Ray sat in front of Diana and said that he had managed to make a breakthrough, but there were still many secrets he wasn't ready to share with her. He didn't want her to worry even more. The matrix box had evolved into a system. He felt like he had created something monumental.
Then Ray remembered something very important—something he hadn't managed to ask Diana before he started cultivating. He now wanted to know more details from his mother.
Ray asked, "Mother, I didn't get the chance to ask before, but who exactly will be trying to kill me? Who do we have conflicts with? Will the neighboring country be targeting me as well, like they did with Alice? I mean, I haven't even shown my talent to them."
Diana sighed and replied, "No, it's not the neighboring country. It's a family dispute. It's a long story. So listen carefully. It all started when Robert married Roxanne. Robert truly loved her, and she loved him too—but she had ambitions. She wanted children with Robert. She believed that combining her exceptional genes with his would result in the best possible offspring. As expected, they had a strong, healthy boy with immense talent. Later, they had another child, but he wasn't as gifted as the firstborn.
Barbara, Roxanne's best friend, kept pestering her to help her marry Robert as well. After constant pleading, Roxanne eventually gave in. But she had one condition: if Barbara were to marry Robert, she would have to follow Roxanne's orders. Barbara agreed without hesitation. She married Robert and had a son too, whose talent was comparable to Roxanne's second child.
Roxanne's family name is Montclair, and as you can imagine, that's where some of our conflict with the Montclair family stems from. Why the clash? Well, during Roxanne's third pregnancy and Barbara's second, Robert married Selene without asking for Roxanne's permission. That's when everything spiraled out of control.
Roxanne sent members of the Montclair family to confront Robert. He was furious, feeling insulted that she brought outsiders into their personal affairs. He refused to speak to her for quite a while, and only after she apologized did things return to normal—temporarily.
Things turned chaotic. After Roxanne gave birth, Barbara also gave birth again. Roxanne had a daughter, who later became famous as an alchemist—another star in the Montclair family. Barbara's second son also rose to prominence, becoming well-known within the Blackstone family—Barbara's maiden family.
But after their respective births, Roxanne and Barbara started bullying Selene. Sometimes the bullying was verbal. As you know, Selene is a soft-hearted person who couldn't defend herself with words. She endured everything quietly.
But things escalated when Robert's sixth child—Selene's son—was born. For some unknown reason, that child displayed exceptional talent, possibly rivaling or even surpassing Roxanne's firstborn. Roxanne immediately saw him as a threat.
That's when she crossed the line. She attempted to poison Selene's son when he was only two years old. Fortunately, Selene saw through the attempt and reported it to Robert. He began investigating but couldn't find any evidence.
However, the danger didn't end there. An assassination attempt was made on Selene's son. But Selene was prepared this time—she had protected her child with talismans. The assassin was killed. From that point onward, Selene left the mansion and placed her son under the protection of her father.
Although the assassination attempts declined after that, the bullying didn't stop. Selene continued to complain to Robert. But Robert said he couldn't do anything—Roxanne's father was a Duke, and Robert, being only a Marquess at the time, had neither the political nor the martial strength to oppose him. To protect Selene, Robert thought about taking a fourth wife.
Now, I had never been interested in getting married. I was the strongest formation master of my generation in my father's shop. I could even defeat many elders. When I reached marriageable age, my father and mother tried to arrange blind dates. I had one condition for all suitors—they had to beat me in combat when I used formations. Everyone lost—including your father.
But your father was persistent. He came once a month, sometimes twice, trying again and again, only to lose every time. Finally, one day, I gave him a new challenge: if he could just touch me, he would win. That idiot lost badly that day too. But then I deactivated my formation to check on him—and that's when he stood up and grabbed my hand. That day, I accepted my loss and married him, since he managed to touch me.
After marrying Robert, I had to face the consequences. Roxanne didn't just target Selene—she came after me as well. We had a massive fight. It started with words but escalated into a brawl—I punched her in the face. I had the upper hand, but she was formidable in martial arts. I used formations; she used pills. We ended up at a stalemate. Barbara joined in on Roxanne's side, and Selene backed me up. Eventually, Robert had to intervene and stop the battle.
Every time one side does something wrong, conflict arises. But what I fear most is that they will start targeting you, Ray."
Diana finished telling her long and detailed account of the family's history and current situation.
Ray thought about it for a moment, then asked, "So why are you playing the goody two-shoes? Why aren't you fighting back? If they're trying to kill your child, why aren't you doing the same? Do you not want to stoop to their level? Fine, but what will you do when your child actually dies? I think you should retaliate—tit for tat. If they target your child, you should target theirs. That way, it balances out, and you can force a peace treaty on them.
"Let the children fight among themselves—on equal terms, of course. Iron stage should fight iron stage. Maybe a gap of 3 to 5 levels at most. That way, your child can grow up in peace. And you do not have to worry every single minute."
Diana, seeing Ray's logic—that it was for her son's future—realized she could no longer afford to be "nice." Being nice has its limits. She had been focused so much on defending Ray that she forgot the necessity of attacking too. Otherwise, they would continue attacking while she only defended. This was the same passive approach Selene had taken. But it was time to change tactics.
Diana looked at Ray and said, "Sometimes, I really do forget that you're reincarnated. Anyway, they targeted Angelina yesterday, after we left. I just got informed by Selene. I think you'll be next."
"So, what do you plan to do?" Ray asked.
"I'm going to do exactly what they've done to Selene's children," Diana replied. "I'll start by targeting Roxanne's oldest son."
"No," Ray said. "The first to third children of the first duchess will be heavily guarded. I think your best target is the fifth child—Reggie. He hasn't shown any exceptional talent yet. If you target him and put him in a near-death situation, I think that'll force a stalemate. Once you have the upper hand, you can negotiate a deal with them, Mother."
"Alright, we'll go with that," Diana agreed. "I'll talk with Selene too. She needs to get involved. I think she's also at the breaking point."