Around noon, Zack rushed to Samuel’s room.

Looking at the approaching boy, Samuel spoke a bit snappily, “Did mom send you to say something like calm down or not get angry?”

“Uh, no, it isn’t like that,” Zack spoke, flailing his arms left and right while trying to disarm the situation.

Hearing Zack’s response, Samuel rubbed his chin in thought before asking, “Then what is it?”

His voice was a lot calmer than before, to the point that it would be difficult to identify the one being angry as him.

“About that…” the boy replied, a bit surprised by the change in attitude. “I wanted you to show me magic.”

“Hmm,” Samuel hummed while thinking. After a bit of silence, he nodded, a grin on his face. “Alright! You’re up. But where would we get the space to cast the magic?”

Zack’s brows knitted together. “What about the yard?”

“Casting magic inside the home can go really bad. Someone can get hurt. Mom always says that. Ugh, now what…” Samuel took in a deep breath before speaking, “Alright. Let’s go and talk with mom about that, what would you say?”

Looking at Samuel, Zack replied, “I already talked with aunt and she says it’s alright.”

Samuel’s eyes went as wide as saucers before he vehemently denied, “I can’t believe it. She would never allow it. Never. If you can manage it, I… I…”

Giving him a shrug, Zack smirked and said, “Well, you can ask her yourself, I guess.”

Walking out, they found Aria tutoring Amelia. Samuel’s face darkened a few shades while his legs wobbled. An eagerness to run back to his room filled his eyes.

Looking at the sight before him, he thought, ‘Ugh, mom is teaching… I don’t wanna get caught up in this. Had to be this timing. Shucks!’

On the other hand, Zack was unperturbed. To him, it was a common sight of Aria teaching either Samuel or Amelia. However, to his bewilderment, both the children looked haggard whenever he encountered such a situation.

Samuel patted Zack on the back to push him forward while whispering, “Go ask. I’m right behind ya.”

Walking to the table, Zack asked, “Aunt, Samuel agreed to show me magic. So we need permission to use the yard. Are we allowed to use it?” His gaze shifted to the boy cowering behind him.

At the side, Amelia looked at Zack with hope in her eyes which were begging for help. To her dismay, Zack didn’t notice that one bit.

With a smile, Aria spoke, “You both can use the backyard.”

The reply rendered Samuel dumbfounded.

“Thank you, Aunt.” Zack replied before asking, “And how did the situation with Uncle go?”

Hearing about his father, annoyance filled Samuel’s voice as he asked, “But mom, dad will start nagging about not going out again then.”

With a wry smile, Aria said, “I talked with him about it. He won’t say a thing about using the yard. I took care of that.”

A smile spread on Samuel’s face as he spoke, “Thanks mom! You’re the best!”

Aria nodded.

Samuel turned towards the door to the yard, ready to leave in high spirits.

While Samuel was leaving, he felt a stare at him. Turning around, he saw Amelia glaring at him.

In response to the glare, Samuel gave Amelia a gloating smile before returning to leaving as fast as he could.

Heedless of her children’s silent quarrel, Aria kept looking ahead with a faint smile. Turning her head to the side, she asked, “Amelia, do you want to go ask well?”

The little girl nodded frantically, eliciting a chuckle from Aria. “I’m not that strict in teaching. Why do you look like you were just saved from a demon or something?”

Amelia’s smile stiffened as she dropped her head low while thinking, ‘ Yes mommy, you are. And, if I say anything about it, she might get mad and give me more stuff to study again.’ In the end, her reply was nothing else besides silence.

Both boys neared the back door. Stretching a little, Samuel extended his arm to open the door.

However, just before Samuel opened it, Aria said, “Actually, Samuel, wait. I’ll come too. I haven’t seen you cast magic for a while. This will be a good time to see how much you have grown. After all, it’s not good to be slacking off. Besides, I don’t know how long it will be until we would be able to see you again after a month.”

A chill ran down Samuel’s spine as he shivered visibly. Cold sweat formed at the back of his neck as he nodded silently, his expression stiff. From the corner of his eye, he saw Amelia returning him the same gloating smile he sent her a few minutes back. Samuel shook faintly, laughing inwardly to himself regarding his current plight. However, a moment later, his brows creased.

Contemplating, Samuel asked, “Did he send a message?”

“Yes, he did.” Aria replied thoughtfully. “Your dad had to pull quite a few strings to strike a deal with him. Now you have a little over a month and a half. He mentioned he would come to a nearby city for some business and would pick you up in meantime.”

‘Damn you, old man. How did you make that man budge? Gotta say, I’m impressed!’ Samuel thought, surprised. After being unable to answer his own question, he tilted his head to the side.

“So it’s final?” Samuel asked.

“Yeah, it is.” Aria nodded. “Good luck over there. Remember to not slack off.”

Narrowing his eyes, Samuel said, “Mom, I am pretty sure I’m not that much of a slacker.”

“Oh, darling. You don’t need me to tell you how hardworking you are now, do I?” Aria replied while giving a warm smile. “Come on, we don’t have all day now, do we? Let’s hurry to the yard.”

However, to Samuel, that smile was colder than the snow in the middle of winter. Shivering, he turned his head to the side awkwardly while rubbing the bridge of his nose.

At the side, Zack was tilting his head in thought while listening to the conversation. Feeling a strong pat on his shoulder, he snapped awake out of his thoughts as he frantically looked left and right before turning backwards to glare at Samuel.

Getting a good reaction from the thoughtful boy, Samuel felt a bit better. Moving to open the door, he asked, “You coming?”

“Yeah, I am,” Zack nodded as he followed behind.

With a click, the door opened.