CHAPTER 929: CHAPTER 929 OLD MASTER AVERY’S EXPLANATION

"Oh? So you’ve already met her?" His tone carried a hint of disappointment, because this only meant Silvia had gone behind his back to meet Hera.

"Don’t you remember her? She’s the girl you used to play with in the garden when you were little. And remember the one I told you about before? The daughter of your parents’ assistants. They died with your mother and father in that plane crash... I’ve raised her ever since, but I never officially adopted her," he explained gently.

Then he began recounting the details he hadn’t yet told Hera.

"When your mother and father died, along with their respective assistants, who were Silvia’s parents, she was left completely orphaned. No one from her extended family wanted to take her in."

"Instead, they only cared about what her parents left behind: the insurance payout, the assets they’d earned working under your parents. It was a substantial amount for a regular household."

"They pretended to care for her, just long enough to claim those assets, then left her to fend for herself. She was just as young as you were back then, just a child. And without her parents to protect her, she was vulnerable."

"Those vulture-like relatives only saw her for her worth on paper. And since her parents died suddenly, without a will, it would’ve been easy for them to take everything in her name under the guise of guardianship."

He sighed, the weight of memory pressing on his shoulders.

"So I stepped in. I claimed guardianship over her, not as an adoptive parent, but as someone taking responsibility for the surviving family of a deceased employee. I did it to protect her. To keep her from being completely devoured by her so-called family."

"Luckily, I acted fast at that time," he continued, his voice laced with the tension of old memories. "Just as I feared, her relatives came in droves the moment they heard about her parents’ deaths, not to care for her, but to claim whatever savings and property they had left behind. Not one of them cared enough to look after the little girl who had just lost everything."

"So, I took guardianship of her and entrusted Alfonse with raising her and giving her a proper education. But when she grew a little older, I began to notice something else: certain forces had started sniffing around, looking for you. I was afraid they would find a way to kidnap you, to use you against me. That fear haunted me."

"And then... Silvia, who was barely nine years old at the time, came to me and said she was willing to act as your stand-in, to draw attention away from you and keep you safe."

He paused, a heavy sigh escaping his lips. "It took time for me to consider it seriously, until the day you were nearly kidnapped, if not for your quick-witted friend, Athena. That was when I made the decision."

"I let you live outside, not only because of our family’s customs, but also to distance you from me, to keep you safe. I wanted no one to trace you back to me or use you as a target. And from that point on, I let Silvia take the spotlight in your place."

"I allowed everyone to believe she was the one connected to me. And because of that, I had to treat her like my own granddaughter too, because the enemy’s eyes were now on her instead."

"I apologize for keeping this from you, sweetie," the Old Master said softly, his voice trembling with emotion. The weight of the truth wasn’t easy to carry, nor was the decision he’d made years ago.

Using a child as bait had never sat right with him. It went against everything he believed in. But at the time, he had no choice. Silvia’s parents had died in the same tragic accident that claimed his own son and daughter-in-law, and the guilt of it all never left him.

So, he did what little he could; he gave Silvia a life of comfort and wealth. It was the least he could do to ease his conscience. And though he did harbor guilt and a certain tenderness for Silvia, when it came down to it, he would always choose his own granddaughter.

Silvia’s sacrifices weren’t one-sided; she got what she wanted, too. Old Master Avery was never blind to her ambition. He saw it clearly. But as long as she kept her desires in check and never turned them against the Avery family or his granddaughter, he was willing to support her.

Although Silvia was only nine years old at the time, once she tasted the forbidden fruit of luxury and abundance, she became intoxicated by it; there was no going back to a life of mediocrity for her. That’s why she willingly offered to act as Hera’s stand-in.

She had already seen the darkest sides of human nature, being tossed around by relatives who treated her like an unwanted burden, not a child who had just lost everything. It forced her to grow up faster than most, and she quickly understood that only by gaining power could she protect herself from ever being at someone’s mercy again.

Becoming Hera’s stand-in meant more than just survival; it meant access to all the things she never thought she’d have: princess-like dresses, expensive dolls, mouthwatering food, and most importantly, the envy and admiration of other children.

So what if she no longer had her parents? She had what others didn’t. She realized just how far wealth and status could take her when she walked into primary school wearing designer clothes, and the same girls who used to ignore her suddenly flocked around her, just because of the limited-edition hairpin she wore that day.

It was in that moment that Silvia understood the true power of wealth. And once she did, she only wanted more.

Old Master Avery recognized Silvia’s vain and ambitious nature, but he didn’t look down on her because of it. As someone who had walked this path for a long time, he had met countless people and accumulated wisdom through experience. He understood that every person has their own aspirations and motivations.

And he wasn’t about to be a hypocrite. After all, he was a man standing at the peak of power and influence, and even now, he continued working hard to grow his wealth and secure his legacy. That drive wasn’t so different from Silvia’s; it was simply expressed in another way.

Ambition, he believed, was not inherently good or bad. It was how one wielded it that mattered. And that truth applied to everyone.

So, after they agreed on the arrangement, Old Master Avery did not hold back in caring for Silvia. To outsiders, it might have looked like he favored her, showering her with luxury while allowing Hera to face hardships alone. But that wasn’t neglect; it was tradition.

Their ancestors had taken the same approach. It was their way of shaping descendants into people of strength and substance. True character, he believed, was forged in adversity, not comfort.

After all, there’s an old saying: ’In times of great chaos, the most exceptional and driven generals are born, but in times of peace, their descendants often fall.’

Why is that? Because those descendants only inherit the abundance and glory their forebears earned through blood and sacrifice. They grow up basking in privilege, never truly understanding the weight of the power they wield, nor the pain and destruction it could inflict.

Without struggle, there is no discipline. Without hardship, there is no drive. And so, many grow arrogant, complacent, and wasteful.

Meanwhile, those born in suffering, those who claw their way out of the mud, learn resilience. They sharpen their will in silence, grit their teeth, and find their strength in the shadows.

This truth was deeply understood by their first ancestor, who used to be a wise advisor and brilliant scholar, who had seen the rise and fall of many. They knew that true strength is often born in adversity. And because of this, they chose to raise their descendants, especially the women, with strictness and discipline.

Why the women in particular? Because in a world that still clings to outdated beliefs, women must work twice as hard to be seen, twice as long to be trusted, and carry twice the burden to be acknowledged. In a patriarchal society filled with stereotypes and invisible chains, only those who are tested by fire can rise above it.

And so, even when Hera was still young and grieving the loss of her parents, the Old Patriarch, though he loved her dearly, never coddled her. Instead, he chose to teach her how to stand on her own two feet. He pushed her to become independent, to grow strong through experience rather than shelter.

Little by little, he gave her opportunities to sharpen her talents and uncover her strengths. Though he never spoiled her with luxury, he never once skimped on her education. He made sure the foundation she stood on was solid, and from the shadows, he watched over her every step.