"Minnie, please." Maiara said with a gentle smile.
"Mmh…" Minnie hugged her from behind and looked blissful as if she were in heaven.
Kiernan then planted a quick kiss on her hand and then let go of the hand.
When Minnie saw that, she began growling again.
"Big sis, can we go talk to Christmas and leave these two filthy subhumans alone over here?!"
"Alright…" Maiara wryly smiled and went to the neighboring table to talk to the bookworm of a woman, who didn't lift her gaze from the book even when she was being talked to.
Suddenly, they heard the sound of some baby crying, and it was coming closer.
"Great, the crybaby is here." Zeus rolled his eyes.
"Watch your mouth, Zeus Helios Abracadabra!"
Carrying a baby against her breasts, a beautiful woman walked over. She had long black hair and dark red eyes with long lashes framing her round eyes.
Even though she had already given birth to four children, she still looked fair and slender with a youthful glow that seemed to radiate from her.
"Mom." Zeus looked over with a smile. "Why did you bring the crybaby with you?"
"This crybaby is your little sister." Nevaeh slapped him on the back of the head.
When the little baby saw that, she giggled as she clearly enjoyed seeing Zeus get slapped.
'This is…' Kiernan looked at the woman with a deep look. 'A woman that perfectly resembles my father's description. Could she be my mother? If that's the case, I would have four step-siblings…
'I'll need to take a picture, but how? It's creepy as hell just to take a picture without permission. Well, even if asked for permission, it would still be creepy.'
Nevaeh asked as she pressed her baby against her chest, trying to keep her from crying. Her daughter, for some reason, liked to listen to her heartbeat. It was a soothing sound that always calmed her down.
"Kiernan, the newly crowned hero." Zeus said with a chuckle.
"You're the one who saved that girl." Nevaeh said with an impressed look. "You gave peace to many families who were scared that their girls might be next to get kidnapped."
"What a sicko, right?" Zeus said. "I mean, Arghman Ceremony, shit. It is a twisted ceremony, and there is a reason why it is illegal as hell."
"I haven't heard much about the Arghman Ceremony. I know it is a ceremony to get borrowed strength to cross the bottlenecks to the next rank, but is that all?"
"It's pretty much that." Nevaeh said. "The ceremony usually requires a twisted act to do with a sacrifice."
"There are few ways to do it. I've heard some drinking the sacrifice's blood to finish the ceremony, but some, like those kidnappers, did it in another way.
"Through sexual intercourse.
"I mean, if I were in their shoes, I would also do that since drinking blood is filthy."
"Zeus…" Nevaeh slapped him on the back of the head. "Never say that. What they did was unforgivable."
"I know. Just saying, if I were in their shoes." Zeus placed his finger against his temple. "Mentally ill, like them. I would never do it, because whoever does that ceremony is a loser and a fraud.
"There are no such things as shortcuts. The fake Martial Kings are weak. I am Martial Grandmaster, but I believe I could beat those frauds still.
"The borrowed power is weak, after all."
Kiernan nodded in agreement.
"Anyway, I heard you met my sister." Nevaeh said. "She brought you to the hospital."
"She is your sister?" Kiernan said in surprise. "I would like to thank her. I was a dead man without her."
"She should be coming here any moment…"
Nevaeh said, and at that moment, she saw a certain someone enter the ballroom, dressed in a lengthy black dress with a plunging neckline.
Kiernan turned around to look, and his breath stopped once more.
She was indeed the most beautiful woman around, and the guests, it didn't matter if they were here with their girlfriends or wives, they still turned around to get a second look at her as she walked confidently through the crowd.
"What is her name?" Kiernan asked.
"Bella," Nevaeh said. "She is my little sister. Karl-Michael is our father."
'Now that I think about it, Bella also fits the description pretty much perfectly. My father said that my mother was the most beautiful woman he has ever met.'
"Are her children around?" Kiernan asked curiously. "Or her husband?"
"Why are you asking?" Zeus asked with a smirk. "You trying to court my auntie? You have balls, Kiernan."
"No…" Kiernan massaged his temples. "Just curious, that's all."
"She is childless, and she doesn't have a husband." Nevaeh said. "That's all I am telling you. It's family business, after all. If you don't mind, I am going to greet my sister."
She left with the baby in her arms.
'Childless and no husband.' Kiernan took his phone from his pocket. 'I must know.'
He opened the camera app, pointed it at Bella, whose side profile only showed as she was talking with some of the guests, and then snapped a picture.
"You took a picture of her?" Zeus asked with a laugh. "Are you planning to jack off to her, you perv?"
Kiernan ignored his taunts and sent the picture to his father. He had to know for certain. Just in case, he also included Nevaeh in the picture.
He waited for the answer with anticipation.
'It is quite late in Irio, but based on World Clock, he shouldn't be asleep yet. Please be awake.'
A moment later, the phone buzzed as he received the answer.
[Karma: Yes… the woman on the right.]
Kiernan's eyes shook, and he checked the picture—the woman on the right was Bella!
'She is the one.' Kiernan looked ahead at the beautiful woman. 'My mother…'
While talking with the guests, Bella kept forcing smiles, and she then happened to look further to the left and saw Kiernan staring back at her.
The forced smile turned more genuine.
Bella excused the guests and walked over to Kiernan with a sweet smile, then came to stop by his table where he was sitting with Zeus.
"You're doing well. I am glad." Bella said.
"Ah, yes…" Kiernan almost choked on his words. "Thanks to you."
"Hehe." Bella covered her mouth and giggled. "I'm just glad I could help."