The meeting with Clan Thorne took place at their estate in Layer Nine of Sunheart City. This layer was where the great Clans, the Murim equivalent of great Houses, all resided. In Clan Thorne's case, their estate was a manor in the style of a courtyard residence. I hadn't seen many of those before, either here on Lumina or back on Earth.

Clan Thorne's manor was large. Like every other building in Sunheart Undercity, it was only two stories tall. However, it was quite wide. In addition to the main hall, it had multiple wings for all of its members, including the servants. All in all, the Clan Thorne manor was large enough to comfortably house close to one hundred people.

My family arrived at noon, the appointed hour. Father joined us as well, since this matter affected the entire family. However, Mother was in charge since she came from Murim and had connections to Clan Thorne.

Father and Kaylee wore Luminian style clothing in matching colors: black and blue with silver trimming. Meanwhile, Mother and I wore blue robes with silver accents. This was to represent our intention to form Clan Sturm, while still showing our roots.

To my surprise, we didn't encounter any trouble during our journey to the Clan Thorne estate. Given Clan Leone's hostility towards Mother, and the rest of House Sturm by extension, I expected them to try something. Perhaps they had, but Lady Josephine intervened. When we met with her, I got the impression that she didn't like Clan Leone, despite the friendship between Clan Thorne and Clan Leone.

When we arrived, a servant greeted us at the front entrance.

"Welcome, honored guests." The servant said with a smile on her face. "Please, follow me. Lady Josephine, Lord Trevor, and the Clan elders are waiting for you in the main hall."

As we entered the Clan Thorne manor, I felt a little nervous. My family and I prepared for this meeting as much as we could. We came bearing gifts, all for the sake of making the best first impression that we could. As a gesture of respect, we even left our bodyguards behind. However, I dared not grow complacent. This meeting was far too important.

To distract myself, I observed the Clan Thorne manor as we headed towards the main hall. The manor was ornate and beautiful, decorated in shades of crimson and gold. Despite the overt display of wealth, it avoided being gaudy and tasteless by a hair's width.

Most of the decorations featured roses in some shape or form. This included the glowstone murals that were embedded into some of the walls. Like the ceiling of Sunheart Undercity, these glowstones were enchanted in various colors. They depicted stylized versions of various mythological and historical scenes.

The Clan Thorne manor also had several small rose gardens, complete with water features. The scent of roses filled the air, thick but not overwhelming.

Along the way, we encountered a few members of Clan Thorne. Like Anna, most of them were all fair-skinned, blond-haired, and blue-eyed. None of them attempted to speak with us. Instead, they regarded my family with a mixture of curiosity and wariness. I took this as a good sign. They weren't hostile, which meant Clan Thorne as a whole didn't oppose my engagement to Anna.

The main hall sat in the heart of the manor. It had an air of majesty to it, like a sovereign sitting on their throne. When I saw it, I grew even more nervous. I took a deep breath to calm myself, before following the servant inside.

Like the rest of the manor, the interior was decorated in crimson and gold. One large room occupied most of the building, with pillars running parallel to the left and right walls. A lush rug covered most of the floor. The smell of roses was even stronger here.

Aside from the warriors standing guard, we found a little over half a dozen people waiting for us inside the main hall. At the far end, Lady Josephine sat atop a chair that resembled a throne. It stood upon a raised dais. She wore a set of crimson and gold robes, as well as several accessories and pieces of jewelry, including a golden headdress adorned with jewels.

Sitting next to her, in a slightly less impressive seat, was a beautiful man with fair skin, short brown hair, and brown eyes. He wore a set of black robes trimmed with gold. I assumed he was the same age as Lady Josephine and Mother, but he looked much younger.

Despite the lack of accessories and jewelry, the man outshone Lady Josephine. That was just how good looking he was. Back on Earth, if people saw him walking around, they would assume he was some kind of actor or male model. Honestly, it was difficult to tell who was better looking, me or him. For the first time since I became Gabriel Sturm again, I realized that I might fall short when it came to appearances.

Lord Trevor, Lady Josephine's husband and Anna's adopted father.

