Having no choice but to ascertain by myself who the famous guest was, I entered the living room.

Syrus followed me in the room and closed the door behind me.

I entered and I saw the famous guest sitting on the living room’s sofa and standing at its side was Maa.

Right in front of me was the first noble since that day.

Personally, I have completely forgotten what my father and the old man who was with him look like.

All I remember is that my father was blond and had red eyes and the other had silver hair and blue eyes.

Today God gave me the opportunity to remember what the old man looks like.

Silver hair, blue eyes, and his most prominent features a black imperial mustache.

I’ve seen this man before he was there that day.

He hasn’t changed at all- at least I think.

He doesn’t seem any different from what he looked like nine years ago.

As soon as he saw me. He slowly stood up.

I also approached and executed the noble greeting Maa has hammered on me since my youngest days.

“This one is Ronandt, son of Luke Aubrecht, May the mighty blessing of Djeem the accursed be upon us.”

“This one is Emilien Edouard, May the eternal blessing of Kiady upon us.”

As soon as we finished our greeting he came at me, reached both of his hands, and lifted me in the air.

He looked at me with an amused face, turned to Maa while still holding me in the air.

“I didn't think he would look like this.”

What are you talking about?

I look like what?

“I was expecting him to be a little bit chubbier.” added the man. ”Are they feeding you properly? ” he asked me.

“Yes.”

He then arbored a satisfied smile and put back on the ground. He went back to the sofa, with his hand he indicated to me to sit in the nearest chair.

And I executed myself.

“Do you know who I am to you ?”

With a shake of the head, I indicated that no.

“I am your grandfather.” He said that in a way that implied that he expected some sort of reaction from me.

“My grandfather ?”

“Yes, I am your father’s uncle.” He said with a smile. ”You’ve never met anyone from the family, right?”

“Yes.”

“I was sent here to fix that.”

“What exactly does that mean?”

“Exactly what I meant. Boy, how old are you?”

“Nine years in one week.”

“Then, this is going to be the first birthday you’ll celebrate with us, your family.”

“I’m not sure I understand.”

“Lord Emilien, I think that it would be better if you explain to him what is going on,” said Mathilda.

“I guess you’re right.” He then slammed his hands on his thigh like someone preparing himself for a long and tiring exercise. “Where should I begin, …. let’s begin by the beginning then. Do you know what we are?”

“Nobles.”

“Right, and do you know the difference between us and the people like Mathilda and Syrus over there?”

“Yes, We nobles are capable of producing mana thus the ability to use magic.”

He replied with a satisfied nod.

“Exactly and do you know the difference between you and me?”

To his question, I was quite tempted to say our age but common sense refrained me from doing so.

“ If it’s not the fact that, I am not coronated yet because I’m still not 10 yet. If that's not it then, it can only be the fact that, unlike Lord Emilien, I was not born of two noble parents.”

From their reaction, I knew I was right on the spot.

I saw Maa and Lord Emilien gasping in surprise and judging from the noise behind me, I knew that it was also the case for Syrus.

Lord Emilien turned over to Maa surely to ask if she was the one who told me and vigorously shook her head.

Did they really think that it wasn’t obvious enough?

I mean guys, I lived almost nine here in the middle of nowhere, Both Syrus and Mathilda have no problem talking about my father but immediately change the subject when it comes to my mother.

“Who told the young Lord about that ?” Asked Maa.

“No one, it was just a guess. But from your reaction, I suppose I was on spot.”

“It is as you say. You are born from my nephew, a noble and a commoner. I heard from Mathilda and I saw it by myself that you spend a lot of time in the library. What do you know about child born from a noble and a commoner ?”

“Nothing, I found a lot of information about those of the nobility such as the children of light but there was nothing about the like of me.”

“It makes sense since there's never been someone like you before.”

“What?”

“Noble and commoners are physically incapable of conceiving a child together. As a doctor myself I can confirm that to you. For us, nobles impregnating or being impregnated by a commoner is considered an absolute taboo. And yet there are still fools foolish enough to do it.” He said with a sigh.”Not only is the probability of the partner to fall pregnant is low but once the pregnancy reaches its sixth month it ends with the death of both the mother and the child.”

The pale face of the black-haired woman from that day passed through my mind.

“Is my mother alright?”

“She is alright Mathilda and I can confirm that.” To that Mathilda immediately nodded.

“I see. That’s good to hear. Then do you know why my mother and I haven’t ended up like the others?”

“I personally don’t know. You and your mother are a mystery to me as a doctor. One of the four main reasons we sent you here in the middle of nowhere is to keep you away from those who are curious about what exactly makes you and your mother apart. One must say that you and your mother are two rather unique specimens that a lot of people, myself included, would be delighted to dissect.”

He’s joking, right?

Right?

“You have to be so tense, I won’t do anything to you.” He said with a heartfelt laugh.

“And what might the three other three remaining reasons be?”

“The second reason is that Luke is married. He even has a daughter, just a little bit older than you, and another son who’s gonna be four this year.”

Oh shit, that’s low.

So my father is a cheater.

I really pity his wife.

“Third reason is that when you were born we weren’t sure that you would make it past your first year. To be fair you didn’t look to be extremely alive when you were born.”

I didn't look alive?

What do you mean?

Suddenly I remembered why I was baptized under the authority of Djeem the accursed in the first place.

“I see. And the fourth reason?”

“Do you know what the church is ?”

