episode_0278

Episode 278: Time of Confrontation (2)

Meanwhile, the meeting hall of the Arden family was busy with cleanup.

“They say there’s a shortage of people in the Province area!”

“We sent 300 people there for support!”

“That’s… what they’re saying. During the recovery work, hidden black magic exploded, causing a landslide…”

“Ugh, those damn black magicians! They’re a pain in the ass until the end!”

Rank-and-file soldiers and knights were busy conveying news from various locations to the meeting hall where the superiors were gathered, and the people in the meeting hall were on the verge of a mental breakdown trying to handle it.

There was no other way. It had only been two days since the end of the war with the black magicians. In these very early stages of recovery, it was bound to be busy.

Of course, this city, the center of Arden, had not yet fully recovered from the damage. The plains outside the castle still bore traces of destruction from the battle with the Black Dragon, and the damage caused by the evacuation had not even been touched yet.

Still, they had to hear the news of the damage from all over the territory and respond. Because it was still winter. It was true that the Arden territory was relatively warm even in winter compared to other regions, but the damage from the war was so severe that recovery was needed to at least get through the winter.

Because of that, the meeting hall had no time to rest. Hundreds of people went in and out of the meeting hall, and more than half of them crossed the threshold hundreds of times.

The meeting, which started yesterday, was still not over, and hundreds of people were still coming and going. Among them, more than half were repeating the process.

“Haa…”

“We have to win. I don’t know when I’ll be able to sleep…”

Naturally, the superiors in the meeting hall couldn’t rest as much as the soldiers and knights were running around. It went without saying that the meeting, which started yesterday, was still going on until now.

10 minutes? No, not even 5 minutes of shut-eye. It was fortunate if they could even grab a bite to eat. Some knights still had half of the bread they were given yesterday left.

The only hopeful news was that all the black magicians were dead. The hole that the Black Dragon had broken through. When they investigated below, tens of thousands of black magicians were all dead. Judging by the traces, the conclusion was that it was the result of the dragon rampaging.

That fact alone put Arden in a festive mood. For whatever reason, the source of the trouble that had been tormenting Arden had disappeared. Of course, not all the black magicians on the continent were dead, but for the time being, black magicians would not be able to operate in the Arden territory.

Well, the task of filling the hole where the Black Dragon came out remained, but for now, they decided to focus on the work in front of them.

“The Magic Tower’s response was positive. They said they would mobilize all the magicians belonging to the Magic Tower to help. However, the amount presented by the Magic Tower is…”

The knight scratched his cheek and said. Damage recovery from the war was not possible with Arden’s power alone. To be precise, it wasn’t impossible, but it was difficult to solve in a short period of time. So they asked for help in various places, and one of them was the Magic Tower.

“Hmm.”

Decal pondered for a moment, then gave an order.

“Tell them to start immediately, no matter how much money it costs.”

Arden was not a family without money. The wealth accumulated over hundreds of years was enough to easily buy a country. Of course, the amount the Magic Tower mentioned was almost 100 years’ worth of transactions, but it was an amount that could be easily afforded.

Besides, that much money could be made up for by cleaning up the traces of those black magician bastards. These black magicians were quite a large group, so there would be many things that the Magic Tower would be interested in.

“Lord! A message has just arrived from the Imperial Palace!”

“What did His Majesty the Emperor say?”

“He said he would send support as soon as preparations are complete! So with the people who will arrive soon…”

A positive answer came from the Imperial Palace as well. Decal nodded. With this, the urgent fire was somehow extinguished.

But the two biggest issues remained.

One of them was….

“I don’t know when we should hold the succession ceremony again…”

“It seems difficult for at least half a year…”

This war was an incident that occurred during the succession ceremony. So they had to hold the succession ceremony for Vale Arden again. Of course, since it was stopped in the middle, everyone already knew that Arden’s second son was the next head of the family, but still, this was Arden. A proper ending was needed.

However, in the current state, the succession ceremony could not be held for the time being. As someone said, at least half a year. It would be possible in the summer or fall. Maybe it would be postponed until winter. If you have money, you can solve most things, but there were also things you couldn’t do. The condition of the territory was that serious.

“Postpone the succession ceremony to next year. Let’s focus on recovery now.”

“Yes!”

“Understood, Lord!”

Decal made that decision. It was true that the succession ceremony was important as a family, but it was not comparable to the territory. Vale was still young, so it could be postponed a little.

“Then, finally…”

A knight started to speak, but couldn’t say more. No, the others just coughed or turned their heads, trying to avoid eye contact. It was because they knew what he was going to say.

“Then, Lord. Kyle…”

Bang!

At that time, the door of the meeting hall opened with a loud noise. A knight rushed to the center of the meeting hall with an urgent look. The knight gasped and shouted.

“Lord! Young Master Kyle has woken up!”

“Hoo, he woke up already…”

“I heard his condition wasn’t good. As expected…”

A clearly different reaction from before. Before, they looked at him suspiciously, but now they were definitely showing a little bit of interest.

There was no other way. They saw it that day. A ray of light descending from the sky to the ground.

That was a power that couldn’t help but steal your gaze. The ultimate beauty of the sword contained within it was something that any knight could not help but be fascinated by, and they could not help but have respect as a knight.

The sword that Kyle showed that day was that kind of power.

Moreover, the appearance he showed that day was reminiscent of someone. None other than Decal Arden. It reminded them of the master of Arden, the man they served.

Therefore, it was perhaps a natural consequence that the attitude towards Kyle was changing.

“Is Kyle… alright?”

