Episode 8
A few days later.
In the corridor of Sowyol Hall, urgent footfalls rang out.
“Young Master Luke!”
“What? I’m not running off anywhere.”
“Hah, hah.”
Torbin finally caught his breath.
“Hoo, a swordsmanship instructor has been assigned to you, Young Master.”
“Really?”
“Are you truly alright?”
“Not really.”
Luke was not particularly keen on the idea of learning swordsmanship from someone.
Who dared claim they could teach him?
After all, he was a powerhouse who had ultimately surpassed even Mervin.
But that was a fact only he himself knew.
Publicly, Luke had long since put down the sword.
To create a pretext for using the sword going forward, he had no choice but to learn without complaint now.
“But what can I do? As a scion of House Schnelden, I naturally have to learn the sword.”
“Do you know who the swordsmanship instructor is?”
“Of course I don’t.”
“It’s Sir Milli.”
“Don’t know him. But why, is there a problem?”
“No, it’s just…….”
Torbin trailed off instead of answering.
As if he was debating whether he should say this.
“What is it?”
“Do you really not remember?”
“If I remembered, I wouldn’t be asking you like this.”
“Well…… Sir Lahitz Milli is the First Young Master’s guard knight and swordsmanship instructor.”
“Huh?”
Luke’s eyes widened at the vaguely familiar name.
That rude descendant he had met in front of Baek-eun Hall.
That guy had called him hyung.
And the knight who had been stopping him seemed to have the name Lahitz.
“You remember something, right? You put down the sword because of the First Young Master.”
“Did I? What would I have had to suffer to put down the sword?”
“Sigh…….”
Torbin pressed his palm to his forehead.
He felt sorry for him.
But what could be done?
No matter how long he waited, the memories of this body’s original owner did not return.
The butler would just have to suffer a bit.
“If I tell you what happened…….”
Torbin told him about the incidents involving the First Young Master, that is, Theo Schnelden.
“So I was tormented by him, badly injured, and then got scared and dropped the sword?”
So that was why Luke’s body had trembled so much that day in front of Baek-eun Hall.
No matter how you looked at it, it was absurd. A scion of a martial family dropping the sword after being stabbed once.
The boy named Luke must have been an awfully pathetic fellow as well.
“But was he always such a poor character from the beginning? It’s a rather rare personality to see in a Schnelden.”
“That guy…… anyway, he wasn’t like that from the start.”
“Then why did he turn out like that?”
“Well…… it started when the Lady passed away.”
Now that he thought about it, he had seen his father but never met his mother.
“Young Master Theo had borne the expectations of the entire household since childhood, being called the sole hope of the family. The only one who lessened that burden was the Lady, but when she passed away, he became completely twisted.”
“Hmm…….”
A genius who couldn’t withstand the pressure directed at him and went astray.
It was a case one heard of from time to time.
Moreover, since the household was in this state, the burden would have been that much greater.
‘Wait. Then doesn’t that mean he still has the innate ability?’
A rather good idea came to mind.
Once he began moving to save the household, that change would inevitably be noticeable.
After all, what he was going to do from now on would bring about massive changes to the Schnelden family.
Therefore, while he moved beneath the surface, he needed someone to draw the eyes of the world.
The talented eldest son of the Schnelden family would make for sufficient bait.
Of course, he would have to mend his ways first, but that wasn’t a big problem.
‘Good. I’ll have to meet my older brother quickly.’
But it seemed such thoughts had shown on his face.
“Young Master, why are you smiling like that? It’s unsettling.”
“Me? I wasn’t smiling.”
“The corner of your mouth is raised on one side right now.”
“Is it because the heating in the room isn’t working well? Anyway, I’m off.”
Luke whistled and turned around.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m off to pay my respects to Hyung-nim. Don’t follow me; it’s dangerous.”
Thud.
He closed the door and left before Torbin could say anything.
Torbin couldn’t acclimate to him, who had changed so drastically.
Yet somehow, it didn’t feel like a big problem would arise.
* * *
‘It’s a mess here too.’
Luke had arrived in front of Theo’s residence.
This place was Cheongsang Hall, which had once served ‘important’ guests.
Yet it looked even worse off than Sowyol Hall.
They said the butlers changed frequently because of his rowdy personality, and it seemed even the bare minimum of maintenance wasn’t being carried out.
How could this place be the residence of the eldest son of the Schnelden family?
Luke barely held back a sigh that threatened to burst forth.
‘Let’s just meet him quickly.’
Luke steeled himself and entered through the main gate.
The first person he saw upon entering the garden was a maid.
“Young Master Luke? What brings you here?”
Pity filled the maid’s eyes.
‘The same gaze as Torbin.’
What Luke had suffered at Theo’s hands seemed to be very well known.
How else could such a uniform reaction come from everyone?
‘Well, as long as he has the skills, it doesn’t matter; personality can be fixed quickly.’
Character could be corrected quickly, but skills could not.
“I’ve come to see Hyung-nim; is he inside?”
“No…… He’s probably at Norden.”
“Norden?”
“There’s a tavern he frequents there.”
“How often does he go?”
“Almost every day.”
Given the household’s situation was this bad, if he was out drinking every day, it was obvious.
As expected, this guy wasn’t sound in the head.
“Do you know the location?”
“I do, but surely you aren’t thinking of going there?”
“Yes.”
“If you’ll forgive my presumption, it would be best not to go…… He flies into a terrible rage if anyone other than Sir Lahitz goes there.”
