25 Max's Turbulent Heart

Six months passed by in a blink of an eye.

Max and Ravenna had finally arrived at their destination in that span of time.

They were currently inside another baron's fief and according to the map they were right in the place where Ana might be born.

"Max, do you need water?" Ravenna asked with concern to Max who was sitting beside her with a pale face with no blood.

"No, Cough!" Max suddenly started coughing while answering Ravenna.

"Here have some," Ravenna quickly forced the mouth of the leather flux between Max's lip, letting him drink the water in it.

After drinking a bit, Max's coughing stopped and light appeared in his dead eyes. "Thank you, Ravenna."

A bit of sadness was mixed in Max's voice. He could feel but think of himself as pathetic. The reduction of his lifespan made him very weak, he felt he might die any day from any random disease. The only thing keeping him alive was his magic realm and vitality realm.

Max decided he would focus on increasing his power quickly to regain his lifespan but after he was done seeing his daughter.

"Ravenna, why is everyone rushing toward Baron's castle?" Max asked curiously as he saw young and old heading toward Baron Arash's castle.

Ravenna looked at Max with sorrow. "Max, you forgot something again. I told you just this morning that the Baron will show his new daughter to everyone."

"Oh, I forgot again." Max laughed at himself. He was gradually forgetting something as days went by and it has become a common occurrence. Then he tossed these emotions away and asked Ravenna. "Let's go there."

Max tried to get up in a hurry but just as he was about to walk, he almost stumbled in his steps. Fortunately, Ravenna was there to support him.

She took her slowly to the Baron's castle as they watched many people walk past them easily and some adults gave them weird glances, as if they were guessing if Max was injured or not. Max and Ravenna were wearing cloaks, so it was hard for others to see.

A couple of minutes later, Max and Ravenna arrived at a place where it was brimming with people. In front of them was a big castle, with normal decoration and gray walls that made it not too ugly yet made it look ancient. A balcony could be seen that coincidentally faced the crowd's direction.

Max and Ravenna couldn't go forward because of the dense crowd, so they decided to watch it from afar.

A few short moments later, everyone could see a pair of man and woman in royal robes entering the balcony, stopping the chittering in the crowd.

The man was in his forties and had a small beard with a young face. He had short, white hair and a charming smile. On the other hand, the woman was of someone with a mature vibe as her figure bloomed that more. She also had white hair but it had a slight blue tint to it.

These two were Arash and his wife, Vienna. Their arrival caused many to gossip.

However, nothing stole Max's attention other than the small baby on the woman's arm.

"I welcome everyone here, for coming to my newly born daughter's announcement," Arash said loudly and with joy. "My daughter was born just after the Star Shower of Prosperity. So, you can guess what happened. I had the scholars test my daughter's talent and do you know what they said?"

Arash stopped there and didn't speak further, building suspense in the crowd. His wife, Vienna giggled seeing her husband's ploy.

When the tension peaked its highest, Arash declared. "Unparalleled! My daughter is someone born with unparalleled talent. She is the future of this place, the one who will bring prosperity to our little kingdom."

"OHH!" The crowd cheered upon hearing that. They were hearing all kinds of stuff these past few months about the legend. They also had yearning in their hearts, to change the face of their place, to make them shine. Now, they heard someone like that was born here. How could they not be excited?

"Now, let me introduce you to my daughter," Arash pushed Vienna forward, signaling her to show their daughter's face. Vienne turned to the side and lifted her daughter up to let everyone see. "Meet my daughter, Ana Starlia."

"OHHH!"

"She is so beautiful!"

"As expected of someone that will change our future."

While everyone was filling the place with praises, there was someone who went into a daze and it was none other than Max.

Max was looking at Arash's daughter's face and mumbled in trance. "That facial structure, that smile, and this…this feeling of closeness in my soul. It is her….it is my baby..Ana."

Tears started to roll down from his eyes and he walked forward, trying to reach her.

Ravenna, who was watching Ana too, was surprised to see Max walking into the crowd. She quickly grabbed Max before he could enter the crowd as people might find out their identity. "Max, stop."

[ Host, I suggest you stop. ]

Max not only got held back by Ravenna but also got warned by the system. A wave of anger rose in his heart. "Why are you stopping?"

"Didn't you say humans should not find out about our identity?" Ravenna whispered softly.

Max gritted his teeth as he didn't know what to do. He turned around and looked at Ana. The more he did the more he couldn't calm down his heart.

[ Host, if you get too close to her, you might never meet her again. ]

'What nonsense are you spouting?' Max couldn't understand why the system was hellbound about this.

[ Host, if you get close to her, she might become your enemy. ]

'Nonsense! Why would she do that to me!?' Max felt he had enough of Ravenna and the system, so he started walking forward, not caring about Ravenna's and the system's constant warnings.

[ Host! I am telling you the truth, believe me. I don't want to see your journey come to such a quick end. ]

But that still didn't sway Max's determination. He was just about to insert his hand between the crowd, he heard the system's mechanical yet calm voice.

[ Host, won't you listen to your first and only companion? ]