When Ezekiel returned to the front of the manor, night had already fallen. Despite the hour, the training field was still as lively as it had been when he had left.
A bevy of braziers kept the area well-lit and there were several duels being held. Zeke was certain that he would find Leo among the fighters, but to his surprise, the blonde boy wasn't anywhere to be seen.
After a bit of searching, he found a familiar figure in the crowd — Mordred. The older boy was hugging a girl under each arm as he cheered for one of the fights between Grand Mages. On closer inspection, he realized that one of the competitors was Mordred's older sister Vanessa.
With swift steps, Zeke came up behind him. "Mordred, do you know where Leo and Maya are?"
Mordred was startled by the unexpected voice and spun to face him. "Jeez, don't sneak up on me like that." His eyes were slightly unfocused and his speech slurred. It was clear that the older boy had enjoyed a fair bit of alcohol as well.
Zeke rolled his eyes. "Sneaking? I could have walked up to you playing the flute and you wouldn't have noticed… given how busy you were." He meaningfully glanced at the two girls who had continued to spectate the fight. Apparently, the apple didn't fall far from the tree when it came to Tristan's son.
"Fine, fine, whatever," Mordred said. "The last time I saw that rascal Leo was when he was brought into the healer's tent. But that was hours ago."
Zeke's expression turned serious. "What happened?"
Mordred waved him off. "Hey, there's no need to make such a scary face. You should know best how your brother is. The maniac challenged Phillip and James to a two-on-one fight and got his ass kicked. Nothing serious, but his core was depleted again. I think the healers tied him up after that. They got sick of him fighting even without any Mana. Your sister went with them as well."
Zeke smirked. Knowing Leo, his brother was probably already planning his escape. After Mordred pointed him in the right direction, he was en route to the healer's tent. While making his way over, Zeke spotted his mother and father sitting to the side at one of the dinner tables. They were still talking to the same man he had seen them with earlier.
Moments later, he arrived in front of a big tent. Inside he could see a few empty beds that were divided by a piece of cloth hanging from the ceiling. Almost all of them were unoccupied. This made perfect sense, considering that Blood Mages could recover from most injuries with their own strength.
Toward the back of the tent, the last bed on the left side was the only one where the covering was closed. Zeke could even hear muffled voices coming from inside. While stepping closer, he could make out Maya's tinkling laughter.
Zeke stuck his head through the opening, only to be greeted with a peculiar scene. Leo was lying flat on his back, with black ribbons tying him to the bed. He was writhing and squirming like a worm, but no matter what he tried, the restraints held. Maya, on the other hand, was sitting sideways on his stomach and kept poking him in the face. For some reason, she was giggling while doing so.
"…What's going on?"
The moment Maya heard his voice, she immediately launched herself from her position on Leo's chest, landing on the chair next to the bed. After collecting herself for a moment, she turned toward Zeke with a blameless expression, her sky-blue eyes the very picture of innocence. "Hello, big brother—"
"Zeke! Save me!" Leo screamed. "This little monster has been torturing me for hours! I can't hold on any longer!"
Zeke looked between his sister's innocent expression and Leo's wide-open eyes full of pleading, before deciding to leave. This had nothing to do with him. Nope.
"NOOOOO! HELP MEEEE!" Leo cried.
With a sigh, Zeke turned again and entered through the curtain. "Fine… who is going to explain to me what's going on?"
"She's a menace!" Leo burst out immediately. "She kept poking and taunting me while I was defenseless. I never knew a human being could be so wretched! That adorable facade hides the cruelest of souls! Mark my words, Zeke!"
Zeke couldn't suppress a smirk. For Leo, who didn't even flinch at the gravest of wounds to be reduced to such a state…. He wondered what his sister had done to him. However, he couldn't be biased. With a somber expression, he turned toward Maya and raised a single eyebrow in question.
