The State of Cyrus (2)

After a depressing chat with Jeanne and Jay, Lilia stayed at the table while Lily watched the boiling pots. Ryan and the rest of the family were also at home, but the silence that filled the house seemed to contradict that truth.

"Lily, would you think less of me if I said that I wished Shui was here? Not to save us, just to give us hope that we could make it past this."

"How could I when I'm not any better? Besides, I'm sure he would be glad that his presence can offer you piece of mind."

"Maybe so, but I can't forgive myself. Even though his mother entrusted him to me, he's always been the one saving our family. I wonder if I've ever been a proper guardian for him."

"Don't say that. Shui once told me how much he appreciated you for raising him, about how he thinks of you as his second mother. I'm sure he wouldn't want to hear such words from you."

"...Thank you."

"I didn't do anything but, you're welcome."

For a period, the two shared a feeling of peace, but that time ended when Lily looked towards the entrance with a solemn expression and Lilia followed suit. Lily started moving towards the door while taking off her apron, but before she was finished Ryan came out from the cultivation room.

"Stay inside. I'll go."

Without waiting for a response, he walked past them and left the house. By now, Ryan was stronger than her if she didn't use her resonance series artifact or borrow power from Shui, so Jeanne wasn't worried about letting him go.

'Based on the way they're acting I doubt it's an enemy, but I still have a bad feeling about this.'

Waiting outside the house was a middle-aged man with a roughly-trimmed beard. He didn't seem to have come with any malice, but Ryan couldn't let his guard down as this man was in late Soul Realm.

"What business do you have with us?"

The man didn't answer, he only stared at Ryan for a minute before reaching inside his coat and taking out a letter sealed with a familiar crest. The moment he noticed this crest, Ryan reached for the sword by his waist, but even then the man showed no intent to fight.

"This is a message from my master. He says that he won't be able to protect your family for much longer."

"What?!"

Shocked by what he just heard, with one hand still on his sword Ryan quickly got closer and took the letter from the man, but he didn't open it just yet.

He watched as the man bowed and then left before opening the letter.

'!'

The moment he read the contents of the letter, Ryan rushed back into the house with this news with a grave expression.

The common folk weren't the only ones who were suppressed by the invaders, in fact, it was those who were originally in power that felt their oppression the most. One of the most obvious examples of that was the fact that the mayor, Henry, was imprisoned. It would have made more sense if they simply killed him, but even though he was alive none of the citizens believed he could save them. After all, they were there to witness the day the invaders took over.

Their eyes clearly saw the mayor be completely defeated by one of the three elders that represented them. This was the natural result considering the gap between their cultivations, but knowing the result and witnessing it was different. Since they had seen it for themselves, no one had any hope that Henry would be able to change this situation.

The influential figures thought the same, so they quickly bent their knees and became sycophants for the new rulers. While some who were loyal to the mayor weren't like this, such people were quickly replaced. Just like how the headmaster of the martial academy was killed and replaced by deputy headmaster Rizer.

The Wright family also couldn't escape from this fate. Though their connections went as far as the capital, the invaders weren't afraid of such a distant influence due to their own backers. Therefore the old head, Anders, was decisive in siding with them, even helping with the execution of any rebels or opposition. The current head, Jacob, didn't say anything though he saw this as his father stealing what should be his job, but when he heard the latest plan of his father that changed.

From a logical point of view, Jacob didn't see anything wrong with his father's plan. Though it would end up angering that person, surely he wouldn't be able to defeat the invaders, but as if a tightly locked box had been opened, Jacob suddenly discovered a strong repulsion to the idea.

He didn't openly show this dissatisfaction, instead he took his time to think about why he felt this way and came to a reasonable conclusion.

'He did this to me.'

The original promise had been for him to take care of his father, but it seemed he had been tricked to take up another task. However, he didn't feel like he had been tricked. If he hadn't compared his current thoughts to his previous ones it would seem completely natural to him. Furthermore, even though he was sure that he did this to him, he couldn't find the urge to be rebellious.

'If it was my past self he would never take this risk, but it's something I've wanted to do for so long. At least now I'll finally be able to make an attempt.'

It was then that Jacob finally made his resolve to kill his father. Of course he didn't walk up to his room with a knife, Jacob took his time orchestrating the perfect death for his father while subtly crushing his plan to earn favour from the invader. As Jacob's plan progressed, he felt more and more confident in its success. Finally, he would be free of his father's shadow. However, the day before that letter was sent to Ryan, he was called to his father's room.

"So, how's your plan going? Ready to kill me yet?"

"..."

Despite how his world shook at his father's question, Jacob didn't show it on his face, but his lack of a response was enough.

"You know, I wondered when you would decide to kill me, but I must admit I didn't expect a coward like you to make an attempt in a time like this. Tell me, what gave you the final push?"

Before he answered, Jacob hastily tried to figure out how Anders found out about his plan before stopping on the most obvious method.

'I missed one of his spies.'

It was a fatal mistake but one that he didn't have time to regret or fix.

"I can't allow you to sell my little cousin for favour."

Anders wore a smile that made it look like he knew everything, but he raised an eyebrow at Jacob's answer.

"Hmm? What garbage are you talking about? There's no way you of all people care that much about your cousin's child."

"If you think I'm lying then why do you look so surprised?"

"...Odd, unless you've suddenly been blessed by the god of tricks there's no way I shouldn't be able to see through your lies. But, I can't believe that reason of yours either."

"That's your problem, not mine."

"Hmph, fine then. I'll look deeper into that answer while I have you locked up in the basement."

Anders then raised his hands to snap his fingers, but Jacob gave him a cold look.

Before his two fingers could make contact, Anders felt a surge of fluid rising up his throat. When he spit it out it was black, but he was sure that this was his own blood.

"What..."

"You're the one who forced me to do this, father."

Jacob's original plan was to slowing weaken his father by using faint traces of poison around the house, but since he was pushed this far he chose a more drastic method. The moment he entered the room, he had unsealed a bottle of gaseous poison that quickly filled the room. Naturally he had already taken the antidote so all he had to do was wait for his old man to croak. Still, when he looked at the wide-eyed corpse before him, he felt neither joy nor relief.

'So this is where my journey ends, huh?'