Return of the Legendary Runesmith-Chapter 560 - 559- Confession(2)

Long silence fell over the room after Elana revealed something almost impossible to believe.

The first to speak and break the silence was the man of the house.

"What? Independent magic?"

Elana slowly nodded, clear nervousness on her face.

Natasha’s lips parted in shock, while Charles looked conflicted, torn between disbelief and the faint thought that his sister might somehow be joking, something completely against her character.

Adrian sighed, trying to calm things down first.

"Before you all doubt or question her, let me make a few things clear so you can understand the unnatural circumstances she is going through."

Their attention shifted to the brown-haired man before Natasha asked, "You know about it, Professor... have you informed anyone?"

Natasha’s reaction was expected, but it did not stop Elana from feeling hurt.

From the way she looked, it was clear that Natasha was already treating this as something taboo.

Adrian glanced at his student. Elana’s head was lowered, her fingers trembling slightly.

He turned back to the two elders and asked, "Before I reveal the whole situation, I want to ask something. Under what circumstances would you stop trusting your child? If I told you she had gone against the deities to support evil, what would you do?"

Elana was surprised by those words, and the other three were plainly shocked.

"What kind of question is that? Why would my daughter take the side of evil?" Natasha asked, her eyes narrowing.

Charles nodded in agreement. "My sister could never do such a thing." His voice was low, a little hesitant, but his words reached everyone in the hall.

Nolan, however, responded differently.

"I know my daughter, Professor Adrian. Even if she had done something you consider evil, nothing could change my feelings for her. She is, and will always be, my daughter."

Elana’s shoulders relaxed faintly, and Adrian could not stop his lips from curving at those words.

Leaning back in his seat, he told them, "The only reason she asked me to come here with her was because she was afraid you might choose social norms over her."

Nolan frowned, but before he or anyone else could respond, Adrian finally uncovered the truth.

"She is Nytharos’s Apostle."

"Huh?"

"What?"

"...!"

Their reactions were expected, but instead of giving them time to process it, Adrian chose to continue explaining.

"You all must be aware that during the war, the deities chose their Apostles to fight against Darkness. Just like them, Nytharos also had the authority to choose his Apostles. Whether he did so while he was still among the deities or after he fell remains a mystery."

Taking a breath and glancing at Elana, he continued,

"Elana is one of those Apostles chosen by the fallen god. That is what allows her to use independent magic, even though she can wield an armament perfectly well."

The information was delivered in simple words, the explanation kept short so they could grasp the essence of this surreal phenomenon.

None of them spoke.

They were still trying to process what Adrian had just told them.

Naturally, it was not easy to accept that among the few Apostles in existence, their daughter was one of them.

And not the Apostle of a deity, but of the criminal being.

The first question came from Natasha, and it left Adrian deeply disappointed.

"Professor Adrian... is there no way of curing her?"

Nolan clicked his tongue while Adrian lowered his head slightly.

Elana had warned him that her mother was a deeply religious person who often served the church and prayed to the deities.

So it was not surprising that Natasha viewed Elana’s condition as some kind of illness.

Still, it left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"No, mother."

Elana suddenly spoke as she rose to her feet.

"There is no cure for what I have become. That is why I will try to never return to this place and drag you all into my mess."

Leaving those words behind, Elana turned and walked away.

"Elana, wait! I didn’t mean that..." Natasha called after her, but Elana had already stepped out of the house, unwilling to hear anything further.

Adrian sighed and stood up. "I will go get her."

However, before leaving, he added a few words.

"Lady Stronghart... Elana has been emotionally vulnerable ever since she learned about this. So please think carefully before you speak to her."

He might have sounded rude. After all, they were her parents, and advice from an outsider about parenting was hardly welcome.

But Adrian cared too much about his student to worry about manners.

Without waiting any longer, he hurried after Elana.

Frustration was clear in Nolan’s eyes, but he maintained his calm as he turned to his wife.

"Natasha... was that really necessary? To think about the situation before thinking about Elana?"

Natasha, still flustered by how everything had unfolded, answered honestly.

"I am worried about her, dear. When this comes out, it will only place her in a difficult position. And she is not a bird we can keep locked inside a cage."

Nolan rubbed his brows before asking quietly,

"Is it really necessary for you, as her mother, to think of a solution first instead of comforting your daughter?"

Natasha’s lips parted, but no words came out.

Her usual way of approaching things rationally was exactly what the moment did not need.

As Elana’s mother, she should have thought first about what her daughter was going through before worrying about the world.

Nolan shook his head slowly.

"When I heard that our daughter had to bring someone with her to explain the situation, I was a little upset that she trusted an outsider more than us."

His gaze drifted to the seat where his precious child had been sitting just moments ago.

Quietly, he muttered,

"Now... I understand why she did that."

....

Elana did not know what she was feeling right now.

She knew her mother loved her, and that question had undoubtedly come from concern about how Elana would survive in the outside world.

However, she had never expected to be treated like an ill person.

Yes, Nytharos was an evil being, considered the second most corrupted entity in history. But her mother should not have taken Nytharos into account while judging Elana. Just because she had been cursed by that being did not mean Elana had become someone like him.

Lost in thought, she walked toward the back of the garden and sat beneath a tree. Her eyes were listless, and no thoughts occupied her mind other than those few words she had heard from her mother.

"And here I thought I wouldn’t catch you this soon."

Adrian arrived beside her, slightly out of breath.

Elana looked up at him, noticing his flushed face and the concern in his eyes.

She pulled her legs closer and wrapped her arms around her knees before asking quietly, "Professor... is there really no way to remove his curse from me?"

Adrian let out a soft sigh.

So her mother’s words had settled deep in her mind after all.

Without saying anything, he sat beside her and stared at the flowerbed in front of them for a few seconds.

After a brief pause, he finally muttered, "Elana... we talked about this. You knew how your mother would react, and we both know you can’t alter one’s soul."

Elana lowered her head. "I know, Professor... but..."

She paused as another person suddenly came running toward them.

"Charles? Ah!"

Elana was startled when the young man threw himself into her arms and hugged her tightly.

She was taken aback by the sudden embrace and glanced at her professor in bewilderment.

Then Charles’s soft, sobbing voice reached her ears.

"I am sorry... big sister... you had to go through all that... all alone."

Elana’s eyes widened for a brief moment, her heartbeat slowly calming.

Her hesitant hands finally wrapped around his back, and a faint smile lifted the corners of her lips.

Softly, she said, "Thank you, Charles... thank you for understanding me."