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Chapter 525: Praying for the Ancestors

The end of the year approached amidst deepening winter.

Rosa City was more bustling than ever, as merchants who couldn’t travel due to the cold weather doubled down on domestic trade. The local populace was also making preparations to welcome the new year.

Meanwhile, Rosa’s upper echelon had their hands busy preparing for the Ascarts’ ancestral ritual, with Wandering Scholar Andrew Mara personally delivering the Ardes’ remains to Rosa City.

This idea of an ancestral ritual was initially raised as a means to affirm a young couple’s relationship, but before anyone realized it, it had transformed into a treacherous battlefield.

In a classy room in the Hundred Birds Gallery, Roel was apologizing profusely with his head lowered. Opposite him, Charlotte sighed with a ‘Just as I have expected’ look on her face.

She had instructed Roel not to meet Alicia right before the banquet concluded last night, saying that she would personally resolve whatever misgivings she had with the latter. Yet, Roel ended up visiting her the following morning, and the first thing that came out of him was an apology.

“I’m sorry, Charlotte. I wasn’t able to accomplish what you asked of me last night…”

Unsurprised by the outcome, Charlotte could only sigh in response.

She had known from Alicia’s abnormal behavior that she was up to something, but she couldn’t have stopped the siblings from catching up with each other when they had been separated for so long, especially when they were staying in the same hotel.

And she knew far too well what kind of person Alicia was.

A shameless knave who drugs even her own brother… She probably barged into Roel’s room yet again.

Charlotte gritted her teeth and asked the most important question of all.

“Darling, about the ancestral ritual…”

“…I didn’t mention it, but Alicia seems to have already heard about it.”

“…”

Charlotte fell deathly silent at those words. A long while later, she exhaled softly.

Having crossed paths with Alicia over the Ascart Fiefdom, she knew that the other party had the Ascarts’ intelligence network in her grasp. It wouldn’t have been difficult for her to learn that Roel was going to hold a ritual for his ancestors in Rosa.

It looks like we’ll be going head to head on this matter.

Charlotte narrowed her eyes as she steeled her determination for the upcoming confrontation. No matter what was thrown her way, she would firmly stand her ground.

It was already nearing the end of the year, and Carter would soon return from the frontlines. Roel would surely return to the Ascart Fiefdom for a father-and-son reunion, but she wouldn’t be able to join him as she had many affairs to attend to during the New Year’s Day period.

The moment of their separation loomed.

That was why Charlotte was determined to affirm her position through the ancestral ritual, and she wouldn’t allow anything to get in her way… even if it led to a complete falling out with Alicia. With such conviction, she immediately dove into action in accordance with her original plan.

The first thing she did was to request a meeting with Alicia, and Roel resignedly agreed to go along with it.

He saw Charlotte as his own wife after everything they had been through, but it didn’t change the fact that Alicia was his irreplaceable family member. If a confrontation between them was inevitable, he figured that it would be better for them to hash out their differences instead of waging a cold war.

Interestingly, both Charlotte and Alicia insisted on having the conversation in Roel’s absence despite him offering to mediate between the two of them. Roel was surprised by their consensus, especially when neither of them was willing to budge on this matter.

The two women knew that this meeting would be a bargaining table to decide how they would split the loot, so how could they possibly allow the loot onto the table too?

Oblivious to their intent, Roel could only concede on this when the two of them had already come to an agreement. Shortly after he left the Hundred Birds Gallery, the meeting between Charlotte and Alicia officially commenced.

…

In a guest room in the Hundred Birds Gallery, Charlotte Sorofya and Alicia Ascart stared at each other amidst silence. This heavy atmosphere extended from seconds into minutes, but neither side was willing to be the first one to cave in.

Making the preemptive strike to curb one’s enemy was a common military stratagem, but such tricks were meaningless between the two archrivals who knew each other inside out.

Charlotte had been making frequent visits to Ascart City in recent years to forge closer ties between the Ascart Fiefdom and the Rosa Merchant Confederacy—a move that was backed by Roel. She naturally had to deal with the new proxy fief lord, Alicia, which resulted in many conflicts between them, both implicit and explicit.

Probing was a waste of time when it came to old rivals. The two of them were simply waiting for the other party to make their move.

After a prolonged silence, Charlotte finally initiated the negotiation.

“Miss Alicia, let’s spare ourselves the hassle of beating around the bush. What do you say?”

“How rare it is for us to be on the same page. Yes, let’s cut the unnecessary pleasantries now that Lord Brother isn’t here.”

“All right. I shall get straight to the point then. I’ll be hosting the ancestral ritual together with Roel, and I want you to steer clear of our business.” Charlotte revealed her motive with a smile.

Alicia’s crimson eyes narrowed.

“Miss Charlotte, don’t you think that you have misinterpreted the situation? I might be a foster daughter, but I am an Ascart. It is only right for me to host a ritual honoring my ancestors.”

Alicia placed her hand on her chest and gracefully smiled.

“No matter how I look at it, this ritual ought to be hosted by Lord Brother and me. It’s our responsibility and obligation to do so. Miss Charlotte, pardon me when I say this, but you should have some self-awareness as the outsider here.”

“Outsider? My dear younger sister Alicia, I’m appalled. Do I have to jog your memory?”

Charlotte gently placed her teacup down and directed the magnanimous smile of an elder toward Alicia. That made Alicia sharply narrow her eyes.

“What did you say?”

.

“Do you need me to spell it out for you? I, Charlotte Sorofya, am the legitimate fiancée of Roel Ascart. Our engagement was decided upon by both of our families. That makes me your sister-in-law. Is there anything wrong with what I have said?”

