Family Breakfast (Part 2)

As we walked in to the dinning room, Becca's Father and Mother were already seated and talking to each other in whispers. If I had to guess, Becca's Father was trying his best to quickly explain everything he had learned from me during our private talk. It's good that they both knew the background of it, so now we could start explaining some of the specifics.

They hadn't noticed us yet, so I called out. "Good morning, Mother and Father-in-law! We are both well rested now, so we are ready to spend the rest of the day enjoying your company!"

Becca's Mother tried her best to act as a good host, even though it was evident that she was uncertain.

"Come sit down, Rebecca and Nick. The chefs have prepared some eggs, bacon, and toast for us all."

"Thank you, Mother. Even though I have enjoyed my time at the Duke's manor, I still missed the daily breakfasts we would share together. It takes some time to get used to moving away from the home and family you spend your whole life with…"

Becca's Mother's face scrunch up in a sad expression. "Oh, Becca! You can come back here any time you need me. I'm just a carriage ride away. You don't even need to send a letter before hand. We will always have your room ready for you."

Part of me vaguely felt she was saying it as if Becca would suddenly and frequently need to leave the manor because of me being a bad husband. However, I was still moved by the scene. I never knew Becca was feeling this way while at our manor, but it made sense for anyone who just moved away from their family. Unfortunately, her lonely feeling of being away from home for the first time was overshadowed by my circumstances of being in a whole different world. This realization reminded me that I needed to check in on her more often. She really loves to soldier on and cary her burdens alone.

I put my hand on Becca's shoulder to comfort her. "Yeah Becca, we can come visit as much as you want, so you don't feel sad. At least a couple times a year."

Becca smiled up at me. "Don't worry about it too much. I'll get used to it soon. Plus, most days were so fun, I didn't even have a chance to feel sad and lonely."

"Alright, just make sure to tell me any time you are feeling bad, even if it feels like something small. I'll always be there to help you feel better."

As I turned back to face Becca's parents, I could see their shocked faces. It took a good amount of willpower to hold in my urge to laugh.

"Mother-in-law, I'm sure you heard a little bit about the relationship between me and Becca from Father-in-law. Now that we are all here together and have plenty of time on our hands, I hope you can give us a chance to explain all that's happened with us and how we come to this sudden change."

Becca's Mother made an awkward smile. "I would love a better explanation of what is happening."

I turned my head to Becca, so she could take the lead. We talked about this beforehand, so she was ready to get the conversation started.

"Father, Mother, I think by now you both see that Nick has developed feelings for me. I believe he has already explained why he had his change of heart to you, so I'm sure the biggest thing you want to know is why I was willing to forgive him and what Nick did to make me feel that his change was genuine and here to stay.

When he first tried to convince me to give him a chance, there was one significant thing he promised me that was so unexpected I started to have a little bit of hope for him. The thing he promised me was that I could join the Royal mages! He actually decided to change his stance and allow me to be a Royal mage."

Becca's Father was still not impressed. "Giving you the opportunity now is just an empty promise! You have to be at least an intermediate mage to join the Royal mages! It takes years of training to become one! Now, it's too late for you to try to become one. Maybe if you were able to start training at 12 like most Royal mages."

Becca's Mother chimed in, "yes Rebecca, he is probably using this promise to control you, knowing that you will never been able to reach the needed skill level. Sweetie, I know this has always been your dream, but please don't let it cloud your judgment…"

Becca had a big smirk on her face. "Prepare to be proud, parents."

Becca had her palm facing the sky as she created a small ice sculpture. She gave her parents a smug smirk as she revealed, "I am already an intermediate water mage. After a few spars with Nick, he believes I am definitely strong enough to be a Royal mage. Once I pass the Royal mage exam in a few weeks, I plan to officially join. Nick has promised to make me his assistant since my water magic makes a good combination attack with his lightning magic."

Both of Becca's parents were rubbing their eyes like they couldn't believe what they were seeing. Becca's Mother was the first to speak up. "Rebecca, you are an intermediate mage? How is that possible?! I thought it took years of training?"

Becca scratched the back of her head awkwardly. "Well…I've actually been training my water magic ever since I was 12. The reason I would always stay in my room whenever I had free time was because I was secretly training. Sorry for keeping it from you all this time, but I knew you would never let me spend my time on training when Nicolas already forbid me from joining the Royal mages. Luckily, I was persistent, or it would have been impossible for me to take advantage of Nick's change of heart."