Chapter 37
Dellark C. Bednicker.
He was the extraordinary genius born of House Bednicker and the name that was always brought up whenever someone discussed the strongest people in The Empire.
If there was one word to summarize the deeds accomplished by this man throughout his not-long life, it was “insanity.”
He had started walking within a few dozen days of his birth, grabbed a steel sword before he was one year old, and punched and killed an ogre with his bare fists at the age of four...
He had read all the texts available in the house library by age seven, and he’d learned all the secret swordsmanship techniques and created a unique swordsmanship technique for himself at just age ten.
At age twelve, he enrolled in the Imperial Academy under special consideration, finished the entire curriculum, and graduated within just a year.
After this shocking and unbelievable chain of events, he received twelve blessings during his First Blessing Ceremony.
Twelve blessings.
Receiving just three blessings was usually enough for one to be called a prodigy, and five was enough to be called a genius. Seven or eight blessings was enough to be one of the heroes of history.
Even if one wasn’t very bright or wanted to deny Dellark’s talent as much as they could... the moment his blessings were revealed, it was impossible to not acknowledge that he was on a different level.
The more surprising fact was that during his Second Blessing Ceremony, he’d received nine more blessings.
No one knew what all the blessings Dellark had received were.
However, after the Second Blessing Ceremony, Dellark had stopped growing old.
His appearance was stuck as that of a young lad.
However, his power had never stopped growing.
The following year, Dellark had officially inherited the position of family head, and even though House Bednicker hadn’t been able to match up to House Goodspring at the time, he pulled House Bednicker above and beyond House Goodspring’s level within just twenty years.
The thing he took part in most was the extermination of the cult.
Even if he discovered only a small trace, if it was related to the cult, he would chase them down to the ends of the world to uproot them.
It didn’t matter to him how long it took or how many sacrifices he had to make.
Even with his position as family head and the Lord of Blood and Iron, he was at the forefront of the destruction of the Church of Darkness.
The emperor had personally given him a middle name to honor his achievements, and the honor of the house had grown with him.
In the end, Dellark had obtained the position of one of the Great Lords, and as he was the most thorough and cold-blooded in all the empire, he was named the Lord of Blood and Iron.
***
The Martial God, who usually didn’t reveal himself unless there were special circumstances, spoke as soon as he saw the Lord of Blood and Iron.
[So this lad is the descendent of Kuset... Quite the extraordinary martial artist. It’s regretful... If I had a physical form, I would have compared martial arts with him in a duel.]
A duel?
Wasn’t that the greatest compliment a god of martial arts could give to a martial artist?
However, as I quietly looked at the Lord of Blood and Iron, I couldn’t say I was particularly surprised.
It could be that I had already unconsciously thought that this man was deserving of such a compliment.
In my past life, he was the being I had both loved and hated.
Seeing his face right now, I could feel complicated emotions clashing within my heart... but they weren’t emotions one would feel about their father.
This disharmony wasn’t just because the man looked young on the outside.
He didn’t look to be that much older than me.
This was the reason he was also called the Boy Duke...
But whether he had the appearance of an old man, a monster, or the ideal father, I didn’t think I could ever feel a sense of fathership from him.
“Family Head.”
“If you reveal yourself now...”
I could hear the Council of Elders panicking a little.
Clearly, they hadn’t expected the Lord of Blood and Iron to appear.
“It’s fine.” The Lord of Blood and Iron stopped their murmuring with that one sentence before looking at me. “Luan.”
“Yes.”
“Luan Bednicker.”
What? I nearly said out of habit.
Even I would need to ask myself “Did you think before you spoke?” in front of this man.
“Please speak.”
“Why did you think I was at the mansion? From your tone of voice, you were certain I was here.”
“...Isn’t this the Blessing Ceremony? No matter how busy you are, it’s a national event you can’t easily ignore.”
“...”
“Even if you wouldn’t be present for the entire two weeks, I figured you would at least be at the mansion on the day of the Blessing Ceremony, perhaps even a day prior as well.”
At that, the Lord of Blood and Iron looked at me with eyes that looked like they could pierce straight into my soul.
“Is everything you say true?”
I didn’t avoid his gaze as I responded, “Not really. But there’s nothing more I can say to you right now.”
