Chapter 481: Keep Him Closer
"Well, for a starter, my parents are Aldrey Flamecrest and Irene Rivas. Your majesty understand what that implies, right?" Aldrian said.
The others who heard Aldrian’s words reacted as if they’d just been told something absurd. At first, their faces were blank, showing little emotion. But as reality began to sink in, their eyes widened in shock.
The emperor’s mouth twitched slightly, even he found the revelation hard to believe.
"Are you serious?" he asked.
"Not a single word was spoken in jest. My father is Aldrey Flamecrest, and my mother is Irene Rivas of the Rivas family," Aldrian replied.
Prince Ferdinand and the two barons were far more expressive in their reactions, their faces almost identical. Eyes wide and mouths agape, they couldn’t even make a sound. They were too stunned to figure out what kind of noise would even express their shock.
Emperor Raymond stared at Aldrian with a blank expression. In his mind, a single thought came—How can this happen? What Aldrian said didn’t make any sense. Everyone knew the Flamecrest and Rivas families were rivals from different empires, and their relationship had never been close. No, they were like fire and water.
Forget about their successors becoming a pair of lovebirds. Even their family members still clashed along the borders of their territories when they weren’t fighting devils. So how could this be?
"I’m sorry if my question offends you, Sir Aldrian, but... how?" Prince Ferdinand finally asked the question the emperor had been holding back. "As far as we know, the Flamecrest and Rivas families have never been on good terms."
Aldrian then began to explain his birth in a secret realm hidden within the Everlasting Silent Forest. He only spoke of the general events. He told them when it happened, how his parents became trapped inside, and how that eventually led to his birth. He also shared a little about his life inside the secret realm until the day he left it.
After hearing Aldrian’s explanation, the mysteries and some questions surrounding him finally made sense. It was no wonder that no one had known anything about him until he appeared in Balin City. That had been his first time stepping out of the secret realm.