Chapter 18: Aslan's Past
"Regalis Pride?" Aliana inquired. It was the first time she had heard that name. From the term "Pride," Aliana guessed that this noble family had a close connection with the lion beast. And she was correct.
"Regalis Pride is a lion beast noble family. We are descendants of the first lion beast to transcend the boundaries of lifeform levels, Regalis. One of the six children of Proailurus and Hesperocyon," Aslan replied.
"So, my father was a noble? Does that mean I am also a noble? Why did you live in Morrowind? Isn't Morrowind under the rule of the Mahendra? Does Regalis Pride have a close relationship with the Mahendra Family? Was my mother also a noble?" Aliana bombarded Aslan with questions, no longer able to enjoy the beautiful scenery of Mine City.
"Wow, wow, wow, easy, young lady! Let's take it one question at a time. Yes, I used to be a noble. Yes and no, you do have noble blood, so you could say you're descended from nobility, but unfortunately, you can't be a noble from the Regalis lineage because you're not a lion beast. And for your next question, I'll explain as much as I can, but you mustn't interrupt, okay? It's quite challenging for me because there are some things I'd rather forget," Aslan answered with a warm smile, though Aliana could still see the pain in his eyes.
Aliana nodded and adjusted her sitting position to be more comfortable. As she had suspected, Aslan had a complex background and past. However, she never imagined it was connected to a noble family with royal blood.
Seeing Aliana sitting patiently and waiting for him, Aslan took a deep breath and began to tell his story, "Regalis Pride is a large family; the number of family members even approaches that of the Silvan Pack. Ah, you're not familiar with Silvan Pack, right? Silvan Pack is a noble family with royal blood, with a family membership thousands of times more than the population of Morrowind. Hmm, why did I compare it to Silvan Pack? Perhaps because Regalis Pride has a similar concept to them. Ah, I mean, they have a similar connection. So—"
"Dad, please!" Aliana had to interrupt. Aslan was trying to avoid the topic, and unintentionally, he started explaining something else. At this rate, Aslan wouldn't finish his story even after they got home.
"Ah, I'm sorry. Okay, what I want to say is that Regalis Pride has a unique marriage system. Yes, unique… Ugh... In essence, Regalis Pride practices polygamy. For Regalis Pride, it doesn't require many males to produce offspring for several females… Ugh... Do you find it repulsive? Ah, I should finish this story… So, every generation, one male lion beast is chosen to be married to several females... Ugh... A male with a stronger concentration of Regalis bloodline... Ugh..." The longer he spoke, the paler Aslan's face became. He looked so disgusted that he felt like vomiting.
"Dad, are you okay..."
"Ah, I'm sorry, Aliana. I know you find it repulsive."
"It's okay. Can you continue your story?" Aliana didn't feel anything. In the world she lived in, a man marrying several women was a common occurrence in history. Even in the modern world, many men have marital relationships with multiple women. However, it seemed that in this world, such a thing was considered repulsive.
"Ugh. I was chosen because of my high concentration of Regalis bloodline. I was very young at that time. The education within Regalis Pride taught us to feel proud of being chosen. So, at that time, I felt being chosen as a groom was everything. Hmm. That education also taught how to satisfy many women at once. Ha.Ha.Ha… Ugh... But before my wedding night, something happened. Regalis Pride managed to mend their relationship with the Mahendra Family and formed an agreement. From that agreement, Regalis Pride successfully obtained a Chandra..." Aslan went on to explain to Aliana what a Chandra was and a bit about Sarala.
"A Chandra is very useful for Regalis Pride, and many lion beast women desire one. However, the chance to have a Chandra within the family is extremely rare, and Regalis Pride doesn't know what to offer Mahendra Family to get another Chandra. So, they decided to create a Chandra they acquired to last longer and produce many more offspring. Initially, the plan was to marry that Chandra to a subordinate family within Regalis Pride, but no one agreed to that plan. Who wouldn't want to bear the child of a Chandra? The opportunity to become stronger was right in front of them, and no woman in Regalis Pride was foolish enough to pass it up..." Aslan smiled bitterly when saying the last sentence, as if mocking the women of Regalis Pride.
"In the end... Ugh... Hah... Hah... In the end, it was decided for Chandra to marry the women of Regalis... Hah... Hah... But to make Chandra last longer... He will... He will be strengthened with the essence held by the male lion beast... Hah... Hah... Initially, only those not chosen as grooms... However, some grooms who hadn't passed their first night were also chosen... me included..." Aslan's body became limp, and he couldn't maintain his balance.
"Dad! Dad! Are you okay?" Aliana hugged Aslan tightly, feeling his body turning cold with a pale face.
"Hah... Hah... I'm okay... hah... hah... I have to finish this story... you need to know..." Aslan tried to sit up properly again.
Aliana wiped Aslan's forehead, filled with cold sweat. Although his face was still pale, his breathing returned to normal. It seemed to be a deep trauma for Aslan, and Aliana couldn't imagine what Aslan went through when his essence was taken.
