Vanessa blinked, mildly surprised by the request. She hesitated for a moment, then replied carefully, "I can pass your request to the Lord. But whether it remains a secret or not… that's for him to decide."
Qin Wei nodded in understanding. "Fair enough."
*Ding! You completed the Quest. You received 500 credits as a reward.
*Ding! Vanessa was assigned as your mentor. Your training speed increases by 100% when trained by Vanessa.
With a short bow, Vanessa turned and left the room in swift strides, as if she couldn't wait to report. The door clicked softly behind her.
Once her presence faded, Qin Wei's expression darkened. His fingers clenched into a fist. "She was more cautious than I expected, but then again, she is a battle maid who serves my father-in-law, after all. She wouldn't be able to make any decisions on her own. Let's hope for the best," he muttered to himself.
As long as this plan succeeds, he could use this excuse for his ocular powers and the skills he acquired from the library, like he was using the absorbed mana, mimicking techniques through 'mysterious means', then he also will have an excuse when he copies their techniques with his Heaven's Eye.
But to complete this plan, it is crucial that not many people know this, or else, with various explanations from them, unnecessary rumors will spread, and he couldn't put up a lie anymore. But in this way, Qin Wei will have someone who could vouch for him later on, when his abilities were revealed to the world.
Taking a deep breath, he averted his gaze toward the window, where the sun dipped low beyond the tiled rooftops of the House Griffin estate.
That evening, surprisingly, dinner had passed smoothly for Qin Wei. His father-in-law didn't bring up his Mana mimicking technique or the fight with the brother-in-law at all. So, that means the matter is resolved, atleast for now. Or so Qin Wei thought.
Now, with the evening deepening into night, he sat alone in the House Griffin's study room, surrounded by shelves of neatly arranged scrolls and tomes. He wasn't bothered that he hadn't seen his wife all day.
Even during dinner, she was absent as a part of the tradition of the House Griffin, which doesn't allow husband and wife to see each other for three days after their wedding night. He had questions to ask her, especially about the second personality and her drunken confession. But he could only accept the family traditions and bear with them.
At present, a single candle flickered beside him, casting a wavering light on the open book in his lap. The cover bore the name Reylond Stormwing, a famous historian or philosopher, perhaps; he wasn't sure.
As the body's former owner showed little interest in scholarly pursuits, like Court etiquette, dynastic politics, military formations, and the noble class structure, all of it had been meaningless to him. Qin Wei had to learn all the details in order to understand the world.
He flipped another page, brows furrowing slightly as the dense script began detailing the origins of the empire.
For many centuries, the entire world was ruled by four forces. One, the demons of Asteroth. Two, the Elves of Sasa Allanor. Three, The Dwarves of Grumbarak. And finally, four, the Great Empire of Arcana.
Each force occupied a part of the continent; The northern icelands were inhabited by demons, and the eastern mountains were inhabited by dwarves. The western forests were inhabited by the elves. And the remaining 65% of the land, from the north-central plains to the southern grasslands, from east-central mountains to west-central forests, everything else is inhabited by humans.
The Empire of Arcana had seen stability for many centuries with the support of 12 Great Houses.
And then in the Year 1167, a Great Civil war emerged in the Empire of Arcana because of the assassination of the Emperor. Lasting for more than five decades, it gave birth to three empires and five independent kingdoms.
In the north, the Empire of Leon was founded by House Panther, an offshoot branch of the Imperial family. It held the highest amount of land.
In the south, the Empire of Valoria was founded by House Sunfire. It is the smallest Empire but has the most arable land.
And in the center, the Elysia Empire was founded by the House Dragon by the Current Emperor's father, Emperor Icarus Dragon, with the support of four of the twelve Great Houses, i.e., House Phoenix, Griffin, Raven, and Moonstone. With five great houses supporting each other, the Elysia Empire could be considered the strongest force in mankind, but over the past few decades, House Moonstone has declined, and now House Phoenix has been destroyed.
"Elysia is filled with almost every type of land and seems to be in the most dangerous, connected to every force except for the demons… that means the threat is on all sides..." Qin Wei muttered the words under his breath as he read, trying to commit them to memory.
And then, he went into Elysia's geography.
Elysia's vast domain was divided into the Imperial City at its heart and nine major states/duchies that formed the empire's political backbone: Duchy of Dunleigh, Calvethorn, Eldralith, Grimholt, Dawnmere, Emberfall, Isenwyn, Korrath, and Veymar.
