I Became the Youngest Disciple of the Martial God

Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Reagan pinched the bridge of his nose in an attempt to hide his shaking eyes.

Goosebumps had already climbed up his arms.

Although Hariba was of his blood, he sometimes felt he was looking at a monster.

It was as if Hariba was missing a few pieces that would make him a whole human.

Hariba hadn’t always been like this.

The first time Reagan had seen his son in a different light was at the Birthday Banquet of the second imperial prince two years ago.

Afterward, Hariba had said that he had something he needed to study and left for Ulca.

I shouldn’t have sent him there.

Although Ulca was famous for being the holy land of alchemy, the city was not viewed in a good light by society.

It was only natural since the place was filled with alchemists who would not hesitate to commit all sorts of acts for their research.

A few people even called Ulca the worst city imaginable.

Considering the general atmosphere of the city and its public order, it wasn’t completely wrong to say that either.

In any case, upon returning from the land of alchemy, Hariba had stopped hiding his urges.

There were rumors that he mingled with a dangerous crowd as well.

After a few moments, Reagan spoke.

“What does killing her have to do with the Blessing Ceremony? He might join the Blessing Ceremony even if Lucia is dead. The funeral could be planned after the Blessing Ceremony.”

“From what I’ve heard, Luan Bednicker isn’t that mentally resilient.”

“Still, this is too difficult. More importantly, it’s too likely that this act would be discovered. Don’t you know where we are?”

Although the Lord of Blood and Iron was away right now, it didn’t change the fact that they were at the Bednicker main house.

The House’s Council of Elders, the knight orders, and even the grand masters were present.

Although there were countless ways to assassinate a single woman, he wasn’t confident it could be done without being caught.

Reagan looked at his son.

“Hariba.”

“Yes.”

“Control yourself.”

“...”

That advice came from his heart.

Although Reagan believed that some brutality was needed to become the best, Hariba was too excessive.

Hariba stayed quiet for a moment before lowering his head.

“I’m sorry.”

“You don’t need to worry about Luan. From the last report I received, he is but a rat in a poisoned barrel. Death is merely a matter of time.”

Reagan rose from his seat and opened the curtains.

Fwoosh

Bright sunlight filled the room.

With narrowed eyes, Reagan said, “There is no possibility that a brat without a single blessing can escape the Gem Mountains, so do not worry so needlessly.”

“...I understand.”

“Go.”

Hariba lowered his head once more before quietly leaving the room.

Reagan looked out the window.

He saw a beautiful garden and, beyond it, a dense forest.

Only the chosen ones could enter the main house of Bednicker.

Although he was here as a guest for the Blessing Ceremony and his stay was only temporary...

If Hariba became a member of House Bednicker, Reagan would be able to see this beautiful scene every single day.

Four more days until the Blessing Ceremony.

Reagan decided to relax a little and wait for the time.

***

Of course, it wasn’t just the blood of Bednicker that was attending the Blessing Ceremony.

For the Blessing Ceremony, all the famous houses of The Empire had gathered.

They were so famous that even a country bumpkin would’ve heard of them.

Of course, most of them couldn’t even try to contest with Bednicker.

...Most of them.

House Goodspring: the only other house in The Empire that could stand shoulder to shoulder with House Bednicker.

“...I’m going to die of boredom.”

The third daughter of House Goodspring, Sellen Goodspring, didn’t try to hide her frown at all.

It had been nearly two weeks since she’d come to this damned mansion.

It would be a lie to say she hadn’t looked forward to seeing how fancy the main house of the esteemed House Bednicker was.

At first, she’d been surprised. Seeing this beautiful mansion situated in the middle of a dream-like forest, Sellen had felt—for the first time in a while—as if she’d entered a fairy tale.

Even on her second and third day here, that mystical feeling hadn’t left her.

But she’d reached her limit about a week in.

After getting used to the beautiful scenery, the downsides had begun to stand out.

The city is too far away.

Forget the city, she couldn’t even go into the forest.

Sellen knew about the Forest of the Butterfly. Anyone who wasn’t of Bednicker blood would be lost forever within that place.

She had also heard that many different and dangerous monsters lurked within the deep forest.

At this point, Sellen couldn’t tell this mansion from a prison cell.

