"You called, Mother?"
Vaan questioned as he walked into his mother's room.
This time, however, he wasn't welcomed by the usually warm smile Astra always had. Right now, Astra was sitting on a chair with a cold look on her face.
"Enter."
Astra ordered.
Vaan frowned in confusion.
What happened? Why was his mother acting like that?
Vaan walked towards Astra and stood in front of her.
"You have gotten daring, haven't you?"
Astra questioned as she glared at Vaan.
"What are you talking about, Mother?" Vaan questioned.
"What? Did you think I wouldn't know that you went to those 5 families and threatened them?" Astra spoke.
Vaan narrowed his eyes.
Soon, however, he realized it,
"Gabel…"
"What Gabel!? You think I wouldn't get to know about it if he hadn't reported it!?"
"No, but you wouldn't have learned about it so soon," Vaan replied honestly.
Hearing his answer, Astra's anger soared even higher.
"How dare you walk into their family and threaten them using our Family name!? What kind of lowly behavior is this!?
What are you, a thug!?
Or is it our Vesta Family that is nothing but a bunch of thugs banded together!?"
Astra shouted as she slammed the table in front of her in anger.
"We are not a group of thugs, Mother," Vaan replied with a calm look on his face.
Seeing his calmness, Astra's anger faltered a little. She felt like unlike Vaan's usual impulsive actions, this one was something he had planned.
In the end, Astra gave him the benefit of the doubt and,
"You better explain your actions, Vaan."
"Those 5 dared to attack me, Mother. They needed to pay the price."
"So you did this because of petty revenge?" Astra raised her eyebrow.
"That is correct.
Anyone who dares to bare his fang against me cannot get out scot-free, the descendants of the Vesta Family are not that weak."
"Descendants of the Vesta Family are never weak! The only weakling here is you Vaan!
Why are you acting all proud and great when the only thing you did was use your family name and threaten them!?
What kind of revenge is that, huh!? You might as well just come to me and beg me to take care of little enemies you have made!"
"Mother, I didn't just threaten them, I also beat them up on my own. I just felt like beating them was not enough so I decided to get some money out of it."
Vaan replied with a confident smile as he rubbed his fist.
"Yes, I heard that as well, a member of the Vesta Family going around attacking people using his fists, lamps, and cutleries." Astra nodded her head,
Then, she looked into Vaan's face and,
"Do you think that is something to be proud of!?
If you wanted to show your superiority, then go fight them using your magic. Challenge them to a magic duel and defeat them!
That is how a Vesta descendant should act!" She shouted.
"My Magic abilities are not good enough to use in a fight, Mother. I had to use what I felt the most confident in." Vaan replied.
"…" Astra turned silent.
She was beaming with rage, however, Vaan's calm replies didn't give her any chance to take all that out. She would have preferred if Vaan simply stood still in guilt, or retorted back in anger, that way, at the very least, she could take her anger out.
In front of Vaan's calm replies, however, she felt lost.
In the end, Astra sighed and decided to take a different approach,
"Do you know how severe the consequences of your actions are?" Astra questioned.
"I do not." Vaan shook his head.
"If people found out about this, they wouldn't blame you, they would blame the Vesta Family, your uncles, and aunts already do not like you, once this happens, they would not sit still. Even I would have a hard time protecting you."
"Don't worry, that won't happen, mother. Nobody would find out about this, Asher and the others won't open their mouths." Vaan shook his hand nonchalantly.
"And how are you so sure about that?" Astra raised her eyebrow.
'How many times do you think I have done this?'
Vaan spoke inwardly.
This was definitely not the first time he had threatened someone.
And from his experience, this was one of the better cases, he had even blackmailed people in cases where he didn't even have the actual power behind him. In this case, however, he had all the power he needed.
Honestly, Vaan was having a hard time believing that previous Vaan didn't use his family name to his advantage.
Just how big of a fool one has to be to not use this huge advantage he has?
Vaan would have preferred if the rather than a pushover, previous Vaan was someone who used his family status to bully others. At least then, he wouldn't have to recall all those embarrassing memories of being looked down on by those who are lower than him.
Anyways, as Vaan mentioned, from his experience in blackmailing and threatening, he was sure Asher and the others wouldn't open their mouth, however, the problem was…
How was he going to explain this to his mother…?
"Mother."
After thinking about all this, Vaan called out.
"What?"
"I ask you to trust me."
"Huh?"
"As I said before, I have changed. I am not like the previous Vaan anymore and I assure you, my actions would not trouble you anymore.
You do not have to protect me anymore, now, the only thing you need to do is wait and be proud of your child's accomplishments.
I know these actions of mine are not something to be proud of, they were crude and unrefined, but trust me, I will improve. I'll study magic, get better and I will make you proud. I promise you."
Vaan spoke with an earnest look on his face.
Hearing those words, all of Astra's anger flushed in an instant,
"A-Alright, whatever. Remember what you said, I will not protect you this time."
"Yes, mother. You won't have to."
"You can leave now."
Astra ordered.
"Yes, I will take my leave." Vaan nodded with a slight smile, then, he turned around.
Just as he was about to leave,
"Go to Magic Training room 8 at 5 in the evening, you will have 2 hours to practice your magic."
Astra spoke.
Vaan's smile widened,
"Thank you for your help, mother."
Saying those words, Vaan walked out of the room.
Astra, who was left alone in the room just sighed,
"Young Master has changed."
Suddenly, a figure covered in black appeared behind Astra and commented.
"I just don't know if it is a good change or not." Astra sighed.
"Please stop lying to yourself, Lady Astra. The smile on your face is already giving it away." The figure spoke.
With a surprised look on her face, Astra glanced at the mirror,
She was indeed smiling.
In the end, she decided to not hide it and laughed out loud,
"I heard he broke their noses."
"He created quite a mess out of their faces. Those young men are still being treated, with how severe their injuries are, I believe it would take a month before their face finally returns to normal." The figure reported.
"That is good. They deserve nothing less." Astra nodded with a proud look on her face.
"Though I still wish he would have used Magic to do that."
Astra sighed.
The figure who was standing beside her didn't say anything. However, inwardly, she was full of complaints.
If she could speak freely, she would have lashed out at Astra.
'Not everyone is ridiculously strong as you! How is a 1st Circle Mage supposed to use magic to fight their opponent when they are barely 2-3 meters away from each other!? Only monsters like you have that kind of casting speed!'
"Anyways, I hope this changed Vaan wouldn't make a mistake today.
I am really looking forward to their meeting. Since he is doing everything right,
I want him to do the right thing here as well."
Suddenly, Astra commented.
"The time slot you gave him.
If I am not wrong, it should be the time when Lady Elara should be exiting that room."
The figure commented.
A smile appeared on Astra's face and,
'Don't mess this up, Vaan.'
