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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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Chapter 39
Was that a satisfactory answer?
Teren lowered his head and kept his mouth tightly shut.
“…And also, please promise me one more thing.”
“What now?”
“That you’ll be careful when you go to the main house.”
“You’re worried about me?”
“…I–I’m just saying be careful! If you keep acting all arrogant like now and end up getting your head chopped off, your father and mother will be sad!”
Chris let out a quiet chuckle.
“Don’t worry.”
He rose from his seat.
“I’m stronger than you think.”
A result of his closed-door training.
As a demon, he had reached 2-star level.
An unbelievable accomplishment, but that wasn’t all.
There was an even greater achievement.
As a member of the Alliance, as a Holy Radiant, he had reached 4-star level.
* * *
Clatter clatter.
Inside the moving carriage, Chris had his eyes gently closed.
He was on his way to the main house.
‘It would be easier if I used the warp gate.’
The territory of Count Khazar and the main house of the Dark Demonic House were connected by a warp gate.
But it required approval from the main house to use it—and that approval hadn’t come.
They said it couldn’t be permitted unless there was an essential security reason.
An obvious display of territorialism.
‘Disdain for branch families is common in prestigious houses.’
Chris didn’t think much of it.
There were many noble houses within the Alliance too.
They all operated in similar ways.
All glory and privileges were enjoyed by the main family’s legitimate line.
Branch families were nothing more than tools to serve the main house.
No—being treated like tools would be generous.
Many saw them as mere servants or dogs.
Prestigious houses ran entirely on a rigid bloodline-based privilege system, so it wasn’t anything new.
[Young Master… you’ve got this. Look at me… and cheer up.]
Maybe she sensed that Chris was feeling down?
Marie, the banshee maid, fluttered around the carriage showing cutesy gestures.
It was like a “cheer up~” kind of act, but coming from a banshee, it only felt eerie.
Chris looked at Marie with slightly gloomy eyes.
‘…Even after leaving the Count’s estate, I still have to be with this banshee.’
Because of the master-servant pact, he couldn’t shake her off.
Other than Marie, there were no attendants accompanying him.
The main house had limited his escort to one person.
Thanks to that, Chris was riding the carriage alone with Marie.
[It seems my comfort… has been a great help to you, Young Master. But even so, if you keep looking at me that passionately… my heart… is pounding so hard.]
“…It’s not like that. And you don’t even have a heart.”
[I do have a heart—for you, Young Master. Ohoho….]
“……”
Ignoring her, Chris looked out the window.
Down the hill, a massive mansion came into view.
A mansion so large it looked like the royal castle of a kingdom.
The House of Duke Baron.
He had arrived at the main house of the Dark Demonic House.
* * *
“Young Master, please stay safe.”
The coachman who had come from Count Khazar’s estate gave a solemn farewell.
“Please, please. You must not get hurt. You must not become disabled. And above all, you must not die!”
Chris had a dazed expression.
There was a reason the coachman acted like this.
The Sacred Darkness Ceremony of the Dark Demonic House was infamous for its danger.
Getting seriously injured was common.
Becoming disabled—or even dying—happened, too.
“Anyway, go back now.”
“Yes, understood. Please come back safely!!”
“…Just go already.”
After the coachman left, Chris crossed his arms.
He could feel gazes coming from all directions.
They weren’t friendly.
But it wasn’t quite hostility either.
Hostility was something one showed to an equal opponent.
These were just looks of contempt, like staring at trash.
[So that’s the good-for-nothing punk from Count Khazar’s branch.]
[They say he’s changed?]
[Trash stays trash. And now he dares come here for the Sacred Darkness Ceremony?]
[He’ll probably just embarrass himself and leave.]
[I hope he gets seriously injured or crippled. So he won’t shame the name of the Barons anymore.]
Chris shrugged.
He had expected it.
He had shown change back in Count Khazar’s and Count Tyramin’s estates, but that was outside the main house.
The main house’s demons hadn’t seen it for themselves, so the prejudice remained.
No—even if they had seen it, they wouldn’t have acknowledged him easily.
People of the main house always made a habit of looking down on branch family members.
Just then, a voice suddenly came from behind him.
“I greet you, Young Master.”
“!!”
Chris furrowed his brows.
A pale, sculpture-like handsome man.
It was the Head Butler, Simon!
‘Still, at least I noticed his presence this time.’
It was thanks to Chris’s heightened Energy Sense after reaching the 4-star level.
Perhaps Simon noticed this as well, as a slight flicker of surprise passed through his eyes.
“You’ve changed, haven’t you?”
“A little, maybe?”
“Doesn’t seem like just a little. Heh, unbelievable. It’s only been about two weeks, yet you’ve taken another step forward. Truly impressive.”
Chris just shrugged.
The ones more shocked by Simon’s appearance, however, were the others around them.
[The Head Butler came out from the Lord’s private residence?]
[Because of that good-for-nothing?]
[Why would the Head Butler come for him?]
From their reactions, it seemed Simon usually served the Family Lord and rarely showed himself.
“You seem busy—why have you come?”
It didn’t look like he was just here to say hello.
Sure enough, Simon said something unexpected.
“There’s someone who wishes to see you, Young Master.”
“??”
“It’s the Lord.”
Everyone around them widened their eyes in shock.
Simon smiled playfully.
“The Family Lord wishes to meet you, Young Master.”
“!!!”
A summons from Lord Nordion!
