“I sincerely asked my aunt to consider me as part of her family. I wasn’t making any calculative demands for her to be my support.”
“!!”
Merian was taken aback.
“How naive. Do you really think your request was purely with such intentions?”
Christian responded honestly.
“Of course, if my aunt cares for me as family and ends up helping me subtly even if I didn’t want it… I wouldn’t be able to refuse.”
“What? Ha ha! You cunning boy.”
Merian burst into laughter at Christian’s audacious statement.
If Christian had blatantly asked her to take his side, she would have refused.
And if he had pretended to be purely innocent while actually being greedy, she would have refused that too.
But because he didn’t hide his ambition while cleverly articulating his request, she didn’t want to refuse him.
“It’s not usually done but…”
Merian took another cookie and bit into it with her red lips.
The taste was, as expected, fantastic.
“If my nephew makes such delicious cookies as a gift… It’s only right that I cherish him.”
‘Yes!’
Christian silently celebrated.
It worked.
“However, these cookies… can I taste them again?”
“That depends on what you do for me?”
“What?”
“If you disappoint me, I might get upset and they won’t taste the same.”
Merian laughed again at his plea for good treatment.
The conversation felt delightful.
“Well then, as a real aunt, may I give you a piece of advice?”
“Please do.”
“How about joining the Black Shadow Knights?”
“!!”
Christian’s face stiffened.
“That’s…”
“I know. You’re aiming to be a duke, seeking to become the Master of the Dark Magus Family?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
Merian continued with a heavy look.
“The way you fought during your duel with Melin was outstanding. I’ve never seen anyone as talented as you. You might even surpass our lord in talent.”
“……”
“But your rivals are no easy opponents. I worry you might be defeated before you fully realize your talent.”
Being defeated meant death.
“Dying in an ‘accidental’ death during succession disputes is all too common in any family.”
‘Her worries were not unfounded.’
Though he won against Melin today, it wasn’t a true victory.
Without the holy sword and a charm to ward off curses, the duel would have been quickly decided.
The heirs of the main family were no less formidable than Melin.
‘Especially the Prince, they’re surely not lacking in magical weapons and tools.’
If Christian and the heirs of the main family fought now, he would surely lose.
That’s ‘now’ anyway.
“You’re worried about me then.”
“Yes. If you join the Black Shadow Knights, I can protect you. You could very well become the next leader, or even more, although not as the head of the family.”
Count Kazar, who was listening to their conversation, nodded as if he agreed.
He was secretly worried too.
Entering the deadly political battles as an heir, especially from a branch family, would make him a target for all.
But.
“If I can’t overcome such hurdles while aiming for the Dark Magus Family, then I might as well die.”
“!!”
“And besides, it seems you didn’t fully witness my true worth today.”
Christian smirked.
“I don’t think I’m going to lose.”
Merian was speechless.
An absurd confidence.
Thinking back, he was the same before fighting Melin.
And then he achieved an unbelievable victory.
‘I can’t understand it.’
She should be laughed at for his ridiculous confidence.
But she didn’t.
Instead, she almost believed it might just happen and chuckled dryly.
“…Alright, I understand. You’re also a Mage, so I can’t stop you from walking the path you choose.”
“Thank you.”
“Just one more piece of advice, out of concern.”
Merian had set her terms.
It was time to depart.
“Be wary of the First Princess.”
“The First Princess?”
Christian looked puzzled.
There were five heirs in the main family.
Three were male, and two were female.
The First Princess, Yurian, was the third of the five and just below the second prince, Ashed, in terms of likely successors.
“Yes. People consider Ashed the most likely candidate. It’s not a wrong assumption but…”
Merian spoke softly.
“In my opinion, out of the five children, the First Princess Yurian is the most fearsome.”
Christian listened carefully to Merian’s words.
Merian belonged to the Black Shadow Knights, the knight order and main informant of the main family.
Her information would be accurate.
The First Princess Yurian had claws hidden from others.
Moreover, he noted that Merian had used the adjective ‘fearsome.’
There must be a reason she used such an ominous word.
“Thank you. I’ll keep that in mind.”
Although he learned there was another formidable opponent, it didn’t matter.
He planned to crush whoever it was.
“I’ll see you at the main house.”
Merian nodded at his farewell and then kicked her horse into a gallop and disappeared.
“……”
Christian watched her disappear into the darkness for a moment.
‘Strong.’
Both Count Kazar and Merian were strong.
They were of the 6-star level.
In the Crusade Union, they would be famous at a national level.
Yet, Christian hadn’t even heard their names during the great turmoil.
How many such powerful figures could there be in the Magic Empire?
‘There’s a reason Crusade Union lost. They just couldn’t even match up in strength.’
Christian thought.
‘I need to become stronger, much stronger.’
He was an undeniable genius, but he had a long way to go.
To stand at the top of the Magic Empire and avert the impending catastrophe.
And.
‘To enjoy the greatest wealth and honor!’
