That night, Noah sat across from his grandfather for the first time in a year.
When he told him that he had heard from the Dragon King of the East Sea that Cain was his father, Vincent smiled bitterly.
“First, you should explain Cain.”
Cain Vagrant was his classmate when he was still a student.
After graduating from Nightray with the top and bottom ranks, the two enlisted in the 1st Imperial Knights side by side.
When Regina, her junior, graduated, the captain and vice-captain, respectively.
When the Great War broke out, he was active on the front lines as the emperor and his first knight.
The two people who had been so close were now standing in opposite positions.
“It was a crazy time. Now, nonsensical things have happened casually. Everyone was at their limit.”
The front line was being pushed back day by day.
That meant cities were falling faster than civilians could evacuate.
The masses of refugees, which were slower than the retreat of the front lines, were abandoned.
Soldiers on the front line had to retreat even as they felt an aura of civilians being killed by demons just a few kilometers away.
It was only natural that the morale could not be destroyed.
“Immediately, the day after the 2nd Reginado Knights were destroyed, he received a medal and had to take a picture for the recruitment poster.”
Even so, if public opinion was not controlled, everything would collapse.
To this day, most of the problems were due to the aftermath of the war.
As always with war, the great war was too large.
“Even if half of the continent was blown away, society was still running on the other half. It was only natural to maintain the front line, but at that time the gap was too great.”
Even in the midst of war, the world turns.
Even at this moment, there was a war going on outside the empire, but isn’t Noah living peacefully while going to school?
People are dull about things that are not immediately visible to their eyes.
Even during the Great War, the countries located in the rear had no sense of crisis.
Rather, to the extent that the empire saw the reeling as an opportunity.
Thus, the empire had to shed more blood because of the humans behind it than the beasts in front of it.
“After the Great War, Emperor Guanghui wanted to conquer the continent for revenge. Your father, Cain, was against it and was eventually banished for treason.”
Even his children could not be made fugitives.
Emperor Gwanghwi also had no intention of doing that.
So Noah was left in Vincent’s hands with all his birth records erased.
Cain was also a member of the Imperial Knights and was taught by Vincent, the national envoy, so the relationship continued.
“What about your mother?”
“Your mother… … gave birth to you and passed away I couldn’t help it because I wasn’t feeling well.”
Vincent took Noah, who suddenly became an orphan, and retired.
“Since then, Cain has been trying to stop the Bright Emperor with those who share his will, while wandering the continent and defeating the demons.”
Although political opinions differed, everyone was of the same mind when it came to the Witchbeast.
Therefore, instead of actively pursuing Cain, the Bright Emperor deliberately left it unattended.
Even the emperor was not able to use Master Knight casually.
However, since there is a master knight who works hard to subdue monsters for free, the rest is due to the relationship of using it in moderation.
“The elixir you took was also hunted by Cain.”
“The Elixir of the Disaster-class Witchbeast?”
“okay. Theodore wouldn’t have known. It was only a role to carry it to the end.”
This explained all the secrets of the birth, but there were still some questions.
“Then what was the reason you called me from Sanctum Keep this time?”
“To be honest, I don’t know the exact reason. That’s why Emperor Guanghui opposed it.”
Vincent and Regina agreed to let Noah go.
Anyway, because Noah thought it was necessary to meet Cain at least once.
However, from the perspective of Emperor Gwanghwi, it was impossible to say that.
“Theodore and Cocoa also have their own ideas, so I guess it was a request.”
The mission of the two bailiffs was a very important one.
If Noah is needed in the field, Gwanghwije couldn’t just refuse.
“I heard about this from the Dragon King of the East Sea. How many people know about this?”
“Any knight who was active during the Great War would know about Cain. Few knew the details or even your existence, but everyone who was there just found out.”
Camilla, who had recently been recognized as the successor, and Theodore, who was not from the Great War generation, were originally unaware of this fact.
“The family lord, the sword lord, and the aides who must have heard about them should be considered to know about it. So be careful. Cain isn’t the type to make many enemies, but resentment towards him may come back to you.”
That was partly why the Dragon King of the East Sea first brought up the story of Cain to Noah.
For the Beasts, the conflict between Emperor Gwanghwi and Cain was only an obstacle to dealing with the Beasts.
‘Did you think it would be good if I could reconcile the two?’
To be honest, I don’t know how to accept the existence of my biological father, which I heard for the first time today.
However, it was a bit shocking that the Guanghui Emperor was thinking of pushing out all countries other than the Empire.
‘I’ll have to watch my mouth.’
The story could have been leaked and a war could have been triggered.
I had to be even more careful if I went to practice at the Sanctum Keep like this.
“That’s right. A lot has changed in the past year.”
“I never thought I would end up like this when I came down the mountain.”
“Now you know what I meant when I said I had nothing more to teach you. Your swordsmanship is not mine.”
Vincent’s swordsmanship is the swordsmanship of the Lichtenauer family.
In the course of research after seclusion, it was changed by accepting some of the description of the story, but it was not a complete original.
From noble mtl dot com.
On the other hand, Noah learned to fight from the beginning.
He had only recently learned Lichtenauer’s swordsmanship through Yunia, but since he had literally been adopted as an adoptee, he had learned it ceremoniously.
