Novel Full Chapter 305 : Chapter 305
Chapter 305. I Can’t Let It End Like This (4)
The Grand Duke and Duchess’ bedroom.
What Ava saw when she arrived at the bedroom, which was much more splendid and luxurious than before, was her husband drinking with a tormented expression.
“My dear.”
“It’s you.”
Grand Duke Schneider said without even looking at his wife who sat down next to him.
“You must be very upset.”
“…Do you remember when Patrick was young?”
“How could I ever forget?”
Thinking back now, Patrick was a peculiar child from a young age. He rarely cried, would stare blankly, and then suddenly shout in incomprehensible babble…
“I originally had no intention of having a child.”
“……”
“It was partly because your body was weak, but more than that, I didn’t think I would be a good father. I knew my own many shortcomings…”
“……”
Ava just listened to her husband’s words without a word.
“But when we had the child and he was born, I thought. I would protect this child no matter what.”
“……”
“Thinking back now, it was a ridiculous bravado. What kind of person is my son…”
“……”
“My son is strong, wise, and his skills are beyond words. He is a son so beyond my due that I can’t understand how I could have given birth to such a son.”
“……”
“Me worrying about that boy is like a goblin worrying that a dragon might fall while flying.”
“……”
“But you see.”
“……”
“Can’t I do that?”
“……”
“No matter how insignificant and lacking I am compared to him, I am his father. A parent. But… can’t I worry when my son is doing something reckless that puts his life on the line?”
“……”
Grand Duke Schneider brought his hands to his face, rubbed his dry face, and muttered helplessly.
“It would have been better if he had been born as the son of someone much more excellent than me…”
The prophesied human…
The Apostles of Kalaron…
These were problems on a scale that Grand Duke Schneider could never have imagined.
He felt he was too ordinary and small a person to handle this.
He drained the alcohol in his cup in one go and was about to refill it when Ava took his hand and stopped him.
And then…
“What parent wouldn’t worry when their child is doing something reckless?”
“Ava…”
“But no parent can keep their child in their arms forever. Especially our son.”
Patrick Schneider was a man whose wings were too large to be caged.
“But you know, my dear.”
“……”
“Even if he leaves our arms, it doesn’t mean Patrick becomes someone else’s child, does it? Patrick is still our son.”
“……”
“All we can do is trust and watch over him. Just as all parents in the world do…”
Grand Duke Schneider squeezed his eyes shut.
Yes. She was right.
He wasn’t stupid enough not to know that. But…
Was he supposed to push Patrick’s back as he set out to challenge the Four Calamities?
When he might die.
When his own child was going to his death, was he supposed to push his back instead of stopping him?
“What parent in the world would do such a thing…”
He couldn’t even continue his words.
Ava held her husband’s hand tightly and said.
“I know. I know everything in your heart.”
“……”
“So please, tell your son your feelings honestly.”
And she quietly stood up from her seat, looked towards the door, and said.
“My son.”
No answer came.
But Ava said with conviction.
“If you don’t come out now, Mom will get angry too.”
Then the door opened slightly, and Patrick appeared with an awkward expression.
“No, I completely concealed my presence, how…”
Even a 7-Star knight couldn’t notice if Patrick decided to hide his presence. But…
“I’m your mother, you rascal.”
At Ava’s smiling words, Patrick was at a loss for words.
And as she went outside, she said.
“Now, have an honest talk, father and son.”
And when she closed the door and left, Patrick hesitated for a moment before going to the opposite side of his father and plopping down. And then…
“Aren’t you drinking too much? It’s not good for your health.”
“Is that something for you to say? A guy who drinks every single day?”
“As for me, well…”
Grand Duke Schneider poured alcohol into an empty glass and offered it to Patrick.
“Come to think of it, we’ve never had a drink together as father and son.”
“That’s because you hardly ever drink, Father.”
“And you don’t drink tea, do you?”
“Why would I drink some weed that can’t even get me drunk?”
Such a different father and son.
Grand Duke Schneider chuckled and offered the glass to Patrick.
“Let’s drink together today.”
“…Yes.”
The two men emptied their glasses at the same time.
And as Patrick was awkwardly about to open his mouth, Grand Duke Schneider spoke first.
“Is it something you must do?”
At those words, Patrick flinched and then pressed his lips together firmly. And after a moment’s hesitation, he spoke his honest feelings.
“If I could avoid it, I would want to.”
“……”
“Honestly, what more could I want from here? Our family is rich now, and it’s no longer a harsh environment where the fief’s people die frequently.”
“That’s right.”
“The nation’s military and economic power are all getting stronger.”
“That’s a good thing.”
