Axel was quite shocked to be hearing all of this but that was to be expected because he was only a 7-year-old child and he was learning about it earlier than his parents had planned. With a hardened heart, Odeus knew he had to tell Axel everything he could especially now that Miliana was pregnant.

“The emperor cast my father, including me and my siblings, here… the edge of the country. The southernmost and harshest region of the empire. But that wasn’t good enough for Thomas who feared retaliation from my father, especially since the emperor refused to remove the title of duke from him. The emperor allowed Thomas to inherit the title of Grand duke and also funded him in his region, but that too was not enough. Thomas wanted to destroy us but the previous emperor refused it and did not allow him to do so either. The previous emperor knew that as fellow members of the Blackstone family, we were still valuable to the empire. He did not wanting to escalate the matter more and make an enemy of father who he doubted had rotten intentions–”.

“I suspected you would be here explaining things to your son”, said Elder Ernis as he entered the room with his wife Elder Margrett.

“Don’t let us interrupt you, please continue”, said Elder Margrett.

Odeus went back to his chair and sighed. The elders took the seats to the left of the room and Miliana took Axel and they sat in the seats in the right corner of the room. The office was now almost at capacity. Elias who was hesitant to show any interest in what was happening but did anyway and listened to the story keenly. 

“Thomas was not satisfied with us being cast away from society. He made requests to put restrictions on our family to ease his worries of an uprising. The previous emperor granted them approval. First, ‘members of the branch family are not permitted entry into any land owned by the main family, punishment is immediate execution’. Second, ‘The children ofErnis Blackston and the children after for generations to come shall sire only 1 child. If a second child is ever born a life shall be exchanged for another, either the child or its mother shall be put to death’. Third, ‘All members of the branch family at the age of succession shall have a guard chosen by the main family who will make regular reports of their activity’”.

At this point, Elias was starting to grasp why the atmosphere was so charged with emotion. He understood that Miliana who would never give up on her child, would be killed. He looked in the direction of his body– Axel who too had understood what his father was saying.

At that moment when Elias realized what was happening, he heard a ping from the text box.

{Solution found}

{??? has suggested that the reincarnator (Elias Wilson) enter hibernation for the remaining 6 years until soul awakening}

{Do you accept… Y/N}

Elias knew that this was now a critical time and he shouldn’t make any rash decisions but this offer sounded very enticing to him. He was a bit worried about what hibernation meant when he was just a floating consciousness but he was at a breaking point. When he considered what was happening to his body and if he would gain the memories of his body when they united or not, he questioned if he should accept the hibernation.

{Notification}

{In the event that the reincarnator (Elias Wilson) does not accept hibernation status, the offer will not be given again}

{Do you accept… Y/N}

{Notification}

{In the event that the reincarnator (Elias Wilson) does not accept hibernation status, the risk of mind fragmentation increases by 41.3333%}

{Do you accept… Y/N}

{Notification}

{Should mind fragmentation occur, both parts of the soul would shatter killing the reincarnator and the host body}

{Do you accept… Y/N}

{Do you accept… Y/N}

{Notification}

{In the event that the soul shatters, your consciousness would be duplicated for each piece of the soul fragment. Each fragment would be linked and under different excruciatingly painful circumstances simultaneously as they depart all over the multiverse. This would then cause ?? ?????? ??????????????????? ?????????????????????????????????? ??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????}

{?Hibernation is the best course of action?}

{?Do you accept… Y/N?}

{??Do you accept… Y/N??}

{???Do you accept… Y/N???}

“Tsk… what’s with this annoying and kinda scary thing”, said Elias backing away from the multiple text boxes that popped up before him.

It was futile the text boxes remained at a specific distance from him, well within arm's reach. Elias was troubled, he wanted out of his ghastly predicament but the course of events was also important. He didn’t know what to do and he wondered how long the offer would be available. Just as he pondered on his options the previous text boxes disappeared.

{Offer is available for the next 5 minutes}

{Do you accept… Y/N}

Elias took a deep breath and collected himself. He thought of all his experiences in his past life and the ones he was looking forward to in this one. He came to a decision. He decided that he would not be weak enough to not be there for his mother, the only one he ever knew. He wanted to be there if she was going to be killed, even if there was nothing he could do about it. He quickly rejected the offer and the text box disappeared, it went silent. He could then focus on what Odeus was saying.

“I know you must be processing but there is still more that you should know about Axel”, said Odeus.

Axel who was slightly panicking, looked up at his father and then the man who was standing at his father’s side, his guard… the spy. A rage engulfed him and his eyes shimmered a red light, a trait he inherited from his mother. Odeus, who was familiar with this light, noticed what was happening and where Axel’s gaze was cast.

“Axelleus I need you to calm down right now”, Odeus said loudly.

Axell was shocked out of his rage, he looked down and grasped his trousers tightly. He was still upset but the red light dissipated.

“The reason why you can’t afford to lose control like a normal child… you will understand after I’m finished. Also, don’t be too upset with Leonard”, Odeus looks in the direction of his guard. “He too has his own circumstances”.

“Anyway”, Odeus continued. “The fourth restriction, ‘No child of the branch family shall practice magic until the age of 17, if they fail to do so they shall be put to death’”.

“That’s why you can’t give in to your emotions, you risk igniting your mana. Especially with the nature of our eyes”, Miliana added.  

“The fifth and final restriction is that ‘no member of the branch family may own property outside of their designated area with the exception of dungeons. The branch family cannot own any dungeons including ones in their assigned area’”, Odeus sighs.

“Although the previous emperor agreed to Thomas’ terms he injected one condition that could destroy all those ridiculous restrictions”, said Elder Ernis.

“‘When a child of the branch family reaches the age of 18 they are eligible to participate in the Imperial Combat Festival. Should they place first among all participants, all restrictions shall be removed on all members and all generations after’”, Odeus concluded.

This was a silver lining that Elias took notice of. He instantly knew that the previous emperor was a man of reason. He had to appease his people and show strength but he was not about to throw a loyal subject into the lion’s den without a path for escape.