From Secret Clan to the Divine Dynasty

They immediately sought out Irene, and Byrne recounted the entire affair to her in detail.

The more Irene listened, the more astonished she became, whether it was Baron Leander’s various obsessions and madness, the mysterious messages, or the content of the deal with the emerald elf at the end, it all seemed unbelievable.

After hearing everything, she couldn’t help but express her many doubts:

“What exactly is the deal with that emerald elf? Byrne, I remember you mentioned that you saw her when you were still a youth, has this foreign race been lurking on the East Coast all these years just for that so-called sacred object of the emerald elves?”

“What exactly is this sacred object ‘New Green Constellation’ she has commissioned us to find? And the Stars Embrace Order she mentioned, is that a secretive organization that worships the Evil God?”

Faced with a barrage of questions, Byrne could only keep shaking his head, taking a deep breath before responding:

“Whether it’s the existence of that sacred object ‘New Green Constellation’, or specific intelligence on the Stars Embrace Order, I am not very clear on either; perhaps we can inquire about these from the Alchemy Council.”

He paused for a moment, lost in thought, then continued.

“As for that elf, I feel that she is nothing like what is described in books as ‘a peace-loving and fragile race’; rather, this ‘Madam March’ gives me more the feeling of a mercenary.”

As Byrne spoke, he couldn’t help but recall his father’s face, and finally at this moment, understood what that was all about.

To be precise, it was the trait of “lacking reverence for all things in the world, believing only in the power held in one’s own hands”!

Even his father needed the companionship of family blood to alleviate loneliness; the emerald elf, however, seemed more like a cruel and cold lone wolf, trusting no one and not intending to rely on anyone, living solely for herself.

After listening, Irene could only sigh, “So it is, we still know too little.”

Unable to figure out the pressing questions, everyone decided to leave them be for now. Irene gazed at the dazzlingly brilliant Crystal Dragon egg, incredibly surprised, becoming gradually mesmerized by its beauty.

It also looked quite valuable!

“It looks really good, how much can we sell this Crystal Dragon egg for? Maybe we could exchange it for various mysterious domain resources?”

Byrne was taken aback, having not anticipated Irene’s line of thought, and immediately said, “Actually, I think it would be better for the family to nurture it gradually as it grows; in the future, we will have a very powerful dragon. If we sell it outright, it would be quite cost-ineffective.”

Chris suddenly asked, “Can’t it be eaten?”

Irene shook her head, and turned to look at Byrne, calmly explaining her reasoning.

“I still think selling it is better, perhaps to Viscount Bast or that Alchemy Council you joined.”

“Even if we were to raise it to adulthood, we can’t be certain it would see us as family; plus, I know the growth of giant dragons is extremely slow, the fruits of the future are too far off…”

She wanted to say her own life was limited, and that she definitely would not live to see the day it would grow into a giant dragon, but she paused and did not say it after all.

Byrne still shook his head, strongly opposing Irene’s idea, and explained with a frown:

“I still recommend raising it; actually, most of the dragon tribe are filled with affection for the life that raises them, and what you’re talking about almost never happens.”

“Moreover, this giant dragon egg is quite extraordinary; I’ve read books about mysterious creatures, but there’s never been any record of a Crystal Dragon egg. Its appearance might just be a rare opportunity for the Fischer family that only comes once in many years!”

Out of the blue, Chris spoke again, “Eat it.”

While the discussion was at an impasse, Karl, standing on the altar with the transparent bottle, started to feel a strange attraction.

How odd.

He sensed that the life within the dragon egg, though still not fully formed, contained a significant amount of Spiritual Power. Yet, it was still far from complete, and the Spiritual Power it possessed was still growing.

To bring the Spiritual Power of the life inside the Crystal Dragon egg to its peak, it must be made to hatch and grow to its pinnacle; only then would it become immensely tempting to Karl.

Interesting.

“What exactly is the existence within this Crystal Dragon egg brought from the Spirit Realm by Byrne? Its species is clearly not one of the average dragon kind; perhaps it’s another type of mysterious creature similar to the dragon form.”

He found it very interesting and was eager to witness the growth of that life to its utmost limit, so he decided to communicate an order to Irene via telepathy.

Karl formulated a rather pleasant-sounding message in his mind and conveyed it:

[Let it grow until it can eclipse the sky and devour all things.]

In the basement, where a few were about to resort to the belief scales for a vote on how to deal with the Crystal Dragon egg, Irene’s expression suddenly changed.

Without hesitation, she knelt down, nodding her head and murmuring to herself for a long time.

“I understand, great my lord!”

Both Byrne and Chris were surprised, but soon realized what had just happened.

It was the great Lord of the Lost bestowing an oracle!

