Once he was out of the central city area, Arias headed straight to the manor. It did not take long until he was back at the family residence. It was a great mansion; beautiful and meticulously built. The exterior was built from sturdy materials, while the inside was adorned with numerous expensive wares.

    As soon as Arias set foot on the manor’s ground, he was greeted by the sight of an elderly man who appeared to be waiting for him. The man was dressed in a black outfit with a splash of white. He had a polite and refined manner like a nobleman and the amount of power exuding from him was not something to look down on. This man was Kanl, the Scarcia’s butler.

    “Young master, Master Farhan has requested your presence.”

    “My grandfather asked for me?”

    Arias repeated Kanl’s words, unsure of what he had heard. Normally, his grandfather would not ask for him if there was not an important matter. Ever since he found out that Arias was a Powerless, his grandfather had changed, and Arias only got to see him once in a while. If there was not any important matter, then Arias would not be asked for. ‘What does the old man have to say?’

    “Oh, if it isn’t Arias, the clan’s worthless crumb. I didn’t expect you to recover after almost dying. I was worried sick, you know? If you’d died, I’d be so idle with nobody to pick on. Hahaha!”

    The words full of insults and contempt came from a tall young man with a haughty and arrogant look on his face. His sneer, as well as his gaze, were full of contempt. The way he was looking at Arias was as if he was looking at a worthless speck of dust that should not have been in his sight. The one who said those words was someone whom Arias remembered very well, Mashelle. Every word the other said was intended to hurt Arias’ feelings.

    “I don’t have time for your nonsense right now, Mashelle.”

    Arias did not waste his time quarreling with Mashelle. He only uttered a brief sentence before following Kanl without glancing back at the other. The most important thing for him at the moment was finding out the reason Farhan had asked to see him. The man barely paid any attention to him ever since he was deemed powerless. If there was not anything important, Farhan would not have requested to see him like this.

    “Tsk! This skunk, how dare he ignore me? Who do you think you are? You must think you’re safe with their protections. Next time, I’ll make sure you never get to wake up again!”

    Mashelle gritted his teeth angrily and glared at Arias with spite. If he had a chance, he certainly would not let Arias survive. However, a part of him had also become curious. He had never seen Arias act like this before. Although Arias would always try to avoid him, the other had never acted so haughtily and brushed him off like this. Who was he, and who was Arias? He was the clan’s gifted heir, and Arias was just a worthless parasite. Being disregarded by someone whom he had treated like trash made him furious.

    As he was following after Kanl, Arias accidentally let out a cold, murderous aura. If he had had enough power, he would have destroyed the other right at that moment. Although he tried to contain his murderous intent, it unintentionally slipped out albeit for a split second.

    Kanl immediately snapped his head and looked backward with surprise. He glanced around until his gaze stopped at Arias’s figure and thought to himself that he must have imagined it. The young master had no magical power, how could he have let out a murderous intent like a killer? Perhaps it was the other one. Kanl’s gaze slowly moved to Mashelle who was still glaring at Arias furiously. That was the only possible explanation Kanl could come up with.

    He shook his head helplessly. Having been the family’s butler for decades, naturally, Kanl knew about everything that happened within the clan. He could tell what Mashelle was thinking just by looking at him. He felt deeply sorry for Arias who, aside from being born powerless, had always been treated poorly by his own cousins. If the day came when Albert and Maria no longer lived, he did not know what would become of Arias’ fate.

    Kanl brought Arias to one of the rooms in the manor. The door to this room was made out of black wood, carved with images of formidable beasts. Kanl made a stop at the door and waited to open it for Arias. Although Arias may seem like a worthless person, Kanl had never treated him with disrespect unlike many others in the clan who only thought of Arias as a parasite living out of the clan without making any contribution. Looking at the butler’s actions that spoke of his well-trained manners, Arias could not help but silently admire him.

    “Right this way, Young Master. The master and the others are waiting for you.”

    Kanl politely informed Arias before inviting him into the room.

    “There are others here besides my grandfather?”

    Arias asked curiously. Kanl did not say anything. Instead, he turned to open the door slowly as an answer.

    “Hello, Grandfather. Father, Mother, why you are here as well? And that…?”

    Upon entering the room, Arias was greeted with the sight of several people. There were both familiar faces as well as the unfamiliar ones. Apart from himself, there were five other people in the room. Three of them were people he knew well; Farhan, Albert, and Maria.

    Farhan was a third-level knight mage. Although he was already sixty-five years old, the man still looked like he was in his forties. His skin seemed to bear almost no wrinkles from old age, his body still muscular like a young man’s, and his eyes were sharp like an eagle’s. He did not really look like an elderly mage. Even when they became centenarians, some mages could still maintain their youthful bodies and looks if they were high-level mages. Thus, appearances alone could not be used to judge a mage’s real age.

    The other two, Arias had likely met them before although he could not clearly recall. One of them was a gallant-looking middle-aged man in deep blue armor engraved with golden details. The amount of power that this man held was probably close to Farhan’s. The other one was a woman with an elegant figure and a face as beautiful as a flower during its first bloom. She had rosy cheeks and cherry-red lips, and her black hair made a beautiful contrast to her pearl-white skin. She was wearing a pale pink dress slightly adorned with embroideries. From what Arias saw, she seemed to be about the same age as him.

