There was a small village about a kilometer outside the walls of Horvine city, lying a bit east from the highway. While the settlements and villages outside Horvine is known for its many wineries and farms, this little village in particular has nothing special about it.
It was built by its community about a century ago after the fief lord bought the plot of land.
It's now ruled by a small noble, Baron Budick Silverlake who inherited his father's land. At first, it wasn't much, but through support from his family and years of hard work, and even his wife who offered support, the man was able to sustain this village with about 300 residents, each contributing to the village's growth, many who even built their own houses.
The Silverlake insignia was a painting of a vibrant green grassland filled with trees, with a blue sky above, while the river going through this land was devoid of color.
The Silverlake family has a lot of branches, with the family in this village being the main family since the patriarch is the firstborn son of the previous patriarch. The rest are scattered throughout the country or the capital.
This main family consists of only three members—
Denise Silverlake, the first lady.
Baron Budick Silverlake, the patriarch.
And finally, the heir to the Silverlake name—Rolak, a boy turning four years old in spring.
**
Denise Silverlake, wife of Baron Silverlake, came out of the barn after milking the cows, carrying two buckets filled with milk. She's become a celebrity of sorts among the people around here. Despite even serving royals and nobles, she lives in a humble village such as this, only going to the capital if necessary.
Her life started in the countryside since her parents were small country nobles who often worked with their people to manage the land, not just through barking orders but physically. This is how she learned to plough the land, take care of the farm animals, build and repair, among other things.
She rarely attends parties and other gatherings unless the host is her client. Not showing up when you catered and organized the event would be incredibly rude so she makes that an exception.
She's had her catering company for many years now, a wish granted to her by some rather shameful dealings she's never revealed to the public. Alas, the public somehow correctly guesses how she was able to start up such a large business when her parents—despite being country nobles—would not be able to afford investing so much money.
"Mommy!" a young boy called out to her as he was on a horse being led by a maid, "I ride a horsie!"
He had short dark blue hair and light blue eyes, resembling his father more than her, except for his nose and big eyes, a stark contrast to his father's slanted, dangerous eyes and tall nose.
Arnold's genes overtook her for the most part. If you looked at a portrait of a younger Arnold, they would look like twins.
She doesn't look to her past in regret anymore nor does she curse herself for not taking prevention methods. She just took an opportunity that ensured her future was secured and dream came true.
This boy is her everything and she would do anything and everything to stay by his side.
"Oh, Madam, I'll take those!" the maid leading the horse her son was on, quickly approached Denise and took the buckets. Denise quickly grabbed the horse's reigns to prevent it from scurrying away. She quickly took the boy off the horse.
"It's about time for your nap, Rolak." Hearing this, the boy whined, "Now, now. You can play with the horses again later with your father when he goes to hunt a boar for us."
That didn't cheer him up at all.
"Come on, now. Don't you want to become as big and strong as the warriors in the stories Papa reads to you? Sure they meditate a lot but that's no different than napping! In fact, meditating is an adult form of napping so you can become craaaazy strong if you nap a lot!"
"Is that true!?"
"Mhm! All those great warriors listened to their mothers which is partly why they're so strong~"
"Okay! I'll do it!" the spark in his eyes ignited almost instantly. She doesn't like lying but he'll forget about this anyway. He just has way too much energy to spare.
She was worried at first, thinking he's consuming too much sugar but the doctors she consulted told her that nothing was out of the ordinary and that's just how he was born.
"Hehe, good boy." She ruffled his spiky hair, making him giggle, "Run along now. Mommy will see you at dinner, dear~"
After Rolak sprinted towards the house as if the idea of napping was just too exciting. Someone approached Denise as if they've been waiting for her until now.
"Hm? Manager?"
It was her factory manager, the person overseeing the production of her company.
**
They moved to the reception room that was decorated with paintings and all kinds of luxuries to display this household's wealth to guests.
On the table were documents her manager brought along. Denise could spot bags under the woman's eyes, as if she's been up all night working.
'I've been gone from the factory for too long handling our clients so I should head in first thing tomorrow to take the load off her shoulders.'
"What are these…?" Denise asked after picking up one of the documents.
"Those are the financial documents detailing how much we've spent on our operations. Among them are losses from our most recent client—the earl. He had someone deliver us unfortunate news. They… cancelled their orders and sent back 20% of the promised amount, saying that they hope it can cover the expenses we used just to prepare."
