Chapter 11
While spending time with my mother, I hadn’t noticed that the moon had already risen high in the night sky.
To fulfill decades of longing in such a short span… it was far too little time. But now, the moment of parting had come.
My mother held me tightly one last time before standing up.
“My son, winter will be here soon. Make sure to dress warmly, alright?”
“Yes, Mother. I will.”
She placed into my hands a scarf, clearly hand-knit by her.
“Deyan, I’m always sorry… You suffer because you’ve inherited my frailty.”
A faint sadness shimmered at the corners of her eyes.
“That’s not true, Mother. Don’t say such things.”
She had been born with a weak constitution.
If it had been poison she suffered from, I could have healed her here and now…
But, unfortunately, my mother’s condition was not born of any toxin.
When I embraced her earlier, I had secretly examined her body. Even now, it was a body that would not be surprising if it had already given out.
Still… perhaps the reason she could move around at all was due to the family’s care.
The Padors had clearly spared no effort to prolong her life through every means available.
Yet, despite all that… in my previous life, my mother passed away a few years from now.
The day she died…
In all my life, I had never cried like that.
My mother had been my one true place of rest.
I met her worried gaze and spoke.
“Mother, don’t worry. I’m healthy. And… you will be healthy, too. I’ll make sure of it.”
“Just hearing that makes me feel better. Yes, Deyan.”
To her, my words might have sounded like the empty promises of a child, but she merely patted my shoulder before stepping into her carriage.
I wanted to ask her to stay longer… but swallowed the words.
She had forced her ailing body to come all the way here—she needed to rest.
Even now, just as the carriage slowly receded into the distance, there would come a day when she would go far beyond my reach. But I would not let that day come.
At the very least, my mother would live a long, healthy life, free from illness or harm.
She deserved no less.
When I told her I would make her healthy…
I had meant every word. I intended to give her the special pill of the Tang Clan.
But before I could do that, there were far too many things I needed to take care of.
Resolving myself in silence, I carefully placed the scarf she had given me in my room and stepped outside.
When I opened and closed the door, Marianne and Nerlin were waiting for me.
Perhaps trying to lighten the somewhat stiff mood, Marianne put on a bright smile.
“So it’s because you take after the Countess that you’re so handsome, Young Master?”
Not bad.
“Of course. With a beautiful mother, how could I not be a handsome son?”
Maybe Nerlin was startled at how casually I responded—her eyes widened, and her head tilted back slightly.
“Nerlin, it shows all over your face.”
“N-no, that’s not it! You’re very handsome, Young Master! Right, Butler?”
Nerlin hastily turned to Bator, the old butler.
Poor old man, he’s endured a lot over the years.
Bator chuckled heartily and nodded.
“That’s right. Among the Young Masters, Deyan is by far the most outstanding.”
While we were chatting,
From a distance, Jayvolg came running toward us.
“Young Master, it’s time for training!”
Now that was music to my ears.
Whether it was for my mother or for the sake of changing the family’s future, I needed strength—and the method was simple, wasn’t it?
I had to train.
That once-annoying Jayvolg had now become a diligent subordinate.
Well… it seemed he still hadn’t abandoned his blind faith in the sword, but that was fine.
They say a person’s nature can’t be easily changed.
“Alright, let’s go.”
I was just about to answer Jayvolg’s call when Bator, the butler, cleared his throat, stopping me in my tracks.
“Young Master?”
“What is it?”
“Today is not the day for training with Master Jayvolg. Today, you are scheduled to train elsewhere.”
“…Elsewhere?”
“Yes, have you forgotten? Today is the day of Solemio, when the great knights of Padors offer instruction.”
Was there such a thing?
Ah, right—there was.
In House Pador, children under fifteen—more precisely, children who had not yet chosen their path—were gathered once a year to receive lectures and demonstrations from the family’s senior knights.
It wasn’t a bad idea, but it wasn’t something I personally needed.
After all, I’d gotten rid of Jayvolg for this very reason—so why would I… No.
I would go.
It wasn’t like I could refuse anyway, and there was one particular face I needed to see.
Perfect timing.
Come to think of it, I had other business there as well.
“Ah, of course, Bator.”
“The carriage is ready, Young Master.”
“Good. Just—would it be alright if I stopped by the estate first?”
“Of course.”
There, I quickly prepared something on the spot. A shame I didn’t have Tang Clan materials, but this would do.
After about an hour of preparation, I was satisfied and went to board the carriage. Naturally, Jayvolg moved to follow me, but—
“You may not.”
Bator blocked him politely, but firmly.
“Why not? I’m the Young Master’s instructor—”
“It’s House Pador’s principle. On Solemio, each child goes alone. Today is a day when the children of all knights, servants, and merchants of House Pador are treated as equals—no one accompanies them.”
That matched my own memory.
This was a unique tradition of ours.
It existed so that no child with potential would be left undiscovered for lack of opportunity.
On this point, I agreed wholeheartedly with the family tradition.
The martial world had similar cases.
There were times when people who never knew they had talent were discovered by an insightful master, purely by chance.
The ones that struck me most were those from small, obscure sects who could hold their own against the disciples of great orthodox schools.
What a waste it was…
If only they had belonged to a place that could truly guide them, they could have reached far greater heights.
While wandering the martial world, such thoughts had come to me often—though, admittedly, those cases were rare.
So this was, indeed, a worthy tradition.
I turned to the disappointed Jayvolg.
“Bator is right. This is our tradition, so today I’ll learn well from someone else.”
