Gratitude.

That was the feeling that threatened to burst out from Kaden's heart like fire on gasoline as he heard the words of his mother.

He didn't say anything back. He was trying his best not to shed tears by opening his mouth.

That would be too embarrassing, after all je was a respectable man. He was not one who cried.

But still… he was deeply touched.

He had been stressing all this time about this matter. It was not only a question of betraying tradition, it was more than that.

It was the fact that he was afraid of disappointing his parents, especially his mother, with him wanting more than one woman.

He didn't want them to think he was frivolous, unserious, the kind of man who only sought out girls to steal their purity and leave them to dust while he continued his path.

He would never do such a thing. Besides the fact that he was not that type of man… he had a mother and a sister.

How would he feel if some bastard did the same to them?

He knew exactly how he would feel…because the day that happened, the world would bleed without end.

And everything between heaven and earth would drown in an ocean of blood.

So something he wouldn't want his mother and sister to experience, he would never do to other women out there. That would be the height of hypocrisy.

He was already hypocritical enough to not even fathom his sister ending up with a man who didn't make her his only woman.

Because if the man was polygamous? Yes, he would kill himself, rewind time itself and kill that bastard before he even met his sister.

That way, no one would be unhappy. The world would just lose one less polygamous man — and women would love him for that, bloody sure.

So knowing all that… he became even more grateful to have such parents.

So he couldn't stop himself. His face split into an open, beaming smile, the kind a normal child of his age would wear in a world where death was not the ever-present companion of everyone…

…and his smile brightened the room instantly.

Daela's heart skipped a beat seeing such a stunning smile. Her eyes widened slightly. At that moment, she only wanted to hug her little brother so tight against her chest that they would be like one body.

Serena felt the same. Looking at Kaden's smile, she noticed how much he looked like her. But Kaden had something more in his beauty, something dangerously alluring.

Her heart melted down like snow under a bright sun. She immediately felt she had made the right choice to accept his wishes.

Garros too was kind of surprised. Not by the decision of his wife itself — he already knew she was a simp for the youngest — but by how much Kaden looked at his mother while smiling like that. He couldn't help but soften his own eyes while watching him.

Kaden had all the fairest characteristics of his mother.

The tension in the room disappeared as if it had never existed, erased by nothing more than Kaden's smile. And then the room brightened with emotion and joy as Kaden spoke:

"Thank you… thank you, really. You are the best." His words were simple.

But sometimes the simplest things carried the heaviest weight.

And his family felt it.

Kaden was thanking everything between the heavens and earth for making him reborn into this beautiful family.

And that's exactly why… that's exactly why he was ready to do everything — absolutely everything — to protect this family.

He would not lose them like he lost the ones back on Earth, drowned in an unending woe, facing the world alone.

The world was not made to be faced alone, you would shatter like a castle made of glass then.

And here he was not weak. He was not powerless. He was not a coward.

Here he was Kaden Warborn. The child born in war, in blood, and in death.

He had power. He had influence. He had people who followed him and cared about him.

He was not alone.

And only by thinking about all of that, he gained this feeling, this belief, that he would be able to achieve anything he set his eyes on.

Because as the great men once said… when the goal is clear, sacrifice is no longer sacrifice…it is simply the cost of walking forward.

His goal was clear. It was to be strong enough to make all harms useless against this incredible family. Strong enough so that nothing would bind them in a way they didn't want.

He was lucky enough to be born within it.

Now it depended on him to keep it going until the end of time.

An eternal family.

As if sensing what he was thinking, they all smiled in unison.

"We will prevail," Daela said, voice curt. She approached Kaden. He was sitting and she standing, so when she took hold of his head and pressed it against her, it rested against her belly.

It was hard. Her abs were a wonder, and kaden liked the feeling.

Serena appeared and sat on his left side, holding a playful smile.

"Since Kaden will have multiple wives, I will have many grandchildren. All mini Kadens… ah, will my heart even support that much cuteness?" she said with a melodramatic flair that Kaden himself was good at, while caressing his cheek.

"HAHAHAH! Can you imagine, Serena? All of them my training partners and disciples to learn blacksmithing. I will be the happiest grandfather alive!" Garros bellowed at his right side, giving a hearty tap on Kaden's back.

"The best aunt!" Daela chirped in, face serious, mind already planning how to coax her nephews and nieces.

Kaden was surrounded by his family. And at times like this, he couldn't help but miss his brother Dain.

They all did.

"That bastard of a first son should have been here."

"An irresponsible big brother."

"Sigh, leave my firstborn in peace. I am sure he's out there, killing everything in sight with glee."

They all started to laugh and banter, telling Kaden stories of how Dain was when he was younger.

A beast with fist as brain.

They laughed, they joked, they teased each other, forgetting for a moment about the war looming over them.

A war that could kill them all.

But that would only be possible if Kaden was killed completely, without any death coins left.

Because as long as he had death coins…

His family might as well be immortal.

They wouldn't bloody die.

After those soft talks, Kaden told them about Meris Elamin. Once again, his parents were deeply surprised. Even Daela was, she didn't know either.

They didn't know the one Kaden loved was the heiress of the Elamin. And that the very Matriarch of the Elamin was in accord with them being together. Everything just needed some confirmation, and Kaden and Meris would officially be together.

Before any of that though, Garros and Serena thought it better to first inform Thornspire about this news.

They already guessed Thornspire wouldn't like it. But to begin with, the relationship with Rea was not something they had chosen.

It was the work of Raven Warborn, Kaden's grandfather.

Still, they were ready to apologize and do their best to keep things cordial.

Kaden even lied and said he loved Rea, making sure Meris knew it. Rea would be his first wife, as fate had decided.

She deserved at least that much consideration.

Discussions then followed about all of that until they were cut short by soft, almost timid knocks on the door.

At their accord,

Sabine entered and bowed her head towards the family, her back slick with sweat. In her hands was a carefully covered letter, glowing with a faint green light.

She took a breath to calm herself and parted her lips.

"My Lords, we have received a letter," she said.

"From who?" Garros asked, his voice making Sabine almost kneel down.

Doing her best not to show such an embarrassing sight in front of her masters, she bit the inside of her lip and managed to blurt out the words clawing at her throat:

"The Snakes, my lords…"

"…The Snakes of the Orobus Tribe sent you a letter."

Instantly, like the deep grunting howl of a wolf under a half moon, Kaden's perception activated with sudden intensity unheard of.

His eyes became so cold the room froze, a scent of blood began to permeate the air.

His gaze was fixed on the letter… he could sense it… he could sense a deep probing danger clouding over them.

He sighed.

No, they all sighed.

"Kill's time, huh?" Garros muttered with a grin, then…

They all grinned.

The Warborns were ready.

And the world would know why a clan of brutes was never exterminated in a world riddled with cunning foxes.

—End of Chapter 247—

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