Death, Devotion, Dissonance

The lunch, for the most part, went smoothly. Lora's family seemed to accept Evin's existence without much problems. Ssatsko and Theor already seemed to know about him, with only Sasha looking shocked by the sudden developments.

For the most part, the meal was spent with Evin answering the two adult's questions, but contrary to his conversation with the Viscount, it was kind of obvious that he was being treated like a child here. The fact erred Evin a bit at first, but he figured that technically, he was a child.

But aside from that, Evin also learned many things about Theor and Ssatsko.

Theor was a native of Jiha town, born and raised here and was childhood friends with Lora, Aran, and Liza (Aran's wife). He worked as a cook, showcasing his skills with the food that Evin ate at the table.

Aside from this, Evin also noticed the pridefulness that Lora mentioned the previous day: 

'There are very few cooks who can prepare that fish like I can. Even I only learned to do so after years of diligent training and practice. I've been trying to teach Lora about it, but she's not having that much success with it, ha-ha-ha.' 

'That chair you're sitting in is probably one of my best ones yet, ha-ha-ha.'

Or, 'Oh, I've toiled so hard to cut these boards the exact same thickness and width. I had to have Lora help me out a tiny bit with smoothening the wood, but it was worth it, coz, look at that evenness.'

As for that last bit, the way Lora looked at Theor told Evin that the 'smoothening' work was anything but a tiny bit, but Lora didn't look like she wanted to point that out.

Whatever the case was, Evin learned that Theor was someone who like to brag about his own creations. And honestly, for good reason. The fish was great; the furniture and the house felt like they were carved by mages… but Evin just wished the man didn't have to brag about it all so extensively. 

But that wasn't all. More than anything, Theor liked to brag about his way of life. A completely self-made person. According to him, he learned everything he knew by himself and if he ever needed something, he always asked himself whether he could do it by himself. He was basically someone who tried to create something before buying it. The man even made his own tools, carving out the handles of his axes and shovels, only needing a blacksmith for the metallic parts.

Evin found the trait admirable, albeit a bit extreme. He even wondered if Theor was lying, but no. With the way Lora and Ssatsko acted, Theor was definitely serious about his self-sustainability. 

And the more Evin listened, the more he found it hard to make up his mind on Theor. On one hand, the man's way of life was admirable, but there was a wrongness to it all that Evin couldn't put a finger on. Many times, Evin wondered if he was just trying to find faults with the man, but it didn't feel like it. 

He wondered if Endra would be able to help him out, but the Voice was silent throughout the talk.

On the other hand, Evin found Ssatsko to be much more mysterious. The old man rarely talked, only answering when prompted, and only offering the shortest responses. He was all too content to just be playing with his granddaughter, who would giggle cutely whenever Ssatsko lifted her up above his head.

He mentioned briefly that he was a soldier from the North, and was now taking a break from his assignment. But aside from that, he mentioned nothing. 

Evin observed his grandfather for a few minutes, before quickly deciding that he wasn't going to learn much from him. 

But he still had a big question left in his head. 

'Why is my mother's family still 3rd grade, if they are friends with Aran, a mage; and with Ssatsko as a Hornbearer?'

Considering how the conversation was going, it didn't seem like the answer would pop out randomly, so, Evin was left with only one choice.

"If you don't mind me asking, but why are you still 3rd grades?"

"What do you mean?" Theor asked back.

"I just thought it would be easy for you to rise in social levels, since Ssatsko is a Hornbearer… and also, you're friends with Aran too, right? I'm sure he'll be willing to help if you just ask."

"Ah, about that," Theor noted and began explaining. "Well, firstly, Ssatsko being a Hornbearer doesn't help us, because he's still officially a Northerner. The kingdom wouldn't allow us the privileges of a 1st grade because of a foreigner, who's loyal to the North."

"And Aran?"

"Well," Theor replied with an awkward chuckle. "I felt that it was too shameless of me to ask for help. It's like, if I ask for help, I'm sure everything will be solved without me lifting a finger, you know?"

'So, he's refusing help because he's too prideful to ask for it? Wait, does he want to rise through the social ranks all through his own effort?'

"But you are going to eventually rise up in ranks, right?"

"That is the plan," Theor replied. 

"And you don't want others to help you out with it."

"As is proper."

Evin made sure to notice his mother's reactions as he talked. Sure enough, her eyes looked hopeful as Evin spoke of rising through the ranks. She wanted an easier life, but was forced to follow Theor's ideals. 

'She deserves an easier life after what she went through with Edmund,' Evin decided.

"But since I'm a mage, wouldn't my mother automatically turn into a 1st grade?" 

"I… I suppose that's an option…" Theor looked surprised. Not pleasantly surprised. Uncomfortably surprised. 

"Mother," Evin said. "If you want to, I can take care of the paperwork by tomorrow… no, this evening."

"I- I'm not really sure," she replied unconfidently, stealing glances at her husband.

'Theor doesn't beat her, thank the Empress, but he still forces his decisions onto him. I don't know what happens if she doesn't oblige, but from the way she's acting, I'm sure it's nothing pretty.'

"Don't worry about troubling me, mom. I'll be glad to help you out."

"No, you can't just appear in our home and make decisions for us," Theor intervened.

By the Empress, how badly did the man want to stay a lowly 3rd grade? 

"Sir, I'm not trying to undermine your authority in your house or anything like that. I just want my mother to live comfortably."

"Comfortable doesn't always mean happy," Theor replied readily. 

From this, Evin could quickly guess that his mother asked him for the same things, and that Theor refused. Stubborn man.

"But will following your ideals make someone happy? My mother sure doesn't seem like that," Evin spoke, unable to hide the frustration in his voice.

"Of course, she's happy. Right, Lora?" 

The man had the gall to say that. 

"Can you see the wrinkles on her face? The callouses on her hands? The dark bags under her eyes? By the Empress's grace, she looks almost the same as my father did and he was 45!"

"That… That's not something a child should worry about," Theor was still defensive.

"I may be a child, but who decided that a child can't worry about his mother?" Evin felt his blood boil.

"No. And it's nothing you should concern yourself with, either."

"What do you mean it's not my concern?" Evin snapped. "She's my fucking mother!"

"Evin! That's enough!" his mother shouted, and Evin realized he was looming above the table.

Only now, he heard the whimpers of Sasha, who was clutching onto Lora's neck. Ssatsko also looked disappointed, though he didn't say a thing during the entire exchange. For whatever reason, his foot sent him a pang of pain as well.

Evin let himself fall on his chair again and whispered softly. "I apologize."

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