guild wars
It's not everyone who finds an awesome romantic partner through a life-and-death encounter, where they start out as enemies and then become lovers after surviving countless harsh trials. Some people find their partners in more banal ways, like blind dates, arranged marriages, normal encounters at church, the pub, school, or through online dating.
These kinds of romances were not exciting to talk about, so they were hardly highlighted, but this was the norm for everyone other than a select few.
Among this crowd was a young man named Nicholas Spencley, who was now of age, a youth brimming with passion and valor. He had just assisted one of his cousins and lifelong brothers in settling his relationship with his exotic Indian wife and was beginning to think about his own matters when his nanna called him to her cottage.
Nicholas was dressed properly as he rushed to his great-grandmother's place, finding her seated at her desk with a book in hand as usual. The beautiful Scathach, who looked like a young woman around Nicholas' age, raised her purple eyes to regard him with a hint of sternness, making Misery immediately stiffen.
However, more than sternness, there was a copious amount of maternal love and fondness that even her strict and cold expression could not conceal. Scathach put her book down and crossed her legs in a ladylike manner as she scanned her grandson up and down. Experience tales at empire
Nicholas was not aware of how shocked any of the original 9 councilors under Merlin would be if they saw Scathach putting down a book to actually deal with someone.
You should know, even when conceiving the child that would become Nicholas' grandfather, Cu Chulainn had to procreate with Scathach while she was flipping through a book, not making a sound the entire time. Even her own son and grandson after that were given this same treatment, but Scathach always put her books down for her great-grandson, Nicholas.
It wasn't that she didn't care for her son or grandson. Even Cu Chulainn would not be able to get his hands on any part of her body if she did not care for him, much less procreate with her. However, she was too focused on her own things to care about the external world and usually was lost in her own head.
It wasn't that she was emotionless or did not feel anything, but interacting with her most times was the equivalent of trying to talk to someone who had a Virtua Helmet on. Their brains were in the game world—how could they possibly feel you tickling their nose?
But Nicholas… there was something about this young man that managed to awaken Scathach from her own nature and make her more worldly. Or maybe it was because, being the last councilor alive and losing all her descendants except one, she had begun to value those around her more.
Whatever the case, the Legendary Shadowy One took matters regarding Nicholas seriously, and this one was possibly the most serious of all.
"Nicholas, you are now a grown man and you cannot be by my side forever. It is about time for you to start a family and expand our lineage," Scathach began with a serious tone as she placed her hands on her lap.
Nicholas was startled because he never expected his nanna, who was always grilling him about etiquette, ethics, and training, to bring such a… normal… matter up. However, he had grown up with her as his only family and took her opinion far higher than anything else in the world.
"I don't mind. Should I start dating girls or what?" Nicholas asked with confusion.
Scathach smiled slightly. "No need for that. I have spoken with the council and decided upon your marriage partner. It is one of your distant cousins, Adelaide. She was born from the previous generation through cross-breeding, but is a child of our lineage and the Lucifer lineage."
"Somewhat unfortunately, she awoke her Lucifer lineage abilities rather than our Merlin, and she's an outcast here," Scathach added casually.
Misery frowned somewhat. He did not have a good opinion of the two enemy lineages that dared to trouble their Pangu Alliance, but as usual, he put his nanna's opinions before his own.
"Why not go to that lineage then?" Nicholas asked with confusion.
Scathach shook her head. "The Lucifer Lineage is refusing to accept her due to her link with us. After all, her mother was from their lineage and was captured during a previous conflict by the Pangu Lineage and then sold to us. As you can imagine, her fate has not been good here nor there."
Nicholas' lips trembled at this. He had lost his parents at a young age, and without his nanna, who held a supremely high position in the Lineage, coupled with his own extremely high bloodline talent, he would have likely lived the same life as this girl.
Nicholas was silent for a while and then sighed. "Alright, nanna, I will meet her. However, I can't make any promises that I will like her."
Scathach seemed satisfied. "Of course, Nicholas, your happiness is also important, so feel free to make your choice."
A few days later, an official meeting for arrangements was held between Nicholas' branch and Adelaide's branch. Adelaide was only represented by an arrogant servant who seemed to hold her in disdain despite being from the literal direct bloodline.
Nicholas sat with Scathach, whose cold disposition caused the servant to have cold sweat on his back and not dare to cause trouble.
Nicholas glanced at his possible wife and felt a hint of sadness. Adelaide was quite beautiful, surprisingly, with curly auburn hair, a pair of green eyes, and a slight spread of freckles on her fair face.
However, her demeanor was that of a timid mouse, as if scared that her breathing might warrant a reprimand and heavy scolding. Seeing her, Nicholas understood that his nanna had severely understated the suffering this girl had gone through growing up.
The entire time, she didn't even dare to speak, as if knowing her opinion was not important. But hot-blooded young Misery would not accept this. The young man stood up and walked to the other side of the table and knelt before the frightened Adelaide, asking her gently if she was okay with him.