"What? But we've already prepared the desserts." She panicked, "The Earl even sent a letter to confirm where to drop off the goods."
You can't just cancel such a large order! It was an age-of-coming so a lot of work went into this. If Denise doesn't do something, future clients will think they can walk all over her.
"It seems we have competition, Madam. This would have happened sooner or later even if we offer rare cakes and sweets whose recipes your great-grandmother left behind after migrating to the empire."
"I don't understand... It's not like we're overcharging just to abuse our exclusivity. In fact, many of our returning clients even order more than their previous orders without issue. Why now all of a sudden…?"
They haven't had any competition for years now, mostly due to the fact that the children of nobility, who eat at places like Lumourge nearly every other weekday, get to eat newer types of cakes and sweets that such places don't have. It's more to do with exclusivity that kept them afloat all this time and ahead of the competition. But as Denise said, she's never abused this advantage to squeeze her clients dry.
The manager spoke up awkwardly, "…Perhaps we should expand beyond the catering business? Make the business multifunctional?"
In other words, sell off to bakeries, restaurants and cafes instead of keeping everything confined to their warehouses. It would make her a lot of coin but then she'll just become like all the others. The only distinction between her and the average bakery would be her exclusive cakes and sweet treats which won't hold its whimsy for long if people can just buy it in whatever store they walk into.
She sighed, "…Maybe it's time we do. It seems that even in the catering world, cheaper is what the greedy nobility will prefer. But let's not be too hasty, as we still have several clients who are awaiting their orders."
"Naturally."
"I'll see you on Sundral. Just update me when something else changes. For now, we should only think about making our"
"That will give us the marketing we need instead of the word of mouth we've been surviving on until now. I bid you farewell then, Milady. Hopefully we can resolve this."
After her manager left, Denise laid down on the couch, letting it absorb all her exhaustion.
She subconsciously raised her hand above her face, staring at the ring on her finger.
She married a young man she met while she was pregnant with Arnold's child. At first, the signs of pregnancy wasn't there so Denise wanted to make time for her personal life before
One priority was getting a husband. She wasn't exactly a high-born lady so suitors didn't just fall out of the sky.
Reminiscing about how she met Budick will only make her daydream again, as that was the most peaceful chapter in her life. For the past four years, all she's ever done is work, work, work. For a time she was happy that she's managed to bring her catering business this far but the presence of competition shook her a bit.
Normally competition is a natural thing but driving away such a big client will complicate things on her end…
If the limited business contract (meant to serve their treats in shops and whatnot) fails, she may have to make her business public so that investors can come in—
A maid knocked on the door before she could let sleep take her, "Excuse me for disturbing you but someone is here to see you, Madam."
"What? No one sent a letter to let me know in advance."
It's rude to just barge in when you don't have an appointment. Denise is a busy person, after all.
"—Apologies for not letting you know I was coming." Another person entered their conversation, and soon a young blonde woman appeared behind the maid, "I don't believe we've met officially."
"Lady Celeste, heiress of the Penston House?" Denise, eyes widened, hurriedly stood up.
If a future duchess comes here unannounced, she could only hold her tongue.
"Hello, Denise." Celeste told the servant to leave them alone, which she obeyed, then entered the waiting room, "It must seem strange that I'm visiting you instead of sending a letter, doesn't it?"
"T-That is okay… What type of event would you like me to cater for?" she asked, assuming this was just a direct way of ordering for an event. If so, that would be strange since that's something that can be handled in a letter. Anyway, Denise quickly grabbed a nearby notebook and took out her pen.
"Fufu, hopefully for a wedding soon but I'm not here for that."
"?"
"I'm here to speak about your son, Rolak." Celeste sat down on one of the couches as she looked around the room, admiring the paintings and decorations.
"W-What? My son…? Why?"
"I came here on behalf of Arnold. The boy's father would like custody of the child. It is my understanding that the courts already gave that permission, but you, the mother, have not brought the child over to the castle in years."
"…Arnold sent you…? Why didn't he come himself?"
"I thought it would be better if I do so. He's my stepchild, is he not? Ah, no, I'm getting ahead of myself. It's just so nice to call Al my husband~" hands on her cheeks, she swooned like a maiden in love.
