Chapter 388 — The Mystery of Amber's Origins
Blade of Dawn · Page 2 of 3
Clement, meanwhile, answered quickly enough: "The Shadow Signet... has belonged to Francis? Moen since long ago... I do not know who possessed it before it came into the hands of Francis II... I only know that it is a legacy... of the ancient Gondor Empire..."
"You're saying this is a legacy of the ancient Gondor Empire?" Amber's eyes went wide. "And what else? Does no one know any other origins of this ring?"
The question Amber posed was evidently too complex; Clement muttered to himself for a long time before he managed to produce a coherent stretch of words: "It... is connected to the Shadow Realm... it can commune with the creatures of shadow..."
"...That's as good as saying nothing at all!" Disappointment was plain on Amber's face, and even her ears, always so lively, drooped a little.
Gao Yang had never seen this carefree half-elf in such low spirits. He could not help asking out of curiosity, "Is this ring very important to you?"
"Mm," Amber nodded, then fished another ring from within her garments. It looked exactly like the Shadow Signet, save that it was clearly damaged—the intricate magical patterns within it had failed, and in Gao Yang's perception it was nothing more than a band of metal without the slightest fluctuation of magic. "This is the other one... When I was very small, my adoptive father told me that this ring was the only thing he found with me that might have to do with my identity. It wasn't broken at first; it only became like this the year I awakened my shadow talent..."
"Your origins..." Gao Yang finally understood why Amber had worn that expression a moment ago. "So, from what you just said, you got that 'Shadow Signet' from Francis II's hand?"
"That's right," Amber nodded. "It was precisely because he used the Shadow Signet to summon a spatial gate that I was able to make the trip from here to the frontier... I thought I had finally found a clue to my parents, but it turned out I'd only brought back a ring."
At that moment Tyr, who had been silent all this while, suddenly spoke up: "If I might interject—this Clement says the Shadow Signet has always been in that old king's hands. Amber, don't tell me you're the king's bastard daughter?"
It wasn't only Tyr who thought so; in fact, once Gao Yang learned of the connection between Amber and the Shadow Signet, that information-heavy notion had occurred to him as well. But before he could open his mouth, Suo Jilin, listening from not far off, shook his head and said, "Impossible. Just look at Amber's ears."
Gao Yang looked at Amber in confusion. "Her ears?"
"Here at the edge, it curves upward," Amber pointed to her own long, pointed elf ears. "This is a paternal trait—it means my father was an elf. If it were maternal, a half-elf's ears would be flatter along the edge and extend further back."
"So there's a difference like that..." Gao Yang was genuinely learning this little fact for the first time. Even Gao Yang? Cecil in his day had only been broadly learned within the human realm, and was not entirely clear on such matters either. "So your father must have been an elf... and given an elf's lifespan, there's a very good chance he's still alive."
"I think so too. I don't know what race my mother was, but I'm sure my father is still alive," Amber lifted her head and spoke with firm determination. "Since the Shadow Signet is a treasure of the ancient Gondor Empire, then my father must have been a very powerful elf, right? And he left me another ring as well... Surely he left it so that one day we might have the chance to recognize each other!"
Gao Yang looked at Amber, her face a tangle of emotions, and smiled faintly. "Of course. That is the most logical inference."
"But after all these years... I've found only one ring... and I got it from a dead man's hand... A secret treasure of the king—who am I supposed to ask about its origins?"