The current Patriarch of the Lionheart’s main family had two younger brothers.
The relationship between the three brothers was calm and the eldest son, Gilead, had ascended to the position of Patriarch without having to shed even a single drop of blood. In addition to the simple prioritization of seniority, Gilead’s skills at that time were superior to his brothers’.
And Gilead’s two younger brothers hadn’t held much interest in the position of the Patriarch. The second son, Gilford Lionheart, whose skills fell short compared to both his older and younger brothers, had given up on the position of the Patriarch at an early age and searched instead for his own happiness.
From what Eugene could recall, Gilford Lionheart was a middle-aged man with a slightly protruding belly, though not as much as Gerhard’s. According to the rumors, he had played around quite a bit when he was young, but… although they hadn’t gotten to know each other all that well, Gilford hadn’t seemed like such a bad person to Eugene. Gilford had left the main estate earlier this year and established his own household in a secluded and peaceful country estate.
Unlike Gilead and Gilford, Gion Lionheart had never gotten married, nor did he wish to be married. Eugene had personally asked Gion about his reasons for this a few years ago.
‘Marriage? Of course, it’s an admirable and beautiful thing. However, if I wanted to get married and have children, I would have to part ways with the main family before any of my children turned five. I would hate to have to do that. And with my personality, I don’t think I’d be a great father.’
Gion had a free-spirited personality. He was always sharing a laugh with the knights who served the main family, and his attitude towards the servants was never overbearing. He showed a passion for teaching Ciel and Cyan and had even cut down on his free time to instruct the knights.
Gion was very kind to Eugene in particular. During the four years Eugene spent at the main estate, Gion had personally instructed Eugene alongside Gilead. At least while Eugene was at the main estate, he had never once been discriminated against just because he was an adopted child from a collateral branch.
In Eugene’s view, Gion was quite a unique individual because of all this.
His martial skills were also outstanding. Even the Patriarch, Gilead, had shown respect for Gion’s skills. However, unlike Gilead, who hadn’t been able to focus on his training after having become the Patriarch, Gion had devoted himself to his training while he wandered around the continent. Due to this, presently, Gion’s skill had actually surpassed Gilead’s.
That said, Gion had never once thought of rebelling against Gilead. Gion would never deviate from his role as the Patriarch’s ‘younger brother.’
One year ago, there was a period when Gion was away from the main estate for several months. When he returned, the Lionheart, the personal sigil of the Lionheart clan that Gion had also worn on the left chest of his formal dress, was slightly different.
It had turned into a sigil of a black lion with its fangs drawn and claws exposed.
This showed that Gion had become a formal member of the Knights of the Black Lion, the Guardians of the Lionheart clan.
In fact, this wasn’t anything unusual. As long as you had exceptional skills and proven loyalty to the clan, anyone in the Lionheart clan could apply to join the Knights of the Black Lion. The Knights of the Black Lion were stronger and had a sharper edge than the Knights of the White Lion, which consisted of the knights who served the main family.
‘Although this will be my first time seeing them personally.’
It was getting closer to noon — the appointed time of their arrival. Eugene was feeling a slight excitement as he checked the time. Although he had lived at the main estate for four years, he had never once seen a member of the Knights of the Black Lion during all that time.
The Knights of the White Lion, who belonged to the Lionheart’s direct line, had sworn their loyalty solely to the main family. However, the Knights of the Black Lion weren’t sworn to the main family; instead, their loyalty had been sworn to the ‘Lionheart’ name as a whole.
The guiding force behind the Knights of the Black Lion was the Council of Elders, the group made up of the giants who had left their weighty names in the history of the ‘Lionheart’ clan, regardless of whether they were from the direct line or the collateral lines. Even the current Patriarch, Gilead, did not stand on an equal footing with the Elders of the Council.
‘It still isn’t time yet,’ Eugene thought impatiently.
He couldn’t help but be interested in the Knights of the Black Lion.
He had spent four years at the main estate. Gilead was strong, and so was Gion. Both of them were strong enough to be recognized for their strength no matter where in the continent they had been placed.
The main family’s Knights of the White Lion were also strong. Even among the numerous knightly orders that existed on this continent, they were one of a handful of the strongest. Even when the current Knights of the White Lion were compared to the Kiehl Empire’s knightly orders, while they might be said to be lacking in numbers, they couldn’t be said to be lacking in quality.
But that alone wasn’t enough.
Vermouth had been the strongest person in all of humanity’s history. That was why he was called the Hero and why he had led the subjugation force that sought to slay all the Demon Kings. Neither the elves, who were long-lived, nor the dragons, who were called masters of magic, had been able to slay a Demon King.
However, Vermouth was able to kill three of the Demon Kings. Eugene was deeply aware of this fact.
Molon, Anise, Sienna, and… Hamel, all of them were strong. However, if it wasn’t for Vermouth, it would be impossible for them to kill a Demon King.
Vermouth, whom Hamel had seen and accompanied, and who resided in Eugene’s memories, had been so strong that he hadn’t even seemed human.
‘That’s why it’s still not enough.’
Eugene stood up with a disappointed click of his tongue. Although Gilead and Gion were strong, as were the Knights of the White Lion, it wasn’t enough for them to truly claim to be Vermouth’s successors.
Since that was the case, what about the Knights of the Black Lion? Without distinguishing between the main and collateral branches, accepting the most exceptional and loyal clan members who bore the name ‘Lionheart’ — how strong would such a knightly order be? And what about the Council who backed the Knights of the Black Lion? How strong were they?
