Hal then leaped up right from the ground back to the top of the hill and stood before the still-bound Gregory Payne whose eyes seemed completely devoid of any life whatsoever.

But Hal could tell, it was momentary. It was not yet permanent and was something the Payne Patriarch would shake off eventually.

And sure enough, after a few minutes of sorrowful staring, Gregory looked up at Hal.

"You're finally back" He said and it was in a tone of complete honesty, albeit dead.

"Yea I am. Anything you wanna say to me there, Greggy?" Hal asked with his cocked to the side slightly.

As he said so, he heard two soft 'Thump' sounds of Melinda and Rita landing right behind him but other than that, they were quiet and seemed only eager to listen in on the proceedings.

Gregory licked his lips as he looked upon the faces of his audiences,

"I don't blame you" he said.

Hal chuckled,

"Well, why should you?"

Gregory cleared his throat to stop his voice from cracking,

"You killed Rad and broke up my family, but it was all because of the mistake I once made and that is why I don't... blame you"

Hal narrowed his eyes while placing his hands on his hips,

"And by mistake, I take it you are referring to having sired me"

Gregory nodded as his head was the only part of his body he could still control thanks to the Binding Rune.

Hal sighed in false melancholy,

"Well, if you are, then it's just another roundabout way of saying that it's my fault"

Gregory's eyes widened as he noticed the conundrum as well,

"Well, it is not your fault and neither is it mine. It's the fault of your slutty witch of a mother" He said and although his tone was heavily laced with venom and hatred, Hal could see that, this time, it had nothing to do with him.

It was all directed towards a distant figure who could truly be blamed for the hatred of a father to his Son.

And yet as Hal prepared to ask about and hear of the tale of Gregory and his Mother, or more accurately, the mother of his body, he could not help but feel the reason was found to be silly and hinge heavily on heartbreak.

Since Hal wanted the ladies to hear the tale as well, he did not brand Gregory and acess his memories through the mark. Instead, he prompted the Payne Patriarch to tell his tale.

Gregory cleared his throat once again and when he spoke again, it was in a surprisingly clear tone of voice,

"Her name was Svetlana.

I had only recently received the title of Patriarch from my father and I was fresh with ideas and ambition to become Mayor and make the Payne Family great.

I was married and I had a son who was growing up quite nicely and showing aptitude for Cultivation. I was truly happy.

And then She came and oh, was she beautiful. As much as I now hate her, I cannot for the life of me forget her face and I have not yet met any woman more beautiful.

Her long silky Black hair and her Piercing Blue eyes. Very much like yours Hal.

When she arrived, she came with only four attendants, all-female and it was clear from the visage of their clothing, Svetlana as well, that they had just been in a struggle. When they came to the gate of Payne Estate and I welcomed them in, I learned that they were seeking refuge and my home was the first they had been to.

It was clear that they were hoping not to be turned away and while I was feeling a little trepidation at the trouble they were likely to bring to my doorstep, I offered them refuge.

I will admit... I was charmed by her good looks.

Svetlana was incredibly grateful and she offered to tell me why she was here and offer me an explanation as to why her appearance was in such disarray, and it was clear that both were related.

I declined and told her the less I knew, the better.

Lillian was skeptical as to my reasons for allowing Svetlana and her gorgeous attendants to stay in the Estate, but it did not take long before I convinced her of the likely advantages;

Which was that helping someone like her who was so obviously not from Salmon City could prove beneficial in the future. We would not even need to interfere in whatever conflict she was involved in.

Just granting her refuge was enough to gain a lifelong favor that we could cash in on in the future..."

"And of course all this was just because you were interested in her, right?" Rita interrupted.

Hal could tell that she had taken offense to Gregory naming Svetlana the villain right from the very start of this tale. Her loyalty was completely with Hal, but Svetlana still once saved her life and placed her on the path of Cultivation.

She was like a pseudo-Teacher to Rita and the Black-eyed lady was not particularly pleased with the badmouthing.

That said, she was quite invested in the tale as it was revealing to her, the things she knew nothing about.

At this time, Hal waved his hand and brought out three grand-looking chairs from his inventory which he, Melinda and Rita sat on as they faced Gregory like the Judges in Hades.

(AN: in this sentence, I am simply making a reference to the judges in the Greek underworld myth and it so far has nothing to do with this novel)

Gregory cast Rita a very annoyed look but once Hal cleared his throat, the Payne Patriarch rearranged his expression, cleared his throat and continued,

"As I have already admitted earlier, I was charmed by Svetlana's looks and I will also now admit that it played a large role in me offering her refuge.

This was my mistake and it opened the door to many more.

Despite Lillian seeing the possible advantages of letting the ladies stay, she was also skeptical if I would remain faithful and I managed to convince her that I would be.

I wasn't.

It wasn't even three days later that Svetlana asked to take a walk with me, which I gladly agreed to.

As we took a walk in the Estate's gardens, Svetlana told me a lot about herself, except why she here of course.

At this point, I would like to tell you that there are not many details that I explicitly remember of that conversation, because Svetlana had freshened up at this point and if she had been beautiful before, then she was now a goddess.

But I remember she told me about her father who doted on her and her brothers who... did not. Exactly how sour her relationship with them was, she never told me but whenever she mentioned her father, her voice always seemed to crack and I inferred that wherever the man was, he was not doing fine.

Our conversation on that day did not last long as I had things to attend to as Family head, but we promised to continue the enjoyable talk the next day...

And we did.

In fact, we spent two weeks after her arrival getting to know more about each other and subconsciously, I was beginning to see her as a... Friend.

And Lillian was getting dissatisfied..."