The office of the Kardenos Head of Household.
Valdemar was reviewing documents containing the estate's tax revenue status.
At a memory that suddenly surfaced, Valdemar stared at the fireplace.
Looking at the blazing embers, he fell into deep thought.
There was one thing disturbing his mind.
It was the eccentric behavior Astin had shown in such a short time.
The fact that he had won thirty consecutive matches against apprentice knights.
The fact that the brat who had kept his distance from his father suddenly suggested going hunting.
And the fact that he had been the first to declare the engagement broken to Azelin, whom he had begged so desperately.
He had not even retracted that statement.
"What made him change overnight?"
It was certainly a good thing.
How many times had he wished Astin would come to his senses? That wish had come true.
Only, the trigger was not clear, so a question mark remained.
His next thought touched on a single remark Astin had spat out.
-I will weave the Solar Ring.
The Solar Ring, Solar.
It was nothing more than a forgotten ballad of knights, sung only decades ago.
In reality, those who bore rings were only the ones who had survived 'so far.'
The old ghosts of the past had simply failed to let go of their stubbornness.
Knights who walk the Path mock those who weave rings.
Old men stuck in back rooms. Ghosts of the past. Foolish people who cannot walk the Path and can only spin in circles, trapped in their rings.
It was not wrong.
Certainly, Solar's peak was high.
A Swordmaster who had woven seven rings and a Swordmaster who had opened seven Mana Circuits.
If the two fought a Life-and-Death Duel, nine times out of ten the ring knight would win. Their firepower itself was different.
But there were only two living ring Swordmasters on the entire continent.
By contrast, there were ten Swordmasters who walked the Path. Three of them had already opened eight Paths.
The claim that Solar's peak was high was nothing but a theoretical shell.
Unlike Luna, no knight in history had ever woven eight rings.
"Ring knights are no different from moths. They are dazzled by the fire and hasten their own deaths."
Ring knights tended to die young easily. It was the price of harboring fierce fire inside their bodies.
Originally there had been three Swordmasters who had woven seven rings, but one had died suddenly not long ago, reducing their number to two.
Weaving the Solar Ring meant walking through flames.
That was the decisive reason Solar had faded into the back alleys of history.
-If you take the easy path, you can only become an easy knight. I have to take the difficult path.
Astin's words had a point. More than a point, they were reasonable.
The Solar Ring was a scar drawn over another scar.
One was bound to learn from wounds.
The fact that Kardenos's symbol was the Black Lion was also based on the Solar Ring.
Since every ring woven required risking one's life, the ancestors urged their own bloodline to weave rings.
A family carried on by the child who survived that death ground.
That was Kardenos.
That was why Kardenos had preserved its standing until now.
Thump
Valdemar placed a hand over his chest.
The heart that had been cold for a long time spat out a beat.
He remembered the first time he had woven a ring as a child.
He had run around everywhere, bragging to his family.
He remembered when he had woven six rings.
He had only hidden it to preserve the Head of Household's dignity, but he had not slept properly all day.
The lingering feeling of that day made the corners of Valdemar's mouth rise now.
"I thought it had gone out."
A short laugh slipped in between the crackling sounds of burning firewood.
Had the ember of the knight he thought had died still remained?
His sentimentality lasted only a moment.
Valdemar's eyes sank coldly.
Theory and intuition are different. Romance and reality are different.
Valdemar had long since ridden the current of the new era.
The Head of Household's reputation was directly tied to the family's prestige.
Being pointed at like his old comrades was something that must not happen.
What kind of knight was Valdemar now?
A Swordmaster who had opened seven Mana Circuits and commanded the respect of many knights. The Black Lion of Kardenos, who did not fall behind the times.
Of course, he respected his child's choice.
He only respected it, but the thought that it was foolish dominated his mind.
"Astin. You will soon accept it too."
Valdemar considered his child's bold declaration half bluster.
It was true that Astin had changed 180 degrees in a few days.
But that was all.
There was a tremendous difference between resolve and putting it into action.
And there was a world of difference between putting it into action and succeeding.
'With his current venom, he might manage to put it into action.'
He might try to kindle the ember even by force.
He did not expect anything beyond that.
Luna was coiled in Astin's Core.
And he would break through that enormous repulsion and weave a Solar Ring, which had the exact opposite nature?
Without exaggeration, it was a suicidal act that staked his life.
'There is no chance of success.'
Valdemar concluded coldly.
Astin would give up along the way. It would actually be fortunate if he gave up.
If he did not give up to the end, he might cook to death in the heat blazing from inside him.