Christian returned to his room.
He ran into Theren who seemed to want to chat again, but Christian ignored him, finding it tedious.
He was planning to ascend to the 2-star as soon as possible.
* * *
A few days later.
“Phew.”
Christian exhaled deeply.
Dark and fiery energies swirled around the hand he extended.
It was Magi.
He had reached the 2-star stage, capable of externalizing Magi!
‘It took just over a month since reaching 1-star.’
Exactly one month and five days longer.
An unbelievable speed.
Others wouldn’t believe it if they heard.
Yet, Christian looked unsatisfied.
‘It took slightly longer than expected. I aimed to do it within a month.’
He had been practicing swordsmanship and various dark magics simultaneously.
Thanks to that, he mastered the mud-cutting swordsmanship and the black scythe techniques to perfection, among others from the Kazar count’s family.
– …Insane.
That was Count Kazar’s reaction when he saw Christian’s swordsmanship.
In terms of proficiency, it was perfect. Comparable even to Count Kazar, who had trained for decades.
But that wasn’t all.
‘I’ve also become familiar with dark magic.’
He had mastered all the dark magic available in the Kazar family’s archives.
Curses were the main focus, but he also learned other forms of dark magic like destruction, illusion, summoning, and blood magic.
He had memorized higher-level dark magic techniques for when his level increased. Having fully understood them, he could use them later.
‘I wish I had more Magi. Even for a genius, it’s hard to accumulate it quickly.’
There were two things even his talent couldn’t overcome.
First was physical training.
While he gained more from less training compared to others, consistent training was necessary.
Second was Magi.
The same applied here.
Breathing techniques were the way to accumulate Magi.
His exceptional senses meant he could gather much more with less effort than others.
But there was still a limit.
The amount of Magi was heavily influenced by the time spent training.
‘Unless I take some sort of spirit medicine, it might be different.’
Christian thought to himself.
Fortunately, unlike physical strength, there was an alternative.
‘Eating spirit medicine could also accelerate my progress to the next realm.’
Several conditions were necessary to advance realms, represented by ‘levels.’
Enlightenment, proficiency.
And the accumulation of Magi.
Eating spirit medicine could significantly shorten the time needed to accumulate this energy.
‘In fact, many talents from noble families quickly advance through realms by taking spirit medicines. Being from a line of magic nobility, perhaps I’ll have a chance to take one? The famous spirit medicine of the Dark Magus Family includes… the Dark Pill.’
Noble families of magic each possessed spirit medicines that amplified their Magi.
The problem was that direct descendants monopolized the really good ones.
Truly effective spirit medicines were hoarded by the legitimate heirs, and only inferior ones would trickle
down to others.
‘At best, I’d get a fake version that’s barely a quarter as effective. Is there a way to obtain the Dark Pill?’
Christian narrowed his eyes.
There was no way to obtain it by normal means.
He would have to resort to some trickery.
He recalled the process of making the Dark Pill.
There was a specific period when the primary ingredients for the Dark Pill were hunted.
‘It’s coming up soon. Is there any way I can get involved?’
Just then, Mary approached with her ghostly tail swaying.
[Congratulations on reaching your new realm. How about a glass of virgin’s blood juice to celebrate?]
“…No thanks.”
[Or perhaps a blood-soaked ribeye steak? The beef is… premium, you know?]
That was tempting.
After all, the pinnacle of cuisine was beef.
Christian, who was also exceptionally skilled in cooking, believed there was no culinary delight that could surpass beef.
‘There’s something about orc-cooked beef that sounds even more delicious.’
It might be a stereotype, but a barbecue seemed more fitting for an orc chef than desserts.
“Yes, prepare the beef.”
[Ohoho… I will have it prepared as bloody as possible.]
As he looked forward to the steak, an unexpected call came.
“Young master, Count Kazar calls for you.”
“My father?”
“Yes.”
Christian went to find Count Kazar.
“Father, it’s me.”
“Come in, I have something to tell you.”
Christian tilted his head.
Count Kazar looked troubled.
Something was up.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’ve communicated with the main house about the Holy Black Ritual. This time, both you and Theren were supposed to undergo it.”
“And?”
“Theren was approved. You, however, are not allowed.”
“…Why?”
Count Kazar sighed.
“They say they cannot allow someone who has tarnished the family’s honor to perform the Holy Black Ritual.”
Christian frowned.
“Whose opinion is that exactly? Is it the wish of the acting head, Duke Rangham?”
If that were the case, it would not be easy to resolve.
But Count Kazar shared something unexpected.
“It’s not him. It seems to be because of what Ashd recently did to you; Duke Rangham hasn’t expressed any particular opinion.”
“Then?”
“It’s those who were supposed to undergo the ceremony with you who opposed it.”
“Those who are to undergo it with me, you mean Lorin de Balran?”
Lorin de Balran.
As the ‘de’ in his name indicated, he was a legitimate heir of the main family.
He was the star of this Holy Black Ritual.
