The Greed of Kronos

Dropping out

Thirty-eight: Dropping out

Demiris, on the other hand, eyes Astian who was flustered with the attention that he gained from head to toe and then stared at him for a moment. Shortly after that, when Demiris seemed to have something in his mind, he then abruptly shifted his gaze towards Kronos with his eyes widened in shock. “Are you already bringing a lover home?!”

They were at it again. Every time Kronos would bring someone at home when they were in the village, Demiris and Hethera would always assume that it was his lover. Whether it’s gender is a female or a male. He still could not understand why they were so eager to have him take someone home as a lover when he believed that he was still at a young age. At his age, one probably would just work their butt off to study and make connections at the Academy.

On top of that, even if Kronos would repeatedly deny it together with the person he brought home with him, they would pretend to be deaf and would continue teasing them. As a result, Kronos would lose a friend because of them.

He was not there aiming for an extended conversation too. Hence, he sipped on his cup of tea as he replied nonchalantly. “Yes.”

With that being said, the couple who was grinning from ear to ear suddenly froze as they looked at Astian, who was already standing up and ready to greet them with a warm smile on his face. Hence, Astian greeted the Azvameth couple with a bow in his kind and soft tone of voice. “A pleasant morning, Lord and Madame Azvameth. I am Astian Dyclour.”

After that, Kronos simply looked up to see their reaction and felt satisfied by two things. One was that Astian did not get mad or corrected his answer, and two was that the baffled expression of his parents. They even were stunned for a long time that they continued on staring at Astian and just reacted when Astian tilted his head.

“Ah! Dyclour! We are friends with your mother and father. Please pass my regards.” Hethera replied as she laughed nonchalantly. As expected for someone who holds the Morlin blood! Look at her son bringing a lover with blood manipulation as a potential! The two of them would be inseparable! On top of that, Astian could help him in the magi tower!

“Such a fine man. Please take care of Kronos for us.” Demiris also laughed as he gave Astian a pat on the back. Kronos was really his son! He hit the jackpot by having a son of a duke as a lover!

Astian, on the other hand, after hearing the warm welcome, flushed as he looked down and replied in high spirits. “I will!”

Was that what they call a blessing from parents?

Upon hearing this, Hethera then smiled widely towards Astian and replied. “You can also call me mother if you would like. Oh, and by the way, how was the Exi? Pretty amusing, right?” The questions were meant for her son as soon as she shifted her gaze towards Kronos and showed off a playful look

“Tch.” Kronos looked away.

It seemed fun to them; however, it was not to Kronos. He remembered his past life very well. Although he was born with a gold spoon in his mouth, his life was very bad for the heart. He simply does not have the knack for being an assassin, given how soft-hearted he was.

When he thought of that, sometimes he felt like that was the answer. His father in his past life killed him because he was too soft-hearted, albeit he had the ability to hide his emotions.

Fortunately, before he could even dig into his more profound and depressing thoughts, Hethera leaned closer towards Kronos and smiled excitedly. “We meant to surprise you! You were surprised, right?”

Yes, Kronos was very much. He was surprised and, at the same time, did not want it. While it’s true that Hethera and Demiris were clueless about Kronos and his unfortunate past life, Kronos still lingers to it and is still affected by it. Staying to Exi also means that he would be having the same life he had in the past.

Hence, after emptying his cup of tea, Kronos looked at the leisurely atmosphere they had and broke it by opening his mouth. “I’m dropping.”

With that being said, the first one to react was Astian. A while ago, he was exchanging smiles with Hethera and Demiris. But then, when he heard Kronos saying that he was dropping out, his smile abruptly faded as he looked at Kronos with a mixed expression. “Huh?”

Hethera also placed down her cup of tea and looked at Kronos with a serious expression. “Kronos? Why would you?”

Ever since Kronos was born, he was mature. He was also considerate whenever they would try to be playful towards him. Even when Kronos had Eros and Agape around, he was never the type to make it a big deal. And by the time Hethera saw the mark on Kronos, she pretended to be ignorant of everything. All they had in mind was to surprise Kronos a little. Where did it go wrong?

“I don’t f*****g want it,” Kronos answered with a calm expression.

Even if he wanted to show how unwilling he was to go to the Academy, he still had the need to maintain a calm expression and control his anger issues. After all, his parents do not know anything. It was only him, and the problem was him.

His parents, on the other hand, pondered for a moment. They were weighing what they felt. Of course, as it was the first time that Kronos was mad for a joke they made, the two of them were sunk in guilt. However, the fact that Kronos was one of the ‘masters of the masters,’ they do not have the full authority of their child’s education.

