Jadino leaned back in his velvet chair, one hand calmly swirling a crystal wine glass filled with a bluish-purple liquid. His slender fingers, adorned with a large ring signifying his high status in the Solan family, leisurely stroked the tips of his beard. His sharp eyes, behind thick white eyebrows, observed the young man's every movement, like a predator assessing its prey.
"What do you know about your father?"
The question broke the silence. Jacob froze, the fork that was about to put a piece of meat in his mouth stopping mid-air.
"Mom said… Dad's name was Jader," Jacob replied without looking up, trying to keep his voice from trembling. "He died in a spaceship explosion before I was born."
"Hmph… at least Fara didn't lie about her death," Jardino sneered, his voice dry and chilling. "But what your mother deliberately hid was that Jeder Izunite Francesca was my only son… and I, 'Jardino Izunite,' am your real grandfather!"
Jacob's hands trembled, and the knife and fork clattered loudly against the ceramic plate.Clang
"Grandpa…?" The young boy repeated the word vaguely, his mind spinning. "That's impossible… Mom said we have no other relatives besides Uncle Breeze!"
"Fara is lying!"
Jadino slammed his wine glass down on the table, spilling the purple liquid. His shout startled the guests at the next table, who turned to look, before the old man lowered his voice, still filled with rage.
"That woman took you away from me, locked you up in that dilapidated slum, forcing you to live like a worthless outcast, trying to make yourself her only support... even though you have my blood... Izunité! And the royal DNA of Mars from your grandmother's side flowing through your veins!"
Jacob sat frozen, his breath catching in his throat. The harsh truth shattered the whole world he knew… His mother had lied to him all along. And where had this billionaire grandfather been hiding during their struggles?
"Why are you only coming now...?" Jacob snarled, his voice trembling, his thick hands gripping the tablecloth tightly to suppress his raging anger. "Where have you been for the past fourteen years!"
"Because Fabreeze just died!" Jadino retorted instantly. "Your uncle was the last shield Fara used to keep me out. Now you have no legal guardian, and you've just been in jail. I can't bear to watch the last heir of the family fall like this any longer."
The old man reached into his robe and tossed a golden glass rod onto the table. It slid to a stop beside a plate of steak, reduced to scraps of meat covered in sauce.
"Stop being such a low-class nymph hunter. That kind of low-status work isn't worthy of my grandson."
Jacob gazed down at the golden glass rod, then at his grandfather's face. The moment his fingertips touched the surface of the glass, glowing numbers flashed.
"There's an account with an unlimited credit limit… but I'll limit you to 20,000 sol per day…" Jardino leaned back in his chair, saying it as if it were a trivial matter. "Is that enough… for snacks?"
Jacob's eyes widened, his heart pounding. Twenty thousand souls a day...
"That's probably more than your mother's entire year's income, and more than you've spent risking your life hunting nims in your entire life," Jadino smirked.
However, the pride that had shaped the slum boy for fourteen years made Jacob push the glass rod back towards the old man. "That's too much," he said.
"Hmph…" Jadino scoffed, a look of pity and mockery in his eyes. "For me, it's just pocket change…"FerdinandThis is really too much. Spoiling his daughter to the point where his own grandchild has to suffer like this. But oh well, it doesn't matter now."
"Ferdinand?" Jacob repeated the name, his dark eyebrows furrowed as another stranger's name entered his already complicated life. "Who is Ferdinand?"
Jadino averted his gaze from his wine glass and turned to stare at the young man in the shabby, old t-shirt who was frowning intensely. The old man's eyes were sharp.
"Forget Ferdinand. It's an old man's business. Don't worry about it," Jadino interrupted sharply. "The thing is, my offer comes with only one condition... You have to move out of that rat hole in the tower."
"Moving? To where?"
Jadino stood up to his full height, an aura of power radiating from him that made Jacob swallow hard. The young man reluctantly averted his gaze from the delicious steak on his plate before reluctantly rising to his feet, succumbing to the invisible pressure.
The old man gestured towards the glass balcony outside, where a sleek, jet-black private vehicle was parked, its engine humming softly, ready for departure.