Each region was governed by local lords or noble clans under the watchful eye of the emperor.
Beyond the structure of states, there existed three independent free cities, Ashenford, Leafway, and Llyne, each ruled by a Great House with near-autonomous authority. Only House Raven continued to rule a duchy.
Inside these cities, the great houses could pass the laws as they fit, but every year, the clans had to pay 30% of the tax they collected to the imperial palace.
"Hmm… no wonder that damn bastard cousin-in-law of mine acted that way toward me, disregarding the fact that I was also the nephew of the Emperor. House Griffin can just abolish their existing laws and introduce new laws as they wish without even taking permission from Uncle."
Qin Wei flipped another page of the hefty tome in his lap.
His gaze lingered at the top of the page where the heading read: "The Power Structure of Elysia", a breakdown of nobles, military authorities, and governing sects.
He had just begun to skim the opening lines when the soft creak of the door interrupted him.
Vanessa stepped into the study with the same composed grace she always did.
"Master Icarus," she greeted him with a bow.
Qin Wei gave a casual nod, not bothering to rise. His eyes were still scanning the page. "Yes?"
Vanessa stood near the desk, taking out a letter from her sleeves. She handed it to him. "It's from Lady Thea."
Qin Wei blinked. "My wife?"
He curiously took the letter and opened it. "Dear Husband, I apologize for not being able to be there by the time you woke up earlier today. I believe you have many questions regarding what happened on our wedding night. Truth to be told, I have no memories of what happened when Zhinu took over me, but based on her personality, I could guess that she tried to kill you. I thank the gods that nothing has happened to you. I'm also extremely guilty about not telling the truth to you. As for other questions in your mind, I will answer you in person, but at a later date, when we leave for our new home. Until then, please act as if nothing has happened. Zhinu is a secret that only a few elders of the clan were aware of, apart from Vanessa.
And that wedding night... it is quite embarrassing to me as well, behaving shamelessly like that in a drunken state, but I hope you don't take me as such a person. And I request you not to speak of it to anyone else."
Qin Wei turned the page.
"Regarding the divorce agreement that the Husband requested prior to marriage, I can no longer be able to do that as I lost the right to sign any divorce as we consummated our marriage. And because the husband is a matrilocal, the husband also doesn't hold the rights to initiate either. Only the Lord, my father, has the right to dismiss our marriage with both of our consents. I apologize once again for taking away that choice from you, but I hope we won't come to that situation, as I will try to maintain a long-lasting, peaceful marriage.
I also wanted to talk about my cousin. I heard what happened from Father. I wish to tell Husband that you did the right thing. But you won't have to worry about him. Once we shift to our new home, everything will be alright. You will have battle maids to protect you every day and night, even in my absence.
There are so many things I wish to write and talk to you in person, but I have to stay away for the next two days, and I don't think I will be able to speak to you about so many things in person. Can't believe I miss you already. Anyway, I will stop here and wait for our reunion again.
Regards, Your wife, Thea."
Qin Wei stared at her, stunned for a moment. After last night, he has already accepted her as his wife and decided to commit himself to the marriage, but there was still this 10% doubt in his head that whatever she spoke to him, and whatever happened between them, happened under the influence of alcohol. The letter reduced that doubt to 1% but not zero, yet, which only happens when he talks to her in person. Of course, he still has worries about Zhinu but since Thea promised him that she will tell him everything, he believes that she will do her best to sort out the issue, too.
As he was filled with a myriad of thoughts of how to respond to that letter, Vanessa pulled out a small, orb-like object.
She placed it gently on the desk in front of him, taking him by surprise.
"Hmm?"
"Master Icarus, Lady Thea sent this for you. This is the Black Phoenix's Tear," she said. "It can heal internal injuries of even a ninth-ranked expert. If your meridians are damaged or blocked, there's a chance, a slim one, thirty percent at best, that it might repair them. You might even be able to cultivate your mana like everyone, if you're fortunate."
Qin Wei looked down at the orb, then back up at her.
Vanessa didn't offer any explanations after that. She simply bowed and turned, walking out, leaving Qin Wei alone.
Qin Wei sat still for a long moment, eyes seemingly fixed on Vanessa's back as she left the study, but in truth, his attention was on the holographic screen, floating before him, with a new notification.
[Trade Request: Exchange "Black Phoenix Tears" for 8,000 Credits? Accept / Decline]
"This..."