“...”
Maybe it was luck, or maybe it was obvious, but the Lord of Blood and Iron very quickly picked up on what I meant.
“Everyone, leave now.”
“Pardon? But—”
“...”
The Lord of Blood and Iron didn’t hurry them—he just remained silent.
The Council of Elders flinched a little before lowering their heads slightly and leaving the room.
I could sense a bit of displeasure in their exit. Even in my past life, the relationship between the Lord of Blood and Iron and the Council of Elders hadn’t been particularly good.
* * * * *
* * * * *
In any case, it wasn’t as if the Council of Elders would openly oppose the Lord of Blood and Iron.
The presence of the Council of Elders instantly disappeared from the room. The darkness that had covered the room faded a little and the room became brighter, as if someone had turned on a lamp.
“Sit.”
Where?
I thought for a moment before sitting atop the table that I had put the dagger and notes on.
Strangely, when I sat on the table, it felt like a circular chair.
“So, what is the truth?”
“...”
Before answering the Lord of Blood and Iron, I closed my eyes for a moment.
He was truly an incredible being.
I knew well why I hadn’t been able to say even a single word in front of him in my past life.
However, he looked a little different from that time.
In the past, I had thought that the Lord of Blood and Iron created this atmosphere on purpose, that he was expressly showing off his overwhelming pressure to others.
Seeing him now, I didn’t think that was the case. It was a natural emission of his strength that had nothing to do with his intent.
Meaning the Lord of Blood and Iron never intended to suppress the people around him.
Just from realizing that one fact, I felt my heart lighten a little.
“Did you perhaps listen to my conversation with the Council of Elders?”
“I did.”
“Then you heard about the assassins as well.”
“I did. What does that have to do with now?”
“...”
It was an overwhelming presence.
Even though he didn’t have any intention to suppress others, he could change his mood depending on his emotions.
That meant he had reached the peak of Conscious Intent, a level that I hadn’t reached even after 10 years on Spirit Mountain.
I massaged the back of my neck to try and calm my nervous heart.
“About the fact that there are rats in Bednicker... Didn’t you already know this, Family Head?”
“...”
“But you didn’t make this known publicly. There are probably only a few in the house who know, and in this situation, you hid your whereabouts. Since you do this quite often, nobody suspected your movements either.”
Honestly, half of this was just guesswork...
But if I made my doubts known, I felt I wouldn’t get a good score, so I was acting confident.
“And in truth, you stayed at the main house the entire time to watch for the rats’ movements. The Blessing Ceremony is one of the few events where the main house is opened to the other families. Even though it will be dangerous for them, It is worth it for a rat to infiltrate...”
“...”
The Lord of Blood and Iron didn’t show any reaction.
While I’d been talking, he had put his hand on his chin, but I couldn’t see any change in his expression.
Please just give me a reaction. Anything.
My entire theory could be wrong. Maybe he had just been hiding among the Council of Elders for fun.
I honestly couldn’t tell.
I was also a little flustered because this was a target I had never faced before.
Suddenly, the Lord of Blood and Iron spoke.
“Most of that is speculation.”
“...Yes.”
“Sure.” The Lord of Blood and Iron changed the topic. “If you went into the Gem Mountains...”
“Yes.”
“Did you meet Calzark as well?”
I was a little surprised.
So the Lord of Blood and Iron knew of Calzark’s whereabouts.
“How did you know?”
“I had a feeling.”
“...”
“To be precise, it was a sixth sense.”
Ah, it was a blessing.
“Is Calzark well?”
I paused before replying, “The situation is a little complicated.”
“What do you mean?”
“So, what happened is...”
I gave a general outline of what had happened during my travels through the Gem Mountains.
How we had ditched the assassins and entered a huge cave while running away, how Calzark had appeared at a dangerous moment and saved us, and how we had helped him fight the gem beast... and about the high priest that had appeared in the final moments.
I only hid one thing: my encounter with the Martial God.
“...”
After hearing everything, the Lord of Blood and Iron became quiet for a moment.
“You fought a gem beast.”
“Yes.”
He took another pause before suddenly nodding.
“I see. Well done. I’ll go for now.”
“Pardon?”
Lord of Blood and Iron stopped talking as if he was done here.
