A creature of habit, Lucius woke up as soon as the Sun rose over the horizon.

  Ugh…!

  He did not try to get up immediately, for no sooner had he awakened than he was assaulted by a terrible pain radiating throughout his body, the result of yesterday’s provocations.

  But he went even further than I expected.

  Lucius thought. He had not imagined that merely mentioning the maid’s name would make Liam so enraged. Well, the idea was to irritate him—after all, he had noticed the looks the two occasionally exchanged—but he had not taken Liam for such a “chivalrous” person.

  No, in the end, it all comes down to wounded pride.

  Lucius turned his face to the side, looking toward Tales, who sat silently in a chair at the corner of the room, watching him.

  “How did your conversation with my father go? Well, judging by the fact that you’re still here, I suppose it didn’t go very well.”

  A look of surprise appeared on the knight’s face.

  “How did you know?”

  Hm? Does he think I’m an idiot?

  “After what happened yesterday, it would be surprising if you hadn’t gone to him to ask to be relieved of your mission,” Lucius said as if explaining something obvious. “I mean, when I want to, I can be quite unbearable to be around, can’t I?”

  Tales said nothing, merely averting his gaze.

  “Well, you don’t need to worry about that anymore,” Lucius said, drawing Tales’s eyes back to him. “Because I have a feeling you won’t need to accompany me for much longer.”

  Surprise and doubt were written all over the knight’s expression, but Lucius had no intention of elaborating.

  “But you’re really talkative today, young master. That’s quite unusual,” Tales said, his eyes filled with suspicion.

  And Lucius nodded.

  “Yes. It’s a distraction.”

  His answer confused the knight, who looked at him as if seeking its meaning, but Lucius merely smiled in response before getting up and heading to the bathroom.

  Tales immediately stood and followed Lucius, who removed his clothes and submerged himself in the bathtub.

  The cold water against his burning skin sent chills through Lucius’s entire body, yet his gaze remained unchanged as he let out a long sigh.

  As always, he stayed in the water for only a few minutes, and once it began to warm, he left the tub and changed clothes, signaling to Tales that it was time for breakfast.

  “Tell me, Tales, do you know who this is?”

  Lucius suddenly stopped walking and spoke. Leaning his body against the hallway wall, he pointed to the painting hanging on the opposite wall.

  The painting depicted a city in flames, corpses scattered everywhere. And amid that infernal scene, a single man stood tall. He had long red hair and beard, and brilliant blue eyes. Wearing full black armor and standing atop the corpse of an immense dragon, he raised his spear high with an imposing gaze.

  “That’s Lord Theodore, isn’t it? Head of the Aster family from several generations ago.”

  “Yes, that’s right.”

  Lucius nodded. It was basic etiquette for a noble or knight to know the names of the heads of the major noble houses. But no one expected them to also know ancient heads of those houses—that was simply an impossible task.

  The reason Tales recognized Theodore’s image was not because the knight was particularly well-read. Among all the heads of the Aster family, Theodore was one of the most famous—perhaps the most famous after the founder himself.

  And the reason for Theodore’s fame was represented in this very painting. Three hundred years ago, a black dragon attacked the imperial capital, destroying more than half the city and claiming tens of thousands of lives. It was Theodore who faced the creature, gravely wounding it and driving it away. Of course, he did not fight alone, but he was the one who led the confrontation and dealt the greatest damage to the beast.

  “Can you imagine that?” Lucius asked.

  Tales shook his head in denial, and Lucius did not blame him. Dragons were the apex of the food chain, the most powerful creatures on the continent. Highly proud beings, capable of wiping entire cities off the map. They were violence made manifest.

  Lucius clenched his fists.

  Just a little more.

  Pushing himself off the wall with his shoulder, he straightened up and resumed walking. Tales still wore a confused expression, wondering why Lucius had brought up this story in the first place, but Lucius dismissed him with a wave. He had already achieved his intended goal—explanations were unnecessary.

  Upon reaching the dining hall, Lucius greeted everyone with a nod before taking his seat.

  A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

  With his arrival, breakfast began. That said, Lucius did not touch his meal; he merely stared at it in silence while listening to the sound of cutlery from the other family members.

  Noisy.

  It was far too noisy. Wouldn’t that be reprehensible in the eyes of outsiders? A noble family that could not even maintain basic etiquette.

  No, it must just be in my head.

  Yuria was telling something to her father and the rest of the family. Her voice today seemed lower than usual, slightly distorted.

  “Lucius.”

  His father spoke suddenly, interrupting his wife’s speech. Unlike hers, Cédric’s voice sounded quite clear to Lucius, who slowly turned his gaze toward him.

  The two stared at each other in silence, Cédric frowning, an unfamiliar expression on his face. Lucius wondered what his father wanted with him.

  Come to think of it, I don’t remember us ever talking at the table.

  Normally, he and his father only spoke in private—and in recent times, only to argue, if any of their last conversations could even be called arguments.

  You’re going to stay silent too, aren’t you?

  Lucius’s gaze shifted to his younger sister. Clutching her stuffed animal, which never seemed to leave her arms, she wore a confused expression.

  “Wh—”

  No.

  Lucius felt his stomach churn violently. Placing his hands on the table, he stood up, but as he did, strength left his legs and his vision blurred.

  “It seems—”

  Not yet.

  A hot nausea surged from his stomach and burst forth through his mouth and nose. His vision went completely dark, and his arms and legs lost all strength. The last thing he felt was an impact against his head, then his shoulder and back.

