The first experiment with magic circles failed, as did several more tests.Now, with night approaching, I am hunched over my notes, trying to see what went wrong.My mother looks at me for a moment and says:
"Why don't you take a break? Life isn't just about studying or building things. It's been months since you last talked properly with Elena.Spend some time with her."
I look at her suspiciously.
Elena is the daughter of the hunter Gilbert, who taught me how to hunt. Since she is my age, we became friends easily. Ever since I was twelve, my mother has constantly been bringing her up.
"Are you trying to help me, or are you playing matchmaker?"
She averts her gaze slightly as she answers with a smile.
"Of course I'm helping you."
Because of my enhanced hearing, I can catch her murmur:
"If this gets me a daughter-in-law, it's just a bonus."
She says this while looking at me.
She knows I can hear her, and her smile widens when she notices a faint blush on my face.
I sigh and say:
"Mom, you know I like her, but how am I supposed to approach this? I was already a nervous wreck just telling you and dad."
She looks at me, sighs, and mutters softly — "Men."
"Son, even a blind man can see that she's in love with you. And we've always been close to Gilbert. Even though he doesn't know the secret, he already has an idea that our family isn't normal."
My eyes widen.
"But how? We were careful. Is it our appearance? You're both looking younger — it must be that."
I stop my monologue when I receive a smack on the head.It was my mother.
"Now I believe what your father said — just a brat with too much knowledge."
"Gilbert and Elena are our closest friends. Of course they'd be the first to notice. Did you really think no one would notice anything strange?"
I look at her awkwardly, rubbing my head — it hurt. Did she get stronger, or is this just mother powers?
"I knew the secret wouldn't last forever, but I'm worried about the Empire, or even the Varden."
"I don't want to be dragged into wars or used as a pawn for someone else's gain."
Her expression softens.
"I understand, but you have us. You don't have to carry everything alone."
"Just because you have all this knowledge doesn't mean you know everything."
"And as your parents, it's our duty to protect you. So share your burdens — we're here for you."
"Let's go home. Tomorrow we can talk more with your father as well."
The next morning, we went to my first base, which is closer to the village.
As soon as we arrive, my father begins:
"Lydia told me a little about your conversation yesterday."He looks at me seriously."So, no funny business before the wedding, got it?"
I freeze, looking between them, not knowing what to say.
My mother, taking pity on me, says:
"Stop teasing him, Robert."
I look at her gratefully—until I hear this:
"If you keep teasing him, he might never gather the courage to court her."
All my gratitude evaporates, and I mutter — "Meddling old people."
My mother stops, looks at me, and says:
"Did you say something, dear?"
She said it in a tone that sent chills down my spine. I could only shake my head quickly.My father looks at me with a mischievous smile.
"I think I heard the word 'old.'"
I quickly save myself:
"I said 'old,' clearly I was saying 'old meddler.'"
Finally, my mother stops staring at me, and I sigh in relief.
I compose myself while my parents look at me, amused.
"Well, I've been thinking about our conversation yesterday and about the future."
"I can't be sure of anything, but there's a chance we might cross paths with a mage, or with someone knowledgeable who could discover us."
"There are also the people of Carvahall, our friends, and I don't know how they'd react to magic."
"How do you think we should act? For the first part, I'm already trying to find a way for us to use spells, but when it comes to the villagers, I'm lost."
My mother is the first to speak.
"I don't like hiding. It makes it seem like we're doing something wrong, and potions could help so many people."
She finishes with a pleading tone — my mother has always been kind, so of course she wants to help.
After a few seconds of silence, my father sighs, stands up, and says:
"Lydia is right, but we must still be cautious. Even though we in Carvahall always help each other, they've heard the same stories about magic. Throwing everything at them like this could lead to fear."
On this matter, I stay quiet. Despite living in the village for fourteen years, I haven't interacted much with most of the villagers, so I wait for them to decide.
I see my mother stand up with the triumphant look of someone who has found the answer.
"What if we start with people we trust completely, like Gilbert and his daughter?"
On the last part she winks at me — that woman is definitely scheming.
My father barely thinks before answering, as if they had already planned this.
"That's a great idea. We can show them little by little, easing their fear of magic. Your potions, Lydia, should help with that. We could even include Gertrude — I think she'd be fascinated to see what they can do."
They reached a consensus very quickly. They must have talked a lot about this last night.
I have no way to argue against their decision, so I say:
"You could have told me you already had a solution. It would've been faster."
I sigh. They stop and look at me a bit awkwardly.
"Yes, it was obvious — dad agreed too fast. But wait, why am I teaching you how to lie? Never mind."
"I don't have any objections to following this path, but we still need to be careful. Humans can be greedy, and that can change their hearts."
My mother hugs me, completely ruining my wise little speech.
"My son looks so handsome acting all wise and responsible."
I only hear my father laughing.
Now all that remains is to face what the future will bring us.