Insect Tamer's Ascension

Theo quickly got up when he saw the man wearing a noble robe. Everything about him screamed a polished and tidy person, someone that could only be a noble or another high ranking individual.

And then his father came out, the embodiment of a giant with a rugged and wild face.

The robed man glanced toward Theo and Clara once, and he started moving toward him with a curious smile.

"Who do we have here, 9th son or 8th?" The man lowered his back and asked Theo with a big smile.

Theo gave a smile of his own too and bowed nobly, "Pleased to make your acquaintance. My name is Theo Merrick, 9th son of Baron Aldric Merrick."

The man was surprised to look at a kid with such good manners. He glanced at the Baron, who just grinned.

"So you're the infamous 9th son of the Merricks, huh? Quite a lot of gossip going around about you, Theo." The man said and laughed heartily.

"I am Thorne Vellgard, Baron of Vellgard. Me and your father are very good friends, ain't that right, Aldric?" The man elbowed Aldric's arm twice before getting a chuckle from the Baron.

"Theo, he is one of the members that I told you about," the Baron spoke with a smile. "He is here to get the names of the ones attending the gates from the Merricks this time."

"Aldric…" The man squinted his eyes while looking at the Baron. His playful demeanor vanished for a moment there.

"That is great news, Father. Can I dare ask who are attending the gate from our family this time?" Theo asked politely.

He already knew who were going, but in times of a sudden change in names or something, there was no point in making assumptions in front of a stranger. It would only lead to misunderstandings.

"It will be me, Lucien, and Cedric." The Baron spoke and looked at the man, who was eyeing the Baron for some time now.

"I can't believe you told such a small child about this, Aldric. Here I thought you became sensible with age." He stated and clicked his tongue, which made the Baron's grin wider.

"Well, he knew about it even before I told him, Thorne. Just look at his level and you will know who you're dealing with." The Baron said with pride, and the man just snorted and checked Theo's status.

His eyes widened for a second before a frown changed it. "You're level 3 at such a young age? Don't you know your foundation will take a big hit if you are too fast?" the man spoke while staring at Theo.

"Thank you for worrying about me." Theo gave a respectful nod and continued, "But I have been training day and night so that my foundation doesn't waver. In my opinion, it has only become better."

The man kept looking at Theo and then changed his gaze toward the Baron, who grinned widely as if there was no one prouder than him.

Theo had seen his father's face first before saying all that. It seemed the Baron wanted him to flex a little.

"If you're being calm about this… Sigh… Fine, you do you. Merricks have always been some out-of-the-box individuals anyway." The man just shook his head and sighed.

The Baron looked at Theo and smiled. Theo didn't know why, but he was feeling very good about this situation.

"You think I am still lying, dirty ape? Then how about I show you what he is capable of?" the Baron spoke loudly.

Theo hid his surprise pretty well, but calling a Baron 'dirty ape' was something nobody had expected.

Even Clara did her best in hiding her emotions. Offending someone like a Baron was something no commoner should get themselves into in a lifetime.

"Has your brain finally mixed with your dumb beast, Aldric?" the man rebuked, but it didn't seem like the Baron's remark offended him. It was almost as if he was half smirking.

"Fine, show me what you got, brat." He stated while looking at Theo, who only nodded respectfully.

It seemed as if his free day was going to be even more complicated because of his father, who seemed to want to flex on the other Baron.

"Theo, change and come to the training area you frequent. Be fast," the Baron stated, and Theo nodded with confidence before he left for his room.

Both Barons were still shouting at each other but the duo did their best to get out of their as soon as possible. Taking unintentional hits felt like a dangerous outcome.

When he was far enough, a deep sigh of relief left Clara's mouth, and Theo nervously chuckled.

"Sorry about that, Clara. I didn't know something like this could happen right now."

"They both seemed like… friends? I have never seen high nobles talking so casually before, young master."

"Hahaha, get used to it, Clara. My father doesn't believe in the noble crap. He says what he wants and says it whenever he likes." Theo stated with a grin, "And he has the strength to back him."

Clara nodded with a smile too. The family she was serving was a unique one, everybody already knew that.

"But you didn't get the opportunity to tell the Baron about young master Bram."

"I will do it later. For now, my father's word is on the line right now. I have to do my best to show that Baron what I am capable of."

Theo was somewhat nervous about the upcoming spar he was going to partake in. But there was this confidence he had in his abilities too.

He quickly got ready again in his leather armor and stretched his body to be ready for the fight.

In a few more minutes, Theo and Clara made their way toward the training hall.

When he saw the inside of the training hall from the side, Theo couldn't help but be even more surprised.

There were many people in there, and by the style of their armors, there were more knights this time rather than the guards.

He could even see Lucien, his towering elder brother, who could be visible from anywhere.

But what surprised him the most was a silhouette that he hadn't expected there.

"Is that… Mother?"