Arcane Heir: History's Strongest Mage

The atmosphere seemed to clear up in an instant, casting off the heaviness that had plagued it for the past half an hour. Rudy took the opportunity to reach for the snacks first, securing a slice of ham and some freshly baked bread before stuffing his mouth.

Melody too seemed to have calmed down, though she remained silent.

Michael was sure that she and her parents would have a private discussion at a later stage. He hoped that they could make up, after all, family was precious.

Since everyone had recovered from the earlier mood, they seemed to be forgetting a certain detail—the one that had made Melody anxious in the first place. It was only touched on briefly, but it had been glossed over rather quickly.

However, Michael didn't want to ruin the jovial atmosphere just yet. His gaze happened to meet Brian's across the table, seeing some appreciation in the man's eyes directed at himself.

They had a wordless conversation, seemingly both agreeing to not bring up the subject until a bit later. It was hard to explain, but they seemed to be on the same wavelength.

Unfortunately, the tranquility could only last for so long before the serious discussion returned. Everyone seemed to silently understand this fact, except Rudy who was still helping himself to the remaining food on the table.

"So, about the appeal…" Michael spoke up, cutting right to the point.

"Mmm, the appeal." Brian repeated seriously. "As I stated before, the Bishop family allied with other prominent nobles to appeal to the royal family regarding Melody's supposed engagement."

Michael nodded, not replying. They had been told as much.

"The law that they stated is an old and rather outdated one, something that hasn't been valid for over a thousand years…" he said, showing some frustration.

"Just what is this law? And why can't it be disregarded?" Michael asked.

At his question, both Brian and Mary looked pained.

"Well…" he began, "the law is specifically is called the 'Right of Appeal', giving the noble houses a right to contest any engagement of a minor noble—or branch royal family member."

"Any coalition of three or more noble houses can directly object to the king himself—provided they have sufficient reasoning. But as I said, there hasn't been an instance of this law being used for a thousand years…"

His words settled over the table, bringing with it some exasperation and frustrations.

"You said that they can object to the king, but that doesn't mean he has to accept it right?" Rudy asked, looking rather indignant.

Brian wore a wry smile in response, "The Bishop's managed to gather ten other noble families—two of which are on their same level. Even if we went through the proper channels for Melody's engagement, he would have had to think long and hard before making a decision…"

"Three elite families!?" Michael blanched, feeling his heart begin to thump loudly in his chest.

Is getting Melody's hand really worth so much? He thought in awe.

This was the one thing that he didn't fully understand, even with her status as the king's niece. He had intended on discussing this with Brian at a later stage, but this was the perfect time.

"Not to be rude, my lord… But why go through so much effort? While Melody is certainly beautiful—like her mother," He added, making sure to mix in some compliments so no one got the wrong idea, "I don't understand why they would go so far to have someone from a royal branch marry into their family."

Michael glanced at Melody and her mother, only breathing a sigh of relief upon seeing they appeared pleased by the flattery he had slipped in.

Brian nodded, as if expecting the question. "You are correct of course," he admitted. "It is not Melody's ties to the royal family that they covet…"

The man paused, as if reluctant to speak his next words. It was only after feeling his wife's hand upon his arm that he finally relented, shaking his head softly.

He raised his gaze, looking directly into Michael's emerald eyes.

"It is my bloodline that they're after." He said.

The Winterborne bloodline!? Michael balked.

Even he who had been dragged to many noble parties throughout the first ten years of his life had never heard mention of the Winterborne history. If it was such a coveted bloodline, wouldn't he have at least heard of it in passing?

Apparently his disbelief was visible on his features, since the next words out of Brian's mouth was an explanation.

"You see this blue hair," he said pointing to the top of his head.

Michael nodded. Of course he could, it was so eye catching that he'd have to be blind not to.

"It signifies that I belong to a line of ancient mages who achieved a certain power—on the level of myths and legends…" he said, though there was no arrogance in his words at all.

"Ancient mages…" Rudy muttered, his eyes widening in response.

Essentially anything that occurred before the great war was given the prefix ancient. Ancient magic, ancient mages, ancient artifacts. All of these things were highly sought after—mainly because it was all lost after the war.

"So you have an ancient bloodline?" Michael asked, gulping.

"Yes… however it will remain dormant unless one can advance to become an Violet mage." He admitted, wearing a pained smile. "But as you can see, I did not have the potential to do so."

The man raised his left wrist, showing the two green rings for all to see.

"But Melody…" he said, turning to her beside him.

"Yes, her potential should be capped at three green rings. But there are many wondrous medicines that one can take prior to the ascension ritual in order to help one ascend past their potential. Of course these medicines are extremely expensive—and strictly controlled by the noble houses." He explained patiently.

Michael's gaze fell upon the girl who had been silent ever since her outburst earlier. Her gaze was lowered, clearly affected by the discussions around her.

"So you're saying that these noble families want her to marry into their family to awaken her ancient bloodline? Am I getting that right?" Michael asked unhurriedly.

"Yes, in a nutshell. In fact, the only reason why I was able to escape the slave market was because Mary's father was able to recognize my bloodline, and set me free…"

"Slave market!?" Rudy surged to his feet, his mouth wide open in shock.