Chapter 3 - Dining with family

In a dimly lit grand room, the only source of light were the candles on the silver sconces on the left side of the wall.



A king-sized bed with a scarlet veil sat in the upper centre of the room. To the left of it, close to the sconces, were a study desk and bookshelves. And on the right side of the room, a wide window with red curtains was plastered on the wall. There were two doors in the room. One to the left corner, while the other faced the bed.


On the bed, there was a blanket that had the outline of a small humanoid feature.



*Knock knock*



A knock was heard from the door that was on the left. Following it was a muffled voice. "Young master, I'm coming in."


Opening the door, a young maid stepped into the room. Her eyes were black, and her hair, brown. On top of it was a maid cap.


She walked to the window's curtain and changed it from its present state to the opposite.


Golden rays enveloped the room, creating an ethereal and peaceful atmosphere. However, these morning rays were a source of disturbance for a certain person.




"Ugh…Maria, why did you do that?" A voice grumbled under the blanket.


"Do what, young master?" Maria asked in a puzzled tone, as though oblivious to what her young master said.


"Opening the curtains, Maria. You could have just woken me up by rocking my body." The person under the blanket advised groggily.


"But this method is faster, young master. Anyway, morning is here. Do you want to be late for your training with your sister?" Maria inquired expressionlessly.


The boy was instantly alerted when he heard that and yanked away his blanket, revealing his features.


He had almond-shaped, crimson-red eyes, ruffled black hair, an upturned nose, slightly chubby cheeks that indicated his youth, natural lips, and a small forehead.



'Cute as always,' Maria thought with a poker face.



Unbeware of Maria's thoughts, the boy rushed to the bathroom, which was directly across from the bed.


Maria watched all of this occur as her medium-arched brows raised a bit. It was quite a comical sight for her.





When he disappeared from her gaze, she turned to his bed and fixed it. She then took out neatly folded clothes from a silver ring on her finger and placed them on the chair at the study desk. That was when she heard a knock from the outside door.



*Knock knock*



"Who is it?" asked Maria.


"It is I, Thomas." Said the voice behind the door.


'Hm? Mister butler?'


"Sir, what is it you need?" Maria asked courteously.


"Breakfast is ready, and the Lord is calling for his son."


"The young master is currently in the bathroom, but he will come down soon."


"Understood." Thomas said, and soon faint footsteps could be heard drifting away from the door.


Just on time, the boy came out of the bathroom with a towel on his waist. Maria helped him dress up as well as style his hair. She then brought him a vertical mirror.


Looking at the black shoes, black pants, and white shirt that had a black vest over it with a grey coat that was reflected in the mirror, the boy smiled and followed Maria out of the room as she led him to the dining room. Walking down the long, brown, well-designed corridor.



***


In the dining room.


Three individuals sat on chairs with a long table that had appetising food on it.


They didn't touch the food. But a conversation was going on between them.


"Athan. Can we just eat already?" Said a woman with dark raven hair and blue eyes. Her face was riddled with desire for a certain bottle on the table.


"Mother. Can't you be patient for some time? It's not like the food will grow legs and run away," said a girl who looked to be the miniature version of her mother while rolling her eyes.


"Haa..Luna is correct, Melaina. Have some patience." Athan said as he exhaled exaggeratedly.


"But the wine is begging me to drink it! And I can't hold myself back from doing that." Melaina said with a teary face, trying to get some reaction from her daughter and husband.


"That won't work, Melaina."


"It won't work, mother."


Both the husband and daughter spoke synchronously.


"Hmph! You guys aren't much fun... When is Coy going to arrive?" Melaina murmured the first part, inquiring the other with a normal voice as she twirled her hand around her raven hair.



"Thomas said he would be here shortly." Answered Athan, pacifying his wife.


Not long after, two pairs of footsteps could be heard heading into the dining room.



"Oh! He is finally here. I can start, right?" Melaina said as she looked at her husband expectantly while simultaneously picking up a glass of wine.


Looking at his wife, who was already scooping her glass and bringing it to her mouth, Athan just shook his head and glanced at the door.


