They were now sitting at a table by the gardens at a large estate, sipping tea and eating biscuits and crepes. That estate of course belonged to the Mondstein family.
Lady Monstein and Lord Monstein, just like their son, do not talk much. It was like having a tea party with monks who have taken a vow of silence.
They barely make a single sound when they ate, lift the cup of tea on their mouths, and set it back down. Not even a single 'clink' or 'tap'.
This increased the awkwardness of the arrival, but this adds to Zeuxis' favor.
Because now, he has an excuse to be quiet for the mistake he made earlier. A mistake Ronin was still incredibly frustrated at him for.
It was so easy for him to stay quiet, but since he was a child, Zeuxis had a penchant for lying then being called for it. Like when he made up that lie of the pie-throwing as a tradition.
Every lie he spoke seemed to return to him as karma.
Another way that the silence worked out in their favor was…
"Sorry to ask this, but are you both always this distant with your son?" Cermin said. "He just returned."
"Yes. He had returned because he had not killed the Lord of Darkness yet." Lady Monstein said in an even tone. "You are the Prince of Scirocco, are you not?"
"Yes, I am. And Zeriav's friend who he had traveled with to save townspeople. We have already killed and defeated several Daemons." Cermin replied.
Lord Monstein replied succinctly. "Very well for your party. But I expected more from my son, as he was destined for the duty of being Demetri's most powerful priest."
He seemed genuine in praising them, but the disappointment was also real. In general, he only held a mild reaction towards them.
They care about success, not the effort.
"Why have you not responded to our letters, Zeriav?" Lady Mondstein asked.
"I have not received them. Perhaps something stopped them, the weather had not been normal since the Rift." Zeuxis answered with a better lie this time.
Lord Monstein only said, sipping his tea. "And you have not thought to take the initiative to report back to us?"
"We dealt with many things. Before this, we were grievously injured." Cermin said.
Ronin remained quiet, merely observing. Because for one, the Nobles would often remark something about a Commoner being with them if he drew attention to himself.
And secondly….. He wanted to know what's the deal with this family.
Most likely, they were just your average family that holds high prestige and therefore puts high standards to their heirs. He had seen a lot of that already, even in his household with Duke Taevas.
However, what interested him was their mind, while not blank and impenetrable like the gods, where much more calmer and subdued than the others.
They were the type that would be more difficult to sway and fool. Their thoughts came like the light patter of rain. They must have been a priest and priestess themselves.
It was not illegal for priests and priestesses to have unions, but it was always a very 'clean' one.
The person they marry must at some regard be devoted themselves, they must only have intercourse for creating a baby, not for fun or love. And most importantly.....
They must still regard their god with higher regard than this person.
It was all that Calla Lily's mother had broken when she fell in love with Hyacinthus, her father. And them being of different Heartstones made it even worse because of hybridization.
"But you are healed, so you must continue on." Lord Mondstein.
"That's exactly what we're doing, sir." Cermin gritted his teeth.
It was obvious that he was being irritated by this couple more and more. But beyond that....
There was a different reason why the two of them irked him a lot.
Ronin could see the images of Min Cheng's parents getting blurred on top of these two. They were both business-minded people, who only married each other for responsibility to their respective families.
They were also very negligent of him.
If they were not away, they would be having meals with Min Cheng the same way as this tea party right now.
With deafening silence and uncaring attitude.
"So…. how was the trip to Tibet, dad?" Min Cheng once asked when he was still a young boy of 10.
"Delightful. I have never been more at peace than I was when in a monastery to discuss property with Tibetan monks in solitude." His father said. "We signed papers, shook hands, and barely spoke a word."
"You don't find it boring?" Min Cheng said.
His father just shook his head, and continued eating.
He thought so because his father might as well be a monk too. He was a quiet man who you can't guess at all what was on his mind.
"You're not eating your vegetables." His mother then said, but not in a chiding way.
It just sounded like a plain observation just to inform her son that she did saw him put all of the vegetables in another bowl and eat only meat and rice.
"I never liked eating them," Min Cheng replied, in a bratty way by jutting his lower lip.
Instead of scolding him, his mother just said. "I see. I'll have the cook prepare meals without vegetables for you from now on, then."
His plan to aggravate them always failed. They were like a rock, and just carelessly gave him what he wanted and answered his questions in the same brief and monotone manner.
Such silence could make someone go insane, so the older he got, the more he got used to eating food with his parents while wearing headphones with blaring music.
Nothing has changed for years and years. The longest conversation he had with them was about taking Bai Lianhua as his fiancee.
Now as Cermin, this kind of experience would always unnerve him. Somehow, the only quiet person that never bugge dhim was Ronin and Zeriav.
Because he knew deep down that they care, they were just bad at expressing it.
While his parents were not bad at expressing, they simply never cared.
Before, he only used minor tricks and feeble attempts to change it. But it never worked, because he did not have the courage to cause conflict.
But now that he was witnessing it toward a friend....
He could not take anymore of it and stood up, slamming his hand on the table.
"Thank you for the meal, but we need to get going. We're in dire times and the faster we move, the more lives we can save." He said with a scowl.
"Come on, Zeriav and Ronin." He called out to them.
Lord Mondstein barely looked up. "If our Zeriav gets to defeat monsters and evil creatures in the end, we'll support his endeavors. You may take whatever you believe you need."
Cermin scoffed. "No need, we have everything—"
"Actually, we would not mind having a few coins and a map of the kingdom." This was the first time Ronin spoke up. "That would already be helpful on our journey to the Cave of Solitude."
"Why would you be going to the Cave of Solitude?" Lady Mondstein asked, a slight break in her monotony as she showed interest.
"We are looking for something. Something that can turn the tides against the Daemons even with just the three of us." Ronin told them.
Lord Mondstein turned to Zeuxis. "And what is this object that the Commoner speaks of, boy?"
Cermin became even more offended. "The Commoner has a name. I just mentioned it, his name was Ronin."
They were really just like his parents. They never referred to his gege with his name. Just calling him 'that black boy'.
Zeuxis responded simply with "A weapon." Acting as grave as Zeriav.
"And is it more powerful than your scythe?" Lord Mondstein asked. "It was a weapon blessed by Demetri himself in person, I don't see what could be more powerful."
Ronin could see where this was going, and pulled at the two. "We should get going."
But Cermin went on to say it:
"It's the whip of the Lord of Darkness himself. Zeriav's weapon is powerful, but you're overestimating it."
Lady Monstein only smiled. "We're not overestimating it when we know what it could do."
Lord Mondstein agreed. "Perhaps my son was too modest in using it, or that he does not want to bring much damage. But it was really one of a kind."
Cermin hated how they boasted about their son's feats like the achievement was theirs. They went on.
"Go on, Zeriav. Demonstrate to this prince the full power of your scythe."
Ronin knew that disaster could no longer be avoided now. It has long been hopeless since they went to this house.
Zeuxis racked his brain to come up with a way to get out of this situation, but he can't come up with anything.
There was only one moment in his life where he felt hopeless and powerless.
That was when he demonstrated his skill in front of Duke Taevas, and all that he could conjure was a small lightning bolt the size of a dagger.
Turning him into a Clairo Mage instead of a Hero Mage as his father wanted.
And now, he was being required again to be something he was not. He has no scythe from Demetri.
He looked at Ronin, then....
The decision came swiftly for him.
"Hahahaha. So this is how it has to be. I have to show my true face."
Before Ronin could stop him—
He took off the Fool's Eye disguise in front of everyone, revealing his true identity!
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