Count Shickly's study.
Name: Colt Edgeworth, Age: 19, Height: 193 centimeters, Weight: 82.5 kilograms, Power level: Rank-1 Warrior, Status: In a relationship, No. of children: 3.
These would be his stats if Colt were playing some kind of simulation of something.
There's something wrong here.
Colt was kneeling as he looked at his father and mother. Beside him, Mina was smiling without a hint of worry. Colt was shaking at the current predicament.
His parents are understanding, but there's a limit to it. He does not want to cross that limit.
After Mina's little announcement, Colt had to tell the whole story.
With a creeping headache, Count Shickly found it hard to think straight, "My dear wife, Young Daughter Mina, I want to talk with my son man to man. Please leave us."
"Understood." Faerith could see the seriousness in her husband's eyes. She nodded her head and left the study with Mina.
Colt is now alone with his father.
The silence was suffocating. It almost halted Colt's breathing. The pressure coming from Shickly, who sat behind his chair, was terrifying!
'So, this is the presence of a man who stands atop the military.' With Shickly glaring at Colt, it was terrifying for him. Indeed, Shickly is a man of unfathomable strength.
"Son?"
"YES!?"
"I don't want to say that what you did is wrong, but I also won't say what you're doing is right. I want to reprimand you, and for better or for worse, all I want to say is good luck. Sigh, get up from the cold floor, and take a seat. I want to tell you something."
Colt raises his head and saw Count Shickly showing him a soft smile. The Count then offered him a seat to the sofa in the room.
Count Shickly got up from his seat behind the desk and went to one of the two bookshelves in his office.
Taking seven books from the top right corner of the shelf, Count Shickly revealed a hidden jar and two wine glasses, "Do you drink, Son? Or was it also a show?"
"No, that one is rather true."
"I see, then you would love this wine. I created this myself. I used twelve different fruits across the four seasons. This wine was aged for twelve years, twenty feet underground, and then distilled using the finest of methods. I must say that this is one of my three hidden masterpieces, only your mother and I know of this one."
Shickly opened the jar, and the sweet fragrance of the wine swept the room. Shickly sat on the sofa across Colt and poured him a glass.
"I call this one "Fruits of Change" drink and see if it up to your taste."
"Thank you, Father."
Colt lifted the glass and brought the wine close to his nose. The sweet and intoxicating fragrant of the wine wafted over, his mind and mood uplifted by its aroma alone. Once the dew entered his mouth, a light feeling embraced him.
"This is good!" Colt could not help but praise.
A laugh came out of Shickly's mouth, "Is that so, then that is good. I only drink this when a new joyous chapter is written in my life. When I managed to woo your mother, when we got married when you and your siblings came to this world, and now when I see you finally becoming a man and bringing new members of this Family."
"Thank you, Father." Once again, Colt thanked Shickly as he drank the wine. With this, a chapter had opened for the Edgeworths line.
All was going well. The atmosphere was light and warm. It was the perfect time for the Count to say the words of wisdom he had been trying to impart, "Son, with this...make sure to control your lust. And also...make sure you prepare yourself, Liron, your father-in-law, will beat the shit out of you once he hears of this. I won't help you, so pray to the Goddesses for protection."
"Yes, Father." Colt shivered as he felt a chill run down his spine. Thankfully he had wine to keep himself warm.
When Colt and Shickly shared that glass of wine, the past mistakes no longer mattered for a new chapter in life had already opened.
Anyone can make mistakes. That mistake results in many ways, and it affects those around you. Whether they know of it or not, all are affected by your lies.
In the world where aristocracy is present, there are many rules seen as ridiculous in the modern world.
In that world where noble families oversee the people, there exist two kinds of social status other than from the "Rich" and the "Poor."
Nobility and Commoners, such are the two roles. Many noble Family values, power, and prestige more than anything else. They even use marriage to strengthen their connection and relations with other nobility.
