Chapter 215 -----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 215
Chapter Title: The Lord of Jerdinger
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That evening.
Numerous knights stood in formation before the warp gate.
The atmosphere was starkly different from when they had welcomed Leo and Celia earlier that day.
A moment later, the warp gate flashed with light.
From it emerged a man with black hair and red eyes.
His eyes were a vibrant crimson, as if they could burst into flame at any moment.
His face was like a sculpture meticulously carved by an artist.
The man, who could easily be described as dashingly middle-aged, possessed an aura that overwhelmed all present.
Step— Step—
As the man descended from the warp gate and walked toward a carriage, the knights dropped to one knee with a sharp *clank*, performing a knight's salute.
The man raised a hand to the knights.
At his gesture, they rose in disciplined unison.
"You've arrived, brother."
"I have. Has anything of note happened with the family?"
Jis greeted him respectfully, and Seld Jerdinger, the head of the family, asked in a solemn voice.
"Celia returned today."
"Right, I heard today was the end of the term."
It was the day his beloved daughter was returning for the break, yet Seld had completely forgotten.
He had been attending meetings hosted by the emperor day and night in the capital, trying to keep up with the rapidly changing global situation.
Seld had been so busy he barely had time to breathe.
Even so, he thought of himself as a poor father, giving a bitter smile as he settled into the carriage.
"And Leo has come to visit with Celia."
Seld paused.
Then he continued into the carriage.
Jis followed him inside.
"Leo, is it…"
Seld's expression turned intrigued at the visit of the nephew he had only heard stories about.
"What about Lis?"
"After his graduation, Lis went to conquer a hero's dungeon at Lumerne's request. He won't be able to return to the estate for a while."
Seld nodded at Jis's words.
"And the welcome party preparations?"
"They are complete."
"Good."
Seld leaned back deep into his seat.
"I look forward to it."
***
The party hall of the Jerdinger main estate.
Amid a gathering of all those holding important positions at the estate, Leo stood beside Celia.
Leo scanned the faces in the crowd.
There were many knights of incredible skill.
"What are you staring at so intently?"
"There are a lot of formidable people here."
At Leo's words, Celia puffed out her chest with pride.
"Of course. This is the Jerdinger family, after all."
Leo chuckled as he watched Celia sweep her hair back.
"Lady Celia, congratulations on becoming a second-year."
"You must be Young Master Leo. A pleasure to meet you. I am from a branch family of…"
People began to gather around Leo and Celia.
The official reason for the party was to celebrate Leo and Celia advancing to their second year.
As such, the two of them were the guests of honor.
However, the center of everyone's attention was Leo.
Celia covered her mouth, teasing Leo.
"Quite popular, aren't you?"
Leo glanced at the teasing Celia and replied nonchalantly.
"It's not popularity. They're all hovering around because they want something."
"Want something?"
Celia tilted her head at Leo's words.
Just then, a stir began at the entrance to the hall.
Seld and Jis were making their entrance.
As the Jerdinger vassals paid their respects, Seld spotted Leo and Celia and made his way toward them.
"Father!"
Celia beamed at the sight of her father, whom she hadn't seen in a long time.
Though Celia always maintained the perfect decorum of a direct heir to a great hero family, before her father, she was just a fifteen-year-old girl.
Seld chuckled as his daughter ran to him with a bright smile and hugged him tightly, and he gently patted her head.
"My girl. I've heard stories of your exploits. I'm proud of you."
"I only did what was expected of a direct Jerdinger descendant, didn't I?"
After patting his daughter's head, Seld's gaze shifted to Leo.
"You must be Leo."
"It is an honor to meet the Lord of Jerdinger."
As Seld looked at him, Leo offered a polite and formal greeting.
Although Leo had been recognized as a direct descendant of the Jerdinger family, this was the first time he and Seld had met.
Moreover, it was a formal occasion with countless eyes upon them.
He had no choice but to display perfect etiquette.
Celia was astonished, watching the flawless Leo.
'He doesn't seem like the type, but his etiquette is perfect.'
Leo was usually someone who didn't care much for formalities.
So one might assume he had only learned the bare minimum of noble etiquette, but that wasn't the case.
Even to Celia, who had been raised under the strict standards of a great hero family since childhood, Leo's etiquette was flawless.