Even knowing that, Valdemar did not stop him.
Was he trying to test his child's qualifications by driving him to a death ground, as the old ancestors had done?
He did not know.
Only.
"My son. Just do not die. There is nothing to learn from death."
He supposed he had grown softer than the ancestors.
Valdemar swallowed his worry and picked up the documents.
***
Fwoosh-!
Flames rose along the dagger's blade.
The air in the room grew hot with the shimmering heat.
It was a fundamentally different sensation from handling Luna.
The raw heat was being controlled entirely by my will.
"Okay. Perfect."
The Solar Ring was beating stably.
A day had passed, so the aftereffects of the Mental Demon should have cleared completely.
I twisted my stiff neck this way and that and threw open the door.
Cool air filled my lungs.
After being cooped up in my room all this time, every joint in my body felt sore.
I strolled leisurely down the marble corridor in a good mood.
"G-good morning, Young Master!"
"Yeah."
"Young Master! You are overflowing with nobility again today!"
"I told you, you do not need to flatter me."
Every servant I passed bowed politely.
Whether it was because of the old delinquent reputation or because the rumor from yesterday's reception room had spread.
I did not know why, and I did not want to know.
Just as I was walking absentmindedly, my gaze went out the window.
The huge iron gate opened, and a carriage was entering.
"Tsk- that looks familiar for some reason."
It was not a carriage engraved with the Black Lion emblem.
It had a rather luxurious exterior and a peacock emblem.
What was it? Which family was that again?
I looked out the window and searched my memory.
"Y-Young Master!"
Urgent footsteps echoed from the far end of the corridor.
An unnamed attendant was running over in a panic.
"Why again. What is it this time."
"I-I have something to tell you... Huh? Th-there, already!?"
Following the attendant's gesture, I turned back to the window.
Just then, the door of the carriage stopped in front of the main gate was opening.
"Aha."
Azelin emerged from inside, showing off the hem of her splendid dress.
A rough male hand was placed over hers.
The red-haired man who had stepped down from the carriage first was escorting Azelin.
A handsome, gigolo-like face. A straight back and a smile full of youthful charm.
The male lead of the sub love line, and the fallen noble knight Azelin cherished like gold. It was Julian.
"Young Master? What should we do? Shall we bring them inside first? Or should we turn them away at the door..."
It had been yesterday that I warned them about an affair.
'So you are going for a frontal breakthrough?'
Well, it was expected.
I would have been disappointed if they had not.
"No. They are guests who came all this way, so I should welcome them."
I hurried my steps and went outside.
Several servants were already waiting outside the main gate.
The servants, who had gathered in small groups and were whispering, all fixed their eyes on me.
Their faces were filled with bewilderment and tension.
They looked as if they expected me to explode in anger at any moment.
I walked calmly out among the servants.
The two, who had been walking close together at a distance, stopped when they saw me.
Julian stepped forward with a smooth smile.
"I beg your pardon for the rudeness, Sir Astin. Do you remember me?"
"Of course I remember."
I scratched my chin and looked him up and down.
"You are Julian. The fallen noble who could not even meet my eyes when we were at the Academy. What was your surname again?"
"It is Calvert. Have you forgotten?"
"Why would I remember that? A fallen family that is not even in the noble registry."
Julian's fake mask cracked with a sharp sound.
Azelin's expression was even more worth seeing.
It twisted viciously, as if she would bite me at any moment.
The unfortunate couple blocked by an engagement, and the disposable villain who stood in their way.
For now, I played along with their tune.
"Sir Astin. Your words are too much."
"Did I say anything wrong?"
"Then I will change how I address you as well. Young Master Astin."
"Do as you like. Sir or Young Master, I do not care."
I snorted like a third-rate villain.
"Anyway. What brings the two of you here? Did you come to apologize and say yesterday was a misunderstanding?"
Julian and Azelin exchanged sidelong glances.
A meaningful look passed between them, and then Julian, with a resolute face, hid Azelin behind him.
"Young Master Astin. I have something to propose to you formally."
Swipe
Julian put his hand into his breast pocket. It was a rather solemn movement.
"That is a glove, is it not."
"...!"
The hand rummaging in his breast pocket froze.
"You came to challenge me to a duel over Azelin. How did I know? You have exactly that face. Your inner thoughts are all over it."
"......."
"So you are not denying it."
Julian finally pulled out a white glove.
Whoosh!
The glove struck my chest and slid down.
"Julian, Knight of the White Wing. I formally challenge you to a duel."