"It was his own fault. Leo completely lost it after you left, Zeke. He kept challenging one opponent after the other, even after his core ran dry again. His injuries would have been far worse if I hadn't convinced the healers to tie him up—"
"That was your doing as well, vile creature?" Leo yelled as he redoubled his squirming. Maya stuck out her tongue at him without any sign of remorse.
"…And the taunting?" Zeke asked, getting more amused by the moment.
"That was because he didn't listen to me!" Maya exclaimed. "I told him he would perform far better if he gave his body a bit of time to heal between fights. According to the textbooks you had me read, it would have prevented his core from getting strained as well. But he didn't listen. And now I lost all my money!"
Zeke had been nodding along until the last part. "Money? What money?"
"Did I say money?" Maya hedged. "I meant mommy. Where did mommy go?"
Zeke looked at her suspiciously. She could barely meet his eyes and was fidgeting constantly. It didn't take a genius to see that Maya was lying; the girl was terrible at it.
"Maya…"
"Fine," Maya said with teary eyes. "I tried to earn some money, just like you did during the tournament. You made it look so easy back then that I thought I could do it too." With a quick glance, she added, "Don't be mad, Zeke."
"How much?" Zeke asked in a stern voice. However, his heart was already melting.
"45 Silver," Maya confessed. "It was all my remaining spending money for the month."
To be honest, Zeke couldn't care less about the loss of a few silver. But this would not be a good lesson to impart to a young girl. Instead, he nodded slowly. "I won't tell Mom and Dad if you tell me what you've learned."
"Erm… I should not put my trust in Leo?"
Zeke's gaze grew sharper.
"Ok, ok, I should not gamble," Maya said with a sigh.
"That's a fine lesson, but it's not the whole truth," Zeke said while patting her head. "Betting can be fun if you do it right. As far as I can tell, there are only two rules when it comes to gambling. One, don't bet money you can't afford to lose. And two, only gamble when you are sure the odds are in your favor. That's how I do it, anyway."
"How do you know if the odds are in your favor?"
Zeke puffed out his chest. "Your brother is really smart, you know? I can calculate the odds with nothing but a brief glance."
Anyone else would have scoffed at the arrogance on display. However, Maya had stars in her eyes as she looked at him. "I'll perfect my gambling as well. Just like you, big brother."
Zeke coughed awkwardly. This was not what he had intended. But he could not crush her dreams now, not while looking at those shining eyes. Well, it would probably be fine, as long as she adhered to those two rules. Probably…
His thoughts were interrupted by a persistent glare. He turned, only to find Leo staring up at him with a discontented expression. Zeke had completely forgotten about the tied-up boy while speaking with Maya.
"Anyway," he said hastily, "I am done with my meeting and I think it's about time we go home. Maya, please untie Leo. I'm gonna grab the others and meet you two on the Enigma in a bit." After noticing a strange glint in the girl's eyes, he specified his instructions. "…I can't believe that I have to say this but no more taunting, poking, or torture of any kind. I want you to untie him right away. Is that clear?"
Maya pouted. "What do you take me for? I was going to do it right away." However, the disgruntled expression on her face told a different story. Zeke waved goodbye and made his way to the table where he had seen his parents earlier. As he approached, the rustling of clothes alerted him to a presence behind him.
"Anything out of the ordinary?" Zeke asked without even turning.
"Nothing of import, young lord. Mia and Geralt have spent the entire afternoon talking to Mister Bloodletter. Meanwhile, Leo and Maya have been going from duel to duel until Leo was defeated and detained by the healers."
Zeke nodded appreciatively. David was as meticulous as ever. He had kept watch over their entire party in his absence. However, Zeke's brows furrowed. The Bloodletters were another somewhat prominent family of Blood Mages. Compared to the straightforward style of the Bloodsword family, they preferred a more esoteric approach to Blood Magic. What did they want with his parents?
"Anything I need to know?" Zeke asked.
"I think it's best if you heard that from your parents."
"Understood," Zeke said. "Can you hold on to this for me?"
David eyed the package that was wrapped in colored cloth with interest. "What is it?"