    However, the air in the room was heavy and uncomfortable. These people were staring at each other with strained expressions and without uttering a word. Arias believed that for him to be summoned here today was definitely not a good thing.

    “Arias, this is Lord Kazas, leader of the Hobson Clan. And the girl beside him is his granddaughter, Lady Sophiar. She’s your betrothed.”

    Maria quickly explained once she saw the confused look on Arias’ face.

    “My betrothed? Since when did I have one?”

    Arias repeated the word, unable to believe what he heard. There was a baffled look on his face as he was still unable to believe what he heard. For all he knew, he did not remember having any betrothed.

    “You probably don’t know this, but the clan arranged this engagement between the two of you since you were still a child. As for the reason you were called here today, it was about your engagement as well...”

    As she uttered the last sentence, Maria’s voice was full of sadness and tinged with a bit of disappointment. She looked at Arias with a gaze that was full of pity. Seeing the way his mother was looking at him, Arias began to feel that something was off. He was starting to feel quite certain that this was not going to just be an ordinary discussion about the engagement.

    Arias shifted his gaze to the girl named Sophiar once more. This time, he felt like the eyes that glanced back at him were full of contempt and disdain. Her head was held high as if he was out of her sight. Was this the gaze of someone whom they called his fiancée? Was this someone who was supposed to become his wife in the future? He was beginning to be able to connect the dots.

    “So, you called me here to talk about an annulment?”

    While Arias said this without feeling really bothered, his nonchalant words seemed to have startled the people in the room. Even Farhan who had always appeared calm and collected could not help but stare at Arias with surprise.

    “How did you know about this?”

    Farhan could not help but ask out of curiosity. He turned his intense gaze towards Albert and Maria but found that they both looked baffled as well. It was evident that the two also did not know about this.

    “I merely guessed. You called me here and introduced me to my childhood fiancée whose face I haven’t seen before. Normally, I would’ve thought that you were going to plan for my wedding. But look at all your faces. It’s as if you’ve just swallowed something foul. Not to mention the air of uneasiness in this room. And then there’s that lady...the way she looked at me was absolutely unpleasant. No woman would look at her future husband like this. Was any of the things I said wrong, Grandfather? If that’s what this meeting is about, then deal with it the way all of you see fit. In fact, you didn’t need to call me here and inform me of this matter. It is of no importance to me.”

    Arias raised a smile before stating every word in a clear voice. Once he was finished, the whole room went quiet, and no one uttered a single word. None of them had thought that Arias would be this quick-witted.

    Clap! Clap! Clap!

    A sound of applause broke the silence of the room.

    “The Scarcia’s heir doesn’t seem to be as dim-witted as people made him be. Able to thoroughly read the situation just as he entered the room, you sure are an interesting Powerless. I must applaud you, hahaha!”

    Kazas’ laughter echoed throughout the whole room. While his words sounded like approval, they were still tinged with disdain. He intentionally stressed all the insulting words and did not try to hide the look of contempt in his eyes and in the smile he directed at Arias. No matter how wise, the boy was still powerless. Someone like this never had worth in his eyes. Seeing the way that Kazas acted, Albert and Maria became very upset but could not do anything because of Kazas’ status.

    Although Kazas was stunned by Arias’ ability to see through the whole situation within a short period of time, what Arias did easily turned the situation to his advantage.

    The engagement between Arias and Sophiar had been arranged since the two of them were three years old. It was an arrangement meant to secure the tie between the two great clans. However, when Arias grew up, he turned out to be powerless while Sophiar was a mage with a bright future ahead. At the age of sixteen, she had already become a fourth-level acolyte and was considered to be quite talented. They were different, like heaven and hell, and it would be inappropriate for Sophiar to marry someone who had no future such as Arias. Thus, Kazas himself came here in order to call off the engagement.

    However, an agreement between two great clans was not something that could be broken easily. Kazas coming all the way here to discuss the matter himself had made the Scarcia feel quite uneasy. Since it was an arrangement that involved Arias and Sophiar, the two clans decided that the two of them should have a say in the decision as well. Actually, Kazas had already come up with several plans to make Arias give up and call off this engagement. He did not expect everything to go this smoothly.

    “Since your grandson agreed, you wouldn’t have any issue with it now, would you, Farhan?”

    Kazas narrowed his eyes, giving Farhan a sly look.

    “Well, as we’ve agreed upon. From now on, the engagement between the two shall be annulled.”

    Farhan said with a displeased sigh. Being asked for an annulment of engagement like this, Scarcia’s reputation would likely be sullied.

    “But Father…”

    “No buts, Albert. Your son had made the decision himself!”

    Before Albert could have finished his sentence, Farhan sternly raised his voice with displeasure. The pressure exuding from the knight-level mage made Albert pause before sitting back down quietly.

    After spending a while discussing, Kazas and Sophiar bid their farewell and left with Kanl seeing the two of them off. Now, there were only four people left in the room which were Arias, Farhan, Albert, and Maria. Unease filled the air, and the expressions on all their faces did not look too good. The only one who still managed to look calm was also the root of this problem. Suddenly, Arias got up from his seat. He was feeling quite bored from having to sit quietly like this.

    “Grandfather, if there’s nothing else, then I would like to excuse myself.”

    “Who said you could go anywhere!”