'Seeing this makes me think all that nagging from Lisinas paid off.'
Leo thought of his old friend and chuckled inwardly.
Thanks to Lisinas's constant pestering, Leo had perfectly mastered the complex etiquette of the Dragon race.
That experience allowed him to execute most forms of etiquette perfectly.
'Etiquette stems from one's bearing, after all.'
Seeing Leo's etiquette, Seld burst out laughing.
"You're nothing like Reina."
Seld added, recalling his free-spirited, or rather, fiery younger sister.
"Feel free to call me Uncle."
"Yes, Uncle."
Seeing Seld permit such a familiar term of address, everyone from the Jerdinger family held their breath.
'As expected, the family head intends to entrust Young Master Leo with a major position in the future.'
'Damn it! If I'd known this would happen, I shouldn't have voted against accepting him into the direct line!'
The minds of many guests at the party raced.
The Jerdinger family was not just any great hero family.
It was one of the two pillars that supported the Rodren Empire.
A family that held influence over nearly half of all the knights in the empire.
This meant the Jerdingers wielded immense power.
In fact, the public status of the Jerdinger direct bloodline was higher than that of royalty from most kingdoms; it was certainly never lower.
Within the Rodren Empire, simply being a direct descendant of the Jerdinger family granted one treatment beyond imagination.
That was why the branch families always yearned to be recognized and attain the status of the direct line.
When a new direct descendant emerged, the chances for others to join the direct line diminished.
Thus, many had tried to oppose Leo when he was being accepted into the direct line.
But now, Leo was one of the key figures within the Jerdinger family.
Furthermore, he was clearly under the protection of the family head and sub-head as their nephew.
Now, simply falling out of Leo's favor could mean being pushed away from the family's center of power.
After Seld finished speaking with Leo and walked away, Celia's eyes sparkled as she asked.
"What do you think of my father?"
"He's incredible."
As the Lord of the Jerdinger family, Seld was a man without fault.
He was one of the most skilled knights Leo had ever seen in his life.
A man who truly lived up to the name of hero.
Hearing Leo's praise, Celia smiled confidently.
*Ding—ding—ding—ding—*
Jis tapped his wine glass, drawing everyone's attention.
"The family head would like to say a few words."
At that, all eyes turned to Seld.
"I want to thank you all for attending this party to celebrate my daughter and nephew advancing to their second year."
Seld's solemn voice echoed throughout the hall.
"These two are the future of our Jerdinger family, so I ask for your continued support as they strive for excellence."
His simple words were met with a thunderous round of applause from the guests.
Afterward, Leo had to greet countless people.
From the Jerdinger branch families to the many vassal families.
Although only those connected to the Jerdingers were invited, there were still a great number of people.
'If they invited other nobles, it would be truly chaotic.'
Leo shook his head at the sheer scale of the Jerdinger family, but he dealt with everyone perfectly.
'Did my sister neglect her own etiquette but teach Leo so thoroughly?'
Jis watched in admiration.
There wasn't a single flaw to be found.
'I'd be tempted to send him with Celia as the public faces of the family for external events.'
Jis felt a strong desire to publicly establish Leo as a perfect member of the Jerdinger family.
'So that other families won't even think of looking his way. Especially the Llewellyns.'
Jis's face twisted.
Normally, the Llewellyn family would have no reason to covet the Jerdinger bloodline.
But Leo was different from the typical Jerdinger.
All-Class.
Furthermore, his ability and talent as a mage were comparable to that of a knight.
Even in the long history of the Jerdinger family, Leo's talent was among the very best.
With that kind of magical talent, it wouldn't be strange for the Llewellyns to covet him, regardless of pride or anything else.
'It's especially annoying how that witch keeps asking about Leo.'
The Llewellyn sub-head, who until last year would start a staring contest every time they met, has recently softened her attitude and frequently brings up Leo.
'The imperial family is also showing interest in Leo.'
Ever since it became known that he was the Phoenix's contractor, the imperial family's interest in Leo had become so overt it was almost blatant.
'Being too talented is also a problem, it seems.'
Jis let out a dry laugh and shook his head.
"Lord Sub-Head."
"What is it, Sir Terius?"