“Yes! He says he’s fine except for feeling stiff! The Saintess has personally confirmed it!”

The knight replied in a bright voice.

“That’s a relief, Lord.”

“If his condition gets better…”

The others were the same as the knight who delivered the news. Not openly, but they were smiling slightly.

“I see….”

But Decal was not. He looked out the window with the same unchanging expression as always. His face was full of worries.

Immediately after, a reverberation was heard inside the meeting hall.

Step, step. Would it be similar to walking in shoes in a cave? The sound coming from somewhere was piercing into the ears.

The knights in the meeting hall looked around. The sound kept coming, but they couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. And soon the curiosity was resolved.

“W-what brings you here…”

“I heard you were still sick. You should rest a little more…”

Kyle’s appearance made them flustered. Even though their feelings towards him had changed a lot, facing him directly was a different story.

Soon, Kyle stood in the center of the meeting hall. With a black sword hanging from his waist.

“…What brings you here.”

Silence flowed through the meeting hall. Decal opened his mouth first. Then, Kyle looked around at those sitting in the chairs, and finally looked at Decal.

“I came because I have something to say.”

Those words made Decal uneasy for some reason. But on the other hand, he was preparing for it, so he said briefly.

“Say it… Kyle.”

The moment Decal finished speaking, Kyle released his energy. The massive mana emanating from his dantian covered the meeting hall and oppressed everyone present.

“Kuh, kuek-!”

“W-what suddenly…!”

Pain that felt like crushing the brain and exploding the heart. As masters, they couldn’t resist at all and slammed their heads on the table.

“…….”

It was the same for Decal. No, at least he was better than them. Because he wasn’t slamming his head. But the stronger the resistance, the stronger the pain, and in the end, he vomited blood.

Everyone was subdued. In that situation, Kyle’s voice dug into their ears.

“There’s only one thing I want. Abandoning the name of Arden.”

“Kyle-nim, what do you mean…!”

Kwaang!

A ray of light was fired at the knight who opened his mouth. The knight didn’t die, but his surroundings were filled with sword marks.

“Shut up. I’m talking right now.”

Gulp, the sound of swallowing could be heard everywhere. There was no one here who couldn’t feel the anger contained within Kyle right now.

Kyle continued.

“Announce it to the world within a week. That Kyle Arden was kicked out of the family. If you don’t…”

Kyle stopped talking and drew his sword from top to bottom.

──────!!

A ray of sword that didn’t even make a sound. It was the power that the knights had seen that day. The swordsmanship of Arden that they were fascinated by at once. And the result of unfolding it inside the mansion was definitely not ordinary.

Kwagwagwagwang!!!

Traces engraved along the path. It was as if it was engraved on the world itself, starting with Kyle and continuing in front of Decal, it stopped.

And, Kyle said.

“It won’t end with this next time. If you don’t want the family to perish, keep my words in mind. It’s a week.”

Kyle sheathed his sword. And he went back the way he came, muttering.

“You know what? You guys are a really disgusting group.”

That was the end of the words. Finally, when Kyle left the meeting hall, the oppressive energy was released. The knights finally took a breath that had been building up to their chins.

“W-what the hell is this…”

“Why is he suddenly like this…”

An unbelievable sight. The knights who were facing death in front of their eyes still couldn’t grasp the situation.

In that, only Decal said quietly.

“Is that… your choice….”

***

I finished working and was resting in my room. It was around evening when my father called me.

I was wondering whether to go meet him or not, but I eventually headed to my father’s office. I thought I would see him one last time since he was someone I wouldn’t see anymore anyway.

Of course, I was also curious. Why he called me even after seeing what I had done a few hours ago.

That’s how I arrived at the office. The servant who guided me looked at me with fearful eyes. Yeah, this is it. I opened the door roughly and faced my father.

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

“…….”

There were no words. So I didn’t say anything either. But as that was repeated for dozens of minutes, I slowly became annoyed. My hatred for him was still unchanged.

I turned my body. And the moment I tried to kick the door and leave.

“You are, proud of….”

It was even before he finished speaking. I felt the rising anger and kicked the ground. My body reached in front of him in an instant, and I pulled out the pen on the desk and pointed it at the end of his neck.

I shouted with anger.

“Shut up, Decal Arden! You, you don’t have the right to say that to me!”

I had been watching him my whole life. From the moment I had a sense of self, I had been following only his back. But no matter how much I chased and tried, he never looked back at me even once.

It was disgusting. He only paid attention to my younger brother. It was too disgusting that he was looking at me now. I wanted to stab this pen into his neck and kill him right away. Yeah, it’s not difficult. He’s defenseless. All I have to do is stab him and it’s over. But I couldn’t.

“Damn it!”

Eventually, I threw the pen on the ground. I got off the desk, glared at him, and said.

“You are the most disgusting person I’ve ever seen. You… damn it!”

I cut off my words in the middle and left the office. I didn’t want to hear an answer. It’s just, everything was annoying.

And… tears came out. I wiped away the tears with the control that I had regained. But once the crying started, it didn’t stop. I kept wiping away the tears with my sleeves and muttered.

“You pathetic bastard….”

My anger was relieved the moment I heard words of trust from my father, whom I had hated so much. I really have to be a pathetic bastard. I wanted to hear that one word my whole life, but….

But I have no intention of blaming this heart. Kyle Arden is a character born from my wishes, but he is clearly a different being from me. I had no intention of exercising my rights as the creator. So if this guy has forgiven his father, I intend to follow that.

That’s, because it’s the duty of the possessed.

I wiped away the tears that were still flowing and moved my steps.