Chapter 159

Chapter 159: Red Mithril (7)

“Roger, your head...”

Echina's sharp eyes widened in shock.

The golden hue in her eyes had dulled, turning into the cloudy amber of lifeless gemstone.

“Your Grace, the Grand Duke’s daughter—how did you even find this place?”

As I asked from where I sat on the ground, Echina slowly shook her head.

“Is that what matters right now? You're hurt.”

Her gaze soon shifted toward the firearm of the man who had done this to me.

Toward her own blood brother.

“Edward, what the hell is this? Roger is a civilian. You pointed a gun at a citizen?”

The second son of the Luton family stared at her in silence for a moment.

Then, he calmly stroked the rifle butt with a bloodstained handkerchief.

“Civilian, my ass. Do you really see that guy as some ordinary law-abiding citizen?”

He had clearly been caught in a compromising situation by his sibling and rival.

And yet, he remained utterly composed.

Just like their father, who had always faced any crisis with icy precision.

“That bastard is like a disease trying to bring down our family. He’s been using you all this time.”

Edward didn’t show the slightest sign of hesitation.

On the contrary, he pointed his finger at me with a tone of solemn conviction, as if his actions were completely justified.

“Did you already forget what happened to your sister? He might act like he’s helping you for now, but in the end, he’ll take everything from you.”

Echina stared at me in silence for a moment.

And I, in turn, quietly met the gaze of her lifeless eyes.

I didn’t deny it. I didn’t plead my case, either.

“Look at him, turning a blade against the very master who raised him. Do you really think someone like that would stay by your side forever?”

I gazed back at Edward’s unwavering eyes.

Then, without a flicker of emotion, I finally opened my mouth.

“You're right. I’m not one of the Luton family, and they were never my ultimate goal.”

Now that I had mostly regained my senses, I silently pushed myself up.

And, under the black night sky, I looked at Echina’s face illuminated by the lamplight and spoke.

“But Edward, do you really think you have the right to call yourself Echina’s family—now, after all this time?”

I simply raised a finger and pointed at her blood brother.

“Do you even know how old Her Grace Echina is right now?”

“What...?”

For a moment, all eyes turned to the man with the overly glossy mustache.

Edward furrowed his brow, as if the question was ridiculous.

“She’s twenty. She had her coming-of-age ceremony this year.”

He raised one hand and shrugged.

But then, upon seeing the look of scorn on my face, he turned serious.

“She’s twenty-one. And more importantly...”

I knew far more about his little sister than he did.

“Echina never even had a coming-of-age ceremony. She said the Black Knights' initiation as a knight was more than enough for her.”

I spoke down to her brother, who I no longer deemed worthy of conversation.

“Just sharing blood doesn’t make you family, Edward.”

Around my neck hung a tie.

It had a pin shaped like a black lion—worn and faded over time.

In this life, Echina herself had fastened it around my neck.

“Hah. So what if I didn’t know her exact age? That doesn’t change anything.”

Edward scoffed, accusing me of trying to drive a wedge between them over something as petty as age or a coming-of-age ceremony.

To him, blood meant more than trivial things like that.

And he wasn’t wrong.

Just as they say “the arm bends inward,” familial bonds are sacred—be it through Eastern traditions or biblical teachings.

However—

The meaning of “family” differs from person to person.

Especially in the Grand Duke’s household of the North.

“Edward.”

Echina turned her gaze from one man to the other, this time toward her blood brother.

She stood in a combat uniform that perfectly hugged her lithe, elegant figure.

The sword she had drawn shimmered faintly under the moonlight.

“You're right. We are family, just like you said.”

Edward lowered his weapon, letting the muzzle fall to the ground.

Then, resting it over his elbow like a cane, he crossed his arms nonchalantly.

“Exactly. We share a surname—and even the same first initial, don’t we?”

“We do.”

The reporters, watching, fell into despair—convinced now that Echina was on the second son's side.

They shut their eyes tightly, bracing for the outcome that would soon fall upon them.

But then—

The reporters and I, at the same time, found ourselves lifting our eyelids in disbelief.

“Echina…?!”

The sword she had raised…

Was pointed not at me—but at her own blood brother, Edward.

“And that’s exactly why… I have no choice but to fight you.”

A slight tremor passed through Edward’s mustache.

The gun resting on his elbow began to shake.

“Roger is mine. He’s the most essential person in my life.”

“Hah. Don’t tell me... you're saying you love him? That you, of all people, love a man?”

Even if Edward and Echina weren’t close, there was one thing he knew for certain.

His sister had never opened her heart to anyone.

Least of all a man who had abandoned her and fled from the family.

And now she said she needed that man?

“Yes. So if you ever lay a hand on Roger again...”

A chilling light flickered in Echina’s eyes.

The kind that glows in a beast’s gaze when night falls.

“You won't walk out of here alive.”

Edward went silent, as if a shiver had just run down his spine.

He knew it, too.

Even if Echina was still a novice in politics or business...

When it came to the sword, she was stronger than anyone.

“Fine. I get it. I won’t touch Roger again.”

The second son raised both hands, as though pacifying a wild beast standing before him.

“In exchange, I’ll just take back the memory orb from the runaway journalist’s son. That’s all I want.”

He raised his right hand, signaling to someone.

At that moment, the Black Knights who had surrounded us all simultaneously lowered their swords.

But—

They immediately hesitated again, forced to raise their blades once more.

“That won’t work, Edward.”

Echina had darted forward in an instant and aimed the tip of her sword right at her brother’s throat.

“You… Are you really going to go through with this, against me…?”

Edward stared at the reflection of Echina’s cold, expressionless face on the edge of the blade.

And then he realized—she had made up her mind.

“This is what being family looks like in our house, isn’t it?”

