The Alpha's Revenge

Chapter 5: The Third Stronghold

Kira thought carefully about what Auntie Herma said. “My mother’s treasure but trash to everyone,” she mumbled softly.

“What did Madam mean by that?” Bariston asked.

“My apologies, Lady Kira. I also don’t understand what Madam meant by that. But I think it’s related to you, Lady Kira. We all know how Madam treasures you, so I think it’s connected to you.”

Kira pondered for a moment. If it’s related to her… It must be…

Her eyes went to the large wooden cabinet placed near the door. She hurriedly went over and opened it. This wooden cabinet was a gift from her mother when she turned 12. She was so aggrieved during that time. Everyone around her age managed to transform into a wolf, but not her.

She was looked down on by everyone at that time. Her father hurriedly left the venue without looking at her. It was only her mother who comforted her all night. She gave this wooden cabinet to her. ‘Kira, this wooden cabinet might look old and unattractive, but always remember the uglier and older a thing is, the stronger it becomes. We don’t know, there might be some hidden powers that are inside them. I will be giving this to you to remind you not to listen to whatever they were saying. For them, you might be a waste or trash, but for mother, you will always be my precious treasure.’

“Lady Kira, what are you doing in there?” Auntie Herma saw Kira ransacking the wooden cabinet. Piles and piles of things scattered on the floor but Kira didn’t stop looking.

“Finally! I found it!” Kira suddenly exclaimed as she picked up the old book she found in a secret compartment of the cabinet. It’s filled with dust and spider webs.

“Is this the Book of Evolution?” Kira asked Bariston.

“You are right, Lady Kira. That’s what the Book of Evolution looked like. How did you know that Madam hid it there?” Bariston confusedly asked. He didn’t imagine that Madam Carrie would hide something precious in an old and unguarded cabinet.

Kira walked back to her bed and wiped the dust away using her hands. She didn’t mind getting her hands dirty at all.

“The wooden cabinet was given to me by my mother when I turned 12. If you can still remember, I didn’t get my wolf at that time. So, to comfort me, my mother gave it to me. She said that this was her treasure, no matter how others viewed it as trash.” Kira explained slowly.

Kira slowly opened the book and read it carefully. Everything was clearly written in her. All the strongholds and castles are detailed here. Including techniques on how to improve someone’s strength. There are certain methods and techniques listed that are not known by the people.

She immediately looked for the white lotus plant in the book and skipped the others since it didn’t have any use for her at the moment. As she browsed through the books, her eyes caught a strange name. “Carleigh Stronghold?” she whispered.

“Carleigh Stronghold? What do you mean, Lady Kira?” Although it’s only a whisper, Bariston can hear it because his rank level is higher than Kira’s.

“Auntie Herma, do you know what’s Carleigh Stronghold?” she asked after thinking for a while. As far as she could remember, there were only 2 existing strongholds in the entire Astanshire Empire. Dorpley Stronghold and Worthwood Stronghold. She didn’t hear any news about Carleigh Stronghold.

Auntie Herma looked confused as well. “I haven’t heard of it.”

Kira was about to continue reading the book when Auntie Herma suddenly exclaimed. “What is it, Auntie Herma? Have you recalled anything?”

“There’s an old rumor from the past. According to hearsay, there were originally 3 strongholds in the empire. However, one stronghold suddenly vanished. They said that the people in that stronghold were evil and were punished by the moon goddess. That’s why it was erased from history. But it was all folktales and rumors and it was not proven, so that rumor was soon forgotten.”

Kira looked at the bold written words at the top of the page of the book. “Vanished huh?”, she doesn’t believe in any rumors at all. Evil? Punished by the Moon Goddess? She had an instinct feeling that there was more to it. There’s a reason why that Stronghold suddenly vanished from the face of the empire.

But that’s not her concern for now. Her priority is how to become stronger with this special ability that she has.

After flipping through the pages, she finally found what she had been looking for. “Finally! I found it!” According to the book, plant ability can grow different plants that can be used for healing, level strengthening, and even in fights. When a wolf’s rank increases, the ability of the plant he/she can summon will increase as well.

For the first rank, they can only summon a lotus flower. The Lotus flower can heal low-level poisons and heal external injuries. On the other hand, lotus seeds have a much greater benefit. It can strengthen and purify the bones.

Purifying the bones is very helpful in improving a body’s constitution. In her case, where her body is physically weak, this lotus seed came just right in time. With strong bones, she can easily condition her body after and can also increase her rank, with the help of this book.

“Lady Kira, why are you suddenly interested in finding the Book of Evolution?” Bariston and Auntie Herma were just silently watching her reading the page about plant ability. They didn’t understand why she was so invested in it.

“Auntie Herma, Bariston, can I trust the both of you?” she asked solemnly.

Her sudden question made their hearts skip a beat. Why is she suddenly asking about that? Did something happen?

“I saw you when you were still a baby. From then on, I treated you as my daughter. Madam also ordered me to protect you at all times. Lady Kira, I will do anything for you as long it’s within my abilities.” Auntie Herma addressed her warmly.

On the other hand, Bariston kneels on one knee with his head lowered, showing great respect to the person sitting on the bed. “I pledge and vow that my loyalty will be yours forever. My life was saved by Madam and I promised on Madam’s grave that I would protect the person she wanted to protect the most.”

Kira cleared her throat. She was deeply moved by them. No matter what her lifetime is, their loyalty to her will always be the same.

“I understand. I trust both of you. I will be showing you something but I hope you will keep it to yourself.” Kira then waved her hand and a lotus flower appeared in sight.

Bariston and Auntie Herma looked at her with a shocked expression. That’s… That’s a plant, right? How did she summon that?

Kira saw that they were frozen in their places. She continued speaking, “What you are seeing right now is a lotus flower. I know you must be wondering how I summoned it. Well, earlier, I found out that I can summon this little flower. It’s unheard of and also something that is not explainable. I was surprised when I saw it and thought that it was nothing special, but after reading this book, I can say that this ability is very helpful to me. I don’t know how that happened, but it’s a fact.”

Auntie Herma remained silent, still shocked at the sudden revelation. While Bariston managed to digest the information immediately. “So, Lady Kira, what do you mean, you have a special ability that no one ever has?” If that’s the case, then his lady wouldn’t be looked down on anymore.

“You are right, Bariston. According to this book, the higher my wolf rank is, the higher my ability would be. As of now, I’m wolf-less, which means I don’t have any rank. But since I have this special ability, it will not be too long to get my wolf. This lotus flower would be the first step.” She plucked the petals of the flower and soon after, 3 lotus seeds came into view.

Kira picked one lotus seed and presented it to them. “This is a lotus seed. As you can see, this can purify the bones and blood in the body once eaten. Which will be helpful to a person to increase their rank.” She gave the two of them. “I know you are still doubtful about it, so I’ll do it first and show you the effect of it.”

She took out a lotus seed in her hand and swallowed it gracefully. However, an unexpected pain came into her body, causing her to shut her eyes tightly. ‘I didn’t know it would be this painful! It’s worse than death itself!’