Chapter 178: All for the Sake of the Family

Zavier slowly exhaled once the holographic call disconnected.

The blue light from the communication tablet faded away little by little, leaving the office quiet again.

For a few seconds...

Nobody amongst him or Zara spoke.

Then...

Zavier adjusted his clothes calmly and straightened his posture, forcing himself back into his usual composed appearance as though the panic from earlier had never happened in the first place.

"Zara..."

He turned slowly toward his son.

"You heard everything clearly, right?"

"Yes, Father."

Zara replied immediately.

But unlike before...

His eyes were now shining brightly with excitement, the fear he previously felt had already disappeared completely.

What replaced it now...Was greed.

Pure greed.

"I’m going to become famous soon."

Zara spread his hands wide while laughing excitedly.

"The main news across Metallica will carry my name and the whole Britannia will know me as the Sixth Rank of the Trial of Steel."

His chest rose proudly while imagining the scene in his head.

The crowds, the praise, the Highline and Mainline nobles talking about him, the girls staring at him with admiration.

The image alone made him almost lose himself in excitement.

"But honestly..."

Zavier slowly stroked his chin thoughtfully afterward.

"I still can’t understand how that useless son of mine managed to enter the top ranks."

His brows slowly furrowed.

"From everything I understood about the Trial of Steel..."

He began pacing slowly around the room.

"It should obviously be a system made to push the Mainline children to grow stronger by using the Lowline children as stepping stones."

His tone carried certainty.

"That’s why I was absolutely sure Ezra would die no matter what, especially with that sick body of his."

Zavier narrowed his eyes coldly.

"That brat was never supposed to survive."

The image of Ezra standing calmly in front of him earlier resurfaced inside his mind.

That face with the gaze and that confidence.

It looked completely different from the weak and cowardly child who used to lower his head whenever spoken to.

"This is honestly irritating me the longer I think about it."

Zavier slammed his hand heavily against the table nearby.

"The way that brat looked at his own father with such arrogance..."

The veins near his forehead tightened slightly.

"Father, it’s fine."

Zara calmly walked closer.

Unlike Zavier...

He looked unusually relaxed.

"I already figured out the reason someone like Ezra could rank that high."

His expression became smug.

"You did?"

Zavier looked toward him curiously.

Zara confidently raised one finger upward.

"He definitely got protected by someone powerful."

He spoke like he had already solved some grand mystery.

"With this kind of face, we have..."

Zara casually glanced toward his reflection on the glass window nearby and smirked proudly.

"I’m sure Ezra managed seducing some Mainline noble girl with enough authority to keep him alive throughout the trials."

His smile widened further.

"And she probably helped him rank high too with her influence."

Zavier’s eyes slowly widened.

Not surprising...

He actually began seriously considering those words.

"That..." He slowly nodded. "That honestly makes sense."

For weak-minded people like them...

It genuinely sounded logical.

Because neither father nor son could ever accept the idea that Ezra achieved something of that scale through his own ability.

"That’s the only possible explanation for a weakling like him becoming successful."

Zara laughed lightly.

"But now..."

His expression sharpened proudly.

"I’ll take my rightful place and rise properly."

"Hahaha..."

Both father and son began laughing together inside the office, their laughter echoed proudly throughout the room.

"And with your admission into the Royal Academy..."

Zavier’s excitement also increased.

"Not only will you obtain an Alchemy Title after graduation..."

His eyes glittered greedily.

"But the connections you’ll build there too..."

He could already picture the future.

Their family rising, people respecting them, their name gaining more influence.

"I might even marry a Duke’s daughter."

Zara suddenly added proudly.

That statement immediately made both their laughter grow louder again.

Knock. Knock.

A gentle knock suddenly came from the office door.

"Enter."

Zavier spoke while suppressing his laughter slightly, though the bright smile remained on his face.

Zara also reduced his laughter to a low chuckle while still lost in his own fantasies.

The door slowly opened afterward.

March entered carefully with hesitation visible on his face.

"Lord Zavier..."

He rubbed his hands together nervously before speaking.

"The guards..." His voice lowered further. "...couldn’t find Young Master Ezra."

The room immediately became silent again.

"What?!"

Zavier’s face darkened instantly.

"They couldn’t even find a piece of trash like him? Tsk. All of them are just as useless as that boy."

He rubbed his forehead in annoyance.

"Father, calm down."

Zara stepped forward again.

"I already thought of another way to eliminate him."

A cruel smile slowly appeared on his face.

"We don’t even need to find him directly."

His eyes narrowed.

"Since we can simply hire those people."

March immediately stiffened. "Kill... Young Master Ezra?" His face turned pale slightly.

There was confusion filled in his eyes.

"March."

Zavier suddenly looked toward him coldly.

The atmosphere immediately changed.

"Never call that trash ’Young Master’ again."

His voice carried disgust.

"That boy was never truly my son. He was just a stain that refused to disappear."

Zavier adjusted his coat afterward while walking toward the door.

"And now..."

His expression became colder.

"Drastic measures need carrying out for the sake of this family."

Those words sounded righteous coming from his mouth, like he was sacrificing something important.

But in reality...

The greed inside his eyes already exposed everything.

"March."

Zavier suddenly stopped walking.

"Buy a large amount of Ese for Zara. Second-grade and at least third-grade."

He turned proudly toward his son.