Jis looked at the man approaching him with a curious expression.
Pierce Terius, a member of the family head's Phoenix Knights.
"I have something urgent to discuss with you regarding Young Master Leo."
"What is it?"
"It's about Young Master Leo's squires."
Jis chuckled at his words.
'So it's about that.'
Jis was also in charge of overseeing the Jerdinger family's trainees.
As such, he knew that when Leo was selecting his squires late last spring, the top-ranking trainees had avoided joining.
He was also aware that many of them now regretted not joining Leo's retinue.
'I've heard that quite a few trainees have recently been eyeing a spot in Leo's retinue.'
Pierce's son was also a trainee and one of the top performers.
"The matter of Leo's squires was settled back in the spring, as you know."
"Yes, of course it was. But, Lord Sub-Head, the current skill of Young Master Leo's squires is far beneath his reputation."
"Hmm."
Jis crossed his arms and looked over at Leo.
A group of what appeared to be trainees had gathered around Leo.
They were likely trying to make a good impression.
However, Leo himself looked completely uninterested.
'It seems Leo has already made up his mind.'
Jis smirked.
'To Leo, the ones who chose him are probably more precious than those with more skill.'
"That seems to be a matter for Leo to decide, not me."
At those words, Pierce's eyes lit up.
"Then may I speak to Young Master Leo about it myself?"
"Do as you please, Sir Terius."
"Yes."
Pierce headed toward Leo with a meaningful expression.
"Young Master Leo. I am Pierce Terius, a member of the Phoenix Knights."
"Hello, Sir Terius."
Leo looked puzzled at the large knight who had approached him so abruptly.
"I have something I must say to you, Young Master Leo."
"What is it?"
"Young Master Leo, as a direct descendant of the Jerdinger family, you are fourth in the line of succession, after Young Master Lis, Lady Celia, and Lady Emira. You are one of the faces of the Jerdinger family."
The current order of succession for the Jerdinger family was as follows:
Lis and Celia, the children of the family head, Seld.
Emira, the daughter of Jis.
And then, Leo.
Although his surname wasn't Jerdinger, as the nephew of the family head, he was fourth in line.
Furthermore, Emira was too frail to walk the path of a knight.
This made Leo the de facto third in line.
Of course, it was unlikely that Leo would ever become the family head, but his position in the line of succession was still deeply significant.
"And?"
"Young Master Leo, you are a flawless heir to the Jerdinger name. However… I believe the squires who follow you are lacking."
Leo's lips curled into a smirk as he listened to Pierce's blunt words.
"What are you trying to say?"
"I recommend that you take on squires who are worthy of you. This is not just a matter concerning you, Young Master; the prestige of the Jerdinger family is at stake. I say this out of concern."
Celia frowned at Pierce's words.
But everyone around them seemed to agree with him.
'It's true that Leo's current squires lack skill. But still, this is something for Leo to decide, not a topic to be brought up so publicly.'
This was tantamount to using the family's prestige to pressure Leo.
Celia glanced over at Jis.
Jis was watching the situation intently, as if he intended to let Leo handle it himself.
'My father won't step in for something like this.'
Celia turned her gaze to Leo.
'What are you going to do, Leo?'
With all eyes on him, Leo smiled.
"I'm quite fond of my squires."
"Yes. Since they chose you, Young Master, it is understandable that you feel an attachment. But even so, you must select those with actual skill."
"My squires have plenty of skill."
Leo chuckled.
Pierce gave a bitter smile at that.
"You can only say that because you haven't seen the other trainees, Young Master…"
"You see, all five of them are set to enroll at Lumerne."
"…"
For a moment, everyone in the hall doubted their own ears.
Only a very small number of the Jerdinger knight trainees were ever able to enroll at Lumerne.
And he was saying all five of his would be enrolling?
Besides, it was a well-known fact that Leo's squires were only average performers among the trainees.
No matter how one looked at it, Leo's claim was absurd.
But there was one person.
Celia was different.
'…If it's him, he could actually pull it off.'
Knowing her cousin's abilities better than anyone, Celia had a feeling that Leo could do it.
When Leo said he would do something, he did it.
'Of course, they're in for a taste of hell.'
Celia sighed deeply with a look of pity.
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