Time passed swiftly, and gradually evening descended. The day had passed peacefully—uneventfully, even. With the conclusion of classes, Modret quickly departed to a nearby stall.
Using his shared vision, he had already located the place where Xara stored the rabbits. Upon getting there, he saw about ten rabbits gathered. Most of them were faintly injured, with a broken limb, but they were still breathing and alive.
Modret's childish eyes filled with a peculiar light as he glanced at them and smiled faintly, a wide grin spreading across his face. He glanced at Xara, who stood respectfully to the side, and said disdainfully, 'You could only catch this number of rabbits? Are these creatures scarce or something?'
For this man who had previously tried to kill him, Modret held no respect. In fact, he even treated him as a disposable pawn—someone he wouldn't hesitate to sacrifice for the greater good if given the chance.
Xara showed a struggling expression before gritting his teeth, bowing slightly, and speaking in a solemn voice, 'I apologize for my incompetence, master.'
Modret shrugged, then walked to the side of a table not too far away, picking up a short sword and quickly making light work of the rabbits.
[gained 200 shadow fragments.]
[shadow fragments 827/1000.]
Modret's eyes lit up in excitement and he smiled lightly. If Xara could be useful tomorrow as well, then he would easily be able to gain a second ability.
Modret glanced at Xara, then shook his head and departed from the house. His fading voice, filled with child-like authority, resounded in the air, 'Dispose of the corpses.'
Although Xara was surprised by what had transpired and couldn't wrap his head around it, he didn't hesitate to comply with Modret's commands.
…
Upon getting home, Modret could sense a change in the atmosphere of the house. He frowned for a bit, then glanced at his mother pacing around with a worried expression on her face. In her hand, she held a piece of paper.
Modret furrowed his brows, then quickly made his presence known. 'Mother… I'm home. You seem worried?'
Hearing her son's voice, Anna quickly turned and rushed to hug him. She smiled lightly, ruffling his hair as she tried to mask her worry and asked, 'How were classes today?'
Modret quickly replied, 'Classes went smoothly as always.' With that, his curious eyes darted to the letter in his mother's hand.
'Mom, what's this?' His eyes were wide with curiosity, and he tried his best to maintain a cute, pouting expression—or at least he thought he did.
Anna hesitated briefly before smiling lightly once more and replying candidly, 'It's nothing, don't worry. Go and take a bath while we wait for your father to come back home. Meanwhile, I'll go make dinner.'
Anna didn't give Modret a chance to press on and quickly darted into the kitchen. However, perhaps due to her hastiness, she accidentally let the letter slip from her hand, falling lightly to the ground.
Modret frowned slightly, then glanced at the letter on the ground. He hesitated briefly, then slowly picked it up. The next moment, his expression changed drastically.
'An imperial edict ordering Mother and Father to head back to the battlefield?' Modret drew in a sharp breath. It was no wonder his mother's face held such an expression.
His frown deepened and his face quickly became unsightly. He clenched his fist. He still wasn't strong enough to survive the countless assassination attempts that would befall him the moment they left.
'Son,' Anna's voice interrupted his thoughts. She noticed the letter in his hand and quickly snatched it from him. But the damage had already been done, and Modret stared at her with an even gaze.
Anna exhaled slowly, then said, 'Go and take your bath. During dinner, we will discuss this…'
Modret seemed as though he wanted to say something, but ultimately kept his mouth shut. Instead, he obeyed his mother's words and quickly went to take his bath. However, internally, his heart was far from calm.
…
Seated in the dining room were three figures. The table was filled with a pensive atmosphere as everyone ate in silence, with no one wanting to bring up the topic first.
Modret's heart was tense as he quietly ate, waiting for his parents to speak. However, it seemed they were unwilling to say anything. Was this how dinner would pass—pretending nothing had happened?
Modret frowned at the thought. Then, after finishing his meal, he cleared his throat lightly and asked solemnly, 'Are you going?'
Hearing his words, both Anna and Donald simultaneously paused their movements. Anna placed her fork calmly on the plate and stared at Donald, waiting for his answer.
Donald's face was calm, and he seemed unbothered by the question. 'Since duty calls, we obey. It is one of the first rules of the royal family.' As he spoke, he calmly continued eating as though he hadn't said anything important.
Modret frowned. 'So you'll leave your five-year-old son just to attend to your "duties"?'
Donald placed another spoon of food in his mouth, ate calmly, and replied matter-of-factly, 'My siblings and their families will take care of you while we're away.'
Modret slammed the table lightly. 'And what if they try to kill me? Or perhaps anyone at all tries to kill me?'
Donald paused from eating, then stared at Modret deeply. 'And why would you think that?'
Immediately, the words died in Modret's throat. He didn't have a reply to that, and he hesitated to voice his suspicions after what had happened last time.
Seeing that he had no words to refute, Donald continued, 'Lives are constantly being lost on the battlefield. It is our responsibility as Awakeners to protect them.'
Modret's expression darkened at his father's words. 'So you care about a few strangers more than your own son?'
This time it was Donald's turn to be silent. He didn't have a reply—and if he did, it would probably be something that neither Anna nor Modret would like.
After a long silence, Anna finally joined in on the conversation. 'I have the Meritorious Sigil rewarded for our feat from before. Using it, we can request something from the imperial council. Although we can't request a permanent leave, we can use it to refrain from the battlefield for a few years—at least until our son grows.'
'Anna,' Donald hesitated, softly calling his wife. But noticing her expression, he could only fall silent.
Modret hesitated for a while, pondering his mother's words. 'If I fiercely improve my strength in the meantime, I should be strong enough to protect myself before they leave… right?' Modret asked no one in particular.