Peony looked at Almond Blossom without any hint of emotion. Even his eyes did not betray that he knew anything about what his son was asking. He chose to reply in a vague manner, "You might need to be more specific as to who you are looking and what information you think I know."
Almond Blossom looked down and with a voice that was a bit shaky answered, "Father, I think there is a change in my plans from here onwards. I have decided to accompany and assist you in the new sanctuary. I have personal reasons that forced to do so that I'd rather not disclose at the mont. I am looking for the woman whom we t two weeks ago. I don't know her na though."
Peony looked at his eldest son who has always been the most responsible out of the five. He was a man of very few words seemingly thinking about sothing deeply all the ti. He is happy that he grew up well despite of the type of mother he had while growing up. He couldn't help but smile as he knew from the start that this son of his will choose his children over any rewards his maternal family will offer him just to make him stay.
There were so many things running through both Peony and Almond Blossom's minds but their faces did not show any sign of it. This is definitely an inherited trait between parent and child. Peony simply gave a nonchalant response, "Okay. Have you packed up all your things? I will be leaving in a bit. I might need to ask her if she agrees to bring you to the new place. You have to at least give sothing I can convince her with."
Almond Blossom gave a firm nod and replied, "Yes, father. The storage ring you gave was very helpful. I made sure to take everything I own. Please convince her to take too. You know that I have always abhorred my maternal family and now, I finally have the chance to totally get rid of this problematic familial tie with them."
Almond Blossom looked down again but his eyes were more on the fierce side as of the mont instead of his usual calm. The reason that he was able to co to his father's residence without issues is because he poisoned his whole maternal family with a strong knockout potion. They will awaken only after 24 hours and by that ti, he is long gone and they won't have a way to force him to co back.
He thought that doing this will make him feel sad or regretful but he doesn't even feel an ounce of guilt much less any other emotion. He actually felt amazing after what he has done and he is actually questioning why he never thought of ever retaliating before.
After thinking for a few seconds, he decided to co clean with his father about the knockout drugs, the reasons why he wanted to leave besides abhorring his maternal family and the details of his last conversation with his mother before he decided to leave.
He told Peony that the last straw for him was when he decided to honestly tell his mother about the existence of his child though he could not pinpoint its exact location. His mother's reaction was a mix of disbelief, disgust towards him and angry accusations.
His mother did not believe the existence of the child and instead scolding him of trying to lie and cover his promiscuous actions and stupidity for losing his purity before marriage. She even had the nerve to say that even if there was a child, he can simply forget about it and she can help him marry a woman she chose for him and have a royal-born child instead. She totally disregarded the existence of the child as if there was no blood relation at all. This response cented his decision to leave the hell hole also known as his maternal family for good.
Peony could not hide his anger as he heard how his first wife talked to their son and how little value she equated to their unborn grandchild. Almond Blossom tried to calm his father and he said that he always knew that he is only one out of the five sons of his father. He also knows that he isn't the only child of his mother too. He understands that he was the eldest of the king's children and being Peony's first born, he doesn't understand where his mother endless greed cos from, always thinking about benefits instead of taking care of him.
I heard a self-mocking chuckle from Almond Blossom's lips as he told his father that he clearly rembered how his mother blackmailed her own husband, the king, using his life, their only son in exchange for benefits for her own family and then even forced a promise out of Peony to give the position of the guardian of the garden of life to him once he cos of age.
Finally, he assured Peony that his decision to leave was the easiest one he has done in his entire life and for the first ti, he did not feel the need to do any careful thinking before doing it. He firmly said that he would have left the sanctuary even if there was no child but what more that he knew there is one sowhere.
He told Peony with a gentle smile on his face that now that he has a child, he doesn't want his son or daughter to experience a life under his maternal family's so-called "care and guidance" where children ended up being treated either as commodities, tools to gain power or bargaining chips for benefits. He wanted to do everything he can to give his child a normal and happy life which was sothing that he always wanted for himself but was not lucky enough to have.
I can see Peony's happiness that for the first ti, Almond Blossom was brave enough to share his thoughts and feelings with him. I never thought that this man can say this many words if he wanted to.
Peony looked towards the ceiling and muttered loudly in the air, "Are these reasons enough for you to let Almond Blossom co with us?" Obviously, this question was addressed to .
Almond Blossom looked up towards the direction where his father was looking up. He was focusing intensely as if trying to see if I was there.
I threw a ring on of the table in front of Almond Blossom. He looked surprised as the ring suddenly appeared. I spoke coldly, "If you want to follow us, wear that ring around your right thumb. Make sure to regularly save your mana and life essences there."
Surprisingly, the guy imdiately wore the ring as he was told. He gasped at the sudden pull on his essences done by the ring. He couldn't help but complain a bit, "It's draining quite quickly." I cut him off by saying, "We're feeding twins so stop complaining. Go back to the parlour and call for the second guy. We'll leave as a group later."
With what I said, Almond Blossom stood up in a daze then walked out of the inner chamber towards the parlour. He absentmindedly sat down while fiddling with his thumb ring then called Iris to go in.
Iris hurriedly walked in as he was told. He must have thought that since Almond Blossom was only given barely 15 minutes before he was sent back to the parlour, he has to hurry. Peony's second son was way more straight-forward in terms of saying what he wants compared to his eldest.
Just like Almond Blossom, Iris shared his conversation with his mother as he admitted the existence of a child born outside of marriage. Though his mother did not call him "promiscuous" or "stupid" unlike the first wife, she showed disappointnt and forced Iris to take the child back and not give the custody to the "filthy woman" who touched him.
His mother then went on and on about how she will make sure that Iris' child will not end up like him as if he was a bad influence. He said that he got scared for his child as he listened to how his mother has already planned the life of his unborn child as if she was talking about a puppet or a pet that would follow all her wishes. In that instant, he decided to not let his child et her in this lifeti and lastly, he just felt fed up and tired.
Peony asked the sa question he asked earlier and as usual, I threw a ring on the table for Iris to wear which he placed on his right thumb imdiately. I saw his surprise when the ring absorbed a chunk of his essences almost instantly but unlike Almond Blossom, he simply accepted it as part of the condition to be able to enter the new sanctuary. To be fair, I told him the sa thing I said to his elder brother since his sincerity makes him worthy to know the truth.
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