As Thomas Thunderheart and William Frostbane came to an agreement, William left the room without saying anything else. Most aristocrats were depressed about not having the chance to marry off their offspring to Zephyrion, the new prodigy. However, they still had a chance with Ethan. As they were pondering this matter, Thomas hit the floor with the tip of his sword to get everyone's attention.
("The talent test for both of my children is finished. Everyone may leave my mansion now. If anyone has an important matter to discuss with me personally, spare your efforts. I have important matters to attend to. If you want to inform me in the future, do so with a letter. Everyone is dismissed.")
Most aristocrats were unhappy with what Thomas told them, but they didn't dare to voice their unhappiness since it is well known how Thomas could act when someone annoyed him.
Just thinking about the last aristocrat who voiced something against Thomas brings shivers down their backs, as they knew the nightmare that followed the confrontation with him. With the aristocrats gone, only Thomas, Helena, the golden-haired woman, the butler, the two maids, Zuriel, and the two children remained in the room.
Thomas turned to Zuriel, the person in charge of conducting the tests, and said, ("Good work, Zuriel. You have done an excellent job.")
Zuriel, inside his robe, replied, ("It was my pleasure, Mr. Thunderheart. It always fills me with joy to conduct tests for hero families.")
Thomas's gaze then shifted to the broken glass ball which Zephyrion broke during his affinity test and said, ("I apologize for the broken affinity test artifact. I'll make sure to compensate you for it.")
Zuriel shook his head and interjected, ("No need for that, Mr. Thunderheart. I see potential in both Zephyrion and Ethan. I believe they will be valuable assets to humankind in the future.")
Zuriel's words surprised Thomas, and he replied, ("Really? I'm sure the artifact was expensive, but it's your choice and I can spare myself some money, so I don't mind.")
Zuriel looked at Zephyrion and answered Thomas's question with a smile, ("Yes, I'm sure. The artifact was worth it.")
Thomas nodded his head and said, ("I would still like to discuss some matters with you privately. Do you mind following, for round inside my mansion?")
Zuriel gave a small nod and said, ("I wouldn't dare to reject, Mr. Thunderheart.")
...
With that, Thomas and Zuriel left the room, leaving everyone else behind. Alone in the room, the golden-haired woman looked at Zephyrion with disgust and said aloud,
("That child is nothing but trash. I seriously don't understand why everyone was so excited about him when my previous child, Ethan, is here.")
When Helena heard what the golden-haired woman said, she snapped back, her hands clenched into fists.
("How dare you insult my son like that, Anna!? He isn't trash, he is a child, just like your son Ethan,") Helena seethed, her eyes glowing violet with fury.
Anna looked at Helena, her expression disdainful. ("That... thing is your son?") she spat, gesturing to Zephyrion with a look of disgust.
Helena's body started to twitch with anger when Anna called her son as mere thing. ("Should you continue insulting my baby like that, I will not stand by anymore!") different kind of objects and furnitures in the room started to shake in connection with her wrath.
Zephyrion, who was still trying to rub his eyes, slowly started to see things again. He also noticed that the golden-haired woman and his mother seemed to be having an argument. But what shocked him the most were the vibrations that started in the room.
'What the hell is happening now? Can't I have my midlife crisis in peace!' he thought.
Fortunately for Zephyrion, the butler who was standing next to Anna stepped forward and everything stopped shaking. ("Madame Helena, perhaps it would be best if we left this discussion for another time,") he suggested, his face stoic and his tone obsequious.
("No, Cellion, we will not leave it like that,") Helena said firmly. ("I want to know why Anna has such a problem with my son.")
Anna rolled her eyes. ("Oh, please. Do you really need me to spell it out for you? He's talentless. He doesn't even have the right to call himself the son of a Hero, and yet here you are, acting as if he's your precious little angel.")
("His control and body potential may not be that good, but that doesn't make him less of a person,") Helena replied, her voice filled with fury.
Anna sneered. ("Save your bleeding-heart speech for someone who cares,") she said.
("The fact of the matter is, Zephyrion's future is trash. The only worth he will have is making babies for future generations. He will never be able to fit in with society, and he will never be able to contribute anything of value to this family except getting us some alliances.")
Helena's rage increased. ("You have no right to judge him like that,") Helena spat. ("And you don't know his future yet!")
Anna gave a dismissive wave of her hand. ("I don't need to know. The fact remains that he is useless to us.")
("He is not useless!") Helena shouted. ("He has talents that you can't even begin to imagine.")
Anna scoffed. ("Talents? What talents? The only thing that he's good for is a sideshow act.")
