Sylas and Cassarae looked over at the same time. Sylas' reaction was just fine, but Cassarae found herself blushing for some reason, and she wasn't even sure why.

Geraldene was the first to recover, coughing, smoothing out her dress, and putting on a stern expression.

"How could you not tell us something like this, Rae?"

"You heard that?" Cassarae recovered, only to be left aghast. This matter wasn't something that she planned on telling anyone. That included Olivia, who had been with her in this place the longest. Her parents were the last people she wanted to know. All of this was becoming a mess.

Truthfully, Sylas had noticed them at the door a long time ago thanks to his visualization, but he hadn't said anything because they were Cassarae's parents. He still didn't understand what a Destiny Quest really meant, and honestly, he was still grappling with the reality.

Sylas couldn't help but look down at the Madness Key hanging around his neck.

Could it be that this cursed thing was even more beneficial than he knew? If he was correct, then the price for failure of his own stolen Destiny Quest should have also been death. But the Madness Key turned it into a punishment of Genes instead. Was this a hidden ability of this treasure that he didn't understand before?

"Geraldene, Paul." Sylas greeted politely.

A large hand slapped down on Sylas' shoulder and shook him around a bit.

"How many times have I told you to call me unc or old man, kid?"

Paul, Cassarae's father, was a man with a bright bald spot in the middle of his head, but other than this slight imperfection, one would think that he had spent his life in the military and not behind an office desk. He had the forearms and wrists of a construction worker, the bronzed skin of a bodybuilder on competition day, and he was almost a head taller than Sylas.

Sylas himself was at least 6'4", but Paul was almost seven feet tall without shoes on. The difference between them was quite stark. With his eye, Sylas could also tell that Paul would be quite an attractive man if he shaved the rest of his hair off. But for some reason, he insisted on leaving that moat in place.

Only a few people knew the reason, and Sylas happened to be among them. There was a day a few years back when he had chosen to shave it off and Geraldene went crazy. He still remembered that argument like it was yesterday. The funny part was that she was mad that her husband was too handsome, saying something about annoying secretaries and teenagers looking for sugar daddies.

Since then, the man had kept his hair no matter how sparse. The poor guy was even forced to clean-shave his beard every day, an action that shaved at least three manly points from him.

As for his words… Sylas didn't know how to respond. He had heard these words before, of course. But every method he used to try and weasel out of it didn't work. Intelligence was useless on shamelessness.

He still remembered his first response to this. He had said that Paul wasn't his real uncle, and calling him old man was disrespectful, especially considering he wasn't even that old. Back then, Paul had responded with how they'd be family anyway if he married Cassarae, so he might as well start calling him father-in-law, then.

After that day, Sylas learned not to try to argue with this man using methods that worked in academia. He would just end up on the losing end. What kind of man just casually sold off their daughter like that? The two of them hadn't even been dating back then!

Speaking of which, the way Cassarae's parents learned that they had was another… embarrassing story. It wasn't a lewd one, but it was one that made it difficult for Sylas to look the man in the eye nonetheless.

Sylas cleared his throat. The only way to combat shamelessness was with more shamelessness.

"Have you not been eating, Paul? Your pats seem to have gotten a little weaker."

"Hm?" Paul blinked, looking at Sylas' shoulder. He tried to shake the kid around like he usually did, but Sylas was practically an iron pole. After a while, Paul burst into laughter.

"This is good, this is good. An old man like me is bound to lose his strength eventually. This way, you can become the head of the household and take care of things while I retire."

Sylas froze.

How had this man turned it around on him again?

Two stifled giggles came from the side and Sylas couldn't help but give Cassarae a look.

"You still haven't answered your mother's question."

At this point, it was Cassarae's turn to freeze.

"You—."

"That's right, Cassarae Mathilda-Rose Hale. How dare you keep this from us?!"

Geraldene went from giggling to an enraged lioness in a matter of moments. As for Paul, he had no choice but to start dealing with this burning fire as well, while Sylas took this opportunity to slip away.

...

Sylas vanished down the hallway and the amusement in his eyes faded toward coldness. The further he got away from the arguing family, the sharper his aura grew. He wouldn't allow this world to kill those he didn't want dead.

Cassarae's plights should all be related to this Destiny Quest. On her own, she had managed to push Castle Main to number one, and considering how hard Sylas' own Fragmented Destiny Quest had been, he still had no idea how she had managed to clear her own. She was a fiercely independent woman, but it was to a fault.

Right now, he didn't really care what her opinion about it was; he would clear the path ahead.

Faintly, Sylas began to grasp a deeper understanding of himself. This time, he had accepted this burden without much thought at all… and he didn't particularly care what anyone else thought about it.

The fresh air hit him as he walked out of the City Lord Residence.