Jayvolg tilted his head.
“Young Master, you? Come on, that’s—”
Didn’t I tell him to keep certain things secret from others?
Before he said something he shouldn’t, I sent him a sound transmission.
— Quiet.
Maybe because sound transmission wasn’t common here, Jayvolg just stared blankly and replied aloud,
“Huh?”
— I said, be quiet.
Did he understand the second warning? Jayvolg swallowed hard and nodded.
At least he had some sense.
Should’ve been like that from the start.
Tsk.
“I’ll be back, then.”
“Yes, of course.”
I boarded the carriage bound for Solemio.
Come to think of it—traveling by carriage even within the same household’s lands… This truly was a vast domain.
Outside the carriage window, all kinds of people moved about.
There were Padors’s own knights and servants, but also a fair number of outsiders. In a great house like this, traffic of every kind was constant.
At this scale, it was practically a fortress—a fortress-city.
The Tang Family was similar. The clothing might be different, but…
The core operations were much the same.
When I served as head of the Tang Clan, there had been an endless stream of matters demanding attention.
So many connections, so many entanglements.
Like a spider’s web.
That’s why… I’d given up the position relatively quickly.
“Hm…”
I leaned against the carriage window frame, sticking my head out slightly.
Refreshing.
Lost for a moment in the sweeping view of the family’s lands, I barely noticed when the carriage wheels came to a stop.
“We’ve arrived.”
“Thank you.”
Stepping down from the door the coachman opened for me, I saw others—children around my own apparent age—walking along the same path.
Of course, one could have taken the carriage further along the road, but no one did such a thing.
It was a straight, unbroken path.
At its entrance stood a tall stone stele, and the inscription carved upon it explained perfectly why we walked.
‘From this road onward, all are equal. Walk as your true self. — Schnell Pador’
It meant to cast aside all ranks and titles.
It meant: do not be arrogant.
Ignore those words, and…? Regardless of your station or lineage, you’d be expelled from the House on the spot.
Look closely at that stele.
See the name carved there:
— Schnell Pador.
The founder of House Pador itself.
The origin from which all Pador bloodlines flow. And if such an ancestor spoke those words…
Who would dare defy them?
‘Well then—shall we?’
Walking this path again after so long felt strangely nostalgic. I could sense the glances of the children around me.
Ordinarily, they all would have bowed their heads in greeting as I passed.
But here, we shed our titles.
In Solemio, everyone was treated as an equal.
So there was no need for greetings.
Leisurely, I observed the children—some wore anxious expressions, others looked almost giddy with excitement.
I searched among them for the expression I myself had worn back then.
Hmm…
No one matched the old me.
When I had walked this path in the past, I had wanted to die on the spot.
Why wouldn’t I?
As the youngest son of the patriarch, I couldn’t even form a mana heart. Why would I want to come here?
Coming only meant humiliation.
Back then, despite my enviable bloodline, I’d walked this road with my head bowed.
Now, I would walk Solemio’s path with my head held higher than anyone else.
They say a person can be judged by their posture, after all.
Before long, the path opened into a space unlike the grandeur expected of Padors—an open-air theater of sorts.
A place with no chairs, only rough-hewn stone forming a ring of seats.
It was meant to strip away all prejudice and privilege, to foster the proper humility for learning.
Most of the seats were already taken, packed with Pador children.
And my seat…
Front row.
Uncomfortably so. No matter how much they claimed equality here, they had left that spot open—a place the children subconsciously regarded as the seat of honor.
Even though our ancestor had so strongly preached equality, human nature doesn’t change so easily.
The truth always slips through in subtle ways.
As I entered, every gaze turned toward me, accompanied by hushed whispers.
—Wow… Deyan? I’ve only heard of him in rumors. First time seeing him in person, even though we’re in the same family.
—Same here, same here. But… doesn’t he look kinda like a girl? His skin’s so pale—seriously pale.
—He must be really sick.
—Hey, but did you hear about…?
They thought they were speaking softly.
I heard every word. So… this is what they used to say?
Back then, I never knew. All I could do was sit with my head down, too busy trying to make myself small.
But now, unlike before, I walked straight to my seat with more confidence than anyone here, without hesitation. I glanced at the seat beside mine.
Also empty.
That seat had been left open on purpose as well.
Which meant there was only one possibility.
Whoever it was had to have a bloodline worthy of being treated on par with a direct heir of Pador.
Among my peers, there was only one person like that.
The second-in-command who managed all affairs of the house in place of my absent father, the current patriarch, Ian Pador.
So this seat? It was for his son, Ralph Pador.
My cousin—bound to me by close blood.
My guess was spot-on. Once again, the murmurs among the children swelled.
And in time with those whispers came the sound of footsteps—bold, deliberate, and dripping with arrogance. As if demanding the crowd’s cheers and the gaze of their admiration.
It wasn’t easy to convey so much with footsteps alone.
But he hadn’t changed. Not one bit.
Step. Step. Step.
He stopped walking. He could have just taken his seat, but no—
He had to come right up to me, blocking my view. Was he trying to show off his size?
“It’s been a while, Deyan.”
At that insolent voice, I slowly lifted my head.
Irritatingly, he bore the same deep green eyes and dark black hair that proved his Pador lineage, much like mine.
Even the sly upward curve of his lips.
If I had spent decades holding on to the memory of those I cherished, this one… I had held on to it for the opposite reason.
There was only one reason I had never forgotten him.
In the past, he had spent years here making my life hell.
---The End Of The Chapter---
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