In this dogshit world, Fredrick's mother is an exception in the noble circle, as for most of the nobles, their children are just all tools, who will make their house more prosperous and even the parents treat their children coldly if they failed to live up to their expectations.
After embracing her child for a moment, Ariana felt solace as she caressed Fredrick's hair.
After departing from her son for months, she was quite worried about her son's welfare. Though she knew Fredrick was a good and strong child, she knew that their situation wasn't optimistic.
She is just a concubine and doesn't have any real status in the Duke household. Though everyone in the household has accepted and treated her respectfully, it can't be said true for the others.
Every time she went outside, she can hear people gossiping about her back and ridiculing her and her son. Some people even say that she had seduced the Duke, to take hold of all the wealth and status of the Frost household.
She is ready to bear all the criticism and remains unfazed but she doesn't want her son to suffer for being born from her lowly self.
Remembering it, her heart ached as Fredrick had to suffer and go through a lot for being born from her.
"Son, how are you?" Ariana spoke as she pinched Fredrick's cheek and pulled it to check if he had lost the fat in his cheeks.
"You look a little weak and thin. Are you taking your food properly? Are you having a good time in the academy? Have made many friends in the academy? Did others find trouble with you and harass you."
"Ohh! My poor child, just look how weak you have become after you left the house ." Ariana went on her mumbling as she checked Fredrick from head to the toe.
The maids and the servants chuckled seeing this and Fredrick's face heated up and became red in embarrassment.
Lucas's mouth twitched as he hear Ariana's words.
'Mam, if your son is weak and thin then all others in the academy are just straws and worth a fart.'Lucas muttered inwardly.
If only Ariana was present in the scene, to see how her son killed the huge flying beast, her eyes would have popped out.
"Mom, stop it. There are many people here. Save it for later. Don't embarrass me here." Fredrick spoke as he pulled himself from his mother's clutches.
He feared that if this keeps going on, she may even start counting his hair and became worried that he had lost so much hair.
"Mom meet Lucas. He is one of my friends in Horizon." Fredrick said as he called Lucas.
Lucas stepped forward, he bowed down and said"Mam, it's nice to meet you. I have heard about your grace from Fredrick. He talks a lot about you in the academy"
Ariana examined Lucas for a moment and smiled with satisfaction.
She was relieved that her son had made a friend, a good friend.
"Welcome to the Frost household," Ariana spoke.
Lucas nodded and Ariana was about to say something when they heard a commission from outside.
Lucas looked outside and saw a man with purple hair and a purple beard making his way into the house followed by several knights and another man in his 20s who seemed to be an older version of Fredrick.
As soon as he stepped inside, all the servants, all maids as well Ariana and Fredrick bowed and spoke in unison.
Lucas followed their notion and bowed his head.
"Master and Young Master!Welcome to the capital!"
Everyone spoke and stood still, waiting for Duke's expression.
The Duke nodded his head and rolled his eyes and said"Lift your head."
Lucas went further into a corner as he was feeling quite out of place when he saw the whole family gathered.
Fredrick looked at his older brother Han. Han walked towards Fredrick and stared at him for a moment, trying to observe his progress and spoke"Hmmm. It seems that you didn't slack off in the Academy."
"Second Mother had been quite worried about you. But it seems you are doing quite well in the academy." Han spoke rolling his eyes.
"You too big brother. You seemed to be working quite hard for the Dukedom."
While Fredrick and Han greeted each other and exchanged a few words after meeting each other for a long time, Duke Frank Frost with his hands crossed behind his back looked at his two sons mingling with each other quite well and thought it was good that both of them had no ill intentions towards each other.
He turned his head towards a boy who was standing far away from his sons and his brow furrowed.
He suddenly felt a sharp piercing gaze from him and his eyes met with the golden eyes of the boy, his eyes shrank and he was shocked for a moment.
Frank took a step forward and walked toward Lucas subconsciously.
The entire place turned silent except for the tap, tap, sound coming from Duke's footsteps.
Everyone's breathing stopped as the Duke walked toward the boy whom no one had given any notice.
Everyone wondered curiously why the Duke was walking towards the boy who seemed to be Fredrick's servant.
Lucas frowned and flinched a little
'Why is he walking towards me and looking at me as if he found an interesting toy.'Lucas muttered inwardly still he didn't avert his gaze.