How he understood my words, what was going to happen from now on, if I was going to be punished, or whether I was going to attend the Blessing Ceremony...
He didn’t talk about any of that. He just looked away from me as if he’d lost interest.
“...”
Could I say that I had escaped the danger?
I didn’t know.
The funny thing was that I became relieved the moment the Lord of Blood and Iron shifted his gaze away from me.
I was also happy that I could leave this place.
However, more than the relief and joy...
“...”
My confidence hit rock bottom.
For some reason, I felt that if I left here, nothing would change from my previous life.
Of course, I hadn’t been collected by Kayan, I knew the Strongest Flame Technique, and I had managed to defeat a gem beast...
I had met the Martial God, obtained the Sword of Seven Sins, and even hit that damned Hector’s back.
I had achieved things that couldn’t even be compared to my previous life.
However...
If I couldn’t be recognized by the Lord of Blood and Iron, what use was all that?
“Father.”
I didn’t rise from where I was sitting. Instead, I glared at him.
His gaze turned back to me.
Although I couldn’t sense even a hint of killing intent, his gaze was still chilling.
From what I knew, among the many children of the Lord of Blood and Iron, only three of them called him father.
Honestly, in my past life, I had never called this man father.
But in this moment, I forced myself to address the Lord of Blood and Iron as “Father.”
“Let’s make a deal.”
To make him accept the words I was about to say, I needed to use whatever small remnant of affection he held for me.
***
The Lord of Blood and Iron remained silent for a long time.
One thing I noticed was that while he was sitting there silently, his gaze never left me.
I didn’t evade it.
The oppressive feeling was intense, but remembering my master made it manageable.
Then, the Lord of Blood and Iron spoke.
“Make a deal.”
“Yes.”
“Hmm.”
Other people might say that this was an outrageous thing to say to the family head...
But the Lord of Blood and Iron didn’t care about etiquette that much.
He tilted his head a little as he asked, “What deal?”
I let out a breath in my heart.
Why was it so difficult to hear those words?
“Before that, I haven’t told you something. The traitorous Fang Knight Order, among them was a strong person named Osel.”
“A strong person?”
“Yes. I obtained a map from him. If the map can be deciphered, then the cult’s hideouts in the Gem Mountains can be found.”
“...”
For the first time, the Lord of Blood and Iron’s expression changed.
This was natural.
For this man, the most important thing was the annihilation of the cult. There was a reason he was also called “the Executioner.”
“Given the number of assassins I saw in the mountain range and the existence of the high priest, the number of hideouts in the mountain range won’t be low. It could be said it’s a major area for them.”
“Hm.”
I put the map back into my inner pocket.
“Father, please spread a small rumor.”
“A rumor?”
“That ‘Luan Bednicker’ killed the assassins of the cult and killed a gem beast in the Gem Mountains.”
I clenched my fist.
“I will become the bait.”
“...”
“There are still members of the cult in the house. They should know of the identity of Osel’s group as well. Perhaps they also know of the existence of this map. They will approach me to retrieve the map, or perhaps to figure out what happened to them.”
“Even if their leader is that bold, would they dare to do anything within the main house of House Bednicker?”
“If I were anyone else, probably not... but I’m Luan Bednicker. Honestly, I can be considered to have already been kicked out of the house... The damned last son.”
Our gazes met in the air for a second.
Surprisingly, the first person to lift their eyes was the Lord of Blood and Iron.
“In that case, you could be a usable trap. Then what do you wish for your reward?”
Before I spoke, I thought about the Sword of Seven Sins in the room.
“I have a question. Not now, but later.”
“A question.”
The Lord of Blood and Iron took a moment to think.
“All right. No matter the question, if I can answer it, I will.”
“...”
“If you want, you may attend the Blessing Ceremony. I do not mind if you don’t want to. No matter the decision you make, there won’t be any annoying comments from the House.”
He was a man who always kept his word.
In the future, I probably wouldn’t have to deal with any more collectors or be annoyed by members of the family, including the Council of Elders.
“I am thinking of attending the Blessing Ceremony.”
This was the truth.
On that topic, I was curious.
Even after returning all the way to the past like this...
What if I once again didn’t receive a single blessing?
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