Chapter 48: Interesting

Nero studied the man in front of him. There was an arrogance that filled his eyes, as well as a sense of pride. He had been accused of not knowing the struggles of his son, but he felt prideful that he was able to disprove that claim, even if he admitted to instigating Silas' troubles himself in doing so.

"Back in your day?" Nero repeated, his voice no longer amused. In fact, even his volume had decreased as he spoke once more.

"Was it really tough, back in your day? Did you suffer a lot? Was life inconvenient for you?" Nero's mocking tone was quite harsh, and even the butler standing behind him began to stir his aura as a warning.

"Maybe that's the difference between you and the countless foot soldiers who laid down their lives so that everyone else can have a better life. They are trying to improve conditions for humanity, while you are complaining about the unfairness of your own son having it easier than you did.

You're not trying to toughen him up, you're exacting revenge on him for any difficulty you faced in your own childhood. Instead of trying to strengthen his character, you're trying to tear him down. You are not a father, Hurbert Rodney. You are a curse, just of another kind."

Nero did not yell or scream, and he was not forceful with his words, Yet the disgust in his voice was sharper for the level tone he kept, somehow.

"I do not know about anything else, but you can be sure I'll be keeping my distance from one Rodney at the very least."

Nero turned to leave, no longer wishing to spend any time here. This meeting had turned out to be a disaster, and there was no point in making it any worse. He was also aware that if Hurbert was such a callous man, then Silas would probably suffer the consequences for anything he said.

As it was, by calling the man's ego fragile and suggesting he change Silas' school, Nero had somewhat ensured that exactly that did not happen. After all, he would most likely feel the need to prove that his ego was not fragile. But there was just a small chance for that, and it was not certain. After all, such simple reserve psychology did not always work out.

When he turned around, he saw Silas frozen, fear and shock written all over his face. Nero shook his head.

Hurbert frowned slightly as he kept repeating the name 'Grant' as if trying to recall something, but could not. Contrary to how Nero had actually expected, Hurbert was not angry at all. That was because he truly and genuinely underestimated the amount of arrogance in the man's bones. No matter how their exchange actually went, he never took a single word Nero said seriously.

To him, they were just the words of a child. He did not need to pay attention to them.

Instead, he was much more intrigued by Nero's unflinching attitude, especially when being targeted by someone in his position. Such depth of character and resolve was rare, even in actual soldiers let alone a student.

Hurbert, as a cunning man, immediately identified as a potential pawn for the future. As such, he was interested in his background, but he could not recall any notable families with the surname Grant.

"Bring me a file on that child," he said to his butler, and surprisingly the aged man seemed to have exactly such a file ready.

While the files contained detailed records for Nero's achievements in school, the background information on his family was much more limited. There were, however, pictures of his parents, which gave the man pause. A smile appeared on his face, for the first time.

"Interesting," he muttered to himself.

"Shall I ensure the young master stays away from him?" the butler asked.

"No, but let him think I disapprove. It's good for kids to rebel a bit at this age, builds character."

With that, he closed the file and handed it back to the butler. He turned his attention back to his research. To him, this whole incident was just a small interlude during his work. After all, there was nothing more important.