When Felix sat down to begin working on his spells, Arboro spoke up suddenly in his spell space. "Real shame about that girl." she said.

"Who? Scarlet?" Felix asked.

"Yeah. She's born in this dark-related family, but she's going to be a fire and lightning mage when she comes of age shortly." Arboro said dismissively.

Felix's brain nearly exploded. "Wait wait wait, how can you drop something so huge, so casually like that? You can sense what elemental affinities someone will have before they come of age?" he asked hurriedly.

"Who do you think I am?" Arboro asked him with disdain.

"Does that mean you can sense what elemental affinities matured mages are?" Felix asked.

"No. After they're of age, they tend to not reveal their aura unless they're already using a spell, at which point, the ability to read auras becomes useless. You don't need me to tell you your opponent is a fire mage when he tosses a flaming sun at you, do you?" Arboro sniggered.

"That makes sense... still though, doesn't that mean if you felt someone's aura in the past, you could use it to defend against pretenders?" Felix asked.

"You could, but it's unreliable. There are dark spells which can alter or even copy another person's aura, and they're rather low-tier and simple spells at that. And when you consider a dark mage was already the most likely to be a pretender... you can see why it's not terribly useful." Arboro remarked.

"That makes sense... Hey, Arboro, since you can sense what her affinity will be... can you change one of her affinities to be darkness?" Felix asked.

"No. Such a thing, to my knowledge, is impossible. I could infect her with a bunch of darkness element, but that would just make her sick probably, since it would not belong to her. It needs to be her own power for it to become her affinity." Arboro said.

Felix sat and pondered for a while. He didn't even get the opportunity to begin working on Talc Skin, before there was a knocking on his door. Felix opened his door, and there was an older maid behind it. She looked to be about sixty, if Felix had to guess.

"Young Master Felix, dearie, the Earl has requested your presence in his lounge." she said, with a slight bow.

"I see. Can I trouble you to lead me to him?" Felix asked.

"Of course, dear." the maid said, and she began to walk away. Felix quickly follow suit.

After a quick walk, Felix arrived at a rather gaudy lounge, with a fireplace made of gold-inlaid marble, couches and chairs made of some kind of fancy looking leather, inlaid with ivory, and a beautiful green jade table, upon which sat some snacks and tea, as well as one of the bottles of cider Felix had brought. His grand-uncle, the Earl, was seated on the couch. The old maid gave a curtsy and left, while Felix stood there awkwardly.

"Come, come, take a seat, aren't you my nephew? Now stop acting like a stranger come to beg me for money!" Earl Belrose said, pointing to one of the chairs. Felix obediently sat down in it. "Thank you, Uncle."

"Thank me for what? Giving my own nephew a chair? My reputation as a miser must be strong indeed." Earl Belrose said, laughing. Felix smiled in response.

"What can I do for you, Uncle?" Felix asked.

"Well, before we get down to it, I want to make sure, Leo and Scarlet treating you well? You like your accommodations? Any of the slaves dare to disrespect you?" Earl Belrose asked him.

"Everything is perfect, Uncle. I'm a country bumpkin, my accommodations could be a tenth of what they are, and I would still feel like I was living in the lap of luxury. As for my cousins, I would say they're warming up to me quickly, but even so, it's only been a couple of days, so, how close could we really be at this point, even if we are family?" Felix asked.

Earl Belrose nodded. "Good, good. Well, I haven't seen you or anyone else in the last day, because, to be honest with you, I was so wrought with guilt over this gift you brought me." he said, looking meaningfully at the bottle of cider on the table.

"Is it related to my grandfather, Uncle?" Felix asked.

"Yes. To be honest... I... I helped my second brother to chase him out of the household, in order to compete for the Earldom. I succeeded in the end, but, it was only after that, that I realized how wrong I was. For the sake of power, I chased away my own brother, and I never saw him again, and couldn't figure out where he went or what happened to him... I have a knot in my heart about it to this day. The doctors don't believe me, but I swear to you it's the cause of my health issues." Earl Belrose reminisced sadly.

