Book 1 Chapter 596

Leo was unpacking in his room at the Zerdinger family's grand mansion.

Knock-knock-

"Come in."

Creak-

The door opened, and Celia entered.

Celia, with her brow furrowed, sat on a sofa in one corner of the room.

She then looked across the table.

"What are you doing?"

"Playing 'Catch the Thief'."

Fiora, a phoenix who had made a pact with Leo, was staring intently at Kyran sitting at the table in her human form.

"Haaam~ Where's the chick playing 'Catch the Thief'?"

"Be quiet, moth."

Fiora glared at Kyran.

It seemed the stakes were snacks.

'What? A phoenix and a fairy gambling with snacks?'

Celia looked bewildered at the scene.

Not only Kyran but also Elsi, a dark spirit, and Laruel, a light spirit, were watching the game at the table.

The two spirits, their game already over, were munching on cookies as big as their heads.

Fiora, glaring at Kyran with a card larger than his body, cautiously picked up one of the two jokers in Kyran's hand.

"Haaagh!"

"Wuhahahahaha!"

Kyran burst into laughter, seeing Fiora's despair.

Meanwhile, the shape of the card changed.

Celia's eyes narrowed as she saw it.

"My turn!"

Kyran, with a triumphant expression, took one of the cards Fiora had diligently shuffled.

"Ah, no!"

"I won!"

Kyran cheered and threw the cards into the air, while Fiora clutched her head in indignation.

"With this, these snacks are mine…"

"You can't cheat."

At Celia's words, Fiora looked up, and the two spirits also looked at Celia with questioning eyes.

Kyran, who was gathering the snacks, sneakily looked around, hugged a pile of them, and flew away.

"Ah. No wonder Kyran was never in last place, it was strange. It was a cheat!"

Elsi, as if finally understanding, smiled brightly.

She didn't seem very angry that Kyran had cheated.

Of course, the other two were.

"Cheating moth! Stop right there!"

"I'll twist your hands off!"

Fiora and Laruel, with their eyes narrowed, chased after Kyran.

Celia clutched her head as she watched them.

"For some reason, my image of the Great Spirits and the Three Great Beasts is being shattered."

Leo, having roughly finished unpacking, sat down where Fiora had been.

"Why do you have such a displeased look on your face?"

"I don't like the attitude of the Elder Council."

Celia frowned.

Celia knew that not everyone in Zerdinger welcomed Leo.

They were one of the two pillars of the Lordren Empire, the ruler of the Western Continent.

In other words, they were a group with a force that ranked in the top three in the western continent.

Although they were vassals of the empire, their relationship was quite different from that of a typical monarch and subject.

It was closer to a partnership than a relationship of absolute loyalty.

In fact, from the time of its founding, Lordren, Zerdinger, and Rualyn had been mutually supportive.

As such, the Lordren imperial family recognized the independence of Zerdinger's territory.

In other words, in Zerdinger's land, the head of the Zerdinger family was the king.

To maintain such power, it was not enough to rely solely on direct descendants and their retainers.

Branch families that had split off from Zerdinger also played a role in Zerdinger's power.

As such, the influence of branch families within the clan was not insignificant.

"From the branch families' perspective, I'm an intruder, aren't I?"

Leo chuckled.

"Even so! What you're inheriting was originally meant for Aunt. It's just returning to its rightful owner, so why are they so reluctant?"

"Human nature is to not want to give up what they have. It's even more painful when someone else takes what could have been theirs."

The Elder Council was a group composed of renowned knights from the Zerdinger bloodline, regardless of whether they were direct or collateral descendants.

For a great heroic family like the Zerdinger family, operating solely with direct descendants had its limitations.

When the head of the family made a wrong choice.

There was a need for a force to prevent the head of the family from acting unilaterally, and the Zerdinger Elder Council was created for that reason.

Since there were more branch family members than direct descendants, the influence of branch family members within the Elder Council naturally grew stronger.

Of course, the Elder Council could not directly intervene in the family's operations.