"…"
Celeste is marrying Arnold? It's not something she would've imagined since everyone knew Arnold was never romantically interested in her. He had pursued so many other women, despite having such a gorgeous young woman by his side, a woman who would give him everything.
There's also no political advantage to marrying him off to a Marquis House. Maybe Vance wants him to take over the Penston House? There's no denying that Arnold is highly educated enough to be able to handle ruling a household.
"The courts may have granted him joint custody but he's never made the effort to reach out or support his son. This proved his incompetency as a father. He's never even shown any interest in his son these past three—almost four—years. Why would I want my son to go to a stranger's house? A man he's never met?"
"You are correct. That would be enough to prove his incompetency. But do you think regular laws will work on him?"
"? What do you mean?"
"Oh, dear. You seem to be living under a rock. Arnold not only threatened to kill the Hero but he killed an Ancient Dragon and fought the Great Nobles and emerged victorious. He is determined to fight Arthur Tivurgian, who was blessed by the Gods, in a duel event that the entire empire can come watch. Do you think imperial laws will hold a man like that back?" Celeste smiled but it was anything but a kind smile. It was as if she pitied Denise for being so stupid thinking she has a say in the matter.
"…Wha…" she blinked. News reached this village of a new Hero but as Denise is always busy and buried in paperwork or farm work, she never has the chance to either read the articles or visit an information guild. The only free time she has is when she's spending time with her son or sleeping. Maybe the other residents in the village heard of what happened but the news didn't reach her.
"I can assure you he won't use his political standing to take your son away. It's just joint custody—"
Someone barged in the room, the door hitting the shelf next to it violently.
"That boy is not fit to be a father!" the person who came through that door was none other than Denise's husband and Rolak's stepfather, Budick. Judging by his dirty clothes, he had just finished his chores around the farm.
"B-Budick? You can't just barge in here!" even if the situation wasn't in her favor, she had to point out his rudeness.
He was a tall man in his early thirties with spiky brown hair and a large build fit for a warrior. He's a captain of Horvine's city guard but is currently on paid leave so he helps around the farm usually. From what Denise heard, he attacked one of the high-ranking offices over a disagreement—with his short temper, she believed it.
So, it's no surprise he would be this rude to even a noble…
"Oh? You must be Miss Denise's husband." Celeste was unfazed by his outburst, giving him an amused smirk, "Forgive my bluntness when saying this but what you think does not matter. You aren't bound to the child by blood, after all."
"What!? I've raised that boy with Denise for three years! I consider him to be my son!" he spoke over her.
"If you have been eavesdropping on our conversation, you should have heard what Arnold is capable of—so I repeat myself: what you think does not matter. The boy won't be taken away from you forever. His father is legally allowed to see him and care for him." Celeste stood up and approached the window that overlooked the ranch, "A child with the blood of a dragon can't live in a place like this forever. One day when he leaves his mother's nest, he may rule Whitage city."
"Wait, what did you just say? A dragon?" Denise blanked out for a second and only spoke in bewilderment once Celeste was done.
Turning back, Celeste answered:
"Yes, Rolak is half-dragon. According to what I've learned and, by right, he is the rightful heir of the Taelith House."
Budick and Denise glanced at each other, hearing this news for the first time.
Arnold… is a dragon?
Neither his parents were connected to the Taelith House or any dragon clan. Something like this would've been big news as the "House of the Dragons" are said to possess an army equal in strength to the military of the empire or even beyond. If recent reports are to be believed, they're still just a neutral entity choosing to quietly build up their strength and keep their ancestor's legacy alive.
So… how?
"Are you a half Elf, Miss Denise? That can be the only explanation for why you were able to have his child."
"N-No."
"What about your parents or their parents?"
"Neither my parents or grandparents were Elves…" If even her great-grandparent was an Elf, they would still be alive today, as Elves can live thousands of years.
"Hm, then you may have Valkyrie blood. There is a legend going around that the Valkyries who fought the demons that crossed the oceans copulated with the humans. That's likely not just a legend—take your son or even several dragonkin households/clans for example. Granted, some do have Elves in their midst."
Indeed, it's likely her ancestor could've been a Valkyrie.
