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Chapter 38

“But don’t I need to endure at least that much danger to get results?”

“...”

Despite saying that, I obviously had no interest in dying.

Even if the assassins were to ambush me, I was planning on having at least a few pieces of insurance to save my life.

Then, the Lord of Blood and Iron spoke.

“You.”

“Yes.”

“You have lost your mind a little.”

...What did he mean by that?

As I stupidly just sat there blinking, he continued to talk.

“Do you have any plans for after the Blessing Ceremony?”

“...Not particularly, no.”

“Then let’s have a meal together afterward.”

I couldn’t really follow the flow of the conversation, but I answered as best as I could.

“Shall... we?”

“Hm. Then I will send someone later to inform you of the time and place.”

I saw the Lord of Blood and Iron rise from his seat.

In my confusion, I tried to stop him.

“Is that everything you wanted to say?”

“Ah. If you wish to sell the map, tell me. I will give you more than any other place can offer.”

“Ah, okay.”

Before I could say anything else, he hid his presence from me.

In the end, I was left alone in the room.

“...I think that went well, right?”

I didn’t know...

I didn’t know, but my heart felt a little lighter than before.

For now, I decided to be satisfied with that.

***

Finally, the day of the Blessing Ceremony came with a bright morning.

For me, it was a well-rested morning, something I hadn’t had in a long time.

“Really, beds are the best.”

I got out of my soft bed and opened the window.

The weather was amazing.

Although it was a little chilly because of the winter winds, the warm rays of light and clear air made up for it.

It might be obvious because this mansion was built in the middle of a forest, but it was also dense with nature ki.

Doing ki circulation in an area like this would certainly lead to good results.

That was why being able to stay in this place was in and of itself a blessing for martial artists.

I washed my face before leaving the room and headed straight for the dining hall.

Although I’d eaten quite a bit last night, I was completely empty right now.

I won’t need to be wary of the food at the main house.

I swallowed my drool as I imagined having a grand breakfast for the first time in a while.

As soon as I entered the dining hall, the delicious smell of food swept through the air.

Normally, I would need to come here during meal times to eat hot food, but while the Blessing Ceremony was ongoing, food would always be ready in the dining hall.

There was meat, vegetables, seafood, fruits, and all sorts of different types of food ready here. I mainly piled on the meats before looking for a good place to sit down.

There are a lot more people here than I expected.

As I took a glance around, I could tell that most of them were around my age, and most of them seemed to be those who were attending the Blessing Ceremony today.

I looked for the table with the fewest people and sat down.

When I did, I heard a clear voice call out to me.

“You’ll become a pig if you eat only meat like that.”

There was a girl sitting at the edge of the rectangular table.

“Maybe the young master of Bednicker doesn’t know anything about nutrition.”

She was the one I’d seen in the hall yesterday... the one with hair somewhere between silver and grey.

Now that I looked at her after having rested, I could see that it was closer to silver.

“I know about nutrition.”

“And you’re still eating like that?”

“I only ate grass for a week. Let’s say I’m making up for it.”

“What’s that?” she said in an annoyed tone before quickly whipping her head away.

She didn’t look like she wanted to talk to me at all, so why had she called out in the first place?

As I sliced the sausage I’d stabbed with my fork, I came to a conclusion: she wasn’t trying to talk to me, she was trying to provoke me.

“Hey,” I said.

“What.”

“Why do you wear your gloves when you’re eating?”

“Why do you care if I wear gloves or a hat when I eat?”

She had a point, but I wasn’t just going to tell her that.

“You know...”

“What now?”

“It’s a little unfortunate that you already have so much white hair at your age.”

“This is silver, idiot.”

“It looks white to me, so I’ll just call you Whitey from now on.”

“You’re crazy.”

“Whitey.”

At that, she glared at me with anger in her eyes before suddenly getting up from her seat.

I thought she was just going to leave, but she suddenly sat in front of me and shoved her head toward me.

“Look at it properly! Does this look like white hair to you!”

I frowned.

“Put that away. Your hair is getting in my food.”

“What? Are you saying I’m losing hair as well?”

“Even if you’re not losing hair, about a hundred strands still get shed each day.”