“Yes I do, it's the organization that has watched over humanity since its dawn.”

“Exactly, They are the true reason we had to send you here. As I said earlier, we nobles consider coupling with a commoner to be taboo, but those from the church see this as a complete heresy. If those from the church, especially those from the clergy, were to hear about your existence, I’m not sure how they would react but it would be nothing but pleasant for you.``

At the mention of the church, Mathilda’s back immediately straightened.

Suddenly Martha’s black carbon blade flashes across my mind.

Nobility is there to rule over humanity and the church is there to keep them on watch. If the church were to take me away I doubt anyone could oppose it.

Now that I think of it, there must be at least someone from the church who is aware of my existence.

I was baptized and only a cleric can officiate this ritual.

The masked man from that day.

“Then who performed my baptismal?”

“Ah~ that was a close friend of ours. We promised to keep him out of this, so I can’t say his name. You know it can get very messy especially for him this affair was to the church’s higher up ears.”

“I see, then it means that I’ll have to spend the rest of my life here.”

“Not necessarily, as I said earlier, I came here to take you back to the family side.”

“But what about the reason for hiding me you’ve just listed earlier?”

“That was in the past, tides have changed lately thanks to a certain person: Your great-grandfather. Have you ever heard about him?”

Now that I think of it Syrus has once mentioned something about him being a very important person within the church.

“ I just heard that he is one of the seven Holy paladins of the Paladin Order.”

“Exactly, Your great grandfather spent most of his time serving the church. It's almost thirty-year since his last visit to the duchy but two weeks ago we received a letter from your great grandfather announcing his arrival in four months. Your father and I, we plan to introduce you to him.”

“But wouldn't it be dangerous for me to be introduced to someone so faithful to the church? And what exactly can he do in my case ?”

“I understand your concern but your great-grandfather is a very emotion-driven person. Isn’t it Syrus ?”

“It is as Lord Emilien said,” confirmed Syrus.

“ Furthermore your great-grandfather has a really soft spot for your father and you do really look like your father a lot if not for those black hairs yours. And to answer your second question, I will ask you once again how old are you?”

“Almost nine.”

“How many years before your coronation ?”

“One year.”

“We plan to ask your great grandfather to be your ray for your coronation.”

For a noble, there are two ceremonies that a noble must undergoes before being accepted as an active member of the nobility.

The Baptismal is done right after the birth. The main objective is to remove from the child his ability to use magic. The presence of the father is required for this ritual because not only it is his duty to give the newborn his first name, it’s also his duty to choose between which one of the seven apostles authority the child would be put under.

While the baptismal is held right after birth, the coronation on the other hand is performed on the child's tenth birthday. The main objective of this ritual is to give back to the child its ability to use magic. It’s also during this ritual that the child is given its last name and the one who gives can whether the father or someone else referred to as “Ray”

Ray refers to someone who gives his last name to someone else's child, in short, a sort of adoption.

That practice is often used for child of light since they are from commoners parents, he receives his last name from his ray (adoptive father)

If that person is willing to be my ray then, maybe- I say maybe that would put me a little bit out of harm's way. The only people I would have to be wary of would be the six other Holy paladins, the seven ArchBishops, and of course the Pontiff, the quantity has decreased but each of them holds a considerable amount of power.

This whole mess just stinks.

Why can’t I just live pretending to be you know for example a rich commoner?

“Will it really be enough? What about the other Archbishop and Holy Paladins?” I asked.

“We’re not 100% sure, but this is the best opportunity we have in eight years to get you out of this place. Of course, we can let you live as a commoner but it would mean abandoning your life as a noble, the possibility to use magic, marriage~ well in a way you can still get engaged but your chance of getting a child together are very low. It also means to remain hidden like a fugitive from the nobility and the church all your life.”

“I see… Maa, what do you think of that plan?” I asked who’s been silent since the beginning of this discussion.

“Hee me? I think it’s the best opportunity for the Young Lord to return to its parents' side.”

“That was unexpecting from you. I thought you would say that it would be safe for him to remain hidden here,” said Lord Emilien, visibly surprised by Mathilda's reply.

“It can’t be helped, a child's place is with his parents after all.”

“That’s the most Mathilda-like answer you could’ve given.”

“Syrus, what do you think of it?” I asked him.

“Me?” asked Syrus, who clearly wasn’t ready to be asked about his opinion on the matter. ” I am not saying what Young Lord should choose but I think it’s worth giving it a try.”

“I see, I guess, I’ll give it a try then.”

“It’s not like you had any choice in the first place.” As he said that he stood up and let out an extremely long sigh.

Excuse me, does the word “Free will” speak to you?

“I didn’t expect this to be settled this fast. Boy pack your stuff, we’re going tomorrow,” he added.

“Going where ?” I asked.

“To the Beaumont duchy main city obviously. Didn’t you just say that you’ll give it a try?”

“Yes, but isn’t this a little bit hasty, won’t that-my great-grandfather come back only in like 3 months? “

“Yes, but you’ll need time to make up with your father. You guys are going to catch everything you’ve missed in these almost nine years. Give it your best Boy.” He said while patting my head.

With that said he left the room with Syrus, leaving only Maa and me in the room.

It is as he said.

It all just went too fast.

I was just going along with the flow and here I am now.

“Maa, what should I do ?” I pitifully asked Mathilda.

“It is as Lord Emilien said earlier “Your best”. Come we must choose what to pack in your bags”