CHAPTER 220: 220. DAYS AFTER THE 10TH BIRTHDAY- THE TOWN

Right now, Theo was in front of a table that was covered with papers and books.

It was the Baroness’s office where she worked most of the time.

"I believe you already know what you have to do, Theo. But I will go through it again." The Baroness spoke with a stern look on her face.

Theo nodded with a serious expression.

"When you get to the town, stay very, very close to your father. Alright?"

Theo chuckled again; no matter how serious he was trying to be, the question was just ridiculous.

"Mother, you know I am strong enough to protect myself. And also," he stopped and pointed at his pocket, "I have this glutton with me in my pocket." He said while pointing at his suit’s chest pocket.

A head bugged out of the pocket and stared at the Baroness as if she was the one they were hunting.

The Baroness sighed heavily and massaged her nose before looking at him again, this time with a smile.

"Don’t get so full of yourself just because you have some strength now. Always remember, you are getting in the real world for the first time." She spoke again and didn’t let him say anything before continuing.

"Also, that is not why I am saying this." She said with some hesitation before finally saying it, "Your father... is very playful at home, but his image outside the house is not that good."

"I know people are scared of Father already," Theo stated with a tilted head.

"Yeah, and there is a reason!" The Baroness seemed to have lost patience with Theo interrupting so many times.

Theo knew it was his cue to shut up.

"Listen, Theo, your father is very protective, way overprotective for his children and wife... If he sees—no, even feels you’re in trouble there, he will make a ruckus, I am sure about that." She said while shaking her head in nostalgia.

"Unfortunately, I can’t go with you because of work. But I am sending Lucien with you to control things." She spoke and got up to get close to Theo before keeping a hand on his face.

"I can’t believe you are 10 years old already, it was only a few years ago when you were still in my arms." She spoke with a warm voice before a tear came down her eye.

Theo wanted to retort that it had not been a few years but many more since he was carried by her, but seeing her so emotional right now, he just kept his hand on her head to calm her down.

Theo caressed her hair for a while before she was okay again.

"I hope you will take that sword that was given to you with you this time. If someone says something to you from the crowd, just beat them up, okay? I am giving you the permission." She said while sniffing and using the handkerchief to wipe off the tears.

Theo was shocked listening to that. If his father was overprotective, then his mother was plain out a villain when it came to her family.

It had been two days since Theo celebrated his 10th birthday. It was a day that brought him a lot of happiness with the family dinner and gifts.

All the gifts were again normal, with one being a lot more exceptional than he had hoped.

Getting a Lesser Dragon Scale armor was already a good gift for his 9th birthday, but to get a sword made from the finest military-grade ores that could only be prepared by a few smiths, if any, near them was a gift.

Theo found out that it was a sword that every prospective knight of the Merrick Barony got, which made Theo feel proud that he was being accepted as a knight too in his family.

But it also made him feel his relation with other heirs become distant. There were some that didn’t care, like Elara and Isolde, who had their own things they excelled at.

Lucien, too, felt motivated even though Theo was younger than him.

Cedric became a lot more curious about Theo and started observing him during his training sessions from afar.

Bram too felt like doing something good as if Theo’s determination was rubbing off on him.

That left Rowena, Celeste, and Gideon at the other side; each time Theo was praised, they felt a hit in their gut for some reason, and the feeling was only growing with time even though Theo just didn’t care.

But right now, what mattered was how the Baroness was ready to have Theo use his sword if necessary. It made him wonder what the town was about.

’Bram said they were good people but even if they weren’t... he would always say they were good, damn brat.’

Getting no help from his older sibling, Theo bid farewell to his emotional mother after helping her stabilize again for work.

He headed to his room and waited for him to be called to the entrance.

And when they did, Theo went and saw the Baron, the head butler, and Lucien waiting for him in front of a carriage.

With him was only Elias, as he was his attendant. Theo made his way toward them and smiled in excitement; it was just a really good day.

But the same couldn’t be said about the Baron, who looked very stern. Lucien chuckled awkwardly looking at the situation, and the head butler kept a poker face, not showing what he felt right now.

"Good morning, everyone." Theo spoke and gave a small bow, making Elias bow too, but a lot deeper.

"Forget this, let’s go." The Baron spoke and got inside the carriage.

The driver was not Warren but one of the senior drivers that had been with the Merrick family for a while now.

Theo saw the Lesser Griffin as a carriage operator and couldn’t help but feel bad. That creature was born to shine in battle, not move a carriage.

They all got inside, and for the first time, nobody told Theo to close the windows.

"Listen here, Theo, stay very close to me, okay? The townspeople can get a little... rude." He said with a hmph as if not liking what he said himself.

Theo nodded but looked at Lucien, who just shook his head in dismissal, making Theo confused.

What was he getting into for them to react all differently?