"I combined ether with my blood." Karl spoke with an emotionless voice.
Hearing Karl's words Kevin's and Derek's face contorted.
"You did what!?" Kevin asked in shock.
"I controlled ether and-"
"How did you control ether!?"
"..."
Karl just stayed silent at the question which made Kevin turn towards Derek.
"Can you control ether?" Derek ignored Kevin's stare and asked Karl.
"Yes." Karl answered in the same voice devoid of any emotion.
At Karl's simple answer both Derek and Kevin stared at each other for a few minutes.
"Is there any risk to the method?" Derek asked again.
"Yes."
"What is the risk?"
"Death."
"Did you try to risk Luna's life?" Derek asked after a pause.
"No."
Derek's face softened at the answer.
"Then?"
"..."
"How do you remove the risk?" Derek asked again as he saw Karl staying silent.
"By making stable etherised blood." Karl answered which brought back the frown on Derek's face.
"How do you make stable etherised blood?" This time Kevin asked.
"By perfecting the method."
"How do you perfect the method?"
"By combining ether and blood." Karl spoke.
At Karl's answer Kevin turned to look at Derek who shook his head.
"To know more I will have to break the spell." Derek said to Kevin who gave him a nod.
Derek started chanting again and after a minute, Karl's eyes regained focus.
"Huh?" Karl blurted as he remembered all that had happened.
"WHAT!?" Karl shouted his head throbbing.
'What the fuck!?' Karl felt betrayal as soon as he recalled everything that had happened and it did not take long for that betrayal to turn to anger.
Karl looked at Kevin and Derek with cold eyes as his body again radiated white energy, which was ether.
As soon as his body radiated ether he turned and made a run towards the exit at full speed but as soon as he reached near the exit he found himself at the same spot, in front of Derek.
Karl could feel a hand's hold on his head, which he guessed belonged to his father.
Karl's face's was seething with fury.
He closed his eyes and clenched his jaw to show his opposition to converse.
"Karl this is not something we can ignore. Please explain to us how you did it?" Derek spoke in a calm fatherly voice.
But Karl just kept his eyes closed and jaw clenched.
Derek and Kevin continued asking him questions sometimes promising him gifts and the other time threatening him but Karl remained still.
This continued until-
"Karl do you know that others can not control ether?" Derek asked curiously.
This time there was some reaction from Karl. He frowned.
'What? Are they lying?' Karl caught a peek from his eyes and after looking at Derek's serious face, his mind became dazed.
Derek understanding Karl's surprise continued,
"Karl, no one is capable of controlling ether. That is why we want to know how you can do it."
At Derek's words, Karl's mind went haywire.
'He is lying right? Nah no way such a thing is possible! It is mentioned in the novel that everyone controls ether as the first step or wait!' Karl's eyes widened as he thought of a possibility.
"Karl that is why we convert ether into mana and aura. Because we can not control it. So please tell us how you do it. It is not a method we can let go so easily." Derek continued unknown of Karl's thoughts.
'SHIT! SHIT! SHIT! How could I miss such a fact. I combined ether with my body but I could also form a ring or core with ether! Why did I miss such a basic fact!?' Karl's mind just kept going more frantic until Derek casted some magic on him.
"Karl please tell us how you did it. We are worried for you." Derek spoke worriedly.
Karl looked at Derek's face for a moment and then sighed.
'Yeah, I can just think it all later. For now I am angry at these guys! They fucking controlled my mind!' Karl fumed yet calmly closed his eyes, again becoming unmoving.
This continued for half an hour with Kevin and Derek speaking different things until they left Karl alone.
After some time of standing alone Karl also left and went to his room.
Karl laid on his bed thinking of everything that had gone real wrong.
'My plan was to make Luna form an ether body along with making her stay to save-'
Karl jerked his body, stood up and ran out of the door.
'Fuck! If she goes then she will die! There is no way humans killed her on elven land in the novel so she must have died on her way back!' Karl thought as he ran towards the entrance of the manor.
Karl looked around, trying to find anyone from his family but could not so he ran to the nearest butler and asked him where others were.
Karl ran in the direction of duke's manor where at the entrance he found Kevin and Derek standing along with Ercia and Aria and... Luna.
As Karl saw Luna relief flashed before her eyes.
Luna also smiled when she saw Karl.
"Karl she can not." Kevin spoke looking at Karl with a bitter smile.
Karl ignored Karl and looked at Derek who also had a bittersweet expression.
"I have something to tell you." Karl spoke with a serious voice.
"Hmm?" Derek hummed meaning Karl to continue but Karl stayed still.
Derek sighed and spoke again.
"They won't hear us now. Speak." Derek spoke his expression turning serious.
"I get dreams which always come true. My dream yesterday was that Luna died on her way back."
'Enough with planning. I will get fucked in the worst ways. Sometimes it is better to rush head in.' Karl decided.
Unaware of Karl's thoughts, Derek frowned after hearing Karl's words.
"You sure have talent in making people surprised." Derek spoke with a bitter laugh.
Karl just continued staring at her.
"You sure you are not just doing this to get back at me?" Derek asked again seriously.
"I have better ways to take revenge." Karl spoke his eyes turning colder.
