"Ohh… thank you…"
Unable to find any other words to express his gratitude, Val smiled back at Liz before turning his attention to his bubbly sweet daughter who continued talking about the different dresses she tried on and the food she ate while staying at the manor for the last couple of hours.
It wasn't until he saw Lue stumble into the reception lounge room with Drav in tow, behind shaking his head in disappointment, like it was a normal occurrence for anyone beside Lue all day.
"Hey Old Man… what are you doing here in those rags…?"
Lue said nonchalantly, unconscious of where he was and the context of the meeting taking place.
On top of that, there were people in the room who shouldn't have heard Lues thoughts, yet it was too late.
Before he could notice his mistake, Lue was clocked to the left of his jaw, sending him flying for a couple of metres.
His body crashed into one of the tall pillars built into the design element of the manor.
His body wasn't tough enough to cause any damage to the manor, however Lue on the other hand wasn't feeling great after being smashed against a pillar.
"I… sincerely apologise for this foolish man's words.
Please excuse me while I dispose of some trash…"spoke Drav, who was quite embarrassed and ashamed by Lues words and casual disposition in front of Bens guests.
.
"…"
"…Papa are you ok?"
Tia said quietly, hoping only her father would hear, but her words echoed throughout the dead silent large reception lounge room.
Val already felt quite embarrassed about his clothes before arriving at Bens Estate, but Lues words pierced the old Smiths weary heart into small, tiny pieces.
Worse yet, Tia was around and clearly heard Lues comment, further deepening the remorse in his heart as a failed father.
The previous guilt of not telling his daughter about her mother was weighing heavily on Vals dreary mind.
Even the last gift Tias mother had made for him was insulted before her, making Val wonder about all of his wrong doings now and in the past.
Val was too lost in his own thoughts and speechless that he didn't even hear Dravs words of apology for Lues actions.
Liz and Agatha were also concerned about Val as he remained silent and quite distant ever since he arrived at the Estate, but slowly he was feeling comfortable, especially with Tias presence.
But now he was dead silent and awkward again.
Liz noticed Vals eyes were hollow and lost in thought.
She could tell Val was experiencing gut-wrenching pain and sorrow through his sad eyes.
Liz became worried that Lues words may impact Vals relationship with Ben.
The Master and Disciple relationship of the two was important to Ben, as it gave him an outlet to spend his excess body energy and thoughts, while learning about blacksmithing.
More so, Liz understood there was value to Ben's work and hoped one day Ben would be able to make something of it one day.
Especially their plan to transform the Plano Ranges into a Kingdom could use Bens blacksmithing experience and knowledge to help set their borders apart from others.
It was only when Tia called out to her father that Liz saw Val regain some composure and light in his eyes before addressing his worried daughter.
.
"Yes… honey… I'm fine…"
Val gently spoke as if it was a struggle to speak any louder, as the sensation of a knife shredding his throat apart made it immensely difficult for the Smith to pronounce each syllable.
He cleared his throat as he held Tia in his arms while she snuggled up in her father's warm arms.
"I am so sorry for Lues conduct Master Val, as the Lady of the house please let me apologise on behalf of the Khadr-"
"Please Mi lady, It's fine…
I know that brutish fool for quite some time now and I've learnt to expect the unexpected from him when the feral adventurer is around, so I don't mind…
As for this attire… it was a gift from my wife… whose long left this world.
She had bought the fabric and made it by herself before she passed away as a gift.
However, I never was able to receive it from her own hands...
Since then, I have always worn it for important meetings or gatherings.
At times when we were struggling to make ends meet, they were the only clothes on my back.
They've always meant a lot to me, so I've kept them around as they've always been with me through the tough times and good, but it's lost that touch and colour it had from back when I first stumbled upon my wife's final gift…" Val stopped talking for a moment to brush Tias golden hair out of her face before continuing.
"If I ever were to appear alongside Ben anywhere in these frail old clothes might cause him problems… especially if we are invited to a nobleman's place in the future.
I think it's time to maybe change my old attire, don't you think so pumpkin?"
Val spoke while playing his daughters' golden locks smiling down on her as she listened to her fathers' words.
Tia wanted to tell her father no, but she couldn't get the words out.
She felt angry at herself for not being able to stop her father from foolishly discarding her mother's precious gift to him, thankfully her friend came to the rescue and help iterate how she felt about the situation.
.
"Why would it cause me trouble Master?"
Bens voiced bellowed in the reception room as the Young Master of the Estate entered the reception lounge room with a furious gaze across his face after hearing his Masters words.
He was rather annoyed at his Master for using his name as an excuse to justify his own actions about the clothes he was wearing and how guilty it made him feel.
Bens walked over to his mother and hugged her as well as Agatha before greeting his Master.
"I'm glad you've made it Master, but please refrain from using me as an excuse."
"That was not an excuse Boy!
What if you are asked to attend some party hosted by some noble family away from Alynthn huh…
Tell me what I should do then…?"
