A Distorted Fate (2)
With trembling hands, Patriarch Baltar Brace removed his glasses and spoke softly to the knights.
"…Only those I call by name remain in the study. Kaitel, Gordon, Dramus. And—"
"……."
As those not named slipped out of the study, a thunderous crash echoed, splitting the sturdy ebony desk clean in two.
BAM!
"……!"
The knights lined up in the study froze, heads bowed, not even daring to breathe under the ferocious killing intent pouring from Baltar Brace, patriarch of the Brace Ducal Family.
"I ordered you to seal off the duchy ages ago! And you still haven't found him?"
"F-Forgive us! We've searched every inch of the mansion and even the outer perimeter, but it's like he vanished into thin air…."
"No excuses! What's the point of paying top coin for knights if you can't catch a single rat? If you don't find him in the next five minutes, your heads are—"
The outsiders fled the study as if pursued, leaving only the heavy roar echoing in the room. Baltar roughly rubbed his throbbing temples.
'Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng… I was going to forcibly patch up that worthless fool's shattered dantian with it somehow!'
His son's eyes had changed lately—unlike the old days when he'd buried himself in fat and stared only at the floor, Sian had met his gaze head-on, running laps in the garden until he vomited blood every day. That resolute gaze had convinced him, as a father, to give one last chance. He'd secretly prepared the spirit herb for it.
But to have it stolen so pointlessly!
'In the end… was that guy right?'
A heavy sigh escaped Baltar's lips. His old friend, who saw through the underbelly of this world, had foretold an ominous path.
—Abandon your delusion of reforming that wastrel born to be a scumbag.
—What do you mean? Abandon Sian?
—The Stars of Destiny point to it. Casting him out is the right path.
The past conversation with his friend haunted his ears painfully today.
'Even the heavens won't allow Sian to rise….'
Just as bitterness welled up—
"P-Patriarch!!"
A knight captain burst into the study without knocking, face drained of color, slamming the door open as if to break it.
"What is this commotion!"
"The spirit herb thief… just turned himself in!"
Fierce blue light blazed from Baltar's eyes.
"He steals my treasure and dares turn himself in? Let's see the face of the bastard with balls that big! Drag him in, make him kneel, and—"
"Th-That's…!"
The knight captain swallowed dryly, trembling like a leaf. His eyes shook wildly, as if he'd witnessed an unbelievable illusion.
"It's… Young Master Sian!!"
"…What?"
… … …
The Goddess of Fate detects an anomaly.
The Goddess of Destiny detects an anomaly.
I stood there blankly, staring in a daze.
The status window was pulling aggro from right in front of my eyes.
"Young master. Young master. Young Master Sian! Have you truly lost your mind?"
"……."
It hit me hard again that I was in the world of Ariel.
'But the goddesses of Fate and Destiny detecting an anomaly?'
As far as I remembered, this world's lore had two goddesses. The Goddess of Fate, who oversaw humanity's free-spirited will and pioneering spirit—a benevolent, friendly existence who looked positively on humans struggling proactively.
On the other hand, the Goddess of Destiny governed inescapable, massive chains of karma—a cold, deterministic being who believed everything followed fixed tracks, rendering any variables meaningless before the wave of causality.
These two absolute goddesses of opposing natures had both reacted to me at the same time?
'…This isn't something I can just brush off.'
In the original story, this pathetic extra—who should've been abandoned by the family and written out early—had repaired his dantian and rocketed to the 3-star realm in five minutes flat. I'd completely derailed the fixed track of destiny and forcibly pried open a new one, so it was no wonder both goddesses flinched….
"Young master! Are you smiling right now? This isn't the time to space out!"
Iris grabbed my shoulders urgently and shouted. Her gaze fixed on the knights charging toward us with torches beyond the shattered window.
"We need to get out—"
"Get out? Where to?"
I dismissed the lingering status window from my view and tossed the broken hilt of the wooden sword to the floor.
"I told you earlier."
I brushed past the flustered her and strode confidently toward the wide-open door.
