Chương 95: Chapter 94

Bang A loud door opening rang out, louder than the clapping that had filled the room moments earlier. The sudden sound made Jake flinch. He unwillingly let go of his family and turned toward where the noise had come from. Everyone else turned in that direction as well. What they saw was a man who looked gaunt and feeble. He looked around the room before his eyes settled on Jake. Everyone paused. The man's eyes filled with tears as though a waterworks had been released.

"My son! I finally found you!" He ran toward Jake, grabbing onto his leg.

"You don't know how far I've searched. Where is your mother? Where is my love? Elena?" He turned, looking around the room until his eyes landed on Abellina. He reached out toward her, but Mr. Hemmingsway immediately stepped in front of him, blocking his hand.

"Who are you, and what are you doing here?" Just as things were about to become messy, an elderly couple walked through the door. Seeing the face of the elderly couple, Abellina's face filled with terror.

"Count and Countess Tempo." Hearing those words, Mr. Hemmingsway turned toward the elderly couple. He didn't know much about them, but from what he understood, they had once been well known for handling the Empire's finances under the previous emperor's rule. However, their influence had seemed to dwindle over the years, preventing them from holding as much power as they once had. What could they possibly be doing here? He shook his head. This was not the time to think about that.

He needed to get this man away from his son. He reached out, ready to grab the man's leg.

"Get away from my son." But just as he was about to grab him, Count and Countess Tempo stepped forward. They helped the man up and looked at Mr. Hemmingsway with displeasure.

"This is not something a man such as yourself should concern yourself with, Mr. Hemmingsway."

"This is a matter between Elena and this young man, as well as the custody of the child."... Rosa, who had been watching the scene, couldn't help but fall into thought after overhearing Abellina's murmur.

"Count and Countess Tempo." Today was Rosa's day off, but from what she recognized, these people were among the few individuals she had planned to take care of the following week. What could they possibly be doing here? Could they have some connection to Abellina? She turned to stare at Abellina. But when she saw the fear in Abellina's eyes, Rosa frowned. She wished she could read these people's memories and figure out what was happening. Unfortunately, she was completely drained.

Having five thousand copies of herself reading people's pasts, analyzing information about different individuals, and deciding whether to destroy some of them or leave behind a calling card had been far too much. That was why, whenever she carried out such large-scale operations, she would ensure that she took an entire week of rest after a single day's work.

Thanks to most of this level of raid, she had managed to purge a large number of slave houses and eliminate countless nobles who had been involved in wrongdoing. And yesterday had been a raid day. Meaning, she was absolutely powerless. But even though she was too exhausted to see into their minds, that didn't mean she couldn't take them to the middle of the ocean and drop them into the depths for a swim if they dared to try something. …

The old Tempo couple called forth a lower-ranked priest to come and preside over the blood test, bringing with him a basin of water. The purpose of the test was to determine whether the man was actually Jake's biological father. Placing the bowl on a separate table, he looked around at the people who had somewhat calmed down but still looked rather hostile.

The low-ranking priest did not know what had happened, but since he had simply been paid to come and preside over this, he felt that he should just do his job and get out. So, he asked the people who were supposed to come forward to do so, thinking it was probably some well-dressed people who believed that their son was not their biological child and did not wish to give him their territory. He had expected one of the highly dressed individuals to come forward.

What he did not expect was to see a gaunt man walk up, with a striking young man coming up as well. The man showed a look of surprise before quickly schooling his expression. He then lightly guided everyone through the procedure, instructing them to place their blood into the water. After they had done so, he lightly cast a blessing upon it and watched. If the blood came together and became one, then the two individuals were related.

But if the blood separated in such a way that it could never connect, then the individuals were not related. After saying the blessing, the priest opened his eyes, ready for the result. But nothing happened. It was not until a few minutes later that he saw the blood slowly begin to come together, eventually becoming one. When that happened, he looked up. Even though the result had been somewhat different from what he had expected, he felt that things should be good.

The two individuals had been able to find their family, after all. Looking up, he saw that the young lad had an awkward expression, while the gaunt man looked relieved. If the priest weren't presiding over this, he felt that he would have scratched his head. Something about this was not right. As he was preparing to tidy everything up, Mr. Hemmingsway stepped forward.

