Jackpot (2)
A sharp-looking young man in his early twenties was coming down the stairs of the mansion.
"So you finally show your face at home and the ruckus is over a brat?"
Even his tone was nasty.
"Where'd you dig up a bone filthier than the Skeleton King's?"
Suddenly being called a bone again, Isaac's eyes twitched upward.
What the hell. Who's this disrespectful punk?
He didn't even seem to be a hundred years old yet, so who did he think he was glaring at like that?
"Uncle," said someone.
Ah, so that's the uncle bastard.
Isaac's angelic face twisted in disgust.
They didn't look alike.
For starters, Lylai had silver hair, but this disrespectful—yes, this sharp-eyed uncle—had brown hair.
If they shared anything, it was their striking blue eyes.
But that was about it.
Lylai, if you looked closely, bore some resemblance to Saint Melissa, but this rude jerk had nothing in common with her.
If anything, he looked more like…
'…The Pope?'
Only slightly, of course, but even that was enough to irritate Isaac.
Not because the Pope was simply the head of the enemy camp—they had history.
Still, the rude uncle glared at Isaac like he couldn't stand him.
"Put that thing down. Send it to the annex."
At his overbearing tone, Lylai's steady gaze turned razor-sharp. Just like when the Skeleton King's name was mentioned.
Calling his nephew "that thing" seemed to be the last straw.
Ironically, the "thing" was actually cheering the rude guy on.
'Yes! Well said.'
If he had to choose, sure, he'd pick Lylai, who came to get him—but right now, this guy wanted to send him to the annex, and that was much appreciated.
'Yeah. Go ahead, take me and lock me up in the annex!'
Hurry up!
So we can get rid of this lunatic uncle!
But the jerk just sneered, like he couldn't even stand to lift a finger toward his nephew.
"Put on a show, why don't you. Giving something like that to a brat who can't even tell objects apart."
Though he spoke with disdain, his eyes were fixed on what Isaac was holding.
Apparently, he really didn't like the jeweled ornament Isaac held.
No—"didn't like" wasn't strong enough.
That was pure envy in his eyes.
Isaac couldn't help but find it odd.
Lylai was the one who'd handed it to him.
A rare gem, valuable enough that it could be worth more than gold depending on the buyer. A mineral he had liked.
But still—this was something given to a kid by a supposedly crazy uncle.
Why would a duke's legitimate son be jealous?
"There are only ten of those white blossoms in the entire world, and you just hand one to him? It's not like he's your only nephew—was he just that adorable because he's the eldest brother's kid?"
Scratch that—he's not just crazy. He's crazy and right.
Isaac's eyes widened as he looked at the gem.
No wonder—white blossom stone!
There were three rarest minerals in the world, and white blossom was one of them, legendary in quality, beauty, and rarity.
Known as the "Tear of God," the white blossom stone was famous for good reason. Beyond its astronomical price, it had an effect that made Isaac practically drool.
Its ability might not mean much to someone aligned with the divine, but to Isaac, it was a perfect match.
Even just in monetary value, it could fund an entire noble house.
Isaac didn't know how Lylai had gotten his hands on it, but now he understood why the rude uncle was so envious.
'This isn't a gold ring-level gift. This is… huge.'
Upgrading "crazy uncle" to "His Craziness, the Uncle," Isaac quickly slipped the gem into his mouth.
Whatever Lylai was thinking, just handing over something so valuable—he wasn't about to let the rest of the family take it from him.
As soon as he did, the rude uncle flinched and nearly raised a hand without realizing—but then crossed his arms again, glaring even more fiercely.
"Why'd you bring that trash here in the first place? Into the main mansion, no less? Who gave you permission?"
Is this guy even a priest or just a thug?
Isaac had disliked Lylai for being too much like a knight in shining armor, but this guy was just straight-up trash.
And that wasn't even the worst of it—
[Ugh, these damned priests. Daring to radiate divine power in front of the master? Should I hang them both up like saintly decorations?]
Don't even joke. I look like I'd be hung up?
Isaac, as sharp as they came, could sense even a nail's worth of power in a flash.
