Gilead was not offended by such a daring yet childish request. Instead, he actually felt both pleased and sympathetic at the hungry look on Eugene's face. If a child truly was a scion of a martial family, then they should have such a greedy desire.
"…Of course, I'll be able to teach you," Gilead said, looking at Eugene with a happy smile. "However, if you want to learn from the very best, then there's someone even better than me."
"Who is that?" Eugene asked.
"It's Gion."
Eugene recalled Gion and his shiny white teeth. When he was opening the door for Eugene, Gion had said that he'd like it if they could see each other more often.
"In the past, my skills were better than his, but currently that's no longer the case," Gilead admitted.
"Really?" Eugene asked skeptically.
"Is there any reason for me to lie and downplay my skills?" Gilead returned the question.
Eugene's eyes sparkled with curiosity and interest.
Gilead continued speaking with a low laugh, "Have you received instruction on your family's mana training scripture from your father?"
"No, I haven't even learned its name yet," Eugene said.
"Well, that's quite unusual," Gilead commented.
Usually, children from the collateral lines were instructed in their mana training scriptures before leaving for the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony. That way, they could try to initiate their mana as soon as the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony was over. Since they were already several years behind the children from the main family, the collateral descendants would try to speed up their initiation into mana, even if it was just by a few days.
"I told my father that I didn't want to learn it yet. If I needlessly learned it beforehand, I felt like I might accidentally start training my mana without even meaning to," Eugene explained.
"So that was the case. After all, you're so diligent that you haven't neglected your training even once during your entire stay here…." Gilead nodded his head in understanding.
At the same time, he couldn't help but feel pity.
Gerhard's household was one of the weakest among all the collateral branches. Even so, as long as they still held the name Lionheart, families like Gerhard's could live a prosperous life as local landlords, but their children couldn't dream of much more than that.
On the other hand, what about Dezra and Gargith's families? Among the collateral lines, families as powerful as theirs could only be counted on the fingers of one hand. Their two families were capable of making all sorts of preparations to support the growth of their children.
'They've probably already started purchasing mana stones years ago.'
Crystals of mana could be found in the bodies of higher-leveled monsters and in mana-dense ores, like mithril. These aggregations of mana were called mana stones. When first initiating mana, the assistance of these mana stones could not be neglected.
'Gerhard's household probably doesn't have enough money to afford any mana stones….'
Due to their high utility and the difficulty of obtaining them, the price of mana stones was exorbitant. On top of that, for initiates to get the most benefit out of mana stones, they needed someone with outstanding abilities to guide them. Eward, Cyan, and Ciel had each been personally guided by Gilead when they first initiated their mana.
That was why he couldn't help but feel regret. The boy had already proven his excellence, but the soil of Gerhard's countryside household was too poor to allow Eugene's talent to bloom.
However, Gilead absolutely couldn't allow such words to leave his lips. Even if they were said out of honest worry and concern, Gilead didn't want his careless words to cause a son to turn against his father and the family he was born to.
Instead of Eugene, this was something that he needed to discuss with Gerhard.
However, even if Eugene didn't hear it from him directly, he could guess what Gilead was thinking. It wasn't difficult to figure it out, considering how much compassion was showing in Gilead's eyes.
'It can't be helped. It's true that our family is poor after all.'
After this, the two continued to talk about various things. As the banquet's guest of honor, Eugene was asked if he needed anything or wanted any particular dishes served at the banquet.
Time flowed quickly as they touched on various topics. Finally, when a glance out of the window revealed that it had turned completely dark outside, Gilead stood up.
"It looks like I've kept you up for far too long," Gilead apologized.
"No, it was fun for me too," Eugene denied any fault.
"I'll call someone to escort you over soon, so please wait a little longer."
"It's fine. You don't need to do that. It's not like the annex is that far from here. I'm fully capable of walking back in the dark," Eugene reassured Gilead.
After refusing Gilead's offer once more, Eugene left the Patriarch's office. As he was walking down the corridor to the stairs, he sensed that someone was sneakily lying in wait for him on the other side of the hallway.
It was Ancilla. She was attempting to stage this as an accidental meeting, but Eugene wasn't surprised in the least. He had been able to notice Ancilla while she was still hiding out of sight, thanks to the scent of her perfume.
As she turned the corner, Ancilla fluttered her eyelashes in surprise.
"…Oh my," Ancilla gasped in feigned shock, unaware that her ruse had already been seen through. "It's Eugene, isn't it?"
