Augustus P.O.V 

"Our boy has grown up, hasn't he?" His wife who is standing beside him says while trying to hold back the feelings that were about to overflow.

"He is no longer a boy, from the moment he emerges, he will already have become a man." I respond whilst also trying to keep an straight face in order to preserve my image as a lord.

Our precious son, the sole heir of our house and my greatest source of pride and joy is at this moment in the middle of his awakening ritual. He has been submerged in the pond for a few hours and will probably take a few hours more for him to emerge once again.

If I'm being honest, I dread the notion of Alabaster possessing the aptitude to become a conductor. Knowing all the hardships he would have to face from then on: being separated from him, having to send him off in order to be taken as an disciple by an unknown master, the power struggles and betrayals that happen in the name of power, those are all things that would never happen if I could do something about it.

But as his father, I know better than anyone that our son's future lies beyond this small Frontier territory. Alicia must have already told him about the fenomenon at his birth, and he must have over time come to accept it. I can see the flames that are ablaze deep within his eyes whenever he gazes at the stars beyond our territory, His departure is inevitable.

But, even knowing all of that I still wish to delay it for as long as possible. My wife and I still wish for him to grow up without being weighted by this burden that was placed upon him regardless of his consent, but at the other side we have to inform him of it so we can make sure he is ready for all he may face when the time comes.

"With your looks and my charms, I'm willing to bet that is just a matter of time until he starts bringing some girls to meet us." His wife suddenly says trying to change the current apprehensive atmosphere.

"With his reserved personality, serious disposition and complete lack of interest in romance? I find it highly unlikely. If I were you i wouldn't hold my breath on it." Welcoming a change in the mood, I retort in a light tone towards her insinuations.

"Hmmn~ I wouldn't be so sure. I already know of one girl that had her heart stolen by our little Al, although unfortunately, thanks to his lack of EQ he hasn't been able to get the clues so he is currently complete unaware of it." She says while sending a quick glance to the person in question. The young attendant may have hidden it's master but nothing escapes the lady of the house's eyes. 

This information comes as news to him, since he is constantly leaving the territory in order to go on patrols, he isn't really up to date with the events that take place in the manor. 

That is one of his biggest regrets. Thanks to him constantly being away from home, and when he returned home he had to deal with all the work that had stockpiled while he was away, he rarely had time to spend with his son. He tried to make up for it by taking him in trips around the territory but it didn't change the fact that wasn't with his son 60% of it's life.

"Its not your fault"

"Huh?" I look confused towards my wife, who is looking at me with a slight frown upon her face.

"I know that look. You're probably blaming yourself right now for not being involved enough with his life." She says in a half accusatory and half bitter tone.

I take a long sigh after hearing that, I really can't hide anything from Alicia, she just knows me way too well. I choose to just stay silent as I don't have an retort for what she said. I know very well that I'm lacking as an lord, that the only reason that I insist on going in the patrols is that it is the only time that I feel useful and the burden that the two of them had to endure because of it.

"No one is perfect, you may not be the most involved parent but I know how much you try to make up for it, all your subjects know the lengths that you are willing to go in order to fulfill your responsibilities and be a better lord for the territory and our son knows that even if his father isn't with him he is still out there fighting and bleeding so that his future along with the ones of every person in the territory is secured. You may not be the perfect father you wish to be but you should be proud for striving to be the best person you could possibly be. I will have you know that you have too many people supporting and looking up to you for you to be underestimating yourself." She makes a speech in order to reassure me, Alicia has always been like that, she always knows when I'm feeling down and just the right thing she needs to say to me at that moment. "Just be aware that you have people who care about you at your side and they are willing to help you whenever you need it, so you shouldn't try to deal with everything alone, think about that before going around selling yourself short." She adds, but this time in a much lower and sweeter tone.

Her words have worked wonders and he was quickly unable to suppress the smile that got plastered on his face. He then replied with an affectionate tone while pulling her closers into an embrace. "Thank you, I'm very lucky to have you around to knock some sense into me when I'm being a hard-head." This causes her to giggle and also have the edges of her mouth curve into a faint smile.

The mood was then set, and there was no stopping it. As the two gazed at each other's eyes they leaned forward into a very short kiss, but that kiss carried all the emotions and care that were nurtured for all these years and stood as an testament to the depth of their bond.

The two lovebirds were in their own little world. Completely oblivious to the reactions of those that were nearby wich were either uncomfortable with the public display of affection or held admiration for their boldness and self-assuredness that allowed them to freely show their affection in public without caring for the opinion of outsiders. If Alabaster was present right now, his reaction would probably be the former. 

So with the mood at an all time high, they continued waiting patiently until Alabaster finished the test and emerged from the pond. Which for their surprise was earlier than expected by a few hours.

But they couldn't have a bit of relief just yet as Immediately after he exited the pond he fell on the ground and started having spasms. All those that were waiting in the sidelines immediately tried to rush to his aid but they were beaten by an unexpected guest.

An woman draped in thick robes that were common within the Void-weaver order emerged from the shadows and quickly reached Alabaster before the others and made him drink a potion that she had taken out. And when she signaled them to be quiet and give them some space, even if the onlookers were suspicious of her sudden appearance and wished to separate her from the young lord they still complied with her wishes, such is the power wielded by members of the order.

But no one was more worried about her appearance than Augustus himself since her presence meant that if he was found to have some talent he could be immediately taken in by the order since with a conductor present it would be impossible to conceal it, and without any way to oppose them he would be forced to part with his precious son and the same could be said about Alicia.

So with hearts full of apprehension the couple could do nothing other than watch and hope that his talent didn't warrant her taking him as an apprentice immediately.

But, much to their despair. The old woman started to list his competencies as an conductor, and with the exception of his energy capacitythat didn't seem to reach her standards, the rest were outstanding results that pretty much guaranteed his invitation into the order.

At this point he could do nothing but start to accept that his son may have to leave sooner than he thought. Even if the order won't force him in, it is an unique opportunity for his son, even if he denies it initially due to a sense of dutie towards the territory in the end his aspirations and ambition would still compel him to leave.

'Look at the positive side, if he was really to be taken in as the disciple of some old powerhouse his future would be limitless. So I shouldn't be selfish and wish for his potential to be wasted in the Frontier. Instead I should support him and be glad that our son would be taken into an environment where his talents can shine.' Augustus was preparing himself for the inevitable and evenstarting to accept the outcome.

But, as if his previous plea had been heard the ritual had another surprise in store for all those that were watching it.

The previous elated expression that she had vanished giving him a bit of hope and the words that followed confirmed it.

"It seems that the will of the stars had different plans for you. It would seem that your talent is that for an augumenter" This world's sounded like music in his ears.

He knows that he shouldn't wish for his son to fail and that entering the order would allow for his greatest growth, but he couldn't care less since not only his son wouldn't have to leave the territory on the near future but he also got one of the most looked after powers among the military.

Being an augumenter would pretty much guarantee his promotion to an general regardless of his actual performance. And taking into account his sharp mind and combat abilities he could easily reach much greater heights.

It would seem that the stars had favored him this time.