Chapter 24
Chapter 24
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: Relic of the Primordial Dragon (4)
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Theo reached for his waist.
Ready to draw his ceremonial sword if needed.
And the moment he flung open the front gate.
Pop-pop-pop—
“……Huh?”
Theo blinked in surprise at the fireworks exploding right in front of him.
“Young Master, congratulations!”
“We heard you got a title!”
“You’ve been through so much these past days. Truly, really, really too much.”
“Keep this momentum all the way to the Awakening Ceremony! Fighting!”
At that instant, the dark interior lit up brightly as the maids and butlers showered him with welcomes.
Clap-clap-clap-clap!
Confetti cards fluttered above their heads.
-Congrats! Theo gets a title! Woo!
“……What’s all this?”
Theo was dumbfounded.
“What else? It’s a celebration party for you finally getting a title.”
“That’s right, that’s right. You have no idea how much fun we’ve been having lately. Everyone’s in a frenzy over you. Why, even the maids from the Plum Palace were grilling me about you today, brimming with jealousy…… Oh ho ho ho!”
Theo suddenly wanted to crawl into a mouse hole.
It seemed this was all because of the rumor about crossing swords with the North’s Four Pillars…… How mortifying.
“And Mother……?”
He thought to make an excuse and slip away.
“Madam said that while you’re on a roll, she needs to make sure you get even one more thing to nourish you, so she’s summoned some of the most famous chefs from Winterer and is personally overseeing the tonics. You have no idea how chaotic the kitchen is right now? Oh ho ho ho!”
“…….”
It looked like he wouldn’t get off easy tonight.
* * *
“My son, try this grilled abalone. It’s from a rare catch in the Idria Sea, basted with butter sourced with great difficulty from the ranchers in the Frall Mountains, then slowly grilled to build up the heat……!”
“Mother, I’ve already had over twenty abalones…….”
“Oh, try this too. It’s a chicken raised on acorns alone in the western Rajiria Desert, slaughtered right at the perfect young age, then slow-cooked with ginseng airlifted from the far eastern nation of Jusen……!”
“I’ve had plenty of chicken too. I feel like a rooster crowing from my belly tomorrow…….”
“And this. Do you remember, my son? When you were about five, we went to the North Sea, and you said this cod was delicious, so I thought……!”
“…….”
Theo was on the verge of bursting from all the food Cecilia kept pushing on him.
He wanted to refuse, saying he was full,
……But with eyes like that, how could he utter such words?
Cecilia’s eyes sparkled with more life than ever, making it impossible to speak up.
Thanks to that, the table was piled high with empty bowls like a tower.
-He never used to eat much.
-I thought so too, but apparently not.
-He eats like that when the food suits his taste. Guess our cooking wasn’t good enough all this time?
-No good. I need to crack down on the kitchen staff from now on.
-Exactly. Our Young Master deserves only the best food!
The maids and butlers seemed to be getting fired up in a strange direction(?), but he had no time to worry about it.
‘Still…… it’s delicious.’
Theo smiled wryly as he chewed on a chicken leg.
It was the same during the tailoring ordeal, but apparently Cecilia had tasted everything herself, selected the ingredients, and directed the chefs.
He was seeing yet another new side to his mother.
‘She has far more talents than I ever knew.’
“Oh ho ho! You wouldn’t know, my son. You can’t imagine how joyful every single day has been for me lately.”
“I’m glad you’re enjoying life in the Camellia Palace.”
For a moment, Cecilia tilted her head.
“Hm? What do you mean?”
“Didn’t you always dislike the Third Wife?”
“Oh dear! I say every day is joyful, and it seems you’ve misunderstood me, my son.”
“……?”
“Of course, chasing out Emil and claiming this Camellia Palace is joyful too. That woman was always spreading malicious gossip about you and me wherever she went.”
Was that…… so?
“So how could I not be happy? The vile nickname you carried for so long—the one not even fit to utter—that Emil was the first to slap on you.”
Ragnar’s cripple.
It seemed she meant the label that had clung to him like a tail for years.
“In truth, you couldn’t have known, my son. I was the one who cracked down on the maids to keep the source hidden from you.”
Theo’s eyes widened.
He’d had no idea.
“Whether it’s the Rose Palace or the Camellia Palace, it doesn’t matter to this mother. Anywhere I can sit face-to-face with you like this and share a meal is enough.”
“…….”
“What makes me happy is that people are finally seeing your true worth.”
Once again, his heart tickled on one side, just like before.
“A bunch of blind fools, the lot of them. When you’re such a dignified, handsome young man. But at least they’re starting to see it now, so from here on, they’ll all watch their words and actions around you, won’t they? Oh ho ho!”
There was no pretense in Cecilia’s cheerful laughter.
‘Maybe…… I’ve misunderstood Mother all this time.’
He’d thought her desires were only for social status through her son, greed for power, and twisted affection from that……
It seemed there had been a misunderstanding.
One that could have been cleared up easily with an honest talk with his mother.
But.
A misunderstanding he’d never once resolved.
“And using you as an excuse, I’ve picked up sewing, cooking, and all those old hobbies again, and it brings back such fresh memories. It’s so much fun.”
Theo recalled Cecilia brimming with vitality and passion.
Despite possessing such remarkable zeal and talent.
When she married into the Family Head’s household,
While living as one child’s mother,
Under the contempt and pressure from those around her,
To protect her son from them somehow,
She’d had no choice but to let go of the dreams of her youth.
He wanted to keep seeing his mother’s vibrancy and smiles.
“Mother, why not pick up those old pursuits again……!”
“Oh, but how’s that sword working out? I saw you carrying it last time.”