"Knight of the White Wing? An angel has descended."
He is really throwing a fit. It makes my eyes hurt.
I snatched up the glove before it could fall at my feet.
"And if I refuse?"
"I do not think the heir of Kardenos would run from a duel with a fallen noble."
"So, if I tell you to screw off and forget about face and all that?"
"How can you use such vulgar words!"
The latter words came from Azelin's mouth.
"Maintain your dignity, Astin. Be aware that a single word from you harms the family's prestige."
"I do not think a whore who gave her body and heart to another man has any right to say that."
"Astin! Watch your mouth!"
Because I insulted Azelin, Julian cut in.
They really were a match made in heaven.
I shrugged my shoulders as mockingly as I could.
"Are you going to drag this out?"
I passed them and jerked my head toward the training ground inside.
"Follow me. Let us have a match."
***
"A duel! The Young Master is going to duel!"
The rumor spread like an arrow inside and outside in no time.
A real sword duel between Astin and Julian.
At that news, the knights in training and the servants flocked to the training ground like a herd of sheep.
When the details between the two spread, the atmosphere split sharply in two.
"Oh my, that person is Sir Julian. Is he not so handsome?"
"He is trying to win love even in the face of a political marriage! It is just like a romance novel!"
The maids with flushed cheeks whispered.
A knight with a delicate face and the background of a fallen family.
The story that Julian had taken up his sword for a young lady bound by a political marriage was enough to stir the girls' romantic feelings.
Of course, the reaction of the knights surrounding the training ground was the exact opposite.
"That gigolo-looking bastard, what does he know about political marriage?"
"He barges into another man's front yard to steal the Young Master's fiancée? Romance, my ass. What kind of frozen-to-death romance is that? This is an insult to Kardenos!"
The duel challenge itself was an act that smeared the name of Kardenos.
From the moment he arrived here, Julian had become the common enemy of the knights.
Moreover, the Black Lion knights had recently witnessed Astin's thirty-match winning streak with their own eyes.
To them, who revered martial prowess, Astin was no longer the delinquent of the past.
"Young Master! Please flatten that bastard's arrogant nose!"
"Show him the sword of Kardenos! Please do not let your guard down!"
Even in the face of open hostility, Julian's expression did not change.
A fallen noble family. Their fortune had been blown away completely. The only thing worth looking at on that man was his face.
Julian had endured countless gazes and evaluations that despised him.
He had always been the underdog, in the position of the weak.
In other words, he had made every effort from the bottom to get here.
And there was one woman who recognized that effort.
Julian turned his head.
He met Azelin's eyes as she watched with an anxious face among the spectators.
Julian smiled brightly at her. He whispered small with his lips.
[I will definitely come back]
"!"
Water welled up in Azelin's eyes.
She pressed her lips tightly together and nodded gently.
The Kardenos knight serving as referee walked to the center.
"The duel will use only swords, without Aura. Do you agree?"
""I agree.""
"The duel will proceed as a Life Duel, not a Life-and-Death Duel. If you inflict an irrecoverable wound on your opponent's body or cripple them, it will be considered a loss. Do you agree?"
""I agree.""
"The loser of the duel must accept the following. If Young Master Astin loses, he must break the engagement himself. If Sir Julian loses, he must give up Lady Azelin and bear an indelible disgrace. Do you agree?"
""I agree.""
"The duel will continue until one side surrenders or becomes unable to fight. The start signal is the moment the coin touches the ground."
Julian glared at Astin with his hand resting on the pommel at his side.
Crunch!
That shameless face.
When I thought of the outrages Astin had committed until now, my teeth gnashed.
"Do you know why you are standing here?"
"Why."
"Because you think money and power can solve everything."
Azelin is a pitiful woman.
A woman who thirsted for love but never received true love.
Without even knowing Azelin's true feelings, that man had cited their engagement and bound her for a long time.
"Money and background cannot win love. Azelin is not a snob like you. She is just one woman who wants to be truly loved."
"What are you talking about? She said with her own mouth that she wanted a ring and that she wanted a dress as a gift."
"She said that because she was mindful of your feelings."
Julian believed that he was different from Astin.
Once this duel ended, Julian would return to Azelin.
He would love Azelin without hiding anymore.
"Azelin told me. That you beat thirty apprentice knights."
Of course it was a false rumor. Azelin had said so too.
"Do you know what you become when you dress it up like that? Do you think people look up to you? Astin, you are a person who cannot live without lies and deception."
Even at the Academy in the past, Astin was rumored to be a halfwit.
