Starting With an SSS-Rank Swordsmanship Talent-Chapter 295: Unexpected Potential

"Son, is there something you need?" Maria smiled faintly at Alaric.

She had the same loving smile she always had, but something was a bit different about her today. Alaric could see a tinge of sadness and anxiety in her eyes.

Alaric pretended that he didn't notice anything and greeted her with a smile. "I just want to check on my pregnant mother and see how she is doing."

Maria's eyes faltered upon hearing this. She let out a soft sigh and muttered. "But I am not your…"

Before she could continue her words, Alaric gently hugged her and whispered in a quivering voice. "You will always be my Mom. That will never change."

Maria had always treated him like her own son and she had never despised him for this even once.

With the sacrifices she made and the silent pain she endured all these years, Alaric couldn't even begin to imagine it.

Unknowingly, tears slid down from the corners of his eyes. Maria's selfless actions made him emotional.

Maria noticed that he was crying so she gently rubbed his back. "I'm so happy to hear that, my son…"

Alaric never thought that he would cry like this again after his regression.

The mother and son chatted for hours. They talked about the past and the future that they looked forward to.

"Son, how about you go and visit your grandfather again?" Maria changed the topic.

Hearing her mention this, Alaric furrowed his eyebrows. "Is he still there?" He asked.

Maria nodded with a long sigh. "Ever since he came to North Pine Town, he had never missed a day."

She was getting increasingly worried about her father's health. She tried to talk with him about it, but he never listened and continued to visit Mount Tegere every day.

Alaric was also aware of this. He had even sent his subordinates to look after the old man in case something happened.

Anton Keller had always blamed himself for the warriors who had died in Copperglade. He felt that he was fully responsible for everything. Because of his extreme guilt, he visited their tombs on top of Mount Tegere to kneel and apologize to them. He had never missed a day since he arrived in North Pine Town.

"Alright. I will talk with him later." Alaric nodded and reassured his mother.

After some small talk, Alaric bid Maria farewell and stepped out of the mansion.

"My lord, where are you headed to?" Elena's voice suddenly drifted into his ears.

Alaric turned around and saw her going down the stairs in a hurry. Seeing this, he immediately reminded her to be careful.

"That was dangerous, Elena. You could have hurt yourself." Alaric gave her a stern look.

The girl gave him a cheeky smile and replied. "I will not do it again, my lord. Hehe."

Alaric rubbed her head and intentionally made her hair messy. "I will have to punish you if you do that again."

"My lord, my hair…"

Looking at her face, he realized that she looked more mature now.

"You should start acting like an adult, Elena. You are almost of age now." He chuckled with a teasing look.

Hearing this, she recalled the promise they had made when they were young and it made her cheeks flush in embarrassment.

She was a bit nervous to continue with the conversation so she changed the topic.

"Y-You still haven't answered my question, my lord…"

Alaric was amused when he saw her acting all shy and embarrassed.

"I will go to Mount Tegere to see Grandpa." He replied.

"Oh… Do you want me to go with you, my lord?" Elena asked. She had been to the sacred mountain quite often so she was also aware of Anton's situation.

Alaric shrugged and responded casually. "If you want to."

It would take a few thousand steps to reach the top of the sacred mountain so even the family members of the warriors buried in the mountain would only visit once or twice a month.

"I don't get easily tired now, my lord. Sometimes I would join the warriors do physical exercises on the training ground. I'm strong now!" She flexed her thin biceps while saying this, making her look quite comical.

Alaric laughed while shaking his head.

[Do you want to use Appraisal on the selected target?]

[Yes] [No]

Alaric wanted to see if she was telling the truth so he decided to use Appraisal on her.

Alaric was stunned when he saw her attributes. She had a bunch of housework-related traits, but surprisingly, she had an F-rank Swordsmanship trait. However, the most shocking thing was her S-rated potential!

No way!

"My lord, why are you looking at me like that? Is there something on my face?" Elena asked when she saw Alaric staring at her with an unusual gaze.

Alaric faked a cough and looked away from her. "It's nothing… Did you learn swordsmanship from someone?" He randomly asked.

How did she learn swordsmanship this fast? I didn't even see her train.

Elena was surprised. "Eh? How did you know, my lord? I told Aliya not to tell anyone including you…"

She realized that she had misspoken so she quickly covered her mouth.

Alaric glanced at her. "So you were secretly learning from Aliya…"

"Uh… that…yes."

Knowing that she couldn't hide the matter anymore, she could only nod her head.

"I didn't mean to hide it from you, my lord. I just want to give you a bit of surprise."

This girl…

Alaric smiled at her words. "You do have potential, but are you sure about learning swordsmanship?"

Elena put on a serious look as she replied. "Yes! I also want to protect you, my lord! I always feel uncomfortable every time you leave the town so I decided to learn swordsmanship from Aliya."