Inside one of the cells in the underground prison of the Firecrown Household, Raphael sat on the ground with his back against the wall. He had dark bags under his eyes and his skin looked filthy. His appearance looked even more haggard than the people living in the slums.


    Since he was held captive, thoughts that he had been abandoned by his family emerged in his mind and it almost drove him into insanity.


    ''Did everyone abandon me?'' Raphael grabbed his head and sobbed quietly.


    At this moment, he suddenly heard a series of footsteps from outside the cell. He stood up and rushed towards prison bars. "Hey! Let me out of here!" He shouted when he saw two guards walking toward his cell.


    "You''re in luck, bastard. Someone wants to see you." One of the guards muttered in disdain as he took out a set of keys from his waist. He then unlocked the prison door.


    The other guard entered the door and pushed Raphael against the wall. "Don''t move if you don''t want to get hurt."


    Raphael was furious, but he stillplied.


    Seeing that he was cooperative, the two guards chuckled in disdain. They then put a blindfold on him and tied up his hands.


    ''Did someone from the family send someone to get me?'' Raphael was filled with hope once again.


    The guards brought him to a few twists and turns until they finally got out of the underground prison.


    When his blindfold was removed, he saw his younger sister standing beside the patriarch of the Firecrown Household. "Agatha…"


    "Brother, you look like a caveman." She stared at him in amusement. There wasn''t even a look of sympathy in her eyes.


    "Why is it you?" Raphael''s voice trembled.


    Agatha walked toward him and chuckled. "Are you unhappy to see your sister?"


    Seeing this, Rnd sent a nce at the guards.


    Two guards blocked her path, stopping her from moving a step further.


    Raphael took a step back, but when he realized that he had acted like a coward, he gritted his teeth and stood still while looking at Agatha with hatred.


    Agatha was amused by his antics. "I have seen what I needed to see, Patriarch Rnd." She turned around without even bothering to say goodbye to her brother.


    Rnd was curious about the rtionship between the two siblings. From what he saw, there seemed to be some tension between them. "Then shall we head back to the meeting room and discuss the details of the exchange?"


    Agatha nodded and left with Rnd.


    Meanwhile, Raphael was still ring at her with dagger-like eyes. ''How dare that b*tch make fun of me in front of the Firecrown Household''s patriarch?! One day, I will repay this humiliation tenfold!''


    ***


    The next day, Alice and her mother, Judith, arrived at the estate.


    Fredrinn immediately came to wee them when he heard about their arrival. "Wee to the Firecrown Household''s estate!" He smiled and invited them inside the main mansion. Alice''s mother was still struggling to walk properly so he asked one of the servants to grab a wheelchair for her.


    They exchanged some pleasantries and chatted about random gossip as they headed to his study.


    "Olivia, please take Mrs. Frey to their designated room."


    "Yes, my lord."


    "I''ll see youter, Mom," Alice said to her mother before she went inside Fredrinn''s study. Cain didn''t follow them inside and stood guard by the door.


    "We need to test your spirit root now," Fredrinn muttered as he took out the spirit root testing device.


    Hearing this, Alice took a deep breath and nodded her head. She was a bit nervous. She was afraid that she might have a weak spirit root and disappoint Fredrinn.


    "Before we begin with the test, let me exin the different types of spirit roots. Every human born in this world has a spirit root, but each of us has a different…"


    "…If you have a low-grade spirit root, this device will produce a…"


    "…If you have a superior-grade spirit root…"


    "…Thest type of spirit root is the divine-grade spirit root. This spirit root is believed to be a myth because no one has…"


    "That is everything you need to know for the time being. Alright, let''s begin with the test." Fredrinn asked her to move closer to the testing device and ce her hand on top of it.


    Alice slowly stretched her arm and ced her hand on top of the device. Her face twitched when she felt a sharp prickling pain in her hand.


    Soon, the crystal ball lit up with a dim ck glow.


    Then, it turned to dark red…


    At this point, Alice was already satisfied. ''Red means intermediate-grade spirit root. This should be good enough…''


    However, the light suddenly turned orange.


    Just when she thought that it would stop there, the orange glow suddenly turned into bright yellow.


    "I have a superior-grade spirit root? No wa-" Her mouth dropped and her eyes widened. This was because the light emitted in the testing device was no longer bright yellow. It changed to emerald green before the light vanished.


    "You have an excellent-grade spirit root." Fredrinn wasn''t surprised by this. Alice was the Winter Witch who cultivated her way to the Nascent Soul realm in just slightly over a decade!


    He could still not see her character profile even after her spirit root was revealed. ''It looks like I have to wait until she breaks through the 1st Layer of the Body Refining stage.'' He thought to himself.


    He then took out a book from his inventory. It was the Ice Revolution Divine Method. He gave it to Alice and said. "Read it and let me know if you don''t understand something."


    Alice was still shocked by the results of the test.


    "Take it. My hand is starting to feel sore." He muttered in a teasing voice.


    Alice was jolted awake and she immediately took the book from him. "Thank you, my lord."


    "Read it."


    "Yes, my lord!" Alice took her seat and opened the book.