A libertine, a wastrel, a swindler, a delinquent.
He wore all sorts of infamous labels and did not even feel ashamed. He did not try to fix them either.
He only ran wild on the name of his family.
"All this tragedy is your own problem. Learn a lot from today."
"Do you fight with your tongue?"
"...Ha."
Julian's jaw muscles trembled.
Schwing!
He irritably drew his sword.
Following him, Astin lightly gripped his sword hilt.
When Astin gave a nod, the referee flicked a silver coin with his thumb.
Ting-!
With a clear sound, the coin shot up into the air.
The silver coin spun round and round, reflecting the sunlight, and drew a parabola.
Tat-!
Using the sound of friction as a signal, Julian charged, kicking up dust.
Julian was an elite who competed for the top spot in the Academy's practical swordsmanship department.
At his fierce speed, the knights unwittingly gasped.
As if he had grown wings. Julian leaped a distance of nearly 10 meters in a single step.
Whoosh!
A trajectory faster than a swallow and more graceful than a snake.
It was the moment Julian's sword aimed at his opponent's side.
Clang-!!
A metallic sound that struck the eardrums echoed out.
Along with it, a single sword spun through the air.
Chiiing....
The sword stuck to the ground trembled finely.
Hup!
The watching maids' mouths dropped open, and the knights looked at Julian in bewilderment.
"So much for a Knight of the White Wing."
Julian alternated his shaking pupils between the sword and Astin.
Astin smirked at his dumbfounded face.
"Looks like the wings are on your sword, not on you? You really went flying."
"Kuh...!"
Julian's face flushed red and blue.
His mind could not catch up with what had just happened.
Astin had only tapped him lightly, yet the strength left his grip.
And when he came to his senses, the result was this.
"What are you doing. Pick it up again."
Astin pointed the tip of his sword at where Julian's sword had fallen.
"I am giving you a chance. If it ends like this, you will only lose more face. At least struggle before you finish."
Not mercy, but mockery.
Julian bit his lips as if grinding them.
'I made a mistake. I let my guard down. My hand just slipped.'
Coincidence, mistake, luck. There were many reasons to tack on.
After finishing his self-justification inwardly, Julian picked up his sword.
Meanwhile, Astin turned his gaze toward the referee.
"Now that I have faced him directly, I get it. Even if that guy dies and comes back, he cannot beat me with a sword. It will be neither fun nor impressive, so how about letting us use Aura?"
"Th-that... if the opponent agrees, there is no problem."
Astin stared at Julian. His eyes asked for agreement.
Deep suspicion brushed through Julian's chest.
'He suddenly wants to use Aura?'
His thought processes began to spin quickly.
In fact, Julian's strength was Aura rather than swordsmanship.
Julian was a rare, outstanding genius who had opened three Paths at a young age.
On the other hand, Astin was a third-rate knight who had opened only two Paths.
If it came to an Aura battle, Julian was overwhelmingly advantaged in both total amount and density.
Then why? He could not figure it out at all.
Julian had no choice but to set aside his questions.
"I agree, but will you be all right?"
Woooong-!
A cool Aura wrapped around the blade and raised its momentum ominously.
A blue Path led from Julian's Core to his right arm, left arm, and lower Dantian. Three Mana Circuits began to shine blue.
"What nonsense! That man cannot even be twenty yet?"
"To open three Paths at that young age... That is at the level of our captain in his prime!"
"Young Master! Withdraw your words even now! He is no ordinary opponent!"
The faces of the knights, who had been steeped in joy until just before, were instantly colored with anxiety.
Whether they did or not.
Astin gripped his sword hilt as if to crush it and sank into his inner world.
Fwoosh-!!
What rose along the blade was not cool moonlight.
A brilliant and fierce flame, as if a fragment of the sun had been cut into it.
The heated Karma Fire swallowed the air of the training ground in one breath. A suffocating heat spread in all directions.
At the same time.
In Astin's Heart Core, a crimson-gold ring displayed its radiance.
A perfect circular flame, the Solar Ring.
A soundless roar swept across the training ground.
In the silence, each person's shock burst out.
A knight rubbed his eyes, unable to believe what he saw; Azelin blinked again and again; Julian's mouth hung wide open.
Celine, who had heard the news later than the others and come running in a panic, stopped dead.
Everyone in the training ground was expressing their shock in their own way.
Astin turned his head at the gaze he felt from above.
When he looked there, a short laugh escaped him.
'It is still too early to be surprised.'
A pair of eyes visible through the arched window.
Valdemar was watching him with an expression that did not suit him.