“R-really?”

I didn’t actually know.

Anyway, I pushed out my head which was covered in densely grown hair.

“So, why are you trying to fight me, Whitey?”

“I have a bad habit of trying to fight people who look stupid.”

“Really? I thought you were doing it because you’re the daughter of House Goodspring.”

“...!”

Whitey flinched in surprise at my nonchalant reply.

The look in her eyes changed as she spoke.

“You, you know who I am?”

“Of course.”

“Wait, is the reason you acted like you didn’t know me at the start...”

“There’s no way. I just heard on my way here.”

In truth, it would be difficult to identify her solely from her appearance. Members of House Goodspring usually had a warm appearance like the spring sun, but she was more like a winter storm with her cold appearance.

“Anyway, I’m eating my food now, so don’t disturb me.”

As I waved her away with annoyance, Whitey pouted, dissatisfied about something.

Honestly, I didn’t think she would listen... But for some reason, she actually shut her mouth and didn’t say anything.

But she didn’t leave me either.

It looked like she had already finished her food, but she continued to sit in front of me looking pissed.

Maybe she had something to say?

But I just continued to eat my food.

She stayed there as I took my second serving, became surprised when I came back with a third, was shocked when I got my fourth serving, and looked done with me upon my fifth.

I took one more serving before ending my meal.

* * * * *

* * * * *

“Do you have a beggar in your stomach or something?”

“A beggar wouldn’t be able to get food like this.”

The food at House Bednicker’s main house was amazing.

It was enough for even me, who had a peculiar palette, to gorge this much.

I drank a refreshing glass of water as I looked at Whitey.

“So, do you have something to say?”

“...I’m Sellen Goodspring,” Whitey suddenly introduced herself.

I didn’t give my own introduction, instead taking a moment to think.

I remembered her name from somewhere.

“Sellen?”

“Do you recognize me now? Mr. Ex-Fiancé.”

So she can say the word “fiancé” while looking like that.

Well, I wasn’t really fond of eyes filled with love and affection anyway.

Sellen stared at me for a moment before letting out a sigh.

“Anyway, I just have one thing I want to ask you.”

“What is it?”

“You, are you really attending the Blessing Ceremony today?”

Why were so many people interested in my attendance?

Even as I felt this question in my mind, I nodded.

“Haah...”

“Why are you sighing? It doesn’t matter to you.”

“It’s because of the situation. If you get a blessing at this ceremony, the worst-case scenario could occur.”

“The worst-case scenario?”

I quickly understood what Sellen meant.

“...Ah. Our engagement could be renewed?”

“So you’re not a complete idiot.”

“Ehm...”

From what I remembered, this engagement had been annulled after I was deemed talentless.

But that also meant that if I received a blessing today, the engagement talks might reignite.

Sellen looked depressed, like she had just seen the end of the world. She let out a sigh and even cursed a little.

“Damn it...”

For some reason, it was a little awkward but also suited her well.

Goodspring was one of the greatest among the Great Houses, and I heard that they valued dignity and refinement above even their lives...

But I couldn’t really sense that from Sellen.

“You don’t want to get engaged to me?”

“Are you actually asking...? No.” Sellen stopped herself from roasting me and continued, “It’s not that I hate the idea of getting engaged to you. I just hate the idea of getting engaged.”

“Why?”

“Do I need to tell you that as well?”

I couldn’t really get a read on her.

I decided not to worry about her situation and rose from my seat.

“Don’t worry. Even if a blessing does appear, I won’t get engaged to you again.”

“Why?”

“Well, that’s because...”

Suddenly, someone walked into the dining hall.

It was a familiar face, none other than the second son of House Bednicker, Hector.

Hector looked around as if he was looking for someone.

Is he looking for me?

As I had that thought, our eyes met and the edge of Hector’s lips twisted a little as he approached me.

“So you were here, Luan Bednicker.”

“Did you need something?”

“Need something? Of course. Do you think I’d approach trash like you without a reason?”

Murmurs could be heard around us.

Hector was already famous for being the second son of House Bednicker, but other people talked about him a lot as well.

