Chapter 808: Franz Pomponazzi's Childhood
Aleister was moved when he heard this.
...the "great" Lady Bayard?
What did Vines do back then to be so respected by Pomponazzi?
No wonder the frivolous Pomponazzi acted so formal when he came to see her.
I'm afraid that when the two met at the Crescent Moon Manor, Baroness Bayard's status was far higher than Pomponazzi's.
Realizing that he did have a chance to trick out some information, Aleister became more focused.
"great……"
Bayard took a sip of his wine, a mocking smile playing on his lips: "Are you serious? Or are you laughing at me?"
"—No, of course I'm serious."
Pomponazzi placed his right hand elegantly on his chest and said earnestly, "The 'Light of Heracle' on your chest is proof of this. It wasn't given to your father or mother, but to you personally, my lady."
"In your hands, the Bayard Consortium has become a behemoth capable of shaking the empire. Even the Emperor had to bow to you and show you goodwill... Without you, there might not even be the Curved Moon Manor. That's the place that changed my life."
Aleister was stunned for a moment.
...So this necklace is the "Light of Herasil"?
This was something Aiwass had learned from his history classes at Avalon.
The destruction of various countries is often due to the weakening of national strength, but the Hellas Empire was the only one that was destroyed because it was too powerful.
At least in Avalon's textbooks, the main reason for the collapse of the Helasar Empire was that a large number of low-level superhumans gradually got out of control - in that era when superhuman knowledge was not yet strictly controlled, as long as there was a guide, one could easily become a superhuman.
There were no comprehensive quality assessments, nor were there investigations into family and personal morality. An old man you met on the street might teach you the secrets to becoming a mage; the black market was awash with supernatural knowledge, both genuine and spurious. And supernatural beings were always keen to explore ancient ruins, which could further enhance their own strength.
All the major colleges are also trying their best to cultivate their own extraordinary people and compete with each other for students. The cost of learning extraordinary knowledge has been reduced to an extreme... When the cost is the lowest, even the children of grooms can learn mystical skills by prepaying their loans for the next twenty years.
As a result, the number of nobles did not change, but more and more noble descendants went crazy, and social contradictions became increasingly intense... At the same time, the number of extraordinary people of commoner origin continued to increase.
Everyone longed for a joyful and thrilling adventure. The ruins surrounding the city were so overcrowded they resembled tourist attractions, with nothing valuable left to dig up. No one wanted to work low-paying jobs, preferring instead to venture out to distant lands. This was why, when Avalon was founded, it was able to bring so many knights and people from the Empire.
By the decade before the demise of the clan, the proportion of Transcendents above the third level, who were not of hereditary nobility, had reached over 90%. Initially, the nobles would recruit these Transcendents to join their clan's outer circle... but later, even with their best efforts, the wealth they could offer was limited, so more Transcendents flowed outside.
The gathered civilians formed various chambers of commerce, consortiums, associations, societies and other civilian organizations of extraordinary people, constantly competing for wealth, status and voice. The entire empire was caught in extremely intense internal friction. People were divided into various factions and attacked each other, while different factions were constantly uniting and betraying each other.
The last emperor was determined to change this situation.
He had a gentle personality, so between the prime minister's suggestion of "launching an aggressive war against the ancient Parthia Empire" and "mediating class contradictions", he chose the latter. Between violent suppression and non-violent inducement, he still chose the latter... Therefore, he implemented the "Light of Heracle" plan to commend outstanding civilian extraordinary people and grant them non-hereditary noble titles.
Originally, the royal family granting nobility was a common practice, and even in peaceful times, this had occurred quite often. However, these were simply royal recognitions of "individuals," and there weren't clear, automated rules or systems in place.
This is the first automatically operated nobility system in the Helasar Empire, in addition to the military merit system.
However, by then, the conflict had already escalated to a point where both sides were categorically opposed, with no middle ground. Therefore, the monarch who advocated for mediation was perceived by both sides as favoring the other side, which only further ignited the conflict.
——In Avalon, the "Light of Herasil" is also called the "Light of Destruction".
They are also known as the countdown to the fall of the Herasil Empire.
This was the ornament Aiwass wore when she first transformed into Bayard through the power granted by the Twin Mirror. It didn't have any special powers—perhaps it had some, but as a mirror image, it was just an ornament.
And Shadow Demon himself had never expressed any wish to treasure it or preserve it carefully.
She didn't seem to like the necklace.
“But I didn’t enjoy it.”
Aleister sighed and imagined himself as Bayard.
She mimicked Bayard's tone during the promotion ceremony, speaking in a half-calm, half-carefree manner, "That's all in the past. Power, honor... or even my childhood self. Nothing in this world is eternal... To truly pursue eternity is like pursuing stagnation."
