Trouble Brewing

After making his mother happy, Arthur enjoyed the breakfast she made. Eve joins in as well, but Margaret doesn't arrive in time for them to have breakfast together, a routine that has been repeated ever since she became Aria's disciple.

Arthur starts to feel anxious, wondering if his actions the previous night might have caused some trouble for her, but his mother suggests she might just be a bit late. He tries to start his morning training, but in less than an hour, his patience wears thin.

He can't help but worry about Margaret and goes to look for her. Upon leaving his house, he finds her at the entrance. Unlike any other day, Arthur doesn't see her beautiful smile, as her expression is marred by dark hues of dread.

Arthur immediately senses something is wrong, so he approaches her and holds her hands. "What happened, dear?"

Margaret spent the entire night and part of the morning tormented by her worries, but now, seeing Arthur's concerned expression for her, and his gaze filled with love, she feels as if the sun rises after the darkest night.

She instinctively hugs him tightly; only in this way can she feel safe and hopeful that things will be alright. "Don't let them take me away from you, Arthur!" She pleads in tears, "Please, don't let anyone separate me from you ever!"

"What?" Arthur is baffled, but he feels an instinctive desire to protect Margaret, so he hugs her, bringing her delicate and fragile body into his strong arms. "It's alright, honey; no one can separate you from me."

Margaret sobs uncontrollably, unable to contain the fear of the possible troubles she is imposing on Arthur, but at the same time, she wants to fight with all her strength to stay by his side.

Aria quickly notices the commotion in front of the house and appears at the door, her gaze becoming gentle and concerned upon seeing Margaret's state. "Bring her inside, darling."

He does so and takes the distraught Margaret to the living room; they sit on a large sofa, and the girl continues to cling to him tightly as her tears soak his clothes. Aria quickly prepares some soothing tea, and only after several minutes the poor girl calms down and explains what made her so upset.

She tells Arthur and Aria about her father's attempt to find a noble family for her to serve and how a nobleman is due to come for her in a few days. Margaret doesn't show anger or resentment towards her father, believing he did what he thought was best for her, but Arthur doesn't see it that way.

He doesn't know what it's like to have a daughter, but he knows what it's like to be an older brother, and no matter how much he thinks about it, it doesn't make sense for him to seek strangers to take care of his little girl when he can do it better than any other man.

But Arthur keeps his thoughts on that to himself and focuses entirely on calming Margaret and making her feel safe. "It's okay, dear; we can sort this out."

"But..." Margaret loves Arthur as much as she respects Aria, so bringing such problems to them really makes her feel bad. "I didn't want this to happen... how are we going to-"

Arthur seals her lips with a gentle kiss, making her relax. "I said we're going to sort this out, so just trust me, okay?"

She rests her face on his chest and sniffs a little, letting Arthur's warmth drive away her bad emotions. "I trust you."

Arthur remains calm because he can't see the bigger picture of such a situation; Aria understands that and, therefore, signals him to follow her to the kitchen. He hugs Margaret for a few more minutes, the girl eventually falling asleep due to exhaustion. Then he lays her gently on the sofa while he goes to the kitchen, finding his mother with a concerned expression on her face.

"Why does this seem so bad?" He asks, confused. "I mean, it's just a misunderstanding, right? We can resolve it by explaining to this noble that Margaret is not for sale."

Aria's expression turns sad. "I've always tried to keep you and your sister away from the shit of the world, but at some point, I would have to prepare you for it... I don't like the idea of you suffering with these dark memories in your mind, but maybe they are there for a reason; maybe fate wanted to prepare you to face anything in this world."

Arthur wonders if that really is the reason he lived his previous life as Liam, but it only makes him ponder how dark this world could be.

Aria understands it very well since she has traveled through several continents, so she tries to provide him with some perspective. "Remember the bandits you killed? I mean, the reason they ended up that way?"

"Yes," Arthur nods. "The spearman I tortured spoke about a noble stealing their lands..."

"That's the point," Aria says with a tone full of anger and resentment. "The nobles of Eldoria are almost all like that; they are accustomed to treating common people as tools, or rather, animals, which they can use for manual labor, or slaughter whenever they want..."

Her expression becomes even darker. "The worst scenario is when they use people like Margaret to satisfy their most sordid desires, doing things that no one should ever imagine. And if people like her family refuse, well, a quick death means being merciful to them, and they are never merciful..."

Even having never left the village, Arthur understands what Aria meant because he saw such cruelty as Liam; he felt it on his skin, and his only saving grace was that he was a man. So, the idea of Margaret and her family suffering such a fate at the hands of a sadistic noble makes his blood boil within his veins.

"Let me deal with them!" He asks his mother, his demeanor turning dark and his eyes cold as two balls of solid blue ice.

Aria tries to maintain her serious demeanor, but it's impossible to hide a proud gleam in her eyes. "That's the right reaction. You should save that look for your enemies, but I also want you to understand the whole picture: killing won't always be the smartest decision."

Arthur feels disconnected, he really doesn't understand much about this world yet, so Aria continues to explain to him. "You see, the people of the village see us as nobles, but the Fletcher name doesn't carry any weight in the Kingdom of Lumindell. Draven might be known as a hero by the farmers, lumberjacks, and miners of this region, but the nobles of Lakeview don't consider us equals."

