Chapter 269: Chapter 269: To the gate with the Baron- A slap back to reality

The baron looked at the baroness for just a moment before he took a deep breath.

"Sit down."

Theo had to gulp; the atmosphere was a little tense for his liking.

He sat on the chair opposite them and waited.

"For the past one and a half months, the academy has been sending a notice to send you back to the academy," the baron spoke, making Theo nod.

"I had expected that much, father. What should we do?" Theo asked with seriousness. But at the back of his mind, he couldn’t help but think something like that wouldn’t be able to make his father this tired.

"That’s not it, Theo." The baron stated, "In all those notices, the only thing the academy was desperate for was for you to come and take the evaluation. Not your studies. They didn’t state a single time that your studies were getting sacrificed." He stated.

Theo stayed quiet and listened, making the baron continue.

"I had some help from the people Lucien knows in the staff of the academy... and it turns out, they have already removed your name from the classes."

"!" Theo’s eyes widened. He hadn’t expected them to do that.

"Then... they are just calling me for an inspection?" Theo stated.

"Unfortunately, that’s only the beginning." The baron sighed when a vein popped in his head.

He slid the drawer beside him and moved something out that Theo could recognize right away.

"A royal letter?" Theo couldn’t help but speak out.

The baron nodded, "The academy has gone and complained to the disciplinary committee of the Emperor. This states that you have to go to the academy on a compulsory basis, and there is no other choice."

Theo was at a loss for words. He looked at his mother, who also had a sad expression on her face.

"... Then I guess I really should go back to the academy, father..." Theo spoke with a poker smile.

Looking at him, another vein popped on the baron’s head.

"Do you have no clue what I would do in this situation, Theo? Are you not thinking right now?"

Theo looked at him and was going to speak again when the baron halted him with a show of the hand.

"I just sent a rejection letter to them a moment ago."

When Theo heard that, it felt like he had heard something wrong. Maybe the baron said something else.

But soon, reality kicked in.

"W–What?! Why would you do that, Father?? You turned down the Royal Disciplinary Committee?" Theo stated after getting up and banging the table in front of him.

"Good. This will be the attitude you will be needing from this point onward, son." The baron grinned.

"Things have to be a little faster than I expected, but we have to hurry." The baron spoke after leaning back.

"We have the support of the Emperor’s family itself, who will be protecting our family when we will be gone."

"Gone?"

Theo did not even have the time to react to how the baron finally stated that they had the support of the Emperor’s family, even though they were a baron.

"Yes, there is a gate that opened a few weeks ago. We will be going there until things are handled."

Theo frowned, "Father, please calm down. Don’t take any rash decisions, please." Theo said desperately.

The baron sighed, "We have seen too many unique tamers vanish out of nowhere that I can’t take any chances with you. I need to make you stronger, and I need to do it myself." The baron spoke with sharp eyes.

Theo looked at his mother, who still had a sad expression on her face.

"Theo... I don’t like this idea of you going to a gate at such a young age. The horrors inside it are sometimes too much for even an adult..." She spoke with a click of the tongue.

"But I know there is no other choice. You should leave with your father as soon as possible." She spoke with hesitance.

Theo felt like things were happening too fast. Neither of them was letting him speak, which was making him panic even more.

It almost felt like the same situation as his previous life, but Theo knew this one was doing it for his own good.

Until finally, he went and said the one thing he shouldn’t have.

"I... I am just the 9th son of the Merrick Barony... I am not worth having to do all this, you know that too..." Theo spoke while looking to the side. He bit his lip in frustration.

Being the 9th son, he knew he should have no say in anything, not even attention. He knew how things worked, and his family was the only one doing the opposite, giving all the children the attention they needed.

But Theo couldn’t take advantage of that anymore, not when they were doing so much.

The temperature in the room suddenly rose, and Theo felt like the oxygen in the room was lessening every second.

His eyes widened when he did his best to breathe, but it was as if his neck was choked.

He looked up at the baron, which made him freeze.

That was the one expression Theo had never seen on the baron’s face.

He looked really angry, but Theo could see the level of sadness in his eyes.

"Honey, that is enough." The baroness spoke and kept a hand on his arm, making the baron come out of it and look away.

The baroness got up from her seat and came slowly toward Theo, who was looking at her while huffing.

She went and stood in front of Theo with a plain expression.

Theo did not know what she was going to say, but he had the gist already.

SLAP!

THUD.

When Theo blinked, he was already on the ground with his hand on the right side of his face.

The whole room went into shock, including the baron, whose eyes widened.

The baroness had just slapped Theo with a lot of strength, and now he was on the ground looking up at her.