"Did Dad ever tell you that you were protected somehow? Did he ever give you any other artefact like that necklace he told you to give me?"

When Jason asked this, Mira finally seemed to come to a realization, and Jason watched as she brought up her wedding ring with a wide, loving smile on her face. The ring was a golden band with an intricate carving of a crown on it, and Jason couldn't remember a single time since the day he was born that his mother had ever taken it off.

"When your father married me, he told me that this was a special ring from his family's treasury. It's a symbol of our family, and it also has the family's protection tied into it. He told me to have it on me at all times, and I've never had any problems since I started wearing it."

Mira had the most loving smile Jason had ever seen as she stroked the ring softly. Jason could tell without a doubt that his mother still loved his father just as much as the day they first met.

Jason turned his attention toward the ring and looked it over calmly, trying to see if there was anything special about it. It didn't look like anything had been engraved into the surface other than the crown, and even with Jason's advanced vision, there were no microscopic marks or runes!

[Try your [Qi Sense]. It allows you to see things beyond this realm.]

Esdeath's voice came to Jason, and Jason hummed as he activated [Mana Sense]. His eyes bled to blue as he examined the ring, but he frowned when he still didn't see anything. Jason decided to try actual Qi, and Jason turned off his mana before he began to move his Qi towards his eyes to activate the skill. It took a few seconds, but Jason eventually got a notification.

[The user has created the SS-Rank skill [Qi Sense].]

[Qi Sense: This skill allows the user to perceive the life force and inner power of any objects in his line of sight. Increasing the rank of this skill will allow the user to pinpoint more precise or tiny changes in the energy of a target.]

[Qi Sense] has been activated.

This time, Jason's eyes turned a shiny white, and he blinked rapidly as he was almost blinded by the intense white light that suddenly assaulted him! Unlike [Mana Sense], which showed Jason a black background with various colors all around him, [Qi Sense] painted everything around Jason in pure white, and only things with life in them—like the humans around him—were painted with a dull blue color. Everything was so fucking bright!

Jason squinted to ignore the intense light and turned to his mother's ring once more. This time, he was shocked when he saw a dull blue light glowing out from the ring as well!

'Blue light? Doesn't that mean the ring is… alive? There has to be something special about this thing. I wonder what will happen if I try to send mana toward it.'

Jason put his hand out and sent a single drop of mana toward the ring, and it suddenly erupted into life!

Twoom!

Jason took a step back as he felt an intense surge of mana form around his mother. Gina, Janet, and Maya all turned toward Mira in shock when they felt the mana surge as well, and Jason quickly switched back to [Mana Sense] and felt a small laugh escape him when he saw what was around his mother. Was something like this even possible? This had to be the most complex magical shield Jason had ever seen! Mira had a thick aura of magic surrounding her like a second skin, and without even touching the shield, Jason could tell that it would easily survive a full-powered attack from him.

'It could probably survive a fuckig nuclear bomb! What the fuck did you do, dad?'

Azrael suddenly spoke up quickly.

'That ring is most likely a [Blood Ring], my king! I have heard about it being used in marriage ceremonies of royal families during the Age of Celestials. The ring is a defensive artifact that is marked with the blood of the two lovers, and this allows it to hold its own consciousness and will. It's said that the ring can adapt its strength and durability to match the strength of any magic it comes in contact with, and it is even layered with runes that make the wearer unnoticeable to those who wish them harm! It is impossible to manufacture such rings in our time due to the lack of materials, but it is believed that the ring can even withstand attacks from Primordials!'

There was a strange excitement in Azrael's tone as he spoke about the ring, and Jason realized that Azrael was actually gushing over the artifact. The same Azrael who had always been calm and collected was suddenly so excited over a ring? Jason almost felt like laughing at the situation! It was obvious that this ring was a really big deal!

Jason had been thinking that Mira was the least protected out of all of them, but it turned out that his father hadn't just left his mother with no protection at all. Mira looked absolutely confused as she asked her children what was wrong. She couldn't see or feel magic since she wasn't a mage, so she had no idea that there was an invisible shield around her! Jason just shook his head and told her that everything was fine.

"I don't think I need to put any more runes on you. Just keep that ring on you at all times, and you should be perfectly fine. But I'll give you some artifacts to carry, just in case you need something extra."

Mira smiled when Jason said this and thanked him while hugging the ring close to her chest. Even though Mira had no idea what the real function of the wedding ring was, she always knew that it was something special! Richard had given it to her on their first night together and told her that she should never let go of it since it would protect her. From that day, Mira always felt like Richard was standing beside her and guarding her, and she never felt lonely even though he wasn't with them!

Jason left his mother and moved to start working on the runes for his sisters, and Mira cried out in absolute shock when Maya threw off her shirt so Jason could draw on her chest! Mira immediately pulled Maya's ear hard, and the rest of the family just laughed.

During that time, the family felt closer than they had for nearly ten years. Janet seemed to have finally broken down the wall she put between herself and the rest of the family, and Jason could tell that it was easier for her to interact with their mother and Gina. Mira hadn't even bothered to say anything when Janet apologized to her for running away and tried to ask for forgiveness. Mira had just hugged Janet and welcomed her back home with a smile, and that was the end of it. Both Jason and Janet already knew that their mother would forgive Janet, so they weren't surprised.

Maya, the little demon, was still trying to get Jason to do immoral things to her even after their mother's warning. She would jump on Jason's back when he was drawing a rune on someone else or lie down on his lap when he was trying to concentrate! She would even ask Jason to put the runes in places that shouldn't be seen by any man, and Mira had to intervene and punish Maya for taking off her clothes many times! But Jason could easily keep Maya at bay without much effort, so he never complained about her actions.

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