"What about my second grand-uncle?" Felix asked.

Earl Belrose's face darkened. "He was a scoundrel, and a villain, and I feel no guilt whatsoever over what happened to him. Let's just say I put and end to him personally, and saw to his cremation personally as well. Don't ask again, if you never find out the specific details, it's definitely for the best." he said grimly.

Felix nodded quickly, and decided a change in topic was in order. "Did you drink any of the cider yet, Uncle?" he asked.

Earl Belrose's expression softened back up. "How could I dare to? It may be just a bottle of cider to you, but to me, it's the only thin connection I've found to my brother in the last forty years." he said forlornly.

"You have an opportunity here. Just repeat what I tell you to say." Arboro suddenly spoke up in his spell space.

Felix grit his teeth, but ultimately decided to comply. "Uncle, aren't I a much better connection to grandfather than a bottle of cider?" he asked.

Earl Belrose blinked, with a blank expression on his face. "That... that's true. Hah. I got so wrapped up in my own head I missed something so obvious."

Felix continued. "Also, I think grandfather would love if you enjoyed his cider. If you really want something physical like that to remind you of him though... part of what was shipped here to Belfast was some apples from my orchard. I think it would be much more beautiful if you were to extract some of the seeds from those apples and plant a few of the trees in his remembrance, and enjoy the cider, Uncle."

Earl Belrose glanced at Felix, his eyes shining. "That's... that's an excellent idea. I feel loads better already. Hah!" he said happily, and he opened the cider without hesitation, pouring himself and Felix a glass. "Good, good, drink with me nephew." he said, handing Felix a glass.

"I think you can handle it from here." Arboro remarked, and withdrew.

"I'm not so sure I'm worthy to have an Earl pour my cider for me, but if you insist, Uncle." Felix said with a wry smile on his face. He drank the cider at the same time as Earl Belrose, it's extremely familiar taste reminding him of the orchard in Gurnkey.

"Good cider, good cider. There may be higher quality ciders in the world, but none of them will ever match this one to me." Earl Belrose said meaningfully.

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it Uncle. I harvested the apples for it myself." Felix said with a smile.

Earl Belrose hesitated for a moment. "What... happened to Luke?" he asked wistfully.

"Well... my father didn't like to talk about him at all, but sometimes he would get drunk, and once, I overheard him cursing the heavens, saying they struck him down with a plague unfairly." Felix said.

"Disease? Is the church in Gurnkey that inept?" Earl Belrose asked, his eyebrows raised.

"I'm afraid I don't know the specific details, Uncle. But they seem as normal as it gets for a church. Perhaps whatever took him was a particularly powerful disease, or perhaps he was injured as well. I certainly don't know, and my father died before telling me the truth about what happened." Felix said remorsefully.

Earl Belrose nodded. "Did your father... Maxwell, my nephew... did he ever mention anything about Luke talking about me?" he asked, looking at Felix.

Felix thought for a moment, trying to remember. All he could recall was his father mentioning there was a branch of his family up north, which was where he currently was. When he was about to speak, Arboro suddenly spoke up again. "Wait. You're going to make something up here. Tell him Luke's dying words were thinking of him."

Felix immediately got flustered. "You want me to lie about something so serious to my own grand-uncle?!?" he asked furiously in his soul.

"Yes. He's an extremely powerful pawn for you. If you want to accomplish your dreams, his help will be immeasurable. Besides, this will help assuage his guilt, even if it isn't true. Do you want him to know the painful truth of a dead man and wallow in his guilt forever, or do you want him to be happy in his last years in this world? If you really care about him, you'll want him to be happy." Arboro said.

Felix bit his lip to the point it nearly began to bleed. Earl Belrose looked at him strangely.

"You've been thinking for a while, nephew. Did he... really say something about me?' he asked hopefully.