Mother told me a bit about him before we came here. He came from a minor Clan, but married into Clan Thorne after meeting and falling in love with Lady Josephine. In the decades since then, he distinguished himself through his martial arts skills and ability to lead people. In time, he ended up becoming the head of the Martial Arts Alliance.

The moment I entered the main hall with my family, Lord Trevor regarded me with undisguised hostility. That didn't bode well for me.

The other five people stood off to the side, next to the raised dais. Clan Thorne's elders I presumed. Two were men, while the remaining three were women. The youngest elder looked about the same age as my parents, while the oldest was a bald old man with wrinkled skin and a long white beard. Despite his age, the old man still looked fit and strong. Unsurprising, given that he was a Sixth Star martial artist, the first I had seen since I transmigrated back to Lumina.

Almost everyone else was at Fifth Star, while two of the elders were at Fourth Star. All in all, the people in this room represented one of the strongest powers in the Solarian Empire. Clan Thorne stood equal to many of the great Houses, and surpassed a few of them. Not only that, but House Thorne was just as powerful in its own right. Together, the two of them were a force to be reckoned with.

It disappointed me to see that Anna wasn't here. I yearned for her, to an almost painful degree. However, I consoled myself with the thought that we would see each other soon. I just needed to get through this meeting.

My family and I followed the servant who led us here, before we stopped about a dozen feet away from Lady Josephine. The servant bowed, before gesturing to us.

"My Lady," she said, "as you commanded, I have brought Lady Sturm and her family."

"Thank you, Cora." Lady Josephine said. "You may go now."

The servant, Cora, bowed before walking over and standing next to a nearby wall.

"Welcome, Lady Sturm." Lady Josephine said. "It is a pleasure to see you again after so long."

She spoke as if we hadn't seen each other just a few days ago. Then again, that had been an informal meeting, so I guess it didn't count. That, or she didn't want to publicly admit that she met us a few days ago.

Mother gave a slight bow, and the rest of us followed suit.

"It is a pleasure to see you as well, Lady Josephine." She said. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with us." She held out the box containing our gift to Clan Thorne. "Please, take this as a token of our appreciation."

Lady Josephine made a gesture. One of the guards walked over and took the box from Mother, before bringing it to Lady Josephine. She opened it and made a delighted sound when she saw its contents.

"Even after your banishment from Murim, you still managed to secure such high quality Spirit Elixirs." Lady Josephine said. "You always were quite resourceful."

In preparation for this meeting, Mother acquired a number of Spirit Elixirs. These were of even higher quality than the ones she gave me when I left for the Icefall region. She had acquired them a while ago, meaning that the shopping trip a few days ago had been completely unnecessary. It turned out that Mother just wanted an excuse to go shopping in Sunheart Undercity. I wanted to bash my head against a wall when I heard this.

"Take a look at these, Grand Elder Luther." Lady Josephine said, holding out the box to the wrinkly old man.

The old man, Grand Elder Luther, walked over and took the box. He smiled and let out a pleased chuckle.

"These are excellent." He said in a soft voice. "A fine gift indeed."

Grand Elder Luther closed the box and returned to his previous position, keeping hold of the box.

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During that entire exchange, Lord Trevor kept glaring at me, making no attempt to hide his displeasure. Right. It looked like my relationship with my future father in law was off to a good start.

"May I introduce to you my son, Gabriel?" Mother asked.

I stepped forward and gave Lady Josephine a slight bow.

"So," Lord Trevor said, speaking up for the first time since we arrived. He had a rich and smooth voice. "You're the one who wants to steal my daughter away."

The atmosphere in the main hall turned awkward.

"If that's how you want to phrase it." I said, meeting Lord Trevor's gaze without backing down. "Then yes, I am."

Lord Trevor's nostrils flared.

"Impudent!" He said.

He started to stand up. However, Lady Josephine placed a hand on his shoulder before he could.

"Calm yourself, Dearest." She said in a gentle voice. "Lord Gabriel is our guest."

Lord Trevor settled down again, a scowl on his face.

