"Don't underestimate your mother, Young Master. There is a reason she became the head of the family even though she was the youngest daughter of the previous head."
Gabel spoke with a smile on his face. It seemed like he was genuinely happy about Astra's progress.
"She is the youngest daughter? Then does that mean she has more siblings?" Vaan questioned with a frown on his face.
There were vague memories in his head, he knew he had a father and knew about some servants who used to serve him, however, nowhere in his head did he have the slightest idea that he had uncles and aunts as well.
"Lady Astra has 2 more siblings, one is her sister, Risia Vesta, your Aunt, and the other is the oldest brother, Draven Vesta, your uncle. She also has 6 cousins, 4 brothers, and 2 sisters, all of them are your uncles and aunts as well."
Vaan raised his eyebrow. Then, with a doubtful look on his face, he questioned,
"How many siblings do I have…?"
"None."
Gable replied.
"Hmm?"
"After you were born, for some reason, Lady Astra was unable to conceive. You have no real siblings, but on the other hand, you have 8 Family Cousins and 15 nonfamily cousins."
"Family and nonfamily cousins?" Vaan frowned. This was the first time he was hearing these terms.
"The cousins who bear the name of Vesta Family are Family Cousins, whereas Cousins who do not bear Vesta Family name due to various reasons like leaving the family, worshiping a God, or belonging to your father's side's family, are all non-family cousins," Gabel replied politely.
"That's… quite a large family," Vaan commented.
In his previous life, it was just him, his mother, and his father, there were no other family members.
"The Vesta Family has a rich legacy of 5000 years, of course, it will be a large family. If it weren't for some members not taking the Vesta Family name, it would have been an even larger family."
Gabel replied.
"Not taking the Family Name? Why would they do it? Is Vesta Family not one of the strongest families in the world? Why would anyone not take the family name?"
"They are simply not worthy to." Gabel shrugged.
"The Vesta Family is known for producing Magic Prodigies, however, not every person carrying the Vesta Blood excels in magic.
The competition in Vesta Family is fierce, not everyone is able to keep up. Those who fail to do so often end up taking the easier path and start worshiping different Gods to gain strength. With that, they also give up the right to inherit the family name." Gabel explained.
"Fierce competition huh."
Vaan spoke with a confident smile on his face.
Fierce competition, just this term was enough to get his blood boiling.
He had been living a rough life for the past 7 years after all. It was obvious that he would have a few screws loose in his head.
"So? How strong am I? How was I doing in this so-called fierce competition?"
Vaan questioned with a big smile on his face.
"…"
Gabel, however, didn't reply.
Seeing his expression, Vaan frowned.
"Gabel." He called out.
"Y-Yes Young Master?" Gabel replied.
"Answer my question."
"Ah, right, you see, the nonfamily cousins are the cous-"
"Gabel, since you have answered all my questions so patiently, I have taken a liking to you. Don't disappoint me now.
I do not wish to dismiss you again."
Gabel glanced at Vaan for a while, then,
"Do you really wish to know that, Young Master? You do not have to worry yourself over this right now, Lady Astra is capable of taking care of it."
"Just be honest with me."
Vaan urged.
"You are at dead last, Young Master. Honestly, according to the other family members, you have no right to inherit the Vesta Family name, however, Lady Astra has been using her authority to protect you from all that."
"I am at last position?"
Seeing Gabel's reaction, Vaan knew that the things were bad, but… to be dead last…
"Am I really that untalented?"
Vaan couldn't help but question.
"Quite the opposite, Young Master." Gabel, however, shook her head.
"According to Lady Astra, you are a never seen before genius."
"Huh?" Vaan frowned in confusion.
"Both your parents have black hair, your mother has black eyes, while your father has brown eyes, you, on the other hand, were born with these violet hair and golden eyes, your facial structure did match your parents a little, therefore nobody could say anything, however, some people still doubted Lady Astra. Not that Lady Astra paid any attention to those people.
She had another theory in her mind.
The Ancestor of the Vesta Family, the strongest Mage the world had ever seen, the Archmage Alienora Vesta, she was born with pale violet hair and light golden eyes.
Lady Astra theorized that purple hair and golden eyes represented Magic Talent, and since your hair and eye color are brighter and more significant, she said that your potential may surpass even that of the Archmage.
Of course, all of this was just Lady Astra's theory, and not many believed that theory.
The world had never seen a mage that even touched Lady Alienora's feet when it came to magic achievements, so believing a theory that said someone whose talents surpass hers is born, people found it ridiculous.
Your poor results made them even more surer.
However, to this day, Lady Astra still believes in her theory."
"Hmm? Why is that? Shouldn't my results have made it clear?" Vaan couldn't understand. He knew his mother would support him no matter what, however, he also knew that his mother was an intelligent woman.
If his results were hopeless, then she should realize that she had made a mistake and her theory was wrong.
There was no point in sticking to false hope, that would only disappoint her in the future.
"Your result is the consequence of your own laziness, Young Master. No matter how talented, the study of magic needed effort, and you were someone who was absolutely unwilling to put in any effort.
You got fed up with sitting in the library and gave up on magic.
However, your talent was so ridiculously high that even without putting in any actual effort, you still managed to become a 1st Circle Mage when you were 18.
Although not comparable to children of the Vesta Family, your results are still above average compared to normal mages.
And this is you not doing anything, imagine what would happen if you actually put in the effort?
Lady Astra never gave up on you and secretly hoped that you would someday rise up to her expectation and become an excellent mage."
Vaan smiled inwardly.
His mother, not only does she look like his past mother, she acts the same as well. Suddenly, a determined expression appeared on Vaan's face.
He would not let her mother down.
"Putting in the effort huh."
Thinking about that, Vaan turned around and walked into the library again.