Chapter 103: Meeting with family
So, everyone change and be at the training grounds in ten minutes. You are dismissed," Miss Elizabeth said.
The students got up and left. Leah walked up to Silva as they left the class.
"I noticed you and the Duke\'s wife staring at each other. Do you know her?" Leah asked.
"Nope, this is the first time meeting her," Silva said.
"I\'d think otherwise, seeing as you have her hair and eyes. Quite the coincidence," Leah said with a smile and walked away.
"She is way more observant than I thought. I\'ll have to clear things up to avoid any unforeseen happenings," Silva said to himself.
---
When they arrived at the training grounds, Silva sat to the side watching the students train.
He couldn\'t really learn anything from sparring with them, and they couldn\'t learn from him since his skills were too high.
Elizabeth would have been a good partner, but she couldn\'t leave the other students for now.
Mrs. Terron noticed that Silva was free, and she saw that as her opportunity. She walked toward him, her breathing got haggard with every step.
It was as though she was summoning all the courage she could to come to Silva.
Silva could already sense her coming; he could feel the hesitation and anxiety in her, but he kept acting as though he didn\'t know until she got to his side.
"I hear you are Silva, the number one first-year." She used that as a way to start a discussion.
"Yes, I am. It\'s nice to meet you, Mrs. Terron," Silva said.
"The pleasure is mine. So why aren\'t you participating?" she asked.
"We try to get stronger with every activity, but this activity doesn\'t hold anything to make me stronger," Silva replied bluntly.
He looked up at his mother and spoke, "There is something you want to say. I can sense it. What is it?" Silva asked.
"Sigh, you are smart like they say. I\'ll be straight with you. I\'d like to study you and get to know you better.
I\'d like to be your benefactor, so what do you say about that?" She asked in a calm voice to mask her pain.
\'Benefactor? That\'s what she is going with? Nah, don\'t worry, Mom, you\'ll get to be my mother sooner than you expect,\' Silva thought.
"That seems nice. I\'d like to discuss it more, but I\'ll need to meet your family as well. I already know your children, but we haven\'t spoken much at all.
So, I\'d like to know the family that I am placing my life in. I mean no disrespect, but it has to be done," Silva said.
"I understand. I\'ll talk to your director. She will allow my kids and you to come to the Duke\'s manor for dinner tomorrow. You can stay over and return the day after," she said.
"That\'s good. I\'ll be looking forward to it," Silva said. He got up from the place and walked away. He could still feel his mother\'s eyes on him even as he walked away, and it took him some effort not to turn back.
---
Evening came, and Silva was ready. His brother and sister had gone along with their mother to prepare, while a carriage was set to carry him to the Duke\'s manor.
Silva didn\'t inform any of his friends that he was leaving; he simply left. He got into the carriage, and it took him to the mansion of the Duke.
When he arrived, a butler met him at the door.
"Good evening, Master Silva. The Duke and his family are awaiting you at the table. Right this way." The butler, who was a middle-aged man, spoke with eloquence and respect.
Silva followed him into the house and to the dining hall.
The dining hall was massive, with a table too big for a family of four.
The Duke and his family were already there, with his wife to his right and his two children to the left.
When Oliver and Sage saw Silva, a frown was plastered on their faces. They were told that they had a guest and that their mother wanted them to be there.
They didn\'t expect that it would be Silva, of all people.
Silva bowed to the Duke when he arrived.
"Welcome, Silva. This is the second time we have met. Please take a seat," the Duke said.
Silva did as he was told and sat opposite the Duke.
Soon after, the food was served by the maids, and they started to eat.
The Duke looked up to begin a discussion.
"So, Silva, how is being a student at the academy?" the Duke asked.
"Let\'s cut the crap here," Silva said, taking everyone by surprise. What the hell did Silva just say?
"How dare you talk to my father like that?" Oliver got up and roared.
"Keep your trash shut, you no-good piece of untalented crap. I\'ve seen commoners better than you, you stupid little boy," Silva clapped back in a way that Oliver was not expecting.
What Silva did was so shocking that no one else at the table knew how to react. This was a commoner talking to a Duke and his family rudely.
Silva could see the surprise, and he decided to drive all this home.
"Thirteen years. Thirteen bloody years I\'ve lived as a commoner because you, a piece of old shit under the name of a father, decided I was no good for living," Silva dropped a bombshell on all of them. It started getting hard for them to understand what was going on.
"You are confused, right? Father? You are wondering what I\'m talking about. Well, let me refresh your memory.
Thirteen years ago, one night, a woman gave birth to a son. But that son seemed to not have good magical affinity.
You ordered for that son to be killed, but his mother saved him and asked that he be taken away. Does this story ring any bells?"