Chapter 104
Chapter 104
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 104
Chapter Title: The Sixth Candidate (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
‘These bastards dare!’
Flames seemed ready to burst from Niel’s eyes at any moment.
Today, she had hoped for just two things.
Her daughter Ray’s Awakening Ceremony to end safely, along with birthday celebrations.
And nothing more than gauging Theo’s potential.
Yet these utterly unforeseen pests were trying to ruin the festivities.
“My apologies to the Su-seon Palace Lord. But this is something we cannot simply overlook. So please wait until we punish the White Dragon Knights’ Captain…… Argh!”
One of the elders spoke curtly to Niel mid-sentence when his right arm suddenly flew into the air.
The other elders’ faces hardened rigidly.
“What is the meaning of this, Su-seon Palace Lord!”
“Are you siding with the White Dragon Knights’ Captain to threaten our Elder Council……!”
“Shut up!”
But the backlash didn’t last long.
Rumble!
Niel’s thunderous shout shook the entire Su-seon Palace and banquet hall.
Shhh—
A massive dragon materialized around her, taking form, as frost began to settle in all directions.
The temperature dropped so low that frost formed on skin and breath fogged the air.
“Keep flapping those jaws, and I’ll cut off every last head, elder or not.”
“……!”
“……!”
“……!”
The elders flinched back.
She was holding back now to tend to her ailing daughter.
But in her youth, she had been a fiery force who turned the Ragnar family upside down more than once.
Niel’s gaze turned to Julius as well.
“White Dragon Knights’ Captain…… No. You’re pissing me off, so I’ll just call you by name. Julius, same goes for you. If you pull any more pointless crap, know that I’ll settle things with you for life or death. Got it?”
Julius met Niel’s eyes with an indifferent stare, offering no reply.
“If you’re gonna get drunk and cause a scene, do it outside. What is this place for drunken rants? Have you no sense of propriety?”
Niel’s cold gaze alternated between Julius and the elders.
“Grab your swords and get out. Now. I’m this close to chopping off every one of your necks.”
By now, Su-seon Palace swordsmen had gathered around them, blades drawn.
All were Niel’s personally trained elites.
They eyed their foes without regard for status, poised to charge at her command.
But,
“No thanks?”
Julius replied with the same impassive face.
One of Niel’s eyebrows twitched upward.
“What?”
“You called me by name, so I’ll drop the formalities like back in the day. Sorry, Niel, but I can’t leave this spot. Gotta rip off those old fogeys’ arms one by one.”
“White Dragon Knights’ Captain!”
“You insolent……!”
Regardless of the elders’ faces twisting in rage, Julius kept the sneer on his lips.
“And even without me, they don’t look like they’ll back down easy either?”
“Well said.”
At that moment, Wolfgang stepped forward, his face contorted after finishing his bleeding.
“Yeah. I can’t just let this slide. You dare…… make me like this and think you can walk away……!”
He had lost his right arm.
The right arm vital to any swordsman.
In nearly a century of life, he had never suffered such humiliation.
Wolfgang was ready to duel Julius to the death right there.
‘If this ends like this, my political career is finished. After all I endured to get here! That can’t happen……!’
He was already under suspicion from the Ed incident, teetering on the edge of purge.
But if he played this right, he could solidify his position.
‘Frame it as the Demon Dragon persecuting innocent elders…… Unite the council and crush him, and the Black Dragon won’t be able to pressure me politically anymore.’
Kyle, Black Dragon, Julius, Plum Palace Lord.
Creating even a sliver of division among those four who held the family’s power.
And it didn’t seem impossible.
Julius was skilled, true.
But without the White Dragon Knights here, the elders outnumbered them overwhelmingly.
He could even pull Niel to his side if needed.
That was why Wolfgang had stepped up after his calculations.
‘He’s smirking?’
But Julius was grinning even wider at him.
As if he’d seen it coming.
A chill of unease ran down his spine, but he ignored it.
“Fine. Let’s take it to the end, then?”
Shhh—
Meanwhile, Niel, feeling dismissed, began whipping up a blizzard.
“Alright. Let’s do it. Rip those jaws off, and no one else will ruin my daughter’s birthday feast.”
Niel raised her sword high.
The blizzard compressed toward it rapidly, forming a massive beam of light.
The moment she swung it down,
「Before you unleash your wrath, could you hear me out?」
She froze.
A telepathic voice pierced her ear.
A familiar one.
Niel’s gaze shifted that way.
Theo was walking over with Torkel and Navan.
-Theo Ragnar?
-Why’d the Su-seon Palace Lord stop her attack all of a sudden?
-Did Theo Ragnar say something……?
-And why’s he with the Black Iron Knights’ Captain?
-The last one’s that bastard son of Bacchus, right? The new Family Head candidate?
As the mismatched trio drew murmurs from the crowd,
「This isn’t as a White Dragon Knight. It’s from Ray’s sibling and friend, who doesn’t want this birthday feast ruined.」
Niel’s heart wavered slightly at Theo’s words.
Her daughter’s friend.
A word she’d thought impossible to hear in her lifetime moved her.
“……Fine. Speak. But if you’re wasting my time with nonsense, I won’t forgive you.”
“Thank you.”
Theo gave a slight nod to Julius and Evelyn, signaling it was fine now that their killing intent had eased, then spoke again.