Opening it, a boy entered.


"Sorry, father, I overslept." Coy said with a tired face visible on his face.


"It's fine. Join us for breakfast; we have your favourite meal on the table today. Wyvern's breast. "



"Ohh! I haven't had that in a while. Thanks, father." Coy excitedly said as he sat on the left side, next to his sister. The previous tiredness on his face was gone, like dust blown away.



His father sat on the honour chair, while his mom sat on the right side of the table next to her husband.


At last, the family started eating except for Melaina, who began before Coy even sat down.


"You took your time sleeping, huh? And where's Maria?" Luna said as she went for a bacon-like food that had red juice dripping from it.


"Eh, I was only late for a couple of minutes, though. Maria went to get her breakfast after escorting me here."


"If you were late by another minute, mom would have dragged you here by herself. Make sure you thank Maria for saving your bum every time." Luna chuckled as she drank from a flute glass.


'Considering mom's obsession for wine, that would have definitely happened. Phew, Luna is correct. Maria is the best!'


He then focused back on his food and took a piece of well-done, dainty meat with his fork. Biting it, Coy's taste buds exploded as they came into contact with the meat.


'Delicious as ever. '


Soon after, the clutter of eating utensils was the only source of sound in the room.


***


After they all finished, Melaina said to her husband: "Any news about that 'incident' that happened six years ago?"


"Unfortunately, no. " Athan said as he wiped his mouth with a napkin.


"How is his majesty's response?" Melaina asked while playfully circling the top of her glass with her finger.


"Same as usual. He only wants reports that are actually useful. And the last time he got such reports was four years ago."




Luna and Coy didn't understand what their parents were talking about and just started to nitpick each other.


"Are you ready for another beating?" Luna spoke gloatingly.


"Today will be different, Luna. I will win!" Coy uttered with confidence as he clenched his right hand.


"Make your actions speak for themselves on the training ground."


Coy, who wanted to fire back, stopped when he noticed his parents finishing their conversation.


"Anyways, Athan. I'm heading off to visit Dad." Melaina said as she stood up from her chair, walking to her children and giving them a kiss on their foreheads, leaving behind her husband, who seemed to have a distant look on his face.


"Bye bye, sweeties. Bye honey!" Melaina bid with a wave as she left the dining room.



"Bye mother!" Said both kids.


Coy fixed his gaze on his father, who had short white hair. His red-slit eyes were rooted on his departing wife.



"Father, Luna, and I will also be going to the training grounds." Coy stated as he stood up from his chair in toe with Luna.


"Alright kids, be careful," Athan said, following it with, "And if you need me for something, I will be at the library, my personal library."


Without making any sort of movement, Athan faded into his shadow, which then seeped into the floor, disappearing from the room like a phantom.



"Woah! Did you see that, Luna?"Coy exclaimed in surprise.




"Yes, I did. Leaving that aside, let's go!" Luna said with a smile as she took Coy's hand.


Feeling the warmth of his sister, Coy smiled as he stared at her small yet dependable back. He then followed her.


***


The Blake Dukedom had a large and stately castle with several hundred rooms on the ground, first floor, and second floor. The ground floor was mainly used by the servants, while the first was for guests and the second was for the masters of the castle.



The castle was built in a crescent shape, and the training was on the west side of it.




On the training ground, two individuals could be seen.



One of them was a boy with black hair and red eyes with brown boots, black pants, and a black shirt. He had a double-edged long sword that fitted nicely in his hands.




Facing the boy was a girl with black raven hair and blue eyes who was taller than him. She had the same outfit as the boy, but her shirt was white. She also had a weapon on her right hand, but hers was a rapier.


"No use of magic reinforcement, Coy!" Luna warned Coy.


"Back at you, Luna!" Coy responded back as he held the sword with both hands.



His short legs tensed up, and he shot from his position with an upper slash, ready to strike down Luna.


Luna didn't move from her position, but she raised her rapier horizontally in front of her right chest. Her left hand, behind her back.


Not a second later, both parties' weapons made contact.



*Clang!*