The room design looked more like a repurposed hallway than a proper chamber. Once entered, it showed the visitor a golden-woven carpet leading to a throne-like chair on a pedestal on the far end.
Vallhall family patriarch was the one sitting in it imposingly.
It was a large man, akin to a giant, no shorter than nine-feet-tall, with his imposing features, in his late thirties, and yet with naturally gray hair that was falling into silver… the closest color to the most revered color in the family.
White like snow.
The color of the fur of the Grand White Wolf Fae, their legendary ancestor.
To get to talk to him without shouting across the entire room, one had to walk past dozens of silver wolves laying down on fluffy furs of countless beasts sprawled by the walls.
While not faes nor monsters afflicted by gedwyld, those animals were considered one of the five beasts that ruled the northern wilds.
…they were last on that list, though…
Regardless of that, when a visitor entered the room, the wolves inside would act in response to the intentions they perceived. Friendly, neutral, or aggressive… They were both a natural deterrent as well as welcomed intimidation factor in case the visitor would think of discussing something that could harm the Vallhall family.
The two wolves closest to the throne were different from the rest.
The one on the patriarch's right was twice as big as the others, with a large scar going across its left eye and a chipped ear. The silver luster of its fur was like a mirror, or at least a perfectly polished armor.
The one on the patriarch's left was even bigger. It did not have any blemishes anywhere in sight, and it had a regal atmosphere around it. With a fluffy coat of fur only a shade or two darker than snow, there was something ephemeral about it.
Those two wolves were different from the rest not just because of their size or aura.
Those two were faes.
The one on the right was Patriarch's contracted fae, Remu.
The one on the left was Lupa, a Great Fae of Ice regarded as the protector of the Vallhall family…
…and the one fae hated most by Rotsard…
"Grrrrr…!"
"GRRRRR!"
"...?"
This time around, all of the wolves were acting up even before the door opened, growling and snarling in unease, making the patriarch close the book he was enjoying. The man ended up hurriedly placing it down on the small but tall table, right next to a teapot and a half-finished cup of honey tea.
"..."
After a moment of consideration, the large man grabbed the whole table with one hand and moved it out of sight behind the throne-like chair. He also took off a pair of round glasses with golden frames, wrapped them up in a silky handkerchief, and pocketed them safely.
With that, as he straightened his back, his brows were furrowed, and his beastly yellow eyes appeared fierce.
It was at the cost of his vision, but it was all a part of the intimidation tactics, just like silver wolves.
Then, the door opened.
"!"
The first thing that metaphorically hit the patriarch was the smell.
The creature about to enter the room reeked of blood… and not just any blood…
A wolf belonging to the Vallhall family was killed, and a few members of the Vallhall family, as well as a few servants, must have been wounded by that being…
That could not go unpunished, not to mention that it was a dead giveaway that whoever was about to show up did not have any good intentions.
"...!"
The Patriarch tried to extend his aura over the whole room so that the silver wolves would calm down and wouldn't throw themselves at the danger, but he was met with a strange phenomenon.
Despite properly using it, not a bit of pressure of his presence could be felt, as if he wasn't even trying in the first place.
"Grrrr… grurrirgh…!"
And as the door actually opened, the wolves' growls and snarls turned desperate and high-pitched, some even interwoven with yelps as the cowering animals backed themselves under the walls and started to shiver.
"Rrrrrrrotsarrrd!"
"!?"
To the patriarch's surprise, his contracted fae, Remu, got up too, with her fur all bristled, and she snarled furiously, baring her teeth at the youth who entered.
"Rotsard…?"
The patriarch, whose vision was poor enough to make him unable to discern faces at the distance from his seat to the door, asked in disbelief.
"..."
"???"
As he glanced over at Lupa, he was met with an even stranger sight.
The fae regarded as the protector of their family was…
…looking away from the visitor as if swallowing down some sort of bitter shame…
"Greetings, patriarch."
The visitor spoke up, his words polite but his voice cold like the northern winter.
He walked towards the patriarch's seat without being beckoned. As he walked, the panicked wolves would scurry as far away from him as possible.
Those weren't some mere showpieces. Only the silver wolves who proved themselves in many hunts were honored with accompanying the patriarch.
But the same wolves who tore through hordes of monsters and horrors were now losing their minds out of fear…
…and because of the trash of the Vallhall family, no less…
No matter what, the patriarch could not sense an ounce of strength coming from that boy, so the reaction of the wolves baffled him to no end…
…which resulted in his scowl turning more severe, which in turn was taken at face value by Rotsard.
