compared to the great cultivation families..."
"...So even if Sir Anoteros is polite and open-minded, it is uncertain whether he would agree to such a proposal” he replied professionally. It had naturally gone through his mind to try and have one of his daughters become Edrick’s wife, but he had to be realistic. The difference in status made things complicated, and it would be difficult to bring up the topic without making it seem like he was just trying to marry a daughter off for influence.
Milerva said nothing for now, merely acquiescing to what her husband said.
“What if Mister Anoteros already offered to marry me?” only then did Jania’s mother show a reaction, frowning whilst Galdon blinked a few times and stood up.
“Did he do that? Did he really do that?!”
“Yes, Father… Just a little while ago, after we finished discussing cultivation” she omitted the details.
“That’s glorious! That’s simply incredible! Don’t you agree, Honey?” he turned to his wife, and seeing her face, silently sat back down.
“Aherm, it seems like your mother wants to say something” he said.
“Jania, I do not think it is a good idea for you to marry this man”
“Mother…”
“Let me finish”
“First of all, as respectable as they may be, the Elt family is dangerous. They are intertwined with plenty of sects with foul practices, devil cults, and other unsavoury entities. The Elts themselves are also well-involved in those activities...”
“Furthermore, I understand that you are blinded, as admittedly, Sir Anoteros is a charming young man. But you should know that he already has multiple wives, and from what I heard, he seems to exclusively gather female servants as well. That does not bode very well. He probably only wants you for your body and the benefits you can bring”
“For heaven's sake, he even has a foppoof as one of his wives! That man is guided by lust! Now, with his status, if you agree to his proposal, there is little that we can do. Getting in between an Elt and what he wants would be foolish. But keep in mind that the charming young man is probably just a mere facade he is using to seduce you”
“I do not want my daughter to get trapped in an awful marriage... So please, seriously consider it”
Jania nodded.
“I’ll keep it in mind, Mother”
And with that, the eldest daughter left the room.
Milerva sighed.
“That girl is not going to listen to a thing I said”
“Are you certain? She seemed rather rattled by what you just said…”
“Galdon, after being married for years and raising two daughters, you still don’t seem to understand much about women, do you? I told her what I could, but she already knew all of it. She can’t help but gather information like you do... Everything I said, Jania already knew. With some luck, my stern talking will get her thinking, but more likely, it will accomplish nothing...”
“She is a young girl. The handsome man of high status who shows interest in her is going to easily succeed in making her fall in love”
“Jania is intelligent. She can think beyond her feelings” countered Galdon. He had ensured that she was prepared for lordship, after all.
“Indeed, and logic says that Sir Anoteros is a perfect pick. The young girl and young lady are both in accordance here”
Milerva sighed once again.
“I don’t like that man, there's something sinister about him…”