“Time sure flies, huh?”

“What’s with the sudden melancholy? Is the alcohol getting to you or something”

It was around 11pm, I was having a few drinks with Aldric since we had a barbecue that day to celebrate his daughter’s 2nd birthday. We went to my house after everything was done.

“Your daughter has turned 2 years old, Cael turned 7 years old 3 months ago. The twins are now 6 and Maia is gonna turn 14 in a few months… time really does fly”

“Are you scared your kids are gonna grow and forget about their poor father?”

His smug grin kinda pissed me off. I knew it was obviously just a joke, so I ignored the comment and just continued.

“What about you? Lara will become an adult before you even realize it, then boom! Someone will take her as a bride and take her away from you”

lets see how you like a taste of your own medicine

“That’s definitely not happening any time soon, your 2 daughters will probably get there before mine, shouldn’t you be worried about it?”

He kept his casual smile as he took another shot, which I then refilled.

“You mean 1 daughter, since we both know Maia isn’t gonna get married that easily”

“I guess you have a point… she’s already stronger than us, there isn’t anything we can do to stop her anymore, huh?”

“Ever since she’s decided to train with Cael, she’s been dead set on becoming a sentinel, at this point it’s just a matter of time”

As much as i hate to admit it

“I want to hope that she won’t have as hard of a time as we think she will, even if it’s due to her monstrous strength.”

“I guess you’re right…”

Aldric was like a brother to me. He was always there when I needed him. I’d like to think that he sees me in a similar way. To say the least, I’m sure that he genuinely cares for my kids as if they were his own. He understood how I felt. If anything of this nature happened to his daughter, Lara in the future I would relate to him as well.

“How’s Cael’s training going?”

“He’s slowly managing to increase his mana pool, though he still can’t manage to manipulate it in any way, shape or form haha”

“Do you think he’ll ever manage?”

I didn’t answer right away. I thought about it for about 5 seconds and then answered.

“I saw it that day… his frustration. I could tell that finding out he couldn’t use the main 4 elements magic was a pretty nasty hit to his guts. And most of all, I could see the despair in his eyes when he noticed he made the twins cry. I want to believe that he’ll make it. achieve any dream he has, even though he’s one of them.”

“His hair is slowly but surely turning fully silver white ish, I hope you’re aware that by the time he’s around 16 he’ll probably have a full head of it. And you should know how hard that will make it for him anywhere outside this village.”

“If I didn’t know I wouldn’t have been against his training, you idiot. You already know Maia was the one that convinced me to let both of them start training.”

“I see”

We both drank our shots at the same time, then refilled them again. We were at our 5th shot. it wasn’t really a big deal. We had above average alcohol resistance which we both took some unreasonable sense of pride in.

“When do you intend on telling him?”

“You mean Cael? … Honestly, that kid is so stupidly smart that he probably can tell already that there’s some connection between what I’ve told him and his mother, so I’ll tell him any time he’ll ask me about it. There’s no point in hiding it anymore. He’s too smart.”

Aldric then grinned as he pointed behind my left side, which was where the stairs were. There was Cael standing, who seemed to be trying to hide. didn’t really manage.

“It’s pretty late fella, why aren’t you sleeping?”

I sighed as I just spoke to him casually as I turned back towards the table as he approached us.

“I was gonna get some water. I happened to hear you talk…”

“How much did you hear?”

His hand is fidgeting… he’s probably heard quite a lot

“Since Aldric asked about my training…”

Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! This is so embarrassing?! Why did you have to hear me saying all that about you?!

I tried to keep my composure. I assume my ears were probably red and Aldric noticed since he started bluntly laughing as he tapped my shoulder.

“Oh shut up already!”

“My bad! My bad! This is just way too funny haha”

I gave him a punch in his teeth, which did fortunately help him regain his composure.

“So, do you wanna hear the story now? You’re probably not gonna sleep even if I send you to your room.”

“I do. I want to know what’s the deal with mom. why do you keep telling us that we’ll have a hard time outside of here because of our eyes and hair color.”

“It’s a pretty long story, so I hope you won’t fall asleep midway, because this is the only time I’ll ever tell you”

“I’m ready.”

I looked at Aldric once for confirmation, then turned back to him.

“It all started around 30 years ago…”

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

The Ashford family was one of the founders of this kingdom. Ivan Ashford, Isolde’s grandfather, was the Duke at the time.

My mother was the head maid of the Ashford properties. My dad was another servant there. When I was born, I was taken away from the main residence of the duke where my mother was. raised with a single purpose. Being raised and trained in order to become a future protector of the duke’s granddaughter, Isolde Ashford.

The first memories I have are from when I was around 5 years old. I could already read and write by then due to the intense training I’ve received from around the time I turned 4. Around that same period I was also enrolled into sword practice with one of the Ashford’s propriety's knights which was also my own father. His name was Eamon Veradale and he was the commander of the Ashford’s knights.

Frankly speaking, I hated all of it. The first memory I have till this day is me studying, instead of being outside and playing like other kids. Now even my own father was training me when I was just 5 years old. It was hell on earth.

