Surviving The Fourth Calamity

Russell obviously understood that his uncles didn’t truly share the same thoughts as those idiots even dumber than Felis, they just wanted to seize this opportunity to grab more for themselves.

How to put it... Ulrich, as Gilbert’s only concern within the family, to those who already knew Gilbert had a chance to recover and could pursue the path of an Archmage, the most crucial thing right now is to strengthen ties while Ulrich still has some affection for the family.

After all, the family’s current situation speaks volumes.

Whether the Hainarson Clan’s plight is due to Gilbert or the unspeakable past of the family is as clear as day, but there’s always no stopping those who believe the nonsense from outsiders trying to fool them: the reason the Hainarson Clan was dragged into this mess is entirely because of the recovering Gilbert.

In the Tower of Dark Enigma, many people... not just the other two Tower Masters, even within Archmage Ruth’s faction, there are those who don’t wish for Gilbert’s success.

This chaos was orchestrated to disrupt his recovery.

Thus, the Hainarson Clan’s tragic fate is due to Gilbert’s outright abandonment... if he had stepped in and resolved this turmoil earlier, those who thought they could take advantage wouldn’t have wavered!

When Russell first heard this absurdity, he simply chuckled dismissively.

There’s nothing wrong with these words; in fact, they even contain some truth... the latter part of this chaos, the reason why people continue to wield massive resources to entice those fools is that the motives are insincere.

Russell wouldn’t deny Ruth’s faction’s involvement.

After all, once Gilbert recovers, many interests will undoubtedly be divided... Archmage Ruth’s regard for him has never been concealed.

However, the premise of all this is that someone initially became tempted.

No Hainarson fails to grasp this rationale, yet some still believe Gilbert should sacrifice his own interests to save those fools, entirely because Gilbert used to behave too kindly.

Nice people always get bullied.

Instead, it’s the bad ones, when they shed tears of regret, who are always thought to be forgivable.

Russell isn’t unaware of the unpredictability of human hearts, the insatiability of desires, and the fact that in any large family, the proportion of fools is always the highest.

But he never imagined that after this turmoil, such fools could still remain within the family and even retain some voice.

Thus, he wasn’t surprised at Ulrich’s constant silence at all.

He probably plans to dismiss the fools before moving the family to the periphery of the Tower of Dark Enigma.

At first, Russell thought their teacher would have to carve out a big enough space to fit 200-300 family members: whether fortunate or unfortunate, despite the abundant fools within the family, the number willing to betray the family for interests turned out to be fewer than initially anticipated.

Take Felis’s nominal father for example, whose reputation has been disgraced this much, yet still insists on staying within the family.

Perhaps it’s even harder to survive outside?

Anyhow, although that branch remains silent, they’ve stayed within the family.

Incidentally, this assists Carpenter, considering her aunt, even though she chose to depend on Carpenter’s mother living a semi-independent life, her name’s still listed in that branch’s records.

If that side truly chose to leave the family, even if unwilling, she’d have to leave the Hainarson Mansion.

From Russell’s shallow understanding of the lady, he could predict her choice: crying and begging Carpenter for help, she and her child affiliating under Felis’s records... official Mage Apprentices are registered separately.

Otherwise, Felis wouldn’t even need to worry about the risk of being removed... retaining him would be bizarre.

However, this makes the Hainarson Clan somewhat overcrowded.

Therefore, Ulrich and those true decision-makers like the Clan Leader deciding to let the family experience a bit more chaos is understandable... it’s the final test.

If those who remain choose not to participate in internal conflicts, then Gilbert should spend a bit more effort.

Of course, these individuals won’t end up losing their lives.

Regardless, they chose the family’s side in external matters... naturally, this doesn’t include engaging in foul play against fellow family members.

There must be limits to foolishness and wickedness; as long as it doesn’t cross the line, at most their choices might be partially curtailed: even if they move to reside in the peripheral areas of the Tower of Dark Enigma, accommodations would be differentiated between good and bad.

No one would hold onto the power that fools relinquish.

Having understood these matters, Russell naturally decided to watch the spectacle... yet, he truly didn’t anticipate the spectacle to boomerang, first hitting himself.

Why were his uncles so confident? Because of their brains lacking even novice apprentice-level intelligence?

Did they believe that being Gilbert’s student, even becoming an official student, would allow them to fish in troubled waters?

Russell must, can only, align with Ulrich!

Furthermore, Ulrich’s willingness to grant him some face, informing him of the final decisions, is due to Ulrich’s inherent decency, never because Russell held any such status!

Russell painfully closed his eyes.

He finally understood how Gilbert, who once sacrificed relentlessly for the family, could so easily surrender his identity in the end.

Gilbert’s love for his family ultimately, every thread of it, turned into boomerangs piercing him.

What Russell encountered was but a trivial matter, yet he felt suffocated... What must Gilbert feel, sitting there covered in scars, listening to those he desperately tried to protect discuss how to evade offering him any help?

Russell gently shook his head: his initial indifference towards the family indeed stemmed from Gilbert’s plight, yet his fondness for his own family persisted.

He certainly didn’t expect his family to sacrifice everything for him Russell; even the most naive child wouldn’t daydream about such things.

But due to the harmony long fostered within the family, he expected them to behave like Ulrich... to consider Russell’s situation in any action they took.

Unexpectedly, just in a few days, those familiar relatives transformed.

Anyone slightly mindful that he had to continue learning under Master Gilbert wouldn’t dare risk offending Ulrich for mere interests at this juncture!

Russell leaned against the cold wall, the letter from Ulrich in hand silently turning to ashes.

Though his, Carpenter’s, and even Felis’s situations differed, they each had their own challenges to overcome!

Is life destined to be constant choices, constant sacrifices?

Russell slightly twisted his lips: come to think of it, he turned out to have the best circumstances among the trio.

At least his biological parents were steadily nestled there quietly!

Merely refraining from stopping those foolish uncles... how to put it, they do possess some semblance of brains.

Just aiding a brother’s journey: if the brother succeeds, as Russell’s biological parents, would they not partake in the spoils?

But if Ulrich disregarded Russell’s feelings completely, or Russell himself chose to abandon supporting his family, then the misfortune would befall the few proactive uncles!

And conveniently, he could leave them behind.

Whenever Russell contemplated his parents’ thorough planning, he couldn’t help but gnash his teeth, indeed... no wonder there’s always a saying circulating in the Magic Tower: love is a mage’s biggest enemy.