CHAPTER 219: GRANDMOTHER

Three days went by in a moment. Riven spent all the time inside, reading the contents of the blacksmithing books.

Initially, he believed that he would read a bit and then head to the dungeon, but instead, he got so engrossed that he spent three days reading everything that was inside.

And even after going for a full three days, he only got through the first book, and he only remembered half of it. So he was going to read it a second time, and this time take some self-notes to help him.

He was treating this as a full study, he wanted to get the best out of it.

He was seated inside his room when a knock came from the door. He walked to the door, opened it, and saw a guard from the house standing outside.

"Good day, young master," the guard greeted, bowing forward.

"Yeah, good day. Is there an issue?" Riven asked.

"No, young master. The Lord just asked that you come and meet him in the carriage outside the manor," the guard spoke.

’It was so urgent the maids didn’t come, rather a guard?’ Riven wondered. Guards rarely even stepped into the main house.

"Alright, I’ll be there in a moment," Riven said. The guard bowed again and left. Riven picked up all his books, put on a better set of clothes, and left.

He walked out of the house and a two-horse carriage was waiting there. He walked toward it, and the coachman opened the door for him.

His father was already seated inside, dressed elegantly like the Baron he was.

"Good day, Father," Riven greeted as he took his seat.

"How have you been, Riven? Barely anyone has seen you in three days," his father said.

"Yeah, I’m fine. I was just busy studying," Riven replied.

"I see, well that’s great then."

"So why did you call me?" Riven asked.

"It’s been three days already; the smithy for you is ready," his father said.

"Wait, what? That was very quick, how were you able to pull that off?" Riven asked in genuine shock.

"I’m the Baron. I gathered all the best builders, rune smiths, architects, and more that were in the town. And seeing how Ribest is becoming a hotspot, there are a lot of special people living here, and their expertise can easily be bought.

So I did, and in three days, the perfect smithy for you was erected. I’m sure you’ll love it," his father explained.

The coachman moved the carriage and they were on their way. They traveled quietly for a bit, and then his father looked at him.

"Riven, I’m sure you saw my brother and sister when you came back the first day," his father said, looking out of the window with his hands under his chin.

"Yes, I saw them. Seems they left before I could get to know them," Riven said.

"You’ll get to see them soon enough. I wanted it to be at a proper time, and not after a battle," his father replied, with a faint heaviness in his voice.

"I’m guessing you don’t get along with them well," Riven said.

"I don’t," his father replied.

"Yet it doesn’t seem like you are happy with that. It looks as if you are forcing yourself to hate them," Riven stated. His father turned to look at him, opened his mouth to say something, but then shut it.

"If it’s hard to hate them, why not forgive them for what they did?" Riven asked.

"Because I would be betraying myself if I did that," his father replied.

"So you’d rather die slowly from self-induced pain than let go of a grudge," Riven said.

"It is not a grudge. Calling it a grudge would greatly undermine the gravity of what they did," his father replied, his tone sharper and heavier.

"If you want me to understand why you can’t forgive them, then tell me what happened. I’m all ears," Riven said.

His father glanced at him and took a deep breath. "Sometimes I wonder if you really are a kid," he said, then looked out the window and started speaking.

"Have you ever wanted to know what exactly happened to your grandmother?" he asked, then looked at Riven. "She was the most beautiful woman, my mother, and most of all, my best friend.

She and I did everything together. I was tied to her hip, so much so that I stole the time she was supposed to spend with my father.

Many people said it was a phase, that I’d grow out of it, but I never did. You see, I was never supposed to take the head of the family, it was meant to be my brother who would take it.

He trained day and night, had talent comparable to what my father had, and was a rising star. He graduated from the Royal Academy as well.

The same thing happened to my sister; she graduated. As for me, I had started schooling there, and made it all the way to the fourth year, close to my graduation.

And that was the period disaster struck. A beast wave was coming. My brother and sister were in another town, not too far from ours, because they had just started their mercenary organization.

My father led the march against the beast wave, but soon, the number of the beasts became far too much for him and his army to handle.

He needed all hands on deck, so he called on me and my siblings. I left in a heartbeat and managed to reach in time, but my siblings weren’t there.

Their organization had been called to help the neighboring town handle the beast wave on their side. They forsook family, believing that Father would handle it.

They were supposed to be back and help protect Mother in the manor. But without them, that job fell to only me.

I believed we would be safe, since the beast wave couldn’t reach. But then a cloaked figure used the distraction of the entire beast wave to get into the manor.

I fought against him, putting my all into battle, but he was many times stronger. He defeated me ruthlessly and left me to bleed out, while he found my mother, dragged her out, and killed her in front of me.

I watched as her eyes closed for the last time, as her breath left her lungs. I watched her bleed out. And in my head, there was only a single thought — if my brother and sister had been here.

If they had come when my father asked, my mother would still be alive. After that, the both of them found out what happened, and I blamed them for everything.

That’s where the hate originated from. I could not make myself forgive them for what they did, no matter what, I couldn’t stop hating them for allowing Mother to die.

I also had hatred for myself, because I wasn’t strong enough at that point and I allowed her to get killed.

My brother and sister finally moved away; their guilt and my hate pushed them away. My father didn’t say anything about it.

I knew he was dying inside, but he had to be strong. After they left, they never returned, and I was made the next head of the house.

Now you see, that’s the reason I can’t forgive them, they allowed my mother to die. And that’s why I can’t forgive them, no matter how much I want to," Riven’s father explained everything that had happened.

’I guess that will make a man hate his siblings, but I honestly feel his real rage isn’t really directed at them,’ Riven thought. He looked at his father and then spoke.

"You aren’t really mad at them. Your anger at them is acting like a coping mechanism for the fact that you couldn’t really save Grandmother.

And you refuse to talk to them because a part of you knows that there might be some good reason behind why they didn’t make it.

And when you realize that, the reality you developed for yourself will shatter, and you’ll be forced to face the fact that the hate you feel is from your own weakness at the time, and not them," Riven said, keeping a straight face as he spoke.

His father looked at him, shocked to hear what he said. He stared at him for a few seconds, then chuckled.

"You might be right, but right now is not the time for me to be focused on that. I’ll think about it another time.

For now, Ribest is at a pivotal moment in its history, and if I execute it properly, our family will be promoted to Count," his father said, leaning back into his chair.

The carriage left the town soon and then got into the forest. It followed the path until it got to the point it couldn’t go further, so Riven and his father came down and walked deeper inside.