The Young Master in the Shadows

“We’re here!!” Alice told Axel as soon as she parked her car next to the grand modern mansion and descended. “You guys can go to the guards' room and get some rest… As usual, don’t let my mother see you!” she turned to her men and said.

“YES MISTRESS!” they replied in a unified voice that sent shivers down Axel’s spine. Why was their sound too high-pitched?

Deciding not to think about that, he turned to look at the grand mansion. This place was huge… It was built on top of a mountain that was bigger than the one Victor owned. It took them a full 15 minutes to reach the main building from the gate below. Was there some sort of father-son competition here?

“Let’s go…” Alice who finished instructing her men said and began walking toward the front door. Axel hesitated for a moment then hastily followed.

The door opened as soon as Alice locked. It was as if the butler was waiting behind the gate.

“Ms Alice!” George, who was dressed in his butler tuxedo, said. “Young Master….! WELCOME! The Master is waiting for you!” he said, pausing at Axel’s name as he gestured with one hand inviting them inside. He clearly knew that he was a fake!

“Come on!” Alice said, noticing Axel’s anxiety, then turned and walked inside.

Axel took a deep breath then followed, carefully inspecting the mansion on his way… This place was definitely more luxurious than the other mansion, he could easily tell that… The only thing it lacked in comparison was the loli maids, but he didn’t believe that his father was shameless enough for that.

“Young Lady! I got it!” A little girl in a cute maid's uniform ran from one of the corridors to one of the side rooms while carrying a bottle of juice. “AH!” she almost stumbled into Axel, “Sorry, I…” she paused then sniffed a little. “OH!” she scowled at him, then continued her path in hastened steps, keeping her eyes on him as she went away.

“Oh, that is Little Elenor, she is Lady Lara’s private maid…” Geroge was the one who replied. “A nice girl if you ask me, just a little rough around the edges, but has the material of a great maid! She was hired directly by young master Victor…” he added.

“Oh!” Axel nodded. DAMN, FAKE OR NOT! THAT VICTOR GUY WAS DEFINITELY A PERVERT OF THE LOWEST KIND!

With that thought, Axel stopped as they reached a big wooden door.

“Ready?” Alice asked.

“...” Axel sighed.

“Let’s go!” she said, knocking on the door twice then pushing it and walking in.

Axel hesitated.

“Just be yourself, tell the truth, and everything will be fine!” George who stood behind him whispered, encouraging him. “He is also your father after all!”

Axel nodded and then stepped in. George was right, as someone who was a father once, he knew that no father would really hate his son!

…

In the office, there were three people.

The first was of course the magnificent Theodore who sat behind a grand Mahogany desk, clearly waiting for him.

On the lavish white couches in front of him, two people sat opposite to each other.

The first was a muscular young man with strong facial features and dashing purple hair. Axel identified him as Mike, the eldest brother.

The other was none other than that slut, Margret. Dressed in a sexy jumpsuit, she was sitting with crossed legs with puffed cheeks. She was clearly in a bad mood not wanting to be there. They probably made her tell them everything she knew!

“You are here at last… SIT!” Theodore said.

Axel hesitated, then sat on a side couch, next to Michael. He didn’t want to sit next to Margret as he really felt that he wanted to kick her ass for tricking him with that tranny!

Alice naturally sat next to Margret.

“What’s your real name?” Theodore asked directly.

“...” Axel hesitated, but since his father already knew, it was clear now that Alice was telling the truth, there was no point in arguing. “Axel…”

“Axel….Ha…” Theodore sighed. “Do you know who your mother is?”

“... They told me she is Elena…” Axel replied.

“She is clearly not!” Theodore said, taking a file from the table and then throwing it at Axel. “She is here! Sadly, she died giving birth to you… It took us a while to track her without using the family resources…”

“Oh!” Axel, who grabbed the folder and opened it was surprised as he saw the photo of a nice-looking woman on the first page. She was definitely his mother, he could tell as one of his kids looked like her. He couldn’t help but start flipping through the folder, noticing his mother’s birth date….. He closed the folder and glared at his father… So that’s why Victor was obsessed with little girls… This was in the damn family!

“SHE LIED TO ME OK! SHE HAD A FAKE ID!” Theodore who clearly read his son’s thoughts replied quickly as any pedophile would. Mike and George both had the same reaction earlier.

“... I don’t care…” Axel answered, feeling a little relieved by his father’s flustered reaction. At least now he had an answer. “What do you need to know?” he asked directly.

“Who?” Theodore nodded then simply asked.

“A butler... Olaf... ” Axel replied directly. He was a decisive guy, like how he accepted Olaf’s proposition quickly before, he decided to trust Theodore for now. If he really wanted to take revenge and stop the tragedies of the past from happening again, he really needed his family’s power! And for that, he was ready to take some risks.

“Olaf? AH!...” Theodore sighed. “I knew it! That guy was always so SUS… ” he said in a low voice.