"After that... I was cast away to this planet... I was found by Mr. Asoli and employed by him... He said I was handsome enough for the job," Aslan paused for a long time. His face, which was pale before, turned red as if remembering something embarrassing. Aliana had a few guesses about what job Aslan did for Mr. Asoli.
"Well... I lived in the slums for a few years... Even with my damaged essence, I was skilled enough to satisfy my clients, so at that time, I was quite popular. Until one day, I met your mother... hahaha... I still remember her nervous face at that time... She is so cute... Well... After a few transactions, we fell in love and decided to get married. I paid off my debt to Mr. Asoli and even made him owe me. But before he let me go, Mr. Asoli asked to meet..."
"At that time, I didn't think much about the reason behind the meeting, but when I met him, he wasn't alone. With him was Mrs. Aseli, whom I had never met before. They told me that I had a great Fate and that one day I would have a daughter who would bear the weight of the world on her shoulders. At that time, I laughed and thought they were just wants to cheer me up. I mean, my essence was already damaged. How could I have a child, let alone a daughter carrying the weight of the world?"
"But it turns out you were born... At first, I thought you weren't my biological daughter. Maybe Zara's desire to have children was so great that she betrayed me. I could forgive her easily because the fault was not hers but mine. As long as she still wanted me, I would still love her, and I also promised to love her daughter, even if that was proof of her betrayal."
"Father..." Aliana squeezed Aslan's hand tightly.
She never thought that the very close relationship between her parents had a big secret behind it. Aliana couldn't imagine what Aslan had been feeling all this time. He buried his pain, even with the shadow that his beloved wife had betrayed him with another man. Even the love Aslan showed to Aliana was so sincere, despite the high possibility that she was evidence of that betrayal.
Aslan just smiled and stroked Aliana's hair. "But... it seems like you really are my biological daughter... The bell sound followed by the mission given by the robotic voice is the sign as told by Mr. Asoli and Mrs. Aseli."
"Father..." Aliana lost her choice of words, but she didn't need to search further because next, Aslan hugged her tightly.
"You're still my daughter, no matter whether you bear the weight of the world or not!" he said sincerely.
Their embrace was interrupted as the flying carriage began to slow down and landed at the station. Aslan and Aliana exited the carriage hand in hand. A wide smile appeared on Aliana's face; she felt closer to Aslan, and perhaps after this, she could confide in her father about anything... or maybe not anything.
The Slum District was not as described by her friends in the Miner District. There were no eerie dark streets or scattered garbage everywhere. The Slum District looked very clean and orderly, with people bustling about. Aliana encountered various types of werebeasts she had never seen before in the Miner District.
Serval, caracal, jaguar, lynxes, cheetah, coyote, raccoon, cat, and dog beasts were seen everywhere. They were transacting, chatting, and gathering casually without any tension. Many of them carried weapons on their backs, but none seemed scared or uncomfortable with it.
Aslan led Aliana to a busier street than before. This time, she encountered many men wearing revealing clothes and many blushing women inviting them to chat.
Various commotions could be heard, and a male serval had just led a female cat into a building that looked like an apartment. The female cat had a broad smile on her face, blushing, and her breath racing. It seemed they had just finished negotiating the price, and both seemed satisfied with it.
Aliana and Aslan continued walking along that street until they found a building much more luxurious and grand than the others around it.
The closer Aliana got to the building, the more handsome men in flashy clothes she found. Their bodies were well-built, proportionate, like famous models in men's underwear.
Aliana couldn't help but take a second look at them before turning to her father. It seemed Aslan was honest when he said he used to be very popular.
Although these men were handsome, they couldn't surpass the handsomeness of her father. And as his daughter, Aliana inherited that line of beauty. She felt lucky not to inherit her mother's boorish face but her well-endowed body.
After entering the luxurious building, some people seemed surprised to see them. Their gaze focused on Aslan, but after seeing Aliana, they shifted their focus to her. Some of them whispered to each other before looking back at Aliana. Many of them shook their heads with a wry smile on their faces.
Aliana overheard the contents of some whispers, "Isn't she too young to do this?" "The youth these days are truly worrying..." "Is this her first experience?" or "Ugh... the world's morals are deteriorating..." Aliana felt a bitterness in her heart as she was lectured by prostitutes about morals.
Aslan seemed not to hear those whispers and continued walking. They arrived in front of an elevator and entered it. Pressing the button for the top floor, Aslan and Aliana waited for the lift to go up.
The lift doors opened, and they found a luxurious house in the middle of a beautiful garden. Waiting in front of the door was a man with a face no less handsome than Aslan.
"Aslan, I've been waiting for you. Is this the daughter you mentioned before?" his voice sounded so serene that it made Aliana want to smile.
"Thank you for waiting, Mr. Asoli. Yes, this is Aliana, my daughter!" Aslan said.
"Oh, is that so?" Mr. Asoli walked towards them. When he was only three steps away from them, suddenly Mr. Asoli dropped to the ground and knelt.
Before Aslan and Aliana could respond, Mr. Asoli's voice was heard, "Welcome to our humble home, O chosen one!"
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