As the carriage arrived at the station platform, Sera, who had been pouting, grabbed her luggage and boarded another carriage heading towards a place with better opportunities.
She may have seemed upset, but she wasn’t the type to dwell on such feelings for long. Watching her quickly disappear, I asked the coachman to turn the carriage around.
On the way to the Meyer territory, I passed the time pondering whether Meyer territory was always this remote while taking in the surrounding scenery.
“—Guest, we’ve arrived.”
I don’t know how much time had passed, but upon arriving at the Meyer territory, I got off the carriage with my luggage. The coachman bowed deeply before driving the carriage away.
Watching the departing carriage, I let out a low whistle as I surveyed the city of the Meyer territory.
‘It’s quite rural.’
Compared to the capital, it felt like a backwater town. Then again, Meyer territory wasn’t some magical hub city; it was mostly a place where knights ate, slept, and trained. It would be ridiculous to expect it to develop as much as the capital.
Of course, everything one might need was there: a blacksmith, inns, restaurants, taverns, and even entertainment venues.
I bypassed those establishments and headed straight for the lord’s castle. On the way, the territory was fairly large, so it seemed accustomed to outsiders. The residents gave me a quick glance before returning to their tasks.
When I finally arrived at the front gate of the castle, the guards stationed there immediately pointed their spears at me.
“Halt! Identify yourself─.”
“You brats. You shouldn’t forget something like this.”
“……Kail Doryeom?”
“That’s right, long time no see.”
“He, He’s returned! Kail Doryeom has come back-!”
One of the quicker-witted soldiers scrambled inside to avoid getting scolded. Meanwhile, I began berating the trembling soldier standing at attention.
How could a soldier of the Meyer Clan not recognize the face of their own heir? If they kept this up, they’d probably forget the clan leader’s face too. In times of war, they might mistake allies for enemies and let them into the castle.
As I watched the soldier’s face turn pale under my scolding, the soldier who had gone inside returned with the knights, prompting me to stop my tirade.
“Kail Doryeom!”
“Knight Leon.”
The still-handsome Knight Leon grinned and extended his fist toward me. Realizing the meaning behind the gesture, I smirked and bumped my fist against his.
The brief clash and the movement of aura within. Sensing it, Knight Leon looked shocked, then carefully closed his mouth.
“…So the rumors were true.”
“Huh? What rumors?”
“That you’ve become a Master.”
“Such rumors are spreading?”
“Yes, well. It wasn’t hard to guess.”
Knight Leon urged me to hurry inside and took the luggage from my hand. After handing over my luggage, I asked him how exactly rumors about my identity had spread.
Leon, walking ahead, began explaining why rumors of him becoming a Master had spread.
“After you ran away, news reached us that you had gotten involved in a skirmish in another territory.”
“It was more of an expedition than a skirmish.”
“Anyway. Normally, barging into another territory and joining a fight is considered extremely rude. Even if it’s the family of your betrothed.”
He explained that it could be seen as an intention to overthrow the territory when an Expert-level knight, capable of assassinating a lord alone, enters another territory without notice and starts wielding force.
Of course, considering that I had secretly run away to the Grace family, where my fiancée resided, and that the head of the Grace family was a Master-level sorcerer, it was unlikely I intended harm. Still, it was the kind of incident that warranted years of confinement.
However, instead of confinement, the viscount sentenced me to enrollment. And not just any school — the most prestigious Diaros Academy in the Empire.
“It doesn’t make sense. And then, coincidentally, another rumor surfaced.”
“What rumor?”
“That the great warrior of the barbarian tribe harassing the northern absolute defense line had been killed. Anyone with half a brain would have figured it out. That you had become a Master.”
Knight Leon spoke with a bitter smile.
“But, young master, I never expected it to be true.”
“Weren’t you saying earlier that anyone with half a brain would have figured it out?”
“They probably thought about it for ten seconds, shook their heads, and dismissed the idea. It’s more realistic to think their reasoning was wrong than to believe a mid-teenaged heir became a Master.”
He admitted that the rumor of him becoming a Master was hard to believe until he saw it with his own eyes.
Hearing Leon’s words, I nodded. It made sense. If you compare it to Earth, it would be like a middle schooler winning an Olympic gold medal or becoming a UFC champion — utterly absurd.
That’s what being a Master means. It’s the pinnacle of achievement in a particular field. Everyone dreams of reaching it, but most only consider it a distant fantasy.
If a ten-year-old kid just learning to speak claimed to be a Master, I’d probably react with the same shock others had when they heard about me.
“Well, that’s how it turned out.”
“It’s not a bad thing. It’s something to celebrate. If rumors spread that a new Master has emerged in the Meyer territory, especially one who achieved it in their teens, knights from all over the country will flock here.”
“Do you think so?”
“Yes, definitely. Every knight will swallow their pride and beg for enlightenment. Even if they don’t, opportunities to learn from a Master are rare, so some knights might pledge themselves to the Meyer territory.”
“…Knight Leon, you talk more than I remember before I left.”
The serious and solemn Leon I remembered from childhood was gone, replaced by someone spewing words like a machine gun.
Seeing him like this, I could tell how excited he was, but watching the image of the knight I once admired shatter was quite a shock.
“Kail.”
“Oh, Father.”
At that moment, the viscount appeared. It was a perfect opportunity to escape Leon’s chatter.
Leon naturally distanced himself, not wanting to interrupt our father-son reunion. Watching him disappear into the distance, I let out a sigh.
Seeing me sigh, the viscount asked with concern, “What’s wrong? Did Knight Leon make a mistake?”
“…No, it’s just… he seems different from when I was younger.”
“I also felt that way when I first became an Expert. The world seemed different. Maybe that’s why you feel this way now.”
Well, it didn’t feel quite like that… Listening to the viscount, I quietly nodded. Seeing this, the viscount cleared his throat and opened his arms.
“My son. Let’s have a hug.”
“…Ah, do we really have to?”
“Nonsense, can’t a father hug his son?”
“…I’m back, Father.”
After sharing a father-son embrace, the viscount cautiously whispered in my ear.
“So… you didn’t cause any trouble at the academy, did you?”
“Yes, of course…”
I hesitated for a moment, lost in thought. Trouble at the academy? There was a terrorist attack, but I resolved it, so that doesn’t count.
Aria did cause a scene manipulating VIP guests at the academy, but since I didn’t instigate it, that doesn’t count either.
Before coming here, I accidentally unleashed a giant evil spirit that nearly devastated the empire, but since it didn’t happen inside the academy, that doesn’t count either.
“What do you take me for? I’m not a child. I wouldn’t cause trouble.”
“That’s right. I trust you, Kail.”
Fifteen years without incident. Not once had I caused my parents any heartache.
Satisfied with my response, the viscount led me inside. A feast awaited me in the dining hall.
As I tore into the meat and enjoyed the wine, I began boasting to the viscount about my exploits at the academy.
The viscount merely chuckled.
* * *
The next day, as I was enjoying a rare moment of relaxation, the viscount entered the room with a grave expression.
“Ka, Kail! Didn’t you say you didn’t cause any trouble!?”
“What? Suddenly…”
“What on earth did you do!”
The viscount handed me a letter from his pocket. Taking it, my expression hardened.
[Annulment Notice]
The letter was from Duke Grace.
