Chapter 597
Chapter Title: A Game of Chicken
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597.
The evening of the day Leo’s family visited the grand Jerdinger estate.
A celebratory party was held at the Jerdinger residence.
It was a little different from the typical aristocratic party, which involved inviting numerous nobles for entertainment.
This was a party where only families connected to the Jerdingers were invited.
Leo gazed at the guests in the banquet hall and muttered softly.
“Quite the grand affair.”
“Huh? What are you talking about? We can’t have a grand party when the country is in turmoil from a rebellion. This is pretty modest, all things considered.”
“Right. Sometimes I forget you’re the young lady of a truly great house.”
“You’re the young master of a great house too, you know? And what’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means your idea of ‘modest’ is very different from the norm.”
“Are you teasing me for being out of touch right now?”
Celia narrowed her eyes.
Just as Leo waved his hand dismissively at her…
“Young Master, Young Lady.”
Five boys and girls approached Leo.
Martina, followed by Austin, Valeri, Julan, and Carin.
They were first-year students from Lumerne’s Knight Department and Leo’s personal knights.
Seeing the five of them approach to greet him, Leo spoke.
“I heard you all successfully promoted to second year, right?”
“Yes, it’s all thanks to you, Young Master.”
Martina smiled brightly.
Leo let out a small laugh at her words.
“What did I do? If anything, Celia looked after you more than I did, since you’re Jerdinger knights.”
It was true.
As they were Jerdinger knights before they were her juniors in the Knight Department, it was Celia who had taken the most diligent care of the five as their senior at the academy.
“Lady Celia’s help was immense, too! Thank you!”
Carin stepped forward, her face lit with a wide smile as she expressed her gratitude, and Celia swept her hair back.
“There’s no need to thank me. I only did what was natural as a direct descendant of the Jerdinger family.”
Celia smiled sweetly.
“Before you are Leo’s knights, you are Jerdinger knights. Don’t forget that. You all worked your fingers to the bone for the honor of the Jerdinger name. Take pride in your accomplishments. The star of this party may be Leo, but it’s a party for you as well.”
At her words, Martina scratched her cheek and gave an awkward smile.
‘Actually, I just worked hard because I wanted to live.’
Celia had indeed looked after the five of them well.
But it was Leo who had pushed them to their absolute limits.
***
Late in the second semester, while preparations for the Festival of Heroes were in full swing.
Leo had summoned the five and spoken with a smile.
“You’re all working hard at your school life, I see. How are things these days?”
At his question, Valeri, Julan, and Carin answered with enthusiasm.
“We’ve been doing well, thanks to you, Young Master!”
“Lady Celia and Senior Niel have been taking good care of us too!”
“This might be our last chance, but we’re planning to do our best!”
Martina was a diligent, high-ranking student, and Austin’s grades were in the upper-middle range.
However, the other three, while not at the bottom, were in a precarious position regarding their promotion to the second year.
At Lumerne, even top-ranking students sometimes failed the promotion exams.
As such, Valeri, Julan, and Carin were focused on simply doing their best so they would have no regrets.
Leo smiled brightly at their words.
“Last chance?”
That smile sent a shiver down their spines.
“That’s strange. You haven’t even taken the exam yet, so why are you talking about it being your last chance?”
“W-Well… we’re just saying that because we might fail the promotion exam.”
“It’s not that we have a weak mentality or anything! We’re going to give it our all so we have no regrets! Right? Hahahaha!”
“Th-That’s right! Young Master! Some things are just impossible, even if you try your best, aren’t they?”
Watching the three of them hastily try to correct themselves, Leo spoke.
“The very thought that you might not succeed is a sign of a weak mentality. And isn't there a saying? If you can’t, make it happen.”
The faces of the three paled.
“If you fail to get promoted, you’ll be facing a training regimen that will make the one before last year’s entrance exam look like child’s play.”
“Hiiieeeek?!”
As the three let out terrified screams, Martina and Austin gave them looks of pity.
“All five of you.”
“Wait a minute! Young Master! Why us?”
“Are you saying we have to train too if these three fail to get promoted?”
As Martina and Austin asked frantically, Leo replied.
“Haven’t you heard of guilt by association? You’re all in the same knightly order, so isn’t it natural to share both the good times and the bad?”
At those words, Martina and Austin slammed their hands down on the other three’s shoulders. Thud—!
“Don’t even think about sleeping starting today.”
“It’s special training time.”
Leo smiled as he watched the duo’s grim expressions.
“It’s nice to see such camaraderie.”
