Ascension of the Dark Seraph-Chapter 350: Rift in the Family

Mirel and Bakar wanted to ask Leandra what her reason was for asking them to recount their past once again, but Master Tobias appeared right before they could ask. He came out of nowhere, appearing from around the corner like a ghost.

Both of them were the ones who noticed first.

Leandra hadn’t noticed Master Tobias.

She was facing the other direction, so she couldn’t see Master Tobias appearing from the corner.

And when Mirel tugged her hand and gestured for her to look behind her, she froze.

Not out of shock, but something deeper, more profound.

Instinctively, she turned away, unwilling to make eye contact.

On the other hand, Mirel and Bakar rubbed their eyes, making sure they weren’t only seeing things.

"It’s really Master Tobias. I’m not only seeing things."

"Bro, he’s like a ghost, no? We hadn’t talked about him for some time, and he chose to appear when we were talking about him? How scary is that? He didn’t hear what we said, right? I don’t want him hearing us nostalgically talk about the past."

"What’s so wrong about that? We’re not talking badly about him, so relax."

Unlike Mirel and Bakar, who could still joke around, Leandra couldn’t.

She was stunned, eyes fixed onto the table as if looking at it hard enough would calm her down.

’It’s not his time to visit us—so why is he here?’ A bead of cold sweat trickled down the side of her face as she fretted about Master Tobias’ intention. ’Did Ravenna get caught? Or did he suspect us of realizing his lie and come here to check?’

Leandra didn’t know the answer to that.

She couldn’t even bring herself to look him in the eyes, so she couldn’t get a clue either.

All she had in her mind was their stupidity for questioning Master Tobias and Ravenna’s whereabouts.

’I should’ve stopped Ravenna. No way that Master Tobias would do anything bad to us, and if he knew that we questioned his loyalty, he would be disappointed in us!’ Leandra clutched her head, regretting ever questioning Master Tobias. ’But it’s too late now.’

"Come on, he’s calling for us." Bakar stood up, pointing at Master Tobias.

Mirel nodded, "I don’t think he’s here to reward any of us, it’s not the time yet. Why is he here?"

Both of them leisurely walked over without any worry.

Leandra was the one who stood up last.

She is too scared to face Master Tobias right now, and also quite guilty.

However, there’s no point running from it.

Master Tobias waited for them in a quieter place, a bit away from the cafeteria.

Just like the usual, he was draped in a formal suit, and even brought a cane with him.

"What’s with the cane, master?" Mirel looked at it with concern. "Are you hurt somewhere?"

"No need to worry about it." Master Tobias smiled assuringly. "Just a little accident. I was dealing with an unwanted rat in the mansion and got hurt a little."

Leandra’s eyes widened slightly.

And when she raised her gaze, she found Master Tobias was looking directly at her.

Instinctively, she averted her gaze again, but her heart was pounding inside.

’Why is he looking at me like that?’ Her mind raced. "An unwanted rat? Is he talking about Ravenna?’

In Ravenna’s note, she specifically mentioned her intent to investigate the situation further, which made it likely she’d infiltrate Master Tobias’ mansion in search of clues. And just from knowing that alone, dark possibilities crept into Leandra’s mind.

But she quickly shook her head, ’No, Ravenna is fine. He must be talking about an actual rat.’

"What’s wrong, Leandra? Do you have something to say to me?"

Leandra’s eyes shot up.

She quickly shook her head, forcing a smile onto her face.

"It’s nothing, master..."

"Hmm, really?"

Just then, Mirel intervened, suspecting that Leandra was still out of it.

"She was attacked yesterday, master. Lucivar’s enemy is a strong one, and he managed to reach us."

"Is that so?"

Master Tobias looked at Mirel with a hint of surprise.

He had been giving them freedom, so he wasn’t really up to date with how things were going.

"Yes," Bakar added with firmness. "She almost died yesterday, so she must still be out of it."

Master Tobias looked at Leandra again, "Do you need anything at all? I’d get anything you need."

"N-No, master... I don’t need anything, but thank you." Leandra quickly answered.

"Master, what should we do about Lucivar’s enemy?" Mirel stepped forward, asking for guidance as he was still unsure whether he should help Lucivar or not, considering that he had the bloodline of a God, or perhaps multiple Gods. "It’s his enemy, so it’s not directly tied to us."

"What are you saying?" Master Tobias looked at him sharply. "We’re family. His enemy is our enemy."

Upon hearing this, Mirel looked down, ashamed.

"Why have you come to visit us today, master?" Bakar eventually asked.

All of them wanted to know the answer to that question.

Master Tobias drew in a deep, steadying breath, his gaze drifting from one face to the next, lingering with a weight that suggested something unspoken. His eyes shimmered with emotion, a complex and layered feeling.

But whatever stirred behind them remained unreadable.

Then, almost as if pushing back the heaviness, he broke into a wide, reassuring smile.

