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Sophie studied the two of them-one looked angry, the other looked innocent. It almost seemed like they were hiding something.
She was about to ask when Rafael served her more food. “Have more to eat.”
Sophie glanced suspiciously at the two of them. They both had their heads down, eating in perfect sync.
“The other night, those two went to Glimmering Tower for drinks. They were laughing and shouting, making all sorts of noise,” Kyle said casually.
Sophie looked at them with wide eyes. “Was that the night he said he wanted to show you something?”
Violet shook her head. “There was no shouting or laughing. He just kept trying to steal my drink.”
Isaac shot Kyle a suspicious look, immediately panicking. “How do you know all this? Were you following us? Did you eavesdrop? How could you do that? How could you follow us?”
“Who followed you? You two were making such a racket-did you think the people downstairs were deaf?” Kyle eyed him suspiciously. “Why are you so nervous? It’s not like you did anything shameful. Or is it that you two-” “Stop right there!” Isaac cut him off loudly. “There’s nothing going on between us. I’ll never get married!”
His outburst was so loud that the servants peeked in curiously. Isaac quickly realized he had overreacted and settled back into his seat, clearing his throat as he adjusted his clothes.
“My apologies.”
Kyle calmly said, “What are you talking about marriage for? I’m asking if you two were sneaking drinks. Did you pay for them? Sage Everett keeps strict accounts. If even a single coin doesn’t add up, he’ll lose his mind.” “Pay?” Isaac blinked in surprise. “Oh, no. I didn’t pay. I’ll pay later, just put it on my tab for now.”
“That’s theft,” Kyle declared firmly. “You’ll have to explain that to Sage Adrian when the time comes.”
“No need for that, Kyle! I’ll pay for it later,” Isaac pleaded, clearly nervous at the thought of reporting to Everett.
“No, rules are rules. You need to respect the truth. I won’t cover for you.”
Kyle remained strict and by-the-book, refusing to leave any room for Everett to find fault.
Isaac instantly lost his appetite, while Violet eagerly asked him, “You don’t want to get married either? That’s a great mindset! I feel the same way. Isn’t it better to live our own lives peacefully? Why invite trouble by adding another
Lov person—and not just one person, but a whole family? You need to stick to your beliefs. Stand firm and don’t waver!”
Isaac eyed her for a long moment, considering Ker words before responding,.”You’ve got a point. But sometimes, it depends on the situation. If someone’s alone, with no family burdens or in-laws to take care of, then getting married isn’t so bad.”
Violet shook her head. “No, still no. Isn’t childbirth painful? What husband’s family wouldn’t expect me to have children?”
“True enough,saac agreed with a nod. “But if, on top of all that, there’s a man who doesn’t expect children takes the lead on everything, protects you, and always goes along with you, then marrying wouldn’t be so bad.”
Violet snorted with laughter. “Such a man doesn’t exist!”
wone
She turned to Sophie, her eyes gleaming with mischief. “What do you think? Is it possible?”
Sophie glanced at her, then at Isaac, suspicion creeping onto her face. But she still said, “It’s rare, but not impossible.”
After dinner, Rafael and Sophie cornered Kyle and dragged him into the study, one on each side, leaving him no chance to escape. He was pushed into a chair without ceremony.
“This is undignified-utterly undignified!” Kyle complained, his tone reeking of scholarly pretension now that he was a teacher. “Stop all this pushing and shoving.”
Despite his protests, he was soon seated, pinned down by the eager, curious gazes of his junior guild members.
He sighed and grumbled, “If you have questions, just ask them already.”
Rafael spoke first, “First question: We’ve noticed Isaac has been spending a lot of time around Silverstone Estate lately. Is this because Sage Adrian or Sage Everett has given him an assignment? Is it something to do with Marshal Prince?” Sophie asked more seriously, “Second question: I noticed that Isaac was looking at Vivi strangely tonight, and he’s not opposing her anymore. It’s a bit unusual. Do you know what’s going on?”
As usual, Kyle knew when to speak and when to hold back. It was fine to hide Isaac’s background from others, but it wasn’t necessary to keep it from the two people in front of him now.
