'This boy…'
Luther Aditi's mind is a turrent of emotions—it has been for quite some time now.
As he causally swings his blade, intentionally missing all the vital parts of his son's body, but still expressing a brutal expression on his face, his thoughts clash against one another in a violent maelstrom of curiosity, confusion, and suspicion.
He stares at Javier, feeling the cold chill of the boy's gaze, and realizes the truth.
'… He really is not afraid of dying.'
How can such a boy possess this kind of fearless, callous spirit? Even he wasn't like this when he was Javier's age.
Luther realizes that Javier is reaching his limit and will die really soon if he doesn't withhold his attacks, but he can't bring himself to stop. Something feels very off to him, and it causes a certain feeling to burn in his chest.
He narrows his eyes and stares into Javier's eyes, unable to decipher what it is that bothers him so much. It troubles him greatly.
'I should stop now. But…' Luther frowns and shakes his head. '… No!'
Luther feels a strong inclination to keep advancing! There is something to unearth about the current situation that causes his heart to race mildly. He is unable to think properly, and he fears that stopping will be exactly what will seal his worries, turning them into reality.
Also, Javier deserves this.
At least, in his eyes.
'He dares to besmirch the family's name and insult our honor to such an extent? Everything I've built… everything my ancestors built… a mere boy who hasn't even become an adult feels the need to trivialize it! He really is asking for death! Maybe I should give it to him!'
After all, what is sixteen more years?
Luther knows.
'I could always have another!'
Besides…
'If I push him to his limits, no, beyond that, maybe he'll finally crack and beg me for mercy. I must hear him apologize! He must take back his words! Just a little more! Just—!'
"Please stop! He's going to die!"
At this point, blond hair dances in the air, and the woman he calls wife charges into the fray.
Her full body enters his view, casting a shadow of protection on the bastard son who dared to taint the family's glory with his arrogant words.
"Step out of the way, woman!"
"J-Javier is going to die if you continue! He can't take any more!"
"I said, move!" Luther tries to shove this woman, his wife—Janith—aside, but surprisingly, she slaps his hand off and remains in position.
"NO!"
"What?" Luther Aditi's eyes widen at the defiance.
Before he can say anything to her, she hurriedly wraps her body around Javier, not even caring for the blood that envelops his body. He glares at this display of motherly love and filial passion, and his frown deepens.
Luther feels a sting in his chest, but he ignores it and grunts.
He glances around the field and sees that they are all alone. Only Javier, his mother, and he are present in the vast field.
Janith had sent everyone else away.
"Tch!" Luther clicks his tongue and finally lowers the sword.
He splatters the leftover blood on the field and sheathes the obsidian blade in one quick motion.
"Useless…"
He is about to walk away when he hears the woman's panicky voice echo in the field.
"His breathing is getting slower! He's losing strength! His body is getting cold! Javier! No, Javier!"
Luther rolls his eyes and grunts in annoyance.
"Stop making so much noise, woman!" He tosses a vial at her, which she catches immediately—almost as though she had been expecting it.
"Use it on his injuries. It should stabilize them, at the very least."
Luther walks away without saying anything else.
He casts a small glance back at his slightly relieved wife and at his unconscious son, before turning to his front and walking without obstruction.
**********
After a quick shower, Luther steps out of the bathroom.
His body is filled with all manner of scars, several of them overlapping as they spread across his slightly aged body. He is already forty years old, yet his body has the appearance of a warrior in his youth. With bulging muscles, a perfectly toned olive skin, and a hairy chest that would intimidate anyone.
He is draped in a towel, and the slight graze on his arm is covered with bandages, obscuring the mild injury.
He pays it no mind as he enters his bedroom, only to see his wife standing at the far corner of the room, close to the door. It's evident that she has been waiting for him, and the scowl on her face shows it isn't for anything pleasant.
"I take it the brat is still breathing. That would explain why you can make such a glare at me rather than bawling your eyes out in sorrow and shame."
Janith Aditi's frown intensifies.
Her eyes narrow on him, and she folds her arms to express disapproval.
"What is it you have to say? Spit it out or get out of my sight, woman!" Luther growls at her like a wild beast, his mask of nonchalance slowly fading away.
"His condition has been stabilized, though it will take him some days to completely heal."
