Villain steal the Heroines

Discussion with the Archbishop (1)

Next morning,

6:12 A.M.

Chirp~!

As I woke up to the sound of birds chirping outside, I stretched my arms above my head.

The sun was peeking through the window of my room, casting a soft glow across the plush rug on the floor and the bed as I felt the sun's warmth on my face.

As I sat up, yawned, and rubbed my eyes, the familiar sights, including the large map of the continent of Ardonia on one wall, marked with pins indicating all the places I hoped to one day visit and where some major events of the book took place, came into my sight.

My room is spacious but tastefully decorated, though unlike the rooms of kids my age, where toys and books fill the shelves and overflow the toy chest, mine looks more like it belongs to an adult scholar.

In this case, I'll give my mom the benefit of the doubt and take the other half of the credit since I share this room with her and we both enjoy it this way.

Looking to my side, I noticed that my mother wasn't there by my side, but the bed is still warm and the faint scent of her perfume is still lingering in the quilt, so I don't think it's been too long.

Jumping out of bed, I tiptoed across the plush rug to the window and opened the curtains.

As I exhale the crisp air of the morning and grin to myself, I let out a sigh of relief and get ready for this day, which I am confident will be full of unforgettable experiences.

But just as I was about to get overly excited about the many things that I would be able to accomplish today,

Creak!

The sound of the door opening caught my attention, so I calmed my excitement and turned around.

There were only two people in this whole castle who could enter my room without my permission, and since I knew that one of them might be busy with work, the identity of the person could be determined without a doubt.

And as expected, as I turned around, what came into view was the beautiful back of my mother, with her long, curly, golden blonde hair reaching down her waist.

She was dressed in a white blouse that had a crochet design around the centre and a mesh detail just below the collar in a small area.

Below the waist, she was wearing loose-fitting pants and sandals.

『A.I. illustration of Chloé Steeline here』─

Closing the door behind her, she turned around and looked at me with her emerald green eyes.

Then she opened her delicate, moist pink lips and spoke.

"Luke! Did you wake up? Good. I was about to make you anyway."

Looking at her first thing in the morning brightened my day and cleared my head, but her next words almost caused me to trip while standing.

"Go get fresh quickly, get ready in your sports wear, and meet me at our usual training ground within half an hour."

"But mom." and I couldn't help but respond with a pitiful face.

"No, but—or do you want to skip your training?" She looked at me with sharp eyes, as if to say that even if I disagreed, she would forcefully pick me up and take me to the ground with her.

So, since I understood that there was no way out of this situation, I agreed while dramatically stomping my foot on the ground, getting into attention position, and then salluting like a military officer.

"No, as a son of my great mother I will be ready under 10 minutes."

Pfft~!

Witnessing my comically exaggerated actions and that serious voice, my mother instantly let out a giggle as her expression softened immediately.

"Alright, alright, my dear, cute son,"

Then she approached me, bent down to my level, kissed my cheeks to her heart's content, and continued speaking.

"You don't have to be in a hurry. Get ready slowly. You have 30 minutes."

"Okay mumma."

"Don't blame mom for being strict; I do this because you beg me to, and just so you know, you can always decline. If you seriously decline, mom will not force you, okay?"

"No, mother don't worry; I will train." I spoke seriously, looking into her eyes, as she also looked into mine.

"Okay, then, I will go and first deal with those Greenbergs, and tell Daisy to help you get ready."

"Are they here?" I asked, as I hadn't expected them to be here so soon.

"Hmm, just came, waiting for me in the hall."

After speaking, my mother turned around without waiting for my reply and left the room after leaving the words.

"I will be waiting for you on the training ground."

Thud!

The door closed, and I got lost in thought.

Actually, it's all my fault that my mother is so strict in teaching, as it was my stupid hubris ass that made me so overconfident and emotional that I begged her.

To train me as rigorously as she can, show me no favouritism in the training grounds, and give it her all to ensure that I never miss a training session despite my many excuses.

"Really, my big mouth knows no bounds."

In fact, it was my mother who repeatedly cautioned me and asked me if I didn't want to train, but she also did what I asked because, unless I seriously rejected her for training, she has always picked me up and trained me like a strict teacher.

Even if I had wanted it or not,

Well, what can I say? She's just the best mother.

Otherwise, in the original novel, would Luke be a weak dandy boy who was only able to enter the academy through the back door?

Anyway, it's not like I regret it, because I really don't want to miss a day.

The system is good; it can improve my rank, but it can't give me the inner discipline, confidence, experience, and unbending will of a strong man.

Above all, training saves my destiny coins as well as gives me a legitimate excuse for my rank's increase.

So why not just grit my teeth and do it?

Otherwise, who else would believe that someone could just eat, drink, and play throughout the entire day and still be able to rank up even faster than the first hero of the Ardonian continent?

At least now, when my mother sees me training like a maniac every day, she considers it normal for her brilliant, hard-working son to leave everyone in the dust with his strength and rank up speed.

Unfortunately, those real training maniacs can't hear my mother's thoughts; otherwise, they would have puked streams of blood.

HAHAHAH!

As I was inwardly laughing at my own thoughts while imagining those old faces, a cute voice brought me out of my thoughts.

─ Young master Luke, the duchess asked me to help you get ready.

"Ah yes, Daisy, come in!"

* * * * * * * * *

─ Two hours later,

After a strenuous session of training with my mother, I was already back in my room, and now my mother was personally helping me get dressed for the meeting with the people of the Church of Light, which was also the reason she let me go today in just over an hour and a half.

My mother was at the moment telling me how she handled the Greenbergs.

Unlike what my mother and I had expected, the Greenbergs who attended the party yesterday actually went back to their estate and stayed there instead of staying in Sari city.

And then they came back here today, directly from there,

Although they gave the reason that they went back to get Selina's belongings and inform the Count personally, both my mother and I suspected that they only went back to get more of that potion or a better version of it while also discussing their future course of action face to face, as communication devices always have a risk of being tapped.

My mother was cheerfully explaining how she scolded Stacey, who had a face full of shit, and how in front of Stacey she sent her daughter to a maid to teach her the arts of a maid and how to properly serve their master.

which instantly made the whole Greenberg family's face red with shame and indignation while they couldn't even lift their heads in front of my mother.

In addition, because this all happened in front of other servants of our family, even the Greenbergs understood that this matter would soon be made public and they would become the laughing stock of the whole kingdom of Netopia.

Still, the most fun part is that they couldn't even speak a word of refusal and had to leave after suffering from endless humiliation.

However, since I was stuck in the training ground because of my mother's strict orders, I wasn't able to see those arrogant faces crumble down and flatter like a dog just to get our goodwill.

Especially that b*tch, Selina, who came to work as my maid now.

But since there was no point in regretting it, I stopped thinking about it, as I knew that I would soon have Selina all to myself and that there would be endless opportunities in the future to humiliate her.

Anyway, returning to the present, my mother quickly dressed me up. I was wearing a velvet knee-length tunic in a rich jewel-tone colour like deep blue.

The tunic was decorated with intricate embroidery and embellishments, fastened with silver clasps, and had a ruffled neckline.

Overall, my clothes did a great job of showing off my wealth and status as the only heir of the Steeline family while still giving me the freedom of movement I needed.

After I had finished getting dressed to go to the hall, my mother soon followed me to the hall, where the members of the Church of Light were waiting for me.

"Good morning! Archbishop Drake, and a warm good morning to all the other members of the denomination."