“On top of that, recently Count Krupa has been working himself to the bone to solidify the administrative system, so there’s nothing left for me to do. I just have to reap the benefits, is what I’m saying.”
“……”
Patrick let out a sigh and said to Grand Duke Schneider.
“Honestly, I just want to live a leisurely life playing with my pretty wives. Such a life… I’ve truly dreamed of it my whole life. My whole life.”
“……”
Patrick said with a wistful expression.
Come to think of it, he had done a lot in the slightly over 20 years since he was reborn.
From taking down the knight commander who was embezzling the budget to getting here, how many things had happened?
‘I really went through a lot of hardships.’
And now, the Schneider Duchy was completely stabilized.
The leisurely and content life he had dreamed of was right before his eyes.
Black mages? The Hegemon King?
Honestly, as long as they didn’t mess with him first, he could just ignore them.
But still.
The prophesied human.
The Apostles of Kalaron.
The Outer God sealed in the Holy Theocracy.
And even the traces of the Heavenly Demon…
‘Haaa… my fate.’
It was a headache, but it was a problem that couldn’t be ignored.
“Father, closing your eyes when an arrow is flying at you isn’t the answer, is it?”
“…Yes. You are right.”
“Please. I will somehow resolve everything and be a good son to you and Mother. I’ll give you a cute grandchild and rule the country well… well, as best as I can.”
“……”
“So for now, can’t you trust my decision? I know you’re worried. But this is not something that can be avoided.”
“……”
“It’s not like I’m doing this without any calculation. I recently entered the 9-Star realm, you see. So skinning that striped cat bastard is also quite possible…”
“Do it.”
“Father?”
“As you said, one cannot close their eyes to an approaching arrow.”
“……”
“Instead, I ask you… you must come back. Do you understand?”
Patrick looked his father straight in the eyes and said.
“Yes. Father.”
That day, the father and son drank together until they collapsed for the first time.
***
Paaang!
A sharp sword strike that fiercely cut through the air.
Discipline, speed, power—nothing was lacking.
In fact, there were quite a few people in the Schneider Duchy who could perform such swordsmanship. But…
“Huuuu…”
If that person was a black-haired, peerless beauty, then there was only one protagonist.
One of the three Grand Young Mistresses.
Isabella Black Schneider.
She frowned and thought.
‘I’m completely rusty.’
It was a strike she had swung as a test, but she was not satisfied at all.
When she glanced down at her own hand, she saw a white, smooth hand.
The moment she saw the baby-like white hand, her expression turned to anger.
Once, this hand was full of hard calluses as a testament to her being a swordswoman.
But now, it was the smooth and soft hand of a woman.
She too was an excellent swordswoman who had graduated from the Academy with excellent grades, but…
Now that had become a thing of the past.
After her marriage to Patrick.
She had abandoned the sword.
Because there was no longer any reason to hold a sword.
The reason she had held a sword and frantically devoted herself to it in the past was because she had a reason to become strong.
The desperate reason called her mother.
She thought that if she became an excellent knight, she could help her mother.
A queen who had been a handmaiden and received the king’s favor.
This was a precarious status where she could die at any time, in any way.
To help such a mother, she had frantically devoted herself to the sword, and as a result, she had achieved success. But…
[It should be fine now, right?]
The moment she married Patrick, her goal was achieved.
Her mother was living a gentle and enjoyable life in a separate palace in the Schneider Duchy.
Considering the position of the Schneider Duchy and Patrick’s status, the rest of her life would be safe.
Thus, she had put down her sword.
In fact, even if she had continued to hold the sword, she didn’t think she could ever beat April, who was also Patrick’s wife. So she had put down the sword and decided to be a faithful wife instead.
For him, she had learned the refinements suitable for a noble lady rather than a knight, faithfully supported him from behind the scenes, and planned to bear him a child.
Complaints? Regrets?
There were none.
To her, the sword was a means, and she felt both gratitude and love for Patrick.
Could it be more perfect than this?
To be a faithful wife to the man she loved while at the same time repaying his grace…
She could ask for nothing more.
If she could one day bear his child and raise that child, being a faithful mother, she would have nothing more to wish for in her life.
That was what she had thought. But…
“Useless woman.”
Isabella berated herself.
Annihilation for herself, for having complacently abandoned what she had built up, was slowly creeping up from within her, and she couldn’t bear it.
“Trash, a useless idiot, you’ve become the most useless parasite among Patrick’s wives, Isabella.”
Her body trembled slightly with anger at herself.
A difficult fate awaited Patrick, yet she had intended to play the role of a leisurely noble lady.
She could not forgive herself for that fact.
Isabella bit her lower lip and lifted her head.
“I can’t let it end like this.”