"Nothing…" Ben aggressively replied as he took his seat beside Liz.
"You'll continue to wear that attire with pride and grace, uncaring of what other have to say…
I very much doubt anyone will be calling for us Master, from Alynthn, a city out by the end of the world.
Even if we are somehow dragged to some nobleman's home, do you think I won't cut them down for judging my Master?!"
Ben stated while close to yelling across his words to Val.
In his mind, Ben imagined a decade or so from now, being invited to a nobleman's home and picked the snickering of others.
At that point in time, Ben hoped he would be strong enough to deal against any aggression, especially those who'd dare to ridicule his Master's clothes.
.
Bens words echoed through the room, catching all those present by surprise.
Nobody said a word, outright dumbfounded by what to say.
They just closely watched Bens explosive expressions, shocked and frozen still by how much Ben emphasized his words.
Val once again was speechless by his Last Disciple.
Ben sounded naïve about the circumstances of the outside world beyond the safety net built around him to keep him ignorant of the world's truth.
The young Disciple had yet to explore and see the filth of the world, including all of its horrors, yet Ben sounded adamant about protecting his Masters.
.
"Boy…
You're still quite young and have yet to see the world.
You don't know what your actions could cause and the troubles that would follow you to harm those around you."
"So…?" Ben replied to his Master, not caring a whole lot about the advice he'd received from Val.
"So…?!
SO!!!
Are you freaking kidding me Boy!!
It could be the very death of everyone you love and care for!!
How can you let that happen to the people around you, over one person?!"
Val shouted, already agitated a bit from Lues earlier comments but Bens thoughtless reply had sent him over the edge.
He really wanted to jump over and smack Ben across the face, but Val could see his outburst had caused some of the servants, Allat, and Drav to be on edge, with their hands already edging towards their weapons.
The Lady of the Estates own guard and Knight Allat appeared rather unpleased by Vals conduct before the Young Master especially in the confines of the manor.
.
Ben picked up his tea, gracefully leaning back to enjoy the exquisite brew while he took in the weird atmosphere created from his comments.
The young Smith wanted to laugh aloud at his Master's insistence over a new attire, but Ben heard how much it meant to Val and didn't want him to throw them away to never wear them again.
Just because of Lues comments, Val was sent over the edge and started to make a foolish decision to appease another's thoughts.
Ben would rather spend his entire wealth to repair Tias mothers last gift to Val than them being put into a chest or closet to never see the light of day again.
Finally, Ben rested his thoughts while place his teacup down before turning his attention to Val.
.
"…Master *Sigh* first off we have plenty of time before I am asked to appear before nobles...
I don't care for them and their 'invitations' if I receive any in the first place.
I have heard enough from teacher Gloria that I can positively say it won't happen for years because it would be dependent on how my infamy expands in the world.
Secondly, your attire should not matter, if your happy wearing it, then wear it as you wish.
Other peoples' needless comments do not matter.
Ignore those moronic bastards', otherwise they will drive you insane."
Ben glared at Lue towards the end of his words, who noticed his Young Masters piercing gaze while he struggled to stand up from the brutal punch and pain still inflicting his body making it increasingly difficult to stand without some sort of support.
"I already consider you part of my family Master…
Both you and Tia mean a lot to me, so if you have problems or issues, they are also mine as well.
As the head of this family, I have already said stated firmly your attire is already perfect.
If someone dares say otherwise, I'll beat them up with my bare hands!"
Ben bawled his hands into fists, showing his firm determination to follow through with his words. but to those around him, his actions appeared cute that it made them giggle.
They also considered him still a child who was completely unaware of the world, even his Master Val felt delighted by his disciples' words, but he felt that Ben was far too immature to stand behind those words without experiencing the world beyond Alynthn at the very least.
Liz tried to move the topic ahead, as she felt the discussion was going down a path that was not appropriate with so many eyes and ears around.
Unlike Val and the others, Liz knew her beautiful sons' words carried some weight even if they sounded ridiculous.
Especially people like Drav, who'd been around the Young Master quite a lot since meeting him during their journey home from the capital.
The adventurer knew of the potential growth resting within the Young Master, ready to burst free of its chains holding it back.
He expected with time, Ben would be able to accomplish the impossible, but it was a waiting game right now to see if he could reach such a time.
Even Liz felt some truth behind those Bens words after spending so much time around her son.
She knew there was something more to Ben ever since he awoke in her arms, but Liz struggled to put her finger on exactly what it was.
She couldn't explain it, but there were times when Ben was just on another level of 'himself' where he behaved unlike his usual self, which was already weird.
Liz never complained about her son's nature of personality, but she understood long ago that he could accomplish the unknown when it shouldn't have been possible.
Just him being alive after roughly 9 months was more than shocking alone, when his life was sentenced to die out in the unknown reaches of the Empire and the world.
...
..
.
|| DISCORD ||
https://discord.gg/mXA8rghNuR