Helena couldn't give in. ("You are so wrong,") she said. ("He has a unique Element Affinity, and when he learns to control it, he will be unstoppable!")
Anna looked at Helena with a mixture of confusion and derision. ("What are you talking about? You know something about his affinity?")
Helena hesitated for a moment. She couldn't reveal what she knew, but she also couldn't let Anna keep insulting her son like that. In the end, she decided to stand by and said, ("No, I don't really know anything about the affinities Zephyrion has, but I'm sure they will be extraordinary!")
Anna looked skeptical. ("That's impossible. He has low control potential. Maybe he could start as an artist in the future with his sideshow. Ho ho ho,") she said, laughing.
("I know it sounds impossible!") Helena said through gritted teeth, ("but I will keep believing in my own son, and one day he will show everyone!")
Anna just looked at this crazy mother with contempt, not believing a word she said, ("Stop your delusional dreams, Helena. He is just the illegitimate son of you and my husband. He will never be worth much in the Thunderheart household.")
Cellion, who had been standing by Anna's side, chimed in. ("I must say, Lady Anna, I completely agree. This boy is useless and shouldn't be given any attention or resources. Even the mother of the child is delusional, thinking he will have a great future. To think I even tried to calm her down at the start. It's simply a waste of time with this duo.")
Ethan was silently lying in his bed, staring at everything with big eyes. And Zephyrion, well, he was trying to get a gist of the situation, but every word still sounded like a language which he had never heard of. 'It's so annoying, why do I feel offended whenever a word comes out of this golden-haired woman? Is she insulting me?'
...
Thomas and Zuriel walked down the hallway, discussing the results of the potential and affinity tests. Zuriel was impressed with both Zephyrion and Ethan's abilities and suggested that Thomas invest in their training.
("I think it would be a wise choice to invest in both of your sons," Zuriel said. "I believe Zephyrion has the potential to become great in the future if the right resources were given to him to break his potential.")
Thomas didn't look at Zuriel and said with a stoic face, ("I think it would be a waste since he will be married off to that ice bastard's daughter in the future anyway. They can give him resources if they really want to, but in my opinion, it would be best to put all resources into Ethan because even if he doesn't have the same elemental affinity as Zephyrion, he is still a prodigy.")
Zuriel had a wry smile under his robe. He wanted to retort and say that Zephyrion's affinities were really something special, but first off, he knew it was almost impossible for a person to break their potential without the right resources. Second, he wouldn't dare to talk back to Thomas since he also knew what happened to that one aristocrat.
Thomas continued, ("Also, I have the idea to have another child with Helena. Maybe this time it won't end up in failure.")
Zuriel remained silent and keep walked by Thomas' side.
("YOU FUCKING B*TCHES, I'LL KILL YOU BOTH!")
Suddenly, they heard a loud shout coming from Helena's room, the same room they had left just 5 minutes ago. They quickened their pace and entered the room to find everything shaking violently, Helena's eyes burning violet, Anna hiding behind her butler Cellion, and Sarah and Helga standing in front of Ethan and Zephyrion, defending them.
As they entered, Thomas hit the floor with the tip of his sword to get everyone's attention, causing everything to stop vibrating.
("What's going on here?") he asked firmly.
Helena kept her eyes fixed on Anna. ("Anna was insulting Zephyrion, and I couldn't stand by and let her do it,") she said, her voice shaking with emotion.
Anna crossed her arms, a smug look on her face. ("I was simply stating the truth,") she said. ("He's nothing more than a useless Creature, a waste of space.")
Helena retorted, ("YOU-") but before she could finish her sentence, Thomas hit the floor again, this time with more force, sending a small burst of air everywhere in the room.
("ENOUGH!") Thomas had enough of this farce and continued, ("I won't hear any more of this. Zephyrion still has some use for our family. I will not tolerate any insults or discrimination against him. Do you understand?")
Anna snorted. ("You're too soft, Thomas. You need to be realistic. He's a burden, and you should get rid of him.")
Thomas glanced at Anna with electricity sparking in his eyes, sending shivers down her back.
Anna looked at Zephyrion with disdain. ("Fine. But I won't have anything to do with that thing.") said Anna annoyed.
Thomas sighed, ("Very well, but I expect you to stop insulting him and creating conflicts.")
Anna huffed and looked away. She walked over to Ethan, took him with her, and left the room with Cellion.
Thomas gave Helena and Zephyrion a side glance before leaving the room as well with Zuriel, without saying anything else.
After they left, Helena, Helga, and Sarah remained behind with Zephyrion, who was still stunned and unable to process his thoughts.