She repeatedly assured him that she was looking forward to this in a shaky tone, feeling as if she could feel the burning eyes of her father's servant behind her. Nicholas glanced at the servant with a cold look, and the fellow did not dare to even raise his head, for Nicholas' status was not small among the young generation.
After all, his master had told him to secure the marriage alliance with Nicholas' branch no matter what, and had even beaten Adelaide the day prior to make sure she wouldn't do anything stupid. This was their branch's chance to rise by sticking to the legs of the great Shadowy One herself!
Scathach was a member of the original council and her words superseded any council that came after. Even though she usually gave the newer councilors a bit of respect and never abused her power, it was precisely because she did not that they unhesitatingly carried out her will each time.
Their branch could shoot to fame and be courted by all the others if they had such backing!
And all they had to give up was a bastard waste of a daughter. What a great deal!
Nicholas accepted the marriage alliance and eventually married Adelaide with much fanfare. His status was not small, so even if neither he nor Scathach liked crowds or ceremony, the council at the time would not stand for that.
Countless young ladies who fantasized about capturing young Nicholas for their branches were full of hatred and envy towards Adelaide, and their looks towards her could kill. This overwhelmed the young lady, who was usually locked up at home without being able to go out, abused casually by her family and ignored by everyone else.
Nicholas took his duty as a protector seriously, always making sure Adelaide was cared for and shielded from these maltreatments. Now that she had become his wife, there would be no further abuse allowed whatsoever, and he made sure of this along with his three brothers for life, Walter, Hector, and Edward, by thoroughly beating up all those who wronged Adelaide in the past and present.
Soon, everyone got the message. The bastard girl was no longer someone they could mess with, and they had to show her suitable respect when they saw her, or else.
Adelaide's heart, which had been closed off to the world, opened up greatly to Nicholas, especially after their marital night where there were a couple of accidents from her side due to her fear, but Nicholas was continually patient and gentle with her.
This caused the young lady to cry from the depths of her heart for the first time, releasing years of pain and bottled-up torment at once. Nicholas' heart ached as he held his wife the entire night, continually reminding her that he was there for her from now and forever more.
A year passed, and Adelaide began sporting a large belly. Both Scathach and Nicholas were overjoyed and took extra care of the young lady, which caused her to feel flattered, especially towards Scathach, who was technically her great-grandmother-in-law.
As for Adelaide's branch, they had not gotten their wishes at all. Rather than benefit from Adelaide, they had paid a hefty price at the hands of the four young masters of the Merlin lineage, who caused them great economic, political, and similar losses using their status.
You could imagine Adelaide's shock when her father came to their residence to kneel to her and begged for forgiveness for his past actions. Nicholas almost kicked him out, but the soft-hearted Adelaide eventually forgave him but cut ties with them on the spot.
One time, Nicholas was with Hector, Edward, and Walter, who were celebrating the pregnancy of his wife, along with Juno, who was also showing extremely late signs of pregnancy with Kiran around this time. At the celebration, Hector was guzzling down whole barrels of alcohol while laughing uproariously, while Edward drank more responsibly.
Walter also took a few sips, but Nicholas' mug was completely untouched. His nanna absolutely despised alcoholics, often berating Cu Chulainn who came home drunk and smelly, so Nicholas had never drunk alcohol in his life and even hated the brew, opting to take juice instead.
"Man, you're such a prude! You've already lost your virginity and yet you don't dare to drink? Pansy!" Hector complained as he pointed at Nicholas with dissatisfaction using his mug.
Nicholas frowned and slapped the mug away with a look of disdain. "Get that thing away from me."
Nicholas then raised his nose and pointed arrogantly at his brothers. "Look here, cretins, your father, I, am superior in that I don't indulge in such worldly brews!"
The other three were enraged and immediately dragged the fellow out for a thorough beating. How dare he speak like that? Who the heck did he think he was?
Months passed.
The tragedy with Juno occurred, leaving the four youngsters broken and disheartened with their lineage and the world. Nicholas met Ao Jiantian, the ambassador from the Pangu Lineage, for the first time and developed enmity with him since he protected Councilor Damon, the one who killed Juno and almost killed baby Kiran.
Ao Jiantian also hated Nicholas since Scathach almost crippled him for daring to try and hurt Nicholas during the council meeting. The fellow could only rush out to lick his wounds and think about the revenge he would eventually achieve years later.
At this moment, Nicholas, Hector, and Edward were disheartened, for Walter had become a shell of his former self, often dazed and lost, like his soul had been sucked away. Before they could even find a countermeasure, the lineage acted and allowed Genevieve to drug Walter, causing her to become pregnant with Mary.
The three fellows couldn't even be angry because they were at a loss. They couldn't go and smash Genevieve in the stomach and kill their own niece, right? Not to mention that ever since Walter was shattered, Genevieve had taken care of him day and night like a doting wife, never complaining no matter what.