"I came here because I’m worried about you guys, especially because of how sudden it was," He said, his voice softer than usual, but clearly relieved. "But it looks like you’re holding up better than I was expecting. All of you seemed okay."

Naturally, Bakar and Mirel frowned as the two of them didn’t know what he was talking about.

Other than Leandra’s attack last night, there shouldn’t be anything else.

Leandra, on the other hand, froze.

She wanted to say something, but Mirel already beat her to it.

"What do you mean by holding up? What happened?"

"Hmm? You don’t get the message?"

"Message? What message?"

Master Tobias paused for a second, seemingly confused.

He looked at Mirel to see if he was playing around or not, but he wasn’t.

Seems like he really doesn’t know.

"Bob left for good. He left on the third day of the South Hues Tournament while all of you were focused on Lucivar’s performance, distracted." Master Tobias finally dropped the news, catching Mirel and Bakar off guard. "He felt trapped in this family, and he met a woman. Since he’s now strong enough to fend for himself, he left."

Mirel staggered backward until his back reached the wall.

His eyes trembled as he couldn’t believe that Bob really left.

It was the same for Bakar.

"Bob left...? How? Out of everyone, I never expected him to be able to pull something like this off."

"No, that can’t be right. Bob will never do this..."

Master Tobias turned to Leandra, his voice laced with concern, "Did you truly not know about this? I sent a letter to Ravenna, hoping she’d be the one to tell you. I thought it would be easier, better, for all of you to hear it from her, rather than from me."

"No, she didn’t say anything!" Bakar raised his voice, frustrated. "Why didn’t she say anything?!"

"I’m sure she’s shaken up by it, too," Mirel intervened, thinking positively.

Just then, their eyes landed on Leandra.

Unlike the two of them, who seemed to be shaken up by this, she didn’t seem to be that surprised.

Rather, she looked worried rather than surprised.

"Leandra..." Mirel straightened his posture again, pointing at her. "Did you know about this?"

"I... I..." Leandra wanted to tell the truth, but not a single word came out of her mouth. She was caught up in Ravenna’s suspicion that she followed her words blindly, not telling Bakar and Mirel until they got more proof.

Seeing her stuttering alone was answer enough for Mirel.

He stepped back and looked at her in disbelief.

Bakar pulled on Leandra’s shoulder hard.

"You knew? You knew about this?" His chest burned with rising anger—and his voice rose as Leandra avoided his gaze, not being able to lie anymore. "You knew and didn’t tell us? Is that why you’ve seen so secretive? Why?! If you had told us, we could’ve tried to find him!"

Mirel placed a hand in front of Bakar’s chest, holding him back.

Becoming angry would not change anything.

Gritting his teeth, Bakar turned around sharply and threw his hands in utter disbelief.

Mirel faced Leandra, his voice low but demanding.

"You and Ravenna hid this from us, why...?"

"Because... It’s because of..."

Leandra wanted to tell the truth, but Master Tobias was right there with them.

She couldn’t possibly admit that she and Ravenna had kept this hidden because they suspected Master Tobias might be behind Bob’s disappearance. None of the two would believe that, and worse, they might not be able to stomach that truth.

At least not until the proof was all there.

Mirel grabbed her shoulder roughly and shook her, "Answer me right now, why?"

"Stop, it’s not her fault." Master Tobias stepped in, placing a hand on Mirel’s shoulder. "I didn’t come here to start a fight like this. I’m here to invite all of you to have some fun together later this week. Just us to spend some quality time."

"I’ve been absent because I’m adjusting to the city, but it’s done now." He added, assuringly.

Hearing this, Mirel eventually backed away, although reluctantly.

He was still disappointed in Leandra for keeping this huge thing from him.

It was clear that there was an invisible rift within the family, and Mirel and Bakar weren’t aware of it.

"We can use this time to bond again, to remember why we’re here together." Master Tobias continued.

Mirel inhaled deeply and turned to Master Tobias.

"Where are we going?"

"A vacation to a place I know. Just us, and nature. All of us can use it to relax."

...

Later that night.

Leandra groaned and opened her eyes.

She frowned at the unfamiliar sight of the corridor, then let out a sigh as the fog of sleep lifted.

After the sudden visit from Master Tobias, Mirel and Bakar understandably avoided her. She tried to talk to them, but both of them ignored her completely. She has never been good at this sort of stuff, so she didn’t know what to do.

In a fit of desperation, she sat outside of Ravenna’s room.

She must’ve dozed off while waiting.

Right now, more than anything, she needed to talk to Ravenna.

And the only thing she could do was wait for her to come back.

"Master Tobias came here, so she has plenty of time to search for clues. She has to come back home tonight, right?" Leandra mumbled inwardly, burying her face on her knees. "Come back soon, Ravenna, I need your help."

Just then, Leandra’s head snapped up when she heard a sound coming from inside the room.

"Ravenna?!"

New novel 𝓬hapters are published on (f)re𝒆web(n)ovel.com