“Shit…” Michel also cursed in a low voice as he took a $100 bill from his pocket and put it on his father's desk. Those guys probably had a bet about that Butler.

“Now… I want you to tell me everything you know… Can you do that?” Theodore asked.

“Yes….” Axel nodded. Then stranded to tell Theodore everything from his earliest memories as an orphan until he was found by the family… He hid some things of course, like the fact that he was a regressor and the story of some pairs of underwear which found their way into his room in the sect.

***

At the same time in a world far far away, another conversation was taking place.

“I almost forgot that you came from earth, and there are many things you don’t understand… So… What do you want to know first?” Rosette asked. They were sitting in the living room, with Aerith, Meril, Ariana, and Mirai.

“What is a lord?” Victor asked directly. “Is it a normal title for a very strong person or a system thing?” he asked.

“It is more than that…” Rosette paused. “Think of it as a higher stage of players!” she said after thinking about it for a moment.

“Meaning?” Victor asked with a frown.

“I don’t really get it myself, but I can describe to you what my master told me…” Rosette paused for a moment. “It is similar to how a system class can make a person who doesn’t know how to fight a good warrior.” she asked, "being a lord is a higher form of that, it is ‘An embodiment of a concept!”

“A what of a what?” Victor acted stupid, but his mind was turning fast, connecting everything he knew. That world concept… wasn’t that the same one he saw when Meril awakened her bloodline? Devil Concept!

“An embodiment of a concept!” Rosette repeated. “ For example, my Master is the storm, Lord, her Concept is that of a storm! From that Concept, she takes all her powers, and using it she can unleash it!”

“Sorry… I lost you there… Can you use a less technical language?” Victor asked with a frown.

“She eats storms and spits out storms!” Mirai did the explanation, earning herself a glare from Ariana, Aerith, and Rosette.

“That’s inappropriate…” Ariana scolded.

“I am just explaining things…” Mirai protested.

“...” Rosette sighed. “It is kinda the way she said it! Her lordship The storm lord gains more power by being near storms and her power is to induce storms… “

“Ah… But…” Victor frowned. There was a paradox there.

“Wouldn’t she be able to become infinitely like that?” Meril, who was listening with interest, asked before Victor could.

“Exactly!” Victor nodded.

“No!” Rosette shook her head. “The lord needs the concept… Not the manifestation itself!”

“You lost me again there…” Victor said.

“Think of it like studying!” Ariana intervened. “You can always reproduce what you learned, but to gain more knowledge, you need to read more books or conduct your own experiments!”

“Ah! So she studies storms?” he asked.

“She can extract their concept… I don't know how to explain it, but according to Master, it is a kind of the image the world has for the thing...” Rosette clarified, but from her tone, it was clear she didn't fully get it either.

“OH!” Victor frowned. “Then that sun lord… He gets his power by applying some tanning cream and laying in the sun?” Victor asked. That could be some really interesting life, basking in the sun all day long.

“I don’t really know… ” Rosette sighed. “I did ask my master about it, and she just said that every lord usually keeps his specific Concept Harvesting method a secret!”

“OH!” Victor pondered. “So we know that he needs the sun, but not he get it…”

“Yeah!”

“Then how can one become a lord?” he asked.

“Planning on becoming one?” Mirai asked with a smirk.

“Who knows…” he shrugged looking at Rosette. “I bet you also asked your master that…”

“ I did…” Rosette nodded. “There are three known ways!” she said.

“OH! WHAT?” Victor asked with interest, he didn’t expect to get an answer for that.

“The first one is to completely integrate with a spark!” Rosette said.

“A spark?” Victor played dumb. Didn’t Alpha integrate a spark? She didn’t change into a lord… or did she?

“A spark is a crystallization of a concept… the things Lords need!” Rosette explained. “According to my master, it is super rare as it is only born after a concept had been accumulated in one spot for millions and millions of years and even then it is by coincidence!!”

“Oh!” Victor’s eyes sparkled. “So they are like physical objects?”

“No, according to my master, they appear more like a small flame. But they can attach to physical objects and such… “ Rosette was not sure. “You don’t have to think about those, even if you managed to get one, you will need a suitable body and some kind of other crazy condition or you would never be able to integrate it!”

“Suitable?”

“My master had a Storm Avatar Class before she became a lord!” Rosette said. “According to her, My bloodline makes me suitable for that too, but I have no idea how!”

“OH!” Victor frowned. “Then if you found one of those 'Sparks' what do you do? Eat it?” he asked.

“You have to create a resonance and let it integrate with you!” Rosette replied.

“In English please?” Victor asked, remembering how Alpha integrated that Eternal spark.

“I have no idea..” Rosette shrugged making him sigh. It was never that easy to get a solution.

“And the second way?” he asked, clearly Rosette didn’t have all the answers he needed, but she knew enough for now.

“To become a lord’s disciple…” Rosette said.

“Hsssss…. You mean you are a lord now?” Victor asked in shock. Fake shock, he could see from her status that she was not anything close to that.

