Cline's mana soul acted as an extra appendage, meaning Arthur would have direct control over the object that the soul inhabited, similar to telekinesis.

That was a feat in and of itself, but if he intended to have an undead army one day, he would need to bind an artificial spirit to his minions for them to act independently of him.

And while he understood how to create a simple artificial intelligence in theory, actually producing one with the Aetherin language was a mountain he wasn't looking forward to climbing.

Even on Earth with teams of programmers, they had only built the most rudimentary type of artificial intelligence. The only thing working in Arthur's favor was, surprisingly, Aetherin.

Despite the language's faults, it was intuitive in understanding what the creator wanted the code to do. For instance, the code for a fireball didn't include information like the distance to travel before exploding.

Instead, the spell used a small string of Aetherin dedicated to handing over control to the caster once the fireball was created. Of course, Cline's mana soul spell was more complex than a fireball.

It was as complex as it was long. So, in an attempt to streamline troubleshooting, Arthur decided to split the spell in two. One for creating the mana soul and one for providing the energy required to be self-sustainable.

However, the energy problem seemed far more complicated than Arthur had anticipated. He had completed a prototype six months ago using a method to draw in aether and convert it into mana similar to how a human cultivated, but it had failed.

Arthur spent the afternoon parsing through the code with the updated Aetherin dictionary Levin had given him, but he couldn't find a single error.

Amid his frustration, dinner had arrived before he knew it. A rollover from his previous life as Ethan, where he would often find himself utterly engrossed in whatever task he put his mind to, completely unaware of the passing of time.

He ate as fast as he could, intent on getting the meeting with his father over with as soon as possible. Yet, as he walked through the manor halls, his body felt the familiar surge of anxiety despite his clear mind. He was indifferent to the possible outcomes he would face, but it seemed as though his body wasn't.

If he was disinherited, he'd leave and continue his research. If not, he'd continue with his research within the manor. So, no matter what happened, he felt it would have little consequence on his end goal, yet he still couldn't shake his nervousness for some reason.

Arthur chalked his weak nerves up to the young body he occupied. Puberty was no joke, and despite having a mental age nearing forty, he still fell victim to his teenage hormones from time to time.

He soon arrived at his destination but paused before entering and inhaled a few deep breaths to calm his nerves. Then, he reached for the knob and let himself in.

Once inside, Ollerin's noble etiquette dictated that he had to wait quietly for his father to call him, so he was compelled to wait and watch the man behind the desk.

Unsurprisingly, Edward shared many of Arthur's characteristics: short black hair, violet eyes, and a permanent scowl made all the more distinct due to the meticulously trimmed beard he fashioned.

He was a good-looking guy, and Arthur thought he matched pretty well with Elyria's beauty despite being ten years her senior. However, like Elyria, Arthur had no good feelings toward the man.

Since Arthur entered, Edward hadn't acknowledged his existence, instead opting to unhurriedly finish whatever paperwork laid before him.

The office was almost an exact copy of the study, except that it was a quarter the size, and the bookshelves that lined the walls held countless trinkets and family heirlooms instead of books.

Of course, there were books, too, but the few Arthur could see appeared to have been placed merely for decoration.

Arthur waited patiently, and soon, a half-hour passed without a word between the father and son. The only solace from the silence was the constant shuffling of paperwork from Edward's desk as he continued his work unabated.

Arthur had lived for nearly forty years, and even he couldn't help but feel annoyed. He couldn't even imagine how a thirteen-year-old child would react in such a situation.

"Take a seat." Edward ordered as he scribbled on a final piece of paper.

It was finally time. In response to the command, Arthur carefully walked forward, his back stiff and arms folded behind him. When he reached the end of the short march, he sat in front of Edward's desk.

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Arthur sat upright, legs crossed and hands folded within his lap, displaying a perfect grace expected of a marquis' son. If he was disinherited, it certainly wouldn't be due to a lack of noble bearing.

"I was never fond of your mother." Edward said as he raised his cold eyes to Arthur.

Arthur always found his father's voice unsettling. It was methodical and slow, with a hint of anger, as if he was annoyed for having to speak at all.

"I never understood love..." Edward paused and shook his head as if he didn't have time for such childish things.

"However, as a noble of the Ollerin Empire, I am duty-bound to continue the Revan bloodline. So when the first suitable match was offered, I accepted—not because it was something I wanted, but because it was my duty.

"Had I known then what I know now, I would've declined the proposal. But, at that time, I couldn't have known that Duke Yor had intended for me to marry his daughter Elyria and that he had been a step too late when sending out the proposal.

