The Arrogant Young Mistress And The Indifferent Young Master
Staring blankly at the woman before him, Gladius showed no change in emotion toward her show of irritation; his eyes still showcasing nothing but an icy indifference. The young woman continued to stare at him, as if waiting for something. Gladius may be indifferent to everything but his sword, but he was by no means dumb; on the contrary, he was someone that could be classified as very observant.
He obviously realized that this woman, who was named Rose Song, was waiting for him to give her an apology for his tardiness to this meeting. Giving the woman a look of disdain, Gladius took a seat across from her on the couch, right next to his mother and father; throughout his time within the room, Gladius had not so much as glanced at his parents, treating them as if they weren't even there.
"Don't you have something to say?" Gladius' mother asked, her voice coming out sounding melodious with a hint of an accusatory tone. Gladius finally deigned to give his mother a glance out of the corner of his eye, nothing more and nothing less. With that singular glance, he had captured his mother's entire appearance within his mind.
She was a rather short woman standing at about 1.6m (5' 3") with soft features and an aura that gave her an almost angelic look. Yet, despite her angelic features and voice, the look Gladius gave her seemed to become even more indifferent than even before, as if he truly wasn't even looking at a person. Gladius' lips seemed to curve up into a smile that somehow contained both ridicule and disdain as he opened his mouth to ask, "Oh? And what's that?" he said, his voice tinged with a hint of amusement, the mirth within his tone almost visible.
This was the final straw for Rose, she had never been so thoroughly ignored in her life, especially by someone like Gladius. Her face reddening to a rather ugly pink, she snarled out a reply of, "For being late to a meeting with this mistress! You think someone like you has the liberty to make someone like me wait?" With that, the aura of the room drastically changed, the temperature seeming to rise to an unnatural level.
Giving the woman a glance, Gladius raised an unimpressed eyebrow at this apparent show of force. This incident had done nothing but cause his disdain for the woman before him to rise even more; after all, she believed herself to be above everyone else yet was so easily pushed to anger by the actions of someone who she viewed as inferior to herself.
Giving her a glance that no longer hid the disdain within his eyes, Gladius opened his mouth to reply, "You think yourself so important that I'd interrupt my training for you? If I were polishing my shoes and heard you were coming, my hands wouldn't even pause from their actions. Let alone my sword, even my boots hold more importance to me than your presence," He stated rather calmly. Gladius' voice was condescending and contained a hint of dismissal, something that only served to infuriate the young woman even more if the nearly poisonous light that began to shine in her eyes was any indication.
Rose stood from her seat, her face going from a pink to a red so dark it almost appeared purple; all around her, the world was shaking as she released her Spiritual Qi uncontrollably. Yet, right as she was poised to attack the ignorant man before her, a voice rang out that seemed to instantly dismiss her baleful aura, "Gladius! I taught you better than to treat a young woman in such a way; especially when that young woman just so happens to be your fiancé!" The voice was that of Gladius' mother as she nearly yelled at him, her voice containing that same gentility within it. Yet, all this got in return was an unimpressed raise of Gladius' eyebrow, as if her words were almost laughable.
"Really? You've taught me something? Please don't belittle yourself by speaking such drivel. If anything, the only thing you've taught me is how to be a very terrible parent, someone who abandons their children when they don't manage to meet their expectations," He exclaimed, a certain degree of anger managing to seep into his otherwise calm tone. And with that, the mood in the room seemed to do a complete 180, from a room so hot it could be mistaken for a forge, to a room so cold someone might think a Frost Giant was sleeping within it.
Yet, even through all these events Gladius' father had remained seated, looking as calm as could be, as if the world around him wasn't filled with chaos and rapidly spreading Qi. Gladius' words had seemed to finally stir him from his calm state; glancing up, Gladius' father gave him a glance filled with disappointment, he raised his voice and stated, "This is the reason you're not fit to lead the Yan Clan Gladius, it's not your lack of talent but rather your lack of feeling toward those around you. Now, sit down and listen to your mother and father." His tone was stern, his eyes containing a certain danger to them as he stared down Gladius.
Gladius looked down upon his father, he could feel the hairs on the back of his neck raising in wariness of the man before him; yet, he still held his ground as he replied to his fathers statement, "Don't play games with me Old Man, you think I don't know the reason why everyone in the clan avoids me is you? Don't think I don't know that you're trying to foster a hatred between me and the Yan clan so you can use it as an excuse to kick me out of my rightful place as heir of the Yan Clan. Me and you both know that feelings of affection isn't something you are born with, but rather gain as you get to know the people around you, something you've completely deprived me of the chance of gaining." For the first time, Gladius' face fully shifted, showing the full extent of the anger brought about by the words his father had just spoken.