  The voices of those present became incomprehensible, blending together with hurried footsteps coming from every direction.

  …

  When Lucius opened his eyes, the pain radiating from his body had disappeared.

  No—not completely.

  He touched his stomach. He could still feel a slight discomfort there, but it was nothing compared to what he had felt before.

  “You’re awake.”

  Lucius turned his gaze toward the voice. Normally, the one sitting in that chair when he awoke was Tales. But this time, it was not the knight. In his place sat Cédric, wearing the same inscrutable expression as always.

  “The Priest said your spleen ruptured,” his father explained. “He healed it with his Divine Power, but internal injuries are very difficult to treat, so you should still feel some mild discomfort for a few days.”

  “I see…”

  Lucius nodded as he propped himself up against the headboard.

  Nodding to himself, Cédric stood. Walking to the window, he gestured for Lucius to follow him.

  What does he want?

  As he pondered, Lucius left the bed and walked over to his father. Standing still caused some discomfort, but he ignored it and focused his gaze beyond the window, in the direction his father was looking.

  Ah, so that’s it.

  Lucius quickly saw what his father wanted to show him.

  In the courtyard directly below his room stood Liam, his arms bound by chains to two wooden pillars driven into the ground.

  Bare from the waist up, the knight knelt there, his entire body covered in blood. Behind him, another knight wielded a long whip, using it to punish Liam’s body, who screamed through clenched teeth with each strike.

  “How long has he been like that?” Lucius asked without taking his eyes off the knight.

  “Since you lost consciousness.”

  “And how long ago was that?”

  “Approximately eight hours ago.”

  Cédric’s reply came devoid of any emotion.

  That explains why he’s in this state.

  Even someone who had already awakened their Aura would be left half-dead after enduring such punishment for eight straight hours.

  “If this continues, he’ll end up dying,” Lucius said.

  Cédric raised one eyebrow, his gaze still fixed on Liam.

  “Do you pity him?”

  Lucius shook his head.

  “He’s an elite knight who has awakened his Aura. His death would be a loss to the duchy.”

  Cédric said nothing, continuing to watch the scene in silence.

  A small smile appeared on Lucius’s face.

  “You are aware that I was the one who provoked him, aren’t you?”

  Cédric curled his lip in displeasure.

  “Regardless, a dog that bites its master’s hand is better put down.”

  Lucius understood his father’s reasoning. But he could not agree with it.

  “The hand that was bitten was mine.”

  “It’s the same thing in the end,” Cédric replied immediately.

  That made Lucius think.

  “And what about a dog that doesn’t obey? What punishment does it deserve?” he asked with a sarcastic smile.

  Cédric’s gaze briefly lingered on Lucius before returning outside.

  “You’re not going to stop, are you?” his father asked.

  “No, I’m not,” Lucius answered without hesitation.

  Cédric clicked his tongue.

  “I can assign other knights to watch over you. Stronger ones.”

  Lucius shook his head.

  “I’ll think of a way to deal with them.”

  His answer displeased Cédric, who snorted disdainfully.

  “I could keep you by my side twenty-four hours a day.”

  If he did that, it would truly be problematic.

  Cédric was one of the most powerful warriors in the Empire. People like Liam and Tales could not be compared to him. Mere tricks would not work against Cédric. But…

  “That seems extremely inefficient.”

  Cédric had no response to that, and what followed was a silence that lasted several minutes.

  “You’re different,” Cédric said, finally breaking it.

  Lucius had to agree.

  “I’ve noticed that too.”

  Cédric’s smile was bitter.

  “Before, you would never dare to oppose me like this.”

  “I suppose so.”

  But before, his mind had been filled with shallow, trivial thoughts. That was no longer the case. He now knew what truly mattered, what was truly valuable.

  “So then, are we going to continue this game? The decision is in your hands, father.”

  Cédric closed his eyes, arms crossed before his chest.

  “You may resume your training,” he said as he opened one eye and fixed it on Lucius.

  Lucius nodded in satisfaction.

  “That’s the best decision.”

  “But there is a condition.”

  Yes, I figured there would be.

  From the very beginning, he had never expected to confront Cédric without suffering a few wounds. Now it was time to learn which blow he would receive.

  “And what would that condition be?” he asked.

  “Your academic studies must resume, and you must obtain perfect scores on the tests administered by your instructor. A single failure, and your training will be suspended.”

  It seems like a waste of time to me, but…

  If that meant he could return to training, then he was willing to make that small sacrifice. As for achieving perfect scores, that posed no problem for him.

  “Alright, I accept.”

  Cédric looked at Lucius with an expression that made it clear this was not a negotiation. Lucius merely shrugged—he had no desire to provoke his father into reconsidering his decision.

  “Then once your body is in good condition, you may resume your training with Elliot and your brothers.”

  “About that…”

  Lucius had barely begun to speak when he received a sharp look from his father. Still, he continued.

  “I would like to train on my own.”

  His father shook his head.

  “If you truly intend to train seriously, you must do so under the supervision of a qualified person.”

  Lucius had no argument against that. For a warrior in the early stages of training, any mistake could result in serious injury—or worse.

  “In that case, you can assign Mira to supervise my training,” Lucius said.

  He saw Cédric smile in satisfaction—the first smile he had seen in a long time.

  “Very well.”

  And with that, they finally reached an agreement.