As a spouse who was always by Calian's side, Wolvin naturally noticed the emotional turmoil brewing within his husband. He intimately knew the physical condition of the person he loved the most.
The fact that Calian was born without a mana core had become a massive wall, one that constantly hindered him whenever he was faced with magical tools that required a flow of mana to activate.
The Ring of Trust was one of them. The potential for absolute protection offered by the ring had to collide with an unchangeable reality.
Wolvin refused to let Calian sink any further into the abyss of his disappointment. With a very natural and calm movement, the Night Wolf youth slid his right hand across the surface of the sofa. He touched the back of his husband's left hand, held it tightly, and then gently stroked it with his thumb.
"I know exactly what you are thinking right now, Darling." Wolvin whispered in a very soft voice, meant only for his husband to hear. "Trust me... everything will be just fine."
The warm touch and soothing words coming from Wolvin's mouth were like a clear spring quenching the flames of frustration in Calian's chest. His heart melted. He was truly touched by his spouse's sensitivity and understanding.
Deep down, Calian desperately wanted to pull Wolvin into his embrace just to calm his once-chaotic mind. However, their current situation simply did not allow for such a display of physical affection.
Instead, the only thing Calian could do was turn his left palm over and return his spouse's grasp tightly, as if channeling the entire burden of his thoughts through that hold.
Feeling his husband's returning grasp, Wolvin slowly carved a gentle smile, a smile that always managed to be a calming anchor for Calian whenever the person he loved so deeply was struck by profound anxiety, sorrow, disappointment, exhaustion, or frustration.
And the result was undeniable. Calian successfully regained his rational composure after being briefly battered by a wave of helplessness.
...
The atmosphere inside Eralio's private room slowly returned to normal. Yet, amidst that tranquil situation, an idea suddenly sparked and crossed Wolvin's mind. His eyes glanced at the gold ring fitting perfectly on the ring finger of his left hand.
These rings are connected to one another. Wolvin analyzed inwardly. If my husband cannot use his because he has no mana... can't I use mine?
He intended to use the wedding ring worn on his ring finger. His goal was singular: he wanted to try summoning his mother-in-law to come to the place where he currently was.
If my mother-in-law is here, perhaps she can help to arrest and prosecute the remaining syndicate members involved in the slave trade in this city. Wolvin pondered everything that could happen with the Emperor's assistance. She can also freely and safely liberate the people still bound by those anti-magic and mana handcuffs, without us having to worry about their safety when we leave later.
Wolvin turned to Calian, intending to ask for his husband's approval and opinion regarding what he had just planned.
"Darling?" Wolvin called out in a soft yet serious tone. "May I use our wedding ring to summon your mother here?"
It was not only Calian whose eyes widened slightly; Eralio and Arlen, sitting not far from them, also jolted in surprise. They could hardly believe the question that had just come out of Wolvin's mouth.
"Why would you summon my mother here, Wolvin?" Calian asked, requesting a more detailed reason from his spouse.
"To arrest and prosecute all those involved in the slave-trading syndicate in this city, of course!" the Night Wolf youth answered bluntly. "If they are all caught and placed under your mother's supervision, we no longer need to worry about the safety of the people living in this city. Especially the safety of the captives currently shackled by those anti-magic and mana handcuffs."
The reasoning Wolvin had just laid out sounded incredibly sensible to Calian. He quickly validated his spouse's argument. The security and safety of the people they had saved was a priority that could not be ignored.
Wolvin is right! Calian thought, agreeing with his spouse's explanation. It would be extremely dangerous for the victims if we just left this city for Wollen City without eradicating the remaining parasites of that slave-trading syndicate. My mother's presence in this city will provide them with a guarantee of safety.
Without needing to think twice, Calian nodded in agreement. "That is a good idea. Please go ahead, Wolvin."
Hearing his husband's unhesitating approval, Wolvin smiled in relief. "Thank you, Darling!"
He then turned his head and looked straight at Eralio sitting across from him.
"Do you know the specific method to use this ring, Mr. Eralio?" Wolvin asked, seeking technical guidance from the appraiser.
Hearing the question, Eralio quickly answered with what he knew from the information window he had read earlier.
"To be honest, there were no clear instructions from the information I saw other than the necessity to channel mana into the ring's core, Your Highness." Eralio answered truthfully. "However, theoretically... you might only need to focus your mind and visualize her figure coming into this room. The process should be more or less the same as when a mage visualizes precise coordinates right before activating teleportation magic."
Wolvin nodded in understanding upon hearing Eralio's answer. The explanation made enough sense and was easy to put into practice.
He positioned himself as comfortably as possible, then began to center his concentration. Slowly but surely, Wolvin started to channel his mana energy, directing it straight into the gold ring fastened on his ring finger.
The moment his mana began to flow and enter the ring, Wolvin immediately closed his eyes. He visualized the figure of his mother-in-law, imagining her arriving and being present in the room he currently occupied.
Mother... please... if you can hear me, grant my request. We need your help here.
And what happened next was a phenomenon beyond human comprehension. The plea Wolvin voiced in his heart seemed to pierce through the boundaries of space and time. The message was delivered directly to Elara, Calian's biological mother, who was currently inside the Erthland Imperial Palace.
Inside a bedroom, Elara was still resting peacefully on her bed.
However, her peaceful slumber was abruptly stolen away.
Amidst her subconscious, a very familiar voice suddenly called out and pleaded with her. The voice felt real, as if spoken by someone right inside the room.
The woman's eyelids instantly flew open.
"Wolvin?!"
Elara immediately sat up on the bed. Her eyes quickly darted in all directions, scanning every corner of the room to find the whereabouts of her son-in-law.
Yet, the result was nil. There was absolutely no one besides herself in that tightly shut bedroom.
While Elara still felt confused about what was actually happening and tried to trace where the voice of Wolvin she had just heard came from, an anomaly occurred without warning.
The yellow-haired woman jolted.
She looked down and saw her own body suddenly emitting a very bright golden luminescence. The light did not come from the outside; rather, it radiated outward from the pores of her own skin, enveloping her entire body like a cocoon of energy.
"What is happening to me?" Elara murmured, her eyes squinting against the glare of the mana's light. "Why is my body suddenly—"
Zap!
Before the woman could finish her sentence, the forced teleportation magic originating from the Ring of Trust fully activated, swallowing Elara's body into a spatial vortex.
The Emperor had simply vanished from her bed, creating an absolute silence within the bedroom. Only the pillows and the blanket, which still retained her body heat, served as the sole proof that someone had just been sleeping there.