Chapter 81: Unstoppable
Lionel eventually left the training grounds and headed back toward their family’s carriage waiting outside for him.
As he walked past the barracks area earlier, he noticed that many of the other newcomers were already being directed toward their assigned quarters. Unlike him, most of them did not even have the chance to return home first or properly say goodbye to their families before their training officially began.
"Young Master," the coachman immediately stood up after seeing Lionel return. He stayed in the carriage for almost a day, waiting.
"Good afternoon, Sir." Lionel lightly nodded before at the man before stepping inside the carriage. It has been 6 hours since he left this carriage.
"Should we go back to the estate, my lord?"
"Yes."
With his answer, the carriage now slowly began moving once again. Lionel leaned slightly against the seat while staring outside the window quietly.
Compared to when he first arrived earlier, he was now more relaxed. He couldn’t believe that in just one day, his future inside the Imperial Army had already changed. He was now a trainee there.
In the past, he never managed to join the Imperial Army because he simply wasn’t qualified enough. And after his father’s death, he ended up taking control of their family’s own army instead.
But now, things were finally different. That thing was enough to make Lionel realize that the future was already slowly shifting away from the original.
Still... That was not necessarily a bad thing. It was actually what he was hoping for the best.
After an hour, the carriage finally arrived at the Exelio estate. Several servants who were doing some garden work immediately bowed respectfully after seeing them arrive.
"Young Master Lionel has returned!" One staff member loudly announced.
Just then, the carriage stopped, and Lionel stepped down. He greeted the staff around before entering the estate calmly. The moment he entered the main hallway, one of the maids immediately approached him.
"Young Master, the Duke and the Princess are currently inside the study."
Lionel’s eyes furrowed.
"Are they waiting for me?"
"Yes, Young Master. Since earlier."
"I see," Lionel nodded lightly afterward before heading toward the study room directly. Soon enough, he stopped in front of the study room before knocking lightly on the door.
*Knock
*Knock
"Enter."
Lionel pushed the door open before stepping inside. In the room, Duke Arden was seated near the large desk while reading through several documents. Meanwhile, Princess Elara was sitting nearby while drinking her tea calmly.
The moment they noticed that it was Lionel who entered, both of their eyes immediately turned toward him.
"Father. Mother," Lionel greeted them properly.
"You’re finally back." Elara immediately placed her teacup down as she fully turned to him.
"Yes. Why did you two even wait for me?" he asked quietly. However, Elara ignored his words and immediately stood up, walking toward him excitedly.
"How was it?" she asked immediately. "What happened? Did the evaluations go well? Were the instructors harsh? Did anyone bully you, dear?"
Lionel’s face slowly crumpled after hearing the endless questions thrown toward him all at once.
"It went well, mother," he answered her honestly. "I got accepted."
The moment those words left his lips, Elara’s eyes immediately lit up brightly.
"You did?" she gasped softly before holding both of Lionel’s shoulders happily. "Finally, my dear!"
Even Duke Arden, who was usually calm, looked visibly pleased after hearing that.
"I expected no less from you," Arden calmly commented while nodding. But Elara became even more excited about it.
"Because of this, I shall throw a celebration ball in your name!"
"Huh?" Lionel’s eyes widened slightly. "A-A ball?"
"Yes!" Elara looked completely serious already. "This is your first step into the Imperial Army and your biggest achievement. Of course it deserves a proper celebration!"
"Mother," Lionel immediately tried stopping her. "I don’t think that’s necessary—"
But Elara was no longer listening to him.
"We should invite the other noble families as well," she muttered while already thinking to herself. "Ah, perhaps we should prepare new formal clothes for you too..."
Lionel immediately turned toward his father with a helpless expression.
Father, help me. He mouthed those words.
Arden coughed awkwardly afterward before trying to speak.
"My dear... perhaps it’s not necessary to make something too—"
Before he could even finish, Elara slowly turned her head toward him. There was now a dangerous smile on her face.
"What are you trying to say, my dear?"
"..." Duke Arden immediately closed his mouth at that. He realized the seriousness in his wife’s voice, and he immediately knew he had to shut up.
Lionel stared silently at that scene.
Even his father couldn’t win against my mother... he could only sigh at it. His mother would definitely be unstoppable. That scared him for a moment.
He knew how overboard his mother could get. After all, she’s a princess— the only princess of the empire on top of that!
Elara’s eyes stayed fixed on Lionel, as if she were already seeing the entire event unfold in her mind.
"We shall invite all the noblemen and noblewomen across the entire empire." She declared.
"Mother, that is too much." Lionel stiffened.
But Elara just smiled brighter, completely unmoved.
"Too much? Nonsense. This is an important moment."
Lionel tried to glance at his father again. However, Arden just lowered his gaze to pretend to read again, clearly avoiding being involved in this.
...
He couldn’t believe he had been betrayed by his father.
"Mother, I really think—" Lionel opened his mouth again.
"No."
Elara answered immediately, and the room went silent for a second.
Elara had been waiting all these years for this moment. In the past, she always wondered when her son would be serious. She had always envied those noble women who threw a ball for their own daughter or son.
But she couldn’t blame Lionel back then. They really never pressured him to do better. So now that she was presented with a rare occurrence, she couldn’t just miss this out.
She shall throw a ball! A ball grander than anything the empire has ever seen!
= = =
A/N: Was dying cus of finals. Now that it’s over, I’m finally alive. Expect additional updates the following days.
This is long overdue but shout out to Rhonda_Simpson_2695 and Mr387! Thank you for all the Golden Tickets you have dropped on the novel.
Really appreciate it!