Cecilia cut him off mid-sentence and glanced at the three ceremonial swords hanging by the table.
Theo couldn’t bring himself to continue.
Her eyes were saying it all.
Don’t say another word.
-Using you as an excuse, I’ve picked up sewing, cooking, and all those old hobbies……
Why did those words from moments ago linger in his mind?
“I worried you were just leaving them to gather dust on the wall, so I gifted you those out of concern.”
“Shall I show you?”
Theo decided to continue the conversation another time as he picked up one of the three.
Shing—
The blade slid free from its sheath.
Cecilia’s eyes widened slightly at the pure white blade.
“The edge is quite damaged.”
“Yes. Things happened.”
“And the others?”
Theo showed her the blades of the other two as well.
Cecilia furrowed her brow in displeasure and muttered.
“That damn old geezer……! He bragged up a storm that with snow white ore and ‘ebony wood,’ it’d never break.”
“Ebony wood? You mean the ebony wood that only grows in the southern Gaia jungle?”
Ebony wood was a freak plant that fed on iron.
Possessing iron’s properties, it boasted incredible hardness and ranked among the top materials for fine swords, alongside snow white ore.
And it was in these swords too?
“What other ebony wood is there? Oh, no good. I need to go confront him. At this rate, this mother’s heart will explode.”
“……!”
“Hand those swords over. I’ll have them properly reforged and brought back.”
“They’re fine as they are now.”
“What are you saying? For the Awakening Ceremony, surely you’re not planning to show up with swords in that state?”
Theo scratched his cheek with a finger.
“I knew it. Absolutely not! Remember what I said before—now that your reputation is just starting to spread, you must pay extra special attention to every action, every word, every appearance.”
Don’t give them the slightest fodder for gossip, Cecilia added.
“Every little judgment about you adds up to form your reputation. Don’t take it lightly. Understood?”
Theo nodded.
He understood her now.
Others might say substance matters more upon hearing this.
Of course, that had merit.
But substance was something you absolutely had to secure—while the packaging was equally vital.
After all, those who didn’t know Theo well would judge him first by his outward appearance.
And Theo’s gaze wasn’t merely on the ranks of the strong.
-Family Head.
The pinnacle of the Ragnars.
Then he needed to gradually build that reputation from now on.
His mother was right.
“So this mother will meddle in every action and appearance of yours at the Awakening Ceremony. You deserve to be the star there.”
Thud!
Cecilia slammed the table and shot to her feet.
“Rather than talk, let’s go now. That damn old coot—I’ll catch him today if it’s the last thing I do.”
“……Isn’t it 9 p.m. now?”
“Does time matter? We paid a fortune, and he handed over this shoddy junk—a swindler first and foremost.”
Watching Cecilia show rare irritation, he wondered.
Just who was this ‘damn old geezer’ she kept mentioning?
* * *
‘Come to think of it, I never really knew Mother’s connections either.’
As Theo reflected on his past negligence,
The carriage carrying mother and son left the Camellia Palace toward Winterer’s smithy district.
‘But is Rey still tailing us……? What’s she thinking?’
It meant she’d been outside the Camellia Palace alone in this cold for over three hours.
He couldn’t fathom why she kept skulking after him.
She didn’t seem like she’d interfere, so he’d left her be.
‘If she keeps it up, maybe I should grab her and talk.’
He was thinking that when—
“We’re here.”
The carriage stopped.
Theo’s eyes widened slightly.
“[Basque Workshop]? You know this place?”
Less a smithy and more a ‘factory,’ the building was enormous.
Even at this late hour, smoke billowed from the chimneys, and scorching heat wafted out to the street.
Theo knew it well.
How could he not?
Basque Workshop.
One of Winterer’s top three weapon forges.
Among the swordsmen sworn to the Ragnars, who hadn’t at least once wielded a blade from here?
“How would this mother know it without any backing? I just know one person here.”
“……?”
Who could she mean?
To handle snow white ore and ebony wood personally meant a master smith of ‘Artisan’ rank at least.
As Theo opened his mouth to ask—
“You filthy maggots! Are your ears clogged or what? Move it properly! Do you know how much all this costs……! Hey! Do that right! It’s all money, money!”
A hysterical voice rang out from inside.
“……Money?”
As Theo made a strange face, the workshop door burst open with a ‘bang!’
“Aaaagh! Do you know how I landed this job?! How am I supposed to meet the deadline like this?!”
Scratching wildly at unkempt silver hair—unclear how many days without a wash.
Dark circles under her eyes, white smoke endlessly puffing from the pipe clenched in her teeth.
But the hand gripping the pipe glittered with rings—two or three gems per finger.
Her neck and wrists dripped with gold necklaces and bracelets, dazzling to the eyes.
The very picture of a workaholic miser squeezing her underlings nonstop for days.
Yet she had snow-white skin and pointed ears.
Then, her irritated glare fixed on Theo.
“What’re you staring at? Never seen an elf smoke before?”
An elf beyond imagination.
‘This woman……!’
Theo realized who she was.
-Owner of Basque Workshop.
-An elf who loves nature yet got exiled from her tribe for obsessing over smithing.
-A mad elf who loves jewels, gold, and money more than anything.
-Yet her skills are the real deal: one of only three in the Ragnars with the ‘Master Craftsman’ title.
-Demon Craftsman Kirson!
A ‘special-grade’ figure in intelligence reports.
He’d never expected to meet such a heavyweight, and he hurried to respond,
When Cecilia stepped forward boldly.
“Still haven’t quit that damn smoking? Even an elf will wither away someday if you keep exposing yourself to this heat and smoking on top!”
Cecilia’s smooth brow creased.
“Mother!”