"Yes, good evening, Madam," while deliberately putting on a surprised look of his own, Eugene bowed his head in greeting. "My name is Eugene Lionheart, and I hail from Gidol."
"Of course, I know your name," Ancilla said with a fake smile.
Ancilla hated Eugene. It wasn't just because he had handed her beloved son an embarrassing defeat, but this cheeky brat had also given the main family its first defeat ever in the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony. And there wasn't even a single reason why Ancilla should actually like Eugene.
That said, she couldn't treat him with hostility. No matter what had happened, he was definitely a talented kid. Since he could already reach such heights at his age, as long as he didn't suddenly die somewhere along the way, he would continue to grow and perhaps even be able to raise his humble family out of obscurity within ten years.
'There's no need to make an enemy out of him in advance.'
That was why she had allowed Ciel to stick to Eugene's side. Unlike her husband, Ancilla thought that the idea of ensnaring Eugene and Ciel into an arranged marriage was actually quite a promising plan for the future.
"I heard that you and the Patriarch were having a private conversation, but it looks like the two of you chatted for quite a while. I didn't know that you were still here," Ancilla continued speaking to Eugene with a feigned smile.
Eugene felt a strange pressure emanating from behind her kind smile and overly sweet tone.
So, for now, Eugene decided to test her intentions with a question, "Is there something you wished to speak to me about?"
Gilead had responded quite favorably to his bold behavior, but this wasn't the case for Ancilla.
'His arrogance is already skyrocketing.'
Though she could understand why. It must already be quite exciting for such a country bumpkin to visit the main estate. On top of that, he had even managed to defeat a child from the main family in a duel on his very first day and then went on to win the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony. She secretly wanted to crush his arrogantly upturned nose, but Ancilla firmly held back this urge.
'…After all, this kid might become my son-in-law one day.' While inwardly repeating this to herself, Ancilla said, "I was curious about what you might have discussed with the Patriarch."
"Because it was a private conversation between the Patriarch and me, I'm afraid I don't dare tell you," Eugene refused her subtle inquiry.
"Oh, right! Of course, that's the case. I didn't mean to put you on the spot, so please don't feel pressured. Besides that, there were actually a few other things I wanted to talk to you about…." Ancilla trailed off, seeming apologetic.
Eugene simply tilted his head silently in question.
Ancilla maintained her friendly smile as she added, "Well, wasn't Cyan very rude to you just a few days ago? If it were under the usual circumstances, as Cyan's mother, I should have already apologized to you personally. But as the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony was just ahead of us, things were out of control, and my apology was delayed."
Like hell, she would have. If she had really wanted to apologize to Eugene, then Ancilla could have just gone looking for him that very day.
But instead of pointing that out, Eugene simply said, "There's no need for that. At that time, I had already reconciled whatever problems I had with Cyan."
"…Oh my. For a child your age, you sure are mature and broad-minded," Ancilla's cheeks twitched as she forced herself to keep smiling. "If those are your feelings on the incident, then that's fortunate for us. As for Cyan, who showed you such disrespect, I've given him a strict warning, so I hope that the two of you will get along with each other from now on."
"Of course, I will try my best. After all, we do share the same name, so ultimately, aren't we all part of the same family?" Eugene replied with a grin.
On the other hand, Ancilla's face twisted into a complex expression. He said that they were part of the same family? Although he wasn't wrong, for some reason, when the word 'family' dropped from that irritating boy's lips, she couldn't help but feel uncomfortable.
"Would you mind if I take my leave now?" Eugene asked.
"…Yes, that's fine," Ancilla permitted.
Ancilla didn't want to hold on to Eugene any longer. She needed to be careful of drawing her husband's attention, and she also needed to be wary of the head wife, Tanis. It wouldn't look good for her to keep talking to Eugene in the hallway like this.
"Be careful on your way back," Ancilla said with a slight smile as she patted Eugene on the shoulder.
'What an irritating brat,' she thought to herself. Even though Ancilla had planned out this meeting, it still felt like she had started the conversation on the wrong foot. However, she would just have to take better care from now on whenever she spoke to Eugene.
"Yes. I hope you have a good night," Eugene also bade farewell, bowing his head deeply.
He didn't know for certain what kind of personality Ancilla was hiding behind that smile. However, looking at the harassment she had authorized for him on that very first day, she obviously had quite the cruel streak. As such, he didn't want to needlessly get involved with her.