HPDBC Chapter 601: News About Mother
Chapter 601: News About Mother
Third Person’s POVInstead, he maintained a stunned expression as if he had gone into shock and was saying the truth.
His eyes remained slightly glazed, and his posture was rigid.
Anyone observing him would have assumed that Dominic’s earlier revelation had genuinely shaken him.
Dominic stared at him for several moments.
The old man’s expression remained dark as he asked something quietly,
"She didn’t tell you anything else?"
Ethan lowered his head slightly before answering.
"Yes. She did."
The old man’s eyes sharpened.
"What was it?"
Ethan slowly raised his head and said,
"I can tell you, but before that, tell me what you know about the real me."
The atmosphere instantly changed.
It became tense once more as Dominic stared at him for several seconds with an intense dark gaze as if he would eat him alive, before he suddenly laughed.
The laughter contained no warmth, and it was closer to ridicule.
"Trying to be clever, young man?
For your information, you are in no position to bargain with me."
The moment he finished speaking, a terrifying freezing aura erupted from his eyes.
Unlike before, it was not aimed at Ethan’s body.
It struck directly at his soul, and a horrifying chill invaded Ethan’s consciousness.
It felt as though his very thoughts were freezing.
The room blurred, his vision became hazy, and his limbs grew numb.
Even his soul seemed to be sinking into an endless frozen abyss.
For the first time since entering this tower, genuine danger flashed through his mind.
Yet even under that pressure, Ethan clenched his teeth and forced himself to remain conscious.
His entire body trembled uncontrollably, and his voice became hoarse and weak.
"T-Then forget it."
His words emerged with great difficulty.
"If that’s how it is... then you won’t learn anything."
His vision continued blurring, yet he stubbornly forced himself to continue.
"You can kill me if you want... but I won’t tell you anything else... unless you tell me about the real me first."
The study fell silent, and Dominic stared at him closely.
The freezing pressure did not disappear.
Instead, it continued pressing down upon him while the old man carefully observed every detail of his face.
He observed his eyes for traces of pretense, his breathing for any falsehoods, and the fluctuations of his soul in the search for traces of false bravado.
Dominic Iceheart was a thousand year old man, and he had seen every bit of the world there was to see in it, so he was searching for any traces of deception in Ethan.
Yet after several moments, he found nothing, or at least nothing that convinced him otherwise.
Eventually, the old man sighed, and the freezing pressure suddenly weakened.
"Fine."
A faint smile appeared on his face, and a faint trace of admiration appeared in his twinkling blue eyes.
"Little boy, you win."
Ethan inwardly relaxed as his gamble had paid off, but he did not show it.
Dominic slowly stepped forward once more.
Then, just like before, he leaned close enough to whisper directly into Ethan’s ear.
His next words were so unexpected that Ethan almost forgot to breathe.
"I know your mother."
For a brief moment, Ethan’s thoughts stopped, but Dominic continued speaking.
"I know the woman from whom you were separated all those years ago."
The old man’s voice remained calm and measured, containing absolute certainty in it.
"And if you tell me everything Shixea has asked you to do, I can even arrange for you to meet her again."
The world seemed to go silent as Ethan’s mind went completely blank, and it was for real this time.
Every thought he had in his mind disappeared, and every calculation he had done popped into bubbles.
The only thing remaining was the image of his mother and an uncontrolled elation he didn’t show.
All of her memories started to flood his mind.
Her smile flashed in his eyes, her gentle voice sounded in his ears, the warmth of her embrace extinguished the cold in his mind and body, and her loving violet eyes looked at him.
He had imagined meeting her again for countless times across the past nine years.
The longing he had carried for years suddenly resurfaced with overwhelming force.
For several moments, he simply stood there, but then he forcibly regained control of himself.
His breathing remained uneven and his voice came out hoarse.
"If..."
He swallowed.
"If you truly help me reunite with my mother, old man..."
For the first time, genuine emotion appeared in his eyes.
"Then I promise that I will help you against Shixea or anyone else."
The moment those words left his mouth, Dominic’s eyes flashed, and a trace of certainty appeared within them.
The invisible restraints binding Ethan instantly vanished, and his body dropped from the air.
He landed on the floor and staggered slightly before regaining his balance.
Fresh air rushed into his lungs as if ocean water were finally finding a hole, and only now did he realize how exhausting and dangerous the interrogation had been.
Meanwhile, Dominic had already returned to his chair behind the desk.
The coldness from earlier was gone, and a warm smile had reappeared on his face.
He once again resembled nothing more than a harmless old scholar.
He folded his hands together and said,
"Good. Now, let’s speak honestly, young man."
Ethan looked at him for several moments, and then he slowly walked forward and sat down in the chair opposite him.
This time, both of them understood that the real conversation was only just beginning.
Ethan took a deep breath before continuing.
"The real reason Shixea asked me to get close to you, old man, is that the main goal behind all her orders was for me to kill you at some point in the future.
So, basically, your death is the key to my freedom."
As he said that, he pointed towards his own body before continuing in a calm voice.
"That is because she promised to undo all the seals on my mana veins if I succeeded in killing you someday."