The old Duke had neither wife nor children throughout his long life as a practitioner, and he secretly craved for a son.
With his wealth and prestige, there were several women that tried getting close to him in the past.
However, Lord Yue soon come to realise, to his dismay, that with his looks those women were actually frightened to death. There were those who wanted to be with him that secretly coveted his possessions and the duke who saw through their little ploys, actually did not mind. In his heart, those girls were his last hope. One can imagine his feelings when the greediest of those ladies dropped his Searing Sun engagement ring when he proposed, turned around and fled.
Years later, now that he has plenty of age under his belt and mostly given up on finding a spouse, his love for children and having a successor did not cease.
In fact, every time he read Kairos' reports, he could see the shadows of himself. The first time they met, he was secretly impressed by how composed Kairos was when facing him. Even adults tremble in his presence, but this boy could talk to him normally plus keep his quick-wits about.
When he saw how friendly the boy was with Relestia, he was rather happy, since, he would like to secretly think of the little princess as half his daughter. Of course, he wouldn't dare breathe a word about it.
When the pair of children went into his town to play and buying different things using his name, he actually smiled.
Granted, when he saw the bills he blanched, but he would spend ten times more to make the little princess smile. When he looked through the list of things purchased, he found that Kairos had spent really little, and only on things like food and lodging. Items that allowed a Duke to show generosity but without taking any advantage.
"Aiigoo... little Kai is so sensible! What a good boy... If only I had a son like that, then when I'm old and weak, I will still have someone accompanying me."
Unfortunately, those were thoughts that he only dared to bury deep in his mind. They had not interacted enough to reach this point in a relationship. If he suddenly brought it up, it will freak out the other person. The simple relationship intricacies that even little children understand made this powerful man uncertain.
But the indecision changed today, after going through this meeting and seeing how Kairos sift out a traitor from their midst, he couldn't help but be immensely proud. Seeing reports after reports of Kairos, having meticulous details of how the boy spent his day, he had treated the child as his own before he even realised.
And, without knowing, he blurted out those words: 'Why not... become my God Son?'
It was a terrible, nerve-wracking thing to say. His mind reeled as he chided himself, "Fool! I must be thinking of having children till I've gone mad! What should I do...? Oh no, I've already blurted it out... now what? Should I apologise? Yes, maybe I should... wait, kids wouldn't understand the feelings of an old man, right? Perhaps I should just push forward the matter, that'd be better! Since I've already gone too far, it's not like it could get any worse.
ORAAAA!!! I'll go all out!! At most I'll throw my old face away today, my reputation is already at the bottom in the empire's popularity chart, what more should I fear?"
"I... I just want a smart child like you to... to ... ta..tak... take care of me when I'm old... You don't have to worry. You'll be rewarded for all these! Once you are my godson, all my things are yours! How about I write your name into my will? I... you... Ah..."
The air chilled as he spoke. As a high-ranking practitioner, if he was just a little careless to lose the balance of his Ki, even the surrounding will change drastically according to his mood. As he blundered awkwardly, it turned colder than winter in a few seconds; just like how the old Duke is now feeling in his heart.
He shook in terrible nervousness. Kairos could easily tell what Lord Yue is feeling for such a large drop in temperature. It was a natural reaction that martial arts could not replicate; especially when the culprit is one as powerful as Lord Yue who lost all composure.
However, despite logic, when Kairos looked at the duke, he thought that the powerfully built man was shaking in murderous rage.
He was speechless for a while, until he finally said unbearably, "Lord... Lord Yue! I'm gonna freeze to death!"
"Oh, can you feel it? T... this is how a poor old man feels without any family to care for him!" he said shamelessly.
"What? Aren't the Dark Gods family huge?"
"They... they are all people from my uncles and aunts' side! If you don't a...accept, I will have no one... can you let a poor old man be alone like this without children, forever!?"
The room's temperature dropped another couple more degrees as if emphasising his words.
"But," Kairos protested, "I already have a father..."
*COUGH*
"Poor ol' me, I'm so badly wounded I might die anytime, but at my deathbed, I will be without any children to send me off!"
Kairos finally understood a cold hard fact. It didn't matter how erudite or intellectual one is, they'd become completely helpless when faced with such barefaced relentless shameless approach.
Indeed, the ultimate shamelessness is utter invincibility.