There was a degree of reference or application, but it did not affect the original swordsmanship.
“Then, since we haven’t seen each other in a while, let’s check how much you’ve changed in the meantime.”
“Good. I won’t see you anymore.”
“Heh heh, have you seen this kind of bastard? Are you trying to beat your grandfather?”
After a long time of sparring, Vincent was destroyed by basic deception without having to take out his sword.
* * *
“I don’t intend to return as an enforcer. It’s a pity that the bailiff’s authority is, but if that’s the case, you won’t be able to refuse orders in case of emergency.”
Vincent revealed to Michael and Regina that he intended to move individually.
Among the anti-war faction gathered around Regina, there were few people with Vincent’s level of influence, but now that influence could be poisonous.
“Inside the Empire. There is also a traitor attached to the pioneer among the highest ranks. If a traitor emerges from within the anti-war faction, our voices will become weaker as well.”
Those who were usually close to the traitor had a hard time avoiding the sound of ‘Isn’t that human a traitor too’.
It was common to find the weaknesses of the opposing faction and to attack other issues.
Politics was a mud fight after all.
Regina agreed with Vincent.
“It will need to be kept clean until then in order to have an impact when needed.”
“Are you going to move separately from the family?”
“Since you are on the family side, there is no need for me to accompany you. I’ll check out the ones I knew personally.”
If it were Vincent’s personal connections as the elder of the entire knight world of the Empire, he had considerable connections outside of Lichtenau.
If you use that network to its fullest, it will definitely be of great help.
“Because it is not an official window, there are things that can be said.”
“In order to prevent a war, we must first solve the problem of the pioneers. It’s sort of organized like this.”
“Is it all right with Noah? It would be funny if he was influenced by His Majesty and cried out for war, but I think it would be a bigger deal if he was stained by a senior.”
The Gwanghwijedo is also the Gwanghwije, but Cain was also an extremely extreme person.
Right now, Regina, who is the same anti-war faction, is still serving as the head of the Night Ray school, but isn’t Cain being pursued for treason?
“For that, you have to trust Noah. Although Noah sometimes has accidents, he is basically deep in thought.”
The reason Vincent dismissed Noah was not only because he couldn’t teach him what to do after the end of the battle, but also because he thought it would be okay for Cain to contact him.
It was hard to say that the Demon Beast Zone on the frontier, which was hidden away from the eyes of others, was a good environment even with empty words.
Noah, who grew up there, knows lack and pain.
Those who knew pain could empathize with others.
Those who knew the deficiency were able to make realistic judgments.
Whether it’s with his swordsmanship or his personality, Noah was no longer a child to be protected.
“Rather, it is a world where adults who are supposed to lead children are younger.”
Vincent’s sigh became a breath and disappeared.
* * *
Even the end-of-year celebrations went by without a hitch.
Winter vacation.
Aslan left the Black Moon while the few remaining scouts were marking the next year’s game.
Although Noah became the new dormitory head, nothing had changed.
“good. Then, shall we clean up for the new year?”
“Eh, Roselia senior. Will you do that after I’m gone?”
“Do you know when you will come and wait for it? In the New Year, I like to finish cleaning and drink cocoa in front of a hot stove.”
“I don’t think it will take long. I certainly don’t know when it will end.”
Noah’s training guide was a Master Knight.
What kind of help would a mere trainee do for what Master Knight does?
‘I didn’t call because I needed manpower, so I don’t think the practice will be too long… … .’
First of all, the period was unknown.
‘But it will be over before the first semester begins.’
“And now that I have a new helper, it’s okay!”
Rogelia said that while looking at Yunia holding a duster.
“I-I’ll clean it up so come back, brother!”
Yuna, who acknowledged Noah with the excuse that she was in the new undisputed 15th place, secretly moved to the Black Moon Dormitory when the fourth semester was over.
The rule of defeating the youngest in order to enter was still the same, but Rogelia approved her move by losing to Yunia with an extraordinary performance.
Excluding the outwardly outward refusal to admit it, Yunia has become quite friendly.
Even though he was embarrassed every time he knew that his sudden change of attitude was funny.
‘I wish I had been honest from the start.’
As long as it wasn’t to be postponed until death, in the end, the true intentions were supposed to be revealed.
“Go ahead. It looks like they’re waiting outside.”
“Then I’ll be right back.”
When I packed my things and went outside, Julius was waiting for Noah.
One backpack and one sword box.
It was a simple burden for an 8th generation family.
Since the sword box was an essential item for those who use multiple swords, it means that they put all their belongings in one bag.
“There is nothing strange to see. Those guys who carry the whole closet are weird.”
“Beee.”
At Julius’ words, Rogelia poked her head out the window and stuck out her tongue.
“It’s not like going to a remote area, so if you need it, you can buy it locally.”
“Do you know the girl’s heart?”
“Should I know?”
“Ahh! It’s a wooden stone! Yunia, run away!”
Julius was blind from birth, but for a knight with a well-developed sixth sense, it was no big deal.
However, it seemed unavoidable that there was a tendency to prioritize functionality over visual elements.
“Tsk tsk, the essence of things is in the aura.”
It seemed like it would be an interesting trip.