‘You call this camaraderie?!’
The five of them screamed internally but didn’t dare say it out loud.
Recalling that incident, Martina, her expression still awkward, glanced over at Celia.
As she met Celia’s gaze, which was filled with pride for them, a sense of guilt began to creep into her mind for some reason.
“Lady Celia, Young Master Leo. And my adorable juniors!”
Just then, Niel approached them with a smile.
Seeing the Lumerne students gathered in one place, the eyes of the trainee and apprentice knights invited to the party filled with envy.
‘Ugh, I’m so jealous.’
‘I want to talk with Young Master Leo just once.’
‘It’s kind of intimidating to approach them when they’re all gathered like that.’
Among the young knights, Leo was already a legendary figure.
And the five who had become his knights last year were now objects of envy.
“Seeing the young knights who can be called the future of our family conversing brings a smile to my face.”
At that moment, an old knight approached them.
“Hello, Sir Ecgerson.”
Celia greeted Ecgerson.
Leo looked at Ecgerson and quietly asked Martina.
“Who is he?”
“That’s Sir Ecgerson Jerdinger. He’s an Elder Knight of the Council of Elders.”
Elder Knight.
A knight who had received the title of an elder.
He had red eyes, but the brown hairs peeking through his white hair indicated he was from a branch family.
‘So he’s the one who was shouting at me earlier.’
He was the elder who had berated Leo during his conversation with Legas.
“Is this the first time we’re greeting each other, Young Leo Flove?”
“I am Leo Flove.”
Leo shook the hand Ecgerson offered him and introduced himself.
“I should have been the first to greet the renowned Nameless Hero.”
As Ecgerson laughed heartily, Celia’s brow furrowed.
The Nameless Hero.
It was one of the countless epithets for Leo circulating among the public.
Leo was the only hero in the Hero Record without an official epithet.
As such, he was known by many different names.
All Master.
The One Who Inherited the Beginning.
And so on.
There were many epithets Leo disliked, finding them cheesy.
But among them was one meant to belittle him, and that was the ‘Nameless Hero’.
At Ecgerson’s words, the expressions of Niel and Martina’s group soured.
Putting aside their status as Jerdinger vassals, as students of Lumerne, they couldn’t help but feel respect for Leo.
The leadership he had shown as the student council president during the preparations for the Festival of Heroes was more than enough to make them admire him as a fellow hero.
Among the gathered talents of Lumerne, Leo was unequivocally recognized as their leader, regardless of seniority.
He was, in a very real sense, the pride of Lumerne’s students.
So, even if it was a family elder, it was hard to tolerate such deliberate mockery intended to diminish Leo.
As Celia saw this and was about to open her mouth…
“On the contrary, I should have greeted the Council of Elders first. My apologies for the delay.”
“Haha! So polite, too. I can’t believe you’re the son of that spitfire! I was so worried when she married some worthless man. But to think she’d have a son like you! It seems the Jerdinger bloodline truly is remarkable!”
‘Would you look at this guy? He just keeps crossing the line. What? You think you can do that because this is your home turf?’
Holding a grudge over Leo’s earlier attitude, Ecgerson continued to make unnecessary remarks.
‘He may have spouted whatever he wanted like a reckless fool before, but with so many eyes on him here, he won’t be able to speak so carelessly.’
He had already secured a powerful voice and influence within the family as an Elder Knight.
Leo, on the other hand, was still a stone that had just rolled in.
If someone else were to be caught speaking ill of him, someone already established in the family, it would be a grave offense. But that wasn't the case for Leo, who had no influence within the family yet.
‘Besides, when these young ones gain some fame, they become overly concerned with their reputation.’
Ecgerson sneered inwardly, taking his time to vent his frustration from earlier.
Unfortunately for him, Leo wasn’t the type to care about such things.
Leo broke into a bright smile, and Celia’s expression grew anxious.
‘What on earth is he planning to say with a smile like that?’
“I’m glad we could at least greet each other like this. It might have been our last chance, after all.”
“What? What do you mean…”
“How tragic would it have been to pass on to the next world without ever seeing the successor to the Great Hero, despite being born in the same era?”
For a moment, Ecgerson, who couldn’t understand what Leo was saying, looked puzzled, but then his face turned a blotchy red and purple.
Celia’s jaw dropped at the sight.
‘Even so, to treat an elder like an old man on his deathbed!’
Niel and Martina’s group also held their breath, watching the situation unfold.
“And it’s not the Jerdinger name that’s great.”
“Wh-What did you say?”