Frank and Lucas stood facing each other and both of them looked at each other without shrinking back.
"So, You are Lucas," Frank spoke as a huge pressure suddenly burst from his body.
Lucas winced as he felt a huge weight crushing down on him and gritting his teeth, he released his own to counter Frank's pressure.
'Is the Duke testing me?"Lucas muttered inwardly and he didn't shrink back as he knew, the Duke hadn't used his full strength otherwise he would have already flattened into meat paste.
Lucas suddenly felt that the pressure weighing on him increased to several folds and his back bent down.
He felt as if serial hands appeared out of nowhere and pulled his own. Many hands clutched his whole body restraining his movements and trying to pin him down.
"Father stop, he is my friend," Fredrick shouted and was about to rush forwards but he was held back by Hans.
"Brother." Fredrick looked back to see his brother shaking his head, signalling him not to interfere.
"Duke..." Ariana spoke with a grim expression as she saw the small boy around his son's age being pressured by the Duke.
Though she didn't know why he was doing this, he can see that he doesn't mean to cause any harm to the boy.
Lucas's body was slowly crumbling under pressure and he was inching closer to the ground.
'Is he forcing me to kneel?'Lucas gritted his teeth and his expression turned angry as he tried to manipulate mana.
CRACK
The air in the surroundings rippled and the floor on which Lucas stood cracked and one of his legs went onto the floor which cracked the marble floor.
Lucas gritted his teeth and looked at Duke as his gaze became cold and dark.
His eyes started to cast a red glow and a red glow started to cover his body.
Frank flinched back as his eyes met with Lucas's eyes which were as dark as a black hole that wanted to pull anything before him into the abyss.
Lucas felt an unknowing strength was about to erupt from his body, he felt that strength that had been in slumber in his body was about to awaken but before it can happen, the weight weighing down suddenly dissipated and the pressure from Frank's body disappeared.
The servants watched the scene with shock with hands-on their mouths unable to understand what was happening.
They grasped in fear and thought that the boy had unknowingly offended the Duke and the Duke wanted to kill him.
Lucas panting heavily took a deep and heavy breath and coughed a few times as he felt that he was going to be a choke today.
He was feeling dizzy after experiencing such pressure. He felt as if he was under 10g gravity which was pulling him down.
Lucas was snapped out of his thoughts when a hand appeared on his shoulder and patted him.
Lucas looked up with a surprised expression to see Frank was smiling at him as he patted his shoulder.
"You are living up to my expectations, Lucas, You are worthy" Frank spoke and crossing his arms back, he moved up the stairs under everyone's eyes who were unable to comprehend the scene that happened before them.
"Worthy!! of what?" Lucas spoke, questioning himself as felt that the words said by Frank were not something he spoke casually and had a deeper meaning.
Another thing that Lucas found surprising was that the duke looked at him with eyes as if he was familiar with him and Lucas felt that Frank had known about him for a long time.
Lucas sighed.
After meeting with his previous self, he was feeling quite strange and felt as if he experiencing many things for a second time but he had no memory of it but just a minute fleeting feeling which is odd, really odd that can't be described with words.
Fredrick came running towards Lucas lend a shoulder and support him and asked: "Lucas are you all right?"
"Yes, I think so," Lucas replied.
"I apologise for my father's behaviour," Han spoke and further added, "He is quite eccentric and often does this kind of thing when he found a talented one."
"Father seems to be quite interested in you. You may haven't seen but he had a faint smile on his lips when he walked away which is the rarest thing of all. Of my 22 years of being born, I had seen my father smile only two times. One was when Fredrick beat the shit out of a knight for uttering nonsense and the second is today," Han explained gleefully.
Lucas chuckled and took it as a compliment and looked at Fredrick with a questioning gaze about the incident when he beat the Knight.
Cough...Cough.
"Fredrick, I think you should first treat Lucas. Prepare the guest house for him." Ariana ordered.
"Fredrick takes your friend for a rest," Ariana spoke as she looked worried expression.
As she looked at Lucas and Fredrick back walking up the stairs, she thought about Duke's words.
She is a 7-Star mage so her hearing was quite sharp.
No one had heard the Duke's words which he spoke with a faint voice but she could hear his voice when he passed by her.
" You were proven wrong " She had heard these words clearly from Duke's mouth while his lips curled upward.
