"The Battle of Heirs was arranged to push the children to their limits and strengthen them, hiding knowledge and intentionally pushing others behind for your own benefit would simply destroy the family.
And that is something that cannot happen."
Risia spoke as she looked into Astra's eyes.
Astra narrowed her eyes. Then, a small smile appeared on Risia's face and,
"We can go talk to Mother about this, let's see what she has to say about this.
Or better, let's have all the Advance Mages of the Family meet up and ask for their opinion.
We Advance Mages are the backbone of the family, I am sure the Family Head would consider our opinion, correct?"
The greed in Risia's eyes couldn't be more apparent.
This time, she knew she had the momentum, the mages of the Family were loyal to Astra, especially the 7th Circle Mages, those were the Mages Astra had been targeting ever since she was young, other than them, Risia and Draven didn't have a single 7th Circle Mage in their faction.
This was the reason why Astra's influence in the Family was so strong.
Right now, however, things were different. Curiosity and the drive to improve oneself was something that was common in all mages. The stronger the mage, the stronger their thirst for knowledge and magic.
There were even cases of Mages taking extreme steps just to satiate their curiosity. Vaan's Advanced Magic Circle, that was like a piece of lamb amidst starving beasts.
Even the Loyal 7th Circle Mages would be siding against Astra just to get their hands on this knowledge.
Astra may be the Family Head, however, with all the Advance Mages of the Family pressuring her, even she would have to give in.
This Advanced Knowledge, there was no way Astra would be able to keep it all to herself. This time, Risia had won. Astra had no way of guarding her son's secret.
Or… that was what Risia thought.
"Let's do it."
Suddenly, Astra spoke up.
"Huh?" Risia frowned.
However, before she could react,
*Snap*
Astra snapped her fingers and one by one, Mages covered in shadows started appearing in the room.
One, two, three…
Four, five six…
Eleven, Twelve Thirteen…
Soon, Eighteen 7th Circle Mages appeared in the room and surrounded Astra and her siblings. Draven and Risia widened their eyes in disbelief.
They knew the Family had many hidden 7th Circle Mages…
But 18…?
This was more than the total number of 7th Circle Mages they knew about!
And all these mages were hidden…
They, the children of the previous Family Head had never seen them before!
"So, 'the Backbone of the Vesta Family', let me ask you, do you wish to go against my decision and have Vaan personally teach you his Advance Magic Circle?"
In an authoritative tone, Astra glanced at the Mages surrounding her and questioned.
"We do not, Lady Astra.
Young Master Vaan was already gracious enough to reveal his research to the entire world even though he could have kept it hidden, we could not ask for more."
A collective answer was heard.
Draven and Risia gulped as they saw eighteen 7th Circle Mages answering in tandem, showing absolute obedience in front of their little sister.
"Not all the Advance Mages of our Family are here, but these are the majority. Even if the rest of the Advance Mages vote in favor of your suggestion, you still wouldn't have enough votes.
So let's not bother others for something that is already decided, okay?"
Astra commented.
"…"
"…"
The two siblings gulped. They couldn't believe what they were seeing right now. They had already given up on competing with Astra for the position of the Family Head because they knew Astra's influence was too strong for them to defeat her.
This, however, was something on an entirely different level.
She had 18 Advance Mages absolutely loyal to her! Astra could practically do anything in the Family and with these 18 Advance Mages siding with her, the votes would always be in her favor.
This woman was no different than a tyrant!
Astra then walked towards Risia. Then, a scary smile appeared on her face and,
"As for going to the Mother,
Let us go and have a talk with her,
But keep this in your mind,
If we go there, I will reveal all my cards.
I'll do everything in my power to have her support me or…
Not support you.
Are you prepared to face the consequences?"
Risia's expression changed. She understood what Astra was hinting at.
'How did she…?'
Risia couldn't understand. She was absolutely sure she hid it from others, Astra shouldn't know about it, where did she mess up?
Risia started thinking, however, seeing Astra still staring at her, her mind froze.
Thinking about it was pointless, Astra knew her secret, she knew something no one should know, and Astra revealed it to Mother…
Risia desperately shook her head. Not even wanting to think about that possibility.
