"The lord wore a slight smile on his face as he exited the building. By now, the previously gathered crowd had dispersed, with only the white knights visible standing around the six pillars. As the five of them walked forward, he side-eyed his wife and found her walking between the two boys. The baroness had a blank expression on her face while staring directly ahead, not talking or even looking at the two boys. Upon dragging his gaze over the boys, he noticed the still calm and collected demeanor of the elder son, while the younger one wore a clear frown on his face.
“Ahem!...So…Arion… Which dish did you like the most?” The lord coughed then asked in a calm tone, in an effort to resolve the tense environment a bit. “...The pudding..” Arion replied without looking up, instead lowering his gaze towards the ground. “Hmm…What about you? Ardent?” The lord asked while looking at his eldest son. “...Every meal prepared by the chief cook was of top quality.” The eldest son answered respectfully. The lord realized that with his wife being serious, the situation was never going to get easier. “Ahem Ahem!...You know, sons, I’ll tell you a funny story.” The lord said after clearing his throat once again.
They had arrived near the six pillars as the lord turned towards his family. Eonard stood beside him while standing straight. “Twenty or so years ago, I went to a nearby county on some secret mission with their lord. Due to the secrecy, I had to disguise myself as a beggar. There’s a small temple just like this one a short distance away from their palace. And well, on that fortunate day, the baroness had planned to worship the god. Right before she was about to enter the temple, an assassin attacked her. I had to drag her out of the way to save her life, which I did by defeating the assassin. But, I found the baroness unconscious in my arms. Can you two guess why?” The lord asked with excitement while raising his brows.
“....Did she get unconscious because of the shock?” Ardent asked in a calm and curious tone, while tilting his head slightly. “Not really, son.” The lord shook his head while constantly smiling. Can you guess it?” The lord walked in front of Arion and asked while placing his hand over his shoulder. “Uhh….” Arion attempted to speak, but suddenly found a chill running down his spine.
As he looked towards his left, he saw the baroness staring at him with a serious expression. “No? I’ll tell you… She thought I was a beggar, and the thought of being touched by a beggar made her pass out. HAHAHAHAHA!!!!” The lord explained and suddenly burst out laughing. Ardent smiled, while Arion still kept holding his laugh as he saw the baroness glaring at the lord. “And can you guess who that baroness was? SHE WAS YOUR MOTHER’S MOTHER! HAHAHAHAHA!!!” As the lord laughed once again, this time Arion couldn’t hold his laughter and burst out laughing with his father.
“Hmph! Oh yes yes! I’ll tell you two a story as well. On our wedding day, the entire venue was ready, but it still took five hours for our wedding to start. Can you two boys guess why? Because an old lady had to put a whole inch of makeup over her face. Can you two guess who that lady was? It was your father’s mother. HAHAHA!” The baroness laughed while mockingly imitating the lord. The lord slowly contracted his smile and turned away from Arion as he saw the baroness and Arion laughing together. He began heading for the inside of the white marble stone while his lips were stretched with a satisfied smile. Noticing this, Ardent followed him as well.
As Arion saw his mother laughing, he felt a rush of relief throughout his body. He took a deep breath then looked at her eyes, “I’m sorry mother. I didn’t know that you would get this upset about it.” He said in a sincere tone with his head slightly down. As the baroness wiped a drop of tear from the corner of her eyes that had appeared due to her laughter, she walked closer to Arion. “It’s okay son. A little bit of fun at your age is expected. But you shouldn’t disrespect your elders.” The baroness said while placing her hand on Arion’s shoulder.
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Arion’s eyes lit up a bit; “So..You aren’t mad? Then why were you not talking to me?” He asked with bright eyes. “Heh..What do you think would have happened if I didn’t get mad at you?.” The baroness asked while raising her brows. “Uhh…Father would’ve scolded m-..OOH!” Suddenly, Arion felt his brain lit up with a sudden realization. “Of Course. I’ve been married to that man for twenty years. I know him like the back of my hand.” The baroness declared with a proud expression.
Then suddenly, they heard hasty steps of a man coming from behind the white dome. Within moments, he reached the large golden bell in the center of the dome and began shaking it. The bell rang loudly in all directions. Arion looked around confusedly while trying to make sense of the sudden change in atmosphere. His confusion was elevated even further as he noticed the calm expressions on his brother and parents' faces. "Wh-" Just as he began to voice his curiosity, the sound of dozens of horses appeared from the same direction as the golden chariot and wagon. He turned his head, feeling a strange uneasiness creeping inside his heart.
As the source of sound appeared, Arion’s eyes rapidly noticed a few things – the white horses, similar to the white knights’ horses, and the green flags held by the knights arriving, each with a golden spear drawn on it. While making observations, he suddenly felt a force above his head. He recognized the touch as his mother’s hand trying to gesture for him to lower his head. Without much hesitation, Arion obliged. With his head lowered, he scanned the area and saw his mother, brother, and to his utter surprise, his father, bowing in front of the unknown guests. He was startled by someone jumping off one of the horses right in front of him. Arion raised his eyes a bit, catching a glimpse of a man wearing green attire slowly heading his way.
"Ho? The boy has grown quite well," the man said in a friendly manner as he arrived near Arion. His voice elevated the uneasiness in Arion’s heart; for some reason unknown to him, his instincts screamed not to look at the man. Goosebumps appeared all over his body as he felt the man’s hand over his head. Suddenly, he realized that he was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t notice his mother had removed her hand from his head quite a while ago. Arion felt his heart racing like never before, with drops of sweat streaming down his forehead. "How old are you, son?" the man said in a curious tone while moving his hand down to Arion’s chin. The moment his hands were about to touch his skin, Arion stepped back.
"....." Arion didn’t say anything. He felt his pupils shivering upon seeing the man’s face. The man was visibly older than his father, had no hair, around the same height as his father, and lacked any sign of hostility in his expression. But Arion couldn’t explain why; making eye contact with the man made his heart sink into an unknown abyss he had never experienced before. Just then, a familiar sensation appeared from his back. A single touch washed away the strange sinking feeling Arion had. Without looking, Arion whispered, "Mother." The moment those words escaped, Arion's heart began to calm down.
"He is sixteen now," the baroness said while lightly patting Arion’s back. The man now had a somewhat serious expression on his face, which suddenly made the uneasiness reappear in Arion’s heart. "He is not that good with strangers," the baroness added with a smile while moving her hand from Arion’s back and grabbing his hand. Arion was a bit confused. He had never had this sort of encounter before, nor did he ever feel this uneasy from a stranger. Hearing his mother defend this never-seen behavior rang a few bells inside his heart.
Despite that, Arion felt safe, but he still felt the need to observe every movement from the man, while remaining fearful of approaching him. "Oh? I have heard a lot of things about the Young Master, but his shy nature? That’s surprising" the man shrugged while turning towards the six pillars, then proceeding to walk towards the lord.
Arion turned towards the baroness. Confusion and restlessness plagued him, and he wanted to ask hundreds of questions at once. But to his surprise, the only words he could utter were, “Mother.” Arion had called the baroness mother thousands of times before, but this time, the baroness saw something different in his eyes, hearing the same restlessness in his heavy voice. She turned towards Arion and placed her hand on his shoulder. “It’s going to be okay, son,” she said with a warm smile stretching her lips.
[END OF CHAPTER: 2]