Harry Stormborn was a proud man, although he wanted to reconcile with his grandchildren, he tried not to show his nervousness.
"I was mistaken in not reaching out to you, but you need to understand I was furious when my most talented son was crippled because of someone else."
"So you abandoned him?"
"I didn't abandon him! he chose this woman over his family although it was all her fault he was crippled!"
This time the second man didn't remain silent.
"No, it's this woman who chose a cripple over her own family. I'm sorry we didn't have a relationship until now, my dear grandchildren. You don't ever have to go back to the kingdom if you don't wish to; I've prepared mansions for you in the empire to live in whenever you're on vacation from the academy or graduate."
"Hello cousins, I'm Mark, and this is our grandfather, Salomon."
The young man introduced himself and his grandfather.
"You both forget that those woman and cripple are our parents."
Lena replied coldly. She didn't like their attitude, nor the fact that they came to reconcile right after they showed their immense potential and not before.
"You… you're right. It's wrong to refer to them this way next to you. However, it's not that I didn't want to stay in touch with my own flesh and blood, it's just that my most talented daughter was wasting her potential by remaining by the side of someone so weak."
Lena's glare made Salomon think he might've spoken too much.
"There are many implications for being with someone weak. For example, you were born before his poisoning, and look how talented you are. Donne came after it and his talent in magic is much lower than yours because of it. I don't know how come Gale's talent improved, but he was completely talentless in magic!"
Salomon tried to explain his reasons for being angry with his daughter.
"Hmph, she would be completely shameless to abandon him after he ate the poison meant for her. It's my son who should've left her for involving him in her problems, leading to his downfall!"
Harry didn't let Salomon smear his son's name.
"We get it, we get it. But you won't be able to reconcile with your grandchildren now if you don't admit you were both wrong and stop criticizing their parents."
Mark quickly intervened when Lena's expression turned angrier with every passing moment. Gale himself was feeling repulsion toward his grandparents when they kept arguing about which of his parents was in the wrong.
"Mark is right, just apologize!"
Anna rebuked the two old men. The sight of the young girl scolding two old men whom he couldn't sense the stage of was quite comical for Gale and dispelled some of his repulsion.
Harry and Salomon glared at each other for a short moment and hesitated. Eventually, they both preferred their grandchildren over their egos.
"You're right, we should prioritize our relationship with our grandchildren now that it's too late to change anything. I'm sorry."
Harry apologized first and even bowed to his grandchildren, which caught them unprepared.
"It's true, my relationship with you is more important. I plan to go and meet with Donne after it, too."
Salomon apologized right after Harry and bowed.
"We accept the mansions and the family's resources. We will see about the reconciliation."
Lena took the benefits and left them hanging about whether she agreed to form a relationship with them or not. Gale found it reasonable, so he just nodded, waved at Anna with a smile, and left.
"Bye-bye Gale!"
Anna waved back and the four watched their backs as they left.
A week later, those who were meant to leave for the empire met at a large airport and faced 5 large airships.
"What are those?"
The kingdom bumpkins asked with curious eyes.
"Haha, that's our ride. Those are airships manufactured in the empire, each one costs in the billions! Come abroad, we're heading to the academy."
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A week ago:
pαпdα`noνɐ1`сoМ After the five representatives left the colosseum they went to the mansions they were given by the king for their stay. Alice was enjoying the meat of a fifth-rank beast when the door to the mansion opened, and a figure came in.
"Who is this? Not many dare barge into a magus' house, especially when they're home."
"Hello Alice, I'm Elizabeth."
Alice saw the redhead woman walks slowly toward her, acting as if she was an invited guest.
Alice was getting irritated. Although she was the mother of two geniuses, a mere woman from the kingdom didn't have the right to act as she wished in front of her.
"May I know what you are doing here, Miss Elizabeth?"
"You may. But first of all, let's make things clear."
Mana burst from her body and Alice widened her eyes in surprise. She released her aura to contain the pressure, and Elizabeth stopped.
"How old are you?"
"I'm 144."
"So, why are you here?"
This time Alice's irritation was gone and she was taking Elizabeth seriously.
"To make sure you understand your role when it comes to Gale."
"And what is my role when it comes to Gale?"
"To protect him from the shadows, without letting him know you're protecting him. I told you not to protect him earlier just to make sure he doesn't get complacent."
"I never planned on letting him be permanently injured or killed. I believe you already know the worth of a 3-month-old mage."
"Of course I do. However, he is too peaceful and hates conflicts. Although he came a long way, he is also still naïve and inexperienced. I want you to help him improve in this aspect."
"And how am I supposed to do that?"
"Your task is simple. I want you to encourage conflict between him and other students. He has a weak spot for beautiful women, so make sure to pit him against as many women as possible. Only then he will not fall for honey traps."
"That's… a weird request from a mother."
"I'm just open-minded. In fact, I wouldn't mind if you go after him too. Just wait for when he is an expert mage so you don't hinder his progress."
Obviously, Elizabeth wanted to cause conflicts with females so he can absorb their magic, and not because of his naivety. As for asking Alice to wait for him to advance to the Expert Mage stage, she was just sure Gale had no chance of charming her as he is currently.
"I've done my best for you, my kids. Now it's my time to avenge your father."
She muttered to herself when she left Alice's mansion.
