Insect Tamer's Ascension

Theo opened the wrapping and soon found a book with a thick leather cover on both sides.

"The History of Unique Tamers…" Theo stated with almost a whisper. It was the book that he wanted for a long time.

"I was trying to procure it for a while now, and fortunately, it came before your birthday, so this looked like a nice timing," the Baroness spoke.

All the smaller heirs, aside from Bram, lost interest as it was not something fun.

Yet the older ones knew what that book meant for Theo.

Theo was going to open the book cover right away, yet soon realized quickly enough that it was not the right timing.

"I will cherish this, Mother. Thank you," Theo said with a genuine smile, and the Baroness only nodded.

Then came the gifts from the other siblings that Theo just skimmed through with a happy expression. They were all almost something made for children.

Until Bram came and gave him a long gem with Theo's name engraved on it. Celeste, Isolde, and Elara's eyes flashed with excitement looking at it.

Theo, too, was surprised. The work on the engraving had become quite good from the last time he saw one of these.

"Can I see this, Theo?" the Baroness asked, and Theo just let the butler pass it on to her.

Bram had a scared expression on his face, yet with a few deep breaths, he went back to normal. Theo liked that.

"This has really good engravings on it. Did you make this on your own, Bram?" the Baroness asked with a curious smile on her face.

"Yes… Though this took me six times to get a good result for Theo. I have a long way to go," Bram spoke with an awkward smile.

Everyone looking at him at the table made the situation even more intimidating for him than usual.

"This can go for quite a price in the market. The stone is not more than 100 gold coins; the additional engravings with such precision may take this up to 150 if not more," the Baroness spoke with her eyes latched onto the stone.

Theo shook his head with a chuckle. When the Baroness started with her analysis in terms of products, there was really nothing that could stop her.

"Can you make more of this, Bram? I will give you the design and a lot of stones to practice on," the Baroness asked with a regal expression.

"S-Sure, Mother. You can send it to me anytime."

"This is a really good profession, Bram. If you keep at it from such a young age, you may be eligible to become a runesmith," the Baroness spoke with a proud gaze.

'Runesmith…' Theo thought in his mind. It was a profession that was really popular right now. Yet the barrier of entry was really high, so not many were able to join it, thus making things made by a runesmith even more valuable.

"I will try my best, Mother," Bram spoke with excitement, making Theo realize that it was the first time Bram had heard the word.

'Was he trying for runesmith to begin with?' Theo thought, yet a tap on his chair by Elias made him come out of his deep thought process—perks of having an attendant.

"I have heard runesmith schools are really long ones. Maybe if Bram really wants to become one, we should put him in one of these schools early?" Elara commented, making the Baroness nod.

"Would you want to do that, Bram?"

Listening to the Baroness's question, Bram's eyes widened in surprise before he nodded profusely, making the Baroness giggle. Her youngest was the only one who could get the Baroness this riled up about something.

"Alright, I will let you know when things are ready. We will try getting you in before the academy starts and see if it's really what you want to pursue." The Baroness gave a decision and nodded toward a butler who briskly walked outside the dining hall.

Theo understood what she meant by that. If Bram really wanted to pursue runesmithing and he had the talent for it, then there really was no need for him to enter the academy where most classes were about beast taming.

'Heh… Merricks may be the only ones that let their heirs do anything.' Theo thought and chuckled inwardly. It was a good thing, as not all wanted to fight and risk themselves their whole life.

After that, there was really no good gift until everyone was done, and people started leaving from the dining hall after bidding farewell.

"Wait, Theo. I want to talk with you," the Baroness spoke, and while the others were interested in what it was, they saw the cue and just went outside the dining hall.

Theo got up from his chair and went to the one that was closest to the Baroness.

"I couldn't show this in front of your siblings, as this is a sort of special gift not all will get," the Baroness spoke and gave a nod to a servant who brought a big box from the side.

Theo was confused but still nodded.

The servant kept the box on the table, as it was all clean already.

"Go on, open it," the Baroness spoke. Theo couldn't really guess what was in there, as the Baroness wasn't really reacting to it.

Without any hesitation, he opened the wooden box that had this premium texture to it. The box itself was very luxurious, with intricate and complicated designs on it.

When Theo saw what was inside, he was shocked.

"Your father specially had it made by a master leatherworker. He knows that you like wearing leather armor because of its flexibility instead of the heavy metal armor your father is used to wearing."

Theo took the whole leather set out and marveled at its make. It was not a leather that was normal by any means.

"What leather is this, Mother?" Theo asked in curiosity.

The Baroness paused and smiled before speaking.

"It's lesser dragon leather, Theo."

"!!"