Legacy of the Dark Sage

When Kyran's 'aquamarine' eyes fixed on Zuri, she felt a chill run down her spine. It was as if his gaze alone could see through her, causing her mind to reel in fear.

"I... I was only—."

"Please ignore her, Void Master. I apologize for her rude words. I am guilty of not educating her well."

Kyran regarded the two with a complicated expression. When he questioned Zuri, Kyran was genuinely asking. He did not expect the two to react like this.

"I am curious about what she said. That's why I'm asking. Don't overthink it."

"But..."

"Well?" Kyran asked Zuri again.

It caused Zuri to look at him in confusion. But she answered, "I... father is still the Patriarch of the Montgomeray Family. Though our family cannot compare to the Courtenay or the Lumley Families, given how they all have a Magus, we are now part of the Three Noble Families and have the Spirits' support. So, please don't treat my father like he is some lowly servant."

"Zuri!"

Kyran raised his brows, "Is it offending to be treated like a servant?"

His question made Zuri's brow furrowed.

"You—."

"Enough, Zuri!"

"But—."

"I already said enough," Ezra sternly said, after which he looked at Kyran and lowered his head in apology, "Please pardon her rudeness, Void Master. She still lacks in many things, but I will make sure to—."

"Stop. I don't care how you plan to educate your daughter, but I don't think she is wrong."

His words and tone of voice sounded sincere that both Ezra and Zuri stopped.

"I heard your family served the Dinaeri Family."

"Used to."

"Zuri!"

"..." Kyran sighed inwardly. He was beginning to understand Ezra's submissive attitude and Zuri's somewhat defiant attitude.

The Montgomeray Family only became the leading family for more or less ten years, and the older generation had yet to overcome their nature of being servants after being freed from their servitude. As for the new generation, most were still young or at an age where they could barely understand what was happening in the family. When the Montgomeray resumed the Dinaeri's activities as the new head, they were the first to adapt to the noble life.

But the fact that the Montgomeray family had been known as servants for a long time, most noble families treated them with false reservation. They were neither friendly nor hostile. Yet, they never saw them as equals.

Because of how these nobles treated them, the Montgomerays were more determined to prove themselves, especially the younger generation.

Being a new patriarch, Ezra probably wanted to find a way to lessen the pressure the younger generation felt. He likely considered partnering with other noble families who did not treat them with false reservations. In this way, he could secure the safety of future generations, and they would not get pushed around.

To put it simply, Ezra would not hesitate to sacrifice his pride and be submissive in front of others as long as he could secure their support to protect the current and new generations of the Montgomeray Family.

While the Montgomeray could employ the assistance of the Spirits, their mages had low magic levels and did not pose a threat in front of mages with higher magic levels— not to mention in front of a Magus.

Aside from this, the Montgomeray did not have a Magus.

In Ezra's search for the right family, he realized the Regis Clan was one of the best candidates. It was why he tried to reach them through the Conclave.

The other one was finding the Void Master, whom the Spirits revered. Of course, the latter was risky due to the Royal Family's decree regarding Void magic.

There was also no guarantee that a new Void Master would appear after his whole family was executed.

Knowing this fact, Kyran already had two reasons to get Ezra on his side: He is from the Regis Clan and the new Void Master.

"I don't really care whether your family used to be servants," Kyran cut them off while emphasizing the words 'used to be,' "I only care whether your family will be of use to me or not."

Silas looked at Kyran, his expression turning grim. He had feared Kyran going down the dark path from how cold and indifferent he appeared at times. Just like now. Silas wanted to talk to Kyran about this but did not get a chance. Hopefully, he could find time after this.

Sensing Silas's eyes on him, Kyran turned to him and could guess what he was thinking from his expression.

'You don't have to look at me like that. It's not like I will do something inhuman to the Montgomerays. They still had the pact with the Spirits my predecessor saved, and I will not harm them.'

Silas's pupil constricted upon hearing Kyran's voice in his head. But he recovered immediately and lowered his head to prevent the others from seeing his surprise.

Unable to respond telepathically, Silas nodded his head once.

Kyran looked at Zuri, who appeared to have frozen from what he said. He could more or less guess her indignation upon hearing his intentions, but at least she was smart enough not to argue.