He ignored Wolfgang’s glare.
“Why not turn this conflict into entertainment to liven up the feast?”
“Entertainment?”
Niel furrowed her brow, unable to guess his intent.
The crowd tilted their heads too.
Theo’s smile deepened.
“In ancient northern traditions, banquets often ended with strength contests where participants showed off their skills. Ragnar traditions include plenty of that too.”
The harsh northern environment had long fostered a deep admiration for the strong.
It had taken root in the Ragnars as well, blooming brilliantly under the law of the strongest.
Niel finally grasped his meaning.
“End this conflict as entertainment?”
“Yes. Have the White Dragon Knights and Elder Council each pick three—or five—for a matchup. Decide the victor that way.”
“The prize goes to the winners, whatever they want. Winner takes all.”
“That’s the Ragnar way.”
Pfft!
Niel let out a light chuckle.
It looked like hiding one hand with the other.
But no better way existed to preserve her and her daughter’s dignity while mending the rift between those two hated factions.
‘So that’s why Ray fell for him head over heels.’
Just then, Ray waved at Theo from the second-floor terrace, out of place in the tension.
Theo greeted her casually.
Despite all the eyes on him.
‘He takes after someone.’
From her youth.
“I still don’t love the birthday cheers getting overshadowed, but it’s the best option now.”
Niel pushed aside the brief sentiment, growling at Julius and Wolfgang with fierce eyes once more.
“This is as far as I’ll bend. Hate it? Speak now. I’ll shove my sword down your throats.”
Julius shrugged.
“No reason to refuse. It’s my boy’s proposal.”
“We accept too.”
Wolfgang and the elders looked displeased at the board tilting their way but nodded as if resigned.
Niel sheathed her sword with a click and shouted.
Clang!
“Good. The entertainment starts in thirty minutes, right here. White Dragon Knights and Elder Council, select three swordsmen each by then.”
* * *
‘Phew! It worked.’
Theo finally exhaled in relief.
It had nearly sparked a massive conflict.
Meanwhile, Navan and Torkel, who’d watched him closely, burst into admiration.
‘Like last time, his silver tongue is incredible. Sharper than any blade.’
‘Navan calling him lord wasn’t a joke.’
Torkel readjusted his assessment of Theo in real time.
As dangerous.
Guts, eloquence, talent—all there.
What would this kid become if he kept growing?
“Theo!”
Then, something leaped from the Su-seon Palace’s second-floor terrace and rushed over.
“Ray. Long time.”
“Any injuries?”
Ray clung to Theo, inspecting him thoroughly.
“I’m fine. Not hurt.”
“I hate Mom.”
“Why?”
“She yelled at you.”
“The Su-seon Palace Lord was just doing what she had to. Protecting you, even.”
“Still too much.”
Theo chuckled lightly at Ray’s pout.
She had a pretty normal mother-daughter dynamic too.
“Ray, it’s been ages. I heard you finished your seclusion training well, but seeing you after so long makes me happy?”
Torkel waved cheerfully mid-conversation, but Ray floated a question mark over her head at him before turning back to Theo.
“What now? The Elder Council Leader’s scary.”
Torkel, neatly ignored(?), looked dumbfounded, while Navan snickered beside him.
“Even the great Torkel gets snubbed.”
“……Ha, haha. Our Ray’s just shy.”
“Really? She seems a bit quirky but not introverted.”
“Hahaha. I’m her big brother, so I wouldn’t know. Whoa! Time’s up already. Meeting Eitan. Great seeing you, Navan. Drinks next time.”
Navan waved lightly at the departing Torkel.
Everyone had their tough opponents.
Meanwhile.
Julius and Evelyn, Cecilia and Wellington, the Erika siblings approached Theo and Ray.
Evelyn still looked uneasy, blaming herself for escalating things.
“Captain, Theo. You didn’t have to blow it up this much……!”
“This isn’t just you and that old coot. It’s me and the White Dragon Knights. If they weren’t looking down on us, would they pull this crap again?”
“I agree with the Captain. You’re innocent, Adjutant. This is our fight together.”
Julius’s gaze turned to Theo.
His lips smiled, but his eyes sank deep.
“Proposing a duel means you’ve got a plan. Right?”
“Yes. First goal: keep them from overwhelming us with numbers.”
“Why? Think I’d lose outnumbered?”
“Of course not. I just didn’t want to see blood at my friend’s birthday celebration.”
Julius burst out laughing again.
He phrased it with perfect consideration, without bruising pride.
Truth was, Julius knew well.
Clashing head-on with the Elder Council would be brutal for him too.
Win or lose, the political backlash afterward would be fiercer.
Theo had averted it all with a few words.
‘Poor subordinate suffering for a lousy captain.’
Theo had his thanks inwardly, but he was curious too—how the kid would turn this around, or even twist it to his advantage.
Theo always turned crises into opportunities.
“So, how’re you pairing them?”
“They’ll save the Elder Council Leader for last, no doubt. To reclaim his fallen honor.”
“Honor? Does he have any?”
“He’ll make some if there isn’t.”
“Fair. I’ll take that one then. The first two?”
“I’ll handle them.”
An unexpected statement.
Julius’s eyes widened involuntarily.
Theo nodded calmly.
“Both of the first two.”