Insect Tamer's Ascension-Chapter 52 - . Entering the Gathering (1)

When everything was done, the children lastly made conversation with each other in a noble manner.

There were blunders in that too, but at the same time, it went faster as everybody was getting impatient for it to be over.

This chapter is updat𝓮d by freēnovelkiss.com.

When it was finally over, the old lady said nothing but goodbye and left the room without another word.

Theo felt weird; he did so well, yet not a single word of praise left her mouth? It left a bad taste in his mouth, but there was nothing he could do about it.

"It's finally over~" Celeste shouted just as the lady left, making her attendant sigh.

Theo looked at the happy twins with some concern; they were not taking anything seriously, which could lead to some crazy consequences.

"Elder sister Celeste, elder brother Gideon, have you two ever attended a gathering like this before?" Theo asked with curiosity.

"Never. We Merricks are not made for such gatherings; they don't suit us," Gideon spoke with a huff.

"Same, same!" Celeste said cheerfully.

"What about you, elder brother Bram?"

Bram looked at Theo and shook his head in denial.

"I-It's my first time, just like you, little brother… Only elder sister Elara, elder brother Cedric, and elder brother Lucien have experience in these gatherings."

"That makes sense," Theo spoke and stretched his body after a long time.

"Let's go now, Clara. There are too many things to do," he spoke again and took a few steps forward.

"A-Ah, young master! Why don't you play with your brothers and sisters for a while? It will be fun," Clara spoke from the side.

Theo stopped and looked at her with a frown. He didn't think Clara would interfere like that.

"Yeah, Theo! Let's play!" Celeste ran and grabbed Theo's hand, dragging him back to the group.

Theo didn't hide his frown; only the other attendants could sense his discomfort, not the other kids—except Bram, who looked at him with concern.

"I would really like to play with everyone, but it seems I have something urgent to complete right now. Let's play another time, elder siblings." Theo gave them a bow and started moving toward the gate when a shout came from the back.

"If you go, we will not play with you ever again!" Celeste screamed with an angry expression, surprising Theo.

'Such an annoying brat,' Theo thought.

As much as he wanted to entertain their ideas, Theo really had a lot of things on his mind.

"Young lady, young master Theo doesn't want to play with everyone right now. You should respect his decision," her attendant spoke, and Celeste only groaned.

After some explanation, she finally accepted with a dejected look, while Gideon didn't care altogether. Yet he eyed Theo for some time with unknown emotions.

Bram, on the other hand, had been on the side this whole time, listening to the conversation. When Theo was about to leave, his hand fidgeting increased, and his attendant realized it.

"It seems young master Bram is not feeling well, everyone. He would like to get some rest for now."

"You too?~" Celeste cried again, and Bram nodded with his head down.

"Aww~ Then you can go now. I will come get you tomorrow, Bram," she said, and Bram finally left the room too.

Theo and Clara had already left the room a minute ago, moving ahead in the corridor.

"Young master, would you like to go meet him?" Bram's attendant asked with a smile.

Bram didn't say anything at first, but then he nodded with hesitation, "I want to, but he s-seems very busy right now."

"Well, I can arrange a meeting between you two after the gathering. How about that?" she said with a warm yet pained smile.

"Really?" Bram's eyes shined for the first time, and when the attendant nodded, he simply gave a happy smile before they both left for their rooms.

——

"I hope you won't do something like this again, Clara," Theo said while staring at Clara.

"… I won't."

"Good. I want to train the mantis some more before I get a good night's sleep. The gathering includes kids like us, so they scheduled it for the afternoon."

"I am supposed to get your clothes in a few hours, young master."

Theo and Clara made some small talk before reaching his room again. He sighed in relief when he saw his mantis again.

From then on, the training started again, and all his time went into that.

Theo slept early in the evening and woke up before sunrise.

He did some training again since the whole day was going to be a waste anyway. Some productivity was nice.

When Clara returned in the morning, she helped Theo put on his noble clothing.

When Theo looked at himself, he was almost surprised. It had been a while since he wore something so extravagant.

He wore a dark blue high-collared coat with silver embroidery along the edges, symbolizing his noble lineage. Underneath, he wore a white silk shirt tucked neatly into fitted black trousers. A silver brooch shaped like the Merrick family crest was pinned to his chest, marking his status. His black leather boots were polished to perfection, completing his dignified appearance.

"You are ready, young master." Clara finally took a deep breath and wiped off her sweat with a handkerchief.

She too was ready in clothing that was finer than what she normally wore. It was the attire all attendants had to wear, bearing the Merrick crest—though smaller—just like Theo's.

"You look wonderful today, Clara," Theo spoke with a warm smile, knowing Clara liked compliments.

Clara giggled in a happy mood. "Thank you, young master. Although, you look the most dashing right now."

Theo looked at himself in the mirror again and smiled. His hair was neatly styled, and his clothing was as refined as it could be. He was a cute yet maturing-looking kid, too.

'I do look dashing.'

That was the birth of Theo's little narcissism that would bring him a lot of trouble in the future.