It was a subject she had no control over, and only Ezra or other elders of the family could have a say.

Ezra remained silent. He did not react because he knew it was futile to play dumb.

"Let's go back on topic," Kyran diverted the discussion. "Who was it that said the Winfreys coveted the Regis Bloodline?"

Ezra shook his head, "I don't know. It is only a story passed down by the elders from different noble families. As for the authenticity of it, from the broken record one of our ancestors found, there is a part where it talked about the Soul Emperor and someone with a suitable bloodline. However, because the record was broken, we failed to make sense of this phrase."

"Where is the record?" Kyran finally asked.

"It is kept hidden in the First Ancestral Tomb. I can take you there if you want to see it."

"You don't hide anything, do you."

"I believe it is best to tell you the truth if I want to convince you of our worth," Ezra replied with a slight smile. "Besides, I don't think there is anything that can escape your eyes."

Kyran did not respond and only regarded the older man in silence.

Having the Montgomeray on his side would be helpful. He could use them as liaisons when working with the Templar Code and the Aureole once he got them to work with him.

After this, the only thing Kyran needed was to take over the Blue Lotus then he was ready to execute his plan.

After a moment's silence, he said, "Is there anything else you can tell me?"

Ezra did not respond immediately. He lowered his head as if contemplating his following words.

Finally, he said, "We found the Winfrey Ancestral Lands and noticed a great deal of magic energy inside. We do not know what is happening inside, but we found several areas with the same magic signature as the one in the Winfrey Ancestral Lands near the Conclave headquarters and inside the Valley of Morte."

Kyran's brow furrowed.

It was the first time he was hearing this.

Kyran was unaware of it but whether this activity had anything to do with the others was a possibility.

In any case, he had Max and Reuben go to the Valley of Morte. If they found anything there, he was sure they would tell him at once.

As for the activity near the Conclave's headquarters, Kyran thought of the 'outsiders' stationed around the tower. This fact was why he considered it connected with them because, as far as he knew, they were the only ones who went near the tower.

"Is that everything?" Kyran asked.

"Yes," Ezra replied with a nod. "Rest assured that when we find something new, we will relay it at once."

"That is fine. But first," Kyran took a deep breath. "There is something we need to clear first."

Ezra did not respond. Instead, he straightened his back as if he already knew what was coming.

"I could more or less understand why you want to meet with me. And you already know I needed workforce."

"Yes," Ezra replied with a nod.

Silas already told them a brief version of why Kyran wanted to gather all Summoners and their Spirits. The Snow Mountain King already agreed and gave Silas a token that would help him meet the leaders of every family in the empire that had contracts with the Spirits.

Silas first made contact with the Montgomeray. Once Kyran and Ezra came into an agreement, his next stop would be the Mavin Family.

"If you swear your allegiance to me, I will protect you and everyone in the family," Kyran paused and looked meaningfully at Ezra before adding. "However, you must understand that I am only doing this because of every Spirit with your family right now.

"With that in mind, I have a few conditions."

"I'm listening."

"I want you and your family to stop treating the Spirits like they are non-living."

Ezra frowned slightly, "What do you mean?"

"Stop referring to them as it."

White Lily looked at Kyran with mixed emotions. After Caelan's death, most of the families the Spirits had made a contract with started to dwindle. The fae blood in the family grew thin, and only a few were left.

Among those who managed to survive was the Svell Family, who treated them like actual family members. However, the other families started to forget the original contract and stopped treating them as equals.

Because they no longer had Caelan's protection, they could only endure in silence.

Ezra lowered his head in apology. Zuri also followed.

"I apologize if you found my family's treatment of the Spirits unjust. I will make sure to convey your desire to everyone."

"Aren't you even going to negotiate? The way you talk gives me the impression that you already agreed to swear allegiance."

"I am."

"It is a big decision to make. You don't wish to talk with the rest of the elders in the family first?"

Ezra shook his head firmly, "There is no need. We have all agreed that I can make the call without their consent."

Kyran fell silent. He looked at him and then at Zuri, who had remained silent throughout the rest of their exchange.

Finally, he took a deep breath and said, "Alright. As for the next condition."

"Yes."

Kyran pointed at his face. "I want you two to remove your masks. After that, I will perform the pact and tell you everything."