The area stirred with commotion.
It was shocking news.
Lord Nordion had completely withdrawn from family affairs and remained in seclusion.
For him to express the desire to meet someone was already rare—but to want to meet that good-for-nothing?
‘Didn’t see that coming.’
Even Chris was a little surprised.
He hadn’t expected to meet the Family Lord the moment he arrived at the main house.
But the surprise ended there.
‘I’ll just meet him, then.’
Chris quickly regained his composure.
He was, after all, one of the key figures of the Age of Ruins. Among those he’d met back then, there had been many who far surpassed even Lord Nordion.
There was no reason for his heart to race over something like this.
“You don’t seem too surprised?”
“I was surprised enough.”
“Doesn’t seem like it.”
“I’m going to meet the Lord whom I deeply respect—there’s no reason to tremble in fear, is there? I should be honored and glad instead.”
At his fluent reply, Simon burst into laughter again.
“As expected of Young Master Christian. Yes, you’re absolutely right. There’s no reason for you to feel any fear. I do hope you’ll show the same splendid demeanor before the Family Lord as you do now.”
Simon spoke with layered meaning.
“If the grandson he’s been anticipating turns out to be a disappointment, the Family Lord would be quite let down.”
* * *
Chris followed Simon.
Past the massive main building, a forest appeared.
From the outside, it hadn’t seemed so vast—but once inside, there was no end in sight.
‘A formation.'
Chris thought to himself.
It was clearly a magical formation designed so that if one took a wrong path, they’d wander the forest endlessly until they dried up and died.
As he followed behind Simon, Chris memorized the structure of the forest—more precisely, the pattern of the formation that had been deployed.
After walking for quite some time, a small detached residence came into view.
It was where Lord Nordion resided.
‘First time seeing Nordion.’
Though Chris had met countless famous individuals, this was his first encounter with Nordion.
Nordion dies before the Age of Ruins begins.
Not just the Family Lord, but nearly all the highest-ranking figures of this Southern Magus Kingdom—including the "Demon King of the Clear Stream"—perish before the Age of Ruins truly begins.
It was because of the bloodbath to come.
The Southern Magus Kingdom becomes drenched in a horrific sea of blood even before the Age of Ruins begins.
At any rate, that was still some time away.
“Please go in.”
Simon creaked open the door, and Christian stepped forward.
The moment he entered—
“!!”
Chris drew in a sharp breath.
His vision went dark.
It wasn’t a magical phenomenon.
The overwhelming presence had momentarily paralyzed his senses.
Deep within—
An old man stood, leaning on a staff.
Nothing else was visible.
In Chris’s frozen gaze, only the old man existed.
It was the Family Lord.
“It’s been a while.”
A gentle voice, like a grandfather calling his grandson. A smile.
But Christian couldn’t bring himself to look at the old man with ease.
The weight of the man’s presence pressed against his very soul, making it hard to breathe.
It felt like sinking into the depths of a vast ocean.
He couldn’t move even a finger—his knees nearly buckled on their own before the old man.
But Chris quickly snapped himself out of it.
‘It’s a test!’
There was no doubt why the Family Lord had unleashed his full presence knowing Chris couldn’t possibly withstand it.
He was testing him.
More precisely, he was trying to gauge his mental fortitude.
‘This kind of pressure can be withstood with willpower.’
If the Family Lord had released demonic energy, no amount of mental strength would’ve been enough. The demonic energy released by an 8-star demonic being carries lethal power on its own.
But the Family Lord hadn’t stirred even a trace of demonic energy.
He had merely revealed a portion of his massive presence.
For an ordinary person, that presence alone would’ve been enough to make them collapse and kneel—but not Chris.
He had endured the pressure of beings far greater than the Family Lord before.
Compared to that… this was manageable.
He took a few deep breaths, and gradually, his mind began to calm.
“I greet His Grace, Duke Baron, the Great Lord of the Dark Demonic House.”
At Chris’s composed voice, the Family Lord widened his eyes slightly.
But only for a moment.
The Family Lord soon spoke again with a gentle smile.
“Yes, it’s good to see you again after so long. I believe it’s been several years since I last saw you as a child.”
“……”
“Were you surprised by this old man’s sudden summons?”
Chris stayed silent for a moment.
“I was not surprised. I thought you might want to see me.”
“Oh? And why is that?”
“Because a new rising star has appeared in the family.”
“…What?”
The Family Lord reflexively repeated the words.
Merian, who had been quietly standing nearby, glared sharply at Chris.
Right now, Christian had referred to himself as the rising star.
And he had done so, right to the Family Lord’s face!
‘Well… he’s not wrong, is he?’
The reason the Family Lord summoned Christian must have been because of his accomplishments at the Tyramin Count’s estate.
He likely called him to confirm the family’s promising talent—so what Chris said wasn’t incorrect.
“Haha. You’ve made this old man smile. A rising star, is it? Yes, that’s right. I called you because I was curious what kind of child you were. Both Merian and Simon have spoken so highly of you, I wanted to see if you lived up to the rumors. This old man has always longed for the emergence of outstanding blood.”
The Family Lord spoke gently.
“But—”
Suddenly, the atmosphere shifted.
The warm smile remained.
But a blade-like tension filled the room.
It was as if even the air itself were gauging the Family Lord’s mood.
“I still do not know for sure.”
“!!”
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[Translator - Kiteretsu]
[Proofreader - Kyros]
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