“How could I!?” Rosette chuckled. “I need to slowly understand the concept of the storm first, this process might take years and years… Then I will need to discover the way to collect concepts or find my own spark!” she shrugged. “Apparently, I will get the method naturally once I understand the concept!” she sighed. She was clearly not making any progress.

“And the third way?” Victor asked.

“Through the system… According to the master, one can gain a Lord status in the system itself, but she was not sure how as she only heard about it by chance!” Rosette said.

“The system…” Victor frowned. He had never heard of anything like this before. “I see… Then that oath thing?” he asked.

“It is simple… Think of it like a pact or a contract, a player would give the lord something in exchange for great power!” Rosette said.

“... Something?” Meril asked.

“It depends on the Oath!” Rosette said. “It can be your life, your services, and many other things… The simplest kind is where you agree to give the lord all of your future authority points in exchange for a blessing or for him to lend you enough points to level up momentarily… An upfront payment…!” she said.

“Oh…” Victor frowned. So that’s how lords get to have all that Authority, they fucking collect it from their followers! “What is a blessing?”

“.. Think of it as the lord lending you some of his power… For the storm lord, his blessing allowed me to get an entire new storm-related subclass!” she said, deciding to keep her exact new class name a secret. “Minor blessings grant skills and such!”

“...I see…” Victor paused. “Lord’s power can affect classes and skills in the system?” he asked, a crazy idea just crossed his mind… No… He still didn’t have enough data for such a conclusion.

“AH… why wouldn’t they?” Rosette asked with a frown.

“Oh… Sorry… Just a random thought…” he nodded. This new knowledge did fill some of the gaps he had, but it raised more questions.

At least for now, he could tell why the supposed Fate lord dealt with Fate and why Zendo launched fireballs and had all kinds of fire attacks… But the question was how powerful those guys really were, and what were their weaknesses?

How do they become lords? Was Alpha a lord now? What was the faded demon spark…

He also had a very eerie feeling about something big. Why wasn’t any of this knowledge known in his world? Why did no Lords try to exercise any of their power in Trilaria, keeping to the shadows…

What was he missing here? What if some of the things he knew as facts were wrong?

He didn’t like this feeling of ignorance at all!

“So… Do you want an Oath? I can give you a very favorable one!” Rosette, who noticed his silence, asked.

“Ah…” Victor acted as if he was thinking for a moment. “No…” he replied after a clear hesitation.

“Why not?” Aerith asked. “It wouldn’t hurt, you know! And her lordship is very nice!”

“ I don’t like women on top unless it is in the bedroom!” he replied… OUCH! Aerith pinched his arm. DAMN! WHY DO SOME OF HIS GIRLS GO RABID AS SOON AS THEY SLEEP WITH HIM?

“Pervert!” she spat.

“I WANNA BE A LITTLE HORNY TOO YOU KNOW! IT IS MY RIGHT AS A MAN!” he yelled.

“...”

“OUCH!” He yelled again but no one helped. Even Meril whose life he saved looked at him with sympathy doing nothing to stop the demoness who attacked him with both hands.

“You guys should really keep all that foreplay until you are alone!” Mirai said after a while. “There are some singles here you know!”

“AH!” Aerith quickly let go and looked away in embarrassment. DAMN IT! WHY WAS SHE ACTING LIKE THAT?

“I just believe that Victor just doesn't like to be controlled… All Von Weise feels that to a degree!” Ariana said after a brief silence. She felt the same.

Victor nodded as he rubbed his pinched arm. Damn evil girls! At least this one didn’t learn to bite yet. The last he heard from his other soul fragments, he was being treated as a chewing toy by a rabid girl… That was when she was not busy doing some other R-rated things to him of course!

“It is your choice…You can always try to get an oath once you reach your limit!” Ariana sighed. She clearly faced the same dilemma before.

“Yes… I will keep that offer open!” Rosette nodded.

“Thanks, I guess… It is settled then…” Victor sighed, scratching his head. “Now… When can I go visit the library?” he asked.

“You seem to be in a hurry!” Mirai asked. “Is there anything you want there?”

“Yup… to tell the truth, I want to take a look at this world’s porn…” he said then flinched back, dodging Aerith’s hand.

“The library doesn't have porn…” Aerith spat and pulled her hand back. She had no idea why she was acting like this. It was a very foreign feeling to her.

“There is!” Mirai replied back, “You just have to search hard enough!” She clearly did.

“AH!” Aertih didn’t know what to say.

“...” Rosette sighed. “You can go in the morning… I will send Lyra to accompany you…”

“WHAT? WHY?” Victor and Aerith asked at the same time.

“I can take him!” Aerith added.

“We are a family!... I want you guys to get along! So you just... ” Rosette paused then jumped up as if she remembered something.

“What?” Ariana asked.

“Shit! I forgot that Lyra is still with that fat elf… She should have returned by now! DAMN IT! Hopefully, he is not dead!” she said as she ran out of the room, Meril following right after her.

RIP MACIL

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