Insect Tamer's Ascension

When Theo saw that playfulness on the wyvern's face, he couldn't help but shake his head with a smile.

No matter what the creature was, whether it was a mantis or a wyvern, in their heart, they were still all playful in front of their humans.

The wyvern moved back its head and started gliding down slowly this time, without any aggression like before. Theo saw the castle closer and closer until the wyvern started landing in a certain spot he hadn't looked at before.

It was the third floor's balcony of the castle—the same floor his father was at.

When Theo curiously squinted at the balcony, he saw a few silhouettes on it.

When he further focused, he felt dumbfounded. Both his mother and his father were standing at the entry of the balcony looking up.

The wyvern proficiently slowed itself while flapping its wings slowly before its feet finally landed on the floor.

It stabilized very quickly and straightened one of its wings to the ground for them to climb down now.

Theo saw Rhys go down slowly with his steps, and he copied him to finally get on the floor too.

KURRRRUUU

He heard a hoarse but high-pitched sound from the wyvern, making him look at its face.

The baron was scratching the neck of the wyvern with a light smile on his face. There was a playful expression on the wyvern's scaly face.

Theo realized something and wanted to smack his head in disappointment. With how much time he spent with Rhys, not once did he ask how his father fought or what beast he had.

If a prominent knight had his second beast as a wyvern, what did the baron have?

While the baron was with the wyvern, Theo's mother moved toward him, making him move his head to her too. For some reason, Theo felt embarrassed.

"Good afternoon, mother. Has your day been well?" Theo asked with a light smile.

The mantis tried getting out of the pocket and tapped at Theo's chest to get some help.

Theo quickly moved his hand in and gently brought the mantis out without touching the injured foreleg.

"It's injured… I have never seen it injured before, Theo," the baroness spoke with concern.

"… It's a little injured, mother. But nothing more than normal. It is very sturdy with the metal exoskeleton of its," Theo spoke quickly.

Yet in his heart, he didn't know how injured the mantis was, or even if the dislocated foreleg could be fixed anymore or not.

The baroness stared at the mantis, who was doing the same thing, before she nodded.

"Are you injured anywhere?" she asked and checked his neck and shoulder for any injury.

"Not even a scratch, mother. I get protected very carefully by Clara," he said, and at the name of Clara, he winced imagining how the boar had made her move so far again.

"H… How is she?" he asked.

The baroness looked at Theo for a few seconds with a calm expression before she sighed, "She is in a critical state right now," she said, making Theo freeze.

"We have allotted the best doctors and medicine to her. It is also fortunate that she was able to protect her spine. If that broke, it could have all been over for her, Theo," she stated with a sad face.

"B-But! She will be okay, right?" Theo asked with panic. The baron looked at him for a moment and then at the wyvern again.

"She will be fine, but it will take some time for her to get back to her feet, Theo. She can't remain your attendant right now," the baroness stated with some heavy words, making Theo feel like the world was slowing down or something.

"Not my attendant? Mother, I think you're mistaking how good Clara is at recovery. She will be up in a week or two. You'll see," Theo said, trying to make her believe it.

In his heart, at some corner, he could still see that big patch of bruise on her back and Warren's words. He knew this was a lot more serious than usual.

'Why did you have to get so injured, Clara? Everything was going so good, we were going to become strong…' Theo thought, and his lips pursed for a second before he returned to normal.

The baroness saw that and quickly hugged Theo. They were like that for a minute, and Theo felt some panic in his heart loosen.

"She is going to be okay. I am not talking about her injuries right now, Theo," she broke the hug and stated before continuing, "The gap in your strength is shortening day by day. With this speed, soon you will be level 5 too, and Clara won't be able to protect you properly anymore," she stated with a serious face.

Theo knew the day would come when she was going to leave. It was her decision to begin with too.

'But this is too sudden…' Theo thought.

He looked at his mother with a serious expression, "Will I be allotted a new attendant?"

There was a brief pause before the baroness nodded, making Theo feel even more depressed.

"She has helped enough, Theo. Surely you know of her goals already. This is a life she only wanted for something better in the future."

"You knew?" Theo asked with surprise. "Then why did you hire her?" he asked in curiosity.

The baroness smiled. She knew she would be able to make his mind divert with vital information.

"Because I knew from the start that she was among the best attendants, Theo. It's these eyes," the baroness tapped his cheek with her hand and pointed to her eye with the other.

Theo's eyes widened for a moment before many more questions came to his mind, yet the baroness stopped him.

"That is enough talk," she said, and then moved past him and came in front of Rhys, who unintentionally yawned once more.

"Thank you for saving him, Knight Geller. Things could have become worse if not for you," the baroness spoke with a warm smile, yet the knight only looked at her plainly.

"You would be surprised to know that I literally did nothing but help him find his beast and fly him back. That was it."