Felix made up his mind. "Well... There was another time when my father was nearly blackout drunk. I helped him to bed, which was pretty difficult, since I was only eight at the time, and... he talked about grandfather's death. My father was very upset, because on his deathbed, his last thoughts didn't appear to be about my father, or about me... because he was looking in to his hand, and he was holding your family crest. I think... I think grandfather's last thoughts were of you, Uncle." Felix said tentatively. The guilt eating him inside was immeasurable. His father had told him no such thing.

Earl Belrose looked dumbfounded. "Is... is that true? Do you still have that crest?" he asked.

"No, Uncle. I could never bring myself to ask father about it, and never saw it myself." Felix said wryly.

"I see... I see... his last thoughts were probably of me... haaah..." Earl Belrose said, his expression sinking lower. Felix thought he looked even more guilty than before.

"Arboro, what the heck are you doing? Now he feels even more guilt!" Felix said sharply.

"I have a plan. This is going to hurt in your soul, but grin and bear it, and do your absolute best not to cry out or change your expression." she said.

Felix was flustered for a moment, and quickly grit his teeth. Suddenly, he felt like his soul was being ripped to shreds. He nearly cried out in pain, and viciously cursed Arboro with every fiber of his being in his mind. But somehow, he managed to barely maintain a mostly neutral expression.

Suddenly, the atmosphere in the room changed. Felix couldn't pinpoint it, but it felt vaguely familiar to him. Earl Belrose's expression suddenly shot up in alarm, and he stood up, looking around in a panic.

"Luke!" Earl Belrose cried out loudly. "Luke, is that you?!?" he yelled out, looking around frantically.

Felix sat there confused, forgetting his pain for a moment as he looked around. Suddenly, they both heard a voice, as faint as the lightest whisper on the summer breeze.

"John..." the voice said.

Earl Belrose looked like he could not decide if he was frightened to death or excited to the point of tears. "Yes Luke!? What is it!?" he asked loudly.

"Protect... Felix..." the voice said softly.

Earl Belrose looked at Felix stunned. Then he loudly said "I will! Don't you worry, heaven itself won't be able to harm the slightest hair on his head! I'll treat him as one of my own!" he proclaimed loudly.

The voice didn't say anything else, but Felix felt the presence slowly fade out of existence. Felix had a million questions in his head. He suspected Arboro definitely had something to do with what happened, but he knew now wasn't the time to ask.

Earl Belrose stood there in a daze for a long while. Then he threw his head back and laughed loudly, with tears streaming down his eyes. "So it was true! Everything he said was true! Luke, baby brother Luke, he really did remember me all this time! He wasn't even willing to reincarnate until he saw to his family! He truly cherished family so much! I am truly a shameful old dog not even worthy of the ground I stand on in comparison to him, but the heaven's have eyes! They truly have eyes, and they blessed me with an opportunity to set things right!" he said loudly, and he looked at Felix meaningfully. Then he shouted out, infusing his magical power into his voice so that it was extremely loud and carried a far distance. "SCARLET! LEO! GET OVER HERE!" he yelled.

Felix was dumbfounded, but he was still dealing with his soul pounding in pain like it got shredded by a wildebeest, so he just sat there and watched. Very quickly, Scarlet and Leo entered the lounge, Scarlet with her hair in a bit of a mess, because it looked like she was still straightening it after her bath.

"What is it, Grandfather?" they both asked, with a respectful bow.

"From now on, Felix had damn well better be treated like he's the other half of your soul! Anything you two have, he better have, and you are not to keep even the slightest family secret from him!" Earl Belrose proclaimed loudly.

Scarlet and Leo both had dumbfounded expressions on their faces. "Umm..." Leo began. "Well, he is already my cousin, so I thought I already treated him quite warmly..." he said hesitantly.

