Chapter 254: Chapter 241: Background, Mother?

Jon paid no mind to everyone’s shock. He simply set down his bone china cup and said coolly,

"Rosalind, take this old gentleman for a tour of the workshop area. Engineering is the most direct and precise of disciplines. Everything is laid bare in metal and lines. The truth of the matter will be clear at a glance."

Before the others could react to his words, Wood slammed the table and shot to his feet, his salt-and-pepper beard trembling with excitement.

"Well said! Words can lie, but designs don’t!

"The meshing of components, the flow of runes, the pathways of energy—this is the truest language!"

"On the strength of those words alone, I believe you’re the real deal!"

He then turned his head to look at the silver-haired lady standing beside Jon.

"This... Lady Rosadeline, you must take me to have a look! Right now, immediately!"

Rosalind raised her silver eyes slightly, looking at Jon without a word. He just gave a slight nod.

She then turned and led the way.

"Please follow me, Master Wood."

"Stier, keep up!"

Wood called out without turning back, his steps already hurrying toward the door.

The Knight Commander gave Jon a wry, apologetic smile, but inwardly he breathed a sigh of relief. Investigating the war potential of the Mechanical Bodies produced by the Giant God Workshop was the primary mission of his trip, after all. Jon being so direct was saving him a great deal of effort.

But as he turned to follow Wood’s footsteps, a thought suddenly struck him.

’Wait... Mr. Jon probably saw through our intentions from the very beginning... He’s doing this to deliberately send us away...’

Seeing the third princess’s party leaving, the seventh princess’s lady-in-waiting, Evelyn, also rose at the opportune moment, a perfectly gentle smile gracing her features.

"Mr. Jon’s creations are breathtaking. I find myself unable to contain my curiosity. Might I have the honor of accompanying them to observe?"

Jon’s gaze lingered on her face for a moment, his eyes calm and placid.

"Be my guest."

"Thank you for your permission, Mr. Jon."

Evelyn gave an elegant curtsy and, with her silent, tower-like Guard Knight, also followed Rosalind and the others out of the reception hall.

The heavy oak door closed softly, shutting out the sound of footsteps and Master Wood’s excited chatter from outside.

The vast reception hall instantly fell silent. The space, which had seemed a bit crowded just moments before, now held only Jon and the party from the Apollonia Duchy, led by the female knight in the orange-red cape.

Silence slowly descended.

After a moment, the female knight in the orange-red, flame-patterned cape was the first to rise. She made a fist with her right hand and struck it forcefully against her breastplate.

"Mr. Jon, please allow me to make a formal introduction."

"I am Leona Apollonia, Knight Commander of the Apollonia Duchy’s Radiant Knight Order. His Majesty, Ulysses Apollonia, is my respected uncle."

"On this journey, we have come by royal command, for the sole purpose of recovering a long-lost blood relative of our Duchy—the only child of Her Highness, the Grand Princess."

Her gaze swept over Jon’s features as if it were tangible, the joyful surprise in her eyes left almost completely unconcealed.

"Now, having seen you in person, all my doubts have vanished into thin air! You bear a striking resemblance to Her Highness, the Grand Princess, in her youth!"

"This legacy, passed down through the bloodline, is something that no one in the Radiant Knight Order would ever mistake!"

As she spoke, she could no longer maintain her composed tone, her voice growing thick with emotion.

"Mr. Jon, you are my lord, His Majesty Ulysses’s, own grandson, the one he has sought for so many painful years! You are the noble blood of the Apollonia Duchy!"

However, the expected shock, excitement, or confusion did not appear on Jon’s face.

He remained seated, his posture as steady as a mountain, as if the noble lineage Leona spoke of was nothing more than an irrelevant, gentle breeze.

His fingertip traced the rim of the smooth bone china cup, making a faint, soft sound.

"Knight Leona."

Jon’s voice was flat, without a single ripple, like the ancient, unmelted ice of the Northern Territory’s frozen tundra.

"I hear the Apollonia Duchy is far away in the Empire’s wealthy, warm southern lands, separated from this perpetually bitter, cold Northern Territory by countless miles."

"I’m very curious how you can be so certain that this so-called ’royal bloodline’ would end up in such a remote and distant corner of the world."

He paused briefly, his gaze sweeping over the equally emotional Apollonian knights behind Leona, before finally returning to her face, a hint of coldness in his eyes.

"As for a resemblance, it’s not unheard of for people in this world to look alike."

"To determine a person’s entire heritage on that basis alone—isn’t that rather rash?"

"At the very least, I know for a fact that the blood of the Northern People flows in my veins. Perhaps you are mistaken?"

His words were like a bucket of ice water poured over Leona’s fervent declaration.

The air froze. The excited flush on the faces of the Radiant Knights instantly faded, replaced by astonishment and a hint of unease.

They looked at Leona, then at the black-haired young man in the main seat, whose presence was as heavy as a mountain range, and for a moment, they were at a loss.

Leona’s breath caught slightly, but she didn’t back down. Instead, she took a step forward.

"Mr. Jon, I understand your suspicion! With such a vast distance and the changes time brings, caution is the proper attitude!"

"But the resemblance was merely the starting point. We were able to find our way here because we have evidence."

Her chest rose and fell, her expression one of utter conviction.

"Before I left, Her Highness the Grand Princess personally told me that her lover back then was from the northern frontier of the Empire. Twenty-one years ago, the Duchy suffered a rebellion. To protect you, Her Highness had to part with her lover and have him take you far away from the turmoil!"

"We do not know what happened after that, but for these twenty-one years, His Majesty Ulysses and Her Highness the Grand Princess have never given up searching for you. It was based on key clues we provided that His Grace, Duke Feldren, promptly informed us after learning of your appearance in Birch Town!"

Jon’s expression remained unchanged at her words, but his mind was reeling.

’Nani? The intel is real?’

’If what this knight in front of me is saying is true, then twenty-one years ago, my so-called father took me away from the Apollonia Duchy back to his hometown, only to abandon me for some unknown reason. Then, my predecessor was found and raised by his adoptive parents.’

’Logically, there’s nothing wrong with that chain of events. Plenty of NPCs have similar backstories; I’ve even seen more ridiculous ones.’

’If my predecessor hadn’t been killed by that starving wolf, he might have picked up this "Wandering Prince" script, staged a "Return of the Dragon King" comeback, and made a name for himself.’

’It’s all just a bit too cliché.’

So he decided to make one last attempt to push back.

"Knight Leona, even if what you say is true... I’m afraid my identity cannot be confirmed so rashly."

Jon stared at the female knight opposite him and said, word by word,

"I need to see proof."

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