Chapter 85: Black Death: Shocking Secrets [VIP]

Unlike the exquisite luxury of the Royal Capital and Maga, the overall architectural style of Winter City is majestic and dignified. The buildings are heavy and solemn, without excessive decoration on the wall surface. There are no elegant and beautiful sculptures or flower-filled courtyards in the castle. All the houses are arranged in a symmetrical structure on the left and right, with uniform white walls and red roofs, which is frighteningly simple.

"Compared to the capital and Maga, where you brothers have lived for years, Dalavia is a barren countryside. But spiritually, every Dalavian lives a more fulfilling life than the nobles of the capital."

Adlon explained proudly, leading Xiao Yun through the entrance hall, up the stairs, and to the large window sill overlooking the entire city.

"Can I drink?"

Adlon asked, pointing to the wine glasses, snacks and dried meat on the table.

Xiao Yun nodded.

Adlon, however, emphasized with a serious face, "The Dalavians drink real wine, not the sweetened water mixed with honey that you and your brother usually drink."

"I know--"

"Never mind, you'd better eat your biscuits, lest your brother accuse me of injuring your health with strong liquor."

Adlon spoke sarcastically and pushed a plate of baked cookies in front of Xiao Yun.

"Thanks."

Xiao Yun picked up a cookie and put it in his mouth: "It tastes good, it reminds me of the warmth of home."

"The warmth of home?"

Adlon was surprised: "How could you say such a thing?"

"Why do you say that?"

"because……"

Adlon thought for a moment and explained seriously, "You and your brother are both so gorgeous, so gorgeous that even I can't imagine you being like ordinary people, picking vegetables and making soup in a small kitchen, or telling fairy tales to children in front of the fireplace. Do you understand this feeling? You are so dazzling, like people from another world."

"I see."

Xiao Yun smiled and said, "Clothes adorned with too many jewels do tend to give people that feeling."

"It has nothing to do with fancy clothes, it's simply because..."

Adlon frowned and said reluctantly, "You are too beautiful. So beautiful that it makes me feel very uncomfortable."

"Adlon..."

Xiao Yun was helpless: "I know you hate men with overly delicate looks, but a child's appearance is determined by their parents. My parents gave me this face. I can't change myself to look like someone else just because you don't like it."

"--All right."

Adlon drank a glass of wine unhappily and complained, "What on earth do you brothers want from Dalavia?"

"What do you get?"

Xiao Yun showed a look of astonishment.

He asked Adlon, "Why do you think so many people risked the Black Death and voluntarily came to Dalavia to rescue Da? Money or beauty?"

"I believe the volunteers rescued Dalaviya out of pure kindness and compassion, but you—you and your brother are so kindhearted in something that has nothing to do with you. You must have other motives! Especially your brother! He's always been sinister and scheming! I will never trust him!"

“That’s prejudice!”

Xiao Yunqi stood up, put his hands on the table, and looked at Adlon sternly:

"First of all, my brother and I rescued Dalaviya only to help her get through the difficult times. We had no intention of gaining any benefits from you or Dalaviya, whether you believe it or not.

Secondly, the Black Death outbreak in Dalavia is not something unrelated to us!

Without external help, Dalavia would be unable to defeat the Black Death. The epidemic could get out of control at any time, and the entire empire and even the entire Western Continent would be plunged into a death spiral. Maga and Gaura would naturally not be spared.

Even if the Dalavians successfully held their line and outlasted the Black Death, a devastated Dalavian nation would remain in decline for at least a hundred years. Without Dalavian military might, the empire's northern border would no longer be secure. This was an outcome that no one who longed for national unity and a peaceful life for their people wished to see.

Finally, even if we have calculated and plotted something, it is a fact that Dalavia was saved because of us! The people of Dalavia long to live, live healthily and happily, and live until the end when the gods take their lives! You have no right to ask them to die with you by the Black Death for a tyrant who doesn't care about them at all!

"Tyrant? Who are you calling a tyrant?"

"What do you think?"

“…”

Adlon's expression suddenly became very strange, full of frustration and sadness.

"...He certainly wasn't a qualified emperor, but even the worst and most absurd rule is better than war, isn't it? War kills people, many, many more."

"My brother and I originally thought the same thing. So, my brother moved to Maga City to recuperate, and I went to Gola, where the curse still lingers. But..."

Xiao Yun asked again, "Is it peace?"

"What are you trying to say? An imperial monster? Has our emperor become a puppet of some Eastern demon god who covets the Western Continent? Was it created by the one wreaking havoc on Dharavi? I won't take these illiterate, foolish peasants fabricating stories by Yaris seriously! I won't believe a single word of it!"

"But what if all this is true? What if our homeland is really about to fall into terrible darkness?"

"...I'm sorry, I'm a rigid, strict, and conservative person. I don't have any romantic imagination. But I can tell you that I hate you. I hope that after listening to my reasons, you can still believe me as firmly as you do now."

"Suspicious origins? Why do you use such vicious words to describe my brother?"

"Because he is indeed suspicious, even..."

"Nonsense! How could my brother not be my father's child?"

