Small Talk
Richard seriously did not like the individual that the young master had brought into their home.
If someone were to ask him why, he wouldn't be able to give a concrete answer. After all, he hadn't really done anything overly wrong.
He'd been respectful, and made no attempts to harm or disrespect any of them in any way. In short, he'd been the perfect guest.
What Richard hated though, was his gaze. Whenever someone even slightly below them in status looked upon the Darius Family and those around the same level, besides respect, there was a deep sense of awe and admiration in their eyes.
However, Richard could sense none of those things within the eyes of Christopher. The respect was there, but that was it. And that irked him to no end.
Sure he seemed to be a talented individual, but just because he was talented, did that give him the right to look at them with such a gaze? A gaze that meant they were equals?
He had no background, he had no backer, the only person he had to rely on was himself, so what right did he have to look at them with such a gaze as if they were on the same level?
'How distasteful.' Richard thought.
"You seem to be very deep in thought sir Richard. Is something the problem?" The butler almost flinched when he heard Christopher's voice and his eyes snapped upwards with surprise and a trace of shock. When had he gotten so close?
"... You are here." It wasn't a question but a statement and Christopher nodded.
"That's right. I'm here to train Young master Titus. After which I'll be on my way." Hearing this, Richard blinked slightly.
"You… won't be staying the night?" He asked with a tint of confusion and Christopher nodded calmly.
"That's right, I have no more reason to come here besides training him, I have my own place so there's no need to bother you any further." He explained and Richard blinked.
When he heard this, inwardly, he was overjoyed. He'd wanted nothing more than for him to stop leeching off them, so his sudden desire to only come for business was welcome. However, besides his joy, there was confusion.
"That's… alright I suppose. But why are you so keen on leaving already? I don't recall the lord giving you a time limit before you had to leave." Richard asked and Christopher tilted his head.
"Well no, but I have my own place to stay, so why should I continue bothering you all? Also with what I'm doing I'll be out of the palace most of the time anyway, so I really only have one reason to be coming here." When he heard that, Richard's joy for Christopher's imminent departure suddenly faded.
'... What?' He couldn't understand.
This man was literally given the opportunity to live in one of, if not the most luxurious and secure place in the entire Empire. And yet, he was so keen on leaving?
Him leaving wasn't the problem. No. What was the problem was how he didn't seem to feel any sense of reluctance towards leaving. Does that mean this place wasn't enough for him?
Seeing the butler fall silent, Christopher blinked.
"Um, not to be pushy or anything, but could you open the door please? I don't want to be late." He asked politely, snapping the Butler out of his thoughts.
"... Alright." His voice came out forced and Christopher was confused when he sensed the hostility from him increase as he turned to open the door.
'What did I do???' He was confused in his heart but decided not to say anything and treated it as the man being annoyed with something he'd said.
The door was opened and Christopher made his way into the Darius Family's side of the castle. He saw a few maids and servants and they directed him to the training room where Titus already was.
He was performing some sword movements and Christopher leaned against the entrance as he watched him. His movements were considerably slower because of the weights, though Christopher noted that compared to yesterday, he was able to move with some freedom, meaning he was already getting used to the weights a little bit.
"Have you run your laps?" His words caused Titus to stop and spin around. The boy was drenched in sweat, but his eyes were bright.
He beamed when he saw Christopher and bowed.
"Teacher." Then He straightened as Christopher started to approach and nodded.
"Yes, I ran the laps as you told me to. I was just practicing my sword play until you showed up." He explained and Christopher gave a satisfied nod, pleased with the boy's diligence.
"Alright then, today well focus on your ability to remove the wind resistance of your attacks and so on, just like I showed you yesterday." Christopher said and Titus had an eager look in his eyes.
Christopher chuckled at his enthusiasm and gestured for him to sit down before proceeding to explain to him the principle of the particles in the air and how friction against them caused wind resistance.
Titus listened diligently and attentively and committed everything to memory.
After which, the boy started trying to do as instructed. Since his control wasn't all that great, he didn't try to extend it to the end of the room like how Christopher did in his demonstration before.
So instead, he focused on using it on his sword and body and Christopher watched on silently, giving him pointers here and there. But overall, he was impressed by the boy's aptitude as he'd grasped the concept behind it pretty quickly and was making good progress. It was only a matter of time before he fully got it under control and could use such a technique freely.
So, seeing that the boy was in a deep state of concentration, Christopher turned his attention to the entrance and took a step before appearing at it.
"What do I owe the pleasure of her mistress being here?" Christopher said respectfully and Felicia slowly appeared in the doorway.
"Hm, your perception isn't half bad." She gave him a charming amsike and Christopher smiled back.
She then looked past him towards Titus who was training diligently and a fond look appeared in her eyes.
"He's such a talented boy. It's a shame he didn't have any interest in getting stronger before. But it seems like you manage to bring out that hunger in him, sir Christopher." She said and Christopher glanced back towards Titus as well.
"I think when I saved him, he had a bit of a reality check and realised that there won't always be someone to protect him in situations like that. So he decided to get stronger so as to take his fate into his own hands." Christopher explained how he felt and Felicia's eyes widened a small bit.
"... You're quite insightful." She said after a bit and Christopher chuckled.
"Am I? It seemed pretty obvious in my opinion." Felicia laughed softly at that.
"And I'm the one who's able to see through things." At this, the two of them laughed together for a small bit before calming down.
"... I assume you were sent to try and convince me to work for you lot again?" Christopher asked directly and Felicia smiled wryly.
"Was it that obvious?" Christopher huffed.
"Come on now. I'm sure you have things to do and wouldn't just come and watch me train your brother." Hearing this, Felicia sighed.
"Well, there you have it. My father sent me to try and make you work under us." She admitted and Christopher nodded, not feeling surprised.
"Look, I can understand why you would want to recruit me, but I can assure you when I say that I have no interest in working under anyone." He explained patiently.
"But why? If you work under us, you get resources, whether it be cultivation resources, knowledge, techniques, and so on. We have everything to ensure a stable growth for you. Don't you think you're being a bit too dismissive?" Felicia questioned him and Christopher shook his head.
"We all have our secrets, so I wasn't elaborate. But I can assure you, I'm alright with the way I am now. Above all else, I value my freedom, and I have what I need to keep getting stronger." Seeing that his stance was firm on the matter, she sighed before pouting cutely.
"That's no way to respond to a lady." He was stunned seeing her sudden change in demeanor. What happened to the graceful woman???
'Also there's a Vampire whose beauty could literally topple kingdoms working as my subordinate. You're cute but I can resist your charms.' He answered in his mind.
Felicia sighed again and looked at Christopher silently. There was a hint of reluctance in her gaze, but also admiration.
He'd resisted her charms and wasn't swayed by the promise of material things. He knew exactly what he wanted and wouldn't be pulled away from getting it for any reason.
'You rarely find men like that nowadays.' She sighed in her heart.
'Well, I doubt anyone else could convince him father failed and brother failed. Even Titus, who he's so fond of, couldn't convince him.' She smiled in her heart.
'That's someone worth my respect.'