At this point, it wasn't holy energy they were radiating—it was bloodlust.
It was impossible to believe they were even brothers.
But seriously—why were they like this? What could be the reason?
"Why is it that everyone else stays quiet, and it's always you, the second-youngest, who makes the most noise?"
"So I should just ignore a child with Eshua's bloodline?"
"I would've sent an attendant if you hadn't gone."
"Sure, and probably off to some branch family!"
"And that's a problem?"
"Of course it is! He's our nephew and the son of the family's eldest son!"
"Eldest son? Don't make me laugh."
Ah. Now it made sense.
This was a total mess of a family.
Isaac looked to the sky as if to escape reality.
Should he just go back to the Imperial Palace?
If he waited long enough, they'd all tear each other apart without him having to lift a finger.
"Well, as for me, as long as I can gobble up this body, that's all that matters."
Of course, whether they get blown away by the wind or swept off by a typhoon—he didn't care.
The problem was, until he got stronger, they were his family and guardians.
And somehow, that just pissed him off even more.
No matter how dysfunctional a family might be, treating the eldest son's child like this—when he knows nothing—is just crossing the line…
"Yeah, the eldest son's child. Great. Too bad it's because of that eldest son that the family is on the verge of collapse."
"…What?"
"What, didn't you know? The eldest son abandoned the family and ran away, cutting off support and nearly destroying everything. And now it's his kid?"
So it was the parents who crossed the line first.
He wasn't sure, but now he could kind of see why the child was being treated like a bastard.
"Why should we accept a child born from some lowly wench whose lineage we don't even know?"
And now this bastard was starting to cross his own line.
Asily widened her eyes, and Lilai's gaze sharpened—it seemed she felt the same.
"Watch your mouth. The family was never on the brink of ruin, and my sister-in-law is the current Great Saintess."
"Heh. Right. You were always loyal to the eldest and the saintess, so I can understand why you'd have some affection for that trash."
"…!"
"And now the kid they had is another son? So she failed both as a saintess and as a wife of the eldest. Typical of a Saintess's children, I suppose."
"Brother."
"That little brat's face is decent enough—fitting for a Saintess's bloodline—so I guess we can sell him off as breeding stock for Eshua. Yeah, that's one way he can contribute to the family."
At that, Lilai covered Isaac's eyes.
And at the same time, her fist flew straight into her brother's face.
"Did you really just say all that?!"
"Eek! Stop them!"
"Milady! You can't do this! Hrk—!"
[How dare these filthy clergy insult my master! I'll kill them all!]
As the brawl broke out, servants and knights rushed in.
Even Whisper, who had been silently listening, nearly joined the fray in rage at the insult.
Watching the chaos, Isaac looked up at the blue sky once again.
Honestly, trying to become Pope with this group might be slower than just assassinating the Pope myself.
Should I just awaken all the mana cores in the annex and bolt?
"You think we don't know you brought that kid to push him as a Saint candidate? Don't forget we already have a candidate in the family! Eshua survives because of us!"
"Brother!"
And then, it happened.
"Are you done yet?"
"!"
With an irritated voice, a bolt of blue lightning fell between them.
From afar, a stranger—an old man—looked directly at Isaac.
"The Lord of the House has summoned the child."
"Ttyua (You son of a bitch)."
"Ttyayayaya (So this is why they're so dysfunctional)."
Isaac muttered curses under his breath as he stared off into the distance.
Upon hearing that the family head had summoned him, he was dragged off by attendants, thrown into a bath, and scrubbed down thoroughly before being dumped into a meeting room.
Sure, a bath was fine.
Although, judging by how the attendants were scrubbing him, he wasn't sure if they were bathing him or threshing wheat. But whatever.
Yeah—he couldn't show up dirty when meeting the family head.
Even if it was someone he was about to devour soon, for now, that man held the highest rank in the family.
A man who once stood on equal footing with the , who reigned over the mortal world. The head of the Saintess's family, one of the empire's five great houses—he had to be no ordinary man.
At the very least, Isaac intended to be respectful and check out what kind of person he was…
"Tsk, another boy, huh?"
"Ugh, just another useless mouth to feed."
…or not.
