Chapter 598: 83. The Secrets of the Turand Family (Two-in-One)_3
“Mr. Helldor probably never told you that in his youth, he traveled to many places, including Nali, which was his first stop after completing his study of magic within the family. Without the family surname at that time, he had a tough life there. It was Mage Helsen who took him in, offered him help, and invited him to join the Magic Association in Nali.”
Miss Valentina slowly placed her hand on the table, her white and slender eyelashes fluttering like butterfly wings,
“Even though he never forgot his loyalty to the family and eventually returned to the Northern Realm, he was always impressed by the kindness and talent of that Mage Helsen until the day he died… He trusted Mage Helsen’s judgment of character, and he extended that trust to you. Indeed, you have proven to be exceptional.”
“That’s an overstatement.”
After a bit of small talk to warm up the room, the atmosphere gradually grew warmer. Valentina suddenly looked up at Fisher, her slightly reddened eyes sparkling as she clenched the ring in her hand and asked in a hoarse voice,
“Mr. Fisher, I want to ask you… Before Mr. Helldor passed away, did he ever talk to you about the details of a deal he made with some mysterious individual?”
“… I don’t understand what you mean.”
Valentina’s grip on the ring tightened, countless past details flitting through her mind, and again a teardrop shimmered at the corner of her eye,
“Ever since Helldor’s body was replaced, he… often malfunctioned, and there were many differences compared to before. Unfamiliar words like ‘update,’ ‘data,’ ‘loading’ often escaped from his body. He would suddenly lose consciousness and become as cold as a machine… Sometimes, I really wonder if there’s an impostor housed in that body, mimicking Helldor to deceive me. The real Helldor has been gone for a long time, hasn’t he?”
Hearing this, Fisher sighed silently in his heart. The Cardinal’s technology was indeed ingenious, clever enough to place a copied consciousness in a Cardinal that could even convince someone who had just met Helldor that he was a real person.
But Valentina, after being with Helldor for so long, could detect even the slightest discrepancies. She probably had long suspected that the real Helldor had already died, yet she continued to deceive herself, until yesterday.
Faced with a question that Fisher himself could not discern the answer to, he was at a loss for what to say. Was the copied Helldor consciousness not Helldor anymore?
As an academic question worthy of a paper, Fisher might still pick up a pen to argue and analyze; personally, he couldn’t and didn’t want to discern the truth. He didn’t know the real Helldor and could only recognize aspects of him through the burning soul that turned into Death Light.
While contemplating, Fisher suddenly noticed on the table before Valentina, the necklace that had been engraved with the Erasure Light of Eleven-Ring Magic by Helldor lay there.
Looking at the photograph of Valentina and Helldor together on it, Fisher suddenly spoke,
“Does it really matter, Miss Valentina? Even if the details of that deal were not ideal, the outcome must have been what Mr. Helldor wished to see. Everything that happened last night was before your eyes, and it’s the best proof…”
As he spoke, he took out a small, snowflake-shaped Seal from his chest—the Grey Bird Species Mark he had received earlier. He placed the Seal on the table and slowly pushed it toward Valentina,
“Therefore, the promise I made to that Mr. Helldor is also a promise to the real Mr. Helldor… I will do my utmost to help Miss Valentina reach the legendary Frost Snow Phoenix Tree and to uphold my trust in you.”
Valentina looked down at the Seal approaching her, and even without Fisher’s explicit words, she suddenly understood the answer. That answer, heavy as a mountain, pressed down on her heart, causing her to choke up as her white locks fell a bit.
Emhardt’s attempts to mask amusement with a forced smile tightened even more, beginning to strain.
Fisher remained silent, saying nothing. Even though Valentina was still sobbing before him, the atmosphere in the room was no longer as awkward as it was at first.
Ultimately, Valentina’s tears did not fall down her cheeks. Before they could, she gently wiped the searing teardrops away, and in the quiet, Valentina suddenly pushed her wheelchair back a bit. Leaning against the wheelchair, her form now fully exposed to Fisher’s eyes.
Her legs appeared completely lifeless, like two slabs of motionless compound hidden under her skirt. Valentina took a deep breath and then lifted her gaze to Fisher, slowly beginning to speak,
“The Turand Family… or rather, the real Turand Family has always been afflicted with a very severe hereditary illness. Most leave this world early, not living past thirty, and the more severe cases are accompanied by disabilities and deformities. And I happen to be the most fortunate yet unfortunate among them.”
“Unfortunate because my genetic illness is more serious than anyone else’s, not only is my body weak, but I also have disabilities and deformities… The fortunate part is that ever since I was little, I have felt a mysterious call from Sema Snow Mountain and heard the whispers from the Moon Princess Sword. Most crucially, I am the only member in a thousand years of my family who can wield the Moon Princess Sword.”