At this, the calm look upon his father's face finally changed; giving his son a deep look, Kong Yan could feel the anger within him boiling over. To not only be disrespected and have his plots revealed by his own son, but for him to do so in front of the heiress to another major clan wasn't something Kong could except easily. Not only that, Kong now felt a sense of caution well up in him toward Gladius; he had previously thought his son to be incompetent, but it seems he may need to pay a bit more attention to him if he managed to figure out his schemes so easily. Staring at his son, Kong could feel a rising killing intent well up from within him; yet, as quickly as it appeared it was gone.
Gladius had of course noticed this, how could he not? After all, he felt as if his body had been locked in place as an illusion appeared in front of him; in place of where his father once was, now was a beast that seemed to be ready to pounce at a moments notice. But even through this, Gladius' gaze never left his father's face; Gladius was a swordsman at heart after all, if he couldn't stare down at his own demise with a face of indifference, a heart of stone and , then could he truly call himself a swordsman?
And so, staring his father right in the eye as his father showcased a shocking will to kill, even as Gladius felt his body nearly collapse in on itself in fear; his gaze never wavered, and his back seemed even more straight than before. Eventually, the look within his father's eyes disappeared and along with it, the pressure that seemed to want nothing more than to crush Gladius where he stood. Gladius could feel that within those few moments that had felt like hours to him, his soul had strengthened a considerable amount from what it was before, perhaps even reaching the next stage.
Gladius could feel that the barrier he was forcibly stopped by in his swordsmanship for the past two years had suddenly become insignificant; as if he could reach the next stage within an instant. Concealing his excitement at the advancement, Gladius gave his father a deep look before returning to his indifferent demeanor and sitting down on the couch opposite his fiancé in the corner furthest from his parents.
Glancing at the Young Mistress of the Song Family with indifference, Gladius finally spoke, "What is it that you want exactly? If it's just to annul the engagement between you and I, then consider it annulled; you think I view someone like you as worthy of being with me?" He asked, expression twisting into a look of mockery for a second.
Gladius' tone didn't shift, seeming to place as much importance to his words as he might give a fly, that being basically none at all. This seemingly careless statement of Gladius caused the looks of the people within the room to change, their expressions different from one another yet all showing some level of astonishment.
The look on the face of Rose Song wasn't one of satisfaction at her mission being accomplished like one might expect from the words Gladius had just spoken, but rather a look that could only be described as pure rage; after all, she viewed this to be a case of her looking down upon her betrothed, feeling as if it were only natural that Gladius would wish to chase after her and feel pride at having her as his fiancé.
While the look on Gladius' mother's face was one of joy, the opposite of what one might expect from the mother of the man who had just so casually broken off the engagement between two major families.
Taking in the looks of those around him and giving his father an especially deep look at the impassive look he sported, Gladius waited for anyone to speak.
After giving it around a minute for anyone else in the room to speak, Gladius figured that no one else was planning to. As such, Gladius abruptly stood up, seemingly awakening the others' from their shocked states. Speaking one final sentence, Gladius stated,
"If that's all, then I'll be going now. Next time such a non-important incident occurs, don't summon me Gord, my training is far more important." Gladius said as he glanced at the butler that was standing by the door as he walked by.
Right before Gladius could walk out, a voice came from behind him that seemed to stop him in his tracks, "Seeing as we are no longer engaged, return the sword my grandfather has given to you." Rose said as she gave a look of unconcealed greed at the sword upon Gladius' back. Gladius turned back, his indifferent expression changing to a sharp one that seemed to contain a rage within it so deep it was nearly scalding, something that caused Rose to flash a look of astonishment as their eyes clashed for but a moment.
After glancing at her, Gladius once more turned around, his voice being the only thing that rang out, "That was given to me by your grandfather, someone who I have accepted as my Master. If you and the Song family want this sword, prepare to step over my dead body to get it. Not only did you all cause his death forcing him to chase after this sword, now you even want to take it from his successor?!" His voice was forceful, seemingly broking no room for argument.
The voice that came from Gladius' mouth was that of a demons, it seemed to drip straight from hell, seemingly chilling the temperature of not only the room, but the entire mansion. This had been the first time anyone had seen Gladius this angry, but anyone who knew the circumstances surrounding Gladius' master would understand exactly why Gladius had become so angry at Rose's careless words.