The act of marriage and boring a child is but a tool used to become stronger. The stronger the connection becomes, the deeper the relationship and power they share.
To marry a commoner is a humiliating act. The blood of the 'impure' is seen lower than a cattle's when mixed with that of nobility, yet many nobles have sexual relations with these mere commoners.
Satiating their lust and once a child is born, the child is mistreated. More often than not, the child with the 'impure' blood will even be looked down upon by servants.
If they receive the love of the Family, other people will use that fact to find fault against them, stating that he or she is but a mere lowlife lower than a bug.
They will be given a disgusted look for as long as they live. Even if they achieve something good, others would still look down upon them for their pedigree.
The Edgeworths on the other hand couldn't care less about pedigree or their achievements. The Edgeworths is a family that has a line of lazy masters in their midst.
They are Tigers who constantly sleeps and conforms to nothing. They are nobles but prefer mingling with commoners and ordinary soldiers, for they find their way of living more comfortable than nobility.
They were once called the Black Sheeps of Nobility. But like the unconventional Vera family who also received the title of Black Sheeps. They cared not for anything and even used the color of black to their advantage.
The color of black was used in their crests, representing them not giving a fuck.
The night came to be, and Shickly and Colt continued their conversation. At 8:00 pm they went to eat with the rest of the Family.
Colt and the rest of the Family had Moriam Stew. Colt requested the stew as he remembered it was his kids'' favorite dish.
Hylda and Filla were delighted by this, and once the eating began, Colt, Hylda, and Filla were having too much fun eating. The Family didn't care much for table manners as they had already seen Colt eat.
Also, seeing the two kids enjoy their food was a thousand times more lovely than seeing Colt eat like a slob.
It was a jovial dinner. After dinner, Hylda, Filla, and Lyra played together. With Lyra raised in a family where the Older Brother didn't care about his image and an Older Sister who secretly loves sleeping and playing. It was clear that she'd also be free-willed like the others.
Laughter filled the mansion until nine in the evening. The three were exhausted and ended up being tucked in the same room.
At 9:30 pm Colt began training with Mina until 10:00 pm where he finally collapsed. While he training, he has used his aura without placing limitations to himself, so he got tired faster than usual.
Colt woke up at 11:11 pm. His bones were creaking, but he found himself feeling refreshed. He walked out of his room with a sleeping cat and a training sword in tow.
The Lord Fluff woke up as it was tossed made to watch over Colt. At 11:20 pm, Colt returned to training and then collapsed 30 minutes after. He was dragged back by the cat and then woke up at 2 am and then returned to training.
All the while Colt was hammering his body. Count Shickly was with Neun.
Neun looked out from the window of the study where Colt was training and nodded his head at what Colt was doing, "He's at the second step of training, not bad. My Lord, it appears that the Young Master is about to reach Rank-2 Warrior in a week."
"That's good, but that doesn't matter right now. Neun, what have you recovered from the assassin?"
"It appears that the one who hired them was someone anonymous. Hiding his identity at the very end. According to him, his employer was garbed in dark gray cloaks."
"So, there's we got no clue from him? It seems like finding the root of it all will be harder than I thought." Shickly smacked his lips in irritation.
Neun on the other hand, shook his head as he disagreed, "Don't jump to conclusions, my Lord. This is much more troublesome than you think."
Intrigued, Shickly raised a brow, "What do you mean?"
"I can't be sure, but according to the man, one of his employers began screaming while in the middle of recruiting him. Then one of the people wearing dark gray cloaks subdued that screaming person, and then a white light appeared, blinding him. Also, the man died from the Shadow Heart Oath Curse after confessing his sins…I might also point out that his family and the whole village were killed. I suspect the ones who did it are his employers. I think they were trying to uproot anyone who might have seen that light. With this much, I think it's legit."
Upon hearing this, Count Shickly rubbed his temples as he felt like a severe headache appeared, "So you're saying someone with the Light Element has appeared?"
"I'm afraid so."
"This is going to be really troublesome."