"You should thank me for that Potion." Luther shrugs, slowly approaching his wardrobe to change. "Would have taken him at least a month if it wasn't for me…"
"If it wasn't for you? If it wasn't for you, he wouldn't have been injured to begin with!"
"What?!"
"You took it too far, Luther! You nearly killed our son."
Luther rolls his eyes at this point, shaking his head. "I knew what I was doing. That brat didn't know his place, and he went as far as insulting this Household. I was simply disciplining him."
"To the point of nearly killing him?!"
"HE WASN'T—" Luther pauses, taking a deep breath before glancing at his wife, Janith, with a less vicious and more distracted gaze. "He wasn't going to die. I would have stopped at the last minute, and he knew that as well."
"It didn't look like that to me…"
"What do you know about it, woman? Just get off my case and go look after him or something."
Luther turns away from her and continues to rummage through his wardrobe.
"I will!" Janith responds resolutely. "And what about Selicia? You won't ask about her condition, even though it was you who hit her?"
"It was only a small slap. She earned it by defying her father. Seems like she got it from someone…"
"Oh? Don't threaten me, Luther! You think I'm afraid of you?" Despite saying this, Janith takes a step back and tries to hide the fearful look in her eyes.
"…." Luther notices this and says nothing.
"You slapped your only daughter till she was unconscious, and you hacked at your firstborn son until he nearly died. What's next, huh? You're going to go after Craig next? Or is it me? You're going to kill me?"
"Don't tempt me, woman!"
"Well, you can try it! Give it your best shot!" Janith's voice rises, her eyes widening with so much rage that she even surprises herself.
"You—!" Luther turns to glare at her. "Now I see where those children got their rebellious nature from. It was from you all along!"
"Yeah, yeah! Blame me, blame the children… blame everyone else except the actual Head of the Household. I suppose everyone should be held accountable for their actions and inactions except for you! Everyone is wrong except for Luther Aditi!"
"Silence!"
"… No!" With a shrill cry, Janith gives her response.
This stuns Luther, causing his expression to soften. His body slowly shifts, and he takes a few steps away from the woman before him. Suddenly, it seems like he is the one afraid.
"You keep blaming me for everything, but I am only one of two parents! I have raised your children to the best of my abilities. My family has also supported the Aditi Household for generations, yet this is the thanks I get?"
"… It's not like that."
"If anything had happened to Javier tonight, I would not hesitate to pack my things and leave, along with my children."
"You wouldn't…"
"Do you want to make a bet?" She takes a step forward this time, her eyes blazing with resolve.
"You can't." Luther looks at her calmly and speaks. "What would everyone say?"
Janith makes a rebellious smile, akin to that of an insane woman.
Her hair is disheveled already, and her attire is soaked in the blood of her child. Her skin has been tainted with dirt and dried blood, and mascara runs down her face as a result of all the tears she has shed in this brief period.
With swollen, bloodshot eyes, she grins maniacally at Luther.
"Maybe I don't care anymore."
Before Luther can utter his next statement, Janith storms out of the room.
This stuns him.
It's the first time Janith has ever walked out on him. Up until now, despite her deficiencies, she has been the perfect, submissive wife.
But this night has brought about a change that even Luther could not have expected.
'Was this all within your expectations as well… Javier?'
Ever since he left the field, and even in the shower, Luther constantly thought about the unsettling feeling he had when facing his son. It didn't take him very long to realize why, once his mind settled and he went over everything from the beginning.
'That brat played me from the very beginning. I fell for his scheme.'
Thinking about it now, a lot of things didn't make sense regarding their fight and how quickly things escalated—and this isn't simply because Luther shirks responsibility to other people.
No, this runs deeper.
'Why did he cause such a huge commotion back then? He yelled out at me, spouting all those words about how he would rather die. Clearly, it was to alert the patrolling guards, who would undoubtedly report to my wife. He also timed everything perfectly and only went all-out with all six cycles of the Aditi Martial Techniques once he had a crowd.'
Why?
Luther had an idea.
'I don't know how he learned those moves, but they are the genuine thing. The Aditi Martial Techniques, as simplistic as it is, is a very unique moveset that has to be taught before full comprehension. Even I… took nearly a decade to master everything.' His brows furrow even more as he sinks deeper into his thoughts.
