Chapter 108: You Talk Too Much
"As for the second reason! It’s to celebrate my first daughter for advancing to S-Rank, entering the league of power... To enter such a rank at age 20 shows her absolute talents. So let’s celebrate and enjoy the night to the fullest!" Owen announced with a wide smile, his voice echoing off the walls. He pointed his finger at the young lady sitting at the second-longest table present:
"Those of you who don’t know her, there she is... My precious, Annabelle Lebreton. From today henceforth, she will be the heir of the Lebreton family."
"....?!"
The noble families were utterly stunned. Annabelle herself was completely dumbfounded; her mind was still frantically trying to figure out why her older brother had just been disowned, and suddenly, the massive weight of the family’s legacy was dropped squarely on her shoulders.
CLAP!
She slowly stood up, her face a painting of surprise and confusion, as everyone in the hall began to clap. Well, everyone apart from Asher and his group, who sat completely still, entirely ignoring the surrounding politics like statues of ice.
After a whole twenty seconds of endless, thunderous clapping, it finally died down, and a visibly shaken Annabelle sat back down in her seat.
"Now, as for the third reason, I want to use this opportunity to introduce everyone to the Aetheldawn family. I am pretty sure you all already heard this name... Today, I will reveal something else." Owen said, his tone shifting to one of grave seriousness.
Asher simply picked up the crystal glass of water on the table, staring quietly at the ripples in the cup. He kind of knew what Owen was going to say next. He wasn’t at all bothered; no matter what Owen did now, the Ancient families and the Starfire family would surely come for him anyway. So why not go public?
"The Aetheldawn family is the fifth Ancient family on the ranking board!" Owen declared, his voice reverberating all over the place, instantly silencing everyone.
"Yeah, you all heard me right. These honored guests are the heads of the Aetheldawn family." He added with a strained smile.
"Owen! Have you gone crazy?! Do you know what it means to become an Ancient family?!! No matter how powerful we get, none of us can ever reach such a rank! Then how did a family who appeared out of thin air become one?!"
A burly man with a jagged blade scar on his right cheek, dressed in a heavy black overcoat, stood up violently from his seat. Beside him stood two silent bodyguards in dark sunglasses, their auras flaring.
The man pointed his glowing cigarette at Owen: "I don’t believe it!! This kid isn’t even twice my age, how did he become an Ancient family?!" He demanded.
"Mr. Grayson, please mind your words. Why would I lie about something so important?" Owen asked with a small frown.
"Mind my words?! You should be the one to mind your words! To become an Ancient family, you must be a direct descendant of one of the First True Awakened... We only know of five in history, but one died without descendants! Are you saying he is the descendant of someone who died centuries ago?! Think for a moment!"
He turned to Asher with pure disdain and disgust contorting his scarred face:
"Okay, let’s say he has parents, and the primordial bloodline got passed down. Then why aren’t there any other souls in this family?!! If you do a background check on this guy, you will discover he is the bastard son of the Starfire family... How did a bastard suddenly become an Ancient Family patriarch overnight?!" He yelled, exposing the highest-level scandal of their society.
Owen sighed heavily. "It’s true he grew up in the Starfire family, but he isn’t a Starfire."
BAM!!
Grayson smashed his heavy palm onto the table, instantly creating spiderweb cracks across the reinforced magical stone. The four people sitting at his table remained completely still, just staring at Owen and Asher in pure rage.
"What fuck-off lie is that?!! We! All of us here saw his mother give birth to him, how come he isn’t a Starfire?!" Grayson yelled at Owen.
"Of course we were there, but his father might not be Harrison." Owen pointed out in a calm, calculated tone.
"....?!"
Grayson was stunned. This was entirely different. If Asher’s mother did have a secret affair with another man, that man might actually be the true hidden descendant of one of the First Awakened... There were countless historical variables that could actually back Asher’s claims, but his pride refused to accept it.
"I still don’t believe it!" He pointed a thick, accusing finger directly at Asher:
"Young man!! All True Descendants from the Ancient families have very special bloodline abilities which make them far different and overwhelmingly stronger than others. What is yours?" He challenged.
Asher, on the other hand, simply drank his water, his movements smooth and utterly unbothered, and placed the cup back down on the table, not even sparing the massive, scarred man a single glance.
".....?!"
SILENCE....
Everyone swallowed hard, the tension in the room thick enough to choke on, turning back to Grayson who instantly exploded in humiliated rage:
"You dare ignore me?!!! How dare you, do you know who I—"
CLANK!!
".....?!"
Everyone froze again. A heavy glass cup had suddenly and violently shattered directly against Grayson’s head, the movement so blindingly fast that not a single Awakened in the room had tracked the throw. It stunned Grayson completely in place, with water dripping down his scarred face. He blinked, staring blankly at Asher, who had already turned back toward his own table, offering the man nothing but his back.
"You talk too much..."
Asher muttered with such calmness that it froze every single soul in place, they all stared at the young man, stunned speechless.
Knowing the atmosphere, Juliana picked up a grapefruit, and moved it to his lips:
"Husband, will you like some?" She asked with a beautiful smile, her action freezing the room more.
’What the fuck?!’
’Aren’t these guys too arrogant?!’
".....?!!!"