"What do you want Fernand?" Asked Ariel, not bothering to look at her brother.

"I'm just checking in dear sister, just checking in. Honestly, I'm surprised you're here so early, who are you here to scout?" He asked.

"I'm not here to scout anyone, my son's attendants are undertaking their awakening." She replied.

"The girl and the commoner? Surely there's no need for you to accompany them whilst they wait in line. Besides, in such an early wave they won't even be able to line up." Asked Fernand, Frowning.

"Are you forgetting that his majesty granted an exception for the attendants of his sons?" Said Ariel.

Fernand seemed taken aback. "Prince Richard's attendants both came from high standing families, so it was expected for there to be an exception for them. Are you sure it is wise to be so willful as to demand the same treatment. Surely it is not worth the conflict over mere attendants?"

"They are not mere attendants, and it is a right afforded to my son as a prince. To call it willful is to imply that I am overstepping. Tell me brother, is it in your opinion that I am overstepping?" She spoke to him but still did not deign to look in his direction.

"Of course not! Of course not, it's your right after all!" He exclaimed, raising both his hands in deference. "Forget I said anything."

Ariel breathed a calming breath before continuing to speak to her brother.

"Come to think of it, why are you here? I don't believe anyone in the family is awakening today."

"Just scouting and gathering information. You know how things are in the capital, it's best to be well informed." He replied, offhandedly.

Ariel narrowed her eyes at this, but simply nodded.

It was quite strange, thought Damon. As the oldest son of Viscount Marlow, and next in line for the position, it was unlikely that Fernand would come in person to gain information, especially as there was no one form the Marlow family awakening today.

More likely, the Marlow's would have sent a high-ranking attendant. If anything, at an event like this, gossip between attendants flowed more freely than conversation between the nobles themselves.

There was silence between the two of them for a few minutes. Damon thought that Fernand had let the matter die, but he had underestimated the man's stubbornness.

Fernand wiped the back of his neck with a handkerchief that he pulled free from his breast pocket. He glanced around the box before leaning in towards his sister and speaking in a slightly hushed tone.

"It's just that, well, this is such an insignificant matter. If you had acted oblivious to it, I'm sure the Sanctum wouldn't have arranged for them to be awakened in an earlier wave. You could have taken that as an insult, and it would have given us a bargaining chip in future!"

Ariel's lips drew into a grim line.

"Fernand." She said, finally turning to look at him.

"They are the royal attendants of my son. It is a matter affecting their pride and confidence, and in turn, the pride and confidence of my son. I will not compromise on something that will affect their future, or his future."

"Of course, of course" he said, putting an understanding look on his face, but leaned in closer still.

"Still, I think you should consult me with these things in future my dear sister. The politics of these decisions affect the whole family. These petty day-to-day things are below your station, you should leave them to me to manage."

"Fern-" started Ariel.

"- For example!" He said, cutting her off.

"If you had let me oversee this matter, not only would you have gotten a bargaining chip from being slighted, but you could have pushed for better attendants after the way those two would have been treated!" He shook his head sadly. "It really is a wasted opportunity; you could have gotten a leg up at basically no cost."

Ariel's gaze turned icy. "So, you consider the shame to my son, the shame to his attendants, and the dismissal of those children to be 'no cost'?"

He waved off her question as if batting away an insignificant fly.

"In the grand scheme of things sister, in the grand scheme of things. Your son is a baby so the incident would pass, and those two will no longer be his attendants so it's not like it would stain him."

He shook his head again. "Besides, the girl is already bad enough, but don't you think that having a commoner as an attendant is already staining enough?"

"The girl is bad enough?" thought Damon. "Perhaps this fool knows something about Lucy's situation."

Fernand Marlow's views on William were easy enough to understand, as a relatively young noble house, the Marlows would be especially averse to commoners whilst they tried to solidify their dignity. If anything, it was Damon's mother that was the strange one.

The weird thing was the way that Fernand seemed to belittle Lucy, who, as far as Damon was concerned, should be an important member of the Marlow family.

Lady Ariel simply looked away from her brother, deciding that the best course of action was to ignore him. Damon felt her grip on him tighten, though, so he was sure she was holding in her anger at her brother's statements.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Misunderstanding the silence as a breakthrough, Fernand kept talking.

"To be frank sister, having them come in during the first wave to get tested will probably have a worse affect on you than if you had not. Making a fanfare only to have a commoner and a defect undergo awakening in front of all the influential nobles will only cause them to look down on your judgement."

Fernand had a point, and Ariel's slight squeeze on Damon at his words showed him that even his mother was aware of this. Still, for him to be berating his sister rather than standing by her decisions, it angered Damon.

"Perhaps" said Ariel, her voice calm despite her irritation. "Or perhaps you will be surprised at the outcome."

At this, Fernand let out a low, wheezing chuckle.

"Come now sister, how well can a commoner with a few months of proper training do?"

He shook his head again.

"And don't get me started on the girl. It will be a miracle if she can even function after this awakening. I truly don't know why you are so stubborn about her. To think you would go so far for a defect."

"Fernand!" Ariel fixed her brother with a glare. "What I choose to do and who I choose to favour is my business. Lucy is no longer your concern, nor is she the family's concern. I believe we agreed that you could no longer speak on her affairs?"

There was something more going on here, mused Damon. His mother was almost shaking with anger as her brother spoke about Lucy.

