Earl Quinn was momentarily stunned in place, not even noticing the wine glass slipping from his hand and shattering on the floor.
The instant he saw her, two names involuntarily surfaced in his mind – the former had accompanied him for most of his life, but had withered away due to the loss of her beloved, and the latter was that lost beloved, someone he would never see again. Despite nearly a decade of separation, her height had increased considerably, and her appearance was even more outstanding, but he could still discern that the resemblance between the two was so striking that he almost blurted out the former's name.
"Father, do you know her?" Horn's words barely brought him back from his daze.
Hoffer slowly stood up and asked in a deep voice, "Could you be... Andrea?"
"What? Are you saying she's... that, that one who passed away..." Horn's eyes widened as he looked back and forth between the two, muttering in disbelief.
"Master, it really is young miss!" The old butler's expression was even more excited than anyone else's, "I absolutely won't mistake her, she's simply inherited all of Madam's features!"
"It seems you still remember me," Andrea said expressionlessly, "Then the next matter will be much easier to discuss."
Hoffer's heart couldn't help but skip a beat. The fact that his daughter had awakened as a witch was a secret to most people, even her mother, his wife Fina Shee, had been kept in the dark. When the servant who attended to Andrea reported the matter to him, he made a decisive decision – pushing the knowledgeable servant into the river, disguising it as an accidental drowning, and using his trusted aides to plan the carriage's plunge off the cliff.
Although he knew that doing so might make the other party resent him, hatred was also a form of remembrance for those who had passed away. But once they met again, such indifference became a sharp thorn.
Especially since he was unsure whether what he had done back then was the right thing, the stinging sensation became even more pronounced.
But the Earl knew that there were more important things to consider now – why Andrea had appeared in Glow City, whether her identity was genuine, and what she meant by "I don't think so." These questions were more important than questioning the mistakes of the past.
He suppressed all the questions and thoughts in his heart and waved his hand to signal Horn, "You may leave."
"Father!" The latter said worriedly.
"Do as I say!" Hoffer's tone was unquestionable.
Seeing that his mind was made up, Horn reluctantly left the room.
"Don't alarm anyone else," the Earl then instructed the butler, "Also, close the courtyard gate, and extinguish the lights in the foyer. If anyone in the mansion asks, say that I am drafting a document and am not to be disturbed. Do you understand?"
"I will take care of it right away! But..." The butler scratched his head, "What about the friends that young miss brought?"
"Friends?" He looked suspiciously at Andrea, "Take them to the banquet hall first and entertain them well."
"Yes, Master!"
As the door creaked shut, the room fell into silence. The two stared at each other for a long time, until the Earl couldn't help but break the silence first, "Although you bear a striking resemblance to my daughter, I cannot hastily assume that you are Andrea. After all, she was only sixteen when she left, and almost ten years have passed..." He paused, "What I mean is, do you have any other way to prove your identity?"
In fact, he already believed in the other party's origins. Asking this was just to seek confirmation – even the most perfect disguise could not change a person's inner self. From her every move, the Earl could see the shadow of the Glow City Flower of the past.
Andrea did not answer, but instead opened her hands. Immediately, a golden magical bow appeared in her hand. The longbow flowing with brilliant light gradually condensed and shrunk little by little, eventually evolving into a unique shape – which was the gift he had specially had the craftsman make to celebrate his daughter's birthday.
At this point, Hoffer no longer had any doubts in his heart. The bow, which was suitable for beginners, had been destroyed along with the carriage. Even now, he could not accurately describe its appearance.
And from
Andrea's keen interest in archery since she was a child, it was clear that she still remembered it.
"It really is you..." The Earl sighed, "Why did you come back? My purpose in sending you away was to hope that you could live safely."
"Was that all?" Andrea retracted the longbow, "Wasn't it because you were afraid of outsiders finding out that the Prime Minister had a daughter who was tempted by the devil and fallen? I don't think I was being protected, but rather abandoned. For witches, there is no truly safe place. If I hadn't been lucky enough to meet a group of people with the same fate, I'm afraid I would have already died in a foreign land."
He opened his mouth, but could not refute it, because this was also one of his concerns at the time. If the fact that Andrea was a witch was exposed, the entire family could be plunged into crisis – not everyone could comfortably shackle their relatives and send them to the church or other nobles. Rather than have the Quinn family face this difficult decision, he would rather make the decision alone.
"But those things are already in the past. I didn't come to you to dredge up old grudges," Andrea said with a serious expression, "You must be wondering why I was able to enter the Earl's mansion so brazenly. After all, the guards wouldn't easily believe my story. Also, after seeing the butler, I deliberately waited outside the door for a while. Is the one who called you Father the family heir? When did I get such a younger brother?"
"He was adopted from a branch... Your mother passed away a year after you left, and the Quinn family needed an heir," Hoffer said in a low voice.
If that accident ten years ago had not occurred, this position would have belonged to the eldest daughter.
After hearing this news, Andrea was first stunned, and then a touch of gloom appeared in her eyes. She was silent for a while before opening her mouth and saying, "In any case, the head of the Quinn family can't be changed temporarily. His Majesty hopes that you can go further, instead of retiring behind the scenes now. In the current situation, apart from Earl Quinn, the head of the three great families, he does not recognize any agent."
"What do you mean?" Hoffer was momentarily unable to understand the meaning of her words, "The His Majesty you are talking about refers to –"
"Of course, the King of Graycastle, Roland Wimbledon. I am here at his behest." Andrea took a deep breath and asked, word by word, "Earl, are you willing to become the new Lord of Dawn?"
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