"If this noble comes and you kill him, what do you think will happen next?" She asks, and Arthur quickly responds. "More nobles will come for revenge..."

"Exactly," Aria nods. "Again, we can handle them, but for how long until we make all the nobles of Lakeview our enemies? Also, we're not going to live here forever; you don't want those nobles to come and harm Margaret's family when we're far away, right?"

Arthur had never had to think about such things; now, he has an idea of how the politics and culture of Eldoria can be complicated and foolish. "So, if I defend my future wife from someone who wants to hurt her, I might end up creating problems for everyone?"

Aria sighs, her eyes as cold as Arthur's. "That's the problem with this place and these people... but honestly, the world outside this continent is no better. That's why we have to be smart to protect our family against all kinds of danger."

"Got it," Arthur says determinedly. "I'll find a way to resolve it."

"I trust you, my son, and I will always support you." Aria smiles lovingly, a smile which he returns. "Thank you, Mom."

Before Aria gets emotional again, she focuses on the problem at hand. "Alright, we only have a week to work, so you need to prepare yourself. We already have the advantage of knowing when the enemy is coming thanks to the runes I placed on the road, and you know the region as well, so you can focus on getting stronger."

Her expression turns thoughtful for a second. "You have cultivated hard for an entire month, and the progress doesn't seem as good as it could be, so I don't think another week would be enough for you to break through a grade within the first Mystic Warrior Rank yet..."

Arthur agrees with that since he hasn't felt any significant improvement in his physique and energy in the last few weeks. But before he can ask what to do instead, Aria already has everything planned. "You should focus on training your Weapon Mastery."

"What do you mean, Mom?" Arthur asks since he hasn't discussed it with Aria yet, and she continues explaining. "This is what your father began teaching you when you were eleven years old, your sword training. Draven may have many faults, but he is a skilled Swordmaster and was trying to teach you how to use a sword, even if it was in his heroic fucking way…."

She pauses, and her eyes sparkle with curiosity and amusement. "He always thought you were the biggest genius in his family for handling a sword so naturally from a young age, but now I realize it has more to do with your memories as Liam than the Lionheart family's Lineage, although their Lineage is undoubtedly the main factor for your potential being probably limitless."

'Lionheart? So that's my father's family name... sounds cool, actually.' Arthur can't help but think. 'It matches him and his golden lion... although nothing could make me switch my pink heart and Nyx for anything.'

Aria sees a special sparkle in Arthur's eyes and shakes her head. "Don't get so cocky, my son; you may have many advantages, but there is still a long way to go before you can become a Master Swordsman like Draven, and even longer until you surpass him as a Grandmaster."

"I understand," Arthur nods, listening intently to all the wise words of his mother. "So what's my Mastery level now?"

"Hmm..." Aria thinks about it. "Based on your performance against the magical training dummy, I'd say you're already above Novice, probably an Initiate Swordsman or even an Adept already, but definitely not a Master... it's hard to say for sure without seeing you in real action; after all, I don't have proficiency with swords myself, just my knowledge and experiences."

"Either way, improving my sword skills seems like the best way to prepare for facing that noble, right?" Arthur comments as he walks to the backyard and picks up his wooden sword.

Aria follows him with a thoughtful look. "Do you remember how you felt when you were fighting those bandits?"

"Huh?" Arthur tries to recall that moment. "Well, I guess I got a bit carried away with anger..."

"Not that," Aria shakes her head. "I mean, how you felt using your real sword against real enemies."

"Oh," Arthur quickly responds. "I felt really good; my movements were natural and fluid... I knew where to hit them to dismember and not kill immediately... They had swords too, but they were weak, and I could easily cut through them with mine..."

"That! You need a situation like that to train efficiently, and I already know what to do." Aria exclaims and quickly grabs some flasks of red liquid, clearly blood; then she pours a flask into a pot with red soil and mixes it with her hands directly, creating a reddish mud. She draws runes with the same blood onto the clay and performs some quick hand seals over the pot.

Arthur watches closely as his mother breaks the pot on the ground, following which the strange clay comes to life, growing into a humanoid figure. "A clay golem?" He has read about such constructs in some of Aria's books.

"A blood golem." Aria corrects him and makes a wooden sword appear in the creature's hand. "I was waiting for you to reach at least the second rank of the Mystic Warrior path before introducing this training to you, so you'll have to be very careful; after all, I don't control this construct as it needs to have the real intention of hurting you to enhance your Weapon proficiency."

Arthur's eyes sparkle, impressed by how incredible his mother is. "Then give the golem a real sword; let's make it interesting."

"Oh my~" Aria shakes her head, her lips smiling. "You're always in such a hurry to grow up..."

But despite her words, she snaps her fingers and gives a metal sword to the blood golem, as well as making the sword that Draven made for Arthur float from the wall to his hand. "I'm serious, darling; you have to be careful now."

As soon as he grabs his sword, Arthur becomes focused and confident, but he can't resist the urge to cast a loving smile at his mother. "I'll do my best, but I also know nothing could really hurt me while my beautiful and incredible mother is around, right?"

"Fufufu~~" Aria giggles charmingly. "Who taught you how to use such sweet words to praise women like that?"