Isaac's veins bulged as he looked at the old folks before him.
Wait, the family head called him over—so why were these unrelated old geezers the ones sitting in front of him?
"What use is it, birthing a boy?"
And now they were blaming him just for being born a boy?
"If we accepted that low-born wench as the Saintess, she should've known her place. And then she gives birth to another son? She's not worthy of being a Saintess."
What the hell is this hybrid nonsense?
Do they prefer sons or daughters? Just pick one, damn it!
Isaac's face twitched as he looked at the gathered group.
The ones criticizing him were the "Pillars" who supported the head of House Eshua.
In short, the elders and senior council.
And for a prestigious family like Eshua, it made sense for the head to be flanked by such people.
Actually, that isn't the problem.
"Rilai. That child was meant to be raised by a branch family and released. Why did you allow them to set foot on the main house's land?"
Why is everyone making such a fuss when he's not even the head of the family?
"Released, you say? You make it sound like the child was forcibly dragged back here."
Not only are they treating him like an animal, but why is the head's seat being occupied by the concubine instead of a cardinal?
And perhaps thinking the same, Rilai quietly looked at the woman sitting in the head's seat.
"Father is absent, I see."
"He's away. There's been noise all over regarding the Saint candidate."
At the same time, the brat snapped sharply, as if irritated by Rilai's tone.
"What? Are you so offended that my mother is sitting in as the head?"
No, I'm not offended by that.
I'm offended by your rude little mouth.
Isaac looked at him disapprovingly, but the brat just kept running his mouth.
"If you've got a problem with it, why don't you go beg the matron to give birth to a daughter?"
"Your…!"
"Don't you know? In Eshua, only those who've produced a Saint are allowed to speak. If you really want to say something, go have a daughter yourself—PUCK!!"
"Kyaa, young master! Your nose is bleeding!"
The brat couldn't finish his sentence and clutched his face.
Isaac, who had just thrown a golden bell at the brat's face, frowned.
Ah, damn. If it's not a daughter, it's like you don't even matter, huh?
A Saint, huh?
Not that I'm in any position to talk, but you haven't even taken down the Skeleton King, so what are you bragging about?
But maybe because he was angry about being hit, the brat immediately grabbed Isaac.
"You damn trash, where do you think you're—PUHAK!!"
Isaac spat right in his uncle's face.
The brat, now drenched in spit, looked utterly disgusted, but so what?
What, you gonna hit a baby?
Go ahead. Try it, dumbass.
"You disrespectful little bastard with no manners or lineage!"
In the end, he didn't hit him. He just trembled with rage.
Well, I did smack him in the face for a second, but honestly, there was a reason this guy was so cocky.
'As expected from a Saint-producing family. A man ends up just a sack of rice sitting in the corner.'
It was a simple story.
In a family that produces Saints, girls are valuable.
So much so that a woman's standing rises just by giving birth to a daughter.
And most importantly, the special combat abilities of Saints didn't manifest in boys.
He knew full well he was considered useless in this kind of environment.
"Look at that! That's what the so-called eldest son's child is doing!"
"Lord Goel!"
"Judging by how crude he is, there's no way he's truly of Eshua blood! Who knows what beggar's child he actually is? Even the annex is wasted on him. We should've thrown him out the moment he showed up, just like we originally planned!"
And Isaac also knew he needed to shut this brat's mouth before anything else—before even reclaiming his body.
But then—
"Yes, the annex is wasted on him. Because he's not an ordinary child."
At Rilai's words, the elders furrowed their brows.
"Not an ordinary child?"
Then, Rilai's eyes sparkled as he lifted Isaac high in the air.
"Yes. This child has talent. A talent that doesn't even compare to Brother Goel's."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
The brat's eyes bulged, but Isaac, now lifted like a baby lion, grinned smugly.
Nice. Look at those old geezers' faces change.
Just a bit more.
"Listen closely. This child will become a Saint!"
That's right!
Just a little more!
"And not just that. He could even become the Pope!"
Well done! That's it!
Keep it going!
"No—he'll be the one to kill the Skeleton King!"
Wait, uncle.
Let's not say that last part.
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