'Well, he doesn't look too bad,' Evin thought as he stood up to bow.
Viscount Borna had everyone sit down, and introduced everyone. It was mostly a formality, as everyone was vaguely familiar with each other. The only thing that Evin learned was the na of Arelyn's boyfriend (Renor or sothing), but soon enough, the na slipped away from Evin's mind. Besides, the man's only purpose there seed to be to scowl at children, so Evin found it hard to think highly of him.
"Ah, but to think my young Bella would co ho one day with another…" the Viscount comnted.
"Dear, please don't encourage your daughter to make relations before she's fifteen." Elufay interjected, not bothering to hide her scowl. "And a commoner, of all people."
Evin quickly realized he didn't like this woman, and looking around, everyone but the Viscount himself seed to agree with him.
"Don't be so strict, dear. I myself found my first love when I was but a teen, and both my wives were commoners as well," Velpin chided smilingly. "And if I learned one thing during that, is the fact that the more you try to separate young lovers, they more they tend to get attached to each other."
"There's a big difference between a male and a female, dear," Elufay still didn't seem happy, but Evin felt that few things made the woman feel joy.
"I'm not sure what you're talking about, but if you're worried about Evin's background, then you shouldn't be so concerned. He's considered one of the brightest mages among the new generation, his spell-casting rivaling that of the average Academy graduates, even!"
Evin did not blush at the praise, but it still felt good to hear it. "You flatter too much."
"And you are too humble," Velpin laughed joyfully and continued. "Now tell , how did you two even end up together?"
"We've been friends since the Academy started, my lord," Evin replied politely. "Oddly enough, an unfortunate accident brought us closer."
From then on, it was mostly the two of them talking about casual topics - their hobbies and interests, and so stories the Viscount wanted to share… The rest seed content to just speak in their small circles and didn't seem so interested in Evin's talk.
But Evin wasn't so concerned with this. The viscount turned out to be soone who was adept at conversations, easily keeping the talk fresh, and even more easily digging out Evin's own interests and likes. At one point, Evin even found himself blabbering on about his increasing interest in Runes, talking as if he was a child showing off his new toys.
Technically, he was still a child, but Evin liked to think he was more sophisticated than that thanks to the Voice's wisdom perating through his brain. But the Voice always said that so amount of childishness could be excused. It was undeniably true that Evin had only lived for 10 years.
However, the Viscount never made Evin feel like a child talking to an adult. He seed to take Evin's talk as seriously as he would any other conversation and that make Evin terribly honored.
But soon Evin realized that he was being swayed by Velpin's charm. So people were just hard to argue with, and Velpin seed like such a person. The man reminded him of Arza in a way.
But Evin knew what his end goal was. So, although he was polite, he built a wall around himself and kept his responses friendly, but formally distant. It was easy for him to do so, mostly because of how often the Voice imposed its mind upon Evin's. Every ti it did so, Evin's mind changed so greatly, he even had so trouble recognizing so thoughts as his own. Especially so when Endra was just beginning to do so. This knowledge seed to help Evin change his state of mind rather easily.
So, when Evin changed his mindset, he beca much more observant of the broader situation inside the family. Simply put, the family didn't feel like a family at all, with everyone sticking to their own small groups, looking like they couldn't wait to be rid of this dinner.
Arelyn was engrossed with her betrothed, Olevyn was speaking with her stepmother, and Bella was mostly catching up with Komarokh. But all of their talks, except Bella and Komarokh's, sounded much more depressing in Evin's ears. It was hard to listen to.
Arelyn's conversation consisted mostly of the exchange of sweet nothings between the two lovers. Evin felt like they were just trying to pretend that everything was okay, so they didn't have to worry about whatever problems they were facing in real life.
Elufay and Olevyn's conversation sounded more like the conversation between a hateful tutor and her ek student. Most of it consisted of Elufay barking orders and Olevyn saying yes or simply nodding.
It was a glaring contract compared to the joyful and engaging conversation that Evin was having. The question was, did the Viscount have these kinds of talks with his own family? From what Evin was seeing, he didn't.
So, why was the Viscount having so much fun with him?
'The answer's easy. He is simply putting on an act for ,' Evin concluded. 'But why?'
Endra suddenly interjected.
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