'The most important part about this technique is that it must only be taught by the Head of the Household… to the official Heir.'
That clearly means two things.
There's no other person who could possibly have taught Javier those moves.
And…
… Javier is already the official Heir of the Aditi Household.
'He displayed it in front of all those people, including his mother. Even if none of them can replicate his movements, they can recognize it as our Martial Technique. Even if most of them don't, they still serve as witnesses for Javier to cement his position as official Heir.'
Luther grits his teeth for a moment before collapsing on his bed and letting out a turbid breath.
'All that nonsense talk about refusing to be Heir, when he already created a plan to give himself that position, even without my permission. I can't even strip him of the title anymore…'
This was why Luther felt so agitated, yet he couldn't explain why.
It was because of this!
'I fell for that little boy's schemes. Now that he has been recognized as the official Heir, even if he is unable to appear at his own Coming-of-Age Ceremony, nothing changes. He already achieved his goals. Does that mean… he already anticipated my actions?'
After observing Javier's problematic behavior, Luther already had the mind to prevent Javier from attending the Coming-of-Age Ceremony. He would make all the decisions and announce Javier's enrollment into the Knight Academy—trapping Javier in an inescapable situation.
To provide justification for Javier's absence, he was going to injure him to a considerable extent and ensure he couldn't attend the event.
'That's why I didn't pay much attention to the injuries I inflicted on him. In my mind, he wouldn't need to appear in the Ceremony at all. I initially tried to hide my intentions by only attacking him in places that could be hidden by cloth, but I intended to break one or two bones and deal sufficient damage that would take some time to heal, even with Potions. That way, he'll be bedridden until he gets shipped off to the Knight Academy. How could he have read my moves so easily? Not only that, but he countered them perfectly.'
Luther sighs and shakes his head.
Perhaps he is overthinking it. This could simply be pure luck. After all, how can such a young boy possess such intellectual acumen? To achieve what Luther suspects of Javier, one must not only have incredible foresight, but also a vast pool of knowledge and perfect planning ability.
It escapes logic that a fifteen-year-old could possess all of that.
Especially if that person is Javier Aditi.
'I've observed him since he was a child. That boy is too average. He is talentless and doesn't stand out in any way. How can he be responsible for such a scheme?' Luther shakes his head and is tempted to dismiss all of this as his own worries.
But—
'This changes everything, though…'
Scheme or not, now that Javier has pronounced himself official Heir in a rather unconventional way, and will be bedridden for quite a while, Luther recognizes that he can no longer send him off to the Knight Academy.
Worse yet, those wolves from the Minor Families will begin to show up and make trouble for the Aditi Household. Could this be another layer to Javier's scheme, to keep Luther busy with damage control?
Perhaps. Perhaps not.
But it remains a reality that he will have to deal with.
'Everything is ruined. The rebellion of the Aditi Household's Heir will soon spread as rumors, and the enemies of my Major Family will begin to make moves in a scramble for power. Some may even approach Javier, trying to fish for benefits. Maybe I can use this to confirm how deep his intelligence goes. If he really is that exceptional, then he isn't simply a genius, but a prodigy.'
He would undoubtedly be a proper fit as Heir of the Aditi Household, regardless of his problematic attributes.
'Not only in intelligence, but also in combat. He could replicate the Aditi Martial Technique after only seeing it once. I still don't believe it, but there's no other explanation since I'm the only one in the family who knows all six cycles.'
All of this is a big headache for Luther, but he hasn't even explored all his problems yet.
'Our Main Family is fractured… everything is falling apart. The ones who should be Knights are unwilling, and the one who shouldn't aspire for such desires Knighthood. Janith currently resents me, and I'm certain rumors about my actions towards my son will spread through the Estate and reduce my reputation even among my own subordinates…'
All of this couldn't have come at a worse time, when the Minor Families will undoubtedly begin to make their moves.
'Look at the mess we're in because of you, Javier…' Luther sighs and shakes his head, ready to brace the storm that currently blows on his precious world. As the Head, he is prepared to do whatever it takes to defend his position, but he can't help but consider his oldest child as his mind swirls into action.
'What are you going to do next?'