Repentance and self-reproach were enough.
The important thing was to correct her mistake, starting now.
She was not a weak woman to begin with.
She was the woman who had taken up the sword herself so as not to be crushed by her birth and had already distinguished herself among the Academy students even before meeting Patrick.
She was not a woman weak enough to be meekly crushed just because fate was weighing down on her.
The next day.
Isabella visited an unexpected place.
“What did you just say?”
“I said I am formally applying for membership.”
“…To our side?”
“Yes. That’s right.”
The place she had visited was the pinnacle of intellect on the entire continent and the headquarters of magic.
The Tower of Truth.
And before her stood the Seven Sages who ruled the Tower of Truth.
He looked at Isabella and said.
“Do you know what it means to devote yourself to the Tower of Truth?”
“……”
“To devote yourself to the Tower means to sever all other ties you have had until now. Family, country, everything.”
Those who belonged to the Tower of Truth were thoroughly educated to prioritize the Tower above all else.
No matter what country or status a person had outside the Tower, the moment they entered the Tower of Truth, all of it was considered null and void.
Even the Seven Sages had abandoned their original names and simply called themselves the First Sage, Second Sage, Third Sage, and so on. What more needed to be said?
If she entered here, Isabella would no longer be the Grand Young Mistress of the Schneider Duchy, nor the princess of the Kingdom of Atronia.
“Are you saying that is still acceptable?”
“No. That is not acceptable.”
She could lose her status as a princess of the Kingdom of Atronia, but she could not sever her ties with the Schneider Duchy.
That was a part she could absolutely not compromise on.
“Then we cannot accept you.”
“If I were going to go back so meekly, I wouldn’t have come like this.”
Isabella insisted.
And to the frowning 7th Sage, she said.
“The rules of the Tower are strict, but I know that there have been exceptions.”
“That is…”
“In the past, there is a record of a prince from the Kaisar Kingdom who was active as a mage of the Tower while maintaining his status as a prince.”
“That was…”
“Am I wrong?”
The 7th Sage let out a deep sigh and said.
“That case was because he himself made a huge contribution to the Tower.”
The person Isabella was talking about was Prince Ben Drake Kaisar, a prince of the Kaisar Kingdom who had also climbed to the 7th floor of the Tower of Truth.
Despite being a legitimate prince who could have inherited the throne, he was a peculiar person who unusually loved magic, yielded the throne to his younger brother, and devoted himself to magic.
His achievements were so outstanding that the Fourth Sage of the Tower of Truth at the time had taken him as a disciple.
Thus, the first mage in the Tower of Truth to maintain a royal status was born.
There was much talk about it at the time, but it was an exception among exceptions.
Especially since that prince had such outstanding magical talent that the Tower of Truth could not afford to lose him.
He had developed over a hundred original spells, and thanks to that, the Tower of Truth was able to maintain a good relationship with the Kaisar Kingdom.
It was an exception among exceptions where talent and political interests aligned.
‘In the Grand Young Mistress’ case, the political interests align, but…’
Of course, if raised as a magic swordsman, she would be a fine addition to their forces.
But from the perspective of mages, simply adding one strong magic swordsman was not such a great reward.
It neither satisfied their intellectual curiosity nor did it lead to magical advancement.
“It will obviously be rejected even if I put it to a meeting. So please…”
“I will disclose my Aura Blessing.”
“……!”
In an instant, the 7th Sage’s eyes changed.
“Excuse me, but if it is the Grand Young Mistress’ Aura Blessing…?”
“It is called Dual Blessing. I learned it from my husband.”
“Hmm…”
The 7th Sage let out a groan.
In fact, the Tower of Truth had long been interested in Patrick’s Aura Blessing.
To other people, Patrick was just a strong and ill-tempered great demon, but to mages, he was also a research subject that made them wonder, ‘How can he be so strong at that age? What on earth is his secret?’
They had approached him countless times asking for his cooperation for research, but they had been completely stonewalled, and now such an unexpected opportunity had come…
The 7th Sage almost took the bait, but he first calmed himself down.
“First, as we do not wish for any friction with the Double… Schneider Duchy, I will confirm.”
“……”
“Is it true that there will be no repercussions if the Grand Young Mistress discloses her Aura Blessing? Is it certain that no one will come to question us, destroy the Tower of Truth, or sit down and throw a tantrum out of sorrow?”
The examples were quite specific.
Isabella nodded slightly and said.
“The Dual Blessing I learned was taught to me separately by my husband when he was on the faculty of the Academy.”
“Separately to the Grand Young Mistress?”
“Yes. It seems he thought it would be difficult to impart the same thing he was imparting to the knightly order since I was bound to the royal family at the time, so he taught me the Dual Blessing.”
