Hearing his question, Lilith who was about to eat narrowed her eyes as she elegantly put down her fork and knife.

 

She knew that this question would come sooner or later and in fact, was surprised it took so long.  

 

Silence settled between the two as Lilith searched for the right words to explain the situation to Sol. She wished him to understand her worries and the reasons behind her actions.

 

Before getting pregnant with her daughter, Lilith had never been interested in motherhood and she believed that she was far from the perfect example of what a mother should be.

 

Her relationship with her daughter was strained when put gently but near-freezing cold when told truthfully.

 

In Sol's case, Lilith had always been a little more partial and gentle, but she had also always kept a certain distance between the two of them.

 

She knew deep down that Sol’s growth as the fine man he was now had very little to do with her.

 

But, even more so, this was why she had to do it.

 

“I understand that my orders might seem a little incomprehensible and truthfully, perhaps I am reading too much and doing so for nothing. Still, I have to do it for I believe this is a necessary step you must go through. At least, I hope you know I have your best interest at heart.”

 

Sol nodded to himself. He had never distrusted Lilith. Lilith was the Regent Queen. Even though she did not possess any legitimacy since she was not Blessed, there were many ways she could have found to keep the kingdom under her control or change him into a puppet.

 

But she showed no such actions. Lilith had always taken his well-being as the first necessity.

 

Gently taking his hand in her, Lilith began to explain herself. 

 

"Sol, every time I look at you, I see the shadow of my brother. Be it your tall and muscular frame, or your long golden hair and beautiful crystal blue eyes. There's absolutely no mistake about you being his child."

 

As she spoke those words, she slowly caressed his hair with a loving look on her ever-stoic face. 

 

She missed her brother. She did. He was her rock. The one who gave meaning to her life in this cold and merciless reality. Sadly, she would never be able to see him again.

 

This was one of the reasons why Sol was so important to her. He was the last memento of her brother.

 

"Sol. You are frankly everything I could ask for and so much more. You are handsome and hard-working. You are smart and full of interesting ideas. But…"

 

She stopped and looked down at her free hand clenching it as she delivered to him the painfully bitter truth, 

 

"It isn't enough. Like your father, you lack the single-minded drive to become stronger, despite your immeasurable talent. The all-consuming desire to stand above the others no matter what. The desire to stand in front of everyone and shadow them with your wide back."

 

Ambition was what drove humans toward greatness. To realize their ambitions, humans could reach new heights and break all limits. 

 

"Sol, Mars Luxuria was known as the strongest man ever born. A natural hero. A supreme being that made all the seven kingdoms tremble at the mere utterance of his name."

 

Mars as a Blessed was born very talented. But his case was a very extreme one. Everything for him was always smooth sailing. There was nothing he could not do and his talent seemed to be limitless.

 

In the last years of his life, he had even reached a level of power no known human had ever managed to reach and helmed the coalition during the last war against a powerful enemy.

 

Lilith gazed deeply into his eyes with a mad fervor in hers. So much so that Sol nearly took a step back at the intensity he could see brimming in her eyes. It wouldn’t be wrong to call it an almost fanatical glow, 

 

"Sol Dragona Luxuria. You are the heir of this kingdom. You are the future king of Lustburg. More importantly, you are the son of the hero king. The man who saved this world. The man, the hero, immortalized himself with his deeds. Never forget that. This title isn't just a boon for you. This is also a curse. A weight. A burden that will try to crush you at every moment of your life."

 

The fanatical glow in her eyes dimmed before changing into a sad melancholic light, 

 

"All your life, you will be compared to your father. It does not matter what you do. When you succeed, they will see it as normal and when you fail, they will mock you for being a disgrace.

 

"While children are praised for passing grades, you will instead be mocked. They will never care for your struggles and will chalk everything up to your talent and circumstances. They will never accept your merit as they will think that it was to be expected.

 

“Sol. I have protected you all those years from the outside. I have hidden you from the world because of my fears of losing you like I lost your father. Even then, I believe that I managed to give you a happy childhood. One even happier than the one I was able to give to my daughter. But… All of this is about to change.”

 

Lilith took a deep breath, 

 

"After your awakening, I will not be able to hide you anymore without being accused of trying to steal the throne or manipulate you. Soon, you will have to face the world by yourself. A world that will be full of expectations for you but, at the same time, a world that, more than anything else, will wish to see you fail and make a fool out of yourself.

 

"After you awaken, you will become a man. You will have to fight for your authority. Fight for your life. Fight for your rights. For your kingdom. Your friends and your lovers. Let me ask you… Are you ready?" 

 

Sol clenched his fist when he heard her question.

 

Was he ready?

 

Sol wanted to say he was. He wished to say that she had nothing to worry about and that he could make it alone. But, while his pride wanted to take control, the colder side of his mind had already reached an answer.

 

“No, I am not.”

 

He had been training since he was young. Learned everything from politics to warfare and fights. His theoretical knowledge was at a level few could reach.

 

But that was all it was. Theory. Theory and practice will always be different.

 

He didn’t want pride and arrogance to be his downfall.

 

Hearing his answer, Lilith showed a delighted smile. She did not doubt that Sol would become a powerhouse. He was someone full of talent. But in this world, innate talent alone was never enough. The mindset was even more so.

 

"Sol, I wish to see you stand at a height so high, that no one would ever compare you to your father again. I wish for you to live a life your father never had the chance to live. I wish for you to live in happiness. But more than anything," 

 

Her face clouded with immeasurable sadness as she whispered the last painful words, "More than anything...I wish for you never to make the same mistakes your father did."

 

"Mistake?" 

 

"Sol. Do you know why your father, a man so powerful that all the seven kingdoms feared him, a man who could saunter in and out from the spirit realm as if it was his backyard, a man who even the goddess acclaimed, died?" 

 

Sol gulped after hearing her question. This was a blank point in history. Everyone knew his parents died during the war against the Chimeras while sealing all of them in an alternate dimension. 

 

But no one knew why Mars had to die… The war was going so well that his death shouldn't have been necessary even more so with someone as powerful as his mother by Mars's side. 

 

"All of this happened because of his naivety. All of this, because he trusted the wrong woman."