"As you can see, Lady Sturm," Lady Josephine said, facing Mother once again, "my husband is unhappy with the idea of my daughter becoming engaged to your son, let alone marrying him. He's not the only one either." She gestured to the Clan Thorne elders. "Some of my elders fail to see how this would benefit Clan Thorne."

One of the Clan Thorne elders at Fourth Star stepped forward.

"Everyone here knows of your conflict with Clan Leone, Lady Sturm," the elder said in a respectful tone. "If your son becomes engaged to Lady Annabelle, we risk losing one of our oldest and most trusted allies. We cannot let that happen."

Fair point.

"Others believe that making a connection with House Sturm is worth the risk." Lady Josephine said.

The other Clan Thorne elder at Fourth Star stepped forward.

"The Clans have a tendency to isolate themselves and pretend they're separate from Luminian society." She said, glancing at her colleagues. "This is a mistake. Aligning ourselves with House Sturm is the perfect way to rectify this."

Lady Josephine smiled at Mother.

"As you can see, Lady Sturm," she said, "opinions are divided, and I am unable to make a decision without offending half of my Clan."

I narrowed my eyes at her. Bullshit. Perhaps there was some disagreement within her Clan about my engagement to Lady Annabelle, but I doubted it was that bad. This whole situation seemed staged. The question was, why? What did Lady Josephine hope to accomplish?

From the expression on her face, Mother felt the same way.

"In that case, how do you suggest we resolve this issue, Lady Josephine?" Mother said, clearly unhappy but remaining polite.

Lady Josephine tapped her chin with her finger with a thoughtful expression on her face, before turning to her husband.

"What do you think, Dear?" She asked.

Lord Trevor crossed his arms and snorted.

"If Lord Gabriel wants to take our daughter away," he said, "then he needs to prove himself worthy of her."

Lady Josephine looked delighted by this suggestion.

"Excellent idea!" She said. "And what better way for Lord Gabriel to prove his worth than by demonstrating his martial arts skills?"

Ah, so that was their plan all along. When we met a few days ago, Lady Josephine warned me that her husband wanted to test me. However, I hadn't realized that all of Clan Thorne would be in on it.

A part of me felt aggrieved by this. However, the rest of me pointed out that Lady Josephine gave me a warning ahead of time when she didn't have to. Besides, I was confident in martial arts skills. Mother shared my confidence.

"I am amenable to that." She said, smirking.

She opened her mouth to say more, but a commotion at the main hall's front entrance caught everyone's attention.

"Where is he?" A man shouted. "Where is the ingrate who thinks he's worthy of my sister?"

A moment later, a man burst into the main hall, throwing the front entrance wide open. He looked like a younger version of Lord Trevor. They shared the same fair skin, brown eyes, and beautiful features. However, the young man had blond hair. I sensed that he was at Third Star.

A boy in his teens followed right behind the man. He looked more like Lady Josephine. They shared many of the same features. Fair skin, blond hair, blue eyes, etc. However, the teen boy's blond hair was a shade darker than Lady Josephine. He was at Second Star.

Lord Miles and Lord Dominic, Anna's older brother and younger brother respectively. Both wore almost identical expressions of anger and indignation on their faces.

The two brothers looked around the main hall, before their eyes fell on me. Their nostrils flared, and they marched in my direction.

"So, you're the bastard who wants to steal our sister away?" Lord Miles asked.

Bastard? Oh, I was going to make him pay for that.

"Teach him a lesson, Big Brother!" Lord Dominic said.

Rather than respond to them, I glanced back at Lady Josephine. From the anger on her face, it was clear that she hadn't expected this. So, this wasn't part of her plan. Lord Trevor, on the other hand, wore a satisfied smile.

"Miles!" Lady Josephine shouted. "Dominic! What do you think you are doing? How dare you be so rude to our guests?"

Lord Miles ignored her and continued to glare at me.

"I'll give you the same answer I gave your father." I said, answering his earlier question. "Yes, I am."

Both Lord Miles and Lord Dominic looked like they wanted to beat me to death.

"I will never let that happen!" Lord Miles said, pointing a finger at me. "I challenge you to a duel!"

A hush fell over the main hall. I glanced back at Lady Josephine again. She looked ready to explode.