Derek bewildered by his reply stared at him for a moment.
"You mean you will get revenge on me and your father." Derek spoke with a twisted laugh.
"With interest." Karl stated coldly.
"You know no one who said such thing to me or him is-" Derek stopped recalling that he was talking to a kid but as he looked at Karl's cold face he continued "alive."
"If you were not family then I would not be stupidly blabbering here. But that is not what I am here for. I have said the important part. The dream can be changed but if one does nothing it is bound to happen. In the future she died so... change it." Karl stopped, turned and walked away.
Derek stared at Karl walking away then turned to look at Luna who was staring at Karl with a heartbroken face.
"I am leaving alone. Kevin can you take care of Aria and Luna for a few more days? I will be back then." Derek asked as he looked at Kevin with a serious expression.
Kevin frowned but nodded seeing Derek's face.
Aria and Ercia also frowned after hearing Derek's words but stayed silent like Kevin while Luna... smiled.
Derek looked at Luna and again said with a bitter sweet smile.
"At least pretend you will miss me."
Luna flinched at Derek's words and spoke in a hurry, "I will miss you dad!".
Everyone along with Karl sighed at Luna's words.
"Should I also come?" Kevin asked but Derek shook his head.
Derek sat in the carriage and started casting some spell as it took off.
***
Meanwhile Karl again was lying on his bed as he started thinking... again.
'With this at least the bottom line is taken care of. But this taught me something... bad but very important. The novel was wrong.
Now I can not even trust the novel.
At least ether body is as it was said but unlike as it said in the novel people can not control ether.
How could I overlook such a simple fact, if people could control ether, why would they convert it to mana or aura even though it clearly stated ether is stronger.
I lack info but more than that what irks me is my helplessness.
Wrong information is worse than right information. At the basic level I can find out about the correct information but things like dungeons, I can not risk entering as I don't know if the novel had true information.
To make matters worse, I do not think I will ask anything of father. I get that they did not hurt me but I do not care. I just feel very... angry!'
Karl fumed as he suddenly had a thought of the anger being too irrational but he just ignored it.
"Ceremony will happen in 4 days. I will just learn everything then. Till then..." Karl muttered when he suddenly heard a knock on his door.
"Young master, young miss is waiting for y- Wait young miss!" Voice came from outside.
'Couldn't have understood more without seeing.' Karl smirked as he understood what must have played out outside.
'So he left her here? I thought he would just take father along with him. Yeah this works too.'
Karl walked up to the door and as he opened it and went out of the room, he saw the maid 20 steps away from the door looking at him with a sorry expression.
"She ran away?" Karl asked with a smile to which nodded.
"Which way?"
Karl ran to the direction the maid pointed at.
'Yeah I got the perfect time pass right here.' Karl smirked as he saw Luna standing against the wall at the end of the hallway.
***
Afternoon the next day.
"Kekekek"
Karl was laughing loudly, rolling on the floor while clutching his stomach with his hands.
"STOPPP!!!"
Luna shouted with a teary voice before she started crying but Luna kept crying till suddenly the door banged open.
Derek as soon as he entered the room was overwhelmed by the sight he saw.
Karl was rolling on the floor laughing while Luna was crying while... she had her hairs up forming spikes.
"DAD!!!"
Luna rushed at Derek as she hugged him sobbing.
Derek also broke into laughter as he looked at the spiky silver head of his daughter.
Luna started crying out loud as she saw even Derek laughing at her.
Derek flinched at Luna's cry and quickly spread his mana after which her hairs returned to normal.
"Its ok now Luna." Derek spoke with a warm smile but Luna not able to hear him kept crying.
"It is okay now Luna." Derek spoke in a higher pitch as Luna quietened to sobbing as she touched her head at different places.
"Luna, I and Karl have something to talk about, can you wait outside for a minute." Derek spoke as he patted Luna's head.
Luna nodded still sobbing as she walked out the door.
Karl had sat down straight as soon as Luna had shouted 'Dad'.
Karl stared at Derek without a trace of laughter he was doing till just a minute ago.
"Thank You Karl. You saved her life." Derek spoke after giving a bow to Karl.
"I did it because she is mine." Karl spoke with a straight face.
Derek made a dumbfounded expression at Karl's words.
"Kid are you the same age as my daughter?"
"What happened?" Karl asked changing the topic.
'I was also curious how she died with even him present there.'
Derek squinted his eyes at Karl's change of topic and then sighed as he spoke.
"Some organization teleported the carriage away. When I reached there, there were 3 blue cored aryas. If Luna or Aria were there with me... I would not have been able to protect them." Derek spoke his eyes glinting with anger.
"Which organization?"
Derek frowned as he looked at Karl again before he sighed.
"I thought my daughter grew up fast compared to children her age." Derek muttered with a sigh as he walked out, ignoring Karl's question.
As soon as Derek exited the room, Luna tugged at his clothes as she started shouting, "Dad, Karl-" Luna could not continue as Derek cut him off.
"Luna we will leave in 5 minutes. Wish your goodbyes and come to the other manor." Derek spoke as he continued walking away.
Luna stood dazed for a few seconds before she ran inside the room.
Karl was sitting on the bed looking at her... coldly.