There was a small gathering held for Dylan's birthday. All the guests that were invited were business partners and close allies with his father whose face, shockingly, he still hadn't seen since his arrival in this world.
In fact, Dylan hadn't actually met any of his family members.
His father was always busy, either with the guild or with the company and his siblings were almost never home. Two of his siblings lived with their mothers while the others were enrolled at the nation's top awakener's academy and stayed in the dorms there. When they came to the manor, it was usually because of business or Javier wanting to test and assess their abilities.
It was a large manor and Dylan's room was far away from everything else. That combined with the fact that he spent most of his time in his room, made it impossible for him or any of his siblings ever to cross paths. However, Dylan at least knew what they looked like. He had access to the internet and one of the first things he had done once he was capable enough was to search for the most general information of this world including any information about his family.
Due to the fact his father was a rather public figure, there were many news articles, videos, and online blogs dedicated to the Vale family. Everyone wanted to know what their hero was up to. Everyone was curious about the hero's children, all of whom were predicted to follow in their father's footsteps and become strong and enviable hunters/awakeners.
Sometimes, if Dylan was feeling curious, he would ask Sarah about the Vale family and she would reply as best she could.
It was easy to see when she was holding back information and it was always written all over her face what she thought of his siblings and father.
It was a couple of months ago when he first asked her about his siblings.
-Flashback-
It was late afternoon and Dylan had just completed his private tutoring lesson for the day. Sarah had recently added the position of 'Dylan's private tutor' to her list of titles and beginning last year, she began teaching him the basics of reading and writing.
Dylan, who was already an adult (mentally), naturally knew how to read and write. Regardless, during his lessons, he tended to make 'mistakes' every now and then in order to not arouse any suspicion from Sarah. He didn't show that he knew everything from the get-go because he was worried about being mistaken for a genius - which he was not. Dylan, even as Ronald, was far from being a genius. A hard worker, but not a genius.
Sarah, being the person she was, still complimented him and praised his knowledge - more out of her own bias towards him. His maturity was obvious enough but his academic stance, not so much considering the mask he wore during lesson time.
She had made a comment, comparing him to his siblings, where she said;
"Not even the other Young Masters and Missus learn as fast as the Young Master Dylan."
It was uncertain she had meant for him to hear it but it did arouse his curiosity regarding his siblings.
That's why he ended up asking, "What are my brothers and sisters like?"
Sarah was unprepared for the sudden question and looked at him in surprise before narrowing her eyes. It was clear she was contemplating what to tell him and if it would be appropriate.
Dylan waited patiently for her to reply.
Eventually, she opened her mouth and very solemnly said, "Young Master, I can't say much but...if you ever meet them, you should leave as quickly as possible and hope that they do not notice you. Especially if I am not accompanying you."
"Why?"
Were they dangerous? Aren't they just children?
Sarah walked towards him and knelt down, meeting him at eye level. Looking at him straight in the eye, she said, "Listen, Young Master, I know you are young but you should already know that things here are...different. I don't know if you can understand so I'll just keep it simple; stay away from them."
She said it with such seriousness that Dylan had no choice but to believe her.
He knew his father wasn't as good a man as he pretended to be in front of the public, so perhaps it wasn't all that strange that the children, raised under him, are similar in nature. They were also very strong despite their young ages - or at least, that's what Sarah said. There was no reason for her to exaggerate so Dylan took her warnings to heart.
Still, he couldn't help but feel down.
Dylan had hoped for a happy family but...it seems that dream would not come to be in this lifetime either.
-Flashback End-
After that day, Dylan would continue asking Sarah questions about his siblings but he kept his questions vague knowing that Sarah was unable to answer the more detailed ones.
"I wonder if they will come tonight..."
Dylan's birthday gathering would be held tonight at the manor. Birthday parties in general are a time of celebration, this one felt more like an upcoming business meeting and Dylan dreaded it.
Seated at his desk in his room, Dylan boredly doodled random scribbles on his spare notebook - a habit he developed back in high school when he was busy thinking. Biting the pencil, Dylan squinted before crookedly writing the word 'Father'.
"I'll be meeting him for the first time. I wonder how that will go."
He knew he would be forced to act the part of being a happy, treasured child. While he was technically happy, he was far from being treasured by anyone other than Sarah at the manor.
'Well, it's not like I plan on staying here forever.'
Whether or not Dylan received a mana core by the end of today, he had already made plans to leave the manor once he turned eighteen. He may desire a family but he wanted a family that would be there for him always. If his family didn't care about him when he powerless, he couldn't trust them.
Dylan was kind. Dylan was gentle.
But Dylan was not stupid or naive.
His death made him realize his worth and he deserved to be happy.
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