After scanning the information, he focused on the [Pack Members] section. Immediately, a smaller window appeared in front of him.
[Pack Members: 1]
Selene Verde (Human)
Age: 31
Cultivation: None
Bloodline: None
[Current Status: Unconscious, Poisoned, Cursed, Low Vitality, Slowly Recovering.]
Vesper let out a sigh of relief when he saw Slowly Recovering written in her current status. Though he already felt this from their bond, the system's confirmation put him at ease.
However, then his eyes narrowed, a cold glow diffusing from them.
'Poisoned and cursed?'
He knew Vincent had either poisoned or cursed the roots, but not both because one of them was the cause of her month old sickness.
He didn't need to think too much about who might have done it because Selene didn't have any enmity with anyone.
So, the only reason someone wanted to harm her was to harm them, the brothers. If Selene was no longer looking after them, they would eventually starve and die.
As for exactly who could have done it, he couldn't be too sure because there were many in the family who seemed to dislike their very existence—Ryder, Lucel, their mothers, and even Rheador, their father, could be the culprit.
'This family is too messed up.' He took a deep breath. If he could, he would've taken Alric and Selene and left the Ironhart house—unfortunately, he could not.
Why?
Well, it wasn't just because he knew they wouldn't be able to survive without any money and the Ironhart family's protection; it was mainly because Rheador wouldn't let them live outside and besmirch the Ironhart name.
'The only way to leave this family without worrying about our survival or Rheador sending people to kill us off is to become stronger than him.' He thought, clenching his fists.
Minutes ticked by, and soon an hour passed.
Around the halfway mark, Selene's violent twitching began to ease, her convulsions softening into occasional trembles.
By the end of the hour, she lay still.
Vesper knelt beside the bed and gently stroked her face with his fingers, his eyes gentle and filled with a heartache.
"You'll soon get better, Selene. Don't worry." He murmured,
Her face was still pale white, but a hint of warmth had returned to her hollow cheeks now. There were still nine-tenths of the roots still left, enough for nine more bowls.
'Hopefully, they will help her recover enough to regain consciousness.' He thought before standing up. Then, leaning down, he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead and left the room—he needed to rest a little too.
Alric was sound asleep when he entered the room. Since one was the training room—mostly unused because none of them were a mage or knight—and the second was Selene's room, the brothers shared the last room.
After tucking him in properly, he lay in his small wooden bed and soon drifted off to sleep.
…
"...Big Brother. Wake up, Big Brother."
Suddenly, Alric's slightly frantic voice and shaking of his shoulder woke him up.
"What is it, Ricky?" He muttered sleepily, jerking his shoulder so Alric would stop shaking him.
"Wake up, Big Brother. It's already evening. You need to give Aunt Selene her medicine, and…" Alric said before adding in a quiet and fearful tone, "...Father has summoned you."
Vesper narrowed his eyes but wasn't too surprised.
After all, even if Adam deserved death for hitting Alric, it would be the Disciplinary Hall that would have executed him. By beheading him himself, he had broken one or two family rules.
He left the bed a short while later and washed his face before entering the kitchen. He took his time to ground some of the roots into powder and then mix it into a bowl of warm water.
Then he and Alric went to Selene's room to feed her the concoction.
Alric, afraid that their father would get angry at Vesper for coming late, said he would feed it to Selene and that he should go, but Vesper firmly rejected his considerate proposal because he was still a kid and would have a hard time feeding her.
Of course, the fact that he hated Rhaedor and felt good making him wait was also a reason. If it was the original Vesper, despite hating him more than him, he wouldn't have done the same because he feared that unfeeling tyrant.
It took him almost half an hour to feed her the bowl.
"Now, go, big brother." Alric nervously said,
"Yeah, I'm going. You can accompany her while I'm gone, but don't panic if she once again has seizures, alright?"
"I understand." Alric nodded.
Vesper left the room, cleaned the bowl in the kitchen, and went into his room to wear clean clothes.
…
"Oh?"
When he opened the door, he saw a man dressed in reddish-black armor and carrying a sheathed sword on his left hip.
"I hope I didn't make you wait too long, Sir Knight." Vesper said, looking apologetic.
Knight stared at him indifferently as if assessing him. Then, he harrumphed in displeasure, turned around, and walked out of the mansion.
Vesper followed after him with his hands behind his back.
The Knight looked back at him. When he saw how calm he was, a flicker of surprise flashed in his eyes which turned into a sneer a moment later.
Then, suddenly, he picked up the pace.
Vesper raised his brows seeing this and then shook his head. 'How childish!'
"Hm?"
After just a few moments, the Knight stopped in his tracks, a heavy frown marring his face as he looked back and saw Vesper walking at a leisurely pace instead of following closely after him like he was supposed to.
"What do you think you are doing, Third Young Lord?" He coldly asked, looking down at him.
Vesper shrugged, "I'm going to meet my father."
The Knight stared at him for a few moments before silently turning around and walking away, at a normal pace this time.
A few minutes later, they arrived in front of the main mansion of the Ironhart family, where Rhaedor resided with his wives.
"Wait here." The Knight told him before rushing in.
He returned a short while later and led him inside the mansion, to the main hall where Rhaedor—a stern and imposing-looking man in his early forties, dressed in red, luxurious robes befitting someone of his stature—was sitting at the main seat on a slightly elevated platform, his long brownish-red hair naturally flowing down his wide shoulders.
The moment he entered the hall, their gazes met, and he immediately felt as if he was facing an extremely dangerous, ferocious beast.
'Such strong presence!'
He secretly gulped his saliva and looked away from him as naturally as he could. Then, he swept his gaze across the hall and took note of other people, who were looking at him with varied expressions on their faces.