After all, it was a matter of life and death. The high priest could know anytime and could kill Kronos anytime.

With just the thought of it, Demiris could not help but to feel a pang on his chest. Such ominous thoughts he had. How could he possibly let that happen?

Therefore, Demiris looked at Kronos with a scowl. “We will pretend that we did not hear that from you.”

Kronos could not possibly back down like that just because it was his father’s words. He had reasons why, and those reasons, even though a selfish desire, would save him from being the bad guy that he was.

With that thought, Kronos looked at his father with a sharp look and with a blank expression. “Let’s pretend the two of you did.”

The atmosphere was almost that of a deserted place amidst mid-winter with a blizzard surrounding them. Astian could not even take a sip of his tea because of the ambiance. It was that ambiance when Kronos would talk to a stranger and when he saw the Master and Madam walking towards their direction. They were colder than that of a vampire blood.

The attitude of Kronos might be disrespectful, but perhaps he had his reasons. Moreover, hethera could not possibly turn down a request of her own blood. She was way too simp over Kronos.

Thus, Hethera cleared her throat as she looked at her son and replied with a serious tone of voice. “Can you think of it for a day or two, my son? It would be hard for us to convince the school that you are dropping. Given the circumstances that you are in the Exi.”

Demiris felt that Kronos decided to tell that out of whim. It was the second day of class, and if he were to get a familiar of his own, would he not be thrilled? Nevertheless, if Kronos would still wish to bid goodbye to the Academy, they would respect their son’s wish and use their power and influence to have him home-schooled instead.

Kronos, on the other hand, understood that it was his own selfish desire. He, too, was fully aware that his parents were busy managing the estate and the magi house as it was, and his request would be too much of a burden for them.

Hence, considering his parents, Kronos heaved a loud sigh and replied while looking away. “Fine. Bye then.”

He may have made a promise to himself that he would not live the same life twice. However, he also made another promise to himself, and it was that he would shower his new parents with all the love he had for them.

It was settled then. Kronos had done what he wanted to do and relayed the message that he wanted to say to his parents. It was time for him to go back to the Academy as he saw no other purpose in staying there for too long.

Hence, after he emptied his cup of tea that was refilled, Kronos took a cookie and placed it into his mouth as he rose to his feet and walked away.

Seeing this, Astian looked at Kronos and called out. “Hey, Kronos?”

Hearing this, Kronos did not look back, but he did halt as if waiting for Astian to get beside him.

Astian seemed to realize his action that he abruptly looked at the Master and the Madam of the estate and kept bowing while apologizing in such a hurry. “I’m sorry, we’ll get going.”

With that action, Hethera felt awkward that she laughed and gave Astian a tap on the head so as for Astian not to panic that much. “It’s fine, Astian dear.”

As soon as the calming energy from Hethera’s hand reached Astian, the latter then calmed down as he once again bowed with his warm smile and then walked beside Kronos.

It was really fine. As it was the usual behavior of Kronos whenever he’s flustered. By the looks of it, Kronos must have thought that he loved his parents so much that he could not pester them for so long. For instance, when they were in the village, Kronos was pressured to tell Hethera and Demiris that he loved them. Hence, the moment he uttered the three words, he stood up and walked away just like what happened a while ago.

They know it very well how Kronos had a hard time expressing his feelings. In addition, his curse that cannot be cured by anything hinders him from having a friendly conversation with anyone. That was why Hethera and Demiris chose to be patient when it comes to Kronos. As they knew how much Kronos loved them and cherished them.

So seeing the mad Kronos was a relief, and at the same time, they felt guilt. Hence, even before Demiris could point her out as the culprit, Hethera glared at him and gave him a smack on his shoulder. “It’s all your fault! It was your idea in the first place!”

Demiris, who had no thoughts of putting the blame on Hethera, was startled and then did not have much choice but to clean his name as Kronos was still in the garden. “I merely suggested it!”

“Kronos, dear~ Visit us when you have the answer!” Heather shouted from a distance.

Hearing this, Kronos halted as he turned his head around to see his mother and replied with his usual volume of voice. “Yes.”

Even though he wouldn’t shout, Hethera could hear him. What’s the use of having the title of Great Mage when your ears were bad?

“Take care on the way, Kronos and Astian!” Demiris added.

And that time, it was Astian who replied with his head facing the couple, and his mouth stretched into a crescent moon. “We will!”

Seeing Astian’s reaction, Kronos pondered for a moment as they walked before he flicked Astian’s forehead. And when Astian merely rubbed his forehead without looking at Kronos, the latter then flinched and called Skia over.