"...Your words are still so philosophical."
Peng Bonazi didn't respond to this. He just pursed his lips, then suddenly smiled and flattered, "After so many years, have you gone to the East to rest?"
He was smiling, but Aleister had clearly sensed that Pomponazzi was a little unhappy. He only suppressed his displeasure because it was rare for him to see a "fellow countryman."
"I guess so," Aleister uttered fluent Taichu language, "A blessing in disguise."
She spoke Taichu language so fluently and with such confidence that even Pomponazzi, who could barely understand her, had no doubt about what she said.
This also explains why Lady Bayard disappeared in the later stages of the Rift War—she grew tired of the strife in this land and fled far away. This is also a very reasonable behavior, very consistent with her calm personality.
"But," Aleister paused and asked, "You said... Curved Moon Manor changed your life?"
It was obvious that Pomponazzi wanted to talk to Bayard about this topic.
He was suddenly refreshed and became visibly happy.
Seeing this, Aleister also understood - it was obvious that Pomponazzi wanted to talk to her about Valentine I.
Although she and Pomponazi had never met, she knew that the first generation of black and red ministers all followed Bashir's personal charm.
Black Phase may have simply recognized Bashir as a person and believed that Bashir was trustworthy. This is why he was willing to let his student marry the then elderly Bashir.
But as transcendents on the path of love, their emotions are all disrupted and mixed together. This means that for transcendents on the path of love, there is no absolutely pure friendship, family affection, or admiration. For them, any emotion is "love."
——In other words, Tienantong.
But then the problem arises...
The status of the Huyue Manor was roughly equivalent to that of the White Dove Opera House today. It was like an entertainment club or buffet restaurant with a very high entry threshold, requiring an introducer to enter.
Aleister still remembered that during the promotion ceremony, Aiwas had seen a girl chatting happily with a human youth at the table. That human youth was Bashir in his youth.
Bayard crossed his fingers and said with a smile, "I really didn't expect that the child you brought to the Huyue Manor would become a monarch... and yet you, in turn, followed a human. And even did such a thing for it..."
"That kind of thing...what kind of thing?"
Pomponazzi's tone sharpened. "Do you mean I'll kill all of Xingti's Moon Sons, or... I'll kill all of my own family?"
——Have you ever done this kind of thing?
Aleister raised his eyebrows, smiled but said nothing.
She simply said leisurely, "When I was a child... when my parents were still alive, my father taught me rituals and spells every day. And my mother taught me how to become a charming witch.
"I still remember that I looked very androgynous when I was a child. I didn't like the hassle of having long hair, so I changed it to short hair. When I grew taller, people often mistook me for 'young master' instead of 'young lady'... At that time, I even asked my mother for a potion that could make people shorter."
"……hehe."
Peng Bonazi twitched the corner of his mouth and laughed dryly: "That was before you became an adult, right?"
"Of course. That's the past of the real 'Bayard,' but it doesn't stop me from remembering it."
Bayard asked in return, “What about you?”
"'Franz' is different from you. I have four brothers and three sisters. We have the same father and mother... but my blood is different from theirs."
Pomponazzi's fingers twitched slightly, and he clenched the wine glass in his hand to hide it: "I am the only 'pure blood' in my family."
"When my father gave birth to his third child, he became the Son of the Moon. And after my mother gave birth to her seventh child, she was also killed by my father... and after an eighty-day resurrection ceremony, she also became the Son of the Moon.
"Shortly after that, my father ascended to the fifth energy level, and my mother was already pregnant before that... That fetus was me. The fertility rate at the fifth energy level is not zero, but it is very low. Basically, I am the last child in my family."
Peng Bonazi raised the corner of his mouth slightly and said sarcastically, "Since birth, your blood brothers and sisters have regarded you as an enemy and a monster... Have you ever had this experience?"
Unlike Bayard, and unlike most other Moon Children whose eyes only turn red when they are excited...
Pomponazzi's pupils are always blood red.
This is his proof of being a "pure blood".
"The earliest memory Franz has is from when he was a little over a year old."
Pomponazi whispered, "My eldest sister wanted to strangle me... Perhaps it was because she thought her father and mother had been replaced by someone else. She was terrified by this.
"But unfortunately... she failed. She didn't anticipate that I was born a transcendent. She also didn't seem to understand what the Moon Child could do.
"When I regained consciousness, I found myself reborn from a pool of blood. My mother ordered me to suck her blood... Unlike human babies who drink milk, I had been using 'blood bottles' since I was a child, so I quickly understood this instruction.
“While my sister was crying, I sucked her until she was a corpse.
"—That was my first kill."
Chapter 1, three thousand four hundred words!
I'm halfway through chapter two, and I'll still post it before 2 a.m.! Today should be another 7,000-word update!
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
