Episode 51 Dalkkak.
The door to the office opened and Padric quietly greeted me.
“It’s been a while, Logan.”
The intense eye glow shining through her slightly longer red hair seemed heavier than before.
‘You’ve become stronger.’
I was looking forward to it, but I didn’t know that the level would really rise.
A genius knight from 20 years ago has overcome stagnation for a dozen years and has risen to become a top-class knight.
‘This increases our chances of winning.’
A smile appeared on Logan’s lips.
The sharpest sword of the McLane family has been forged even sharper.
It will serve as a sufficient shield until he, who is still lacking, and future Auror users Ronian and Viktor grow up.
I couldn’t help but let out a satisfied smile.
“You have achieved something. Congratulations.”
“Yes. It’s all thanks to you. Thank you, son.”
“Yes? The head of the family?!”
When Dwayne, who had not noticed any changes in Padrick’s achievements, was startled, Padrick smiled softly at him.
“I think I can become a more reliable head of the family. You’ve worked hard, Dwayne.”
A voice and smile that definitely feels more relaxed than before.
Dwayne looked at his master with thrilled eyes.
“Congratulations, matriarch! You often gave up your work and just trained, but in the end you achieved results. I’m so glad that my hard work over the past ten years wasn’t in vain. I really congratulate you, matriarch.”
It was unclear whether it was an insult or a compliment, but it was difficult to say anything because the face had a genuinely happy expression.
Padric smiled awkwardly, barely nodded and changed the subject.
“Nothing much has happened in the past three months, right? If there’s anything in particular I need to know about, please send me the information…”
Boom.
Before he could finish speaking, a huge pile of documents was placed on the desk.
When Padric was dazed for a moment, looking at the mountain of documents.
“Prince Logan has done a lot of things. Take a look and judge for yourself.”
Dwayne welcomed the return of the real lord with a bright smile.
And three hours later.
“They distributed food to the people of the territory, mobilized them to work on the dam or something, developed a gold mine, and there was a lot of land in the wasteland that could be reclaimed… hehehehehe.”
Padric looked at Logan with a bewildered look in his eyes and laughed.
“Are you sure this is all true?”
Padric asked with an expression that seemed to make no sense, and Logan’s answer was succinct.
“yes.”
“…Let’s go. Let’s take a look and judge.”
From Padric’s perspective, it was natural that he couldn’t understand it just by looking at the documents, as the world had turned upside down in just three months.
Logan smiled silently and followed his father.
Of course, what Padrick remembered was that when he rode past the western outer castle gate of McLane Castle, the only thing he saw was a dry wasteland with maybe a single blade of grass in sight.
But now, not three years but only three months had passed, and a completely different scene unfolded.
“A waterway. Wow, water flowing in this wasteland. Really…” A
dream-like sight with open waterways intersecting horizontally and vertically at intervals of 300 meters, covering a huge field and already sparsely sprouting green grass.
And the small wooden building and huge red clay wall that eleven wizards and thousands of residents were building in the middle of the land that was no longer a wasteland caught Padric’s eye.
“We are building a large village where the people who will reclaim the plain will live. It will be dozens of times the size of the existing small village. We plan to call it Macline Town.”
“Hehe…”
Padric was speechless as he was so moved by the amazing change.
“Once the town is completed, we will clear the weeds and begin clearing land for farming before next spring. We expect that we will be able to produce more than the McLane Plain that our ancestors lost.”
“…That much. But do you think the residents of the territory will want to move their houses easily?”
“Yes. I plan to give priority for reclamation to the residents who live in the town. Moreover, the new houses to be built will be better than the chooks where most of the residents currently live.”
“…Yeah. I see.”
It was a question he had asked himself, but anyone could see that Padrick was not concentrating on the answer.
He was too busy looking around, forgetting about his appearance.
“Let’s take a look at that dam in person. How can such a miracle happen…”
A tremor was conveyed in Padric’s voice.
