Insect Tamer's Ascension-Chapter 61: End of the gathering

"You can relax, Theo Merrick. We have called you but for a simple reason," the emperor said, his eyes fixed on Theo who hadn’t looked up till now.

"I am at your service, Your Majesty," Theo spoke confidently while he finally made some light eye contact.

While the emperor looked pressuring, he had a calm and soothing expression at the same time.

"Congratulations are in order, Theo Merrick. You’re the second child in your age group to get a unique affinity in our kingdom." The emperor spoke yet again, surprising Theo. He quickly showed a small smile on his face.

Theo didn’t wait to give his reponse.

"I… did not expect such recognition, Your Majesty. I am grateful," Theo said with a deep bow.

When he looked up, he saw quite the surprised look on the emperor and the empress’s face.

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The emperor moved his gaze to the side where murmurs had already started resounding.

"That is quite the opposite personality the child has from you, Merrick. You would have just stayed silent till you were permitted to leave." he spoke with a sarcastic tone, yet there seemed to be some nostalgia in his tone.

Theo looked at the same place and saw his mother and father standing among the crowd.

He was surprised to see the majestic aura his father was exuding and not just that, the people around him had the same kind of aura. There were quite a few of the same height as his father, yet he was the most burly one.

"I agree with you, Your Majesty," the Baron spoke with a smile before he continued further, "He even has a liking for books."

When the Baron said the last part, Theo felt quite embarrassed. Did his father just tell something personal in front of so many people, much less the emperor? Theo was baffled.

He felt the gazes of the people around change to envy, he didn’t know how but he could just smell it even though everyone was smiling and everything. The whole high meet was awkward are best because of the emperor’s remark.

Yet, when his gaze fell on the emperor again, he saw the emperor give him a nod of approval, which was actually going to have Theo react with a frown, yet he refrained.

"That is unlike any Merrick I have seen till now," he spoke and, with another nod, spoke with pride that Theo didn’t understand, "You have done well raising such a child, Aldric."

The emperor moved his back to take support, his gaze never leaving Theo for once.

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Theo could smell something suspicious. The Baron and the emperor were talking quite informally with each other. Theo couldn’t help but be more curious about his father than ever.

"Make the kingdom proud just like your father did, Theo Merrick. I will be watching you closely," the emperor said with a smirk, making Theo feel chills down his spine.

All this time and he still didn’t understand this situation at all. He was meeting the emperor for the first time and the emperor himself was talking like he was a close uncle of his. There was warmness in his tone the more he spoke.

Theo didn’t know if it was bad for him or okay to get this much attention this early in life. In his mind the chances of backfiring seemed high.

"You may leave now, Theo Merrick," the emperor said right away before closing his eyes completely.

Theo didn’t know if he should say anything now. His gaze met with his father, who nodded as if he already knew what Theo was thinking.

"As you command, Your Majesty." Theo replied with a deep bow before he started traveling back toward the stairs.

Now that he was done, he looked to his left and saw many looking at him with different emotions, but it didn’t feel like any of them were positive except a few who were smiling toward him mysteriously.

Theo reverted their smile back before he started moving down the stairs.

Just halfway reaching the staircase, when he looked down, Theo almost felt a heart attack. There were COUNTLESS people in the ballroom, as if Theo was looking at ants frolicking around.

He found his family looking right at him near the stairs. Theo’s eyes met with Lucien, and he seemed to sigh in relief looking at Theo.

He quickly got down from the stairs and reached his family as soon as he could.

"Theo, are you alright…?" Elara asked right as he came near, with concern written all over her face.

Theo looked at everyone and saw that most of them were concerned, especially Clara.

Lucien had a smile on, yet his eyes said otherwise. Bram was almost at the point of crying, and Clara was looking at him with a pale face. Elara was the same.

The others were just not that close enough to be so concerned.

"Thank you for the concern, everyone. But I am fine," Theo stated with a smile and continued, "The emperor just wanted to congratulate me for getting a unique affinity. It seems there is only one more other than me of my age to get a unique one." He continued in a low voice.

Lucien and Elara sighed while Clara quickly came and stood by his side.

"Well, it’s about time we leave this place. We will wait for Father and Mother to come back. And Theo, we will talk later on about this," Lucien stated. Everyone and Theo nodded in agreement.

From that point on, Theo just told them a few things about what happened upstairs to whoever was curious in the family. They were surprised about him being called in front of the royals but not at how their parents were up there.

Only the twins, Bram and Theo, were confused because of not knowing just who their father was. While the twins didn’t care and Bram just went with the flow, Theo was too curious for his own good.

"You didn’t know? Our father is a close friend of the emperor, Theo. And it’s not just that. From the day he was eighteen to now, there are so many amazing things he has done for the kingdom that everyone either envies him or fears him," Lucien explained in a low voice to not go and offend someone for no reason.

"I didn’t know at all… so that is why everyone is so wary of the Merricks. It was more than just us being different than others…" Theo muttered lightly, and Lucien chuckled.

"I will tell you more stuff about him when we get back home. Believe me, I will get tired, but the tales won’t stop," Lucien muttered with a grin.

Time after that seemed to just pass on. Theo ate and got greeted by many after he got back.

The nobles around seemed to only be interested in him when it came to Merricks now.

While Theo was just exhausted from telling everyone what happened in brief, finally, his parents got down from the stairs.

When they reached down, his father had a light frown on his face.

"Is everything okay, Father?" Lucien asked with a stern expression.

"…We will talk after getting back home, my children," the Baron spoke in a domineering voice.

"Finally, it’s over, young master," Clara whispered behind Theo with a warm smile, making Theo nod. The gathering had officially come to an end, and now, Theo could again focus on his taming journey.

The whole big family moved past everyone and reached the gate. Many had also started leaving now, yet Theo could tell that even if they weren’t, his father would still leave.

"Aldric, how about you come over for dinner soon? Just like old times." Suddenly, someone spoke from the side that the Baron looked at with a sidelong gaze. It was none other than the noble family they had met near the carriages. They were near the door, as if waiting.

"…Alright," the Baron spoke without changing his stern expression, and the man seemed to understand and stepped back.

The gates opened, and they were finally going to go out when Theo looked at Tobias and his family and greeted them goodbye from afar.

They looked surprised but bid farewell with a smile before the gates closed completely.

Everyone got in their respective carriages. The sunset had only just started happening, making Theo disappointed that his plans to train outside for today were all over now.

"Tough day today, huh," Elara spoke with her poker face all down now. She spoke normally and in a rather exhausted tone.

"Just be glad that our attendance this time will help us ditch a lot more gatherings in the future," Lucien spoke with a hum, and Theo nodded.

While Lucien looked wild and more brawl-type than intellect, he was actually a very sensible person.

Soon, Bram finally spoke up. "…I still can’t believe you stood before the emperor and empress today," he muttered, his eyes wide with disbelief while looking at Theo. "I mean, I always knew you were brave, little brother, but… this is something else."

Theo chuckled lightly before he spoke with a shake of his head. "Trust me, older brother, I didn’t believe it myself. One moment I was standing with all of you, the next, I was climbing those stairs."

"Yeah, but it is a little weird,"