Jax leaned in slightly without realizing it.

"They came armed with the ultimate bait. They offered me something infinitely greater than any of the previous offers. They offered me the hidden truth about my Ariana. And her final moments."

His voice trembled for the first time. "They dangled her very last words written in a secret diary right in front of my face. Along with the final precious belonging she left behind for me."

He shook his head slowly at his younger self.

"I sold my soul to those devils. And I did exactly what they demanded. I brought a terrifying new era down upon this land with my allied forces. And exactly as I told you earlier, my horrific massacre, my crimes, were entirely erased by money and power. I was instantly painted as one of the heroes of the rebellion who righteously purged the deep corruption from this land."

His eyes finally softened, but only because they were getting wet. "And keeping their twisted bargain, they finally handed me the devastating truth. They gave me the small leather diary where my Ariana poured out the absolute hell she endured. Entirely in the dark. Entirely alone."

He swallowed. "She wrote with terrified hands about how her own royal family was actively plotting to sever our love and execute the innocent life developing inside her womb. She knew with absolute terrifying certainty that the very moment our baby took a first breath, those monsters would slaughter the infant in front of her eyes." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"Then an elder woman emerged from the shadows and revealed the rest of Ariana’s agonizing story. And her ultimate sacrifice."

Claude paused. His next words came out slower. Heavier. Each one paid for in advance.

"That impossibly stubborn woman engineered a completely desperate escape away from her cage. She called upon her connections and fled into the freezing night. And on that exact same day, she gave birth inside the tiny cottage of her loyal maid."

He stared at the smoke rising from his cigar like it was a window into the past. "But amidst that excruciating pain of childbirth, she never got a single moment to catch her breath to rest a bit. Because the hunting dogs of her family had finally tracked her down."

His voice cracked. "At the very end, that glorious mother warrior stood up on bleeding legs. And turned herself into a living target. For the sake of her newborn child."

He blinked rapidly. "She violently pulled the wrath of the entire knight order directly onto herself. Just to carve open a safe escape route for our little girl. She fought against impossible odds until her physical body completely shattered. Until the maid successfully vanished with our baby into an obscure orphanage."

He inhaled deeply. "She purposefully chose not to send the child to me. Because doing so would have drawn the assassins straight to my door. And doomed both me and the child at once in her eyes."

Claude slowly wiped the heavy tears from his scarred face. His broken voice rasped out the final piece.

"She made a final vow in those letters. That she would make sure I would see the face of the child. And she swore she would never let the world harm our baby."

He closed his eyes. "She kept her promise perfectly and bought our daughter a future by paying with her own life."

Silence fell heavy between them. Claude was reliving the painful memories, and Jax did not have it in him to interrupt that pilgrimage.

When Claude finally calmed himself, he looked back at Jax. He puffed his thick cigar and spoke with a haunting clarity.

"Do you know why I decided to tell you this incredibly dark secret that only a few people know? The secret that it was never a glorious rebellion, and it was never a satisfying revenge story."

His eyes locked on Jax. "It was rather a heartbreaking tragedy that showed the terrifying divine power of a mother. And the ultimate brutal truth that absolutely nothing in this rotting world ever goes as planned. Fate is a cruel butcher that bleeds our brightest dreams entirely dry. And destiny only respects the violent edge of a drawn sword."

He took a breath. "The true reason I told you all of this is because you are sitting in the exact same sinking boat that I was. I know that good luck is definitely not on your side. I do not know the exact reason why, but I have done enough deep research to know that you are someone constantly surrounded by lethal danger. And watching you simply brings back the exact same terrifying memories of me. And the beautiful mother of Astrid."

A faint sad smile touched his lips. "Astrid is a perfect living copy of her mother. She carries that exact same fierce attitude. And that exact same blinding stubbornness. Though in her case it is definitely multiplied twice. Or maybe even a hundred times more."

Jax could not help the small huff that escaped him. ’No exaggeration there.’

"And that is the exact deep reason I desperately want you to succeed where I failed. Your happy ending will finally mean a happy ending for me. And her mother as well."

Claude then slowly looked down at his golden pocket watch and let out a heavy sigh.

"It seems like I took up way too much of your time tonight. We can always talk about the rest of this later. Since you really need to go and finish exactly what you came here for."

Jax immediately realized exactly what he meant and quickly turned to dash down the hall.

But then Claude suddenly interrupted him one last time. "Oh, I completely forgot to warn you about one little thing tonight. She is currently in her violent and most destructive phase. So please bear with her wild wrath. I heavily guess it is entirely your fault anyway, so you better go and take full responsibility for it right now."

Jax took one step before Claude spoke again. This time the warmth was completely gone from his voice.

"Let me make one more thing absolutely clear before you run off."

Jax stopped.

"The second reason I revealed my dark history was to leave you with a very heavy warning. I might have accepted your presence, but it changes absolutely nothing about my duty as a protective father."

"If you ever dare to hurt my precious child, you will personally watch the monster of the past return."

-x-X-x-

[A/N: Golden tickets from redwolf86, GorillaJone, Michael_Henderson_3448, stupid_squad and Ordici_T, thank you guys 🙏🔥

(👍🏻ᴗ _ᴗ)👍🏻]