Finally, after three days of travel, Kael and his companions reached their destination: the dukedom of Ivan. The duke of this dukedom is the husband of Kael's aunt. Eldoria is a kingdom composed of multiple dukedoms, each ruled by different dukes, with one king at the center. The king is chosen from the group of the strongest warriors in the dukedom.

The palace was enormous.

"Welcome, Kael. I am your aunt, Serene Vian," she said, welcoming Kael into the palace.

"I am Kael Aran, your nephew. Nice to meet you," Kael responded politely and maturely.

"Oh my, you are a good boy, Kael, not like your father. Now, come with me. Well, is she your maid?" asked Serene, looking at Beatrice.

"Nice to meet you, ma'am. I am Master Kael's personal maid," said Beatrice.

"Okay, come with us. Father, you should go visit him; he was calling for an important meeting," said Serene.

Kael and Beatrice followed Serene towards their rooms.

"Aunt, I have a question. How do you know about me?" asked Kael.

"Father didn't tell you?" asked Serene.

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"No, I guess we were attacked while we were discussing it," replied Kael.

"Attacked! You were? Who were they?" Serene asked, panicking.

"Don't worry, Grandfather took care of them. Now, if you could answer my question," said Kael.

"Well, actually, one week ago we received a letter claiming you were alive and had been left in the countryside alone with a maid for many years. We still don't know who sent the letter, but we verified the information. Our spies collected data about you, and it matched the letter," said Serene while walking.

"Oh, so that's what happened," said Kael. "Who is this mysterious man?" he thought suspiciously.

As they walked through the hallway, a voice stopped them. They turned around to see Elena, Serene's daughter, roughly the same age as Kael.

"Stop! I don't accept this. Mom, you always used to tell me about your brother's behavior and what kind of man he is. How can you welcome his son into our home?" Elena said angrily, glaring at Kael.

"Elena, don't talk like that. He is your cousin," Serene began, but Elena interrupted her.

"Cousin? He's not accepted by his father, and you are still accepting him? He will be like his father. Like father, like son," Elena said, frustration and anger clear in her voice.

"Father, what have you done to them? No, what have you done to everyone?" thought Kael, a sad smile full of shame crossing his mind.

"Elena, go to your room. We will talk about this later," Serene told Elena firmly.

"Talk later? My foot," Elena said, tears in her eyes.

Elena ran towards her room. Kael tried to go after her, but Serene stopped him.

"Kael, no. Leave her alone for a while. I believe in you, just as your grandfather does," said Serene.

(Scene changes to Kael's bedroom as he lies on his bed)

"This is all pretty messed up. Father, what in the world were you thinking?" thought Kael.

While pondering all the things that happened that day, Kael fell asleep.

Next Time: The Start of "The Great Ivan Arc"