novelraw Chapter 39: Jim’s Story I
Chapter 39: Jim’s Story I
Jensen finally got back to the town.
The guards stopped him at the gate as they wanted certification for the bike he was riding which was a standard procedure.
Jensen paid them five low grade stones and their attitude changed immediately.
They went from been suspicious to smiling and thanking him. They even gave him a pass so no one would bother him at the gate again.
He checked his communication device and a message from Lily was waiting. She had already prepared a better accommodation for him as he had requested and sent the location.
The address led him to a small mansion; it was the place where Edward and Kevin Baker used to live.
He stood outside for a moment and just stared at the house that used to belong to someone he had schemed against and killed for no reason other than a mind skill he barely used.
Jensen didn’t know if he was supposed to feel bad for killing them, but he did not regret it.
’Oh well... the outcome is good... no... it is perfect and if I had to do it again, I will.’ Jensen thought before his attention shifted back to the details of the house itself.
The building looked like a two-storey house from the outside, but it had a garage for three hovercrafts.
It was in a good neighbourhood with clean streets and nice smell.
Lily had been able to get everything in the family, after the police did their investigation, they concluded that Lily had no hand in her family’s death.
The family will, crafted by her father, left everything to her and there were no contesters.
He walked inside.
Lily had done an overhaul of the place, with new furniture and other paints, mostly in dark colours
Jensen parked his bike in the garage which had only one hovercraft.
He made his way to the master bedroom and directly went to the bathroom to run a hot bath.
He undressed and got in. He lay there with his head against the edge of the tub and felt the heat soaked into his muscles.
He closed his eyes and for several minutes, he did not think about anything.
***
Jim slowly wore his dress as he prepared for what seemed like the most important point in his life that would determine his future and that of his children.
Lady Maria had been kind to them through the period they are stayed in this house.
Not only did they have a proper roof over their head, but they also had proper clothes and good food.
Although his younger daughter seemed to be particularly favoured by Lady Maria, and she had even gotten her new toys.
Lady Maria seemed to have something against his son, Roden and he hoped it wouldn’t affect their chances of a new life.
"Father, we have to leave." Talia’s voice came from the other side of the door, so he took one last look at his dress before opening the door.
His daughter was dressed to be as presentable as possible.
As far as he knew she had been trying to cultivate some relationship with Lady Maria and Lady Lily, but it hadn’t gotten anywhere.
They nodded at each other before making their way out to the hovercraft waiting outside.
He gave Lady Maria a gentleman’s bow before opening the doors for her to get in the back seat before he got in the driver’s seat with his son next to him and the girls behind.
It took them very little time to get to their destination and once they walked in, they were met with a young man sitting on the main chair.
Jim was surprised by how young the man seemed to be when the shock slowly cleared, he realised something else.
The similarity between Lady Maria and this Young Lord.
He did a double take, taking a quick glance between Jensen and Maria, ’I truly hope her animosity towards my son doesn’t affect our chance.’ Jim thought as the severity of the situation hit him.
He caught the frown slowly appearing on Lady Lily’s face as she stood behind the Young Lord and immediately realised his mistake.
He got down on his knees and immediately bowed followed closely by his children including Alicia.
Although he never understood aristocratic families’ need for such actions, he knew better than to let that be the downfall of his family for the second time.
"Greetings, My Lord." Jim and his family immediately proclaimed as they had practised to the best of their ability.
Jensen nodded before speaking calmy, "Maria and Lily have informed me on the information they know about you, and I agree that a Runemaster would indeed be a good addition to the family."
"I was also told that you have something to say." Jensen continued.
"Thank you for your generosity, My Lord." Jim pushed himself even lower.
"Speak," Jensen immediately cut Jim off from going into unneeded greetings.
"Since My Lord has granted me such grace, I believe it is best to explain my situation in details."
"I am currently suffering from a poison that was inflicted on me." Jim continued, "The poison has caused me to regress from a Mid-Level 2 to Level 1 as I am currently."
"I have no idea on how it works or what the cure for the poison is... I hope my lord understand."
"How did someone like you fall to this state?" Jensen asked, while he had no idea about the cure, he was quite certain that the Vampyre Bloodline would cure it as long as the poison’s grade wasn’t exceptionally great.
"As far as I can tell you seem to be from a prestigious family and runemasters such as yourself are typically priced possessions." Jensen continued.
Jim’s gaze seemed to become distant and nostalgic as he recalled his past... he closed his eyes and sighed before he began his story.
"I put my trust in the wrong people and this mistake cost me the live of my wife and brought me to this state."
"My full name is Jim Henning of the Henning clan... perhaps you have heard of the Henning Town... I used to be the lord of the clan until my brother managed to take it away."
"Ever since I was young, I was more fascinated by being a runemaster and devoted all my time to my craft."
"However, when my father died and left me as the head of the clan, I had to make time for the management of the clan which severely affected my cultivation speed."
"For years, I managed to balance my craft and my duties but even with that I began to fall behind in terms of cultivation after all my talent in that aspect was not as good."
"My accursed brother convinced me to leave the clan management in his hands while I focused on my cultivation and craft after all the Henning clan is known for our rune mastery."
"At the time, it made so much sense, and I trusted my brother, but it turned out that my brother used the time I spent away from management to start taking control of the clan."
"At first, I did not realise what was going until my friends and loyal supporters started to disappear for bizarre reasons."
"Thankfully my wife was a Level 3, so no move was made against me and my children."
Jim fell silent briefly as the memories of his wife resurfaced. Even months after her death, he was still mourning her death, but he quickly snapped out of it.
"My brother managed to crush my influence in the family till he successfully broke through to Level 3. At that point the elders supporting him were more than assured in their decision and agreed that it was in their best interest to have my brother become head."
"After all, while the Henning clan was famous for our skills in rune... we still needed a strong leader."
"What about your wife?"