Chapter 33
Chapter 33
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: An Unwelcome Return
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I thought I must have said something terribly wrong.
Because the entire place had gone silent, as if doused with cold water.
It got to the point where I started to second-guess my own words.
I’m the youngest in this family.
Subject, object, verb.
No matter how I replayed it in my mind, nothing seemed out of place.
“Ruan Bednicker?”
Just then, someone called my name.
It was a man standing on the dais, a face I’d seen a few times back at the main house.
‘That’s Luke.’
Luke, the captain of the Iron-Blooded Knights.
A man who was also the Family Head’s half-brother.
“Yes.”
Luke looked at me intently before nodding.
“Confirmed. Please take a seat.”
“...”
Why the formal tone?
‘More importantly, he’s telling me to sit down...’
What is this place, anyway?
I scratched the back of my head, trying to recall how I ended up in this auditorium.
After finally arriving at the main house with Arjan’s help, my first desire was to soak in a warm bath and fill my stomach with lavish food, but that wasn’t to be.
Because I had run into an unexpected person near the mansion’s entrance.
None other than Keian, the Collector.
- Oh! Sir Keian, it’s been a while—
- Young Master, you must hurry to the auditorium.
- What?
Pushed along by Keian’s frantic urgency, I was half-shoved into the auditorium… which brings us to the current situation.
In any case, it felt awkward to just keep standing, so I staggered over to a suitable seat and sat down.
“We’ve been delayed. Let’s continue. Tonio of the Peris family…”
Luke, on the dais, resumed the roll call.
‘Come to think of it, isn’t the Blessing Ceremony tomorrow?’
I was finally starting to get a rough idea of what was going on, but just to be sure, I asked the person sitting next to me.
“What’s going on here?”
“Don’t act friendly with me. Not unless you want to die.”
“Hah.”
I recoiled in surprise.
She was a girl about my age, with hair that was an ambiguous shade between white and silver.
But what was most striking was her expression.
Though I hadn’t done anything wrong, she glared at me as if I were some kind of bug before whipping her head away.
[Hoh… a possessor of a unique heritage.]
‘You scared me.’
I chided the Martial God for his sudden appearance.
‘You’re awake? You didn’t say a word when I was calling for you.’
[I told you. Unless I sense a special presence, I have no reason to awaken.]
‘You never said that.’
[Did I not?]
The Martial God spoke in a faintly amused tone.
[Be that as it may, it seems everyone gathered here has inherited the blood of heroes. Is that correct?]
‘Something like that, yes.’
[Truly a gathering of gems. The girl before you, in particular, seems to be the heir to a lineage as outstanding as your own. Do you happen to know her?]
‘Not a chance.’
Unlike Kaljak, her face and voice were unfamiliar.
Besides, I wouldn’t forget someone with such a striking appearance.
Still, there was something strange about it, more than just a prickly personality…
Ah.
Come to think of it, I’m a mess right now. I probably smell awful, too.
‘Anyway, I want to observe the situation for a bit, so please stay quiet.’
[Even if you hadn’t said that… I feel myself drifting off again….]
The Martial God’s voice gradually faded.
I waited in silence for Luke to finish the roll call…
‘Hmm…’
For some reason, my eyelids felt heavy.
Perhaps it was the relief of having reached the main house, but the tension was slowly draining from my body.
“…Ruan.”
“...”
“Ruan Bednicker.”
“...”
“Wake up.”
“…Hah.”
Feeling someone shake my shoulder, I fluttered my eyes open.
I must have dozed off.
Swallowing the drool that had pooled in my mouth, I looked up to see Luke looking down at me.
“…Today’s schedule is finished. We need to clean the auditorium, so it’s time for you to leave.”
I glanced around blankly. Sure enough, I was the only one left in the auditorium.
“Yeees…”
I answered sluggishly and tried to stand, but it was harder than I expected.
My body still wasn’t back to normal.
The aftereffects of the White Sun Eclipse.
It had been about four days since I defeated the Jewel Beast in the mountains, so it would probably take another three days for my body to fully recover.
‘I need to see my mother, too.’
I wanted to see her right away, but she wouldn’t be happy to see her son, after all this time, looking like a beggar.
Deciding to wash up first, I left the auditorium, only to find someone standing in front of it.
As if they were blocking the exit.
It was an unfamiliar face, so I was about to walk past when the guy spoke to me.
“Ruan Bednicker.”
“Who are you?”
“Hariba Garshia.”
“Garshia?”
I remembered that one of the Bednicker branch families had that name.
I tilted my head.
“Do you need something from me?”
“...”
Hariba looked at me with a placid expression, but I narrowed my eyes.
‘What’s with this guy?’
This was probably the first time we’d met.
The ceaselessly fidgeting fingers, the ragged breathing, the slightly bloodshot eyes.
All these elements revealed the emotion hidden beneath his impassive face.
This bastard was harboring killing intent toward me.
The guy named Hariba stared at me like that for a while longer before leaving without another word.
It left a bad taste in my mouth, and I wanted to smack him on the back of the head, but in my current state, I couldn’t even chase after him.
Besides, washing up was my top priority.
The moment I took another step.
“It’s been a while.”
‘Shit.’
Just let me wash up.
I’m not some local attraction. It was annoying to be stopped with every step I took.