Kairos heaved a great sigh over his first defeat in negotiation, then finally said, "I'll have to ask my father first."
The Duke was overjoyed.
He jump straight up from his chair, bouncing onto his feet, and roared, "Let's go ask now!"
He behaved as though his wounds weren't real, but blood spurted out generously from his torn scabs. Still, there was an almost-idiotic smile on his face.
"Duke! You need to rest first!"
"Don't worry, I'm fine," a mouthful of blood poured from Lord Yue's mouth as it curved into a smile.
Under the escort of his men and a team of doctors, Lord Yue insisted on visiting Vouno right away.
Fortunately, the Gilded Snow was quite close by, and they reached in the matter of minutes.
Despite his wounds and unhealthily pale complexion, the grin on the duke's face never faded.
"Sir Vouno! I am Yue Chang Ming! I am here to request a meeting humbly."
In the shop, Kairos' father was busily helping out when he was interrupted by a booming voice announcing his name from outside.
"Yue Chang Ming? Who is that?"
The Duke's name is famous throughout the empire, but it is the first time for Vouno and Kairos to hear it. Chang Ming (常明), which meant everlasting light, had the complete opposite meaning of what Lord Yue was famous from and thus rarely ever mentioned, except in mocking. It wasn't surprising for the father and son pair that hails from a backwards village to not know.
Instantly, Vouno shouted just as loudly from within the shop without bothering to take a glance, "Your Lord Vouno has no time to entertain you. Come back another day!"
Although the terms he used were common, everyone in the Duke's party turned frosty pale. In Saint Empire or outside, daring to offend Lord Yue is much worse than offending anyone else!
"Oh no, what did he say, Sir Vouno is only a viscount, but he shouted at our Duke?"
"Someone, quick, calm the Duke down! He couldn't rise his temper in his current state!"
"It's over, the Snowdrifts and the Dark Gods family are going to clash now... what am I going to do? I still want to buy Star Rune swords from Lord Kairos..."
The Duke's subordinates were terrified! They didn't expect such rudeness from the other side when their lord is such a respected and feared man. For the past millennia, who dared to dismiss the head of the Dark Gods family? Even the Emperor and the princes had to be cordial towards him at all times, and their enemies feared even whispering his name!
But the next moment made everyone thought they were dreaming, for Lord Yue cried out loudly, "Come on old master of the Astroire House, I am the Duke of the South, please give me some face and accept my humble presence. I only wish to visit you for a little while, surely you can give an old man like me some of your time."
"Is this still the Duke!?"
Everyone around had the same thought.
Within the Gilded Snow, Vouno had a great shock. He turned and looked outside the broken wall and saw a large party staying politely waiting. Without hesitation, Kairos' father flew out at top speed.
"Gosh, if you're the Duke why don't you just say so in the first place!?"
"Haha! Are you the infamous Lord Yue? Pleased to meet you, what have you came here for?"
The Duke immediately blushed at being called infamous. Vouno, who was being honest, returned him with a confident smile.
The bodyguards, the servants, and the medical team widened their eyes and checked Lord Yue's expression. They found his entire face red with vicious homicidal rage and quickly counselled him, "My lord! You're still wounded, you must watch your inner strength!"
"R...right...," with a word he dismissed the embarrassment he felt as his Ki returned to an icy cold and tranquil state. A thousand years of cultivation had given him superhuman self-control, and his mood rebounded quickly, "Sir Vouno, I have come today because I truly like Kairos' personality. I wish to make the relationship between our two families closer, so I propose to adopt him as my god-son. A child would be blessed to have two fathers, what do you think?"
On the side, Kairos quickly made faces at his father, trying his best to say, "Dad! Don't accept! Isn't this too abrupt!?"
Vouno returned his son's gaze, and immediately the latter could tell that his father is saying: "Leave it to me, Dad knows best!"
"Say, Duke Yue, are you rich?" Vouno asked with near impudence.
A few guards around started feeling faint in their heads, while a few state officials were resisting heart-attacks.
But, Lord Yue welcomed his straight-forwardness, "Rich? The entire south is under my command! Even the South-Eastern waters move when I want it, stop when I slam my hand down."
"Well... in that case, I'llaccept it for my son. HAHA! It's my silly boy's fortune to catch your eye. Whatare you doing, Kairos! Hurry up and thank your godfather!"