[BL] Challenge: 100 Baby in Fantasy World-Chapter 288: Eshaan House

Gara’s expression turned serious, completely uninterested in entertaining small talk.

Only then did Karon realize that Gara wasn’t a child. He had to speak to him the same way he would speak to any adult.

"Is this about the druids who are still chasing you?" Karon asked.

Gara nodded calmly.

But inside, he was furious.

’So they knew. They’ve actually known what I’ve been dealing with all this time... and they stayed this relaxed? What kind of family is this?’

Compared to Tristan —his father’s subordinate who had been nothing but devoted— this Eshaan family felt more like mere acquaintances.

The more Gara saw, the more convinced he became that power struggles among nobles were very real.

Karon noticed the brief twitch on Gara’s face, despite his composed look.

"I know another apology won’t satisfy you," Karon said sincerely. "But as your uncle... I truly am sorry."

Gara only nodded, then shifted straight to business.

"I’m just wondering... with the duchy in its current condition, would it be possible for me to ask for help—"

"Of course," Karon replied immediately. "I may not be the one in charge of the duchy right now, but I’m certain Sir Ramun thinks the same as I—"

Suddenly Gara leaned forward and whispered, "I can return the responsibility of the Eshaan Duchy to you, Sir Karon."

Karon froze.

"What do you mean, Gara?" He looked genuinely shocked.

Still whispering, Gara said, "I can wake the Duke from his sleep."

"W–what?" Karon shot to his feet.

Wina and Tristan also jolted in shock, staring back and forth between Gara and Karon.

Meanwhile Gara simply lifted his chin, keeping his gaze locked on his biological uncle.

"So it’s true," Karon whispered. "The rumors that you’re an alchemy genius... and that the chief of the Alchemist Association trusts you greatly."

He slowly sat back down, his face regaining calm.

"What you want is recognition and protection from the Eshaan House?" Karon clarified.

Gara nodded. "I don’t want to spend my whole life being hunted by druids. I want them to think twice before ever harming me. And most importantly... the Eshaan House must show the world that you won’t allow even a single strand of my hair to be touched."

Both Tristan and Wina snapped their heads toward Gara.

His request wasn’t wrong—as a family member, he had every right.

But his tone, dripping with arrogance, made the two adults—who were almost like second parents to him—feel uneasy.

Karon fell silent. He examined Gara from head to toe.

"It won’t be easy to wake the Duke," Karon said eventually.

"Healers, Liners with restoration abilities, herbalists, alchemists—they’ve all been called here. No one knows what’s wrong with him." His eyes lowered to the table, full of sorrow.

"I can," Gara said with absolute confidence.

The three adults in the room instinctively studied his calm face.

They were clearly astonished.

Even Wina, who saw Gara every day, had no idea her son was supposedly this capable.

Meanwhile, internally, Gara was screaming.

’Of course this is a bluff!’

The Duke had surely been treated by countless top healers and Liners already.

Even if Gara’s water-healing surpassed Andine’s, who came from the strongest healer family, there was no guarantee he could do anything.

Not when he hadn’t even seen the Duke’s condition yet.

But with the Eshaan House in such a critical state, there was no way they would grant his request without receiving something equally valuable in return.

When Gara learned about the Duke’s condition and the situation in the Eshaan House, he consulted Vice-Headmaster Agus, Chief Ambar, and Professor Aura.

They only provided scattered clues from old records. None of which were confirmed, and no one even knew where the complete documents were.

But Agus said he could start with the chrona flowers.

Conveniently, the required materials were chrona flowers and "the flower that always dies." Gara had no idea what that meant.

For now, he wanted to try using the one-night flower.

Whatever the result, he needed to earn the trust of Eshaan House first.

’If I can do that, my children will be free to go anywhere... free to acknowledge who their parents are and where they came from. They won’t have to live in hiding and hardship the way I did.’

Back in the present, Gara waited for his uncle’s answer.

Karon nodded and rose from his seat. He knocked on the door from the inside.

A servant opened it.

"Inform Sir Ramun that we wish to see the Duke, and call him to join us as well," Karon ordered.

The servant nodded and closed the door again.

"Why call Sir Ramun?" Gara asked, puzzled.