“Then what is the effect of that Aura Blessing?”
He was slightly disappointed to hear that it was different from the Aura Blessing used by Patrick and his knightly order.
But since the Double Dragon himself had taught it, it was worth confirming.
And Isabella said…
“What I had previously learned was the Raihan Blessing, which is learned in the Royal Guard of the Atronia Kingdom.”
It was an excellent Aura Blessing.
It was the Aura Blessing of Duke Raihan, the right-hand man of the first king of the Kingdom of Atronia and who had reached the 8-Star realm. But…
“The Dual Blessing I learned accumulated aura three times faster.”
“Three times?”
“Yes. And its method of operation is also unique. The system itself is different from existing Aura Blessings. It is probably based on a similar principle to what Patrick has learned.”
“Hmm…”
This was tempting.
If it wasn’t just an excellent Aura Blessing but had a different system, then it was well worth researching.
In fact, he didn’t know it, but the Dual Blessing Patrick had taught her was what was called Universe Divine Art in the Central Plains.
It was the internal energy heart law of the Qingcheng Sect, one of the Nine Sects One Gang, and was in itself very excellent.
How did Patrick know this? Well…
[Surrendeeeeeeeeeeer!]
Further detailed explanation will be omitted.
It was the Universe Divine Art he had obtained in that way, but it wasn’t of much help to Patrick.
Because…
[Eh, it overlaps too much with the Wudang Sect’s stuff.]
[…….]
[It even seems like a slightly lower-tier version, so it’s not very useful. Do you have anything else?]
[Get out, you bastard!]
That was a word from the sect master of the Qingcheng Sect, who was known for having the most moderate disposition among the sect masters of the Nine Sects at the time.
Anyway, thus…
This Universe Divine Art was just something Patrick knew and was not a very useful heart law to him.
He had taught it to Isabella while he was a student.
Since she was a member of the royal family, he couldn’t teach her the martial arts of the Twin Dragon Sect, but he couldn’t just leave her with a messy internal energy heart law either.
So the internal energy heart law he chose, which was decent by Patrick’s standards but not necessary for himself, was the Universe Divine Art.
He had taught it to Isabella as the Dual Blessing.
While teaching it, he had also given her permission in advance, saying it wouldn’t matter if it leaked to the royal family.
He had given it to her with the thought that since there was no one in this world with an understanding of acupoints to perform Qi Guiding and Harmonizing, it would be difficult to master it anyway, so it wouldn’t matter if it leaked.
But Isabella had kept it without telling the royal family.
Although she was a princess of the royal family, she had no particular attachment or loyalty to it.
And now.
She decided to use it as a useful card against the Tower of Truth.
“What will you do?”
“Hmm…”
“I will say this in advance. If you do not give me a quick answer, I will make the same deal with the Holy Theocracy.”
“Yes? What did you say?”
“I will provide my Aura Blessing to the Paladins of the Holy Theocracy and in return, I will join as a Holy Knight.”
It was not a joke.
This was her second plan if she was rejected by the Tower of Truth.
The 7th Sage let out a sigh.
‘This is an opportunity too good to miss. Above all, it’s better for us to have it than to let the Holy Theocracy take it.’
Recently, the Holy Theocracy had bestowed the title of Saint on Patrick and was showing active goodwill.
If Isabella, the Grand Young Mistress, were to officially become a Holy Knight on top of that, the Holy Theocracy could become a bigger alliance target for the Schneider Duchy than the Tower of Truth.
That would be really troublesome.
After all the effort they had put in following that great demon’s unreasonable demands for civil engineering, monster extermination, wars, and so on, to have it snatched away now?
‘Absolutely not.’
The 7th Sage, having made up his mind, said.
“First, I will need to call a meeting of all Seven Sages. But I will do my best to push it through somehow. So please wait for a moment.”
“I understand.”
And the 7th Sage immediately held a meeting with the other Seven Sages to seek their agreement to recognize Isabella as a special case. The result…
[We recognize the acceptance of Grand Young Mistress Isabella Black Schneider as a magic swordsman belonging to the Tower of Truth while maintaining her existing status.]
That proclamation was announced.
And Isabella officially received a Soul Weapon and began training to handle it.
‘This is the beginning.’
She could not beat April with a sword.
Elione, the Elven Knight, was also difficult for her to handle.
But as a magic swordsman?
With the power of the Tower of Truth, which stood alongside the Venator Empire and the Saint Louis Holy Theocracy as one of the three great powers…
‘I too might be able to be of help to Patrick.’
It might not be right now, but in the distant future. But she had started running towards a new goal again.