The room's walls were sleek brown, and the carpet floor was crimson with yellow edging. The lights on the roof appeared to be miles away from the floor, yet that didn't stop them from shining brightly.
.
.
.
Ding!
----
[Quest]
| - Trick Donte Pron Andras into believing you do not have the artifact; Soul Necklace: Shaping Will |
----
It was asking for the impossible!
He looks like he already knows I have the damn necklace!
----
[Penalty For Failing This Quest!]:
| - Will lose the following artifact; Soul Necklace: Shaping Will. |
| - Immediate execution of the user; Dorian Andras. |
[Rewards For Clearing This Quest!]:
| - +1000 SP! (Soul Points) |
----
Haha...
I started to laugh at myself internally. The incentives did not reflect the severity of the penalty; death!
I tried keeping my face as neutral as possible, but I could feel the veins on my forehead starting to burst. Who wouldn't be mad after seeing this type of compensation with their lives on the line?
Calm down...
I was still sweating, my heart couldn't stop racing fast.
I took a deep breath, my body heat gradually cooled down. My thoughts grew clearer.
"Father, I know you know I don't possess the soul necklace." The tone of my voice was clearer than before. I started to imagine what to say.
Vague experiences and fake scenarios started to flood my mind.
This was it!
"What nonsense are you talking about Dorian." Donte quickly bit back, he refused to trust my words.
"As you know Father, Lucy's Memory Gem's history didn't show any history of me making contact with the 'soul necklace'..." I felt more confident in my words. I started to imagine broad schemes.
"You think I don't know?"
Know what? What could he possibly know that I didn't? My mind and heart started to rise, I could feel the loud throbs from both areas.
"That you erased your memories with an artifact? Did you think that I wouldn't think that you would use the ring 'Erasure'?" A grin formed on his face, he was confident in his remark
Erasure? That artifact?
Dorian wouldn't be able to get that artifact in a million years!
That relic was located in the Alvion District. The claim Donte made was completely false.
"Father that artifact resided in the Alvion District." I placed a bid on this.
"There would be no way I could obtain such a high-grade mythical artifact." I knew the whereabouts that no one else knew.
In [Give Up? Never!], artifacts are crafted and split into 6 ranks by the grade of a demon gem.
Demon gems are the cores, something like a heart, of a god's monster.
They're used to craft these artifacts for soul weapon users ranked from the least powerful to the most reality-breaking items;
Common, uncommon, rare, legendary, mythic, and at the top were the heroic-grade artifacts.
Only seven known heroic artifacts resided in the [Give up? Never!], which one of them included the Andras' family's Shaping Will which I have in my pockets right now.
By killing the God of Vexatious, the Andras' founding father made Shaping Will with the use of Vexatious' sapphire core.
Donte never used the Shaping Will because his innate soul weapon was already amazing, so he has no use for it. Why would he need this Heroic-grade artifact so badly?
Well, it's a heroic-grade artifact and the family's keepsake...
The artifact 'Erasure' the ring was Alvions few legendary-grade artifacts, so they would likely keep it in their section's vault.
I wouldn't be able to break into there in a million years if I were to try to attack Alvion right now. I would straight up killed in no time.
"It resides with the King of Alvion, I'm aware you know that we live in Setrus." I didn't allow Donte to interrupt my argument.
"If I were to travel to the district of Alvion, it would take at least a month to arrive there, and even more time to look for the artifact."
Donte started to realize his mistake. His expression became displeased.
"I haven't left the mansion's area in years, I've been 'oh-so' diligent in my etiquette lessons for these past few days." These blatant lies were obvious, my manners were practically no one to be found in my speech or body language.
I haven't even gone to an etiquette lesson because no servant had brought me to a teaching room.
"That was my mistake." Donte knew it also resided in Alvion, "but even so, where is the necklace right now?" Donte raised his voice at me as if I were an interrogation right now.
"Don't you remember? Eldest Brother had taken it from the vault." This was supposed to happen. But Dorian stole it from the vault before he could get it because Donte let him in there for some unknown reason.
Donte had no way of contacting the Eldest Brother of the Andras family as he was out of a family's subjugation mission at the border right now anyway.
Donte grit his teeth as if he didn't know if I was telling the truth.
"Dorian..." He was already rattling in rage, it seemed as if his plans were already crumbling.
"Oh, Father! I don't even know what that necklace looks like!" I shouted quickly, Donte looked at me with a face of anger, he must've thought I was mocking him.
Now was not the time to laugh at his infuriated face.
"Father I do have a necklace, but its color was gold...?" What? Gold necklace what am I saying?
My mouth moved on its own, it was me talking out of my asshole. I started to sweat again as I didn't know what to say next.
I messed up...
But Donte's face looked as if he was shocked!?
He stared at me with a sympathetic gaze.
Why did he look at me like that?
I've never seen a gold necklace-
.
.
.
"Dorian~!" A mature lady with brown curly hair called my name in a playful tone.
Her face was wrinkled, yet she still appeared youthful. Her face was patched with light makeup, which added to her already amazing looks. She gave me a dazzling grin.
It felt warmer than ever.
Her plump body gave off a mature look,
"You young boy!" She started to scold me, although in a playful tone, "How dare you wander off without me~!"
Her expression turned sour, and my heart began to pound. I felt wounded.
Her purple dress which had flowed down to her heels, started to connect with the carpet as she bent down to my face level.
Her plump body gave off a mature look, it was in my line of sight...
I felt comfortable, I reached my hand to touch her face, and I did.
It was soft, almost like the wrinkles of age that appeared on her face were signs of her youth.
I want to hold her...
I tried to say something,
"Muh-muh..." I couldn't begin to form any words or complicated thoughts.
Only sounds like "ooh" and "aah" came out as audible to her.
Her grin was beautiful.
"Okay- okay~!" She looked happy again. I felt happy again.
My heart started to swell with warmth.
"Looks like this young man just called her mother 'Muh-muh'!" She exclaimed as she easily picked me up in the air.
Was I always this light?
She started laughing as she twirled me in the air.
"Gosh~ You're so cute, Dorian!" She yelled in such an expressive manner, that I couldn't understand what she was saying.
But I knew she was someone I could love. This person in front of me is someone I could love.
She started to twirl me around in the air. I felt dizzy and exhausted as time passed. I couldn't control my body as I moved hopelessly through the air.
I started to cry uncontrollably.
"Dorian! I'm sorry~..." In an apologetic tone, she quickly put me down and started to try to comfort me. I couldn't stop crying.
"There~, there~."
She started to whisper to a person next to her, who was a woman in a black and white maid outfit, and then she quickly left. In the meantime, I didn't stop crying until that woman smiled at me again.
"I'm sorry Dorian~, as an apology I'll give you this necklace!" She grinned brighter than the prior time. Her smile caused me to stop sobbing in an instant.
The other woman who left out the other door had come back with a golden-colored necklace.
The woman grabbed it quickly and put it around my neck. I felt an uncontrollable surge of warmth starting to envelop my body.
My face unconsciously smiled, and I began to laugh wholeheartedly.
The necklace around me was the color of rose gold, the edge was highlighted with the color of blue, and in the middle was a clear green emerald.
It was dazzling.
"Now make sure not to lose this! It was really~ expensive!" She said playfully, but I knew she would surely be mad if I lost such an expensive-looking item like this.
"Your mother here spent her life savings to get this one~!" Her smile never left her face.
The feeling of guilt and happiness mixed in my heart at the same time.
Ah-
So this is my mother.