Capítulo 96: The Story of Cien's Disappearance
A day passed since Kirana and her companions arrived.
On that day, Cien and Kirana spent their time alone, discussing their respective experiences during the past ten years.
This left Legia and Reiss to spend their time in the village.
Due to the accommodations being fully booked, Legia ended up staying with Mia. One room in Mia's house was empty because Veronica had moved in with her mother.
As for Reiss, he found a room up on a treehouse as his sleeping place, a position close to Terrion's treehouse. In just a few hours, they became instantly friendly with each other.
Back to Cien, he was now able to hear about his daughter's life. He learned how Kirana became a genius in magic and sword art, graduated from the military academy, and became a commander.
In return, Kirana finally got to hear about her father's life ten years ago.
Around twenty years ago.
When Cien was not yet a baron who ruled over a small region. Region that mostly is mountains.
At that time, he accidentally discovered a Mana Stone mine during an expedition to clear out monster settlements in his father's territory.
Only Cien himself found it, as the knights accompanying him were occupied with their cleanup duties.
At that time, Cien, who had only been camping, grew bored and went for a walk. It was during this walk that he stumbled upon the location of the Mana Stone source when he fell from a shallow cliff.
His landing spot was on a barren and desolate patch of land, contrasting sharply with the lush greenery surrounding it, which puzzled Cien.
Intrigued, Cien began to dig the ground. After digging about ten meters, he found a Mana Stone about ten centimeters in size.
At that moment, Cien realized the significance of his discovery. However, he couldn't let anyone else know about it.
Cien understood that a Mana Stone mine was a treasure for anyone who possessed it. Even the Royal Family would pay a substantial amount to acquire such a mine.
For a small baronial family like his, owning a Mana Stone mine would only invite trouble. They didn't have enough power to protect it.
Thus, young Cien chose to keep it a secret. Nevertheless, he gradually gathered what was needed to protect the mine.
The first thing he did was to build a villa above the Mana Stone source. This served to camouflage the mine and deter anyone other than the Millard Family from trespassing on the land.
A few years later, after Cien became a baron, he started negotiating with several trustworthy major nobles, one of whom was Duke Grenhall.
Cien proposed a collaboration in which he requested knight support to guard the mine in exchange for a percentage of ownership.
For several years, the negotiations proceeded smoothly and discreetly.
Cien, along with three other noble families, including the Grenhalls, were prepared to begin the process of establishing the mine.
Unfortunately, the events of ten years ago occurred.
When Cien was about to travel to the northern region of Westya to plan the mine with three noble friends, he was ambushed by a group of masked individuals dressed in black.
Cien was kidnapped and taken to an unknown location. For days, he was kept in a dark and damp room with little food and water.
After some time, his uncle, Raphael Millard, appeared.
However, Raphael wasn't there to rescue him; instead, he wanted to know the location of the planned mine.
Cien realized that his uncle was the one behind the attack, driven by jealousy and greed.
Cien was tortured for information, but he refused to speak.
He knew that if he revealed the location, his life and his family's lives would be in danger. He couldn't let that happen.
A few days later, Cien endured agony from the pain and hunger. Then, unexpectedly, someone managed to infiltrate his captivity - an demon friend of Cien since childhood, Grotto.
"Ci, are you okay?"
"Grotto? How did you get here?!"
"Hehe, my demon race has special ways to track our targets. I came here when I heard there was no news about you! Come on, let's get out of here!"
Grotto led the weak Cien out of the decrepit house where he had been imprisoned. Cien didn't know where he was; all he could tell was that it was a high mountain.
"Where are we?"
"You think I know? I didn't learn about any other place beyond your house! But I do know that next to this mountain there is a terrible valley. The atmosphere in that valley makes my whole body shivered!"
Cien suddenly realized, "Death Valley. Tsk! It's in the northern region of Westya!"
Their escape attempt didn't go smoothly. The black-clad men soon realized that Cien had disappeared, prompting a massive search operation by the enemy.
Due to Cien's weakened condition, their plan to escape was hindered. Eventually, they were found. Grotto managed to fight off some enemies, but their numbers were overwhelming.
Cien and Grotto found themselves cornered at the edge of a steep cliff leading to Death Valley.
Cien knew that falling from the cliff meant certain death. Grotto realized it too. Thus, the demon attacked the enemies blindly, leaving Cien, who was already weak, at the edge of the cliff.
Unexpectedly, the edge of the cliff broke, causing Cien to fall into the most cursed valley in Kastia.