"Go see what your father left behind… the house I built for Jader as a wedding gift. A house he never got to live in…" Jadino turned to look his nephew in the eye. "But now… it should be yours."
Jacob stared at the old man, his grandfather, a fierce conflict raging in his chest. He hated the man's arrogant demeanor and his insulting words about his mother, but deep down... the offer was too tempting for a slum boy to turn his back on, especially considering the dilapidated room and the recent loss of Uncle Breeze.
"Follow me, Jacob," Jadino said in a firm voice that left no room for refusal. "To see where you belong… as my heir."
A pitch-black craft soared out of the 120th-floor restaurant, leaving the crowded Horathea Tower behind. It swooped over a familiar ancient pine forest before descending into the brightly lit capital city's airspace, piercing through skyscrapers and heading towards a tranquil and secluded coastal area.
Jacob sat silently the entire way until the view outside the window changed from a concrete jungle to a vast expanse of azure water stretching as far as the eye could see.
"Where are we going?" the young man broke the silence. "Your house," Jadino replied curtly.
The spacecraft slowly landed in a wide open area in front of a mansion. The sight before him made Jacob hold his breath.
It's not just a 'house,' but a magnificent piece of Solan architecture that seems straight out of a dream. The pearly white mansion, with its flowing, curved design, contrasts beautifully with the intricate gold leaf adorning the window frames and pillars, sparkling and shimmering in the afternoon sun.
As Jacob gazed up through the atmosphere, a colossal, dark shadow stretching across the sky was 'The Center,' the floating city of the gods. The city-sized spaceship lay motionless, like the eye of heaven watching over all life below. Faint purple lights began to glow on the ship's surface as darkness drew near; it was a symbol of absolute power that every Solan citizen had gazed upon with awe for millennia.
The mansion is surrounded by meticulously landscaped gardens. Giant ferns spread their lush green foliage, providing shade, interspersed with giant mushroom-shaped canopies and vibrant succulents nestled among the rocks. Lush moss-covered lawns slope down to the edge of low cliffs, revealing a pristine white sand beach and crystal-clear turquoise waters... a private beach completely cut off from the outside world.
As soon as the ship landed, a 'Grey' butler with large, dark eyes and a small, delicate figure, dressed in a sharp suit, led two maids and a dozen or so cleaning droids to line up in an orderly fashion to welcome the arrival of the passengers.
"Welcome home,Lord Jardino... and Master," the Grey butler bowed respectfully.
Jacob stepped down from the vehicle nervously. He had never been called...'Master before, and I've never seen so many servants looking after a single house all the time.
Jadino led the way into the house. Large, intricately carved gold doors slid open automatically, revealing a spacious and opulent central hall. The high ceiling was adorned with chandeliers made of cut crystal, suspended in mid-air by magnetic fields. The floor was paved with uniquely patterned marble, radiating a cool, refreshing air.
"This is... a palace!" Jacob exclaimed, his gaze sweeping over the priceless luxuries.
"Take a look around," Jadino gestured invitingly.
The young man explored the room with awe. Every piece of furniture was upholstered in genuine leather and polished, high-quality wood. One wall of the hall was a giant glass window offering a panoramic view of the sea. However… what captivated his attention and drew his interest most wasn't the sea view or the dazzlingly expensive furniture.
But it was... a colossal oil painting, hanging prominently in the middle of the hallway.
Jacob slowly walked over and stopped in front of the painting... his body was stiff, as if under a spell.
The image showed a handsome, dark-skinned young man in full Soulhildred uniform. His features were sharp, his eyes determined, and his smile strangely familiar. His long hair was tied back… It was as if he were looking in a mirror at a more mature and elegant version of himself. A name was clearly engraved on a golden plaque beneath the frame.
"Solhildred Jaeder Izunité Francesca, Principal Driver of the Royal Passenger Vehicle, Jet 96."
"Is that...my father...?" Jacob asked in a faint voice, his gaze fixed on the painting. A lump formed in his throat. This man was the father he had never met, the father his mother had said was dead.