"Wait." Hearing that voice, the little priest shook to his core. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Am I going to die? Ah, I shouldn't have taken the money from these people if I knew this was going to happen. As he said prayers in his heart, he saw the man say that he wanted the bowl. So the priest passed it to him. He didn't care. I'm sure I'll be reprimanded for losing that bowl, but you know what? It's okay. I can fast for, like, a month. I should be fine.

He tremblingly handed the bowl to the man and looked scared as the other person took it. But when the man took the bowl, it seemed as though he had no intention of killing him. So the little priest finally had enough courage to look around and see what was happening. After all, he couldn't leave without the bowl. Looking around, he realized that he had no idea who most of the people here were. He had been raised in the Temple since he was seven, and therefore, he really didn't know much about the outside world.

But as he was looking around, his eyes landed on someone, and his face went pale. Is that not the Saintess? And wait... If the Saintess is here, that means... He looked around, searching for someone, and then he found her. The Seer. Oh my goodness. Wait. From what he knew, the Seer was always surrounded by very highly important people, and he felt as though his blood was about to run backward. Maybe... maybe these are just people who are here to eat and celebrate this boy's birthday. They're not anybody important.

He felt as though he were shaking in his boots. Why did I take this job? As he was thinking that, the door once again opened with a loud bang.

"Mr. Hemmingsway, you won't believe it! I found out who the woman you were looking for is!" Hearing that voice, the low-level priest felt his hands begin to shake. He turned his head to see who had come in and saw that it was an older gentleman, a very handsome older gentleman. He felt conflicted. Maybe it's not who I think it is.

"Your Majesty." A lady's voice came from the side.

"You should mind your manners, even if you're coming here undercover." The priest felt like he wanted to faint. That lady's voice... He put two and two together. If she is calling him Majesty, and she is able to reprimand him, and she's also a young woman, could it be that she's one of the heroes? The Empress? He looked. Wait. If one of the heroes is here, the Saintess is here, and the Seer is here, that means... He looked around. He saw two other couples who looked similar to the lady who had just spoken.

Could those be the Empress's parents? And then there was only one person left who was known to always be around the Seer. He turned to see the young woman and found her staring at him with an interesting expression on her face. That can't be Rosa. The mad killer? He wanted to faint. He wanted to faint so badly. His legs were shaking. He didn't know what to do. I know I'm doing this wrong. Why did I take this job? I was only told to go and do a blood test. I should have known.

Those people who really liked money didn't want to get involved in this themselves, so they pushed it onto me. Why? Just why? Why am I in here? I want to go home. He cried inwardly. But outwardly, he still kept his composure due to the training they had to go through as priests. Though inside, he was running around in circles.... Ronan, who had just opened the door and said his piece, looked around in bewilderment as he sensed the tension in the room. What was happening?

Furen had to pull him aside and catch him up on what was going on, basically explaining the gaunt man there and that Count and Countess Tempo had stated that this man was Jake's biological father, and that they were here for custody. Ronan couldn't help but frown.

"But that cannot be possible," Ronan murmured to himself. However, due to the fact that the revelation had left everyone silent, it allowed everyone to hear his words. Furen turned toward him. She didn't know how to feel about his interruption, as this was something rather big.

"Ronan, my love. What do you possibly mean by those words?" Hearing Furen call him in such a way, Ronan felt that he had most likely done something again that had made her mad. But this was not the time. He could sleep on the sofa for all he cared, but at this moment, he needed to let the truth out.

"There's no way that man is the father of Jake," Ronan said.

"Because Abellina is the person Mr. Hemmingsway had been looking for." Furen grabbed Ronan's hand so hard that it started to go a little pale.

"Can you shut up, please? We just did a blood thing." But while Furen was scolding Ronan, Mr. Hemmingsway spoke up.

"The blood that was collected has been tampered with." That brought everyone's attention back to the bowl as they walked over to surround it, looking down at what was happening. The once-combined drops of blood seemed to be fighting one another, trying to separate, as one could be seen darkening. The people watched as the blood itself bubbled up, trying to separate itself.

Even the priest, who had been standing there in a stoic daze, couldn't help but run over to see what was happening after hearing those words, completely forgetting about the people surrounding him as he tried to figure out what was going on. But when he saw the scene in the bowl, with a dark, viscous substance surrounding a clearly separate drop of blood and trying to force it apart, every expression fell from his face. He was completely horrified. What the heck is this job?

