ALL NOVEL Chapter 40: Imposing Riders
Swoosh!
A bright light engulfed Mary for a few seconds, and when it vanished, a tall, beautiful, pale-skinned woman with long gray hair that reached her back appeared. She wore a long-sleeved black gown and boots.
Looking at the gray-haired woman who had similar golden eyes, both of which were prominent traits of an Ashbourne, Asher faltered.
"You…!"
Mary took a deep breath and tried closing the gap to explain what the system made her know, but Asher was still reeling in shock that he pointed at her. "Stop."
Mary was no doubt a bastard child of his father, but the man lied to his son and even made his stepsister his personal maid, all because she wasn't a true Ashbourne.
Ture Ashbournes had gray hair and golden eyes. While Mary had a bright, vigorous golden pair of enchanting eyes, Asher had dull, cold, and unreadable ones that somehow suited his pale skin, making him seem like a man with a dark past.
"My Lord, I can-"
"Lord?" He spat and stormed off.
Mary quickly followed after him, pangs of fear slamming the walls of her heart. A part of her wanted Asher to welcome her, but the other part knew that was just a fairy tale. Asher was never close to any of his siblings, and to make it worse for her, this reveal destroyed his childhood knowledge.
All he knew was ripped apart in a mere second.
"Write to Kelvin. I want to see him immediately!"
At the end, Asher struggled to hold back his anger, but the man he spoke to could feel it.
Boom!
The doors to the sacred hall were pushed open by Asher alone, and he walked into the hall. Sirius felt his emotions and growled at Mary, forcing her to halt at the door.
It walked toward her with increasing growls, causing Mary to take steps backward.
"Asher, I didn't know!"
The moment she yelled that, Asher paused. 'Leave her.'
He ordered Sirius through their mind link.
Sirius turned away from Mary, allowing her to enter the hall.
She went on one knee and bowed.
"Kelvin knew nothing about this."
When there was no response, she raised her head and saw Asher staring at her with hollow eyes.
After a short while, Kelvin entered the hall with Alex, and upon seeing the gray-haired woman on one knee, their eyes went wide.
"Kelvin, do you know who she is?"
"Mary."
Kelvin's instant response made Asher chuckle softly. He knew Kelvin couldn't betray him or do anything to harm him because his loyalty was at its peak, but he still felt angry that he had been sending his sister and having her cook for him while she starved.
His anger stemmed from the pain he felt.
"My Lord, back then your father just returned from an expedition that took him four years. It was the reason why he wasn't present when you were born, and when he arrived, I saw a three-year-old girl in his arms. Although she didn't have the Ashbourne traits, I suspected she was his daughter, but after making her your personal maid and years passed, I decided to let it go."
Asher stood up.
"From today…"
Kelvin looked from the corner of his eyes and saw Asher's guards already had their hands on their sword hilts, including Alex!
"... You cease to be my butler and shall become my Grand Advisor!"
The tension in the air just vanished in a way that baffled everyone.
However, there was turmoil inside Kelvin.
"Mary Ashbourne, I will grant you a-"
"I don't want anything. I just want to keep taking care of you."
Asher cocked a brow.
"That's not the place of an Ashbourne. You'll ride with me to Silverleaf Village tomorrow."
He stood up, patted her shoulder with a small smile, and left without another word.
Kelvin exhaled as he watched Alex follow Asher.
"We need to talk."
Later that day, Asher found himself on his bed looking at the chandelier. 'I can't believe the man I call my father goes about producing children on a whim. I don't see why his death atop a woman is shocking.'
He slept off after a while.
By the time he woke up, the sun was going down.
Creak!
The door opened.
Asher's eyes narrowed. He reached out for his sword, and as he turned, he saw Mary with a tray. On the tray was a steaming cup of hot milk.
"How did you know what I wanted?"
He took the cup.
Mary smiled. She was more afraid Asher would question her for entering without knocking.
"You do know that both the Ashbourne males and females were warriors."
"I don't want to swing swords and get all sweaty."
Asher turned his head toward her.
"But you get sweaty cleaning."
"That's different."
Asher chuckled.
"Asher, I want to stay in Nineveh." She said it softly.
"Do you think I'm driving you away from my sight?" He turned to face her.
Mary nodded.
"Well, I was, but it will be safer for you here. However, you're still coming with me. The people need to know their Lord has an elder sister."
[Name: Mary Ashbourne
Age: 23
Rank: Iron
Talent: Mythical Eagle Wings (B)
Job: None
Loyalty: 95]
[Talent description: With this active talent, the individual can summon a pair of golden-brown eagle wings, which would be able to aid flight and also act as a shield].
"Have you seen your talent?"
Mary nodded.
Swoosh!
Wings sprouted out of her back, and she flapped them softly. Asher felt a gentle breeze caressing his face.
"Have you tried to fly?"
Mary shook her head.
When she saw Asher look toward his window, fear gripped her.
Fortunately for her, someone knocked on the door.
Knock! Knock!
"Lord Asher, the moon is out. It's time to train."
It was Alex.
...
Several kilometers away from the stronghold of Nineveh, the sounds of neighing horses could be heard. A group of 10 riders on muscular pitch-black horses stopped before the ruins of the Raging Bear tribe.
They all wore hats that looked similar to strawhats, and their armor was made of different parts of several beasts.
All 10 of them looked imposing.
"Wasn't there a tribe here a year ago?" The one that seemed to be their leader asked with a gruff tone.