“......Do you know just how dangerous things got for your old man back then?”

  “We know, we know,” Reid chimed in, playing along. “You’ve told this story eight hundred times already. It was when the guy on guard duty fell asleep, and a Forest Giant Wolf snuck into the camp. You woke up to find your tent torn open, the wolf right next to you, chowing down on your rations—and you got woken up by its drool! All the other guys nearby were so scared they peed their pants and didn’t even dare make a sound.

  “But you stayed calm, snuck your sword out while the wolf wasn’t looking, stabbed it right in the neck, then shouted to alert the whole camp. In the end, you took down the wolf without a scratch. Done. Story over.”

  Rezelian Heyerar’s planned epic tale got stuck in his throat, leaving him choking on his words—unable to spit them out or swallow them back.

  He really wanted to retort: My heroic feat was worthy of an eight-thousand-word battle scene! And you just summed it up in one sentence, you little brat?!

  “Oh, right, Father.”

  Reid spoke up again,

  “I’ve actually got a question I’ve been meaning to ask.”

  He set down his spoon, fixing Rezelian with a dead serious stare.

  “You said you were in the middle of the wilderness—super dangerous, right? And it took the wolf’s drool to wake you up. Just how soundly were you sleeping, exactly?”

  “Pfft!”

  At that, Armen burst out laughing, spraying porridge all over the table. He quickly grabbed a napkin to wipe himself off, but he couldn’t stop chuckling, causing more porridge to dribble down his chin.

  The rest of the family tried to hide their smiles behind their hands, though none were as obvious as Armen.

  Rezelian’s face turned red, then white, as he glared at Reid, too angry to speak.

  He then shot a sharp look at Armen, who quickly clamped a hand over his mouth—though muffled laughter still escaped from between his fingers.

  Rezelian was fuming inside. These two troublemakers must be getting back at him for something that happened earlier!

  “You two little brats! Have you no sense of decorum?! Look at you—acting like animals at the dinner table! Armen, if you can’t eat properly, tomorrow I’ll dig up your old pacifier and make you start all over again! And you, Reid—why so many questions while eating? Can’t you see your spit is getting in my bowl?!”

  Reid shrank his neck, wiping the spittle from his face while muttering to himself: Who’s spit is actually getting into whose bowl here......

  “That’s enough, dear. Don’t get so worked up over the boys.”

  Lilia smiled, gently patting Rezelian’s arm to calm him down.

  Rezelian finally reined in his anger, though he still felt annoyed. He glared sideways at Reid and Armen, already plotting how to discipline the two brats tomorrow—teach them a lesson in respect.

  “And you two,”

  Having soothed Rezelian, Lilia turned to Reid and Armen with a slightly stern tone,

  “You shouldn’t talk to your father like that. This is your last warning.”

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  “Yes, Mother.”

  “We’re sorry, Mother.”

  Reid and Armen hung their heads, immediately submitting.

  Seeing that they’d apologized, Rezelian decided to let them off the hook—for now.

  “Eat!”

  He snapped, picking up his spoon again. The table fell silent, broken only by the clinking of utensils against bowls and plates.

  CRASH!

  Suddenly, a loud noise echoed through the room.

  The family froze, staring in shock at Rezelian’s empty seat. On the floor below, Rezelian was sitting dazedly, his chair shattered into pieces beneath him.

  “Dear?!”

  “Father!”

  “Dad!”

  Exclamations rang out as everyone jumped to their feet.

  Lilia rushed over to help Rezelian up, brushing the dust off his back while asking worriedly,

  “Are you okay, dear?”

  “Huh? Oh, I’m fine.”

  Rezelian waved her off, casting a confused glance at the broken chair. Why am I so unlucky today?

  A moment later, Laurent the butler arrived with a new chair.

  Rezelian tapped the seat to make sure it was sturdy, then sat down with a sigh of relief.

  “Laurent,” he said, “check all the furniture tomorrow. Replace anything that’s worn out.”

  “Yes, My Lord.”

  Laurent replied, gathering up the broken chair pieces to dispose of them.

  Outside, Laurent stared at the splintered wood, scratching his head in confusion.

  “That’s strange. I just inspected all the furniture last week—it was in perfect condition. How did this chair break so suddenly?”

  He thought about it for a moment, then shrugged it off. Tomorrow, he’d call in a professional carpenter to check everything over.

  And so, with a minor mishap, another ordinary dinner at Heyerar Manor came to an end.

  ......

  The next morning.

  Bright and early, Rezelian dragged Reid and Armen out of bed and into the courtyard for training. The sound of his stern scolding and the boys’ cries of despair echoed through the estate.

  Meanwhile, Lilia was sitting by the window in the study, reading quietly as warm sunlight streamed over her.

  “Heave-ho!”

  A small voice came from across the room. Lilia looked up to see her youngest daughter, Hulim, struggling to drag a wooden stool over to the bookshelf. She climbed onto it, standing on tiptoes and stretching her arm as far as she could, reaching for a thick book on the top shelf......

  A large hand reached out from behind her, plucking the book off the shelf with ease.

  Hulim tilted her head back, smiling when she saw her mother’s gentle face.

  “What are you up to, Hulim? Do you want to read this book?”

  Hulim nodded eagerly. “Yes, Mother!”

  Lilia smiled warmly, lifting Hulim carefully off the stool. She knelt down to meet the little girl’s eyes, holding the book in her hands.

  “Shall I read it to you?”

  Hulim shook her head, taking the book from Lilia with a confident grin. “No, thank you, Mother! I can read by myself now! The teacher at prep school taught me lots of words!”

  Lilia looked surprised for a moment, then laughed softly. “Is that so? My clever little Hulim—you’re growing up so fast~!”

  Though Hulim tried to hide her pride, her chin couldn’t help but lift a little higher at the praise.

  “Mother, I’m going to read now.”

  Hulim hugged the book to her chest, bowed politely, and turned to leave.

  “Go on, then. And if there’s any word you don’t understand, don’t hesitate to ask me—I’ll be right here.”

  “I will, Mother!”

  Hulim carried the magic book over to the desk, climbing onto Rezelian’s usual chair. She opened the book to the first page, her little face serious with concentration.

  “Ma-gic... is a mi-ra-cle... gra-nted by the world it-self... To wield this power... you must... mas-ter the fun-da-men-tal par-ticles that ma-ke up ma-gic... Ma-na... Ma-na wh-at?”

  “......”

  Lilia looked up to see Hulim standing in front of her, holding the book open and pointing to a word. She couldn’t help but smile.

  “What’s wrong, Hulim?”

  Hulim held up the book, pointing to the unfamiliar character.

  “Mother, how do you say this word?”

  Lilia blinked, then explained patiently. “That word is ‘Essence’. ‘Fundamental particles—Mana Essence’.”

  “Oh! So it’s Mana Essence! Thank you, Mother—I get it now!”

  Hulim bowed deeply to Lilia, then scurried back to the desk, clutching the book tightly.

  “......”

  Lilia watched her daughter’s retreating figure, wanting to say something—but in the end, she just smiled and returned to her own book.