"So, that means Rolak could be part-dragon and part-Valkyrie. He may grow up to be stronger than his own father." Celeste chuckled, "Wouldn't you rather have your son grow up around his own than keep him confined to this farm? He doesn't have to grow up a fighter, but his abilities may begin to show in the future—if that happens, who will teach him to control them? You?" she looked at Denise, "Or you?"
Then she looked at Budick.
"…With all due respect, Lady Celeste, you can't just bombard us with all this information and expect us to have an answer ready for you immediately. I… I did not even know this about my son… Half-dragon…? That's not something you just accept…"
"I do admit it's a little uncouth on my part to pressure you to give an answer. But this will be my only visit and I do hope I see you again in Whitage city or the Berkley residence with the boy beside you."
"…His city… I forgot he was disowned shortly after being given that land. How is it doing?"
Rumors floated around about it but Denise has never given much thought to listen to the rumors. She wanted nothing to do with him, after all.
"The restoration process has been going well. From what I've heard, his crystals will be the key to making him the wealthiest man in Diacree. Wouldn't it be nice for Rolak to have such a man as his father?"
"Money doesn't make a man a good father." Budick said with a glare.
"I agree but it offers stability. Surely his mother wants him to have the best education and upbringing possible? What better way than to leave such responsibilities to the father?"
Celeste spoke to Denise directly with an intense stare.
"Anyhow, while we can certainly wait for an answer, I would like to hear your thoughts, Miss Denise. The father most likely wants to know what the mother thinks."
"…I have no doubt Rolak will want to grow up a fighter once he realizes his potential…" Denise said with a small voice when Celeste ignored her big-mouthed husband.
"Denise! Don't tell me you're considering this!?"
"If everything Lady Celeste said is true then we can't keep our son here forever, growing up a farmboy and have a normal education and life. He'll hear about his father's achievements and seek that kind of strength for himself—I know how boys are since I have so many young nephews and brothers. Even if they aren't forced to choose the sword or any other weapon, a thought always arises to pick it up once in their lives. That moment will determine what they want."
"Denise is right. His father is the man who defeated the Great Nobles, killed an Ancient Dragon like it was nothing, and commands thousands of dragons—it would be like shaking a pouch of gold coins in front of the bastard of a noble who has never tasted his father's riches. How can anyone resist it?" Celeste turned away from the window, "Now that I've finished my business here, it's about time I leave."
"…I will take Rolak to his father on my own. I would like to meet him first before leaving my son with him."
"Denise…"
"We can't keep him away from his father forever." She shot back at her husband, "One day he might become curious and leave the safety of our village in the night just to run away to see his father. All we would be doing is letting him become rebellious against us."
Rolak is still too young to understand who his father really is. Since his mother is married to Budick and lives with him, he would naturally assume Budick is his father.
Though it's hard for Denise to accept, it's best to cooperate with Arnold instead of pushing him away, otherwise her son will grow up hating her. Parenting requires teamwork, even if the parents are divorced or not together anymore. In addition to her son growing up having a healthy relationship with his father, every financial need can be handled by Arnold. Denise might be a small noble with a successful business, but with her focus now being to growing that business, she has to spend her money wisely.
Schooling isn't cheap in this society. She wants Rolak to have the best education possible and live in a gated community where he's protected and, every need of his, met.
With Arnold in the mix, he can provide financial support for his son. They can even send him to one of those top private schools with dorms that have top-tier professors.
"You seem to have made up your mind." Celeste said with a satisfied smile now that Denise wasn't pushing back anymore.
Approaching Denise and offering a hand, Celeste continued, "Let us work together—" they shook hands, "—as mothers."
**
The heiress of the Penston House soon left, leaving behind an awkward silence between the husband-and-wife duo.
She broke the silence, "I know you consider Rolak to be your son, and I would love nothing more than to have you as his only father, but I must think of our son's feelings as well. Once he grows up and realizes he's been lied to, a rift will form between us—you included."
His clenched fists loosened and his frown softened, "Yeah… I know… Curiosity is within every child. His will bloom into anger if we just confine him here. But Denise…"
"…I know. I won't let him take over our son's life." She held his hands and stared into his honey-colored eyes, "And I won't allow him to push you away."
In the midst of an uncertain future and new revelations, the two hugged, choosing to let only a few words be the end of this discussion until it's time to bring the boy… to his real father.