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One day during my daily training, dad has roughened me up quite a bit, though it wasn’t unusual I still was pissed by it. I had held it back till then. At that moment as I curled on the ground, crying while my entire body hurt I had managed to murmur those words.

“W-why… why do I have to do all of this, for that stupid girl?!”

I couldn’t keep my tone down. ended up actually screaming at him which was probably the biggest mistake I could’ve made in that situation. it wasn’t what angered him. He walked over to my curled up body and kicked me directly in my stomach once before speaking.

“Do you think you can protect Isolde when you’re this weak?”

I coughed up from the kick, not blood but any other liquid that was in my stomach had come out from it.

“W-why do I have to protect her?!”

“Because you’re a Veradale. We’ve been serving the Ashford as their blades from the foundation of the kingdom itself, it’s your duty to protect her like I’m protecting her parents.”

Even then… it’s not like, It’s not like I wanted to be born one!

I don’t know if he was able to tell what I was thinking from the defiant look in my eyes or he was just that pissed. He kicked me once again afterwards.

“Get up, Bartholomew.”

I didn’t have a choice. I gritted my teeth as I used all the force I had in my body to get up. I think it was around that time… that I started resenting not just him. the Ashfords themselves.

By the time I was 6 my training had started to feel lighter, not because my old man was going easy on me or anything. because I was at the very least stronger than the prior year. though it was still far from what a child’s childhood should look like, looking back… I’m grateful for those days.

“When am I gonna go live in the duke’s mansion anyways? I’m already 7 years old”

“You’re supposed to train until you’re 10, then you’ll go to the mansion where you’ll live with your mother and will begin your subtle guard duty until you’re about 15, which is when you’re gonna be a real guard”

3 more years, huh? I don’t hate him anymore at the very least, I get where he comes from. I still don’t wanna meet that brat, let alone serve her. She’s probably just a spoiled kid anyways

“I feel like you’re thinking some pretty rude things towards lady Isolde…”

He sighed before speaking again. He wasn’t actually always like that day 2 years prior, he had softened up quite a bit. honestly he was pretty chill as a guy.

“I understand that you don’t want to, it’s not like I was excited about my duty either when your grandfather forced me into training like this. the thing is…”

“What?”

“The Ashfords are great people. Of course, I’m not saying every single one of them is. Every single group has their own exceptions. for the most part, they’re all genuine people that actually care about the kingdom and the people’s safety.”

Isn’t that their job? I can’t really mentally praise them just because they’re doing the bare minimum..

“Well, I guess you’ll understand once you meet her”

“What’s with that stupid grin on your face? Have you finally went crazy from old age or something”

I saw a few veins pop off his forehead, he didn’t like any kind of implication regarding his age. I knew that all along.

“Is that how you wanna talk to your father you stupid brat?”

“Oh shit”

As I fled the scene with him chasing after me, I couldn’t help but realize. I was having a blast. Me and dad dropped all kinds of respectful bullshit with each other. We spoke to each other as if we were nothing but genuine friends. It was relieving that I had someone I could talk to about anything.

The residence where I was living and getting trained by my dad was one of the many that the Duke owned. While for the time of my training dad was its main resident, it was still occupied by some other Ashfords, probably from some lower branch. it didn’t matter.

“Dad! Dad! Dad!”

I barged in his office as I shouted for him.

“What’s going on?!”

He was obviously shocked and worried. that reaction was to be expected.

“The new maid of this residence… she’s a ridiculously beautiful and hot lady!”

“What did you say?!”

I looked him straight in the eye as I affirmed his thoughts with my glare alone.

“How hot are we talking about, my dear son.”

He intertwined his hands together as he got in a deep thinking position, speaking in the most serious tone I had ever heard him talk in. I respected that. This was an undeniable matter of absolute importance.

“Blue hair, shoulder length. Emerald Green eyes. most importantly. From the looks of it, I’ve estimated “their” size to be around 137cm.”

I replied in a tone even more serious than his, because this was a rare phenomena. The other maids in this establishment were mostly older women, ranging from 60 to 70 years of age. She was also young.

“You’re not lying to me, right?”

“Of course, I wouldn’t waste my time on a lie like this.”

“You made the right choice by informing me, son. I'm proud of you.”

“She arrived not too long ago, I overheard that she’s going to take a shower any time now.”

“I see…”

He slowly got up from his desk. walked towards the door, then as soon as he was in front of it, I knew it was on. We both started running towards the other side of the mansion, which was where the bath’s window was.

Fuck… I hate to admit it. this old man really is fast!

As we got out of the training area though, we happened to run into someone as they were taking their horses to their stables. we didn’t manage to avoid them.

“Why are you 2 running so much this early in the morning?”

They were 2 guys, whom we knew very well. One was Isaac Ravenscroft, dad’s right hand and second in command of the Ashford knights. The other was his son. my best friend, Aldric Ravenscroft.

“You idiots, move out of the way!”

“Huh? Eamon, are you picking a fight?”

Dad and Isaac started growling at each other as I explained the situation to Aldric. As soon as I finished speaking, both of them seemed to be just as fired up as us.

“You’re not lying, are you?”

