LOGINOscar crossed the distance to Arthur's coffin on his knees. His eyes were red, and tears pressed at the back of them, but he refused to let them fall. He placed both hands on the glass coffin."Father, I'm sorry. I couldn't keep the promise I made to you." His voice came out hoarse and flat. He had promised Arthur that he would look after the sisters, and for years he had honored that promise every single day.What Arthur had apparently forgotten was to tell the sisters to look after him in return.He was a man and more than capable of taking care of himself. But men weren't made of stone. A man still had feelings, and he couldn't force himself to feel grateful toward the people who had driven him out."My plan was to wait until I had helped Amara reach the very top of Silverton. Then I would have told her everything."She had spent too long standing at the bottom. If I had told her who I was before that, she probably wouldn't have understood what Draconox meant. She would have
The joy of helping someone felt far better than the fleeting sense of superiority that came from tearing them down. Jason had always known that.But kindness carried no value on the streets. The moment you stopped being hard, people assumed you were weak.He had come to the Chamberlain family for one reason: money.He wanted to inherit the family fortune and use it to grind beneath his heel every person who had ever looked down on him or made him bleed.Sadly, that hope was gone. The family his godfather had sent him to fleece had produced a true lion: the Archon of the Draconox Order.Was there any future left for the Chamberlains after today?He had swallowed humiliation and bided his time in this house, all for the inheritance. Now that inheritance had been rendered worthless.Jason had reached his limit. "Enough."He drove his foot into Amara's side, sending her stumbling backward.Then he broke through the circle of sisters and put distance between himself and all of them
Nobody had seen this coming. At the final moment of the ceremony, Jason refused. He didn't want to be a Chamberlain.When he first refused the blood verification, people could at least understand the reasoning. Someone had effectively held a weapon to his head and told him the test would determine whether he lived or died.Anyone would have hesitated. Even a man who knew his blood was genuine would think twice before taking a gamble with stakes that high.But what Jason was doing now made no sense to anyone watching. The test had already come back clean. He was Arthur Chamberlain's son.He had been verified, so all he had to do was accept the name and step into it. Yet he was refusing.He stood before the crowd and told them that returning to the family had been Amara's idea from the very beginning."He's not stupid. He knows that after today, the Chamberlain family is headed straight for the bottom. Joining them now gets him nothing.""Interesting move. At this particular momen
"He had that extraordinary status all along, and he never told us. Doesn't that mean he never considered us family in the first place? I stand by what we did. I don't regret driving him out."The sisters gathered around Amara, their words giving her something to cling to."None of this matters now. Let's go back out. Jason's verification results should be ready,"Amara said.She stepped outside again. The sky had been overcast all morning, but a few shafts of sunlight had finally broken through.Amara stood in the light and felt nothing but cold.She looked toward Oscar. He still occupied the seat of honor.Stanley stood before him with a document in hand, pointing out various details with unmistakable deference.The people Oscar had brought remained silent. Meanwhile, the guests had been talking over one another for quite some time."What's going on? Are the results out? Is Jason really a Chamberlain or not?""Does it even matter at this point? Either way, there's no good outc
As Oscar moved through Clara's room, identifying each item and explaining where it had come from, the sisters followed behind him and checked for themselves.They had their own ways of verifying his claims. After a few minutes, they exchanged glances. A heavy weight had settled in each of their chests.What was life? Reaching great heights, achieving something lasting, contributing to the country and society?Yes, all of that mattered, but not everyone could attain those heights. An ordinary person who kept a household running, cared for their parents, raised their children well, and treated others with kindness had already succeeded. That, too, was a life well lived.If you wanted to find meaning in life, you had to begin by making life itself meaningful. A meal, an afternoon in the sun, a cup of coffee, a book. Most of the time, the meaning looked exactly like that.The sisters had lived too far removed from those things. They had started from a privileged position. From birth,
Diana looked up at Oscar, disbelief written across her face. "You used your blood as the catalyst for these too?"She had known about the blood-based medicine. She had simply never dared mention it to Amara, especially given how firmly the latter had always shut down any discussion about Oscar.Amara's brow furrowed. "What do you mean, used blood too? Diana, explain that."She had just dismissed the entire idea as nonsense, and now Diana was contradicting her outright. She could dismiss Oscar's words, but not Diana's. Diana held a medical degree from a reputable institution."It's a documented approach in heretic medicine. Records describe it as a treatment for wasting conditions, skin deterioration, and fever following animal bites, using fresh blood while it is still warm. But not just anyone's blood will work. It requires a very specific constitution."Modern medicine has advanced the concept further. Human serum albumin derived from blood is now used widely to treat a range of
Amara clung to those words like a lifeline. "Thank you, Mr. Draxler."The hope that had nearly slipped away returned. Arthur was not that kind of man. She had always believed that.She looked at Stanley, the plea in her eyes unmistakable. 'Help me.'Under ordinary circumstances, she never would h
The room fell silent as he searched. Even Yelena lowered her head and waited. She had been willing to interrupt Amara, but she had no intention of testing Stanley's patience.A moment passed.Stanley looked up and met Amara's gaze. His eyes were gentle.But Amara saw regret in them, and her stoma
"Yelena, I'm warning you. Watch what you say. My family's Dracobsidian Token was earned through years of my father's honest contributions to the Chamberlain Group's standing. Everything our family owns was obtained legitimately. Keep your slander to yourself."Amara had regained her footing after S
"You will need to explain where this token came from. Otherwise, this is no longer a question of whether the token is genuine. It becomes a matter for the Draconox Order to investigate whether the Chamberlains came into possession of Draconox Order property through unauthorized means," Stanley warne