A glint sparked in Fernand's eyes at her reaction, and he pressed on rather than letting it go.

"My bad, may bad! I'm simply trying to help Ariel. I don't know where your confidence in those two comes from, but it would be better to hedge your bets and let it go."

As he spoke, he reached into his overcoat and pulled out a rolled and sealed parchment.

Damon was taken aback. He couldn't tell what the parchment was, but with his high mana sensitivity, he could feel the dense cloud of earth attribute mana roiling about the parchment.

Ariel's eyes widened. "Is that what I think it is?"

Fernand smiled at her. "To be honest, I planned to stay here all day today so I could speak to you. Uncle has relented some of his anger and wishes to bargain with you. You should know how much this scroll will help the girl. If you agree to let her come back to the family, he will let you administer it to her."

"Is this the real reason that he's here!" Thought Damon.

More than likely, Fernand knew about Damon's attendants being in the first wave of awakening, he had probably made his way here with the intention of riling Damon's mother into this conversation.

The question was, what was going with Lucy and how was the Marlow family involved? Furthermore, what was that scroll and why had it agitated Damon's mother so much that she didn't seem to realize that she was being goaded?

It was strange for them to go so far just to bring Lucy back into the folds of their family. Especially since they clearly did not hold her in high regard.

"The Uncle that I know does not change his mind on a whim. What does he want Fernand?" She asked, putting on a facade of calm, but her grip on Damon did not loosen.

"It's because father misses you! Even though it's slightly shameful, we will accept the girl back into the family and assist you in helping her heal. In return, father simply wishes that you would come by the family manor and spend time with us more." Fernand spoke in pained voice that almost made it feel like he missed his sister.

"So, Uncle wants me to publicly show that the Marlow family still has ties with their daughter who is now a queen. What exactly does that have to do with father?" Said Ariel, glaring at Fernand.

"Don't be like that sister! Don't forget that it was you who distanced yourself, all for the sake of that girl. Uncle's reaction was expected, it was for the family's dignity after all. Still, you know how father is! It hurts him more than anyone when you're distant like this. He just wants to help us all reconcile, and more importantly, he wants to be in his grandson's life!"

The relationship between his mother and her family had always been off to Damon. From when he had gained consciousness until now, this was his first time seeing a member of the family aside from his mother and Lucy.

Even in his previous life, he had only seen his grandfather once. The memory stuck with him, as it was at his mother's funeral. The old man had cried in public, whilst most of the rest of the Marlow family seemed to be there out of formality.

Come to think of it, the 'Uncle' that they spoke of was likely Damon's Grandfather's younger brother. He was the most powerful mage in the Marlow family. Shortly after Damon's mother's death, this uncle had wrested authority from Fernand and taken over the family. The Marlows had quickly relented to political pressure, falling into the folds of the first Queen, denying Damon of his strongest backing.

It probably wasn't a lie that Damon's grandfather was missing his mother, but it did not make sense for the family to relent just because of that. There was something else at play here.

Ariel took a breath, then shook her head.

"That girl is under my care, I will not let her go back. Don't you all believe you have done enough?"

What exactly had happened to Lucy?

Fernand was silent for a while, but clearly, he was not one to give up so easily. Having failed to persuade his sister, he went back to goading her.

"How about this dear sister. You seem confident in these children, so let us place a bet. If their awakening is not a disgrace, then we can say that you have an eye for talent, and we will support your decision and even give you this scroll. However, if they are sub-par, you agree to father's deal."

"I will not bet on those children's futures." Said Ariel, not even deigning to consider it.

"Come now sister, you should know that it will be difficult to continue helping her. Who even knows what will happen if the awakening goes wrong? With this scroll, you can help her to a greater extent than you can on your own."

Lady Ariel paused at this, thinking through the offer. "And what exactly is in it for you? Don't tell me you will go this far just to have Lucy back."

Fernand gave a slight cough and continued.

"Well, if she returns to the family, there will be a need to replace her as an attendant. As we are helping to heal her it is only fair that we will have a say on who replaces her. Either way, the girl gets treatment. The only difference is whether she returns to the family or not."

"So that is what they are after." Thought Damon.

With their relationship with his mother and Lucy, it would be difficult for them to have any influence on Damon in future. As such, they wanted to bring one of their people into his inner circle. Honestly, thought Damon, it wasn't a bad offer.

Ariel nodded slowly at this. She would have been more skeptical if there was no clear gain for the Marlows with this bet, but now that she could see what they wanted, it was easier to trust the deal.

"Alright, but we will revise the terms." Said Ariel.

"Are the terms not already stacked in your favor? Don't push so hard sister." Said Fernand

"Ah, it's only a small thing. I do not want Lucy to feel burdened by a bet based on her performance. Should I lose, and should she find out it was due to her, I fear it would hurt her deeply."

Fernand nodded at this, waiting for her to continue.

"So why don't we only bet on William? The same terms, but the outcome will be based on the talent his awakening shows."

Damon almost laughed aloud. It seems that his mother could be just as sly as her brother. She was one of the few people in the kingdom who had seen William's growth. She may not know his stats, but she would have seen the improvements in his performance.

As far as Fernand was concerned, however, William could not be particularly great, there was no way the first Queen would have allowed for him to fall to Damon if he was.

"Deal!" Said Fernand, not even stopping to consider.

Ariel smiled and gestured to Sanctum. "Let us wait then."