Chapter 45 The Cult

The breakfast began and everyone started feasting on the delicious food in front of them with fineness and table manners.

Ethan was a quick learner and Aisha had practically nailed all the noble etiquettes in him and which of course included table mannerisms.

Ethan skillfully broke apart a part of a stake as oily juices slowly flowed out of it. He then gracefully used the knife and fork and placed the small piece of stake in his mouth.

Even Aisha and the other ladies were surprised by such elegance as Ethan had never before shown off such precise skill in handling cutlery.

Albaer nodded from afar with satisfaction as he saw his entire family together eating happily.

It was true what they said, Duke Albaer White loved his family the most in the world, his family mattered to him even more than himself.

Ethan who was keen to observe everything around him did not miss this small detail as he thought while looking back and forth between Alier and Albaer, 'Well shit, now this makes things complicated innit?'

Ethan sighed inwardly feeling incredibly vexed as he had to handle so much complicated stuff all at once. There was his uncle, then the mystery of the prophecy, future planning, and more.

But there was no other choice as he had realized recently, his inner thoughts slipped out in a sigh which attracted Albaer's attention.

"What's the matter? You don't seem to be enjoying the food... Do you not like it?" Asked Albaer with raised brows.

"Hmm? Oh... No... I was just thinking of something. Forgive me." Ethan responded calmly but inwardly he made a mental note to compose himself better. He noticed that he had been letting slip his emotions more often lately.

"I see, what's on your mind? You can ask me anything... Or perhaps you need something?" Asked Albaer with a considerate tone.

"Well... I wish to go city seeing. Although I have been learning various things from Miss Earlene, I wish to see for myself how the commoners live and how the city operates." Ethan requested politely.

Realization dawned on Albaer's face which then turned into enthusiasm and satisfaction. Thinking that as his heir; Ethan was finally taking interest in the matters of governance—Albaer became happy.

"Wonderful Idea! It's about time for you to experience the world with your own eyes as well. Let it be on this good day then!" Albaer exclaimed while nodding in agreement.

Suddenly though his face became serious and he continued, "But you must be cautious from now on! As I have said, your potential is both a blessing and a curse. You are a threat to many by simply existing and some might harbor malicious thoughts." Albaer warned in a serious tone as he glanced behind him at Albert.

Albert smiled reassuringly and nodded as he acknowledged Albaer's intention behind that look.

Anicia who was eating her cake suddenly halted when she heard Albaer speak and looked at Ethan with concern and thought, 'So it's not just me in trouble because of my power? He seems to be even more troubled than me...'

The room suddenly became silent which ensued for a while before Ethan spoke again, "And who are those who might want to harm me?"

"Good question, assassins sent by enemy nations fearing that the Atrana Kingdom will gain an advantage from you... Or perhaps... The Cult!" Albaer uttered with a hint of disdain as he narrowed his eyes.

When Albaer said 'The Cult', Alier twitched very slightly as his eyes dilated and his body language changed momentarily before getting normal.

"The Cult?" Ethan asked curiously.

He of course noticed Alier's unusual reaction as his attention would always be toward Alier whenever Alier would be around him. It was an instinctive reaction to keep an eye on someone who wanted to kill you.

Alier could have never imagined that he was being spied on constantly by a deadly predator, he also wasn't that good with keeping composure and so he let some reactions slip by through his body language.

These reactions were very very subtle and almost unnoticeable but that was enough for a monster like Ethan.

Meanwhile, when Ethan asked the question—Albaer put down his fork and knife and looked into Ethan's eyes with a severe gaze, and said,

"The Cult of The Disgraced God, in short, The Cult. Its members are worshippers of the disgraced one and they often spread terror throughout the continent to please their Gods of Sins." Albaer cautioned.

Everyone was listening with interest even though they already knew about The Cult, only Ethan was ignorant there. Well, perhaps not completely as he had read of some disasters recorded in history related to The Cult, but it was somewhat of a taboo topic so there weren't any details about The Cult itself.

"Why would they want to harm me?" Ethan asked to which Old Gramps White answered, "They are a radical bunch and don't really need a reason to do anything. They might just do it seeing your name grow and using that to spread their own agenda."

"That's true, and this is why you need to learn Swordsmanship so that you can protect yourself just in case," Albaer said as he once again picked up his knife and fork and began eating.

'Interesting...' Ethan thought and proceeded to put a cookie in his mouth with a deadpan expression on his face.

Silence once again ensued as everyone quietly ate their fill as no one preferred to discuss an ugly topic on such a good occasion.

The silence was starting to get awkward as only the noise of chewing, sipping, and crisp crunching sound of cookies as well as the clattering of plates could be heard in the room.

So Aisha made a move that was very typical of her. She changed the topic on its head saving everyone from the awkwardness.

"By the way, dear... Have your days been good here in Adenberd so far? I'm sure it might be lonely for sure staying so far from home. And... you can tell me if this boy bullies you in any way, I will teach him a good lesson!" Aisha giggled and spoke looking at Anicia and once again put a smile on everyone's face.

"No... I mean yea. Uh, I- I'm fine, Lady Aisha." Anicia stuttered flustered by the sudden question toward her.

"Oh-ho? You should call me Mother from now on. Dear, you are also a part of this family now." Aisha chuckled and said teasingly.

"Y-yes..." Anicia blurted in a muffled voice and lowered her head in embarrassment as her cheeks turned slightly red.

Ethan sighed and looked at Aisha with a pleading gaze that said, 'Please don't do this I beg you!'

Aisha nodded as she giggled, and just as Ethan thought there would be no further embarrassment, the loud noise of slamming rang startling everyone.

"That's right! I almost forgot...hehe! Ethan my boy! When you were just born, I promised you that I will personally find you a beautiful bride, but your father beat me to it, hahaha! Looks like I will also have to find you a second bride and fulfill my promise soon, eey? Hahaha!" Old Man White said with a resounding voice and laughter.

Ethan almost choked on his food when he suddenly heard the remark as he sneakily looked at Anicia whose cheeks were now deep red with embarrassment.

Old Man was alone laughing happily at his own joke oblivious to what he had said. Everyone facepalmed inwardly as they averted their gazes in awkwardness not understanding whether to laugh or cry.

Even Alier and Albaer broke into a cold sweat as they saw their mother Lady Catelyn looking at the Old Man with demonic eyes and furrowed brows that were twitching with annoyance.

Ethan hurriedly stood up in a panic and said while wiping his mouth, "I- Ahem... I have..... something to do... See you later....!" And he left without wasting a moment. Although he did get a glimpse of Anicia's face full of doubt, suspicion, and question marks as she looked at him.

"Oh... Dear, you come with me!" Lady Catelyn stood up with clenched fists and a terrifyingly calm smile on her face.

"What?" Old Man finally stopped laughing as he realized that he was the only one laughing. He was still oblivious and asked not understanding why everyone was acting this way.

"I will tell you what's what later. Let's go!" Lady Catelyn said calmly and dragged the Old Man away with her. 'Hmph! Hmph! My word weighs in Gold! I will certainly do what I said! Hmph!' Old Gramps thought while being dragged off.

Everyone heaved a sigh of relief seeing the tension and awkwardness going away but that's when Luceryc who was silent until then spoke up, "Ethan gets to have two wives and not even one for me? That's kinda unfair..." Muttered Luceryc with a deadpan expression.

Alier - "...."

Albaer - "...."

Everyone else - "...."

Naenna - "Pfft! Whahaha!"