"Sir Ramun isn’t as bad as you think, Gara. He’s the one who most wants to protect you, the Duke, and the duchy," Karon said with a gentle smile.

Gara frowned. ’Protect us? He didn’t even try to find me, and he locked up his own brother!’

He didn’t really want Ramun to know their plan, but since Karon insisted, he had no choice.

Before long, a servant led them to a room in another building. Apparently, this castle had several separate wings.

In front of the room, Ramun was waiting with his usual cold expression.

But he wasn’t the interesting part.

What caught Gara’s eye were the three black-haired sprouts peeking from behind a corner at the end of the hallway.

The three youngsters revealed their faces, wide hazel eyes staring with a mix of innocence and curiosity.

"Ah, those—"

Ramun cut Karon off sharply. "Let’s go in."

Even without an explanation, Gara already knew. They were definitely members of Eshaan House. The black-hair and hazel-eye genes ran strong in this family.

Funny enough, out of three Gara’s children, only Arion inherited black hair. None of them had hazel eyes.

’Langga bloodline really is stronger,’ Gara thought.

Inside, they were greeted by a luxurious interior—golden hazel and white as the dominant colors. A large bed, plush sofas, intricate carvings.

On the bed lay an elderly man whose once-black hair was nearly all gray. His body was thin, almost frail, his eyes shut tight.

’Being unconscious for a year without proper nutrients would leave anyone this emaciated. Only Liner injects nutrients with his Talent once a week.’

Gara felt a pang of pity. The old man wasn’t his real grandfather. Even for the original owner, this grandfather had no influence on his life.

Gara sympathized simply as a fellow human being.

Ramun began explaining to Karon about Gara’s request, and that Gara apparently had a way to wake Duke Eshaan.

Gara caught a flicker of surprise on Ramun’s icy face. ’Was he shocked that his father might wake up... or afraid that he would?’

’Their discussion is going to take a while. I’ll check the Duke’s condition first,’ Gara thought, stepping toward the frail figure.

"All right, go ahead, Gara."

Gara had only taken one step when he turned back to Ramun with a blank look. "Do what?"

"What you said you could do," Ramun replied, brows furrowing. "If you can’t do it today, there’s no need to rush."

Gara nodded. ’Ohhh... he must think I can’t wake the Duke that quickly, huh?’

His motivation flared immediately. Now he really wanted to prove that he could wake Duke Eshaan as soon as possible. He forced himself to calm down so he wouldn’t look too excited.

They offered Gara a seat beside the bed. He was a little surprised. Ramun wasn’t treating him like a child.

Gara checked the old man’s condition right away.

’His breathing and heartbeat are weak. There are bruise marks from poisoning. And since neither the healers nor Liner could find an antidote, that means it’s a new type of poison...’

"Your vena pill didn’t work. We already tried it," Ramun remarked coldly.

Gara nearly clicked his tongue. Ramun’s icy tone made him want to snap back at his uncle.

"I’ll give him a vena pill with the highest potency, one that’s never been sold," Gara replied, equally cold.

He crossed his arms, chin raised in challenge. Ramun simply stared at him, then gave a small nod.

Gara went speechless for a moment. ’Why is he making me look like someone with no manners?’

He took two jars from his cotton bag. "This one contains the vena pill. The other is the water. Both should be taken once a day at the same hour."

Ramun ordered a servant to take them.

Gara hesitated slightly. "I hope the Duke actually gets to take both the pill and the water."

Everyone in the room understood what Gara meant.

Karon didn’t say anything, he clearly had no power to control what happened inside the castle now.

Ramun only frowned.

After that, they continued talking about the last eighteen years.

"We did send people to look for you, Gara," Karon explained. "But we couldn’t be obvious about it. Our movements were being watched closely by the druids."

Ramun was there as well, silent. He didn’t offer any explanation as to why he never went to fetch Gara after Tristan ordered him a year ago.

Gara simply listened calmly. It was all in the past now; he had no desire to comment. 𝗳𝐫𝚎𝗲𝚠𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝘃𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

He only commented internally,

’Things here are much calmer than I expected. No bloodshed over power struggles. These two brothers even seem fine with each other— even though one of them was imprisoned, and the other was the one who imprisoned him.’

...