“I’ve seen her with my own eyes. She should go in the bath any time now.”

“I see…”

Before me and dad even got to blink, both of them were Already running. We weren’t going to lose though. We sped up enough to catch up. while bypassing any other obstacle. ignoring any other person that we encountered on the way, we managed to arrive at the window of the bath at the same time. There was one problem.

“… this window is too narrow for all 4 of us to watch.”

We all looked at each other for about 5 seconds in silence, then me and Aldric took the chance to run ahead of them. We somehow managed to get to the window. it was all futile. Our fathers immediately started pushing us away. though we were managing to stay still, it was only a matter of time until we would've lost that battle. Or so we thought.

“Wait! I see her! She’s stripping!!”

I was the one that noticed her first. That was what helped us find a moment of peace. coincidentally, in the position we were in at the moment, all 4 of us were able to see.

“You weren’t lying son! Your eyes are maybe even sharper than mine, your estimate of around 130 cm seems accurate.”

“What’d u say?!”

“My estimate was 137 cm to be precise”

I took pride in my newly boosted bust analyzing capabilities. I wasn’t going to let any chance of taking credit slide.

Aldric then tried to stay something else. He stopped immediately as we focused again on the scene before us. we noticed that she was now only in her underwear. We were all silently celebrating, awaiting the moment of revelation in our heads. thanking the divine for this opportunity. right as she was about to take off her underwear, the window was suddenly covered in a thick layer of ice magic. our view was completely blocked.

“You bastard… what did you just d-“

Right as dad was about to burst at the person behind us that was most likely the culprit, his words were cut short by the realization of who it actually was. We quickly turned around. In a single instant, the person that had stopped us from viewing heaven on earth had made all 4 of us seem like nothing but sorrowful puppies in the face of her cold glare as we all bowed to her. It was none other than the Duke’s personal maid, dad’s wife. my mother. Elowen Veradale.

“H-honey… what brings you her-“

“Shut up.”

“Yes mam!”

I understand you, old man…

Mom passed by this mansion pretty often to check on us. it was always without any notice since she was busy though, so we never really knew when it could happen. most certainly we didn’t expect her to come today out of all days.

“I-it’s been a while mommy haha, have you been well…?”

I tried to play it off with a joking tone. it didn’t seem to work as her glare was still as cold as ice itself.

“You really did inherit your father’s perverted side, huh? I’m disappointed in you, Bartholomew.”

“S-sorry…”

“You two as well, Aldric, Isaac. I told you to keep these idiots of mine away from doing stupid shit like this, why are you joining them.”

“W-well… since all the maids here are of an older age and all, this was a moment of maximum importance for us, since besides you and the Ashfords young ladies that live here we never get to see a young and beautiful woma-“

“Shut up.”

Isaac was allowed to speak. his ridiculously stupid honesty wasted his chance completely, since mom was getting visually more annoyed to the point where she stopped him before he could finish.

“Yes mam…”

“Aldric, do you have anything to say in your defense?”

“I do, if you’d please allow me to speak.”

“Go ahead.”

“It was Bartholomew who overheard that she was going to shower. It was also him that found out about her before any of us! I’m not trying to put all the blame on him, though. While it’s true that he's the instigator for this event, we’re all equally guilty. I beg you to be easy on us.”

After a few moments of silence, she sighed and loosened up.

“Get up you idiots, how long do you intend on kneeling and bowing for? You 2 especially are the strongest knights in the entire Ashford arsenal, have some decency.”

Dad and Isaac were the first to get up, then we also did.

“So… you’re not mad anymore?”

I made the horrible mistake of asking her that.

“Oh no, I am still going to punish all 4 of you for attempting to creep on a poor maid. I have more important things to do right now”

Her casual smile was somehow scarier than her previous cold expression. we did deserve it to be fair…

“Let’s go to your office dear. Isaac and Aldric you come as well.”

We all did as she said without a word. When we got there, mom sat at dad’s desk as we took a few seats and sat down as well.

“What is it that you have to tell us?”

“Aldric and Bartholomew will be coming to the Ashford Mansion with me in 5 days, the Duke’s decision.”

“But they are only 8 years old?! They still have 2 entire years, what is the duke thinking?”

“I have been observing both of them every time I dropped by. I’ve obviously reported to the duke how their progress was going. Though I didn’t expect him to make this decision, he thinks both of them are fit to go to the Mansion. Their training will continue there of course. they are also going to begin their protection training on Lady Isolde.”

You gotta be kidding… I’ve been having fun here after I started getting along with dad, why are those pigs taking that away from me 2 years earlier than supposed to!

I was annoyed. every single ounce of my soul was against it. I had no choice.

“Bartholomew, I know what you’re probably thinking. trust me. They’re good people.”

It was dad that tried to reassure me. I still wasn’t convinced. Though I was still visually displeased, mom as dad grinned at each other before saying the same thing simultaneously.

“You’ll understand once you meet her”

For the next 5 days, as our punishment we did all of the chores of every single butler and maid in the mansion. Eventually those days came to an end. It was time for me and Aldric to go to the Duke’s mansion.