Roel suddenly recalled something—Alicia, in her younger years, was afraid of knives.
To be more exact, she was frightened of anything sharp that could potentially be used to hurt her.
As a saying back on Earth goes, 'once bitten, twice shy'. This saying described an irrational fear toward certain objects often stemming from certain traumatic experiences, perhaps more commonly known as a phobia.
Phobias induced feelings of tension and fear in one under certain specific circumstances. Even if one knew such emotions were irrational, one's body would still cower instinctively in the face of similar circumstances, hindering one's daily life.
Phobias could manifest in many ways, but Alicia's phobia was directed toward sharp objects.
As for the reason behind that… Roel could only say that those who possessed exceptional talents often had to bear great pain too.
Sighing deeply in his heart, Roel began to recall how Alicia's childhood was depicted in the storyline.
All of Alicia's misfortune originated from her bloodline. Yes, the same highest Silver Bloodline that Roel drooled over, Silverash Child.
Bloodlines were not as simple as they seemed in this world. They were termed as Sia's Gifts. Sia was the creator of this world, and the continent was named after her. She was also the central faith of the Saint Mesit Theocracy. From such a perspective, possessors of bloodlines were considered as God's Children.
The term, bloodline, was actually quite misleading. The powers granted through bloodlines weren't always hereditary. It was common for a couple who both possessed bloodlines to give birth to a perfectly ordinary child, and it was also equally possible for bloodlines to appear amongst the children of ordinary stature.
However, bloodlines were useless until they were awakened, and awakenings were tied to the concept of 'tier'.
Bloodlines could be classified into four tiers, the highest being 'Gold' and the lowest being 'Iron'. Each awakening would raise the tier of one's bloodline once, so a bloodline possessor might have to undergo several awakenings in order to reach the full potential of his bloodline.
To put it in other words, possessors of Silver Bloodline would have to awaken twice, and possessors of Gold Bloodline would have to awaken thrice. The number of bloodline possessors in each tier reduced exponentially up the tier, and Gold Bloodlines were so rare that there were times that they didn't appear within a country for decades.
Alicia had already awakened once, so her bloodline tier was currently Bronze. However, the powers she had awakened to weren't regarded highly, and she was even bullied due to that.
Her ability was high-speed regeneration.
It might sound like nothing much, but the sight of her skin wriggling about as she recovered from her injuries was something that could induce discomfort in others, so it wasn't too hard to imagine how immature rascals would react to it.
This peculiar trait of hers, as well as the fact that her father was rarely at home and her innate introversion, led to her tragic childhood. Of course, another crucial reason was also because no one thought that this little girl, who appeared to be nothing much except for her looks, would have been able to awaken her bloodline once more to Silver tier, resulting in her abilities to fully blossom.
While Roel was pondering over these matters, the silver-haired girl sitting on his opposite was shivering from fear.
Looking at the human silhouettes reflected on the knife and the metallic glimmer from the sharp tips of the fork, the tiny Alicia began to recall what she had been put through.
It was at the birthday celebration of the princess a year ago.
Her wine-loving father had gotten himself drunk. There, a few sons from count and viscount houses had cornered her with knives and forks in their hands. Treating her as if she was a tool meant for their entertainment, they disregarded her cries and plunged their knives and forks into her body. One of them even tried to stab his fork into her eyes to see if she was capable of regenerating her eyes too.
It was fortunate that one of the adults happened to stumble onto the cruelty of these children and chased them away, or else Alicia might have lost her sanity there and then. Nevertheless, the incident haunted her ever since and became her worst nightmare.
It was from then on that Alicia began to fear sharp objects like knives and forks, not just those in the hands of others but even in her own too. Her father had once tried to encourage her to overcome this phobia, but it was futile.
Ever since then, the only cutlery that Alicia would use was the spoon, and this continued over the past year. As she had only arrived in the Ascart House barely a few hours ago, there was no one here who was aware that she couldn't use forks and knives, and today's main dish happened to be pan-seared lamb steak, which necessitated the use of the knife and fork.
The delicious dishes had already been served on the dining table, and the servants stood on standby by the sides of the room. The moment the black-haired boy picked up his cutleries, the gleam reflected off their metallic surfaces caused Alicia to visibly shudder a little.
"Alicia, our Ascart House is known for our specialty lamb steak. Do have a taste of it."
Roel looked at the terrified silver-haired girl as he spoke words that blocked off her route of escape.
It was not out of some sort of cruel interest to inflict suffering upon her that he was doing this. Rather, he needed to first 'witness' Alicia's fear, or else he wouldn't be able to help her.
This was the second time that they were meeting one another, so there should have been no way for Roel to know that she was unable to use sharp cutleries. Thus, he needed to create an opportunity for himself to intervene in the situation.
Unfortunately for him, his words caused Alicia's vivid imagination to run wild. She meekly glanced at Roel with her quivering eyes as a possibility surfaced in her mind.
Could it be that Roel has heard of my phobia before?
There was no way she could verify this deduction of hers, but the circle of nobility was only that big, especially amongst children, so it was not unthinkable for Roel to have heard of the 'mysterious lifeform' named Alicia. If so, that would explain the reason behind this abrupt formal luncheon.
Moreover, Roel even raised the name of the Ascart House in his earlier statement, which was practically coercing Alicia into doing as he said.
