Mixed Blessing System

Mabel looked into the silver eyes of that young man, feeling even more irritated with him. 'I'd better not waste my patience on this brat!'

'One day, this worthless man's tongue will kill him, and I won't have to tolerate him anymore!' She thought about it silently, suppressing herself not to attack a mere mortal.

This woman might not be an original member of this family, but because she was much stronger than her husband, she could not be so careless as to lose control with a mere son-in-law.

Even more so, considering that just one finger of hers could end Lothur's poor life, which, although not such a bad idea, could hinder the plans of this organization in the short term...

So, she slowly inhaled the air in her surroundings to keep her stress from getting out of control.

After suppressing her anger under the vigilant eyes of her daughters and Aiken, Mabel finally touched on the subject she had to discuss with that ungrateful son-in-law.

"Lothur, you and Viktoria have been married for six months, but still, you have never shown any responsibility or sense of duty to the family."

"You haven't even tried to change your flawed behaviors."

"However, House Frost is not like any ordinary family in our kingdom!"

"There is no way we can accept your behavior for much longer."

"Thus, starting tomorrow, you will attend the Morning Star Academy to learn how to make yourself minimally useful to the family."

Viktoria's father then commented in a low voice in the middle of his wife's speech. "Try not to waste this chance. Mabel went to a lot of trouble to get a spot for you."

The Morning Star Academy was the principal educational center for the nobility in this region of Peters City. This institution was where not only the young members of these organizations could learn about everyday things, such as geography, but also unique subjects, like cultivation.

Cultivation was not always about passing knowledge from one generation to the next but about practical opportunities for self-knowledge.

Certainly, the advice of an experienced cultivator with similar characteristics to the student would be significant. But each person had their own particularities, which made such a thing inefficient after a certain point.

Hence there was a need for a place for self-improvement, with diverse possibilities of challenging situations for youths.

These places were the academies existing in this world, as in the case of the Morning Star Academy.

Because of this, noble families sent their offspring to institutions like these, where all resources could be directed only to create the necessary circumstances for developing new cultivators.

Some of these families were powerful but could hardly do the same as these academies. After all, they had to nurture their talents and manage all the operations that a family typically had.

In short, it was impractical to maintain the training of their young talents with the resources available from only one of these organizations. Even more, it was not at all easy to compete with talents developed in places like those academies.

As a result, noble families of this state sent their talents to academies. Consequently, places like the Morning Star Academy were tough to get a spot!

Therefore, Aiken had warned his son-in-law, hoping that this young man would not waste Mabel's efforts.

"So, that's what you want..." Lothur said in a low voice, understanding the intentions of that matriarch.

And he was not entirely against this idea since his predecessor had wasted his time on useless things and left practically no information from this world for the young man from Earth.

However, apart from the grim thought of having to return to school, every fiber in Lothur's body was telling him to refuse Mabel's offer and escape from this place.

'Damn it!'

'It seems the will of the damned remains in this body!' Lothur finally realized why he was talking nonsense without at least thinking first.

'Come on, man! You're already dead!'

'Now, this body belongs to me!'

'And I'm not you!' He tried to fight the impulsive side of that body but got no response.

'Damn, I hope I don't have to live with these symptoms for a long time...'

He then said. "Can't I study at home?"

"What's the need to go to this academy? I'm not able to cultivate, so I can just learn..."

But as he tried to justify his refusal, Mabel slammed her right hand hard on the table, irritated. "I don't want to hear your excuses. You're going to the academy starting tomorrow, and that's final!"

Viktoria then interceded. "Lothur, do as mother said."

"You might think it's bad to go to the academy, but you might even enjoy it. Besides, it might at least give you a purpose..."

She then bowed her head next to Lothur and said in a low voice, teasing him. "Aren't you always trying to flirt with girls?"

"Let me tell you this. No woman is interested in men without purpose. At most, they will use you until they find a better option."

But she did not need to tell Lothur that. As someone who had a strong mentality and understood the basics of women's minds, he understood well about hypergamy.

However, even if he did not know anything about it, Viktoria's advice still would not have stimulated his mind. In that instant, Lothur saw a red-colored metallic leaf, the size of a fingernail, on the necklace around that woman's neck.

'Is that it?' He wondered but got no answer from the system.

'Maybe that's it... I should investigate this further!'

"Hmmm."

"All right, I'll do my best to frequent such a place." He said this in a disgruntled tone, grimacing as he ate something from his plate.

Annaliesa then smiled and said. "Hehe, maybe you and I can go to the academy together from now on..."

"Oh? You go to that place?"

"But what about..." He looked at Viktoria, but he did not even have to finish what he wanted to ask.

Annaliesa answered him. "My sister is also a student. But since she is a prodigy, she rarely shows up at the academy."

"Is that so?"

"What about you? You are twin sisters, right? So, your talent must also be impressive."

"Tsk!"

"What do you think you're doing? That isn't a bar table where you guys can talk however you want!" Mabel complained, feeling irritated by Lothur's attempted comparison.

As for Annaliesa, she just remained silent, her face completely red, feeling ashamed that she was less talented than her sister.

"Sigh..."

'Looks like Annaliesa is completely in Viktoria's shadow, huh?'

'It's not for nothing that she treats me so much better than the rest of these people...'

'She has a sense of inferiority because of her sister's talent.'

After that, the dinner continued with a few more disturbances, but eventually, Lothur managed to escape Mabel's furious clutches.

However, when he finished his business with those people, this young man went after Viktoria instead of returning to his room, insisting that he had something of last importance to talk to her about.

But they were not alone as they walked towards her room. No, after they left the dining room of Viktoria's parents' residence, this woman's servant was already accompanying her again.

"Scumbag, what do you want to talk to the young miss about?"

"Naturally, this is a conversation between husband and wife... You don't..."

"Lothur, just say what you want with me." Viktoria stopped her husband from finishing his words, turning to him and standing with her back to the door of her room.

This young man felt his heartbeat accelerating as nervousness spread through his being upon hearing her voice.

He was not nervous about standing in front of this beautiful woman, but because he had no idea how to get his hands on that necklace around her neck.

That might be nothing, but if it was what he thought, it might change his life to some degree. Consequently, his next step was crucial.

If he achieved this, he might or might not get the item demanded by the system. However, if he took the wrong step, Viktoria could very well prevent him from at least finding out if the necklace was what he thought it was or not!

"Viktoria, can't you be a little kinder to your husband? If the people of this city find out how I'm treated..." He said in a teasing tone.

"What are you trying?" That ice-hearted woman narrowed her eyes dangerously as she looked at him.

"I'm saying I can't live like this!"

"If I have no intimacy with the woman who chose me as her husband, I fear nothing is left for me in this world! Then I will be unable to keep my anguish to myself for long!" He said, feigning irritation.

"What?"

"You son of a bitch!"

"How can you talk such nonsense?" Elise was the first to exclaim in hatred, striking that young man directly in the chest.

"Ouch!"

...