Though he’d waited yesterday for people to leave before approaching me, he was now openly insulting me in front of all these people in the dining hall.

What happened yesterday must have shocked him quite a bit.

But I had a feeling that wasn’t the only reason...

—Father, please spread a small rumor.

—That “Luan Bednicker” killed the assassins of the cult and a gem beast in the Gem Mountains.

It hadn’t been even a day.

Evidently, the Lord of Blood and Iron had gone overboard in fulfilling my request.

“...”

Sellen, who was suddenly stuck in the middle of this, also looked to be at a loss for what to do.

This was honestly better.

I kept my gaze fixed on Hector as I checked my surroundings.

The dining hall was full of people.

If there was an agent of the cult here, they could be watching this situation.

“It’s too early in the morning for you to go that far with your words.”

“You’re the one who went too far. I at least thought of you as my younger brother. Although you were living a deplorable life, I still thought that you had a few points I could be sympathetic toward.”

I was totally taken aback.

You thought of me as your younger brother?

I didn’t know about the other things he’d said, but I at least knew that this was complete garbage.

If he truly believed that, then he had gone mad.

“But you, you went too far.”

Hector reached out and grabbed me by my collar.

I could hear Sellen’s surprised voice as she let out a gasp.

“Killed a gem beast? Someone like you? There’s a limit to how much you can tarnish Father’s name...!”

Hector looked many more times angry than when I’d slapped him across the face yesterday.

This was a good way to see just how highly he thought of our father.

“I really killed one.”

“Ha. Where is the proof? What did you take from the gem beast’s corpse?”

“I didn’t see any real reason to do that, so I didn’t take anything.”

“...Are you trying to joke with me?”

At that moment, Hector let go of my neck with a push and kicked the table.

The decently large table flipped and the cups and plates scattered into the air.

It would hurt quite a bit if I got hit by that.

Bang!

However, the table that was flying through the air suddenly fell straight down and returned to its original position.

Of course, I wasn’t the one who had done that.

Atop the table was a dainty hand covered with a glove.

Sellen looked at Hector with annoyance.

“I don’t want to get in the middle of a family feud, but you’re being a bit extreme.”

Hector looked at Sellen for a moment before ignoring her and glaring at me.

“Yesterday, you had your butler, and now you have your fiancée? How pathetic. Who’s next? Are you going to ask your mother to protect you?”

Hector sneered at me with a cold expression.

“The Blessing Ceremony will soon begin! Young heroes, please gather at the rose garden!”

“...”

Hector took a deep breath to calm down before whispering in a low voice, “After the Blessing Ceremony is over, I will lodge for an official fight against you. It would be wise for you not to reject it. It would be better for you to lose your arms and legs rather than your life.”

“...”

After Hector said that with an annoyed expression, he quickly left the dining hall.

Sellen looked at me and Hector in turn with a look of annoyance on her face.

“I did hear that fights between Bednicker siblings are always crazy, but seeing it in real life, it’s beyond anything I imagined. The familial love you have for each other is impressive.”

“Are you blind?”

Sellen’s face became red as she shouted, “I’m mocking you, you idiot! ...Anyway, you’re truly pathetic. Even if he’s your older brother, you didn’t even say anything when you got insulted like that right in your face.”

“...”

“I understand that it’s how a weakling survives, but I can’t think of you as the son of the Lord of Blood and Iron.”

Sellen glanced at me with a look of disappointment before leaving.

I looked at the back of those two before wiping away the water that had gotten on my clothes.

It seemed to have stained my shirt when the table was flipped.

Insulted...

Sellen was right.

Hector had insulted me.

But if one asked whether or not I was angry, I wasn’t.

Of course, when he’d suddenly brought up my mother, I did get pissed at him...

I looked around.

The dining hall, an open area.

In front of the children of many noble houses... I was openly insulted by my brother and hid behind my ex-fiancée, who protected me.

I truly looked like an idiot, a fool, an insect.

But the thing I was more curious about right now...

If the rat bastards in the house had seen this event, what would they be thinking?

“Ah.”

I broke free from my thoughts.

The people had started to leave the dining hall, so I mixed in with them and left as well.

First, the Blessing Ceremony.