Chapter 24

Cynthia calmed Marievel and then immediately headed to Rias's place on her own.

At this hour, he would be in the indoor training facility.

Since then, Rias had been increasing his training time as he had declared. Lately, the training facility had been echoing with rough cries.

Exiting the mansion and walking through the corridor, one would reach the indoor training facility.

It was like a huge gymnasium.

Shouts of anger resounded.

The knights, who usually appeared calm in front of Cynthia, seemed like different people here.

"Hey, next!"

"Ughhhh!"

The head of the knights, Dunker, was knocking down the young knights one after another.

The knights who managed to land a blow on Dunker could finally go to Rias behind them.

Perhaps only one in seven managed to pass this Dunker checkpoint. Around Rias stood knights with particularly robust physiques.

Rias was facing them one by one, without a break.

The heat was intense.

—Should I come back another time?

Just as she thought that,

"Mother, what are you doing?"

Eidan was walking from the other end of the corridor, dressed in comfortable clothes.

"Eidan. Are you going to train?"

"Yes."

Since the trip, Eidan had also been increasing his training time.

What used to be only in the early morning and evening had now extended to long sessions during the day as well.

Although still in his growth period, he seemed to be careful not to overburden his body, but thanks to the strong Pencilia bloodline, his physique was already quite robust, and his growth was faster than his peers.

"Training so much... What are you aiming for?"

He might say, "I'm the father," or something like that.

Thinking this, she muttered, and Eidan looked thoughtful.

"Well, to be able to defeat that Leviathan."

"......"

"......"

"Oh, you scared me. Just kidding."

His jokes were hard to understand, just like Rias.

"I'm serious."

"Eidan, you..."

Didn't you say yourself that it was impossible to defeat?

From the old documents, Cynthia didn't know exactly what it looked like, but from the reports, it was undoubtedly a dragon.

Dragons don't exist in the modern world; they are ancient creatures.

It would be like humans swinging swords at airplanes.

—No, let's stop.

Seeing Eidan's serious determination, Cynthia felt all her strength drain away.

He's a teenage boy. It's like the so-called "middle school second-year syndrome." No, a bit early for that.

"—Eidan really likes training, doesn't he?"

"Yes. I think I would have become a knight if I weren't the eldest son."

He said this casually, but it might be quite true.

"That's wonderful."

The inability to freely talk about his future dreams was, after all, pitiful for her child.

Legally, the dukedom could be inherited by Marievel or Sophia.

"Mother, are you here to watch the training? That's unusual."

"I have some business with your father."

"Is it urgent? I was about to practice with him now."

"It's fine, I'll wait."

Eidan smiled innocently.

"That's great. I have to become stronger than Father first."

With that, Eidan ran off to join the training.

Cynthia watched as he did his warm-up and faced Rias, but once their sparring began, the knights surrounded them to watch. Eidan attacked, Rias defended, and then Rias attacked, and Eidan dodged—

It seemed endless, and she had no interest, so she decided to return to her room first.

They would come back to wash off the sweat once the training was over.

Leaving the training facility, where the father and son seemed to be enjoying themselves, Cynthia headed back.

"I kept you waiting."

Rias entered the room with wet hair.

He had apparently heard that Cynthia had been at the training facility.

"I heard from Eidan. You should have called out to me."

"You looked so happy. —How is Eidan doing?"

"He's still rough. That boy is impatient and tries to use big moves right away."

Indeed, Eidan likes to jump to conclusions. Perhaps that shows in his swordsmanship as well.

"—Is something wrong?"

There was some time before dinner.

Asked by Rias, Cynthia sat on the same sofa and reached out to his wet hair.

Wiping it with the cloth over her shoulder, Rias closed his eyes and let her.

"It's about Alro."

"Yes."

"I'm thinking of stopping him from seeing his father."

"For how long?"

"...For life."

This decision was heavy for Cynthia. Her hands naturally stopped.

Rias opened his eyes and stared at her intently.

"Has something happened?"

Rias knew that Alro had been acting out and was covered in bruises. They had always consulted with each other and carefully timed the visits.

"You thought Alro had calmed down. The wounds were healing. —But that wasn't the case. Marie was just stopping him."

"Marie...?"

"That boy... He can be impulsive and worrying at times, but... I think he has a keen eye for the essence. It's not the physical wounds Alro creates, but the emotional wounds he's always focused on."

She felt this today.

That's why she was scared. She was afraid Alro might break.

Cynthia continued.

"Alro's reckless training and the widening of his wounds are both self-harm. But they are just means. The problem is the emotional wounds. And his father keeps reopening them, over and over again."

It can't go on any longer.

"I knew there were such parents, but..."

She gripped the towel tightly.

Somewhere deep down, she had believed that parents couldn't help but love their children.

Even if not love, she thought there would be some affection, some connection. She thought that in the parent-child relationship, this would make them seek each other out.

But it was only Alro who had been seeking.

"I still can't understand. But I've made up my mind. I shouldn't have hesitated about separating Alro from his father."

It should have been cut off. Just keeping a distance wasn't enough.

Seeing Cynthia's regret, Rias gently touched her hand.

He seemed to understand what she was trying to say.

"I understand."

"Alro will probably say he wants to see him..."

How to persuade him, Cynthia asked. Rias thought for a moment and then said,

"If you try to persuade him, you're leaving the decision to Alro. If he feels he made the decision to abandon his father, it will haunt him for life."

Right. Alro is only 12. In trying to respect his will, you might end up forcing a decision on him.

"I will order him not to see his father. It's better if he feels he was forcibly separated."

"Thank you, Rias."

The outcome is unknown, but if this can protect Alro's heart even a little—

That's all she could hope for.

Alro was told by Rias not to go to the meetings.

"Why...?"

Alro asked bravely.

Rias's intimidating presence was always overwhelming, making it hard to meet his eyes.

He couldn't just say "yes" to this sudden announcement.

"Because I have judged that you should not meet."

Rias's face was unreadable, but his voice was relatively calm.

"But..."

"Alro, we want you to work in Pencilia for a long time."

Rias's large hand landed on Alro's shoulder with a thud.

Compared to his father, how big and strong it was. His body naturally tensed up.

"For that, you have things to do here now. —This is an order. Refusal is not accepted."

Alro, overwhelmed, nodded.

Cynthia, who had been listening silently, took Alro's hands. Despite the fear, her hands were soft and warm.

"Alro, you are already irreplaceable to Pencilia. You are Marievel's savior. We value you very much. So, Alro, please take good care of yourself and look after yourself. No matter what happens, we will always be your allies and your home."

Saying this, Cynthia smiled weakly.

Looking at Alro's face, she knew he hadn't heard a word.

"—That's all I wanted to say today. It must be confusing to hear this suddenly. Let's talk again when you're ready."

He hadn't processed what she said, and they hadn't built a relationship where he would confide in her.

All she could do was promise to listen whenever he was ready.

She would need to pay more attention and talk to him more.

Telling him he could leave, Alro bowed and exited the room.

He wandered aimlessly, his mind in turmoil, and before he knew it, he was in front of Marievel's room.

"Alro! What's wrong?"

Marievel, as usual, welcomed Alro.

Alro's complexion was the worst it had ever been.

Marievel held his hand and sat closer than usual, saying nothing for a long time, just being there for Alro.