“Hmm, certainly…after seeing this, I have no choice but to believe…”
To further verify spacetime magic, the three of them went outside.
The moment Maxim believed beyond a shadow of a doubt that Herbert was using spacetime magic was when his son changed the speed of the Fire Arrow he casted.
No matter the skill level of a magic user, the speed of magic projectiles were always the same. And so, seeing what was considered to be common sense being shattered before him, Maxim found himself with no choice but to believe that it really was spacetime magic at work.
“So, Maxim, does that really mean that Herbert—”
“Yeah, most definitely. This foolish son of ours…is the second ever user of spacetime magic in the whole world.”
Maxim had mixed feelings when he looked at Herbert scratching his head while also shyly apologizing ‘sorry for being a foolish son’.
Maxim felt overjoyed because his son was able to use spacetime magic. However, at the same time, he felt his anger rise up as he remembered the things his son has done so far.
He felt relief now that Herbert has reformed, but he also felt frustration at Herbert for not doing so sooner.
Maxim didn’t really know what to feel about Herbert.
“Herbert, how did you—”
“Oh, you know, from this and that…yes, this and that…”
Herbert answered so with a conflicted expression on his face. Seeing that, Maxim decided to not pursue it any further.
Whatever mistakes Herbert might have done, Maxim had to acknowledge that he was partially at fault too. At the very least, he had failed to recognize his son’s talent. Worse yet, he had decided to disinherit Herbert and make Rozea, his second son, be his heir…
Maxim didn’t say anything and only clenched his fist. Suddenly though, he felt a gentle touch on top of his fist.
Johanna had placed her hand on top of his.
“Maxim, I don’t think we need to worry too much about that, do we?”
“Johanna, I’m a duke; my job is to worry about a lot of things.”
“Maybe so, but this doesn’t have to be one of them, right?”
Johanna let go of Maxim’s hand and beckoned Herbert to come closer.
Although Herbert was confused for a moment, he eventually, albeit timidly, approached the two.
Even though they were closer now, Maxim and Herbert did nothing but stand there.
“Geez, you two!”
Johanna said so and then grabbed Maxim and Herbert’s hands and joined them.
“We’ve been through a lot…but look, we can still shake our hands to reconcile. We all have our faults, but a family tries to forgive one another, right?”
At Johanna’s words…Maxim grunted and gave a slight nod.
While Maxim wouldn’t say that Herbert and him had an equal share of the blame, he acknowledged that he wasn’t entirely faultless. At this point, it seemed likely that the two of them would be interacting with one another more, so them being awkward would only make things harder for both of them.
“I’m sorry, father.”
“Mhm.”
“I want to say I’ll make up for things…but that might be asking for too much. Instead, I’ll just do whatever I can to repay your kindness.”
“Don’t worry about repaying our kindness. We’re a family, after all.”
Perhaps because they had already decided to reconcile, the words came out easily. And then, surprising Herbert a bit, Maxim smiled.
For Maxim, no matter how much of foolish son Herbert might have been, Herbert was still his precious son. As for the business of being the heir though…
“…do your best, Herbert. We’ll be expecting much from you.”
“…y-yes, please watch over me closely, Father! I will definitely become a great mage second only to the sage Merlin!”
Like that, Herbert had successfully reconciled with Maxim. He managed to postpone his disinheritance for the meantime, and he even started to dine from time to time with his parents.
By all means though, it wasn’t a full reconciliation just yet. Even so, they now interacted with one another gentler than they did before.
At the end of the day, Herbert once again managed to change his fate.
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RPGNovels 
Thank you! Time for the next training montage. (Can books have montages?)
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