Logan stopped explaining his future plans and silently led the way as his father wanted.
Padrick, who saw the dam and sluice, could not hide his surprise, asking how he could think of something like this.
While he was on his way, he stopped by the mine to check for gold ore and was busy patting Logan on the shoulder and admiring him.
‘At this level, recruiting soldiers is easy…’
Logan watches his father with a happy smile, feeling like things will turn out easier than expected.
“You’re definitely better than me.”
“That’s right.”
“….”
“Oh well, just looking at recent results.”
“Hahaha. No, no, that’s true. What you did in three months is better than what I did in 30 years. I was blessed with children. Thank you. Thank you so much.”
Words that I could never have imagined before poured out of my father’s mouth.
I felt happy, but then suddenly something strange said.
“Now I can leave all the lord’s work to you. I can just focus on thoroughly training the knights.”
“…yes?”
What are you doing?
“Let’s have breakfast together tomorrow for the first time in a while. We’ll have a lot to talk about.”
Before Logan, who was embarrassed, could react, Padrick immediately turned his back with a bright smile.
‘I have a lot to talk about…’
The sight of his father walking down the mountain path looked so carefree that Logan couldn’t bear to hold onto it.
And the next morning.
At the table where all the McLane family had gathered for the first time in a long time, Padrick dropped a bombshell.
“I will designate Logan as my successor and take over the majority of the lord’s affairs from today onwards.”
“Cough! Huh?!”
Was it unreasonable to hope that my mind would change overnight?
Logan, who hoped it was just something he tried, almost got the meat he was chewing stuck in his throat.
“So, please know that and help Logan do his job well without any problems.”
“…yes.”
Even the enemy(?) who I thought would naturally oppose nodded with a somewhat pale complexion.
‘Why are you backing away so obediently this time?’
Logan looks at Marian in disbelief.
“I believe you will do a great job, brother.”
My younger brother, who thought he had become a little more dependable, poured oil on him.
‘…Hey man, it’s your place!’
Logan held his trembling eyebrows and screamed inwardly.
Since the work to be done with the lord’s authority was almost done, it was better to move freely at this point.
“From now on, I will take charge of the knights’ training and focus on maximizing the family’s combat power.”
“Hey, Dad. Think again…”
“Logan. In your generation, I hope McLane can regain its former glory.”
I was left with Logan in front of me, speechless, unable to finish the sentence that had been cut off in the middle.
Padric concluded the situation with a solemn declaration.
“I know it’s burdensome.”
“If you know, you might want to reconsider…”
“But it’s something you have to pay anyway.”
“Why now…”
“And I trust you will do an excellent job in that role.”
After the meal, Logan tried to dissuade his father once again at a private table, but was only able to reaffirm his firm mind.
‘This damn stubbornness…’
Logan just sighs as he feels his head pounding.
“I know you have no regrets about being here.”
Logan’s head lifted up again at the unexpected words that Padric blurted out.
“Now that I’m thinking about it, it seems like you think of your family as a burden that you have to support.”
“It’s not a burden…”
“Up until now, the family has greatly benefited from you. Now, enjoy the benefits of the family that has grown and will grow thanks to you. I’d like to think that I’m giving you a right, not a burden. ”
Logan’s heart was shaken by the unexpectedly honest words and warm eyes.
“There is one thing I definitely realized during my training this time.”
‘yes. So you must have been top notch.’
Logan nods his head a few times without saying a word.
“It means I’m old.”
“…yes?”
“I was able to master the sword technique of the swordsman, the Iron Blood Sword, that you gave me, but I was never able to master the so-called secret.”
A completely unexpected statement followed.
“It might have been possible if I had learned that vision when I was young and had just awakened the Force. However, with my Force, which has already engraved my own flow over time, it would have been impossible to even create a crystal. Even if I forced it, the heart would not be able to create it. “I had no choice but to give up because it seemed like it was going to be too much.”
“Huh….”
