The dining room was of similar style to the McConnell Family manor, grand and regal.
It had the same long rectangular table that seem to be the norm for rich families. Currently, Garvin and Ursula were sat in the opposite ends of the table while the rest were on the sides. On Ursula's left were Isabella, Joseph and then Belor. On the right side were Blath and then David with an empty seat remaining. The empty seat was for David's mother.
Speaking of David's mother, she was currently serving the food to the table along with the servants of the family. However, the family was not slaving her, it's actually her own initiative.
Mari Stone was from a commoner family and despite being married into the noble Snow Family, she didn't get complacent that her beauty managed to seduce the oldest son of the Snow Family nor her attitude changed. On the contrary, she remained diligent. Although the family forbid her to do the chores, she would sometimes insist on doing things like this. It's to scratch her workaholic itch, which was brought from coming from a working-class commoner, from time to time.
Naturally, her character was part of the reason why a noble family like the Snow Family would accept Mari wholeheartedly.
"Eat up, Joseph, Blath said you're hungry. I cooked the food myself."
Mari said with a smile as she placed Joseph's portion, then gave Isabella's.
"I hope my cooking would be up to sister-in-law's taste."
"You're being too polite Mari, I still remember the delightful barbecue from 10 years ago!"
Hearing Isabella's praise, Mari's expression couldn't help but brighten, her smile widening. Her sister-in-law still remembered the times from long ago! Of course, she didn't let her elation impede her task and proceeded to distribute everyone's portions.
It was only after Mari sat down on her own seat that the meal began. Everyone was having a good time and was happily chatting while eating. This also allowed Joseph to gather some information about the history of the family.
For example, Mari, Blath and Isabella have known each other back when they were still teenagers. When Isabella and Agustus visited the Snow Family 10 years ago to obtain their blessing to start their own family in Golden Gates City, Mari had cooked some barbecue at that time. Hence, Isabella's comment when Mari served her food.
Other than that, the topics mainly revolved around what happened in the last 10 years and catching up. Although Isabella and the Snow Family would send some messages through communication crystals, it's sparse and mostly big chunks of the stories. There were really no specifics.
However, one thing to note was that the topic always seemed to steer away from Gui's death, whenever it does get close to it. Even Garvin didn't let his bluntness out, opting with silence instead.
Obviously, the adults were worried about Joseph and doesn't want to open a still fresh wound. Although he doesn't really need such consideration, Joseph doesn't mind and instead appreciated the fact that he went from no family to a big one!
At the end of the meal, Ursula asked David to show Joseph around the villa. To which, David happily and readily agreed. Joseph also wanted to survey the area that he would be living for the next few years. Currently, Titus was with the servants, so he didn't need to babysit anyone right now. Although Titus didn't like being with the servants, it doesn't mean he loathe them, even more that it was Joseph's orders.
What attracted Joseph's attention the most was the huge backyard and the armory and smith. David, noticing Joseph's interest, happily guided the former into the armory. Inside was a man wiping a two-handed sword with a cloth.
[A/N: Snow Family Villa layout image here]
"Master Ragnar!"
"Oh, David? What are you doing here? Didn't we finish today's session already?"
"En, I know but Joseph here is curious so I brought him in! Grandma asked me to show him around."
"Joseph? Ah, you mean Madame Isabella's son?"
"So, you're interested in swords boy? Don't touch the edge, its sharp."
As the Master and student was doing their introductions, Joseph had snuck his way to a huge broadsword laid on the shelf. Hearing, Ragnar's words, Joseph turned to him and bowed.
"Sir Ragnar, can I perhaps try the weapons?"
"Hmm, you wanna to try them? Sure but you can only use the wooden training ones like what David uses. More importantly, is your mother okay with this? I ain't trying to get my pay halved here."
"Sir Ragnar doesn't have to worry, Mother already gave me permission and I already started training magic.
Ragnar squinted his eyes at Joseph and felt that there was indeed some traces of mana in the latter's body. It was only then did he nod and stood up from the back of the counter.
After placing the sword back into its sheath and properly laying it on the counter, Ragnar walked towards his right where the training weapons were.
He beckoned for David to come over and said, "David, pick up a sword. We'll use this time to make an impromptu test." His gaze then landed on Joseph, "As for you, do you have already have a weapon of choice?"