Irene finally stood up slowly and said solemnly, “The great Lord of the Lost has bestowed an oracle, the Fischer family must ensure its birth and growth, until it can eclipse the sky and even devour all things!”

She sighed and sincerely apologized, “Byrne, you were right, I almost made a grave mistake.”

At this, there were no further disagreements among them, and Chris appeared very disappointed.

The disappearance of Baron Leander ultimately did not stir up much commotion in the East Coast Province.

Many speculated that he had been abducted and killed by the Sea God Cult, while others guessed that the Lost followers were responsible, which in a sense, was somewhat correct.

One thing that surprised Byrne was that Assistant Priest Zayne did not come to investigate.

It seemed as though the Tempest Church no longer cared much about these matters, or perhaps they were too preoccupied internally; the church sent only a few low-ranking priests that Byrne did not recognize to conduct the investigation.

“This is bad, the current situation is such that even if a true noble disappears or is harmed, the Tempest Church hardly cares anymore… When the Kesse family was attacked last time, Zayne arrived at the scene very quickly.”

Thinking of this, his heart sank.

The order of the East Coast Province was like a thin sheet of paper, merely one final push from outside forces away, and the seemingly stable social order would completely collapse.

Of the Leander family, only Baron Leander was an Extraordinary Exponent at the Transmutation Level.

After his disappearance for some time, the family’s lands were quickly encroached upon by the neighboring viscount families, who were supposed to be their protectors.

This time, the Fischer family chose to remain silent and did not fight for the land, their enmity with the Garcia family had become a foregone conclusion, and the land of the Kesse family had to be taken. Establishing new enemies now would not be advisable.

Moreover, the “Iron Blood” Oder family, which had annexed the land of the Leander family, was actually a long-term ally of the Lion clan. If the Fischer family wanted to contend for it, it would be difficult to gain the support of the Lion clan.

It was also because the Leander family was sheltered by the “Iron Blood” Oder family that they were considered peripheral members of the Lion clan’s alliance, which was why Leander initially had Byrne approach Viscount Bast.

Three months later.

A wedding that astonished the people of Nasir Town quietly took place.

Many found it hard to believe that Young Master Chris of the Fischer family and the prospective housekeeper, Madam Vanessa, suddenly married.

“Do you really think that Madam Vanessa is worthy of Young Master Chris?”

Many people in the town were puzzled.

“I’ve heard that several families nearby made marriage proposals, even Viscount Bast hoped that Young Master Chris would marry one of his nieces, but Mr. Byrne refused them all.”

“Although Madam Vanessa is a nice person, she really is lucky to marry Young Master Chris!”

The rumors that Byrne had boldly refused marriage proposals from the Lion clan were actually true.

He almost knelt down to Lieutenant Colonel Abel who had come to propose; Abel was completely taken aback when the Fischer family rejected them!

Only when Byrne and Lieutenant Colonel Abel assured him that the next head of the Fischer family would definitely marry into the Lion clan, did Abel leave somewhat appeased.

Byrne and Irene both knew one thing very clearly in their hearts.

If Chris had set his mind on Vanessa, he would not change his mind, and Vanessa was not the type of girl willing to be just a mistress.

Furthermore, Byrne was not too enthusiastic about the Fischer family entering an immediate marriage alliance with the Lion clan.

The current gap in status between the two families was simply too vast, and if someone from the Lion clan came over and wanted to delve into their internal affairs, the Fischer family would struggle to cope.

Because of the situation with Margaret, the relationship between the Hoffman family and the Fischer family was now ambiguous, and Byrne had become extremely cautious about family alliances.

Who exactly the next head of the Fischer family would be, and whether there would indeed be a marriage alliance, could all be discussed anew at that time. At least for now, the matter could be brushed aside.

During the wedding, Vanessa appeared extremely happy, while Chris showed a rare smile.

“Thank you.”

They were both full of gratitude for Byrne’s and Irene’s permission.

The Fischer family invited the upper echelon from the four towns to attend the wedding; apart from the Garcia family, which did not show up, members from the remaining three baronial families and two viscount families came.

The Lion clan also sent an envoy to attend the wedding, signaling that they did not mind the Fischer family’s refusal of the marriage proposal.

The Assistant Bishop, Assistant Priest Zayne of the Tempest Church, had initially promised to come, but unexpectedly did not show up in the end, later saying that there were important internal issues to resolve.

A few days after the wedding ended, Byrne, who was in the alchemy workshop deconstructing potions, heard from a servant that his son Darren had fallen unconscious and could not be woken!

“What happened?” he asked, extremely tense and shocked, rushing straight to Darren’s room. He quickly saw his son lying unconscious on the bed and the crowd gathered around him.

Irene calmly asked everyone to disperse, saying indifferently, “Please leave us for a moment, I need to speak to Byrne alone.”