"There, all done. However, I wouldn't recommend taking us on just yet. You'll need a good night of rest before it heals completely," Bernar said, arresting the mana's flow after a few moments. Irun wriggled around, feeling almost no pain in his ribcage. "Thank you," he begrudgingly said. "Next time, don't be such a whiny piglet," Bernar chuckled and patted him lightly on the shoulder before stepping away.
"I think he was just glad you didn't flick him again," I muttered, getting a chortle from my brother. "He's a bit of an ungrateful little shit, isn't he?" he asked, jutting his thumb over his shoulder. "Yeah, he can be a real pain in the ass, but he means well, I think," I put a finger to my chin pensively as we passed a handful of other bedridden Synners.
"I know you came here for more than just to check on Irun," he began, leaning in a little. "The Master has summoned us to his study at first light," I replied quietly. "Any idea what for?" he asked with a curious stare. "All I can really say here is that he did. He also didn't want people trying to spread rumors," I said, raising my eyebrows.
"Got it. I won't pry, then," he replied quietly. "Let's go outside. We need to talk. That ingrate back over there was the last one for me for the night," he tilted his head in Irun's general direction. I nodded, and we promptly left the infirmary.
Under the dim light of the stars and the rising moon, not a soul to be seen about us, we walked towards the training grounds. "What did you want to talk about?" I asked after we had walked a short distance away from the main fortress. "I brought you here to ask you something," Bernar said.
This can't be good, I thought.
"Well, go on, then. Spit it out," I said with a mild anxiety creeping in. "I know you have very few memories of Mom, and many horrible ones about Father, but I have to ask you whether she had mentioned anything about our grandparents to you," Bernar said. "The fuck did this come from?" I spread my arms, expecting something entirely different, though I didn't know what that something even was.
"Just answer the damn question," Bernar said playfully. "Well, I know father's parents died a long time ago, leaving him a small fortune and a bit of land, being the son of a nobleman and all," I began. "What about Mom?" he asked, glancing at the starry sky.
I thought back as far as I could, struggling to unearth specific memories I thought had long since been forgotten. "I don't really remember her saying much about our grandparents," I admitted, furrowing my brow in frustration.
"Strange, don't you think?" he asked. "What do you mean?" I raised an eyebrow. "Neither of us remembers much of anything about her side of the family, only that she comes from a long line of Synners," Bernar replied. "Alright, what are you getting at?" I asked. "Don't you find it odd how little we actually know about our family?" Bernar asked.
I could only look at him with pure bewilderment written on my face. "Why would I find it weird? Mom wasn't the most open of people, was she? And Father, being the shithead he is, isn't exactly the most approachable person, either. The only things I can remember are that, and how she looked on the day she left," I said, venom dripping from my words as the memory resurfaced clearly.
"I hardly even remember what she looked like, come to think of it," I frowned, realizing my image of my mother was now blurred and askew from what I thought it should've been. "Well, I remember a little more than you. She was strong-willed; an unequivocally untameable force of nature, and she was an all-caster," he said, finally turning to face me. "She was?" I asked curiously, feeling a pride for her I didn't know I had. "One of the best," he smiled warmly.
"Father always hated her for being a Synner, and as a result, he broke off their marriage a few years after you were born, ridding her from his life and ours all in one fell swoop. Just before she left, she begged him to watch over us. At first, he didn't agree to it all, but with a bit of mana, she managed to convince him. He hated us so much because we always reminded him of her. Apparently, that was enough for him to do some pretty horrible shit to us both," he sighed and shook his head.
"Holy shit, I had no idea," I said, taken aback. "Holy shit on a holy altar," Bernar added with a weak chuckle. "So that's why he never really talked about her, nor her side of the family. It also explains why he's a piece of shit, but maybe he was already like that before she left," I concluded.
"Exactly. Another reason we don't know much about her lineage is that the two of us rarely ever saw her, and whenever we would, father would always be there to interrupt," he continued. "Because, of course, he was…" I said, looking away from my brother into the distance.
"Well, it can't be helped now, I guess. Either way, I'm glad to see you're also growing closer to the Master," he began with a shrug. "What do you mean by that?" I asked, tilting my head. "Over the last decade or so, the Master and I have grown close, and I can see he's beginning to trust you as he does me. To me, at least, he's like the father neither of us ever had," he continued, reflecting on the past few years.
Something's not adding up, I looked at him curiously.