"A present from Tristan Bloodsword. Try not to lose it," Zeke teased.
David scoffed before fading back into the shadows, package in hand. Even with his [Perfect Spatial Awareness] Zeke had not seen where he disappeared to. He had learned that the passive spell wasn't great at penetrating active concealments. Another topic he would have to research in the future.
He approached the table his parents were occupying. The man sitting with them was a Grand Mage. However, from the looks of it, he was long past his prime. He looked to be about the same age as Maximilian, which meant that he was nearing the end of his lifespan.
The moment he saw Zeke approaching, he got up. "…Give it some thought, Geralt. You would bring honor to yourself, and to your family." With those words, he left, nodding briefly at Zeke before doing so.
Zeke sat down at the spot the man had just vacated. His parents both had frowns on their faces. "What was that about?" he probed.
His mother glanced at her husband. After a moment of silence, Geralt sighed. "That was my father."
Zeke's brows furrowed. Despite having suspected something like this, it was still a shock to hear his father confirm it. However, from what he had observed, their conversation had been tense — far too tense for a talk between father and son. "You've never talked about your family, Dad."
Geralt sighed again. "Because there was nothing to talk about. I was disowned years ago and even forbidden from using the family name."
Zeke nodded. He was pretty sure he could guess the reason. "Because you don't have a core?"
Geralt nodded. "Yes, that was part of it. I could have stayed with the family, but my future would have been dire. You can probably imagine what my fate would have been…"
Zeke grimaced. In the empire, if a member of a household didn't manifest a core, they were referred to as 'Faulty Progeny'. Those descendants were often paired up with each other to produce more offspring. Passing down their genes was all they were used for in most cases. Zeke didn't expect the Valor kingdom to be much different in that regard.
"So? What did the old man want from you?" Zeke asked.
Geralt only looked in Zeke's direction, not saying a word. However, his meaning was clear. Of course, they would also be greedy for Zeke's perfect affinity. Technically, he was even a direct descendant from their bloodline, so they had a stronger claim than even Tristan. Not that something like that mattered much…
"What did you tell him?" Zeke asked.
"What else?" Geralt scoffed. "I told him that we were called von Hohenheim now. The man has been dead to me for years. I won't let him worm his way back into our lives now that he wants something."
A radiant smile bloomed on Zeke's face. It was a great feeling to have his father use the von Hohenheim name in such a way. To him, this symbolized that his father had truly accepted this new identity and life.
Mia was also nodding, squeezing Geralt's hand tightly in her own. Zeke realized how nerve-racking it must have been for them to stand up to a Grand Mage for so long. The pressure of a high-level Mage would become burdensome even to him after a while.
Zeke decided to change the subject. "Why did you never tell me? You probably knew all along that I had a high chance to have a blood affinity, given my hair color."
Mia nodded. "Of course, we had our suspicions," she said with a pained smile. "But what good would it have done to tell you? In the empire, your father's name would have done nothing for you, except make you a target."
Zeke wanted to say something, but his mother didn't give him the chance to interrupt.
"Also, you were so determined to become a Mage, we didn't want to give you even more reason to leave. Do you think we were unaware of how hard it would have been for you as a Blood Mage in the empire? I can not express how thankful I am to Maximilian for looking after you. I was worried sick every night until you finally wrote that first letter."
Zeke grimaced. It had indeed been rough before Maximilian had taken him in. Who could say how his journey would have ended without the old man? Despite feeling wronged by their decision, he couldn't really fault his parents for not telling him. Knowing what he knew now, he wasn't so sure if it had been a wise choice to go to the Elementium. Zeke was under no illusions: It had been more luck than skill that had led to his success. If he had different affinities…
Zeke let all the frustration seep out of him with a drawn-out sigh. "Fair enough," he said, smiling at his parents. They had worried expressions on their faces. This confession must have been hard for them as well.
"If the Bloodletters want to create trouble in the future, I'll deal with them. Let's just forget about all that and go home."