The Guardians' Throne - The First Magic Swordsman

                  Zaos frowned when he heard that voice… he could swear that he had discovered a new spell, but the voice told him that he had learned… not created. That was just a minor detail considering that Zaos wanted to help his mother, but it had some serious implications.

"This probably means… that the spell already existed, but the people of the kingdom don\'t know yet," Zaos muttered.

                  Zaos had considered that before, the demon god\'s followers had many more spells in their possession. It was only natural considering the things they managed to do in the North in the last three years. Regardless, Zaos could worry about that later, and he decided to analyze the spell. After a few tries, Zaos understood that it could be used to alleviate muscular pain.

"Well… I guess this is better than nothing," Zaos shrugged.

                  As much as Zaos wanted to continue, he couldn\'t break his routine. Otherwise, his mother would get worried. So, as soon as possible, Zaos put his armor on and then picked his sword to train. Although he was a bit late, Zaos found his father waiting for him on the training grounds.

"You didn\'t sleep last night, did you?" Laiex asked.

"Yeah, so what?" Zaos asked.

"Are you messing with the ancient language?" Laiex asked with a serious expression on his face.

"Not yet," Zaos replied.

"Why do you never listen to others aside from your mother?" Laiex asked and then sighed. "At this rate, I will have to take drastic measures."

"Well, probably because the others aren\'t as sincere as her," Zaos replied. "I already used to face difficulties. You or anyone else might cause trouble to me, but it won\'t change anything."

"… You are already fourteen, and yet, all you do all day is plan every single of your actions with your mother in mind," Laiex said. "It is time to grow up, Zaos. It is time to accept that there are things beyond you."

"I think that is what being a good son means, to some extent anyway," Zaos said. "I am sorry to say this, father. But I think that I have grown mentally more than most people around here. I acknowledge the fact that there are things beyond me, but that doesn\'t mean I have to give up before trying… like others."

                  Laiex recognized that those words were meant for him. Even though they never talked about each other frankly, Zaos could understand his father\'s type of person. He accepted the commands of his parents and married a noble girl from another family. Even though he didn\'t love her, he did it because he felt it was his duty, even though he loved another. Although he accepted that, he didn\'t give up on his love, and when his parents passed away, he looked for Jeline since no one could get on his way now. Thanks to that kind of attitude, his son didn\'t respect him, and he only brought grief to his wife.

                  However, Laiex also knew his son very well, he knew to whom he had to be loyal, and despite his duties getting in the way, he would never give up on trying to help his mother. It was clear that not even the royal family would stop him. No one would, only death could stop him, but Zaos wouldn\'t go down so easily. Merkin told Laiex how Zaos defeated the sixteen thieves in the blink of an eye. Thanks to that, Laiex knew that few people would be able to stop Zaos, and they only would be able to do so while putting their lives on the line as well.

"… You are almost fourteen," Laiex said after a long sigh. "I was thinking of postponing this for two or three years, but perhaps we should find an appropriate partner for you. Perhaps that will help you grow independent from your mother. I am sure she will gladly help me find someone suitable for you."

"Don\'t you dare use her enthusiasm about this against me," Zaos glared at his father.

"That is fair enough," Laiex crossed said and then crossed his arms. "I also didn\'t think it was exactly fair for my parents to arrange a marriage for me. Despite what you think of me, I regret what made your mother endure. With that in mind, I will give you one year to find a suitable partner for yourself. If you fail at it or don\'t try hard enough to find it, I will bring this conversation to your mother. This is my way of compromising, but I won\'t change this from this point on."

                  After saying that, Laiex left. Not even he was in the mood for training after that kind of talk. As for Zaos…  he was as mad as he could be since he was exhausted and had to deal with his father\'s bullshit so early in the morning. In the end, Zaos decided to lay on the grass and sleep for a while. However, things didn\'t happen that fast since Zaos\'s blood rushed to his head. Not even the enemies that killed the few people he trusted in the North made him feel that enraged.

"As if I don\'t have enough in my head right now…" Zaos said and then sighed.

                  Zaos did some research, and apparently, it wasn\'t unusual for noble kids to marry when they were sixteen or even fifteen. His mother married his father when she was sixteen, after all. Regardless, Zaos didn\'t have time to think about that. His research finally bore some fruit. Not to mention, finding a suitable part would be too difficult. When he said that, his father said to find a noble girl, and among the few Zaos had talked with, he couldn\'t connect with them at any level. The lives they had lived were too different… Zaos probably could connect better with some female mercenary, but then his father wouldn\'t accept it.

"That hypocrite…" Zaos said and then punched the ground.

                  Zaos felt like something inside his head was about to explode due to the anger, but he managed to calm down in the end.