<h4>Chapter 296: The Big Picture</h4>


    "After we finished the spiritual academy time, Neal and Brooke remained close to each other, until when they became adults, at age 15, and the two get married."


    "She had fallen in love with him, and he was still fascinated by her, just like he was back then when we were still kids. But, of course, at age 15, he had a very different feeling from the innocent he had previously."


    "Hmm." Minos made a typical sound of someone who is following something with interest.


    Abby then continued. "Although I didn''t have many contacts with the two of them after we graduated, Iter learned that everything had gone well in the beginning. The two seemed like a couple in love who would form a happy family in the future."


    "Oh? And what went wrong?"


    At this point, Abby grimaced with a disapproving look. "A little over two years ago, not long before you woke up, that guy became responsible for one of the most shameful moments for the Parkinson family."


    "At that time, all the great families in the kingdom discovered that the matriarch of the Parkinson family was having an affair with her daughter''s husband!"


    "Serious?"


    "Hmm, and to make matters worse, they not only got caught in the act by Brooke, but they ran away together, with that woman abandoning her family!" She finished speaking, remembering the time when that young woman had told her everything.


    Though Brooke had only been a friend from the spiritual academy days, she and Abby had still met on a few asions and talked about this and other topics.


    And that was how the young woman in front of Minos had found out about the details of this matter.


    "Fuck! I never thought that guy who looked so silly for Brooke would end up doing something like that…" Minos said this as he shook his head from side to side in disappointment.


    Although he had already slept with a pair of mother and daughter, Minos didn''t have any serious rtionships, just as those women weren''tmitted to him either. In fact, he wasn''t someone who would try to seduce or bond with a married woman.


    As a result, Minos felt a particr disappointment in the path Neal had taken.


    "But Abby, do you know if this was something generated by him or by Brooke''s mother? I know it shouldn''t make a difference, but I''m curious about that."


    Abby, who had one of her hands massaged Minos'' shoulder at this point, looked into his eyes and said. "It looks like provoked it. You may not know it, but Brooke''s mother is extremely simr to her. The two even could pass as sisters if you didn''t know them."


    "Oh?"


    "Anyway, Brooke told me that after everything happened, she finally realized that since the beginning of their rtionship, Neal has always looked at her mother-inw differently." She then sighed in disappointment and said. "Looks like in the end he was just in love with Brooke''s looks. When he met her mother, it seems he ended up falling in love with her too..."


    "What a scoundrel!" Minos said as he ran his hands around Abby''s waist. "But that must have been more than just an embarrassment to the Parkinson family. Even though she was just the wife of the family patriarch, she was still a powerful member of that house."


    "Truth. She was at level 54 at the time. It was truly a big loss for that family." Abby agreed, nodding.


    The Parkinson family was a power-level in the Brown Kingdom, on the same level as the Gill family, which previously had rtionships with the local Dry City''s spiritual academy.


    To give you an idea, the strongest person in the Parkinson family was Brooke''s father, the family''s patriarch. But he was only one level stronger than his wife.


    After a few moments thinking about it, Minos finally asked the most crucial point about all of this. "And after the two fled, was there any news of them? I doubt the patriarch would forget this subject."


    That is, losing a Spiritual King almost as strong as the family patriarch was demanding for any family in this region. Because of that, it could affect many local connections.


    Because of this, Minos was interested in finding out more about this subject.


    Upon hearing this question, Abby, who was almost entirely in Minos'' arms at this point, when she began to talk about what she knew. "Obviously, Brooke''s dad wasn''t happy at all. She didn''t tell me anything about it, as it was an embarrassment to the whole family, not just hers. But I heard that the patriarch David tried to find them, having traveled for several months in search of their tracks."


    "But in the end, after months, his anger had subsided enough for him to realize it was futile to continue. Besides being very strong, his wife was also intelligent. She already knew what would happen after she ran away with her son-inw."


    "She wouldn''t take refuge in the Ryan family, a power weaker than her husband''s family." Abbymented as she recalled the terrible situation Neal''s family had gone through.


    They had lost three Spiritual Kings the day David invaded them in an attempt to punish the unfaithful wife he had...


    But, sadly for him, Celeste, Brooke''s mother, had already fled the Brown Kingdom, knowing she would no longer be safe here.


    "Interesting... All of this happened just before I woke up..." He muttered in a low voice, trying to get the big picture.


    There were about 20 noble families in the Brown Kingdom, ranging from the royal house to the weakest of these organizations.


    But now, he had discovered that two of those powers had lost significant strength not long ago. ''This is great for me. The weaker these families are, the better it will be for the ck in when there is a war of independence...''


    Minos, of course, was contemting the possibility of these families following the royal house to defeat the ck in''s rebel forces in the future. That was a rule that had existed for tens of thousands of years in this kingdom, which ensured that the rulers of this state led the nobility.


    After all, the noble families were nothing more than vassals of the royal families!


    Kings could not govern all the territories they had, and because of that, there was a need to use their subordinates to administer those ces for them. And by doing this for thousands of years, noble families were naturally formed, creating the current geopolitical context of this region.


    Over time, these organizations created by subordinates of the region''s royal families grew stronger and naturally, gaining more freedoms. However, even if they were no longer just subordinates but vassals, they still had to listen to royal orders.


    After all, the king could still be considered the strongest individual in terms of individual strength in the kingdom and collective power. Consequently, there was no other option but to obey the old customs...


    Anyway, Minos was a little pleased to hear that two possible enemies had lost Spiritual Kings recently. That meant that, at least in the short term, these two families would be weakened.


    And that was good news for Minos'' army!


    It wouldn''t hurt that the enemies of this organization were weakening, even on a small scale!


    On the other hand, the young Stuart''s army was getting stronger and stronger and would soon even have its first Spiritual King!


    Finally, while Minos had a slight smile on his face, Abby, who was still massaging him, looked at him with a twinkle in her eyes and asked. "Laughing at other people''s misfortunes? Don''t you think that''s rude?"


    "Haha. But what will you do? Are you going to teach me a lesson?" He teased her as he ran his clever hands over Abby''s seductive body.


    For a few minutes, the blue-haired girl had been sitting on Minos''p while she massaged him and talked about the past. Abby had noticed this, but she hadn''t bothered to change position. She felt that she could trust her friend and that he wouldn''t do anything out of bounds without her permission.


    She then stopped massaging his shoulders and yed with him. "If you admit you are wrong, maybe I will reward you..."


    "Oh? Hehe, I like this..."