The place he wanted to visit to read was precisely the family's study, where the Lady's collection of books from the Blando Clan was kept, mostly books for women.
Lin Ke hesitated not a moment before stepping forward and opening the door to the study.
"Mother!"
As soon as he opened the door, Lin Ke saw his mother sitting at the desk. She was quietly reading a book with a cup of spiced and creamy tea by her side, looking relaxed and carefree.
Lin Ke's mother was dressed in a crimson noble dress, her skin was delicately pale, and she exuded an inexplicable aura.
Pure, adorable, and naive.
"Little Lin Ke? What are you doing here? Didn't John say you went out to play?" Lin Ke's mother turned her head in surprise, seemingly amazed at why Lin Ke was there.
"Mother, weren't you...?" Lin Ke was dumbfounded.
Weren't you supposedly grabbed for stepping into the boudoir with your right foot???
Also, Little John, you better remember, you promised not to tell her I went out to play!
Besides, isn't this door's soundproofing a little too good?? There was practically a world war going on outside, and nobody heard a thing?
"Baby, why is your hair all wet?" Lin Ke's mother, looking extremely youthful and barely twenty-five or six years old, appeared innocent and simple-minded.
She came over and touched Lin Ke's head.
"It's nothing." Lin Ke instantly knew: "I was just taking a bath."
Either his personal servant John betrayed him, tricking him into a conflict with the Lady, with some ulterior motive behind the scenes.
Or it was a mere rumor, where a lie spread around turns into a truth through repetition.
Or Lady Blando did it on purpose, spreading the news.
Or... a combination thereof.
Of course, considering his personal servant's loyalty... it was probably just rumor-mongering this time.
Lin Ke didn't say much, turned around and went out: "Mother, remember to return soon after reading, don't disturb the Lady's routine."
Lin Ke's mother, seeing his mature demeanor, instead tugged at him and knocked on his head forcefully: "You! Always acting like a little adult, not cute at all!"
His mother was only twenty-five.
Lin Ke, feeling helpless, started to act cute: "Alright, mother, I'm heading back now, I just took a bath! It's not even all cleaned yet～"
"Okay! Go take your bath then! I'm going to finish this book about professionals, it's so interesting, hehe..." Lin Ke's mother affectionately pinched his cheek.
"Mhm mhm mhm..." Lin Ke made some perfunctory sounds and quickly ran out, not really hearing what his mother said.
Since at her age of twenty-five, she was probably reading something like "The Arrogant Count Falls in Love with Me" or "Ten Miles of Roses for Three Lifetimes."
...
He is from Blue Star.
He had his own parents, family, friends, and career.
Even though he had crossed over here, he could never forget, and he even thought he might develop depression because of it.
Depression at the age of three.
But until that day.
On his third birthday, his mother here showed him the love of a mother by staying by his side when he was sick with a high fever, which made him truly accept everything in this world.
He was no longer just "Lin Ke," but Lin Ke Azen.
It's been six years, and by now he has almost adapted to this identity.
And now, with his mother being fine, he could relax a bit; it seems the Lady indeed has boundaries.
Although his mother often told him that the Lady actually liked him a lot, and that the Lady and his mother were good friends.
But he always remembered that scene where the Lady held a dagger with a menacing smile.
Such a person, who could harm a newborn cute baby—future handsome fellow—wouldn't hesitate to harm a naive second wife.
"So, a boy venturing outside and crossing worlds needs to protect himself, especially someone as handsome as me, sigh..."
...
Along the way, he greeted the little maids with freckles and rough skin.
Returning to his bedroom, Billy was still there.
"Master, is everything settled?" Billy bowed.
Lin Ke nodded: "Prepare the bathwater again, without any spices, and have John come to see me after I finish bathing."
John was his personal servant.
After giving instructions, Lin Ke sat in his exclusive spot, with servants naturally coming up to fan him and dry his still-wet hair.
After a while, the bathwater was ready, and he went in alone.
Unless he called for someone, no one was allowed in, not even in the bedroom.
He wanted to explore the system!
...
Soaking alone in the bathtub, Lin Ke finally relaxed completely.
"It seems I'm still not used to being served, this is the fate of a lifelong worker!"
Even Uncle Billy, who was the closest, couldn't serve him properly.
Because the butler's name always made him feel weird.
"Hmm, let's see what I've gained..." Lin Ke consciously blinked, and a line of text appeared in front of him:
[Reward: Pending]
Reward!
He clicked on this box in his mind.
The next moment, a ball of light seemed to pour enlightening wisdom into Lin Ke's forehead.
The light was dreamlike, indistinct, illusory, real, divinely assisted, like lacquer to glue, like...
"Like your head, is that it???" Lin Ke was bewildered.
Could there be some amazing part he hadn't discovered yet?
He didn't even feel any of those legendary transformations, like purifying the body, advancing by leaps and bounds, becoming a god instantly, or mastering rules.
It just felt like a flash of light to his eyes.
Defeating a deity... and that was it?
"System, what do you mean by this? What use is this thing to me? And what about the previous curse?"
However, the system didn't respond at all, and there were no additional prompts about the so-called curse either.
Before Lin Ke could complain much more, the interface changed again the next moment.
[Task: Before enlightening the bloodline, find an opportunity to declare yourself the King of Azanen!]
[Reward: A highly potential follower]
King of Azanen...
His father wasn't even dead!
How was he supposed to say it?
Lin Ke was a bit speechless.
Nevertheless, he started thinking, since he had to keep living if he couldn't complete the task, right?
And this task didn't seem to have the previous ones' prompts.
The earlier prompts said if he failed, it would be the end of him and his family.
Were all the tasks not intended for forced execution? Or was only this second task not for forced execution? Was it odd-numbered for execution and even-numbered not?
It seemed he would need more tasks to discover the operating mechanism of this system.
Besides the system itself, there were also the system's tasks...
He pondered those few words, extracting useful information from them.
Enlighten... bloodline?
Follower?