However, they had strong influence when it came to inheritance matters.

"Grandfather is also indifferent. Still, this time, I wish he hadn't actively supported Aunt and you."

Celia pouted.

Leo tilted his head as he looked at Celia.

"You didn't seem to have a bad relationship with your mother."

Leo recalled what had just happened.

"She was also friendly towards Father."

'I really wanted to meet you. Let's have a drink later tonight.'

'It's an honor, former head of the family.'

'Call me father-in-law.'

He recalled Regas laughing and patting Daed's shoulder.

Since Leo was born, Reina had never visited her parental home.

'No, it must have been before I was born.'

Perhaps after leaving home, she only contacted Zerdinger because of Leo.

For her son who wanted to attend Lumern.

Despite not having contacted them for a long time, Regas's eyes were full of affection when he looked at Reina.

He was also kind to his son-in-law, whom he met for the first time.

There was a look of admiration in his eyes as he looked at Leo.

'Their father-daughter relationship didn't seem bad, it seemed very good.'

It was puzzling that they hadn't seen each other for so long.

Furthermore, it was difficult to understand why knights were dispatched to seemingly check them during the official first visit of the Frobb family, according to the Elder Council's wishes.

Celia sighed softly at Leo's reaction.

"Grandfather is strictly neutral."

"Neutral?"

"Yes."

Celia rested her chin on her hand.

"Move! Move!"

At that moment, Kyran, who had been fleeing from Fiora and Laruel, flew between Leo and Celia.

Elsi, watching this, smiled and raised her hand.

Grab-!

"Kek?"

Suddenly, the shadows of nearby objects grabbed Kyran.

"Got you! You cheating fairy!"

"Tear off its wings first!"

"Hiiiiik?"

"You shouldn't interrupt an important conversation Leo is having. Go do it outside."

As Elsi said with a smile, the phoenix and the great spirit of light took the fairy and went out onto the terrace.

'Who is that spirit to be able to handle them so well?'

Celia, who knew Elsi was a great spirit but didn't know exactly why, looked at Elsi with curiosity.

Elsi slightly lifted the hem of her skirt and saluted Celia.

"You won't be bored either."

"It's too noisy, it gives me a headache."

Celia, laughing at Leo's words, said,

"To continue what I was saying, Grandfather, as the highest elder, maintains neutrality in all matters concerning the family. In the Elder Council as well, he maintains neutrality to mediate between direct and collateral lines. That's why he puts aside personal feelings as much as possible."

Celia sighed softly.

"That doesn't mean he dislikes you or anything. As you saw, he still loves Aunt, and he wanted to meet Uncle and you."

Leo had visited Zerdinger several times, but he probably didn't meet Leo to strictly separate public and private matters.

If the former head of the family intervened in a situation where Leo might or might not gain the status of a direct descendant of Zerdinger, it wouldn't look good for the collateral lines.

"He especially wanted to meet you a lot. Grandfather's daily routine lately is to wake up in the morning and look for newspapers, my father told me."

"Newspapers?"

"Yes. He's been looking for articles related to you and clipping them, my father told me."

Of course, the same applied to Celia's articles.

"He was really looking forward to meeting your family this time."

"He's such a doting parent."

"Very much so."

Celia smiled softly.

Then, she pouted.

"Then he should have actively stepped forward and taken care of you!"

"He has the position of Supreme Elder. I understand."

Leo chuckled.

At his words, Celia smiled.

"If you understand, then spend time with Grandfather during this vacation! Show him some cute tricks!"

"You should be the one showing tricks."

"I've already shown plenty!"

"Show some more."

"Hey!"

Leo lightly dodged Celia's pounce and looked at her with a puzzled expression.

"By the way, wasn't there a Lumern student among the collateral bloodlines? What was his name?"

Celia looked at Leo, who was tilting his head, with a dumbfounded expression.

"How can you not remember the name of someone from your own family? It's Barden Zerdinger."

"Ah, was that his name? What happened to him?"

"…He was expelled in the first semester this year."