"But the truth is so cruel."

Adlon grumbled in dissatisfaction, "Everyone in the Western Continent knows that the direct bloodline of the Holy Family tends to have black hair and black eyes, but few know that even within the Holy Family, only the High Priest's eyes are truly black. Not only are his pupils black, but his irises are also pure black!"

"For example, your father, Grand Duke Ilex, may have black hair and black eyes, but his irises are a typical dark brown. He is also very strong and once easily defeated me in a one-on-one duel. If he weren't from a holy family, he would be fully capable of becoming a top general in the empire."

"Her Royal Highness Grand Duchess Anna is also in excellent health. As a teenager, she was proficient in horseback riding and archery, achieving three consecutive victories in the martial arts arena. Furthermore, she and Grand Duke Ælex are not closely related, so their union is not an incestuous marriage, and will not result in any abnormally weak offspring."

"However, Yaris's body was extremely fragile from the moment he was born, as if Grand Duke Ilex wasn't his real father, and that Grand Duchess Anna, who gave birth to him, was merely a vessel brought to the world by a higher-dimensional force."

"Marriage between close relatives will significantly increase the chances of offspring getting genetic diseases, but it doesn't mean that two healthy, non-closely related people will definitely give birth to healthy children."

Xiao Yun argued with reason.

"Based solely on the above reasons, it is indeed difficult to convince people, but——"

Adlon took a big gulp of wine and whispered, "The year after Yaris was born, Grand Duchess Anna told me a terrifying secret. She said that Yaris had at least two biological fathers, and both of them were Yaris's biological fathers!"

"What!"

Xiao Yun blurted out.

His shock gave Adlon an inexplicable pleasure. He murmured, "I was just as shocked as you were. This statement completely overturned the truth that a child is the product of a man and a woman. I wanted to know the truth, but Her Highness Anna refused to reveal more. It wasn't until I swore on my life that she intermittently revealed the even more terrifying secret."

"Grand Duke Ilex is one of the most handsome men in the empire, and Her Highness Anna is also a rare beauty, but there is no love between them. Even on their wedding night, they were unable to complete sexual intercourse due to excessive repulsion. After several attempts, they barely managed to complete the extremely unpleasant contact for both parties."

"Afterwards, Her Highness Anna had a dream. In the dream, she was lying in a room filled with bright white light. A beam of light descended from the sky, cut open her belly, and placed a shining seed into her body. When she woke up, she discovered that there were indeed suture marks on her lower abdomen. When she reached out to touch the scar, the mark disappeared. A month later, the doctor said she was pregnant. She became pregnant in just one go!"

At this point, Adlon was shaking with excitement.

Xiao Yun said nothing, just looked at him silently, with turbulent waves in his heart.

(Is what he said true?)

(If what he said is true, not only is it possible that Yaris is not a human child, but the true purpose of the divine tower is also...)

(What is their purpose in doing this? Is it for the thing in Yaris's body? Or...)

"—After giving birth to Yaris, Her Highness Anna looked through the Holy Family archives and discovered two more unusual things."

Having regained his composure, Adlon continued.

"According to portraits passed down through the generations, this family is like any other. Even among direct blood relatives, there are often subtle differences in facial features between generations. Their bodies are slender yet not frail. However, the high priests... the high priests' appearance..."

"After comparing all the portraits of the high priests she could find, Grand Duchess Anna discovered that the twenty-three high priests with black hair and black eyes had almost identical facial features and body types, like twins from the previous generation. However, the fifty-two high priests with silver hair and purple eyes did not look exactly alike."

"Furthermore, all high priests in previous generations were only sons of their mothers. They had no siblings, nor were they twins. It was as if some mysterious force controlled the gender and number of children. In the generations without high priests, the Holy Family's fertility was normal. The sex ratio of firstborns was close to 1:1. Twins were occasionally born, and no mother gave birth to only one child in her lifetime."

"Who stipulated that the only way for members of the Holy Family to have a chance of giving birth to a child with divine blood that can contact the gods is to marry the wife chosen by the oracle and spend their wedding night on the sixth or seventh floor of the Tower of God? What secrets are hidden in the requirement to spend the wedding night on the sixth and seventh floors of the Tower of God? Are the children born to those chosen truly their own? Why was the Tower of God built? To communicate with the gods and listen to the oracles? Or...?"

Adlon lowered his voice and spoke slowly, "For five thousand years, the high priests born through the Holy Family, who look almost exactly the same with black hair and black eyes, whose children are they? Are they gods or demons?!"

"I……"

After a moment's silence, Xiao Yun slowly opened his mouth and said firmly, "I can't answer your question. I only know that no matter who Yaris's other biological father is, no matter if he's a human child, a god's child, or a demon's child, he is my most important relative and my half-brother."

"Really? Do you really think so?"

"yes."

"Even if he's not human!"

Adlon looked at Xiao Yun angrily.

Without any hesitation, Xiao Yun sternly retorted, "Even if he really is a child created by the devil for a terrible conspiracy, a plaything made by the god to suit his own preferences, after knowing the truth, I will only love him and pity him more than before, and want to be by his side."