Also, this Exchange was so long that she’d started to get sick of the music being played.

“...Why am I here?”

How great would it be if the Blessing Ceremony was being held at Goodspring instead?

Sellen’s house was one of the three houses—including House Bednicker and the imperial family—that could host the Blessing Ceremony.

With a little luck, Sellen could have attended the Blessing Ceremony from her own home.

...Of course, it had been Sellen’s decision that led to the Blessing Ceremony being held at House Bednicker this time.

The Blessing Ceremony was a major opportunity.

Although most problems in this world could be solved with enough money and authority, there were a few exceptions.

“Lionis of House Tramon.”

“Here.”

The Blessing Ceremony was one of them.

Only those who possessed the blood of the heroes, those who possessed the aptitude of the Demon Hunters were allowed.

And this Blessing Ceremony was the only way to completely awaken the blood of the hero.

“Sellen of House Goodspring.”

Her name was called, and she answered, “Here.”

As she did, she felt attention directed to her from those around her.

A few children started to whisper rudely amongst themselves.

“That’s the third daughter of House Goodspring?”

“Her hair color is peculiar.”

“She looks fine on the outside, but I heard she’s rotten on the inside...”

Sellen was used to these reactions and maintained her expression...

But then she heard something that nearly made her snap.

“Her personality worsened after her marriage talks with House Bednicker broke off.”

What marriage?

The marriage talk had happened without her consent, nor had she ever been able to see her marriage candidate.

Honestly, she couldn’t even remember his name.

Was it the idiot who sold the sword of House Bednicker?

In truth, marriage talks between the Great Houses did not occur as often as people thought.

Even though House Bednicker and House Goodspring were the two houses that represented The Empire, the marriage had nearly been confirmed.

The reason for this was simple: there were some flaws in the people being discussed.

It was a traditional way for a house to get rid of a troublesome person in the family.

Anyway, the marriage talk had only happened in the first place because the young master from Bednicker had become infamously troublesome.

Due to this, due to the idiot’s idiotic actions, Sellen had been put up for offer.

Although she wanted to be of help to her house, this wasn’t the way she wanted to do it.

Also, what was his name?

She had heard it before, but she couldn’t remember right now.

It was something like Lu...

“Luan of House Bednicker.”

That’s right. Luan Bednicker.

Huh?

Only now did Sellen raise her head.

Was he attending this Blessing Ceremony as well?

She hadn’t known.

A lot of things had changed since Sellen Goodspring was confirmed to attend the Blessing Ceremony.

However...

From what I heard, he attended the First Blessing Ceremony at the start of the year and was unable to receive a single blessing.

It was unprecedented for a member of a Great House to not receive a single blessing.

Of course, Sellen had heard about this.

After all, this was the final straw that had ended the talk of marriage.

Rook’s dry voice once more echoed throughout the hall.

“Luan of House Bednicker.”

Now that she thought about it, if there was no reply until the third call, he wouldn’t be able to attend the ceremony, right?

It seemed that coward wasn’t planning on attending even though he had been picked by the House...

But that’s understandable.

Humiliation on that scale didn’t need to be repeated.

Honestly, Sellen couldn’t understand the Bednicker’s decision to give Luan another chance.

“Luan of House Bedni—”

Bang!

At that moment, the doors swung open.

The attention of all those in the hall, including Sellen and even Rook on the platform, turned to the door...

Many of them furrowed their brow as they saw the person standing there.

“...”

It was some bum.

He clearly was wearing something dirty and smelled terrible.

“What the...” Sellen said in surprise.

Although she had insulted Bednicker as a backwater place before, she had never truly meant it.

In particular, the land on which the main house was built was as safe as the imperial palace.

The knights who were protecting the entrance spoke up.

“Stop right there.”

“This isn’t a place you can enter as you please.”

It was amazing that the knights could maintain their decency in this situation, but unlike their polite words, they were very threatening.

But the more surprising thing was the bum’s reply.

“Really? My butler told me I should be here.”

Only then did the knights begin to feel that something was off.

“My apologies, but may I know who you are...?”

At that, the dirty-looking guy looked around for a moment before...

“I’m the youngest son of this house,” he replied.REaad updated stories at