Reincarnated As The Villainess's Son-Chapter 543: [A Hopeless World] [14] [Growth]
"...."
As the first morning light shone over my face, I leaned back on the sofa, staring at the three children of mine.
Well, calling them children would be wrong as they all had grown a lot.
Iffa, Willis, and Olivia.
All three of them had grown, and now they all looked like they were in their teenage years.
Iffa’s golden hair had grown a lot, to the point that it was touching the ground.
Olivia had also matured, but she still had that dead look on her face.
And Willis...
"What?" the young boy asked, tilting his head as I kept staring at him.
"What’s up with those horns?" I asked, pointing at them.
"....."
He didn’t respond as he just reached up to touch them.
"I don’t know." he said at last.
’...Well, looks like all three of my spirits have grown healthy.’
Wow, I felt old now.
I leaned back further into the sofa and let out a slow breath.
"...When did you three get this big?" I muttered.
Iffa immediately puffed her cheeks.
"We didn’t get big," she protested. "You just don’t visit when we were evolving."
Yeah, I was busy buying milk.
I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly.
"...I’ve been busy."
Olivia, who had been standing quietly beside the window, spoke in her usual flat tone.
"You are always busy."
I looked at her.
Her long dark hair fell straight down her back, and her expression was as emotionless as ever.
But I could still feel warmth from her heart.
"...You three look stronger," I said.
Willis nodded proudly.
"I am very strong now," he declared. "I can punch a mountain."
"Sure you can." I said, standing back up.
It didn’t take Iffa even a second to jump on my back and choke my neck.
’Is she trying to get a piggyback ride?’
I wondered, though I didn’t stop her because I could hear her giggling like a child.
I walked toward Olivia, who stood close to the window, staring out.
I messed up her hair, to which she let out an annoyed groan.
She swatted my hand weakly, trying to fix her hair immediately.
"...Stop doing that," Olivia muttered in her usual flat voice, though she didn’t actually move away from me.
I smiled faintly, though it didn’t last long.
"About Siersha..." I said softly. "Can you contact her?"
She shook her head gently. "I can only feel that she is still alive."
"...."
I felt relieved by her words, but I couldn’t ignore the sadness in her voice.
"Olivia—."
"You don’t have to say anything." she cut me off. "That woman knew what she was doing, and she is still following her plan."
That made me pause for a second.
’What the fuck was her plan?’
"I don’t know." she replied as if she heard my thoughts.
"....I see."
Before I could say anything, Iffa tightened her arms around my neck from behind.
"You are ignoring me!" she complained dramatically. "I evolved a lot too, you know!"
"You evolved into a monkey," I replied calmly.
She gasped loudly. "HOW RUDE."
Willis also chimed in. "You do look like a monkey hanging on him," he said.
Iffa immediately kicked him from behind.
"Shut up, horn-boy!"
He covered his head protectively. "Don’t call me that!"
I watched the two of them bicker and couldn’t help but let out a small breath.
’Ah, I need to visit the academy today.’
This was going to be a pain.
---
The EEA Academy was a big part of a noble’s life on the Kandam Continent.
Be it social gatherings or meetings between young nobles, the academy had always been the first place for it.
People tended to stick together with those who were close to their status and wealth.
And the social hierarchy was ingrained within the entire structure of the academy.
The only thing that was on par with the nobles were the members of the church.
And Helena was one of the top in the hierarchy.
Though she did not consider herself that way because she now saw herself as a slave.
Helena walked slowly through the long marble corridor.
Students stepped aside almost instinctively when they saw her.
Her expression remained calm, almost empty, as if none of this mattered anymore.
In the past, she used to feel pride when people looked at her with awe.
Now she only felt... distance.
She arrived at her office and stood outside for a long second to gather her thoughts.
Taking in a deep breath, she opened the door.
A young man sat on the seat that belonged to her.
The man who took away her breath the moment her eyes fell on him.
Helena instinctively kneeled down, though her feverish breath was hard to ignore. "Sir Himmel."
"It’s been a while, hasn’t it?" Himmel asked, leaning back while holding a book.
"Yes." she responded softly. "It’s been a while."
"You may stand."
"Yes, sir."
She rose immediately, but she still kept her gaze slightly lowered out of habit.
Her face was covered with a veil as she bit her lips.
"How are things going with the church?" Himmel asked, closing the book.
"All three of them are in shambles." she replied. "They are all fearful of the thing that is orbiting Akasha."
"Are they aware what that is?"
"I don’t think so." she replied. "Perhaps the higher-ups are, but they are not telling anyone."
He leaned back slightly in the chair, tapping his finger once on the desk.
It was clear that they were withholding the information so as not to create panic.
But it didn’t matter, as the world would know about the Outer Gods sooner or later.
Helena rubbed her heated body against herself, which Himmel tried hard not to notice.
"Anything else?" Himmel asked once again.
Helena thought for a long second as she kept her head down.
"Sir Vulas of the Argonian family." she said at last. "They are trying to gather all of the other families under different kingdoms."
"Argonian family?"
Her words immediately grabbed Himmel’s attention.
And why wouldn’t they?
The family was the one closest to the origin race; their head was also the leader of Archons.
But there was more to the Argonian family than that.
The history of the Argonian family exceeded four thousand years, making it longer than even an epoch.
They had witnessed cooperation, betrayal, and even the massacre of gods’ reincarnations done by Qaisel, and they had survived until this very day.
And it definitely came as a surprise how long the family had lasted.
The Third Holy War was something that had made almost all powerful families vanish from the face of Lumina.
"Do they have a peak demigod hiding within their family?" Himmel wondered aloud as he lowered his gaze thoughtfully.
He looked up again. "...What exactly are they doing?"
"They are sending envoys quietly," Helena replied. "It may come as surprising, but I think they are trying to overthrow the current royal alliance."
"Royal alliance?" Himmel questioned, squinting his eyes.
"Yes, sir. The coalition formed after the Third Holy War that prohibited royal families of different kingdoms from attacking each other."
It was an old structure, a fragile balance of power that had barely held the continent together for centuries.
"...They want to dismantle it?"
"Not openly," Helena replied. "But their envoys are persuading families to start preparing for war."
Himmel rubbed the back of his neck as he looked up at the ceiling.
"This is getting out of hand." he grumbled quietly.
And Helena moaned inside her mouth at his voice.
She quickly added when he glared at her.
"The one leading all this is Sir Vulas’ daughter." she said. "Lady Nyxara."
Himmel felt an itch all over his body when he heard her name once again.
She was really someone who made him feel rather uncomfortable.
He let out another sigh as he stood up from his seat, walking toward Helena.
She gulped softly when he stood in front of her.
"Keep me informed." he said, before he walked past her.
Himmel reached for the door and walked out of the room.
---
As soon as I walked out of the room, I heard Helena’s moan from inside her office.
’Is she really masturbating inside?’
I couldn’t help but feel disgusted at her behaviour.
Did she really have no self-control, or did she like being treated like a dog?
’Argh, whatever.’
The only reason I was keeping her alive was so I could have a mole within the ranks of the Church.
I could never trust those bastards with anything.
’But the Argonian family....’
Why did I feel like they were going after more than just the Royal Alliance?
It might have been just a stupid hunch, but I had a feeling they might also attack the church.
After all, the church was also the main reason why the old structure was still intact.
’...No, making an enemy out of gods isn’t really a wise thing to do.’
And I really hoped Nyxara wasn’t stupid enough to not understand that.
I let out a sigh as I began to walk down the hallway...
...only to stop when I saw a girl walking down from the other direction.
’....Joshephe.’
Ragnar’s daughter.
