The Shamed Bastard Son Who Tamed a Forbidden Angel

Chapter 5: Hidden Truth

Harry's vision swam with golden light. Words appeared before his eyes—visible only to him, hovering in the air like ethereal script. A translucent panel materialized, filled with information that made his breath catch in his throat.

[BEAST STATUS PANEL]

Name: Rose

Current Rank: Unranked (Sealed)

True Rank: IMMORTAL

Bloodline Origin: Lord of Light × God of Night (Forbidden Union)

Status: CRITICAL - Conflicting divine energies causing power suppression

Condition: Light/Dark imbalance (Current ratio: 20% Light / 80% Dark)

Note: This beast possesses bloodline never before documented in human history. Offspring of a forbidden divine union. Dual-natured essence causes internal conflict, sealing true power. If properly balanced, potential exceeds Immortal classification into UNKNOWN territory.

Restoration Requirements:

Full Power Restoration: Seven Divine Materials

Initial Strength Restoration: Holy Light Grass (Common herb - rebalances Light/Dark ratio to 50/50, unlocking base Immortal rank)

Harry's hands trembled as he read and reread the information. Immortal rank. A grade that existed only in ancient legends. No living person had ever contracted an Immortal beast—it was considered theoretically possible but practically impossible.

And this little girl, this crying, beaten child that John had called trash...

"Master?" Rose's soft voice pulled him back. "Are you alright? You're staring at me strangely."

Harry looked down at her—really looked at her. The violet eyes that seemed too large for her face. The pale skin that almost seemed to glow faintly in certain light. The complete absence of wings that had marked her as "defective."

No wonder the identification lens couldn't read her rank. She wasn't below Common grade—she was so far above it that the measuring tools simply broke.

A smile spread across Harry's face, slow and genuine. For the first time in eighteen years, hope bloomed in his chest like a flower pushing through concrete.

"I'm fine," he said quietly, squeezing her hand. "Better than fine. I'm—"

"Still standing here like a cockroach that won't die?"

John's voice cut through the moment like a rusty blade. He strode toward them, Seraphiel gliding elegantly beside him. The contract marks on his wrist glowed with fresh power, and his expression radiated smug satisfaction.

"Seriously, Harry," John continued, his voice dripping with contempt. "You actually contracted that worthless thing? I knew you were stupid, but this is pathetic even for you. You're like a rat clinging to a piece of moldy bread because you're too dumb to know it'll poison you."

The crowd, which had been dispersing, paused to watch. Nothing entertained them more than watching the mighty Klein family put someone in their place.

Rose shrank against Harry's side, her small hand clutching his sleeve. Harry felt her trembling.

"At least I made my own choice," Harry said coldly, his earlier fear replaced by something harder. Something that had been forged in years of humiliation and abuse. "Unlike you, who needed Grandmother to steal my summon because yours was trash."

John's face went crimson. "What did you just say to me, you gutter-spawned piece of—"

"The truth," Harry interrupted, his voice steady and calm. It was the calmness that seemed to infuriate John most. "You failed, John. Accept it. Having a Legendary angel handed to you won't change the fact that you're a failure. The crystal doesn't lie—you summoned garbage, and everyone saw it."

"How dare you!" John lunged forward, but Victor Klein grabbed his shoulder, holding him back.

"Not here, son," Victor hissed. "Not in public."

"Listen to daddy, John," Harry continued, that strange new courage making him reckless. "At least someone in your family has sense."

"Enough."

Elder Margaret's voice cracked like a whip. She moved between them with surprising speed for her age, her cane slamming against the stone. Her eyes blazed with cold fury as she fixed Harry with a venomous glare.

"You ungrateful worm," she hissed. "After everything we've done for you—feeding you, housing you, tolerating your very existence—you dare speak to your betters this way?"

"My betters?" Harry laughed, the sound bitter and harsh. "I don't see any here."

The crowd gasped. Several people muttered that Harry had lost his mind.

Elder Margaret's lips curled into a cruel smile. "Then let me educate you on reality, boy. This year—for the first time in fifty years—the Imperial Royal Beast Academy will be conducting entrance examinations in our city. Do you understand what that means?"

Harry's expression remained neutral, but internally, his heart skipped. The Imperial Royal Beast Academy. The most prestigious beast-taming institution in the entire federation. Graduates became generals, council members, heroes. It was every tamer's dream.

"With a Legendary angel," Elder Margaret continued, her voice growing louder, addressing the crowd now as much as Harry, "John's admission is absolutely guaranteed. The academy will be begging him to attend. He'll be trained by masters, given access to resources beyond imagination. He'll become someone truly great."

She took a step closer to Harry, her voice dropping to a venomous whisper that still carried to every ear.

"And you? With that pathetic, unranked garbage clinging to your leg like a diseased puppy?" She laughed, the sound like grinding glass. "No academy in the federation would accept you. Not the Imperial Academy. Not the regional schools. Not even the community training centers that take any fool with a Common beast. You're done, Harry. Finished. You'll spend the rest of your short, miserable life in the gutter where you belong, and that thing will starve beside you."

Rose whimpered softly. Harry felt her press closer against him.