Wondering who it was this time, I looked up and saw, to my relief, a familiar face.
“Hector?”
“What?”
“…Brother.”
“...”
As I added the title, Hector let out a derisive laugh.
Of course, it wasn’t a laugh of genuine amusement.
“I never thought I’d see you here.”
Was it so strange for a Bednicker to be at the Bednicker main house?
Just from his expression, I couldn’t tell what he wanted to say.
But it wasn't because he was happy to see his long-lost brother or wanted to strengthen their fraternal bond…
He definitely wasn’t talking to me for such warm reasons.
Even if we shared the same blood, we were half-brothers.
Moreover, Hector was the first one to completely disregard me after I was judged to have no talent.
“I’m truly sick of it.”
As expected.
Hector, who had been staring at me, twisted his lips and spoke.
“I’m truly sick of your shamelessness.”
“...”
“What gives you the right to show your face at the main house? Wasn’t tarnishing the family’s name at the first Blessing Ceremony enough for you?”
Sparks flew from Hector’s eyes.
He looked ready to tear me to shreds, and it was easy to guess why he was so angry.
All the Iron-Blooded Duke’s children craved his acknowledgment, but this guy Hector was particularly obsessed with it.
Hector was the kind of man who wouldn’t hesitate to turn ten, or even a hundred, people into corpses just to hear a single ‘Well done’ from the Family Head.
“The Family Head summoned me himself.”
“I heard about that. It was hard to believe.”
Hector sighed.
“It must have been the Council of Elders, those cunning old fools, spouting nonsense.”
“...”
“Father is a busy man. He can’t possibly keep track of every single family affair.”
Hector’s expression and voice were filled with an unconcealable reverence for the Iron-Blooded Duke.
But in the next instant, his expression changed as if he were putting on a mask, and he glared at me.
“The problem is you. To think you’d actually come crawling back just because Father called. Do you even have a brain? This is different from the first Blessing Ceremony. The imperial family and those damned Goodsprings weren’t present then. …This time, the Fourth Prince and a child of the Goodsprings will be here.”
“...”
“If you had even the slightest bit of sense, you would have stayed away.”
I looked at Hector’s face and said,
“So what.”
“So what?”
“You’re rambling. What do you want from me?”
I felt disgusting and grimy, and getting picked on for such a pathetic reason was just plain annoying.
“You would have thrown a fit if I hadn’t obeyed Father’s summons, so stop nagging.”
For a moment, Hector’s expression hardened terrifyingly, and he reached out for me.
I could see the movement clearly… but it would be difficult to dodge.
As I mentioned, the side effects of the White Sun Eclipse hadn’t completely disappeared.
‘Maybe I shouldn’t have run my mouth.’
It seemed better to take a hit and go wash up quickly than to stand here and listen to him drone on.
Smack!
But just before the fist landed, someone intervened.
Hector frowned and said,
“Who are you?”
It was Arjan.
She must have been waiting outside the auditorium and stepped in at the right moment.
“My apologies, but it seemed to have exceeded the bounds of a sibling quarrel.”
“Are you his butler?”
“...”
“Let go.”
Arjan obediently complied.
Smack!
Hector slapped Arjan across the face. Her monocle went flying.
Drip.
Did the inside of her mouth tear?
It wouldn’t be surprising, since he’d struck her with the back of his hand.
I watched the scene in silence.
Just now, Arjan could have dodged, but she deliberately took the hit.
It was a stark contrast to how she had blocked the attack aimed at me.
“...”
Strange.
Why does this feel worse than if I had been the one hit?
“I don’t know what the Council of Elders is thinking. Wasn’t the collection system created to deal with trash like this?”
“...”
“You’d better pray you receive at least one Blessing tomorrow. If you’re judged to have no Blessing again, I won’t let it slide.”
The moment Hector turned away with a smug look on his face,
I strode right up to him and smacked him on the back of the head.
Thwack!
“…!?”
Hector didn’t seem to fully register what had just happened.
With his skills, he should have easily sensed me approaching from behind.
So, what must have been unexpected for Hector was that I, having approached him, actually hit him on the back of the head.
“You son of a—.”
Staggering, Hector instantly regained his balance and turned to face me.
He must have been furious, because a fist loaded with emotion came flying at me.
No matter how fast it was, as long as I knew the timing of the attack, I could dodge it.
Especially a straightforward punch like this.
I easily dodged Hector’s fist and, this time, slapped him across the cheek.
Smack—!
“...”
Hector’s eyes went vacant.
It didn’t seem to be from the pain; he looked more like a scholar who had just witnessed a phenomenon beyond comprehension.
In other words, he was completely stunned.
I reversed the motion of my hand and backhanded Hector’s other cheek.
Thwack!
After taking two slaps to the face, Hector finally snapped out of it.
This time, he threw a punch without a word, having regained his composure. It was much sharper than before.
Whoosh—.
When I dodged that attack by a paper-thin margin, he gritted his teeth.
“You…”
Then, in a fit of rage, his hand went to the hilt of the sword at his waist.
‘Is he actually going to draw it?’
I have the Seven Sins Sword, but in its current state, it looks worse than a dull kitchen knife.
As I wondered how to respond…
“Stop—!”
A lion-like roar cut between us.