Chapter 595
Chapter Title: A Jerdinger Welcome
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595.
Leo rested his chin on his hand, gazing at the scenery outside the carriage.
Unlike the perpetually frigid northern continent and the sweltering southern continent, which was mostly desert, the western continent had relatively distinct seasons.
“It's been a while since we've gone on a family trip like this.”
Reina, sitting across from Leo, smiled brightly as she looked out the window.
“Are you okay?”
“With what?”
“You didn't really want to come to the Jerdinger estate, did you?”
“I suppose I didn't.”
Reina leaned her head against the window, watching the scenery pass by.
A landscape she had seen since childhood filled her red eyes.
In the distance, the massive walls of the Jerdinger estate came into view.
The Jerdinger family, a renowned line of heroes.
There was a time when she, too, had carried that name.
*‘Those were brilliant times.’*
She remembered when she was a hero cadet, watched by the entire world.
The beautiful knightess of the Jerdinger family.
She had never lost her place at the top of her class and graduated from Lumerne as the valedictorian.
Even after graduation, she had achieved countless merits, and everyone expected her name to be added to the Hero Record in short order.
But Reina never became a hero.
During a hero dungeon raid, she had thrown herself in front of a friend on the verge of death, sacrificing herself.
Although she managed to return with her life barely intact, Reina lost her Aura and could no longer fight.
She could have remained with the family even after retiring.
Even if she couldn't fight, the name Jerdinger would not disappear.
But Reina left the family to live the life she wanted for herself.
“It's not like I didn't want to come to the Jerdinger estate because of lingering feelings about the past.”
Reina smiled gently.
“I'm much happier now than I was back then.”
She didn't regret sacrificing herself for her friend.
Nor did she regret abandoning her family name.
“I married the man I love.”
Reina leaned her head on the shoulder of Dade, sitting beside her, and linked her arm with his.
“And I gave birth to such a wonderful son.”
“You two are still so lovey-dovey.”
“Of course. Your father and I will live happily like this forever. Right, Dade?”
“Of course, Reina.”
Leo let out a dry laugh watching his parents, still so clearly in love.
*‘Those two will be like that forever.’*
Just as Leo shook his head.
“The reason I didn't want to come to the main house was because of the Elder Council.”
Reina clicked her tongue.
“I'm sure they'll still be spouting annoying nonsense about the past. Ugh. It's so tiresome.”
*‘Come to think of it, the Elder Council tried to arrange a political marriage between Mother and the current emperor of Lodren, didn't they?’*
The Elder Council was a group that cared only for the prosperity of the Jerdinger family, so they wanted to use Reina as a tool for a political marriage.
Even though she had lost her Aura, as a direct descendant of the Jerdinger family and a renowned knight, Reina could have easily become the empress if she had wanted to.
“To me, Dade is a much better husband than any emperor!”
“That's embarrassing.”
Dade laughed awkwardly.
“Anyway, now you, Leo, have gained a great reputation, haven't you?”
Reina smiled brightly.
“I figured they wouldn't dare spout such nonsense anymore, so I came right away. No, in fact, I can even tell the Elder Council, 'What would have happened if I had married the emperor back then?'”
The birth of an unprecedented hero.
The successor to the Great Hero who saved the world, acknowledged by the gods.
Of course, he wasn't the successor but the hero himself, though Reina couldn't have known that.
“Hahaha. Just thinking about the sour looks on those old geezers' faces is so delightful! Ohohohohoho!”
Shaking his head at her witch-like laughter, Leo looked out the window.
*‘A married couple.’*
Setting aside the fact that they were his parents in this life.
Leo was grateful to Dade and Reina.
To Leo, who had been an orphan in his past life and didn't know the warmth of parents, it was Dade and Reina who taught him a parent's love and the joy of an ordinary life.
*‘The lives of these two... taught me just how much value our deeds held.’*
Leo watched them with a faint smile.
Seeing this, Reina let out a deep sigh.
*‘My son is making that old man face again.’*
She knew that her son sometimes looked at her with eyes of unfathomable depth.
*‘That's why it's no fun to tease him.’*
Her moniker, the Witch of Flames, wasn't just because she wreathed herself in fire and burned enemies on the battlefield.
It was a nickname she earned for occasionally being mischievous to those around her.
*‘My son never gets flustered, so there's no cute charm to him.’*
Grumbling, Reina suddenly thought of something and smiled mischievously.
“By the way, Leo.”
“Yes.”
“Have you found a girlfriend yet?”
As a boy in the throes of puberty, he was at an age to be very interested in the opposite sex.
Besides, Lumerne was full of beautiful girls.
*‘My son must have at least one girl he likes, right?’*
“I have plenty of girl friends.”
“What?”
Reina stared blankly at Leo's answer.
“Are you seeing this girl and that girl? I didn't raise you to be like that!”
“I said I have many friends who are girls. What were you thinking?”
“This little brat is playing with his mother.”
Reina covered her face with her hands.
“You have so many pretty friends, aren't you dating? Studying and training are fine, but school days are for romance. There's Chelsea from the Llewellyn family, and from what I saw during summer break, that girl Chen Xia and the one named Chloe were pretty too, weren't they?”
Reina recalled Leo's friends.
“Weren't Ellen and Verga's daughters named Lunia and Ar? And there's that Eiran girl from the Ersar family, too.”
One by one.
Reina tilted her head as she counted the female students she could remember.