"Perhaps I could've saved myself some trouble had I only waited a few more weeks, and perhaps your mother would still be alive."

"What do you mean by that? Did Duke Yor and Elyria kill my mother?" Arthur asked quickly before the man could continue his monologue.

Arthur had always found his mother's death suspicious, which was only reinforced after the attempt on his own life a few years ago. His mother was Sofia Perick, a young sixth circle mage, and according to Senna, she was in perfect health. So, for her to die in childbirth seemed strange, and Arthur wasn't the only one to think so.

While Senna had never outright said his mother was murdered, he could pick up on her suspicion despite Senna doing her best to hide it from him. She likely believed he was too young to carry such a burden and didn't want to put him in any more danger than he was already in.

"Your mother's servant Merin slipped the poison into some water the night of your birth—and yes, it was at the Duke's behest. The poison she used is a Yor family secret so aptly named the soul-severing poison because the victims appear to have died without a cause as if their souls had simply left them.

"Few know about the poison's existence, but those that do can easily tell when it has been used due to its peculiar means of killing the victim."

Arthur felt conflicted. He thought he should feel angry after hearing what his father had said, yet he felt nothing toward the woman who had given him birth.

He wasn't sure if it was because he already had a mother on Earth or because he just never got a chance to know her, but his lack of emotion regarding her murder made him feel dirty.

As if he was ungrateful for not feeling rage toward his mother's murderer. Whether he felt anything or not, Elyria was already on his list of people to kill after she had attempted to poison him. He didn't mind adding a few more names to that list.

However, like Elyria, their deaths would have to wait. He didn't have a secret family poison or some magical technique to kill them without anyone else finding out. He didn't want to die again, especially not for an act of half-hearted revenge.

As if his mother's murder wasn't enough to muddle his emotions, the name of the Yor family's secret poison also had his thoughts racing. He refused to believe it was a coincidence that his mother was given something titled 'soul-severing poison' right before his rebirth.

The concept of reincarnation didn't even exist on Nithe as far as Arthur had seen, so his situation was truly unique. If the soul-severing poison was the catalyst behind his unique reincarnation, he definitely needed to get his hands on it and test it.

"And you did nothing despite knowing that?" Arthur asked once his thoughts were under control.

"I knew nothing of it at the time, but even if I had, the result likely would've been the same," Edward replied as if the subject didn't concern him.

"I can't imagine you called me here to confess your sins." Arthur said as he found himself growing annoyed with his father's callousness.

"My sins? Hardly." Edward scoffed. "Whether I had an heir with Sofia or Elyria, it made no difference to me. However, you're correct. I didn't call you here to tell you the circumstances of your birth. But, as this will likely be the last time we speak, I thought you'd like an accurate account of debts unpaid."

Arthur rolled his eyes. "So the emperor gave you permission to disinherit me?"

Edward took a deeper look at him. "You don't seem to mind if that were the case?"

"Is it not?" Arthur shot back lazily.

Between the revelations about his mother's death and Edward's methodically callous manner of speaking seemingly draining all his energy, he was ready to leave and go to bed.

"In a way, you're correct. When you walk out of that door, your surname will no longer be Revan, so in a sense, you've been disinherited."

"What do you mean?" Arthur shot his father a confused look.

"Despite the circumstances of your birth, you are still my son, and as a father, I have a duty to grant you a better life than I have lived. Yet, if you remain as you are, Duke Yor will kill you, and I will have failed in my duty as a father."

Arthur would have been touched had anyone else said those words, yet coming from his father, they lacked the emotions needed to give the words any meaning.

"Have you been informed about the Kingdom of Agelia's attacks?" Edward suddenly asked him.

"Yes, I heard that the capital and six other northern cities were attacked and that the imperial army in Bern took heavy casualties." Arthur replied, regurgitating what he had heard from Foster.

"That's correct, but you don't seem to be aware that all six cities were also a part of the imperial family's personal domain.

"The emperor now finds himself in a precarious position with the more powerful noble factions vying for more power while the imperial family is weak and wounded." Edward paused. "You'll need to pay attention to these things now that you've been made an earl."

"Wait, what?" Arthur blurted out in shock.

"In exchange for the Revan family sponsoring the repairs of the imperial domain, the emperor has agreed to my request and granted you a landed title.

"However, the emperor cannot just grant a landed title in exchange for some gold without the noble factions raising a fuss, especially now that he's been weakened. So, as of now, you will remain an unlanded earl.

"To be granted land, I have arranged for you to lead the Revan levies to war against Bern. There, you'll be accredited with some heroic feats to appease the masses, and in return, the emperor will honor you by granting you the territory of Helagaust at war's end."