"I am not going to take you as my disciple right away," Lovellian stated firmly.
Eward tried to suppress the butterflies in his stomach as he turned to look at Lovellian. His sparkling eyes were full of longing and anticipation for his future in Aroth. However, Lovellian wasn't in a position where he could unconditionally grant this young man his desires.
"The Red Tower of Magic, of which I am the master, specializes in summoning magic among all the various types of magic. As such, you must first go to Aroth and take the systematic aptitude test to see if you fit our specialty."
"But what if… I do have an aptitude for summoning magic?" Eward asked hopefully.
"If that's the case, then it's a joyous discovery, but aptitude alone won't qualify you to be my disciple."
With this, Lovellian clearly drew the line at what he was willing to do. Eward looked disappointed for a moment, but he quickly changed his expression, keenly aware of Gilead and Tanis who were sitting next to Lovellian.
Eward was about to leave this suffocating household. That alone would be enough to make this a moment to celebrate. Even if he couldn't become Lovellian's disciple right away, the fact that he could leave his family behind and escape to another country made the tips of Eward's fingers tremble in excitement.
"It's because there are a lot of wizards who desire to be my disciple," Lovellian continued speaking. "In Aroth, your identity as an heir to the Lionheart clan won't grant you any leeway. Unless you have enough talent to silence all the other wizards' protests, I cannot take you as my disciple."
"…I understand," said Eward, in a much subdued tone.
Now that he had delivered his warning, Lovellian began comforting Eward, "…While Aroth won't show any special treatment to those who bear the Lionheart name, I am Gilead's old friend before I am the Head Wizard of the Red Tower…. With my resources, I will be able to provide you with many opportunities, and I will also be able to protect you from the voices claiming unfair discrimination. This is all to provide you with the best environment to train the magic that matches your aptitude."
All these promises made Eward's heart pound faster in excitement. However, Eward didn't rush to accept the offer or burst into excited laughter, no matter how much he wanted to. Instead, he turned to look at Tanis and Gilead with timid eyes.
"…This is something you should decide by yourself," Gilead spoke first. "There's no need to be concerned about me. If you want to go, then go."
"…Father…," Eward mumbled.
"Eward," Tanis, who had stayed silent, suddenly called out while staring at her son, "This is an opportunity your father has worked hard to grant you. Receive it with gratitude."
"…," Eward was cowed into silence.
Noticing his son's discomfort, Gilead took over, "What reason do you have to hesitate? After all, from an early age, you've always shown more interest in magic than you have in swords or spears."
Eward still seemed unsure but was unable to think of something to say.
"For your sake, I requested several of the capital's greatest wizards to come and tutor you, but unfortunately, none were suitable to become your teacher," Gilead sighed in disappointment.
There was some irony in these words. The wizards who had been invited from the capital to teach Eward magic were all famous wizards who could have risen to positions of considerable height in their towers if they had chosen to remain in Aroth.
None of them had become Eward's teacher because Eward himself hadn't been able to devote himself fully to the study of magic. This suffocating household had suppressed both Eward's passion and his free will.
"Eward," Tanis said, narrowing her eyes.
Eward was afraid of meeting his mother's gaze. He was much more afraid of his mother, who was always standing by his side monitoring his every action, than he was of his father, the Patriarch of their house.
Tanis started one of her oft-repeated lectures, "You must not forget. You are the first heir of the Lionheart clan. As my son, you are destined to become the Patriarch of the main family."
Eward hated the sound of these words. They filled him with fear and weighed heavily on his shoulders each time he was forced to listen to them. Unable to say anything in response, Eward lowered his gaze to the floor.
"You must not forget this fact, even in Aroth," Tanis concluded firmly.
"…Tanis," Gilead chided his wife.
Tanis defended herself, "As his mother, I am only trying to encourage my son."
Gilead was just trying to get her to ease up, but Tanis shot her husband a cold glare. She hadn't fully agreed with her husband's plans in the first place. She hated the thought of a stranger like Eugene entering the main family. An adoption of all things? How ridiculous! Wasn't it enough that Gilead had even taken a second wife and ended up with twins?
She also didn't want to send Eward to Aroth. If the eldest son, Eward, was sent to Aroth, it was obvious that that damned Ancilla would go crazy with joy.
However, Tanis had no choice but to send Eward to Aroth. Although her hateful child had been born as the eldest heir to the main family, he hadn't inherited the qualities needed to appear suitable for such a position. Even worse, he had a weak and naive nature. No matter how much Tanis wanted to keep her son close to her, by doing so, she wouldn't be able to see even the slightest of improvements in Eward's capabilities.
"…Eward," Tanis continued in a softer tone, taking hold of Eward's hand.
She simply stared at her son's face as she waited for him to respond, without saying anything more. Eward slowly forced himself to raise his gaze and meet Tanis' eyes.
That night, Tanis spent a long time speaking with Eward in his room.