"And that's how I ended up in Death Valley. It's a miracle I survived that fall, but the days following it were like hell. I wandered aimlessly, attacked by various monsters, living in terror.
"Until I arrived at this location. I decided to build a shack here because I was so exhausted. Unbeknownst to me, it was also here that I fell under the curse that prevents me from leaving Death Valley.
"The curse of Hela, the Catastrophic Dragon. The odds were minuscule, but somehow, the shack I built was right above the terrifying dragon's grave. Sigh..."
Explained Cien to his daughter as he recounted his story.
For ten long years in Death Valley, Cien had no exciting tales to share.
During that time, he merely existed to survive, and there was nothing to tell his daughter.
In fact, Cien felt that his life had become more colorful only in the last few months due to the arrival of visitors.
So, Cien shared only that much, continuing the story of his disappearance ten years ago.
The night eventually came to an end. Cien provided an empty room in his shop for Kirana to sleep. His daughter expressed her wish to sleep with him, but Cien had to refuse.
It wasn't that he didn't want to, but Cien still had work to do. He couldn't leave twenty thousand antidotes unfinished.
Cien persuaded Kirana to rest and recover after the long journey to Death Valley.
Kirana reluctantly accepted, and Cien stayed by her side until she fell asleep before going back to the alchemy room to continue his work.
Now, the morning has arrived.
Kirana, who had slept soundly, opened her eyes and found herself in an unfamiliar ceiling with wooden walls, causing her to pause for a moment.
She then looked at her hands, recalling the warmth of her father's hand.
Tears welled up in Kirana's eyes once again. She covered her face with a pillow and sobbed. She still couldn't believe that her father was indeed alive.
"MOM!" She cried out.
At this moment, Kirana remembered her mother.
She had forgotten to inform Ethel about Cien when she was in Ethyria.
Kirana didn't even notify her mother of her return from Farnodt, as she had initially planned to surprise her upon reaching Almarin.
But now, the situation has changed. Her mother must be extremely worried about her since she hasn't received any news for so long.
"Ugh, this is going to be difficult," Kirana knew that there was no means of communication in this place.
Informing Ethel about her and Cien might be impossible.
She got up from her bed, tidied her hair, and left the room.
As soon as she stepped outside, she heard someone cooking in the kitchen. Kirana glanced and saw her father preparing a piece of meat.
"Good morning, Father."
"Hm, oh! You're up! Wash your face first, and then we'll have breakfast."
Kirana nodded, intending to head to the bathroom before stopping and turning back.
"Umm, Father..."
"What is it, my dear?"
"About Mom... I forgot to inform her about Father."
Cien heard this and smiled, then patted his daughter's head.
"It's alright, Kirana. I've asked Niles and Cherry to inform Ethel. In fact, I believe they are on their way here. Sooner or later, she'll come."
"Really?!"
"Yup! Now go wash your face! You look as disheveled as newly washed clothes."
Kirana chuckled and went off to freshen up.
When she returned, she saw three plates of steak on the table with some fresh vegetables.
Kirana frowned, feeling puzzled by the number of plates on the table.
"There's no need to frown like that. This is for one more member of our family, who will be coming soon," Cien said as he had previously called Lilinette using his cellphone.
It didn't take long for the girl to arrive. Kirana, upon seeing Lilinette's figure, was taken aback.
"Lily..."
"Kiran."
Kirana then looked at her father, silently asking for an explanation. Cien could only let out a dry laugh.
"I abducted Lily in Ashur. The reasons, well, maybe you already know them yourself."
Cien's words were instantly understood by Kirana.
Kirana couldn't be considered close to her cousin. When she was still a part of the Millard Family, she rarely met Lilinette.
After leaving the Millard Family, Kirana only encountered Lilinette at noble parties. Even then, they rarely interacted.
Lilinette was a unique girl, she didn't engage in small talk and often sat in the corner of the room by herself. She is like someone who isolated herself from the world.
At least, that's what Kirana observed after her cousin's Mana Nucleus was shattered.
Kirana knew that her mother had secretly arranged for someone to protect Lilinette.
They knew that the Millard Family had discarded her, disregarding her and treating Lilinette merely as a puppet.
Compared to the other members of the Millard Family, Kirana had no issues with Lilinette. They were just not close due to limited interaction.
This made both of them feel awkward.
"Hahaha, what are you two doing, staring at each other in silence? Lily, come here! Sit! Maybe we are no longer considered family by the Millards, but here, we are family. Let's have a meal together."
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