On the next day, the family woke up early, they decided that for their last morning together, they would spend a nice quiet family breakfast together. Rayon was permitted to skip training, and Liam took the whole day off.
They ate a quality breakfast, eggs, bacon, and pancakes. There were numerous toppings provided, with some fruit, mainly apples and strawberries waiting for them on the side. Usually, despite their wealth, Camille didn't want to spoil the children, but today she couldn't be bothered to give a damn about rules, even ones of her own making.
Rayon ate in silence and didn't know what to say, either to his parents or his brother. When they told him about his brother's punishment, the boy did not take it well. It took two whole hours of brooding and Ciaran convincing him that it was fine for the boy to calm down.
'Without our parents, it becomes my job to protect the Boss. I love him to death, but he is weak, and has the talent to make enemies.' That was the conclusion that the boy soldier had come to.
Truth be told he was more afraid for the poor sap that would see this as an opportunity and target his brother.
'Sis will revert back to her old over-protective self wouldn't she?' The thought lingered in his head for a few minutes, before he waved it away.
'Maybe it's for the better. This way Boss will be completely safe in school.'
If there was one person who Rayon feared, that was around their age at least, that was Clara. The little boy had seen what she did you people who bullied him and his brother, and he still had nightmares about it.
Of course, he knew his brother was dangerous too, but in his mind, he was starting to develop the mentality of 'might makes right' and his brother was just not physically able to be a treat. Not to him at least.
After a few moments of deafening silence, the pair of clowns, known as father and son couldn't take it anymore, and their usual banter began. The mood brightened up a lot after that. From the kitchen, the maid was making lunch for the boys. Now that Ciaran was not going to be home, she would have a lot more time for her experiments.
'I should be happy for my soon-to-be more free time, yet I can't shake the feeling I will miss that twerp.'
After about an hour they were ready to go. Today all four of them would go to school. With Liam to the right holding Rayon and Camille on the left holding Ciaran, they were slowly making their way to the Academy.
When they got to it their pace slowed down a peg, they wanted to prolong the last moments Ciaran bared the name of Clades, even if for just a few minutes. Around them, the parents of the other children just looked away, even those of the burned victims. It was rear to see the Merchant at all, even more so in a family setting.
He had ruined ancient families for far less than messing with his family. They would let their kids seek their own revenge now that the boy would not, and could not be protected by his family.
At the entrance of the Academy, Camille gave a big hug to her boys and told them to behave, and no more pranks.
"Protect your brother and keep him in check Ray. He is a smart boy, but he tends to misbehave too much. Gets that from his dad's part of the family." She said.
After some protests from her husband and her other son the family separated.
When the couple walked out of the Academy, Liam held his wife, his arm around the back of her neck, hers around his torso. They walked in silence, no trace of the boyish expression on the man's face. He played the fool well, but there was no need to pretend in front of his wife.
"Don't worry Cami, I will pull some strings and get those bastards to pay for messing with us. We will have to wait a while, but it sure as hell will not be fourteen years, I can promise you that much."
He promised his wife, the anger in his voice apparent. Now that the boys weren't with them he could afford to shed his innocent appearance. As a merchant, he knew that there was always a price to be paid, and he was planning for the Council to pay this one in full.
"Don't do anything reckless Liam. Last time we had to leave the Capital, and you had to change professions. "She warned him.
The last time he sounded so serious was when he was dishonorably discharged from the army. A story very few people knew about. It was also one of the few things the Clades hid from their children.
"Oh, it's going to be so much worse this time around. Before I was a simple Major, now I am The Merchant. I haven't set any fires lately, can't let Rany one up me like that. "He said, and chuckled, earning himself a slap to the head.
"If you're so brave, then we are making a detour. It's time to tell your parents. It's better for them to hear from us than for them to find out on their own. Father-in-law will throw a fit, but at least we can stop him from barging in on the old headmaster."
Liam looked at his wife with a blank face. He thought of a way to persuade his wife not to go there, but the words just wouldn't come to him.
"Listen Cami, me and The Colonel –"
"My father and I!" She corrected sternly.
"My father and I, we don't get along that much, even now. But you got it wrong. He probably already knows and is keeping quiet for the same reason, I don't want to go."
"Mom likes to pretend like she is this normal old lady, who is the voice of reason behind my dad, but she isn't. When they kicked me out of the army, the very next day, my previous base was brought to the ground."
"People thought it was me, but it wasn't. It was just a single Mage letting her rage take the best of her. And now her grandson, her six-year-old grandson is essentially locked in prison. There is a reason they gave us so much time to say goodbye, they were evacuating the local bases. If we go there it would be empty, same with the Navel ones."
"She can't do anything to the Academy, that place is crawling with things ancient and more dangerous than she could ever imagine, but she WILL do something. And to be frank, this time I don't know if we can stop her."
Camille looked at her husband and smiled warmly, tightening her hug around him.
"Even more of a reason to go then. Only poor Edith is left out of the loop, and I will not stand for it." She said in a voice most pleasant.
Liam looked at her and cursed out his father. For all the things they disagreed upon, for all their differences, why did the one thing they had in common have to be their taste in women?
'It seems it runs in the family. Beautiful, smart, dangerous, overprotective, and completely raving mad when they need to be. If all of those qualities come together in a single woman, we Clades men simply could not resist.' He laughed to himself, as they turned and headed to his parent's house.
"You know, Ciaran is going to spend a lot more time with Clara right? They won't pretend to hate each other anymore." He said while looking at his wife.
She eyed him strangely, wondering how his mind went there after what she had just said. After considering his personality and his stupid laugh a second ago, she came to a conclusion and failed.
"I don't like that girl, she is dangerous for Ciaran." She said and earned herself a louder laugh from her husband.
"Mom said the same thing when we were dating."
"That conniving vixen will ruin our boy she used to say. Now she loves you more than me. Your kind grows on each other with time." He said and froze.
She eyed him with a mirthless smile on her lips and prompted him to explain what 'her kind' was exactly. He couldn't just blurt out 'crazy woman' so he chose to say 'protectors' urging himself the silent treatment.
'It seems like you won't be the only one who will have a long interesting day son. Hope you stay safe and play it smart, because your dad just shot himself in the foot, and now he is going to have to tame two wild old timers.'
There was no doubt in his mind that his mother would throw a fit and that his father would deny ever knowing anything on the subject. His only hope was that they would see reason in their old age, and let him handle things behind the scenes, lest they cause the boy to sink into this mess even deeper.