Whenever nobles brought up the name of their house, it was usually with the intent to strong-arm the person they were talking to and make things go their way. Unless one had the resolve to offend the other party, the only option that one could go with was to agree with it.
It would have been deeply disrespectful for Alicia to reject Roel right now, and Roel could use it as an excuse to make things difficult for her in the future if she were to do so.
The silver-haired girl clasped her hands tightly together under the dining table.
I mustn't let him know my weakness, or else… what that awaits me will be a brand new hell.
With such thoughts in mind, Alicia's small, trembling hands slowly inched toward the fork and knife on the table. Her beautiful face had turned ghastly pale, and tears were glistening in her eyes. She had to bite down on her lips to stop herself from whimpering.
On the opposite side of the dining table, Roel widened his eyes upon seeing Alicia reaching for her fork and knife.
What's going on? Why is she picking up those cutleries? Does this mean to say that the current Alicia doesn't have a phobia toward sharp objects yet?
No, that's not right! She hasn't picked them up yet. Her hands are trembling!
Seeing how Alicia was desperately pushing herself to overcome her fear to pick up the cutleries while holding back the urge to cry, Roel suddenly felt a stabbing pain in his heart. Unable to bear the sight anymore, he immediately interjected right in.
"Hold it for a moment. Alicia is only 8 years old, so it'll be inconvenient for her to use a knife and a fork… Anna."
"Young master, what orders do you have?"
"Move my seat over to Alicia's side."
"Yes, young master."
The maids quickly moved Roel's food and cutleries over. Just like that, Alicia watched in shock as the black-haired boy walked around the dining table to take the seat adjacent to her. Following that, he pulled her plate of lamb steak over to his side.
"L-lord Brother?"
"Since you aren't proficient in the use of knives and forks, allow me to slice your lamb steak on your behalf."
As Roel picked up his cutleries and was just about to begin working on the lamb steak, Anna suddenly stepped forward from behind and bowed slightly.
"Young master, please leave such matters to us."
"There's no need for that. Alicia is my younger sister. I'll take care of her myself."
"… I understand, young master.
Anna was slightly taken aback by those words, and she stared at the little boy before her contemplatively for a moment before quietly backing to the side of the room once more.
Roel's earlier words could be taken as a declaration to all of the servants in the room, or perhaps, calling it a warning might have been more apt.
There was no way none of them would have noticed that Alicia wasn't even able to pick up her cutleries earlier, but none of them stepped out to say words like 'Miss, allow me to do it on your behalf', choosing to turn a blind eye to it instead. Had it been Roel in her position, someone would have already stood forward to offer his service long ago.
This wasn't just out of consideration of Roel. More than that, it also reflected just how little regard these servants had for Alicia as an adopted child of the Ascart House.
A servant's standing was determined by the house that he belonged to, and the servants of the Ascart House had seen plenty of high nobles in the years they had worked here. In their view, the daughter of a baron house was simply not a priority to them.
By declaring Alicia as his younger sister, the servants would have to view her as a true member of the Ascart Family, one of their masters. Anyone who dared to snub Alicia after this would be viewed to be undermining Roel's authority as well.
While Roel had managed to convey his meaning across well, he soon regretted his decision by a little—his arms were starting to ache.
Tsk! Why is this knife and fork so heavy? Is this all the strength that a 10-year-old child has? How can I possibly lose to a mere lamb steak? After all I've said, it would be embarrassing if it turns out that I can't do it by myself!
"Lord Brother, shall we get someone else…"
"No. I can do it."
Unwilling to admit to the fact that he was a weakling, a tenacious streak sparked inside Roel as he began to saw the lamb steak aggressively, as if dealing with his mortal enemy.
Watching the black-haired boy from the side, Alicia's expression slowly began to change.
Several minutes later, Roel finally managed to slice the lamb steak into bite-size pieces. He tossed the knife and fork aside and scooped up a piece of meat with his spoon.
Yes, Roel was going beyond just personally slicing the meat. He was going to personally feed her too!
"Alicia, open your mouth."
"Ah? B-but…"
"Listen to me and open your mouth."
"A-alright."
A pair of crimson eyes met a pair of golden eyes on the dining table. The silver-haired little girl hesitated for a moment before she brushed aside the hair by the side of her face and leaned forward to eat off Roel's spoon.
At this very instant, she could sense the change in attitude that everyone in this dining room had for her. The servants who initially looked at her with traces of disdain in their gazes were now either staring shocked at their intimacy or pondering with their heads lowered. With such a simple move from Roel, the prejudice toward her was shattered.
The fragrant juices of the lamb steak exploded inside her mouth, carrying a slight touch of vanilla to it. As Alicia munched on the bite-size meat that Roel went through great difficulty to prepare for her, she suddenly felt an urge to cry.
So, there really is a person in the world other than her father who is willing to treat her so nicely?
"How is it? Tastes alright?"
"… It's delicious."
Alicia continued biting on the meat as she secretly wiped her eyes with her hands. She looked at the little boy sitting before her, and she could see warmth within his eyes.
She felt like she should say something in this situation, but no words came to her when she opened her mouth.
A long while later, after numerous times of opening and closing her mouth in futility, she finally squeezed out a sentence with great hardship.
"Thank you, Lord Brother."
(Affection Points +1000!)