"I'm going to see the patriarch myself, on my own two feet."
The corridor to the patriarch's study was frozen cold.
Iris followed leisurely behind me.
'Bringing her is perfect insurance.'
No matter that I was the wastrel son and thief—even the patriarch had to mind his manners before the empire's top VIP, a 10-star Swordmaster.
But contrary to my expectations—
"What nerve lets a worm like you show your face before me!"
Shrieeeek—Thunk!!
The moment I opened the door, a shortsword aimed at my throat flew past and embedded in the wall.
'…Whoa, my heart nearly dropped out.'
I'd dodged by twisting my neck, but it was close. Without repairing my dantian and reaching 3-star, I'd be in the afterlife.
"Dodged?"
Baltar Brace stood behind the desk, eyes blazing murderously as if he'd tear me apart any second.
"Not content with stealing the family's spirit herb, you trashed the Sword Fairy's quarters—honored by His Majesty's personal title?! I'll rip your limbs off right—"
"There's a misunderstanding, Patriarch."
I lifted my head calmly, even before his blazing fury.
"I didn't trade the spirit herb for booze like usual. I consumed it. All of this was for the family."
Crack.
A chilling sound of bones grinding came from Baltar's thick fist.
"Stealing and brazen on top."
Rumble—!
As his patience bottomed out, the air in the study crushed down heavily in an instant. An immense pressure choked my breath—the massive mana pressure from the Brace patriarch washed over me like waves.
'Ugh…!'
As expected from someone just shy of Swordmaster in the setting. Still, I didn't show it and inwardly sighed in relief instead. Immense presence, sure, but not as overwhelming as when I first met Iris.
'Plus.'
I'm 3-star now too. My body, reforged through dantian repair and complete marrow cleansing, had bones and muscles reassembled. This level of pressure was something I could endure just by biting my lip.
Step.
I faced the patriarch's lethal aura head-on and took a step toward him.
"……!"
Baltar's eyes shook faintly. By his calculations, a trash wastrel who couldn't even handle 1-star should've collapsed gasping on the floor from the aura alone.
I met his wavering gaze squarely and opened my mouth.
"Raise me as the Brace family's official heir."
"……What? Have you truly gone mad!"
He bellowed in disbelief.
"A cripple who can't control his own dantian as heir? You've lost it completely!"
"Whether I've lost it or not—you can check for yourself."
I declared boldly, without an inch of retreat.
"Allow a duel with Sara Brace right now."
"How could you beat Sara! Mockery has limits before forgiveness, and you've crossed them!"
Shing!
As Patriarch Baltar drew the greatsword from his back and lunged—
Clang—!
His greatsword was effortlessly blocked.
"……Sword Fairy. What is the meaning of this?"
Baltar's voice sank chillingly. He couldn't fathom why a national-power-level Swordmaster would shield the family's disgrace, a wastrel.
Iris smiled her usual languid smile, but her voice carried absolute pressure.
"Duke Brace, sheath your sword. He is my disciple."
"……Disciple?"
"Exactly as I said. I can't just stand by while you try to cut down my disciple before my eyes."
Baltar's eyes widened. His brown glare clashed deeply with Iris's gray one.
He seemed to probe if it was a joke or whim, but once he confirmed her sincerity, genuine bewilderment hit him.
"You're unfit as patriarch."
Iris shot coldly.
"How can a father fail to recognize his own son's true worth? I knew the moment I saw Young Master Sian. This child will surpass me one day."
"What do you… That boy is a cripple with a shattered dantian…."
Baltar muttered at her outrageous praise flowing from her lips. She was hyping me up excessively for an endorsement, but I seized the gap, prying their swords apart.
"Patriarch… no, Father! If you can't trust even the Sword Fairy's judgment, just give me a chance to prove it!"
"……."
"Put me against Sara Brace in a duel. I'll prove it without fail."
A heavy silence blanketed the study. As I pressed strongly with my resolute voice, Baltar stared at me with wavering eyes.
Before long, the grave crime of stealing from the relic vault had naturally faded to the background.