"What nonsense are you trying to spout in front of me!? You think you can pull one over on me?!? I'm fifty years your senior, and an experienced Earl! You may be my successor, but you are not my match yet! So far you haven't given him more than pleasantries, and some basic accommodations! If Felix wants to know every forbidden spell in the library, you hand them to him with a smile! If he wants to take half the Treasury, you serve it to him on a platter! If he wants your sister, you dress her up in ribbons for him! Am I clear?!?" Earl Belrose roared at Leo.

Leo looked dumbfounded before, but now he looked positively flabbergasted. "Y-yes grandfather." he said meekly. Scarlet blushed at the ribbon comment.

"Good! Since I'm being so straightforward on this matter, you should damn well know how important this is to me!" Earl Belrose said with a huff.

"I am willing to obey, of course, but... err... can I ask what caused this rather... sudden declaration?" Leo asked tentatively.

"Hah! If you didn't bring it up, I would bring it up! Felix accomplished what you couldn't and he finally loosened that damnable knot in my heart! I feel younger than I have in forty years! Hahaha!" Earl Belrose laughed loudly. Leo and Scarlet looked at Felix curiously, but didn't ask for the details. Not yet anyway.

"I feel like a king today! Leo! Use your damn sneaky intelligence network, and get those useless doctors all ready for me! Tonight, I'm letting loose like I haven't ever before! I'm going to rent out the entire Crystal Maiden Palace, and if I don't enjoy every one of their top beauties tonight, let me die like a dog!" he yelled, his face flushed.

Leo had a bemused expression on his face. "Using my network for something like this is..." Leo sighed.

"Shut up! I know a squirrel can't fart within a hundred kilometers of here without you knowing about it, but you can't be bothered to use it for your own grandfather! Are you that unfilial!?" Earl Belrose asked loudly, glaring at Leo.

"Of course not, Grandfather, it was merely an idle musing." Leo said wryly.

"What's the Crystal Maiden Palace?" Scarlet asked suddenly, with a curious expression.

Felix, Leo, and Earl Belrose all froze.

"T-that is... uh..." Earl Belrose looked a bit panicked, and half like he wanted to die. Leo somehow had the guts to look furious at him. Arboro snorted in Felix's spell space, and whispered a plan to him.

Felix spoke up suddenly. "It's a traveling workshop Scarlet, they sell crystalline figurines. The Earl was just...extremely excited because he finally thought of a gift he wanted to give you for your upcoming coming of age ceremony. You're quite hard to shop for, you know." he said.

Leo and Earl Belrose both nodded vigorously and like they had found a straw to grasp on to. "Yes, yes, that's exactly right. Your ceremony is in only two months, so this matter plagued my mind greatly." Earl Belrose said, continuing to nod like a starving chicken which was suddenly plopped on top of a pile of grain.

"Oh. Can I come with you?" Scarlet asked. Leo and Earl Belrose both looked panicked again.

"No, no, of course not Scarlet. Uncle already slipped his tongue by telling you about the workshop, if he lets you see the figures before your ceremony, how will there be any surprise left? Look at Uncle, he looks a million times better than he did when I first showed up, it's clear this matter has greatly lightened his heart, spoiling his precious grand-daughter is what he cherishes the most. So let him have this, okay?" Felix said.

Scarlet nodded meekly, as if she understood. Leo and Earl Belrose both shot looks of gratitude to Felix.

"Scarlet, my good grand-daughter, since Leo and I will be busy with this task, how about you accompany Felix for today in our stead, okay?" Earl Belrose asked her, tentatively. Scarlet nodded again. "Okay." she said simply.

Scarlet led Felix out of the lounge, and there were a few slaves outside the door with bemused expressions on their face. Felix and Scarlet could hear Earl Belrose yelling furiously at Leo. "If you don't find me a half-dozen of the highest quality crystal figurines made by the highest master sculptors in the next month, I'll strip your hide personally, do you hear me?!?"

Felix shook his head with a smile and followed Scarlet.