"Do you know what you're talking about?"

"I'd rather know why you can't accept him! Because he might not be human? Because his appearance and personality don't meet your aesthetic standards?"

“That’s right!”

Adlon blurted out, then asked in disbelief, "You obviously have better choices, why do you have to like him? What is it about him that makes you like him?"

"I like him in every way! And—"

Xiao Yun said sadly, "Have you never felt sorry for him?"

"Pitiful?"

Adlon stared at Xiao Yun with a confused look on his face.

Xiao Yun nodded firmly.

"Because of the arrangement of the divine tower, he was forced to be born as an alien. At the age when he most longed for a hug, his mother treated him as a calamity demon and his father pushed him aside with disgust. He could only hide behind a tree trunk and peek at his father hugging his half-brother... How pitiful he is, and how much he deserves a warm hug..."

"From a very young age, he realized that he was different from the people around him... He knew why his parents didn't love him, so he didn't blame them and even tried to understand them. He knew he was a beautiful pet locked in a golden cage, so when people around him treated him like a precious and fragile object, carefully wiping and caring for him, he never showed any impatience... The only thing he longed for was the love of others..."

"To gain everyone's love, he forced himself to forget his childlike nature and did everything he could to shape himself into someone others would like... He clearly also felt anxious and fearful, even overwhelmed to the point of crying, yet he tried hard to appear calm, cool, elegant and composed... He gave so much to only receive a little love from the world. Isn't that pitiful enough?"

"Besides, he never hid the truth from me. He told me a long time ago that he and I were only one-third related by blood! But even with only one-third of blood, he begged me not to leave him. He wanted someone who could clearly feel his pain, someone he could confide in and share with!"

"From that moment on, I could never leave him. I loved him more than anyone else in the world, and this feeling was deeper and stronger than any paranoia, loyalty, or love! When no one was around, I would silently watch him and gently hug him, allowing him to rely on me without any scruples or worries, and to draw sincere warmth from me."

“…”

Adlon was silent for a long time.

Xiao Yun's remarks were far beyond his comprehension.

"...It's simply unbelievable! I'm not saying that what you said is unbelievable, but... I want to say that the Holy Family is a very special family in the Western Continent, an irreplaceable existence, even though this family has always been shrouded in a dark fog and may have strange inhuman substances flowing in its veins..."

Adlon stuttered a little.

Fortunately, there were no outsiders in the room.

In response to Adlon's remarks, Xiao Yun smiled friendly and did not try to refute anything.

"I have no intention of denying this family. On the contrary, I have great respect for all the high priests of all generations. After learning part of the truth from Her Highness Anna, I often feel sad for the painful fate they were born into... However... if the information Her Highness Anna provided is true, the responsibility of carrying on the family legacy must fall upon you."

"It sounds as if I want to introduce my nephew or a woman from my family to you. But even without me and without our conversation today, marrying an outstanding woman and continuing the bloodline of the Holy Family is inevitable for you."

"--Thank you for your kindness, but I'm not considering marriage for the time being."

"Not at all?"

Adlon pondered as he spoke, "I'm not without complaints about His Majesty Edmund—in fact, I don't believe His Majesty can still hold on to the throne. He's too incompetent and too irritable, and he still has no children... If the emperor has no children, his rule will become even more unstable, and the country could be plunged into turmoil at any time due to disputes over the succession..."

(What does Adlon mean by this? Why do I feel like he's implying that if I marry his nephew and have children, Dalavia might support me in the upcoming civil war? But...)

After a moment of silence, Xiao Yun said seriously, "What you said makes sense, but the most important thing for us right now is to fight the Black Death and find the real reason why the Black Death appeared in Dalavia. Other things... I don't have time to think about them for the time being..."

"All right."

Adlon's expression was subtle. "Eradication of the Black Death is indeed the most important thing right now. I'll finish this glass of wine and go to work."

"Um."

Xiao Yun picked up the last biscuit on the plate and was about to put it in his mouth when he suddenly remembered something.

"My Lord Duke, why are you so easily telling me these secrets of the Holy Family that you learned from the Grand Duchess on the basis of your life?"

“Because… because…”

Adlon hesitated for a long time, then spoke with a haggard voice, "The Grand Duchess is my lifelong love, but Adrian is also my only son. He is very frank, sincere, loyal, and upright. As a father, I hope he can live a happy life and be more loved than me and my parents. For his happiness, I betrayed my vows, but as a father, I have no regrets. My only wish for the rest of my life is for my son to be happy."

"I see."

Xiao Yun held Adlon's hand. "You're an upright and loving father, and that's why you raised a son like Adrian who's honest and lovable. But you can't understand the pain and suffering that Yaris endured growing up without love. Actually, if you're willing to put aside your prejudices and get to know Yaris from scratch, you'll find that he's truly lovable, pitiful, and truly worthy of love."

"...I'll consider your suggestion and try to get to know him again."

Adlon's attitude was somewhat ambiguous.

Xiao Yun smiled nonchalantly, finished the last biscuit, and walked out of the room.