"And Zara..."

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"Make sure everything gets handled perfectly before the party. We only have two weeks left."

His eyes sharpened slightly afterward.

"And make sure you remain in top condition."

"Yes, Father."

Zara replied brightly with excitement practically leaking from his face.

"Yes, Lord."

March bowed respectfully.

But inside...

His chest felt heavy, because he already understood what kind of fate awaited Ezra now.

Still...

After witnessing years of mistreatment toward Ezra inside this household, he wasn’t even surprised anymore.

In a way...

He pitied the boy, because none of it was truly Ezra’s fault.

He was simply born weak and from the very beginning...

That weakness already decided his place inside this family.

A stepping stone for Zara.

***

After leaving Zavier’s office earlier, Ezra immediately signaled toward Lucy with his eyes as the guards nearby instinctively moved again, wanting to stop them this time, but before any of them could react properly...

Both Ezra and Lucy vanished forward suddenly in a flash.

Their movement happened so quickly it almost looked like teleportation.

The guards froze.

"Where did they go?!"

They quickly turned their heads around in confusion, but Ezra and Lucy had already disappeared from the mansion completely.

And just like that...

The two escaped the Sterling Household entirely.

"Ahhhh..."

Lucy exhaled tiredly afterward while dropping both suitcases onto the ground heavily.

"I can’t believe we ran all the way from the mansion to the train station without properly resting."

She glanced toward Ezra who was checking something on the glass phone on his hand.

Although...We did stop a few times.

She stretched her body lightly.

While moving through the streets of Obsidior earlier, Ezra stopped briefly at a phone shop and purchased Starlix Z11 phones for both himself and Lucy since communication was now extremely important.

Afterward...

The two continued moving quickly without attracting attention before eventually boarding a train toward Cindervale.

Although officially classified as a city...

Most people still referred to Cindervale as a small town, however, unlike poorer towns in Britannia.

It remained relatively civilized due to the many Low-Ember households and several Baron families living there.

Now...

The two stood in front of a hotel.

"Why exactly did we leave Obsidior and come all the way here, Master Ezra?"

Lucy asked curiously while following him inside.

"We needed some distance from that house first."

Ezra replied calmly while slipping the phone into his coat pocket.

The two walked toward the receptionist and paid for their stay before a female attendant guided them toward their rooms.

Lucy placed her belongings into the room opposite Ezra’s before immediately entering his room.

"Master Ezra..."

She placed her hands against her waist.

"What’s the next plan?"

"Well..."

Ezra sat on the bed with his legs crossed thoughtfully.

"Now that I officially cut ties with my former family..."

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"We need to start preparing properly for what comes next."

Lucy tilted her head in confusion.

"I don’t understand. What exactly are we preparing for?"

"As you already know..."

Ezra calmly explained.

"My real identity currently belongs to someone considered dead and now that I returned alive...There’s a high chance they’ll try exploiting that loophole to steal everything I earned from the Trial and hand it over to the real Zara."

The moment Lucy heard that...Her eyes immediately sharpened.

"Then we need to stop that immediately."

Her killing intent almost leaked outward.

"We honestly should’ve just eliminated them back there."

She sighed while resting her cheek against her palm.

"It doesn’t work like that."

Ezra stared at her plainly.

"Unless you want me, becoming a wanted criminal."

"Oh."

Lucy’s mouth opened slightly before she awkwardly closed it again after realizing her mistake.

"I should’ve thought better, Master."

She bowed apologetically.

"Forget about that for now."

Ezra suddenly stood up and walked toward her.

Lucy’s eyes widened immediately.

He’s going to...

Her fingers instinctively grabbed onto part of her maid dress tightly while random thoughts began racing inside her head.

"You’re thinking nonsense again."

Flick!

"Ouch!"

Ezra flicked her forehead before turning her gently toward the door by her shoulder.

"It’s already late after everything that happened today."

His voice remained calm.

"So go rest, because tomorrow..."

A faint smile appeared on his face afterward.

"We’re going to be extremely busy."

For some reason...

That smile made Lucy feel nervous instead.

"Okay..."

She nodded slowly before leaving for her room.

After Lucy finally left...

Ezra took out his old space bag and carefully emptied every material stored inside it, then for the next several hours...

He slowly reorganized everything into the new space bag one item at a time.

By the time he finished...

The room had already become quiet and dark.

Ezra glanced toward the Sixth-Grade Ese resting on the bed.

"I’ll save this for later."

He placed it carefully into the new bag, but instead of sleeping immediately...

Ezra first entered the bathroom and showered quietly before walking toward the desk inside the room.

He spread out a large drawing sheet across it.

Since Lucy specializes in dual weapons...

Ezra’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully into the memories inside the Book of Memories...

I should be able to find a martial art technique or anything suitable for her weapon style to help her increase her combat level.

The ability inside his mind realm activated slowly, then Ezra began sketching carefully.

One line after another.

Designing, adjusting and retracing.

Time slowly passed without him noticing.

Before long...

The clock already showed midnight.

Only then did Ezra finally stop.

He arranged the desk neatly afterward before returning toward the bed.

"Ahh..."

Ezra sighed while looking toward the sleeping pill case beside him.

"It’s almost finished."

He muttered quietly before placing the case back into his space bag near the pillow.

After swallowing another pill...

Ezra finally closed his eyes and slowly fell asleep.