"Is that so? No wonder I didn't see him."

Celia looked bewildered.

"What about Rys?"

"Brother Rys has gone to suppress the eastern rebellion."

Celia sighed.

A rebellion had broken out in the eastern part of the Lordren Empire a few months ago.

A sudden rebellion.

It would have been understandable if the empire had demanded tyranny or excessive taxes.

But that wasn't the case.

"There's no need for Brother Rys to get involved in a small rebellion, but… there were several suspicious points, so the imperial family dispatched Brother Rys."

"I hope nothing happens."

"Of course, nothing will happen! It's Brother Rys!"

Celia puffed out her chest proudly.

"Don't worry about Brother Rys, worry about yourself. The Elder Council will be desperately trying to reduce what you'll receive."

Leo chuckled at Celia's words.

"Don't worry about that."

Leo clenched and unclenched his hand.

"Actually, I didn't care much whether I had a lot of territory or not. So, I tried to avoid major friction as much as possible. But seeing how they treated Father and Mother, I couldn't let it go."

Leo's lips curled.

Celia felt a chill run down her spine at that sight.

'Ah, right.'

She suddenly remembered how he had treated her like a maid when they first met.

'He had a bad temper, didn't he?'

He first dealt with anyone who provoked him.

She had forgotten that.

***

"Sir Rys! A rebel cavalry unit has been spotted ahead."

Rys, who had arrived in the region occupied by rebels with the Zerdinger knights, stood up upon hearing the report from the scout.

"I'll go alone."

"Yes? But…"

"Are you worried?"

Rys asked with a smile, and the knight flinched and shook his head.

"Not at all."

His opponent was the next head of the strongest knight order in Lordren.

Moreover, he was a former student council president of Lumern.

He was also a great knight who had performed admirably during the revival of the Erebus fragment last summer.

A man who had achieved feats worthy of being called a hero.

He was not someone who could be easily defeated by rebel cavalry.

Rys advanced towards the front on the vast plain, without drawing his sword.

'First, I need to subdue them without fighting.'

Rys had come to suppress the rebellion, but not to kill all the rebels.

In fact, in any country, there are forces that are dissatisfied with the state.

The current Emperor of Lordren is competent.

But that doesn't mean all his vassals and subjects have a reason to follow the Emperor.

Depending on their interests, anti-emperor factions and political rivals can emerge among the imperial nobles, and there will inevitably be people among the populace who curse the Emperor.

Therefore, small-scale rebellions often occur.

'But this rebellion is definitely strange.'

It was a rebellion of merely a small territory's size.

The rebellion had lasted for several months without growing larger or smaller.

As soon as the lords of neighboring territories, who were sent to suppress the rebellion by order of the Emperor, reported the suppression, the rebellion would reignite.

'The lord who initiated the rebellion died early in the rebellion.'

Despite that, the residents in the surrounding areas of that territory continued to rebel.

'A rebellion without a head.'

It was too strange.

The imperial family also felt that something was strange.

That's why they requested the Zerdinger family, who owned territory in the east, to suppress the rebellion.

'First, let's find out the reason for the rebellion.'

To do so, he needed people to talk to.

Even if they were rebels, there was no need to kill them all.

If they were rioters who plundered other territories or killed civilians, the story would be different.

But at least, based on their actions so far, they were people who took up arms out of necessity, having something to say.

In that case, it was enough to make them lose the will to fight with an overwhelming difference in power.

Thump-thump-thump-!

The rebel cavalry unit charged from afar.

'Their posture on horseback and with weapons looks awkward. They are not regularly trained cavalry.'

Thinking so, Rys raised his hand.

Fwoosh-!

The scarlet flames of Zerdinger erupted.

At that moment.

"Hiiiiik!"

"An, an demon! It's the devil's flame!"

"The empire has sent someone who uses the devil's flames to massacre us again!"

The cavalrymen charging at Rys panicked and began to scatter in all directions.

Seeing that, Rys withdrew the flames and narrowed his brow.

"Devil's flames? And what else?"