Jessie walked with her chin raised, her mask of composure flawless. All the nervousness she showed inside the carriage vanished in moments. Every step was confident, making her look unwavering.

"Welcome, Luther," a man in a half-sleeve shirt and pants said.

"Thanks, freind."

The buildings here weren't like the stone and wood of the cities Ash knew. These were carved directly into the mountainside, reinforced with runes faintly glowing at their edges.

Ash's gaze lingered on the glyphs, his mind instinctively trying to connect them with the "Form" rune he had just comprehended. He couldn't read them, not yet—but he felt a knot of familiarity.

As they walked deeper, a figure detached from the crowd and stepped into their path.

It was a man, tall, with long black hair tied behind him, wearing a suit that outlined his toned body. His eyes were sharp, cutting like blades.

He looked at Luther first, inclining his head with forced politeness. Then his gaze shifted to Jessie. "I thought you left the family for better."

"Gareth—you can't talk to her like this," Luther stepped in, ready to defend.

"Oh… why not? Wasn't she the one who left the family while we were ready to give her everything?" Gareth chimed, looking around to incite the others.

"Father asked her to come back. If you are ready to go against his will—" Luther invoked his father's authority, making Gareth pause in hesitation.

Gareth had no words to reply—he didn't have enough courage to talk behind his back.

"And who is he?" asked Gareth, his voice low and cutting. "Why did she drag an outsider here?"

Everyone looked toward Ash, noticing him in his armor. His handsome face made many girls gasp. He definitely didn't look like a servant.

Luther's tone hardened. "He is under my protection."

"Protection?" The man scoffed, his eyes never leaving Ash. "You know the rules. Outsiders have no place here. Bloodlines must remain pure. Bringing him here is an insult to the ancestors. I don't know if your father will be happy with this."

Jessie's hand twitched at her side. "Uncle…" she started, but the man raised a hand to silence her.

Ash, however, didn't flinch. He met the man's gaze head-on, his face calm, almost indifferent.

So this is one of the jealous ones Luther warned me about, he thought. If he was right, then this man was the son of Luther's father's brother.

Currently, Luther's father was the family head, making his brother's lineage sidekick.

"Enough," Luther said firmly. "He is a servant, nothing more, nothing less. And if I'm not mistaken, there are no rules against having an outsider servant. If you say anything more, it will be an accusation against my daughter's character —and then I don't know who will protect you from me and my father."

The man's smile thinned, but he stepped aside, his gaze still sharp. "We'll see."

Ash walked past him, avoiding eye contact, the assassin in him already weighing possibilities. He started calculating all the possible ways to kill this man, but he had no idea of his power level.

His intuition told him that he was either B-rank or A-rank. The question was—did Ash have enough potential to kill this man? The answer was—maybe, with his new armory upgrade. Or was he ranking himself too high?

And he also lacked coins.

They entered one of the structures. Two colossal statues stood on either side of the entrance, their features eerily lifelike, each holding a weapon of unknown design.

"This is the main family's residence. The other buildings outside belong to the branch families. Currently, all members of the Kael lineage are gathering here from all over the world," Luther explained quietly. "Once inside, you must follow my lead. Do not speak unless spoken to. Understood?"

Ash gave a single nod. He didn't need to be told twice.

A broad, muscular woman rushed forward as soon as she saw Jessie, pulling her into a crushing embrace. "Oh—look how weak you've gotten," she said, patting her on the back, almost punching.

"Let me see what you've got… go meet your grandfather," she added, giving Jessie another heavy pat.

Jessie pushed her back, gasping for air.

"Mom, be gentle. I'm not a berserker like you."

She just gave a warm smile towards her uncle and ignored her aunt and then looked around to see if her cousins were there. She sighed when she saw their absence.

She moved to the right side, into the open courtyard, Ash following close behind.

Her mother stopped him, looking him up and down. "Why are you following her?" She turned her questioning gaze toward Luther.

"I found him in the city… he's very good at cooking and doing chores," Luther said.

"Oh really… and what about fighting?" She moved her arms to give a pat on Ash's arm.

Ash instinctively pulled his arm back, alerted by the force behind her "pat." His luck screamed at him to dodge, or his arm bone would have snapped under her blow.

"At least you're fast. That means you'll work faster," she said, looking at him with amusement.

She was sure he had a very high level of intuition to anticipate her sudden strike and dodge. She gave Luther a side-eye, questioning him.

Ash simply bowed—he didn't know the formalities.

Other servants, busy with their work, glanced at him, unknown emotions flickering in their eyes.

"I didn't expect this from you, brother. She is a kid, but at least you could have convinced her to come back earlier," Luther's brother said, disappointed.

"Atheris, she is just a child, as you said… did you want her to be like me? She would have rebelled if we hadn't given her this time to choose," Luther explained his viewpoint.

"It's not the time for playing around. If she likes to play, then why make her the head of the family? My sons are already reaching B-rank with their efforts," his brother's wife taunted, turning around and leaving for her room.

Jessie's mother didn't even bother looking at the fight; she was still focused on Ash. "Do you want to fight?"

Ash looked at her with a baffled expression. When did he ever ask to fight?

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