Hostility and disgust.
Why wouldn't he respond in kind?
"I'm here to issue a complaint."
"Tsk! Regarding…?"
Rotsard asked, and the patriarch raised his brow as he clicked his tongue.
"Spells."
"...?"
The youth snorted, making the man blink a few times, not quite understanding the point.
"Those with enough Vallhall blood in their veins to awaken Essence of Winter are taught the appropriate spells regardless of talent. Yet despite my eighteenth birthday happening a week ago, somehow I am stuck with only the Joy of the First Snow that my father imparted on me. And before you bring out my lack of proficiency in it, I already pointed out that others are being taught the spells even if they have no talent and never reach even the basic proficiency with them."
Rotsard declared, being rather disrespectful with his way of speaking.
"The problem lies with your attitude and the shameless lack of effort. The duels you've cheated in and still lost, not to mention just having to listen to a report of the results of your end-of-term evaluation was already degrading enough. "
The patriarch stated coldly, leaning into his chair and waving his hand dismissively as if the conversation was over.
"...?"
Rotsard furrowed his brows and tilted his head, already opening his mouth to ask if the situation stayed the same even with the results of the exams… but then he closed his mouth and scowled.
What was he hoping for?
He was the trash. The Vallhall family's shame.
The assumption that he cheated to get the results was always there, to the point that it was an actual expectation.
"Let's make a bet. If I'll be able to defeat the Guard Captain Evander, you will have others teach me all of the known spells of Essence of Winter."
Rootsard shrugged his shoulders and asked with a barely contained smirk.
"Pffft! A lofty goal, very much unlike you. But fine… no. Wait. I'm not that unfair. Winter is equal to everyone. In your case, just putting up a resistance that would be possible to call a fight against one of the guards would be enough."
The patriarch snorted before nodding, only to then furrowing his brows even more and shaking his head. Acting all benevolent, although the way he said his condition left quite obvious 'but it's not like that's ever going to happen' hanging unspoken in the air.
"...n… ugh…"
Rotsard flinched and almost lost a fight with himself. He almost called out the bullshit of the statement about winter's equality, barely forcing down a visceral 'No, it's not!', since, in the end, he got what he wanted.
"Understood, if that's the case…"
"?"
The youth nodded and then confidently walked to the right, approaching the window closest to the patriach's chair, making him raise his brow.
"Take a look then~!"
*thunk*
Rotsard called out triumphantly and opened the window with theatrical flair…
"..."
"..."
But almost immediately, he froze up, staying in the way of looking outside, creating an awkward silence.
"..."
Still staying quiet, Rotsard, whose face turned red, closed the window before turning right around and power walking towards the window on the opposite side of the room.
With this one, he first glanced through the glass to make sure it had the right view and only then opened it, although this time just normally, without any of the pompous antics.
It was worth mentioning that at that point, all the silver wolves stopped growling and panicking and only kept observing the youth while laying low.
"H-here. Confirm for yourself."
"?"
Greatly embarrassed, Rotsard stuttered as he shrugged his shoulders and pointed at the window, trying to play off his earlier mishap, too ashamed to properly look at the confused patriarch.
"With that, I'll be off to my room, awaiting the summons about the lessons. H-have a nice day."
"???"
He then muttered and hurried out of the room, causing even greater confusion to the already speechless patriarch.
With the boy gone, the man first glanced at the two fae wolves, confirming with just those looks that it was a weird situation and it wasn't just him.
"..."
At first, the patriarch tried to look through the window while still seated, but since whatever Rotsard wanted him to see happened at the ground level of the courtyard, the man ended up standing and walking closer.
He squinted his eyes hard, but everything below was just a blur of shapes and colors to him…
…so, obviously, he reached to his pocket to get his glasses…
"Oh, and he might have been holding back, using that fluffy energy to cushion the attacks, but I definitely did not return the favor. Still counts though!"
"!!!"
Unexpectedly, Rotsard popped his head through the door again and added, causing the patriarch to flinch and force his glasses deeper into his pocket, before leaving for good this time.
"...for the love of the Grand Fea…"
The patriarch let out a long, tired sigh and carefully checked whether his glasses weren't damaged. Upon confirmation, he put them on and had another look at the courtyard…
"!!!"
…and froze up with his eyes widened in shock...!