“Yes. Everything is wrong with what you have said. The engagement contract you have mentioned is unenforceable, and we, of the Ascart House, don’t recognize it. Lord Father hasn’t accepted you; he merely tolerates you.”

“That might have been the case so far, but who knows about the future?”

A crack could be seen in Alicia’s expression as a possibility arose in her mind. In response, Charlotte’s smile further widened as she raised her hand to flaunt her crystal ring.

“I received this ring from Roel. It’s a magic tool that binds our lives together, and it’s the token of our love. We have also begun planning for our offspring.”

“!”

Alicia jolted when she heard Charlotte’s intention to have a child. Panic flashed across her eyes. However, she quickly suppressed her fluster in a matter of seconds. She had expected such a situation to some extent, and it would be more accurate to call it a desperate show of force.

Carter’s influence over Roel was immense. Anyone who truly wished to be happy with Roel would have to receive his blessings. Much to Charlotte’s dismay, Carter had refrained from taking a stance on her relationship with Roel thus far, which forced her to kick up a fuss about her womb, but…

“Offspring, you say? Charlotte, I’m not oblivious to the situation surrounding your clan.”

“…What do you mean by that?”

“You should know better than anyone what I mean. If I’m not mistaken, a major contributing factor to the misfortune of married Sorofya women is their low fertility, no?”

“…”

Charlotte’s smile vanished without a trace. Alicia’s lips slowly curled up at that sight.

“The lineage of the high elves has always faced difficulty reproducing. It doesn’t take much to uncover that. It must have been even more so for someone who has inherited the Primordial Bloodline like you.

“The ancestral ritual is a custom not just to worship one’s ancestors but to pray for a clan’s prosperity as well. No matter how optimistic you are, I don’t think that you’re up to the job. However, it’s a different case for me.”

Alicia’s voice was growing more powerful with each word she spoke, reflecting the changing tides on the negotiation table. She chuckled softly to herself.

“My bloodline fills my body with the essence of life, making it perfect for bearing offspring. I’ll be able to have many healthy offspring with Lord Brother, and together, we’ll usher in a new era of prosperity for the Ascart House.”

“You…”

Charlotte gritted her teeth in frustration, but she couldn’t refute Alicia’s words.

Even a single droplet of blood from the inheritor of the Silverash Child Bloodline could sustain a dying person’s life. It was nigh impossible to find another companion in the world who was more suited to reproduce than Alicia. After all, what an infant needed the most in their earliest phase of development was life force.

Alicia touched her own womb as she mercilessly crushed Charlotte’s airs.

This brutal clash clearly communicated to both sides what their respective strengths and weaknesses were. Alicia had the overwhelming advantage in terms of family support and constitution, but Charlotte was way ahead in terms of her relationship and recognition with Roel.

At the very least, Alicia still hadn’t been able to shake off the restrictions imposed upon her as Roel’s younger sister.

Having dished out everything between them, the two of them appeared to be equally matched, which came as no surprise to both of them. After having exchanged their greetings, it was finally time for the true bloodbath to commence.

“Miss Alicia, please mind your position. You’re Roel’s foster sister!”

“You should be the one minding your position, Miss Charlotte. It\'s repulsive to see someone clutching onto an unenforceable engagement contract and acting like a family member.”

Words of criticism exchanged with smiling faces over the negotiation table filled both parties with anger. The increasing intensity of their emotions led to a crescendo in their mana pulsations, and it looked as if they were going to come to blows at any moment.

This alarmed the guards in the vicinity, as well as the young man who had been waiting outside for them.

“What’s going on?”

Roel barged into the room and saw two women glaring daggers at each other across the table. Heaving a deep sigh, he raised his hand to stop Grace and the guards, who had arrived right after him.

“Things are fine here. Return to your posts,” Roel ordered with a wave of his hand.

He closed the door behind him before proceeding to question the two women in the room about what had happened in his absence. The answer was completely within his expectations.

Even the most incorruptible official would struggle to judge his own household affairs.

There was no way Roel could have chosen between Charlotte and Alicia, especially when both of them were justified in their respective stances. In the end, he could only allow both of them to attend the ancestral ritual in order to put an end to this fight.

Neither Charlotte nor Alicia was satisfied with this decision, but Roel had the final say on the domestic affairs of the Ascart House in Carter’s absence. Besides, there was no time for them to slowly fight it out and determine a victor.

Andrew Mara and his team were already close to Rosa City, and Roel was anxious to settle this matter before New Year’s Day.

He had missed his family’s New Year’s celebration because he had headed to the eastern border to help Nora, so he was hoping to make up for it this year. On top of that, this might be the last chance for them to have a family reunion, considering how it had become much harder for Carter to return home after the outbreak of war with the deviants.

This made Roel determined to return to the Ascart Fiefdom on time, so he hoped to settle the ancestral ritual as soon as possible. He was willing to turn a blind eye to the technicalities of the ritual for that.

Once his intent had been conveyed, the relevant Rosaian departments quickly dove into action. The ancestral ritual was held the following day after Andrew Mara arrived at Rosa City with the Ardes’ remains.

On that day, a huge crowd gathered inside Rosa City to witness the ceremony. Armed soldiers were stationed around the Sia Temple to ensure minimal disruptions to the ritual.

The three representatives of the Ascart House appeared in solemn but dignified clothes. They stood at attention as they watched the temple’s sacred flames reducing their ancestors’ remains to ashes.

The sight of that put Roel’s heart at ease.

The deep reverberation of a bell echoed as the sacred flames extinguished, leaving Roel in a wistful mood. After having their bodies desecrated for over a thousand years, his ancestors were finally able to return to the earth and rest in peace.

Now that he had settled the past, it was about time for him to focus on the future. He quietly turned his attention toward the window inside him that hadn’t responded for a long time now.