Three Gifts and I Choose the Fourth

Gwen stiffy walked to her seat, feeling completely uncomfortable with the set of clothing that No. 12 forcefully dressed her in. Her mobility was limited and every of her movement seemed strained and forced, showing just how inexperienced she was with such strict clothing.

'It's so suffocating! Why can't I just wear something else?'

Gwen could barely breathe in it despite already having a slim figure. If it weren't for the occasion then she would've thought that she was being tortured. Despite her complaints, she obediently followed proper etiquette and sat at the furthest seat from the family patriarch.

Although the table was set with meals that she wouldn't have hesitated to consume, she contained herself, only taking small bites while slowly taking her time. Felix, who was curious to how Gwen would create trouble suddenly had his expression turn to one of shock.

"Gwen's acting… proper? Is the world ending?"

The patriarch, Sora Mascre, spoke in a deep authoritative voice, "Felix, what's wrong?" He observed his child who he had never seen for five years suddenly act like this. He was concerned there might've been some kind of trouble that he was unaware of.

"Father… no, it's nothing."

Sora glanced at Felix and then back at Gwen, somehow connecting the dots in his head, "So, what do you think about the 5th child of the Aria family?" Sora calmly took out a slice of steak on his plate and took a bite.

"She's unique. Extremely so."

"Unique in what way? You have to be more specific, boy." Sora continued eating but his attention was fully placed on the two children that he was eating with. Decades of planning went into this and they were still too far away from their own respective goals. As much as Sora was clearly using his own child, he still had the affectionate gaze of a loving father.

"She's both strong and weak. She's both a beauty and a thug. I can't put my finger on it but all I know is that she's one of a kind."

Sora finished his plate and ordered a servant to bring him more food for the table. He whispered his words yet somehow Felix could clearly hear it, "If it weren't like this then I wouldn't have hesitated to give you what you wanted. It's unfortunate but it's for the greater good. I'm sure Nio explained it to you already."

Felix clenched his fists under the table, unbeknownst to Gwen who was happily eating away at her plate. She thought that this was their own private business, so she didn't pry into it.

"And as I told him, I'll take what's mine, Father." Felix's tone was one that was forged in simmering rage and fury.

Sora gave Felix a warm smile, "I don't doubt it." He patted Felix's head while waiting for the servant to come back. As much as Sora knew how malicious Felix's future actions would be, for as long as Sora and Nio achieved their goals, nothing else mattered anymore. For the sake of humanity, bloodshed, sacrifices, plots, deaths, and even their children were necessary for what was about to come.

Sora coughed and finally placed his focus on Gwen, "Lady Gwendolyn, how have you liked the mansion so far?"

Gwen was caught off guard as Sora asked her, she didn't think that their private talk would end so soon since they were apart for five years, "It's… really gold?" Gwen's first impression of the mansion was that this was something that only the richest rich could afford, even their servant's rooms were plated in gold, real gold. If they weren't rich then who was?

"Really gold? Hahahaha! I've never heard that before. Most guests tell me my home is humble and modest. Hearing something like that brightened up my day. As a token of my sincerity to the Aria family, how about I let you choose what reward you would want?"

Immediately right after, three golden lights appeared from under Sora's cloak, they have seemingly come out of nowhere. Felix gave his father an angry stare as he knew what he was trying to do, by showing her these three gifts, it was essentially asking her what her ambitions were. With how calculative his father was, Felix knew that this wouldn't just end here.

The first gift that was clad in gold was actually a flower, it was seemingly ordinary, yet it held immense vitality. If one were to consume this flower then they would live for an extremely long time, it was essentially an item that cheats the heavens.

The second gift was an Archmage Grimoire, it held Sora's spells and knowledge he had accumulated for his entire life. The sheer density of runes and mana held within it showed just how terrifying Sora's capabilities truly were.

The third and final gift was instead a humble emblem, it showed the Mascre family's insignia yet there was a dark golden glint in it. If one were to have this in their possession, it was essentially the same as owning the entire wealth of the Mascre family.

Sora showed a calm smile, yet his devious mind was already preparing for a trap that would coerce Nio's child to his side. He had held the firm belief that even though Gwen was unaffected by The Corruption, it didn't mean that she didn't have her own desires. He was completely confident that a child-like Gwen would completely fall for his schemes.

Gwen looked at all of these objects and her eyes shined in amazement. Sora didn't misinterpret Gwen's interest in these items as he explained what each of them was, "The first gift lets you live for an extremely long time. The second gift lets you earn the power to fight beyond realms. The third gift lets you buy even the world. What do you want?"

Gwen curiously looked at each of the options. She heavily evaluated what her options were. With how generous Sora was being, it would be impolite to decline.

'The first gift's cool and all but I only have thirty years so I'll skip that. The second gift is really, really tempting but the ruins I'm supposed to be going to later should have another Archmage Tier Grimoire so that's useless. As for the final gift, that's the most useless one out of all. Buy the world? I don't need to buy the world, I want to rule it! So what if I bought it, can I keep it safe? Let's see if I can get something better.'

Gwen closed her eyes and tilted her head as if she was struggling with what option to choose. Seeing this, Sora felt that she was already within his grasp, "Don't worry Lady Gwendolyn, I'll let you take your time on what to choose."

When Gwen heard this she was a little confused so she tried to explain, "Ah, it's not that I can't choose, it's that I don't like any of them. Do you have something else?"

Sora's smile was struck frozen in place, "Hah?"

Felix suddenly burst out in laughter as he broke the tense atmosphere happily. He had never seen his father this flustered before. This made him take another look at Gwen who was completely serious with her words.

Sora caught himself and tried to make sense of the situation, "Then… what would you like?"

"People! I want slaves that'll listen to my every wish! I want people that'll carve me a statue if I asked for it. I want people that'll go to hell and back if I so much as said the word. I want people that'll die for me and wake up the next day if I called for them. I want them!" Gwen's bright smile as she said this somehow made Sora feel uncomfortable, somehow even more unnerving than when he was dealing with Nio's schemes.

"That… could be arranged. But may I ask what for?" For one of the few instances where he was caught off guard, he rubbed his chin trying to figure out what Gwen was truly out for.

Without missing a beat, "World domination!" Gwen's innocent and bright smile contrasted the weight behind her words. Her words even shocked Sora who thought he had already figured Gwen out. This further solidified the rumors behind the Aria family's children, their obsession was crazier than the last.