Adrian had told Kyle about Isaac’s past a long time ago and suggested he occasionally give some advice. Life could be long or short; one never knew what might happen tomorrow. Some things should not be held on to too tightly.
He had talked to Isaac about it, but the latter said that everyone in the Pathfinders Guild was like family to him, and others didn’t matter.
“Isaac is the youngest brother of Oliver and Caspian from the Earl of Silverstone’s family. Viola is his elder sister, and Zoey is his sister-in-law. Recently, he’s been going back and forth because there’s been trouble at the estate. Evelyn has fallen ill and needs Snowdrop Pills. He has some, so he’s likely just checking on how to deliver them,” Kyle explained.
Rafael and Sophie were left stunned. They had thought of countless possibilities, but never this.
Sophie put both her hands to her mouth in shock. After a moment, she lowered them and asked, “How did he end up at the Pathfinders Guild then? Did his dad send him? Is Madam Prince his mom? Why hasn’t anyone come looking for him?”
Kyle said, “It’s a long story, but I’ll make it brief. His dad, David Prince, the previous Earl of Silverstone, was obsessed with spiritual practices. When Isaac was born, David had just earned military merit and returned to inherit his title.
“For Isaac’s Lunar Blessing
Ceremony, David invited a spiritual master to read his fortune. The spiritual master said the boy would bring great fortune to his parents, but the boy’s own life would suffer because of it. So, the spiritual master suggested naming him Seraphina and raising him as a girl to preserve his life and ensure long-lasting fortune.”
Frowning, Sophie interrupted, “If Isaac’s fate was supposed to be damaging to himself, why raise him like a girl?”
Kyle hesitated, his brow furrowing. “The spiritual master said girls were worthless and easier to care for.”
Sophie almost spat out a curse but caught herself, remembering this wasn’t the first time she had heard such a story. Back at the Pathfinders Guild, whenever they traveled to the nearby villages, it wasn’t uncommon to see young boys dressed as girls and given feminine names.
She didn’t understand at first, so she asked the elders in the village. They explained that boys’ lives were precious, so people pretended they were girls to avoid jealousy and bad luck. It was like how women hid their pregnancies for the first three months to avoid attracting the attention of jealous spirits.
The common folk believed it, and even the Earl of Silverstone’s family followed it.
Kyle continued, “When Isaac was four or five, he still wasn’t in good health. No matter how many physicians they brought, none could cure him. The spiritual master was really just a charlatan. He claimed Isaac needed to be raised in a temple, where the gods would bless him and his health would improve.
Just how worthless could a girl be?
“So, at five years old, Isaac was taken to the remote temple the charlatan was from. That delicate child was suddenly taken away from home and forced to work like a laborer. His fragile health couldn’t handle it. After only a few months, they threw him out, but the charlatan still collected money from the Prince family every year.
“Later, Evelyn missed him dearly and insisted on visiting him. The charlatan realized he couldn’t hide the truth any longer. But when Evelyn arrived, she found that the temple had caught fire. A novice priest ran out, claiming it was Isaac who had set the temple ablaze. He couldn’t escape, and a few other novice priests died in the fire with him.”
Kyle had left out a lot of details in his story. The few months Isaac spent at the temple were some of the most painful and unforgettable memories of his life.
Kyle continued, recounting the rest of the story.
After Isaac was cast out, the charlatan assumed the child would not survive. Whether he lived or died didn’t matter. Eventually, wolves would eat him, and there would be nothing left.
But by chance, Adrian passed through that area. One night, he heard a faint baby-like cry and got curious. Thinking he had found a spirit, he followed the sound, only to be disappointed when he found Isaac. First, it wasn’t a baby-it was a five or six-year-old child.
Second, it wasn’t a spirit-it was a sick child on the brink of death. Having been abandoned there for who knows how long, one of his toes had been gnawed off by rats and his foot was covered in blood. Worse still, there were poisonous snakes nearby. Luckily, Isaac was so sick he barely moved, and the snakes didn’t approach.