After Surviving the Apocalypse, I Built a City in Another World novel Chapter 1010

The generation of the current patriarch, Zaol, at least, wasn’t the same as his predecessors.

As to how the family created such a culture, it actually had quite a tragic history. _{frёeweɓηovel.coɱ}

His father had a handful of women at his beck and call but, even so, only a few were born due to his high level.

Zaol had three other siblings, though mostly from different mothers, and he was actually the second child. Their age gaps were also quite big, sometimes with a decade or two apart from each other.

The oldest man—the former heir—was older than he was by over a decade. The man was a copy of their father, and acted completely like him.

He was borne from a frail woman sold by her family for some blus. Her level was not too high and it took about a decade of marriage before she got pregnant with him.

The main wife realized it was a son and caused his mother to have an accident. Fortunately, they both survived, but this caused him to be quite weak as a child.

When they determined he wasn’t a good seed from a young age, he had virtually been ignored, which was what ultimately saved his life in the end.

The next child was another boy from another woman—a young noble woman, in fact, and was even more beautiful than his previous wives.

His third brother was about five years younger than him, but he was definitely far more opportunistic than he was. That lad was always vying for their father’s attention, and trying to one-up their oldest brother. In some cases, he actually succeeded.

This was quite a feat. After all, the oldest was almost 2 decades older than he was.

Similarly, because the third brother’s mother was young, useful, and beautiful, she quickly became the Lord’s favorite woman, intensifying the rivalry between the two families.

While the tensions between the two women and their sons intensified, Zaol and his own mother lived peacefully.

Sometimes, their fights were only verbal, some were subtle, but as the sons grew up and got into each others’ necks, their mothers started behaving more aggressive as well.

Once, when the other women got into a shrewish fight, the Lord decided to take Zaol’s mother again. She was meek and quiet, and was refreshing to be with when the other women were too much.

Like this, his mother was added to his father’s roster and—after a few years—gave birth to his youngest sibling, Zinnia, who was the only girl in his generation.

Sadly, the birth was too much this time, and it took his mother’s life.

Zaol never blamed his sister for her death. Rather, he loved her so much because he considered her the only true family he had left.

For the next few years, the two of them survived quietly in their own corner. They tried to steer clear from the fights of the other women and their sons, as much as they could.

He protected his sister from prying eyes, and she safely grew up into a teenager without being forcefully taken by a noble like he had seen happen to other little girls.

However, it was one thing not to feel safe within your home, and it was another when one openly felt hostility inside it.

They were supposed to be a family, and yet they could never trust even their own family member. Every interaction would always end with bitterness—sometimes in outward fights. There were plenty of times one side sabotaged the other whatever chance they got, and vice versa.

This was actually a common practice amongst nobilities and Zaol felt that he was the only one wondering why things had to be this way.