"Is this how the Clans act and behave?" Father asked, speaking up for the first time since we arrived at the Clan Thorne manor. He spoke in an amused tone, but it was clear to everyone that he was furious. There was the smell of ozone in the air, and we could hear the faint sound of thunder. "Insulting their guests? Challenging those a rank lower than them? How vulgar."

Lady Josephine's anger deepened, while the Clan Thorne elders' expressions turned unsightly. However, they couldn't refute my father's words, so they remained silent.

"Guards!" Lady Josephine shouted. "Take my sons away and confine them to their quarters."

The guards moved towards Lord Miles and Lord Dominic, but stopped when Lord Trevor spoke.

"Wait." He said. "Perhaps we should take advantage of this opportunity."

Everyone turned towards him.

"We wanted Lord Gabriel to demonstrate his martial arts skills." Lord Trevor said. "Letting him duel Miles is the perfect solution to our needs."

Lady Josephine scoffed.

"Miles is at Third Star while Lord Gabriel is at Second Star." She said. "The difference between them is too great." She gestured to her youngest son. "Dominic would be a much better opponent."

A part of me felt a little insulted by this. Did they really think I couldn't handle a mere Third Star martial artist? Especially this hot-headed asshole?

"Mother!" Lord Miles said, looking at Lady Josephine. "As Annabelle's older brother and the heir of Clan Thorne, it falls on me to defend her honor." He pointed a finger at me. "We can't let this bas-" He fell silent as Lady Josephine glared at him. "-man take her away from us. I won't allow it!"

Lady Josephine released her killing intent. It felt like being scoured by countless thorny vines.

"Young Master!" One of the Clan elders said in a panicked voice. "Retract your challenge and apologize! Hurry!"

Lord Miles flinched, but refused to back down.

"I accept." I said.

Everyone paused, before looking at me in shock. Lady Josephine retracted her killing intent.

"What did you just say, Lord Gabriel?" She asked.

"I accept Lord Miles' challenge." I said. "I will duel him."

Mother raised an eyebrow at this.

"Are you sure about this, Gabriel?" She asked.

I nodded.

"Very well." Mother said, giving me a smile.

Her demeanor showed complete faith in me, which I appreciated.

"Think carefully about this, Lord Gabriel." Lady Josephine said, giving me a warning look. "My son is a full rank ahead of you. Are you sure?"

I nodded.

"Yes, I am." I gestured to Lord Miles. "It's clear that your son won't back down, and I don't want to be the cause of strife between you two. The simplest solution is to accept his challenge and be done with it."

Besides, it would give me the opportunity to make this asshole pay for calling me a bastard.

"Very well," Lady Josephine said in a resigned tone, "if you insist."

I turned towards Lord Miles, who wore a triumphant smirk. I couldn't wait to wipe it off his face.

"At least you aren't a coward." He said. "I'll give you that much."

"I have two conditions for accepting this duel." I said, looking him right in the eyes. "The first is that Clan Thorne will compensate House Sturm for the trouble, regardless of who wins."

I heard Lady Josephine sigh.

"Agreed." She said. "It's the least we can do."

"Second," I said, "after I win, Lord Miles will kowtow to my parents and apologize for insulting House Sturm."

Silence filled the main hall. Lord Miles' face twisted with anger.

"You dare?" he asked. "Who do you think you are?"

"Who do you think you are?" I countered. "By calling me a bastard, you disparaged the validity of my parents' marriage. While I may be willing to forgive the insult against me, I will not forgive those who insult my family." I stepped forward until Lord Miles and I were inches apart. "Arrogant wretch. Did you think you could insult House Sturm and get away with it?"

Lord Miles faltered, but recovered a moment later.

"Fine," he spat out, "I accept. However, when I win, you will forget about marrying my sister."

I snorted, but otherwise didn't reply.

"Enough." Lady Josephine said in a stern voice. "The terms of the duel have been set and accepted. We will convene in the training hall in one hour." She looked at Mother. "Is that fine with you, Lady Sturm?"

Mother gave her a smile.

"It is, Lady Josephine," she said.

Lady Josephine sighed again.

"Annabelle isn't going to be happy about this."

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