Private talk 

'Sir Vince' 

Seth recognized him immediately, his expression growing grim as he realized the head instructor was waiting for them.

At first, upon noticing the lone instructor, Seth worried he might be there to cause them harm. But after calming down and giving it further thought, he realized that if Vince truly intended to get rid of two powerless children, he wouldn't need to wait or lurk in the shadows.

That line of thinking had allowed him to calm down a little and walk on, albeit with a little apprehension.

As they closed the distance, Vince stepped forward from the shadows, revealing himself. Emily gasped in surprise and instinctively reached for the hilt of her worn-out sword clearly surprised by his sudden appearance.

But before she could even have a chance to do anything, he had instantly appeared before them casually placing his hand on the hilt of her rusty sword rendering drawing it useless.

It had looked like Sir Vince had magically shortened the distance between them but in reality he had simply moved at a speed too fast for them to react. In fact it was only after he had prevented Emily from drawing her blade had Seth even realized the man was now standing beside him. 

Finally recognizing the person standing before them with the aid of the dim light from the surrounding torches Emily stuttered in a surprised voice.

"S-sir Vince?"

Noting that the young boy wasn't at all startled by his sudden appearance, Vince couldn't help but crack a small smirk.

'So… you're 'his' bastard.' he remarked inwardly, his gaze sharp and scrutinizing.

"Relax girl, if I intended to harm you both, I wouldn't need to hide in the shadows…" Vince turned his attention to Emily, whose hand still hovered over her sword's hilt.

Feeling the chill in the air, Seth released a sigh before speaking:

"To what do we owe the pleasure of a Knight of the clan gracing two outer kids his presence?" he asked, his voice steady.

Seeing the boy's unwavering purple eyes, Vince immediately broke into a fit of laughter. "Ha! For a kid you've got quite a tongue."

"But it's true- I didn't come here just to intimidate you; that would be a complete waste of time. I wanted you alone so we could talk," Vince said, casting another glance at Emily.

"Emily… leave us," Seth instructed, dismissing her.

Emily was about to protest but stopped when she noticed her master's serious expression- a rare sight, as Seth usually wore an air of calm indifference.

After Emily walked a small distance away from the two, Vince started speaking:

"I wasn't sure if I should tell you this, but after seeing your fiasco with the noble children I was sure."

Hearing Vince words surprised Seth, as he was implying that he had been in the training grounds watching them ever since without anyone noticing his presence even the instructors presence as they seemed to assume he just arrived shortly before he gave his speech.

'Scary.'

***

After a few minutes of the two conversing, Vince finally left as Emily took it as her signal to return to her young master's side.

"Are you okay young master? What did he say?" Emily said noticing Seth's pondering expression.

Emily's voice immediately pulled him from his thoughts as he turned to her with a slight smile, "Oh it's nothing we should worry about." 

He said casually before resuming their walk to the gate, although now deep within his eyes were a hint of worry which Emily had failed to notice.

"Oh and Emily."

"Yes?"

"Don't tell Mira about this, it'll only cause her to worry." Seth instructed.

"Yes, young master." She replied hesitantly.

***

Traversing through the rooftops of the houses in the inner area, Vince moved with inexplicable grace, he transversed by jumping from building to building as he silently but surely approached the edge of the inner settlement.

'What a strange kid.' Vince couldn't help but think after remembering their conversation.

'And there's the fact he didn't have any reaction to my intimidation.' 

'Bastard or not, he is indeed the young patriarch's son… too bad he can't use internal force he would have definitely been an uncanny existence no doubt.'

Finally reaching the entrance to the core area, Vince immediately landed in front of the gate. Startled by his sudden appearance, the guards quickly drew their weapons before pointing it at him.

"Halt state your busin…" Before the guard could finish his statement, the guards finally recognized the individual standing before them as their faces immediately paled.

"W-we're deeply sorry sir we couldn't recogn-" but once again the guards didn't get to finish their statement as he simply ignored them and kept on walking into the core area, treating them like air.

In reality, Vince was so deep in thought that he hadn't even realized the guards actions.

After stepping into the towering mansion before him, he immediately headed to the patriarch's study. With slight nervousness, he knocked on the door.

"Come in." A deep voice spoke from the other side.

Walking into the study, Vince was met with the mighty figure of the Blackthorn patriarch- Evander von Blackthorn.

"So, were there any promising youngsters amongst this year's trainees?" Evander without looking up said to Vince as he signed a document from the stack of multiple documents on his table.

"Y-yes, a lot of them had promise, especially those carrying the clan's bloodline." Vince quickly responded before handing a small written report.

"…as it should be…" Evander simply responded engrossed in his work.

Noticing Vince still lingering despite the short conversation seemingly over, Evander added:

"Anything else?"

"Ahh yes, I-I met young master Damien's son, Seth." Vince said nervously.

"And?" Evander replied nonchalantly.

"Well, it would seem the boy will participate in the trials next month." Vince revealed.

Understanding what Vince implied, Evander finally looked at Vince with a cold gaze. "The trial is tradition that must be carried out by every child carrying our clan's bloodline, regardless of their condition." Evander stated his voice as cold as his gaze.

"Although the boy is a half-blood of lesser origins, it still doesn't change the fact that he has Blackthorn blood running through his veins. The best he could do is not sully the clan name any further by acting like the disgrace he already is." He stated harshly before resuming what he was doing.

"…But nevertheless, monitor the boy, make sure he's well prepared for what is to come." Evander finally added after keeping silent for a few seconds.

Visibly surprised by this turn of events, Vince bowed in response.

"If you have nothing else to say, take your leave." Evander dismissed him, his focus now completely on the pile of work on his table.

After Vince was completely out of the room, paused and released a small sigh before standing up and waking towards the balcony which was his favorite spot.

'Damien… where are you my son…' Evander thought with a sad expression, as he gazed at the moons which had finally revealed themselves after being hidden from the cluster of clouds since it became dark.

If members of the clan were to see him now, they would have been shocked. Standing silently on that balcony, the powerful and domineering air that usually surrounded Evander was absent. Instead, he appeared as nothing more than a fath

er, who genuinely worried and longed for his son.