"I-I was merely t-thinking about the Family, but if so many mages are against my suggestion, then I believe the decision is already made.
There is no need to bother Mother with something as insignificant as this." Risia replied.
"I am glad we came to a unanimous decision."
Astra smiled.
"I share your sentiments…" A weak smile appeared on Risia's face.
"Anyways, since we have come to a decision, I shouldn't bother you anymore."
"Take care of your health, Sister." Astra chuckled.
"Y-You too." Risia nodded as she quickly turned around.
Draven followed her sister out as well.
As the two left, Astra's expression changed,
"Keep an eye on her."
She ordered.
"As you command, Lady Astra."
2 of the 18 mages disappeared.
"You all are excused."
The rest of the Mages disappeared, everyone except one woman.
"What is it, Eliza?" Astra questioned.
"I wanted to report this to Lady Astra before taking any action," Eliza spoke, from her tone, it was clear that it was something important.
"I am listening."
…
"V-Vaan, t-this is…"
"Don't move, Elara. I am hurt and the Medic told me not to move my body much. I need proper rest."
"T-T-Then you should u-use a pillow…"
"It is much more comfortable this way. Let me stay like this, I feel like I am healing much faster than normal in this position."
In Vaan's room, Vaan had placed his head on Elara's lap, Elara was obviously extremely embarrassed, her face was completely red, she wanted to get away, however, with Vaan pulling out the 'I am hurt' card, she stayed still.
If he could heal faster like this… then she would stay like this…
It didn't feel that weird either…
Rather, Elara felt a strange sensation in her heart as she saw Vaan resting on her lap. Her hand automatically moved towards Vaan's purple hair and she started gently ruffling them.
A small smile appeared on Vaan's face.
His eyes then fell on two adorable little creatures sleeping in his chest and his smile widened even further.
This life…
It was just too comfortable. Vaan was getting more and more attached.
'Alright alright, no more raising any dumb flags.'
Vaan inwardly shook his head. Then, he looked at Elara and smiled.
Elara smiled back with a blush on her face and stopped ruffling Vaan's hair.
Vaan chuckled and closed his eyes, making himself comfortable on his fiance's lap.
*Knock* *Knock*
"Young Master Vaan, your rewards from the challenge are here."
Suddenly, Vaan and Elara heard Gabel's voice.
"Come in," Vaan ordered.
"!!!" Elara widened her eyes in surprise. She wanted to move away, Vaan however, just stared at her and,
"I can't move, remember?" he whispered.
Elara was stuck. Gabel then walked into the room, he momentarily paused as he saw the two lying on the bed, however, when he saw Vaan glaring at him for looking more than required, he closed his eyes as he coughed and,
"Here are your rewards, Young Master. A total of 6 Spell Directories of all the mages you defeat."
"Huh? 6?"
Vaan frowned in confusion.
"How did you get 6 Directories, Karl is…"
"The challengers were asked to submit their directories before the start of the Magic Duels."
Gable answered.
"Ahh." Vaan nodded in understanding.
"That is good. I thought I missed out on the Spell Directory of a 3rd Circle Mage, Hahaha~ Guess it all worked out."
Vaan laughed out loud.
"I still do not understand why Young Master Vaan is looking for Spell Directories of other Mages. Not to mention Karl was a Wind Mage, Young Master Vaan doesn't even have an affinity with the Wind Element."
Gabel spoke out his thoughts.
"One can always put things to use."
Vaan smiled mysteriously.
"E-Even I believe Spell Directories of Wind and Earth Mages is useless for you," Elara spoke.
"Is it because I have no affinity with those elements?" Vaan questioned with a playful smile on his face. Elara, however, shook her head,
"No, even if Young Mas- I m-mean, even if you did have affinity with those two elements, you won't need Spell Directories of other mages since you already have the best possible Mage ready to help you."
"Hmm?" Vaan frowned but after thinking for a moment, he finally realized.
"Mother…"
"That is correct, with Teacher Astra on your sid-"
Elara wanted to answer, but then,
"Vaan, we need to talk."
Astra's voice was heard.