"No, I've only trained in a little bit of magic and have not gotten the time to pick a weapon yet. We came here immediately after my sister's funeral." Joseph casually replied.
Ragnar, on the other hand, frowned a little when he heard Joseph mention his sister. Of course, he knew what happened. Otherwise, how could he be qualified to be the head of the guards if he's oblivious to the situations around him? Just that Ragnar didn't expect Joseph to bring the matter up himself. After all, a sibling's death is a delicate matter for a young child.
"Don't worry Sir Ragnar, I have already accepted the situation. Instead, I resolved myself to get stronger to avoid such things from happening again."
Though, Joseph's reply really caught Ragnar off-guard. However, since it's like this, he also didn't bother anymore.
"Ha ha ha ha~ You're one interesting lad! Alright, I'll take you're declaration as a sign to not treat you like a vase then!"
"Now, come here and choose which weapon you fancy. After that, we'll take this outside."
Joseph then stepped forward and began looking at the wooden weapons neatly displayed on the shelf. There were various types of weapons ranging from swords, daggers, lances, spears, pikes, to even bows, etc.
He first took a short sword, David's weapon of choice, and gave it a couple of swings before putting it back. The sword wasn't really clicking with him. He tried the dagger, which he was familiar with, but it's not a wise choice to make it as the main weapon.
On the side, Ragnar and David was surprised by how fluid Joseph's movements were. Especially with the dagger. David even started to think that Joseph was lying to them when he said he only trained with magic.
Joseph skipped passed the lances and the bows, which led him to the spear. He picked one up and tried to swing it around. It felt the same as the sword, as he hadn't really used these types of cold weapons. But when he tried to stab the spear, something suddenly came to him. It felt the same as when stabbing the bayonet!
In the end, Joseph was split between the sword and spear. The sword was easier to wield while the spear stabbing felt natural to him. Regarding the other moves such as swinging the spear, though, it was kind of difficult. It certainly needed knowledge and skill.
At a time like this, Joseph did the most logical thing he could think of, and that is simply asking the professional for advice.
"Sir Ragnar, which do you think I should pick, the sword or the spear?"
"Let's see, it's really up to your preference and what you feel most comfortable with. Swords are certainly the most universal and popular weapon, since they're 'easier' to weild and are versatile. As for the spear, it's good if you want to fight melee while still maintaining a distance from the enemy."
"If I were to give you my honest pick, I suggest the sword since, again, it's the most popular and 'easier' to start learning. I also use a sword, so I could give you the ins and outs of the weapon."
"Of course, we'll seek your mother's opinion first and confirm it, before we follow through with anymore plans."
"Actually, your grandfather, Lord Garvin, is a spear user so you could ask him for pointers."
"Again, it's really up to you and your preferred style."
While Ragnar was explaining his view, Joseph was also taking them into account, and weighed the pros and cons. Finally, he made up his mind after pondering for a while.
"I guess... I'll go with the spear then!"
In the end, Joseph ultimately chose the spear. His main consideration was that since he'd already planned to use a dagger to pair with his Shadow Element for assassinations, and he's got magic for long range, then having the spear for the middle range completes his arsenal!
"Alright then, let's go outside and have a few swings. Although I don't use a spear, I still know the basics of how it works."
"We'll start with you David, show me the routine we've been training the past three days. This time, I won't be performing it again. I just gave you a refresher in the morning. It's all up to you!"
•×•×•×•
Three weeks later.
The family was having breakfast when Isabella suddenly gagged, as she was about to feed a spoonful of food into her mouth. She immediately went to the bathroom and began vomiting. Mari followed to check up on her.
5 minutes later, she came back refreshed along with Mari. She looked as if nothing had happened.
"Isabella, you're pregnant aren't you?"
However, Ursula immediately called out Isabella as soon as the latter sat back down on her seat. Ursula's woman and motherly intuition was on point.
"Yes, Mother. I also just found out a few days ago..."
Isabella simply let the cat out of the bag since she couldn't hide it. Moreover, with her parents' strength, they would eventually notice the life budding within her.
This time, it was Joseph's turn to gag. He immediately gulped down a glass of water to push down the food that got stuck in his throat. He was worried when his mother started vomiting but seeing that she was 'fine,' he continued eating. Alas, he was dead wrong!
Only one thing was currently running through his mind.
"Are ocs' semen that potent!?"