I grow stronger by making my wife happy.

Chapter 73: 73:Permission.

He didn’t need to be told twice to understand where it was going. His uncle probably knew something about the box. Silver wasn’t really sure but this was a better lead.

Silver pretended to think then shrugged.

"Ooh...That..."

His uncle watched him carefully.

"Yes."

Silver leaned back.

"I threw it away."

Silence filled the room. His uncle blinked, as he tried to mask the shift in his expression.

"...You what?"

Silver nodded.

"I threw it away," he repeated

His uncle genuinely stared as though trying to determine whether Silver was joking. He wasn’t or at least appeared not to be.

Silver continued calmly.

"Didn’t I tell you already, I don’t want any reminders," he said, his explanation reasonable," Cruella was hurt by what I did and I didn’t want to hurt her anymore so I decided to put a stop to my unhealthy obsession since I have a long future ahead of me. But my heart is too weak, I want to move on."

He held his chest with the most painful expression he could master. He continued, surprisingly uninterrupted.

"I didn’t want any reminders of her at all. I want to move on from this heartbreak. I didn’t even look inside, I couldn’t, I was seeing her face everywhere."

That part was technically true, he hadn’t looked inside until later. His uncle’s fingers tapped lightly against the desk; three times. A habit that Silver recognized. He did that when he was thinking and calculating.

He looked up at Silver then asked.

"Where did you throw it away?"

The question came too quickly which Silver immediately noticed, so he shrugged again.

"I don’t remember."

"You don’t remember?"

"No. I threw it in a random bin. I was too heartbroken to care."

His uncle’s expression tightened although it wasn’t very visible. Silver caught a few, there was disappointment, frustration, and concern. The reaction confirmed everything, his uncle knew the box mattered, perhaps not exactly what was inside but enough to care.

He himself wasn’t exactly sure, but he knew he had to keep a watchful eye out. The excuse might buy him time but his uncle might just decide to change his mind.

There were also others who were clearly unhappy with him getting the letter of admission, he didn’t know when everything might spill over.

His uncle sighed heavily leaning back on his chair. "Do you know what was inside?"

Silver shrugged. fгeewebnovёl.com

"I don’t know. Probably some jewellery," he calmly said.

"You... just leave," he tiredly said, " that’s all for today. "

Silver smiled and stood up.

"Have a good night, uncle," he said then continued," tell Lucian and Cruella that I wish them a happy married life."

He chuckled to himself and walked out. Unsurprisingly, Sanders remained in the room with his uncle.

Silver did not go to sleep immediately, for once, exhaustion wasn’t the problem, his mind was. The conversation with his tenth uncle lingered in his thoughts like an unpleasant itch.

He wasn’t sure how to judge him fully, he didn’t want to come to a conclusion fast but he was also going to increase his vigilance against the man.

With Cruella in the mix, she might have put his uncle up for this or he was the one responsible for the former Silvers’ death.

No matter how he looked at it, he couldn’t come to an exact conclusion. Right now he was pointing fingers at everyone in the family.

Silver leaned against the window of his room. Below, lights illuminated the estate grounds. The world still moved normally around him, giving him the semblance of normalcy.

His fingers tapped lightly against the glass.

’Mom. Dad’

He missed his parents at the moment. They sank into his thoughts as he gazed out at the Sanctuary before him. He wondered if they had probably reincarnated just like him. He hoped that if they had, they were living a good life.

Silver exhaled slowly, then shook his head. One problem at a time, he couldn’t afford to be sentimental at the moment.

Right now, his priority was survival and survival meant leaving very soon.

He stretched slightly and changed into his gym clothes. Working out had always been his way of getting rid of stress and anxiety.

An hour or two later, a knock came at the door. Sanders entered his eyes scrutinising. He bowed respectfully.

"Younger Master, you called. "

Silver turned.

"Oh, yes. I need you to do me a favor."

Sanders stared at him blankly.

"Yes?"

"Arrange an audience with the Patriarch tomorrow," he calmly said.

He visibly paused at that, clearly not expecting him to say that. Even within the Ruddington Family, requesting a personal audience with the Patriarch was not a casual matter.

He had hundreds of visitors every day which meant getting an audience required prior notice. Unless it was an emergency, he required prior notice a day before.

Sanders nodded.

"I’ll send the request immediately."

Silver smiled.

"Thank you."

Sanders hesitated, then asked carefully.

"Is it important?"

Silver looked toward the window again.

"Very."

The next morning arrived quickly. For once Silver skipped his morning gym session; instead, he spent the early hours preparing his arguments.

Convincing the Patriarch wasn’t simple. The old man wasn’t sentimental, he respected results, logic, benefit, and strength. Which meant Silver needed to present his case properly.

Fortunately, he had several advantages; the Academy recommendation, his recent performance, his hunt results, and his improving reputation. There was also the fact that he was no longer embarrassing the family every other day. That one might probably help the most.

The meeting took place shortly after breakfast. The Patriarch’s private office occupied the highest floor of the estate’s central building.

The room overlooked most of the Sanctuary, far better than every other room. Silver took a deep breath and entered. The Patriarch sat behind a massive desk, several family elders occupied side seats, including his tenth uncle.

Silver mentally prepared himself. The Patriarch glanced up.

"Sit."

Silver obeyed. The Patriarch’s gaze remained sharp despite his age. Powerful contractors aged differently since their bodies deteriorated more slowly, still, their presence remained overwhelming.

Even seated, the Patriarch felt larger than everyone else in the room.

"So," he started, folding his hands, "you requested this audience."

Silver nodded politely.

"Yes, Grandfather."

"Why?"

As expected, there was no small talk but straight to business.

Silver took a breath.

"I would like permission to leave for the Academy early."

The room became quiet. One elder frowned. His tenth uncle raised an eyebrow. The Patriarch remained expressionless through the clear change in the room.

"Explain the reason."

Silver had expected that.

"Since the Academy begins in a month," Silver started calmly," I don’t believe spending that month inside the sanctuary is the best use of my time."

Several elders exchanged looks. Silver pressed forward.

"I need experience, combat, Stabilization of my integration, and an increase in ranks."

The Patriarch nodded along which silver found to be an encouragement.

"The students entering the Academy won’t be waiting for me."

That earned a small reaction. Several elders nodded slightly at that. Because that part was undeniably true. The Academy gathered the strongest young contractors from multiple Sanctuaries, nobody cared whether someone was ready.

Silver continued.

"If I leave early, I can hunt along the route, train, gain experience, and arrive stronger."

The Patriarch remained silent clearly thinking about his proposal. A moment of uncomfortable silence passed then finally he spoke.

"That is your reasoning?"

Silver briefly hesitated, then decided to gamble.