‘Those old geezers who’ve retreated into the background… it can’t just be for the sake of making room for others, right?’
Gilead didn’t like the traditions of the direct line. Of course, there was the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony, but other traditions meant to absolutely suppress the collateral lines also existed.
However, the Patriarch’s strength alone wasn’t enough to change these traditions that had been passed down for over three hundred years. Both the Council and the Knights of the Black Lion were part of the Guardians of the Family Commandments that upheld the rules of the Lionheart clan above all else.
As guardians, they were required to have the appropriate strength needed to enforce their duties.
Eugene hadn’t intended for all of this to happen, but he was excited to finally get involved with the Knights of the Black Lion.
* * *
A gigantic aerial carriage boasting a magnificent splendor landed in front of the Red Tower of Magic.
“They sure are throwing their weight around,” Melkith scoffed.
She didn’t appreciate being placed in such a position, especially when the other party wasn’t even a high-ranking personage of Aroth. If it wasn’t for the sake of Wynnyd, Melkith wouldn’t be standing out here, respectfully waiting to welcome these guests.
Eugene reminded her, “Didn’t you say that you respect Sir Vermouth, the ancestor of the Lionheart clan?”
“Kid, don’t misquote me,” Melkith corrected him. “The one I respect is the Great Vermouth, not the founder of the Lionheart clan.”
“Well, aren’t they pretty much the same thing?”
“It’s different. I don’t really like the Lionheart clan. I don’t like how its main family suppresses its collateral lines nor how their Council and their Knights of the Black Lion put on such a secretive act.”
“But for now, you should hide such an attitude,” Lovellian reminded Melkith.
Unlike Melkith, Lovellian’s expression was calm.
While staring at the disembarking carriage, he continued, “If you really want to borrow Wynnyd, you had better avoid doing anything that might offend them.”
“Are you really asking me to act all nice and polite?” Melkith demanded. “If anyone had heard you say that, they might be confused into thinking that I’m not trading with them on an equal footing. I… with my greatly cherished and adored Cloak of Darkness, I’m actually trading it for Wynnyd!”
It was Eugene’s turn to correct her, “It’s not really a trade. We’re just loaning them to each other. And you remember that we promised a day for a year, right?”
Melkith ground her teeth angrily.
But even though she was showing such an expression, she wasn’t truly angry. Although she had indeed been angry that day at Akron, when she had started screeching like a crow, once she went back to the White Tower of Magic, while clinging tightly to the Cloak of Darkness… she had managed to calm her emotions and think about it rationally.[1]
‘As if it would take me a day. It will probably only take a few hours, maybe half a day at most?’ Melkith thought optimistically.
Melkith trusted in her affinity with spirits. Since she would also have the strong catalyst of the Storm Sword Wynnyd with her, there was no reason she wouldn’t be able to summon the Wind Spirit King.
‘That means I’ll only be lending the cloak for a few months at most. I can endure it if it’s just that much,’ Melkith assured herself.
In exchange for getting the chance to sign a contract with the Spirit King of the Wind, which Melkith had longed for ever since she was young, she was loaning out the Cloak of Darkness for just a few months. No matter how much she thought about it, wasn’t this a great deal? Of course, Melkith made sure not to openly reveal such joy.
‘If I needlessly show my true feelings, that kid might try to change the terms of our deal.’
Although it had only been a few days since they had first met, Melkith had already figured out that Eugene was shrewd, nasty, and as stubborn as a pitbull.
The door of the aerial carriage finally opened. For such a spacious carriage, there were only five people riding in it, and the first person to get off was—
“What are you doing here?” Eugene demanded.
It was Ciel.
“My mother’s birthday is coming soon,” Ciel said by way of explanation.
Since it had only been a few months since they had last met, Ciel’s appearance couldn’t have changed all that much. However, as he was now seeing her in a sharply-cut formal dress and her hair tied up in a way that he had never seen her wear before during his time at the main estate, she felt a little unfamiliar to him.
“Because of that, I’ve come to pick out a few presents for her. I was also curious to see if you were doing well,” Ciel replied with a dry expression that didn’t show even a trace of amusement.
With this, she narrowed her eyes and waited for Eugene’s reaction. However, Eugene didn’t seem as surprised or perturbed as Ciel had hoped.
“Ah, is that so?” he asked.
And that was it. Ciel furrowed her brows, but instead of continuing to block the doorway, she stepped aside.
Following Ciel, Gion was the next to emerge. Like the last time Eugene had seen him, the sigil of the Knights of the Black Lion was embroidered on the left side of Gion’s chest. As soon as Gion saw Eugene, he smiled brightly and waved his hand.
“It really hasn’t been long enough since you two last saw each other to feel such joy at your reunion,” said the middle-aged man who next emerged from the carriage as he patted Gion on the shoulder.
“That might be the case, but what can I do about feeling so happy at getting to meet Eugene like this?” Gion asked cheerfully.
“There’ll be enough time for that later, so let’s just focus on business for now,” the man advised.
Although he didn’t know who the man was, Eugene could feel he had exceptional skills.
‘But not with a sword. It looks like he uses a spear,’ Eugene observed.
The man wasn’t carrying a weapon. But considering his posture and the way his muscles had developed, Eugene could be certain that he used a spear.
1. The raw text says yesterday instead of ‘that day’ at Akron, but the states that their first meeting was a few days ago. Taking into account that the Lionheart family may have needed a few days to discuss and arrange things, we have decided to assume that the author just made a mistake in this chapter. ☜
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