“I think any of them would make the best daughter-in-law. I want to see my grandchildren soon, so I won't even scold you if you jump the gun.”
“Are you telling me to make a move on them?”
“You're a kid too, you know.”
Reina looked dumbfounded.
Watching her, Leo narrowed his eyes.
“Ugh. How can you not even bat an eye? You have no charm.”
“Mother, how old are you, exactly?”
“Forever seventeen at heart.”
“You know that's unbecoming, right?”
“Is this the cheeky mouth that speaks so carelessly to its mother?”
Reina pinched one of Leo's cheeks with a beaming smile, but veins were popping on her forehead.
While he was spending some quality time with his family after so long.
The carriage carrying the Flove family had arrived at the main gate of the Jerdinger castle.
***
When the carriage door opened, the first thing they saw were the knights of Jerdinger, lined up on both sides, leaving a path down the middle.
Seeing this, Leo narrowed his eyes.
Although she had abandoned the family name, this was a visit from Reina, who was once a direct descendant.
As such, it wasn't strange for many people to come out to greet her as a show of respect.
However...
*‘I don't see a single person of Jerdinger blood.’*
Black hair and red eyes.
There was no one who appeared to be of Jerdinger lineage.
Moreover, every single one of the lined-up knights was exuding a sharp, hostile presence.
It was clearly not a welcoming atmosphere.
If Leo had come alone, it wouldn't have been a problem.
But Dade and Reina, who were with him now, were essentially civilians.
Reina, having trained consistently as a knight, might have been able to withstand the sharp pressure even without her Aura, but Dade could not.
They wouldn't cause him harm, but his face would surely turn pale.
*‘Mother was cast out of the family for marrying Father.’*
He hadn't expected them to welcome her with open arms, but he hadn't thought they would be this blatant.
It was the same for Leo.
It was only because Lis and Celia, the next heads of the family, treated Leo exceptionally well, and because Leo's own reputation was so high, that they hadn't expressed their discontent.
*‘From the beginning, there were those within the Jerdinger family who looked down on me for suddenly acquiring the title of a direct descendant.’*
Reina had said she would give the Elder Council a piece of her mind, but...
...she had likely come along out of concern that her young son, despite becoming a hero and achieving great things, would not be treated fairly.
In any case, the Jerdinger family was a renowned line of heroes with a long history.
The tangled web of interests within the family was just as complex.
Had he simply trusted them to act appropriately, the outcome would have been uncertain.
Normally, he wouldn't have batted an eye at something like this.
But when the targets were Dade and Reina, it was a different story.
*Tak—*
Leo stepped out of the carriage.
The knights' gazes focused on Leo.
*Step—!*
“Keuk?!”
“Gah?”
The moment Leo took a step.
An immense pressure washed over the knights.
*‘I welcome this childish power struggle.’*
The sharp, hostile presence was instantly pushed back.
The knights' faces turned deathly pale.
Some of them even staggered.
Dade, who got out of the carriage after Leo, wore a puzzled expression for a moment as he saw the scene.
Reina, taking Dade's hand as she disembarked, assessed the situation and narrowed her eyes.
“The knights who came to greet us... they're the Elder Council's knights.”
Reina clicked her tongue softly as she looked at the crest embroidered on the knights' shoulders.
Then she looked at Leo.
“Father, Mother. Let's go.”
Dade nodded at Leo's words.
*Thud—! Thud—!*
As Leo passed, knights who couldn't withstand the pressure began to fall to their knees one after another.
Seeing this, Dade's expression hardened slightly.
He didn't know the full situation, but he understood that an invisible battle had just taken place between Leo and the knights.
*Step—*
Soon, the three members of the Flove family stood before the mansion.
A moment later.
*Creeak—*
The massive mansion doors opened, and a sturdily built old man walked out, accompanied by what appeared to be elders.
Recognizing the old man's face, Reina muttered.
“Father.”
Hearing this, Dade's expression grew tense.
Leo looked at his maternal grandfather with impassive eyes.
The former head of the Jerdinger family.
Legas Jerdinger spoke.
“It seems you were not pleased with the Elder Council's welcome.”
Legas's gaze flickered over Dade and Reina before finally settling on Leo.
“Judging by how you ran wild. Leo Jerdinger.”
At those words, Reina's eye twitched, and Dade narrowed his eyes.
Calling Leo by the surname Jerdinger.
It was tantamount to denying Leo's paternal family.
Although he had been recognized as a direct descendant, Leo's surname had not changed.
Leo smiled faintly at Legas's words.
“The welcome was a mess.”
“How dare you speak so recklessly to the family elders!”
One of the elders behind Legas flared up.
Leo completely ignored him and continued.
“And I didn't run wild. The Elder Council's knights are just weak.”
“You little brat!”
“And most importantly.”
Leo shrugged.
“My name is Leo Flove, isn't it? Former Head Legas Jerdinger.”
The old hero known as the Heart of Flame.
Legas stared intently into Leo's red eyes, which met his own without wavering, before the corners of his mouth curled up.
“Indeed.”
Legas stroked his beard.
“It seems you've given birth to a monster, Reina.”
“Calling your grandson a monster is a bit harsh, isn't it, Father? And what kind of grandfather tests his grandson the first time he meets him?”
As Reina grumbled, Legas burst into hearty laughter.
“I simply wanted to see for myself. To see what kind of person this much-talked-about Leo Flove is! You are truly remarkable!”
Legas, who had been laughing with delight, grinned broadly.
“Welcome to the Jerdinger estate.”