Did I just see something I wasn't supposed to see? Could it be that one of the people here isn't even human? What is this? The man felt as though his lifespan had shortened by several years. If he could, he wished he could tuck his tail between his legs and disappear. I should have stayed. I should have stayed home. Because this is not it. This is not it. He thought to himself as panic continued to rise within him. Could it be that I'm going to lose my life today of all days?

I should have just stayed at the Temple. I should have celebrated my nineteenth birthday in peace. Why am I here? …... Seraphina, who had been quietly watching the scene, couldn't help but sigh. Seems I shall have to get involved after all. She stepped forward.

"Seeing as the blood work is not working properly, I can just preside over the magic of blessing, calling forth the Goddess to allow us to see the familial bonds."

"What gives you the right?" Count Tempo spoke up.

"What if it's another trick you guys are trying to do to show that the gaunt man and him are not related?" Seraphina lightly turned her eyes toward the couple.

"Are you questioning my ethics, or are you questioning the will of the Goddess?" And then he shut up. She snapped her fingers, and threads connecting Furen Boswe and her parents appeared, showing that they were related and that she was their child. Threads connecting the Roosevelts with Rosa also appeared, showing that they were family.

"See?" Seraphina said lightly.

"They are related. The spell shows it quite clearly." She then looked toward the others.

"Of course, this only works if all parties are willing, or if they are caught off guard. If you willingly allow me to enter your mind, then there will be no issue. And if I catch you off guard, I can still establish the connection." Seraphina's expression remained calm as she continued.

"But once I begin, I hope you don't show any resistance. If you do, it will be rather painful." As she said that, Seraphina walked toward them. She signaled for the people around them to move away as she prepared to cast the spell.

"If the lines connect, the mother and father will lead to the child, their own blood-related child. Is that something we can agree upon?" Seraphina asked lightly to the couple, almost as if allowing them to refuse. But anybody who understood her would know that she wasn't asking. She was simply informing them. And when everyone had made way, Seraphina began the ritual.

"Oh, by the way, since the Emperor says that Hemmingsway might be the child's father too, he will have to step close so we can deal with this." As Seraphina was dealing with that, the little priest stepped back, joining the people who had moved aside. In his mind, he was praying that nobody would focus their attention on him, because this could have gone haywire. They could have thought that he had done something, and he would be in trouble. He didn't want to die.

These people could, with a snap of their fingers, make him disappear. So, in his mind, he was doing everything he could, even casting some shielding magic on himself to ensure that he stayed anonymous, so nobody could hurt him. He was just that panicked. While he was doing that, he felt a heavy weight upon him, as if something was trying to invade his mind and pull something out. The priest thought that he was going insane. Maybe his magical abilities were going out of whack again.

So he quietly rolled them back in. But then he felt it get pulled again. And he brought it back in. Every single time it tried to go out, he brought it back in. Eventually, he couldn't help but think: What is going on? As he focused on doing that, continuing to keep his magic reined in, outside, the string of the gaunt man, the string of Jake, Abellina, and Mr. Hemmingsway had already lined up straight, just waiting for the final thing. One minute passed. Then two.

People became rather curious as to why nothing was happening. Jake was even about to ask, because he knew for a fact that Abellina was his mother, so at the very least, he should connect with his mother. Then Seraphina's voice echoed out.

"Priest, will you stop what you're doing?" The priest, who had heard his name being called out, froze. And in doing so, he forgot to roll back what he thought to be his magic that was going out. As he looked in confusion toward Seraphina's direction, in the next moment, he felt the thing leave his body and reach up toward the sky. Looking back at himself, he saw something. A string. A string going up. He looked toward the center of the room and then back at himself. He covered the sweat on his brow. What the fudge?

He was sure that when he was seven, he had been taken by a trafficking ring, and that his father was dead or something. He remembered being sold there before he was taken by the Temple, who had seen that he had the ability to become a priest. But he couldn't be that gaunt man's son, right? It would be way too tragic. He did not come here to be taken in, thank you very much. He had a peaceful life before this. Though he got bullied at the Temple, he was just a low-level priest.

At least he had a good place to sleep, and he didn't have to worry too much. But if that gaunt man was actually his father, he was going to lose so much. He was going to have someone who was in debt to deal with on top of everything else. He already knew that the Count and Countess Tempo were terrible people, because the other priests had just refused to take on this job. But he didn't know how to feel about this. Even the other people who were watching were shocked that there was a string from him.

They had not been expecting that. Well, everyone other than Seraphina and Rosa, who seemed to be in deep thought about something.