Chapter 216: Will Always Be My Family
Chapter 216: Will Always Be My Family
"Young lady, just who are you?" Agnes asked. "Are you implying that you know my grandson's real parents?"
Emma frowned, knowing that she had accidentally spoken something that she shouldn't have.
In her attempt to help Ethan with what he had decided to do, she was unable to stop herself from speaking a bit about his background.
However, since the cat was already out of the bag, she decided to tone her stance a bit.
"Grandma, I know that it is hard to believe, but I do know who Ethan's parents are," Emma replied. "However, I cannot divulge anything about their identity or Ethan's background."
Agnes smiled. "Miss Emma, unless you have proof that you truly know my grandson's biological parents, it is best to not make any unnecessary claims. It is not funny."
Ethan, Chloe, Luna, Emma, and Benjamin, could feel that Agnes was trying her best to rein in her anger.
Despite the smile on the old woman's face, her clenched fists were trembling as if she was doing her best to not lash out.
Agnes loved Ethan since he was a baby. There were many nights when she felt like beating the crap out of the person who left the poor baby alone in the middle of the night on their farm.
Although she was thankful that Ethan became part of their life, she believed that no one had the right to abandon a child in such a manner.
"Grandma, please calm down," Ethan said as he stood up to hug his grandma from behind. "I know this is too much to digest right now, but I have reason to believe that Emma isn't lying."
"You too, Ethan?" Agnes looked at her grandson in disbelief. "Do you believe her nonsense?"
Ethan nodded. "My relationship with Emma is a bit complicated. She is a daughter of the people who come from a clan who had been serving the descendants of the clan that my biological parents had come from."
Agnes shifted her gaze to the young lady who was looking back at her in a calm manner.
"What is your relationship with my grandson?" Agnes asked. "Did you tell him who his real parents are? Also, don't you dare call me Grandma if you lie to me. I hate liars."
Emma closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Right now, there was an internal battle happening inside her head.
One side was of duty, the other was to prove her loyalty to Ethan.
Ethan wanted to say something to ease the tension, but his Other Half told him to not do anything.
'I want to know how this girl will handle this mess,' Ethan's Other Half said through their connection. 'Depending on her answer, we will know if she is really a capable subordinate or not.'
'You treat her as if she's some kind of tool,' Ethan replied in a displeased tone.
'The Meredith Clan lives and dies for the sake of our family's bloodline,' Ethan's Other Half replied. 'She is your Promised One, but if she doesn't meet a certain standard, she can easily be replaced. Trust me, there will be many young ladies in the Meredith Clan who will jump at the opportunity to become your future concubine.
'However, they have this one rule that states that only one member of their Clan can serve a member of your family at any given time. So this means until she is replaced, you are stuck with her. Wouldn't it be nice to test if she is capable or not? I don't have a thing for useless Retainers.'
Ethan didn't share his Other Half's opinion. He wasn't someone who treated others as tools and measured their value depending on whether they were useless or not.
Even so, he still decided to not say anything and allowed Emma to diffuse the situation.
Several minutes later, Emma opened her eyes and looked at Agnes with a solemn look on her beautiful face.
"Grandma, there are many things that I cannot say right now due to the restrictions that are placed on me," Emma said softly. "If I break any of these restrictions, I will be punished and will be forced to leave Ethan's side. I don't want this to happen, so I will only say the things that I am allowed to say."
Agnes arched an eyebrow, but she kept her silence and waited for Emma to finish her explanation.
"The Gremory Family is also a Wizard Family, so you should be aware of a few things about the Wizarding World right, Grandma?" Emma inquired.
"I know a thing or two," Agnes replied.
Emma nodded. "Ethan is my Master and My Liege Lord. I am one of the many daughters of the Meredith Clan who were sent to different places in Eastshire, Northshire, Southshire, and Westshire.
"Our goal is to find our Master and, fortunately, my mother had chosen Brynhildr Academy as my base of operation. I am now a Second Year, which means that I have been in the academy for an entire year, waiting for his arrival.
"I was prepared to stay there until I graduated, just in case he appeared in the academy at a later time. I am very happy that I didn't have to wait that long to serve the Young Master."
Emma looked at Ethan and smiled sweetly.
"Since I was the first one to discover his whereabouts, I earned the title of his 'Promised One'. I stated before that my goal is to protect, guide, and stay by his side until he fulfills his destiny.
"As to what this destiny is, I am not aware. Even if I were, I am not allowed to share this with anyone, including him. The last bit of information that I can share with all of you is that Ethan's hometown is in Midgard, which translates in the old tongue as Middle Earth.
"Once he grows strong enough, I will guide him back to the place of his birth, where he will find the answers about his true identity and his background, which I and others are duty bound to protect."
Agnes listened silently until Emma was finished with her explanation. As someone who was born into a Wizarding Family, she wasn't entirely clueless about what Emma was trying to say.
However, since she had an idea, it made her feel anxious.
For Ethan to be abandoned by his parents, only one explanation came to her mind.
"Then, answer this question, Emma," Agnes stated. "Is Ethan a member of a destroyed noble family?"
Emma didn't answer and maintained her silence. Clearly, this was one of the restrictions that she was talking about earlier.
All the daughters of the Meredith Clan had powerful spells that were forcefully placed on their bodies.
If any of them betrayed their clan and their Liege or divulged its secrets to anyone who was not related to them, the spell would activate and kill these young ladies without mercy.
"Grandma, I think that's enough," Ethan said as he lovingly hugged his Grandma from behind.
"Regardless of what happens, I will be going to Midgard to discover my true identity when the right time comes. For now, I want to enjoy this time together with you, so let's not talk about these annoying things. Look, you will have more wrinkles if we continue this discussion."
"Fine," Agnes replied before taking a deep breath to regain her composure. "Emma, although you can't answer my questions, can you do something for me?"
Emma nodded in a heartbeat. "As long as it doesn't break my restrictions, I will do my best to accommodate your request, Grandma."
Agnes smiled. "Then, can you write a letter and make sure that Ethan's parents read it?"
"… I can try," Emma answered with a serious expression on her face.
"Good. I will keep things simple. You just need to tell them that the moment we meet, they better be ready to get slapped in the face," Agnes said. "Can you do that?"
"I…" Emma was truly at a loss about the request that Agnes wanted from her.
If she really sent this letter to her Clan, she didn't know what kind of backlash she would receive from the blatant disrespect that came from the one who raised their Young Master.
"You don't have to do that, Grandma," Ethan rested her hand on Agnes' shoulder. "I'll make sure that you will get the opportunity to meet my biological parents. You can deal with them personally when that happens."
"Hmph!" Agnes scoffed, but she placed her hand over Ethan's hand that was resting on her shoulder. "Remember this, Ethan. Even if your family and your home abandoned you, your grandpa and I had and always will be here for you."
"I know, Grandma," Ethan said as he kissed his Grandma's cheek. "You and Grandpa will always be my family."
Agnes nodded her head with a smile.
After that, the tension in the room disappeared, and Agnes did her best to make up for her earlier outburst by talking with Emma.
Emma was also quite happy because she managed to regain Agnes' trust, even if it was only a little bit.
Although she was certain that there would be many bumps along the way, her position as Ethan's Promised One, would remain.
At least for the time being.