He had once believed his little sister would grow up to be nothing more than a righteous knight.

But now? Was it because she’d entered the family business?

Or was it that damned fox-like bastard’s influence?

“We fight tooth and nail over the family headship until everyone else falls and only one is left standing.”

Echina’s eyes glinted with the same hunger and ambition their father once had.

“Sorry, but would you mind stepping aside from this fight now?”

The Grand Duke’s daughter let the finely-honed edge of her sword rest gently on her brother’s neck.

Feeling its icy touch, Edward swallowed hard.

“Like a real family would.”

“……”

Edward let out a long breath.

There was so much he wanted to say, but like steam in a boiling kettle, he could only bottle it up.

Still, he wasn’t the type to back down easily—not her brother.

He was also the son of the Grand Duke of the North.

After steadying his breath for a moment…

He opened his mouth and shouted in a booming voice.

“I’ll be fine! Everyone, move out!! Find the one who took the memory orb!!”

“……!!”

Echina scowled at Edward, who had shouted despite the blade at his neck.

Then, turning to the knights who were beginning to stir, she said:

“From this moment on, anyone who moves will be deemed a traitor.”

Unlike her brother, her voice was calm and measured—almost gentle.

“……”

Yet the weight it carried matched the second son’s thunderous command.

Echina had long been known for her merciless treatment of criminals.

The knights, who had witnessed her ruthless nature firsthand all their lives, couldn’t help but shudder instinctively.

“What are you all waiting for?! Move!!” Edward shouted again and again.

At last, the knights seemed to make up their minds and began scattering in all directions.

No matter how terrifying Echina was, they had already boarded Edward’s ship.

Even if this moment ended without bloodshed, there would be no place for them in the order afterward.

So they chose the rope they were already clinging to.

“To think those are supposed to be knights of the Empire…”

Echina let out a short sigh.

And then—

A soft blue glow of mana began to rise from her body.

“You’d all better be prepared once you return.”

She moved so fast that only the afterimage of her mana remained.

At last, she swung her drawn blade.

――――――

The Black Knights’ swords were shattered.

Split into two factions, the knights clashed blades against one another.

Kaa-aang―――!!

Just this morning, they had been comrades—seniors and juniors of the same knight order.

But serving different lords had completely split their fates apart.

Sparks flared from the dark wheat field all around.

As the sound of clashing steel echoed through the world, the saint supporting me leaned in slightly closer.

“It will be all right.”

I slowly straightened my back and adjusted my posture.

Then, as if to calm Istina sitting beside me, I spoke in a relaxed voice.

“Echina is the strongest knight I know.”

There might be others with better swordsmanship.

After all, she was only twenty-one—a newly anointed holy knight.

But Echina never strayed from a goal once she had set it.

And she never forgave those who stood in her way.

The Black Knights were undoubtedly swift.

But even as they took a single step forward, the grass ahead of them had already begun to sway.

Soon after, Echina’s afterimage appeared and blocked the knights’ path.

And so, they had no choice but to clash blades with the Empire’s Black Lion.

――――――!!

The Luton Sword spewed sparks as it locked with two blades at once.

Empowered by highly trained and refined mana, the black blade hurled the two knights back in an instant.

“Guh…!!”

The repelled knights stumbled back.

Then, the junior knights who had followed Echina quickly cut off Edward’s vassals.

A flawless operation between a leader and her unit.

“Haah…”

In the midst of the chaos, I was the only one who let out a peaceful breath.

Then, dabbing my forehead with a handkerchief, I casually sat back down in the field.

“This is why I let myself get hit so willingly.”

The saint watched me in silence.

She wore a look of quiet resignation—as if even she felt more relieved by Echina’s arrival than by her own presence.

“You knew the Grand Duke’s daughter would come?”

Her red lips pressed tightly together.

Indeed, after witnessing Echina’s abilities firsthand…

It was only natural to feel like she was more indispensable to me than Istina herself.

“No. I didn’t know for sure. I guess I just made a prediction.”

Truthfully, I hadn’t been confident.

I had simply put my trust in Echina’s usual sense of responsibility and leadership.

“If the Black Knights were acting independently, there’s no way someone as influential as Lady Echina wouldn’t have known.”

“So, you thought about that and deliberately took a blow from the rifle butt?”

Istina narrowed her eyes like an older sister scolding a younger sibling.

To that, I answered in an utterly carefree tone.

“Yes. After all, it’s solid proof. If I ever end up in court, I’ll proudly present it.”

I lifted my flattened bangs without hesitation.

And then—

The saint, frowning coldly, immediately brushed them back down.

“That won’t happen. I’m going to make sure you’re fully healed when we get back.”

“…Huh? But that’s valuable evidence.”

I blinked wide-eyed and asked again, only for Istina to let out an exasperated sigh.

“It’s good that you always try to handle things perfectly, but if you push yourself too hard, you’ll get hurt too.”

The saint spoke as she watched the Black Knights, one by one, being subdued and bound.

“You almost paid a heavy price just now, trying to carry everything on your own again.”

At her words, I turned my gaze back to Echina.

Before I knew it, the Grand Duke’s daughter of the North had defeated every senior and junior knight who followed Edward.

They had either collapsed or knelt, brought to their knees in the cold wheat field.

The only one left standing was Echina.

“Well, it’s a bit uncomfortable knowing that I’m not the only one at your side…”

The saint looked toward the female knight standing under the moonlight.

Her elegant black hair fluttered softly in the breeze.

“But at least for now, you have a strong companion by your side.”

I couldn’t help but agree with her.

And I silently allowed the healing touch she offered.

“Tch…”

Edward’s lower eyelid twitched.

He, who had always believed himself the one at the center of everything—and I, who had always placed my liege before myself…

Now wore expressions that had completely reversed.