Chapter 74: Passing

Frost Wolf Castle.

Aaron opened his eyes.

"Do I prioritize the Scarlet Sun as a target simply because He is the most powerful and erodes Fate the most?"

"No... it is more likely because as a Mysterious Creator, He is the most likely to discover my existence... rather than the Mysterious world no longer needing a Creator once it is complete, so I choose to eliminate Him first..."

How the dream world would develop, Aaron prepared to see next time he entered a dream.

Some arrangements, he could also deploy through his believers.

The war between the Fate-Masters is long and enduring.

At this moment, all that could be done was to wait.

He rang a bell, and an exceptionally beautiful maid entered to serve him as he dressed.

Once his formal attire was fully donned, Aaron waved his hand; a look of grievance immediately appeared on the maid's face, but she still bowed and withdrew.

Aaron was just preparing to go to the dining room to enjoy breakfast when his brow suddenly furrowed.

His Spirituality was slightly stirred; it seemed something bad had happened.

Thump-thump!

Not long after, Scholar Albert knocked and entered, saying in a sorrowful tone: "Count, news has come from Sotos Castle this morning; your father is critically ill..."

"Prepare the horses, we are returning!"

Aaron quickly grabbed a coat and said in an unquestionable tone.

Sotos Castle.

Jinni, who had already grown into a beautiful young girl, sat by the balcony, her hand resting on her chin, gazing unconsciously at the end of the road.

Clip-clop!

Suddenly, a sound of horse hooves arrived.

Over a hundred cavalrymen, like a torrent, galloped from afar, seemingly capable of crushing everything they encountered.

The leading Knight held the dark green Banyan Horn Flag high.

Many cavalrymen stopped in front of Sotos Castle, displaying exquisite Horsemanship.

Aaron dismounted, wearing the magnificent attire of a lord, with a sword decorated with gemstones hanging at his waist; although his face was still youthful, he looked spirited and heroic.

"Brother Aaron!"

At the castle entrance, a group of people quickly appeared.

Among them, a young man, his voice filled with sobbing, almost knelt on the ground, hugging Aaron's thigh and crying: "Father... Father, he... wuwu..."

This was Sean; six years had passed, and he had also become a young man.

Aaron unobtrusively pushed him aside and saw a gentle lady with a little boy; it was Sylvie!

She was holding the hand of a seven or eight-year-old child, who was Xia Ya; he was currently biting his finger, observing Aaron with curious eyes.

"Count, because Xia Ya's grandfather is critically ill, I brought him back to see..."

Lady Sylvie murmured, showing none of the decisiveness she had when speaking on her own territory.

"Hmm!"

Aaron responded, handing his robe to Jinni who walked over: "Take me to see Father!"

Jinni's eyes were somewhat red, and she led the way in front.

After opening the bedroom door, a smell of medicinal herbs rushed toward them.

Golden sunlight spilled in from the window, yet the room seemed to be permeated with an aura of decay.

On the sickbed, Theodore lay, having become so thin he was barely recognizable.

"Ever since that incident, Father's health has not been very good..."

Beside them, Jinni wept, wiping her eyes with a handkerchief.

Aaron sat by the bed, looking at this body's father, his heart feeling very complex: "Father, I have returned!"

While speaking, he also grabbed Theodore's arm.

'The vitality of this body is already very weak... however, there are no serious physical illnesses; is it a sickness of the heart?'

Aaron knew that after some people in power step down, they often go through a process of serious illness or accelerated aging.

And Theodore's symptoms were more severe because he had simultaneously lost an heir and experienced betrayal; this was definitely a huge blow.

Thus, a sickness of the heart had developed!

"Cough, cough... you've come?"

Theodore on the sickbed opened his eyes and spoke in a hoarse voice.

Aaron found it truly difficult to connect him with that high-spirited lord from before.

"If you are willing..."

He thought for a moment and said: "I can perform a Ritual for you to plunder the vitality of others... living another ten years should be no problem."

Behind Aaron, Sean, who had been ready to use onions to smear his eyes and cry bitterly, froze.

What? So he doesn't have to die?

The look he cast toward Aaron could not help but be filled with a certain envy and jealousy, though he hid it well.

"You truly... are much favored by the Ancestor..."

"But... no... no need..."

Theodore closed his eyes: "I am tired, I want to rest..."

"If this is your wish, I respect it."

Aaron sighed, stood up, and walked out of the room.

The moment he stepped out of the room, he heard Theodore's lips move, saying in an extremely low voice: "I'm sorry..."

The next day.

Behind the hillside where the Sotos Family's Green Banyan Tree Altar was located.

A new grave had been built, and on the flat tombstone was an epitaph carved with a long sword:

"Theodore Sotos"

"A wise lord, a remorseful father"

"Died in the year 328 of the Kingdom Calendar"

"Although there are many achievements I would like to engrave, the stone tablet is too small to hold them all..."

Aaron was wrapped in a sable fur robe, thick fluff surrounding his neck, his black cloak fluttering in the wind.

Beside Theodore's grave, there was a row of stone burial plots, and next to it was Colin's tombstone.

"This is the Sotos Family cemetery; one day, we will all be buried here..."

Beside Aaron, Jinni said in a low voice.

"Father..."

Sean was crying with red eyes, while Shaya nearby could not yet understand life and death, appearing only very bewildered, and Sylvie looked at Colin's tombstone with a complex expression.

"Yes... death! Death! No matter how great a monarch... after death, one can still only be buried in such a small plot of land, letting the body decay..."

Aaron sighed and exhaled a puff of white mist: "Jinni, you are wrong about one thing; even if I die in the future, I will not be buried here."

Jinni looked at Aaron with a puzzled gaze.

Aaron did not explain, merely glancing at Shaya.

Seeing his gaze, Sylvie immediately became very nervous.

"Shaya, come here!"

Under the Green Banyan Tree, amidst the falling heavy snow, the silent Aaron suddenly drew the jeweled sword from his waist, causing everyone to startle.

Immediately, he placed the long sword on Shaya's shoulder: "In the name of the Green Forest Earl, I confer upon Shaya Sotos the title of Valley Baron!"

"Thank you, thank you!"

Lady Sylvie was practically sobbing, holding Shaya and thanking him repeatedly, though it was unclear if she was moved or frightened.

"Sean!"

Immediately, Aaron turned his gaze toward Sean.

"I am here!"

Sean immediately knelt down, his heart burning with intensity.

Looking at his expression, Aaron sneered: "All these years, you have harbored hatred and spread rumors within the territory..."

Before he could finish, Sean's face turned deathly pale: "No, no, brother, it wasn't me!"

"Sophistry is meaningless."

Aaron shook his head; if Sean had truly rebelled, he would have thought more highly of this younger brother: "Sean Sotos, in the name of the Green Forest Earl, I judge you guilty! I sentence you to exile, never to return to the Sotos Family territory for the rest of your life!"

Having finished, he ignored Sean, who looked as if his bones had been removed and appeared utterly devastated, and looked at Jinni: "Kneel!"

"Eh? Me?"

Jinni widened her eyes, but still knelt down.

"Under the witness of the ancestral spirits and the Green Banyan Tree, I, Aaron Sotos, in the name of the Green Forest Earl, confer upon Jinni Sotos the title of Frostwolf Duke!"

Aaron rested the long sword on Jinni's shoulder and announced solemnly.

Although it was absurd for an Earl to confer the title of Duke, no one thought it was a joke.