“I’ll see him once as a courtesy anyway.”
In the end, the maid reluctantly told him the tavern’s location.
“Thank you. I’ll repay you later.”
“Please be careful.”
Luke immediately left Cheongsang Hall.
Soon after, a fellow maid approached from behind.
“Surely you didn’t tell him that ruffian’s location?”
“I did.”
“The Second Young Master is going to suffer again…….”
“Should I really not have told him?”
The maid let out a small sigh.
“What power do we maids have when a bloodline tells us to speak?”
“I suppose nothing will happen?”
“Who knows. It would be nice if that ruffian caused a big accident and left the house at this point.”
The maids let out deep sighs and returned to their work.
* * *
‘Were there always so many red-light districts in Norden?’
The main avenue of Norden was just as he remembered, but the moment he stepped slightly away, the differences were conspicuous.
Norden had indeed developed strong liquors and taverns due to its cold weather, but most of them had simply been inns doubling as taverns.
However, on this street, women in revealing clothes stood outside seducing men.
‘Norden is truly in shambles.’
Luke clicked his tongue inwardly and headed toward the tavern the maid had mentioned.
Though the many taverns and crowds were confusing, finding Theo was not difficult.
He only had to follow the unique aura of the Schnelden bloodline.
‘His aura is faint, but…… over there?’
Luke tilted his head and headed toward the tavern.
And the first sight that greeted him upon entering the tavern was—
Thwack!
“Kuk.”
—a man rolling on the floor alongside a dull impact.
“What’s this? Didn’t you say you’d show me your real fists? So what’s with rolling around like that?”
And on the other side, Theo was sneering.
“Kk…….”
“Right. It wouldn’t be fun if you collapsed already.”
Theo spoke with an air of complete nonchalance.
Luke quietly observed him from between the crowd.
‘A drinking bout and a brawl on top of that…… Worst of the worst.’
Judging by the crowd’s reaction, this commotion didn’t seem to be a rare occurrence.
He thought about going over and hitting him in the back of the head right away, but Luke decided to sit down for a moment.
His character was already a lost cause, and by watching this fight, he could gauge his abilities in one go.
‘Then shall I watch our descendant’s little performance?’
Luke sat in a chair with his legs crossed and observed the fight.
The fight ended more plainly than expected.
Just as he thought they were exchanging a few measured blows—
Crack!
“Ugh!”
Theo’s fist tore through the man’s guard like paper.
“What, you think you can pick a fight with anyone with that pathetic guard?”
Thud, thud, thud.
From then on, it was a one-sided beating by Theo.
Just when Luke began wondering if the man might die, the tavern owner stepped in.
“Oh my! Young Master Theo, please stop now.”
“What, you want a beating too?”
“Oh dear, it’s not that. Sir Lahitz asked me to be sure to stop you whenever you got into a fight.”
The name Lahitz seemed to have some effect.
“Fine. I’m already bored of fighting anyway, and the liquor’s gone stale. This guy will pay for my drinks, right?”
“Of course. He lost the duel, after all.”
“Looking at this bastard’s face has ruined the taste of my drink. Tch.”
Theo dusted off his hands and left the tavern.
The act of spitting toward the fallen man was the perfect image of a villain.
Luke was shocked after watching that fight.
Because Theo’s martial arts were outstanding?
Not at all.
Because the skills he had shown were even more pathetic than his antics.
He was supposedly a direct descendant of the family head, and that was all he amounted to?
At that level, he was weaker than the leader of some back-alley gang.
If the direct descendant’s skills were that poor, no wonder they couldn’t secure a single watchtower and had to receive help from Cornelio.
‘Why does the Windmoon Great Sword wielded by someone of the direct bloodline look like that?’
He could tell even without drawing a sword, just from the footwork and mana manipulation.
What that boy had learned was a secret art that contained not a single profound truth—truly nothing more than an empty shell.
Luke felt fury surge within him.
What was a family?
It was a scene where the first family head’s techniques and spirit were inherited through the bloodline.
In that process of inheritance, the techniques and spirit were supplemented and improved, developing further.
But look at the state of that boy who had just gone outside.
The direct descendant who was to inherit the family’s very essence had failed to properly learn the secret arts even at that age.
With him looking like that, there was no need to even look at the others.
The present-day Schnelden family had not only failed to develop their techniques and spirit but couldn’t even properly inherit what they possessed.
How could he not be furious?
‘Father, how did Schnelden end up like this?’
If it were his father, what would he have done in this situation?
He hadn’t known the day would come when he would think such thoughts.
Squeak.
Luke left the tavern, his heart heavy with sorrow.
“Who are you? Why are you following me?”
From the alley beside the building, Theo’s voice rang out.
“Oh, it’s you?”
Though he disliked the blatant casual speech directed at him, Luke forced a smile.
After all, he had come today to greet him.
“We meet again.”
“You bastard, daring to speak casually to your older brother?”
“Brothers can speak casually.”
“Watch yourself. If you catch my eye again next time, I’ll really kill you.”
Theo scrunched up his face and tried to pass by Luke.
If only Luke hadn’t scoffed at him then.
“What did you just do?”
“What?”
Luke tilted his head with an expression of complete ignorance.
“I’m asking what you just did. You scoffed, didn’t you?”
“No, it’s not that…….”
A smile colder than the snow wind of Norden formed at the corners of Luke’s lips.
“It’s just amusing that you’d say such things with such meager skills.”
It seemed he would have to start his descendant’s education a bit sooner.