The Power of a White Lotus!

Chapter 11 - An Eventful Beginning (part 2)

The moment he stepped out, the duke heard a piercing scream. The cry echoed loudly in the mostly empty corridor, sounding much more alarming than it should have. It felt as though whoever that's letting out the heart wrenching sound is having their bones and flesh torn apart alive.

It is his youngest son!

Duke Wisteria quickly made his way through the corridor, where a few servants are gathering over the ruckus despite being late in the night.

One of them, the butler, greeted the duke as he rushed over.

"Master, the youngest master, he.... We can't calm him down...."

Peering through the crowd of servants, Henrik saw the small figure of Flynn curled up as he lay on the bed. Tears were squeezed out from pain as he screamed in uneven breathes, his arms covered his head to protect himself from the danger that had already long passed, leaving behind future years of nightmare and trauma.

As Bai Lian acted out for who knew how long, he felt a warm hand cautiously touch his face.

His first reaction was to slap it away, but his body did not reject this touch. He felt himself being pulled in a warm embrace. Through the blurry vision, he can still make out who it was.

He stuttered for a bit before he let out a weak mutter:

"...Father...."

Duke Henrik trembled slightly. Then he relaxed his hold as he patted his son lightly on the head.

"You're safe now, Flynn, you're home."

•••••••••••

Afterwards, it took a while for Flynn to completely calm down. His eyes are still a bit unfocused, but he finally understood that he's back in the comfort of his own home rather than on the cold forest ground, drenching in his own blood as his flesh is torn apart. The gruesome and frightening imagery of the beast slowly left his mind.

With gentle pats and caring words, the shivers lessened, some warmth returning to his body.

As Flynn's breathing evened out, the Duke gradually went from consoling to lecturing with a stern tone.

"Flynn, our Wisteria Family does place a heavy emphasis on power, but before that, safety comes first. Flynn, if you want to contribute for our family, just remember that you need to be well in order to do so. Don't try to use magic anymore, understand? The doctor now found that using any form of magic is extremely harmful to your body."

"But!.."

Flynn looked up suddenly, and by the looks of his eyes, it seems as though he had a lot to say. Then as his eyes met his father's, he knew there's no chance to change his mind.

"Flynn, my son, it's alright that you can't use magic. Father will make sure you will live well in the future, I will make sure you would still have good future prospects, so can you agree not to put yourself in danger anymore?"

As Flynn listened, he desperately wanted to cry out:

That he wants to share the responsibility by being able to use magic, instead of becoming a good for nothing son forever sheltered. Even if his father fires any servant speaking badly of him in the mansion, there were still instances of hearing whispered words of "Bastard Son", "Good-For-Nothing", "Child who killed his own mother".......There were even gossips of him not being his father's son, that he killed his mother because he did not want the secret to be revealed!

How can he stand this!? He's become the entity of a black spot in his family's golden page of glorifying history.

His mind was once again thrown into a turbulence of chaotic emotions.