“I’m the one who’s great.”
Ecgerson’s mouth fell open.
Leo looked at him and said.
“What are you looking at? First time seeing someone great?”
Leo glanced at Ecgerson with a look of pity and muttered to himself.
‘Compared to Luna, I’m a saint.’
‘Huh? You lookin’ for a fight? Want me to send you back to nature with my own hands before you die a natural death?’
Luna wouldn’t have been so roundabout; she would have said it to his face.
“Hmph! You brat! Don’t you know how to respect your elders!”
“I know about attacking them, though.”
“Y-You! You arrogant brat! It seems a few minor achievements have made you blind to the world! You should know your place!”
Losing his temper, Ecgerson shouted, drawing the attention of everyone nearby to Leo.
Receiving their gazes, Leo spoke nonchalantly.
“If fighting alongside the Brave Hero to stop the second coming of Erebos is a minor achievement, then what exactly is a major one? Have you perhaps fought Erebos yourself to be saying such things?”
“Hnngh!”
Clearly realizing that continuing the conversation would only hurt him further, Ecgerson suppressed his anger and stormed out of the party.
As everyone began to murmur, Celia covered her face with her hands.
“You… even so. Now the Council of Elders is completely against you. They’ll do anything to put you at a disadvantage.”
“It would have been the same even if I had been polite, don’t you think?”
Leo let out a small laugh.
“What are you going to do tomorrow?”
“Mother told me to just trust her.”
“Aunt Reina did?”
At Leo’s words, Celia turned her head to look at Reina, who was smiling in their direction.
‘That just makes me more anxious.’
***
The next day.
Leo and Reina were summoned to the Elder’s Hall.
The reason for the summons was to decide on the territory Leo would inherit.
As the meeting began, Reina mentioned the land she was supposed to have inherited in the past.
“Do you think that makes any sense? Do you realize how long ago that was?”
Ecgerson said with a grimace.
“What has your son done for the Jerdinger family? He may have been acknowledged as a direct descendant, but his surname isn’t even Jerdinger, and he’s an insolent brat who spouts nonsense about being greater than the family itself. How can we possibly grant such a person the same treatment as the other direct descendants?”
“We can’t?”
“Of course not!”
As Ecgerson raised his voice, the other elders nodded in agreement.
Watching them, Reina wore a sullen expression.
Legas saw this and smiled uncomfortably.
‘What is she planning now?’
They hadn’t seen each other for a long time, but he knew his daughter well.
When Reina made that face, there was no telling what impulsive thing she might do.
Reina, her face full of dissatisfaction, stood up from her seat.
“Leo, get up.”
“Why?”
“Pack your things. Let’s go.”
At Reina’s sudden words, Leo stood up with a puzzled expression.
The elders were also flustered by her abrupt behavior.
“What is the meaning of this? Where are you going?”
“To the Llewellyns.”
At that, the Elder Knights of the Council gaped.
“Why would you go to the Llewellyns?!”
“I’ll go and ask them to accept him as a direct descendant. I’m sure they’d even make Leo a direct-line grandfather.”
“Wh-What did you say?!”
The completely unexpected bombshell threw the Council of Elders into chaos.
“Were you not once a proud knight of Jerdinger? And now you would betray the family and go to those magician riffraff!”
“I was already disowned by the Jerdinger family, wasn't I?”
“Is Leo Flove not a knight!”
“What do you mean Leo’s a knight? He’s an All-Class.”
Reina placed her hands on Leo’s shoulders and smiled brightly.
“The youngest student council president, a hero, and the All-Class successor to the Hero of the Beginning, Kyle. The Llewellyns would welcome him with open arms, don’t you think?”
“Do you think they would accept someone with Jerdinger blood flowing through their veins!?”
“Hmm? Is that so? Leo, dear. How about you marry Chelsea while we’re at it? It seems your mother’s family can’t do anything for you. But the Llewellyns would be different.”
Reina’s bombshell announcement sent the Council of Elders into an uproar.
Of all families, the Llewellyns were absolutely unacceptable.
Watching the chaotic scene, Leo asked Reina.
“Is this okay?”
“Son, do you know the basic principle of negotiation?”
“Threats.”
“Correct. And when you threaten someone, you should do it in the way they’ll hate the most.”
“What if it doesn’t work?”
Reina smiled brightly.
“From that point on, it’s a game of chicken.”
“That’s irresponsible.”
“I’m not the one getting married, am I?”
‘Now I see why they called her a witch.’
Leo let out a hollow laugh.