Eward would be leaving with Lovellian for Aroth the next day. Tanis hoped that Eward would be able to become Lovellian's disciple. But if he couldn't do that, then she at least hoped that he would be able to increase his chances of succeeding his father by interacting with other wizards in Aroth.
She hoped that by getting along with these wizards, he could create relationships that would later benefit him, thereby gaining support for his bid to become the Patriarch; this was an opportunity that he wouldn't be able to take advantage of by remaining at the main estate.
"You are the heir to the Lionheart clan," Tanis repeated this line several times throughout the night.
"Y-yes, mother," unable to raise his eyes off the floor, Eward repeated the same response every time.
* * *
The day after the banquet, a lot of people were departing from the main estate. Lovellian was headed to Aroth with Eward, and Gargith and Dezra were returning to their homes along with their parents.
Even the dropouts whose names weren't important enough to remember had left, so the annex should have been nearly empty, but the servants in the annex were still bustling with activity since early this morning.
This was because, from now on, the annex would be solely used by Eugene and Gerhard. Gilead had offered for them to stay with him in the main family's mansion, but Eugene had rejected this offer. This was for the sake of his father, Gerhard. If he ended up staying in the estate's main mansion without a good reason for doing so, Gerhard would probably have no choice but to keep walking on eggshells around the members of the main family. So instead of being forced to endure that discomfort, by living separately in the annex, things would be easier for the both of them.
"I hope we get along well from now on," Eugene said with a smile.
Nina nodded her head in reply. Her duties as his servant hadn't been suspended following the end of the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony. Following Eugene's request, Nina would continue to serve as his personal attendant.
Nina knew that this was a sign of Eugene's esteem.
"Is there anything you would like me to bring back from Gidol?" Gerhard asked as he prepared to leave.
"I don't need anything, father, so you should just focus on packing up your own things," Eugene replied.
Even though he was currently suffering from a headache as part of his hangover, Gerhard couldn't afford to rest until he recovered. Because he needed to head to Gidol immediately with a few of the main family's groundskeepers. Since he would be living in the annex with Eugene from now on, he needed to arrange for his mansion in Gidol to be closed up.
All the knights who had been serving Gerhard for so long, as well as all the servants and groundskeepers, were waiting for him in Gidol. While he wouldn't be able to return to the main estate with all of them, a chosen few would accompany Gerhard back. Meanwhile, a few would be left behind and charged with the necessary duty of maintaining the now owner-less estate. As long as they were paid well enough, many of the servants would be willing to stay at their old mansion.
"Since the items in the annex are a lot better than the ones at our mansion, don't pointlessly pack things that we won't need," Eugene advised his father.
"I still haven't gotten used to the idea…. Are we really… living here from now on…?" Gerhard asked hesitantly.
Gerhard chuckled in disbelief as he turned to take in the annex. Although he had tried his best to adjust to the situation multiple times, reality still sometimes felt like a dream.
'…But this is definitely reality,' he reminded himself.
Gerhard felt his heart swell with pride as he looked down at his son's smiling face. After hugging his son once more, he got onto the carriage prepared by the groundskeepers.
"Go safely and make sure to brag about our good fortune," Eugene said with a smile as he saw Gerhard off.
The morning of the first day in his new life as an adoptee had passed like this. Normally, he would have begun his training at this point, but Eugene instead just waited around aimlessly inside the gymnasium.
Today was an important day for Eugene in many ways. Not only was this the first day in the rest of his life as an adopted member of the main family, but it was also the day he would be initiating his mana for the first time since his reincarnation.
All mana training scriptures began by first teaching how to sense mana. Although mana was everywhere in the world, you wouldn't be able to find it with the naked eye no matter how hard you looked for it. Only after refining yourself and your senses according to the mana training scripture could you begin to sense mana.
Such 'refinement' could broadly be divided into two categories. The Breathing techniques and the Physical techniques.
Breathing training techniques accumulated the mana that was dissolved into the atmosphere by breathing it in; Physical techniques accumulated this mana through the movement of the body. Neither of them was easy to learn, but if Eugene had to pick, he would say that Breathing techniques were superior to Physical techniques. Once a Breathing technique was completely internalized, the user was able to absorb mana with every movement they made, but it was extremely hard for Physical techniques to do likewise.
In his previous life, Hamel had trained his mana according to a Physical technique. Later, with advice from Sienna and Vermouth, he had converted his Physical technique into a Breathing technique.
'The Lionheart's mana training scripture is a Breathing technique,' Eugene recalled.
Although it might seem obvious, mana training couldn't be done just by breathing normally. Breathing techniques used to train mana also required a certain knack, somewhat similar to casting magic.
"You're here early," a voice called out to Eugene.
It was Gion Lionheart. He approached Eugene while leading two horses behind him. Without showing any surprise, Eugene bowed his head to Gion in greeting.