"Vaelen Vesta, if you truly do want what is best for the Vesta Family, then rather than being greedy for the Family Head's position,
You should step back and be satisfied with what you currently have."
Vaan spoke as he looked into Vaelen's eyes.
An all-out attack from the start.
Vaan's goal in this new world was already decided.
He would succeed his mother and become the Vesta Family Head.
Why?
Because why not?
Wasn't it only natural for him to continue something his mother values so much?
What if these idiots mess everything up and eventually hurt his mother?
Vaan couldn't allow that, now could he?
Alright, let's be honest here, that was a lie. The position the Vesta Family was currently in, it couldn't fall in just one generation no matter how bad the Family Head was.
Although Vaan did care about his mother and wanted to make her proud, the main reason he wanted to rule the Vesta Family was because he wanted power.
He was ambitious.
No matter how much Vaan or Christopher tried to deny it, living as an underworld gang leader for 10 years had changed him.
In his previous life, he was occupied by the thought of avenging his parents, but now that he had no such goal, rather than calming down and trying to live a normal, peaceful life as many would want,
Vaan wanted to get more.
He wanted to fight for more.
He wanted to reach where no one ever did.
He wanted to be so strong that no one would even think about harming him or his family.
And for that, the obvious step was to participate in the Battle of Heirs and obliterate all the competition just like his mother did in the past.
All these weeks he had been here, Vaan wasn't staying idle. Other than working on his strength, he was also trying to learn more about things going around in the Vesta Family, the troubles it currently faces, the information about the other Prospective Heirs, their Faction, how these factions affected the outcome of the Battle of Heirs, Vaan learned everything the previous Vaan had completely ignored.
In short, he had done his research.
And because of that, Vaan chose the topic that would be the hardest to swallow, not only for Vaelen, but Lirael, Elric, and even the other senior mages of the Vesta Family, including Astra.
"Vaan, this meeting is for welcoming the Mages who have returned from the Academy after a long journey, it is not the time to talk about this matter, step back and stay silent."
Astra ordered with a strict look on her face.
Her tone didn't seem to be looking forward to a 'no' as an answer.
Seeing Astra had personally stepped in, Vaan was a little taken aback, however, he wasn't doing all this out of impulse,
It was a calculated move.
"Family Head, this meeting has already deviated from its initial topic ever since the 'Prospective Heirs' tried to use this chance to strengthen their factions.
Also, I disagree with Family Head's opinion,
Stalling this matter any longer is foolish.
Vaelen Vesta, a 49-year-old 5th Circle Mage; Elric Vesta, a 43-year-old 4th Circle Mage; and Lirael Vesta, a 37-year-old 4th Circle Mage. These individuals carry the mantle of the next potential leaders of the Vesta Family and are called 'Prospective Heirs'
Do not forget, that we come from a generation that witnessed the remarkable feats of Aunt Risia, Elric's Mother, who became a 5th Circle Mage at the age of 38, and Uncle Draven, the father of Vaelen and Lirael, who achieved the same feat at 36. This was the benchmark set by our past Prospective Heirs, honestly, the difference between the two couldn't be more apparent. It is almost absurd.
Not to mention that the two previously mentioned Prospective Heirs lost the Battle of Heirs.
Mages of their level losing was the testament to just how competitive the Vesta Family's Battle of Heirs usually is. Even their insane achievements paled in front of our current Family Head, Lady Astra.
Family Head became a 5th Circle Mage when she was merely 25.
Despite being 31 years younger than her eldest brother, her extraordinary talent allowed her to bridge the formidable gap of 31 whole years.
This is the level of the Vesta Family.
This is what should be expected out of the Vesta Family Mages, especially the mages who call themselves 'Prospective Heirs'.
However, the present group of Prospective Heirs, no matter how much we try to hide it, the fact is,
They have not met the Vesta Family's expectations.
In fact, it would not be an exaggeration to say that out of the current Prospective Heirs,
None deserve to inherit the Vesta Family."
Vaan spoke and as he did, the entire hall turned deathly silent. Even Astra, Draven, and Risia, the people who currently held the highest authority within the Vesta Family, had solemn looks on their faces.
It was an unspoken agreement between the Vesta Mages to not discuss this topic until the time was right,
However,
In Vaan's eyes,
This was the right time,
"The Family Head is Young and is, of course, a reliant support who we can fall back on for many coming years so there is no need for us to currently discuss this topic. The choice of leaving everything on time and waiting patiently is by no means, a wrong one.
However,
This doesn't mean we should allow trash to call themselves prospective heirs of the Vesta Family when they do not meet the desired expectations."
Vaan spoke as he glanced at his brothers and sisters with an emotionless look on his face.
He was directly declaring that none of the people standing in front of him deserved the title of Prospective Heirs and what was worse? With how he used the past generation as an example, the current 'heirs' had no words to retort him with either.
This time, even their faction members had turned silent, even Draven and Risia, who supported their children the most had turned silent.
The matter Vaan had pushed forward, for him, it was just a way to destroy the current prospective heirs' arrogance and use them as a stepping stone in order to create his own Faction,
However, for the senior Mages, it was something much more.
It wasn't that they didn't know about this, they were simply trying not to talk about it and waited patiently for the matter to resolve itself, they didn't really have any other option either, they were helpless in this matter, they couldn't just 'adopt' someone with extraordinary Magic Talen and make him the next Family Head, now could they?
They were helpless.
And that was why they avoided the topic, the other mages understood their thoughts and remained silent as well, however, Vaan slapping this topic out in the open like this, this pushed them to the corner.
Vaan unknowingly made it such a way that they couldn't officially avoid this matter anymore.
The Mages all glanced at each other, unsure of what to do in this situation.
Draven and Risia glanced at each other as well, then, the two turned towards Astra and noticed that she was looking at them as well.
A strange silence was spread all over the Vesta Hall, and this happened because of the words of a 20-year-old boy. Honestly, this alone was embarrassing enough for the Mages, but again,
They were out of options.
And as if she wanted to highlight that, Lirael shouted.
"I have had enough of your bullshit!"
"Huh?" Vaan narrowed his eyes.
"The current prospective heirs are not up to the Family's expectations and do not deserve to have their title.
How easy it is to sit back and point fingers at others isn't it?
For someone who is merely a 2nd Circle Mage, you certainly have a lot to say, don't you?
Do you know what you sound like?
You sound like a commoner with no knowledge about Magic talking about how an experienced Mage who spent decades of his life studying Magic, should have used a different way to approach a certain situation.
A fool trying to lecture a scholar.
That is what you sound like.
Honestly, I felt like I was wrong when I told you not to talk here, however, after hearing what you just said, I knew I was right.
Someone ignorant about the matter shouldn't be allowed to speak.
So unless you have a solution, stay silent."
Lirael shouted and this time, no matter which side they belonged to, everyone nodded at her words.
After all, Vaan's words targeted not just the prospective heirs, but all of them. Not to mention Vaan's image in their heads wasn't exactly a great one.
Of course, Vaan couldn't care less about their opinion.
"Huh? What solution is needed?"
Vaan questioned with a frown on his face.
The Senior Mages narrowed their eyes.
Was Vaan this ignorant? They felt like he had changed but…
"Haa! You don't even know what you ar-"
Lirael wanted to bash Vaan again and take some of her anger out on him, but then,
"Aren't I here?
What other solution do we need?"
