The three of them walked in silence until they arrived all the way to the living room.
With nothing much to do, Alex headed back into his room to meditate alone.
But after meditating for a while, the knocking sound made him snap out of the meditation.
"Dinner is ready." Luqing voice appeared.
Alex quickly got up from bed and headed out to the hallway, only to see Sophia and Mary already up as well.
"Let's go eat now."
The three quickly followed Luqing, walking towards the main living room until they arrived at the dining area.
Both girls rushed to their seats after seeing all the food on the table, but Alex turned his head back for a second.
He wanted to say something when he saw Luqing and the maids standing by the door, even though his family was already seated at the table.
In the end, he kept his mouth shut, catching up to Sophia before sitting down next to her.
"Where's Amelia?"
Fredrick asked as Luqing started pouring a bottle of wine into his glass before pouring one for Ava.
"She said she's busy," Luqing answered before stepping back with the bottle of wine in silence.
"Of course, she has to be busy when everyone is about to have their first dinner together at home——"
"Who said my name?"
Amelia curiously asked as she arrived into the room at the last second, taking a seat next to Ava.
"We were just talking about how good the food is. Ahem, let's do a proper cheer for Katherine returning home."
As Amelia raised her glass, Luqing quickly moved over to pour her a glass as well.
"Mom, mom! I want to drink some." Sophia pleaded, looking a little intrigued by the smell of the wine.
"You're too young——"
"I had been drinking since I was ten. I grew up to be perfectly fine. Katherine, you're just too protective——"
"Don't teach me how to raise my kid."
Just as Luqing headed over to Katherine to pour her a glass of wine, she quickly shook her head.
"I'm good. Thank you."
Despite the refusal, Luqing still poured a glassful of wine into Katherine's glass.
"Lady Sophia, it's a tradition not to refuse your senior's offer to drink," Luqing stated before stepping back.
Katherine seemed a little hesitant, but she didn't flat-out argue back against Luqing compared to her dad.
"Cheers!"
The three kids watched the four of them cheer before sitting back down and taking a small sip.
As Fredrick finally began eating the food on the table, everyone else started eating as well.
After eating for a bit, Alex started to dislike the formality. He felt almost distanced despite all of them being his direct relatives.
It was much more irritating than he imagined, even more than the one he had at the capital with his grandparents.
The cold, snowy atmosphere outside just too sharply contrasted with the warm, luxurious feeling of the room.
More importantly, he just couldn't get over the fact that maids watched them eat while they stood on the side.
It was almost as if a sense of equality back on earth was eluding him. He wanted to allow them all to join in the dinner.
"Come on, Alex, I never knew you would be bothered by something so naive."
"But could they not at least treat them like equals? Are we not all humans?"
Katherine moved a little closer, gently patting his head as she remained silent.
"Mom, I'm sorry for bringing this kind of stuff up. Just ignore what I just said——"
"You're just like your dad, you know that?"
"Hm?"
Alex was a little caught off guard by what Katherine had just said out loud, but she didn't seem to notice it.
"When your dad served as a knight, he believed that the nobility and the poor were equal.
That belief was one of the main reasons he was eventually forced to become an adventurer instead of continuing as a knight."
Katherine paused for a second, then continued.
"I want you to know that he only sees one side of the story. He doesn't understand that being a maid is already a fortunate position.
So many people would do anything to have such work. He's too naive... Don't be like him, okay?"
As Katherine finished talking, Alex was stunned.
He had never heard anything about his dad's past, as everyone just said he was an adventurer who became the hero of the town and nothing else.
The belief Katherine mentioned seemed almost borderline insane and unrealistic in this world, yet in his eyes, it was admirable.
"Remember, you're going to be the next duke. Whatever you're thinking of, don't try any of it, okay?"
Alex nodded in silence, but deep inside, he set a goal for himself.
He was going to achieve the impossible, even if no one in this world cared or tried to change it.
"Hey, I told you to stop thinking about this. I can still tell you're thinking about it."
Katherine flicks onto his forehead, causing Alex to cover his forehead as he snaps out of his inner thoughts.
"Okay, okay. I'm not thinking about it anymore."
Suddenly, Katherine warmly embraced Alex, wrapping her arms around his back.
"Don't do anything stupid, okay? I don't want to lose anyone close to me anymore."
Alex remained silent, but he nodded in agreement as reality began to set in.
He was only a powerless kid, with the entire world practically against him if he tried to overthrow the system.
"I want you to promise me. You're not going to try anything stupid."
After a short hesitation, Alex repeated it.
"I'm not going to try anything stupid... You happy mom?"
"Muah! Mommy is happy... Go Take a shower and go to sleep soon, okay?"
Katherine quickly got up from the bed after kissing Alex on the cheek, making his face blush a little.
"I know, I know. I was just about to take a shower if you didn't come in."
Just as Katherine opened the door, she turned back around at the last second.
"Tomorrow, I'm going to teach you guys chemistry and then bring you guys somewhere fun after your guys' homework is done."
"Okay."
After the door finally closed, Alex quickly shook his head to get all of the things he had thought earlier out of his mind.
"Small steps at a time," Alex murmured as he quickly grabbed a towel and his pajamas from the closet.