“I gave up on that and thought. Now, it will be the era of children like you and Ronian, not me. Well, thanks to that, I was able to overcome the wall that had been blocked for a long time. Now, I will show you the path. “I want to step down to the role of a guide who opens things up.”
Logan could no longer resist seeing his father’s weak appearance for the first time in his two lives.
I still felt a little uneasy, but I decided to take it easy that this had already happened.
‘okay. If you need to move separately, you can leave it to Dwayne.’
However, since I wouldn’t be able to train during work hours, I felt like I had to force myself to make more time for personal training.
‘Or even normally, to Dwayne…’
Logan, who had no way of knowing that the large vassal not far away was trembling with an unexplainable eerie feeling, consoled himself like that.
‘Haa…’
And after a long sigh, Logan answered.
“Yes, I understand.”
I’m sorry.
On the way back, I saw my father’s satisfied smile.
As Logan walked forward, pondering his complex emotions, he soon ran into someone who seemed to have been waiting for him.
“…mother?”
“Your Majesty. Would you like to speak with me?”
Logan couldn’t refuse her request due to the awkward respect he was hearing for the first time.
He also had some questions.
“Just now… why were you still?”
“What if we don’t keep silent? Will the matriarch of the traitorous family have any right to speak about the family’s affairs anymore?”
Logan was unable to continue speaking due to the self-reproaching tone that was more extreme than expected.
Although she seemed a little more comfortable than right after the war, her pale complexion showed that her psychological state was still not at ease.
“The achievements that the Archduke has shown are enough to become the successor. Now, I just hope for the best for Ronian. No, it used to be like that in the past. That’s why I lost the match with the Archduke.”
“…sorry.”
“The Archduke has no reason to be sorry. Rather, I should apologize.”
“yes?”
“The Archduke apologized to me before. Unfortunately, I did not accept it. It’s because I’m narrow-minded, so I hope you can understand generously.”
A series of unexpected words stopped Logan.
“I heard you’re teaching Ronian swordsmanship these days?”
“…Yes.”
Fortunately, unlike his father, Ronian survived after only a week. He had created a force core and was already practicing the first form, Blue Cham. Perhaps
because he was a genius, there was no extreme amplification of his senses or changes in his body like he did, but he was training with great excitement as if the sense he was feeling was different. .
When a good topic came up in an extremely awkward situation, my mouth opened easily.
“Ronian is a genius, so his skills are easy…”
“It’s been a few years since he looked as bright as he does these days…”
I wanted to talk. I cringe, thinking that it wasn’t me who was doing it.
“I will continue to take good care of Ronian as my younger brother.”
The last words my stepmother said as she turned away with a bitter smile brought back a faint memory that I had forgotten.
Even if I cry loudly, if I hug her, it’s like it’s a lie. The baby had stopped crying.
The image of the newborn baby wriggling its tiny hands and feet and smiling brightly was still in my eyes.
Then, looking at that image as if sad, a dark-haired beauty with a much younger and brighter expression smiled and opened her mouth.
– Us Looks like you like your older brother better than me.
– Hehe. I will protect your mother and younger brother for the rest of my life. I swear to God!
– Yes, Logan. Please take care of your younger brother.
Memories of peaceful days that
you ruined with your own ugly jealousy. Memories of those beautiful days.
Sigh.
My hands tightened in shame.
‘Now I just have to make it again.’
But now, everything can be turned back.
The moment when I feel grateful again for this life I have gained again. Without
realizing it, Logan shouted loudly at the back of his stepmother, who was already moving away.
“No parent respects their child!”
The back of the noble lady. This felt like a pause.
“From now on, please speak to me like before! Please feel free to speak to me, mother!”
It wasn’t a detailed apology, but it was a cry that touched my heart even more.
The noble lady lowered her head and quietly shed tears.
Her son was in the room . When the middle-aged man who heard the voice smiled quietly,
the person who said those words turned around with a red face and hurriedly walked away.
