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author nt. : This lengthy chapter without any vote is just a bonus to make up for my long absence ! Enjoy :)
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The Reinhardt empire is a large and powerful elven country in the northern part of the continent.
Compared to the thousands of other elven clans living on Lunaris, those who reside in the north lost any of the few attachments they had left to the forest spirits.
While the ancestors of the current elves living in the south sought only the lands filled with abundant mana and forest spirits to form their clans and kingdoms, those living in the north didn't have the luxury to do so.
The harsh and cold environment forced them to covet the very few hospitable lands that were not ravaged by the cold or populated with ferocious beasts. They established themselves on inhabited plains and valley, and avoided the frozen mountains and forests that hosted so many dangers.
In a certain sense, the elves from the north are not so different from the humans, beastmen, and other intelligent races living around them.
The oldest texts that are still readable from the ancient era mention that the reason why those arrogant elves grouped together and formed powerful countries was mainly to resist the indomitable might of the other races hostile to their presence. Among these elven countries, the Reinhardt empire has always been one of the strongest.
While the Emperor is at the head of the Reinhardt empire and the Imperial Court exerts his will onto his domain, the high nobles' households are the true backbone of the empire. They each have a territory to manage, and despite the power being centralized in the capital, the noblesse always kept a certain degree of independency toward the Imperial Court.
They are free to govern their territory however they want as long as they fill their annual tribute to the Emperor. They have to send a specific quota of men and gold to the capital every last month of the year, depending on the size of the territory, the situation of its economy, and the title rank of its lord.
While this feudal system gave the high noblesse a lot of responsibility, and thus, allowed them to accumulate a lot of power, it still restrained them tight enough so they couldn't escape the Imperial Court's influence.
'You are free to do whatever you want as long as it benefits the Empire, but don't even dare thinking about escaping your Lord Emperor's grasp,' so was the true meaning hidden behind this elaborate hierarchical system the First Emperor and founder of Reinhardt created to govern his kin, who were intrinsically haughty and pretentious.
As centuries passed and the Reinhardt Empire slowly developed itself, some families gained more merits and influence than others. Naturally, the Vermillion household, founded by Julius Sanguinus Vermillion who was a close companion to the First Emperor, has always been one of the most prestigious.
To reward the friendship and loyalty of his trusted comrade, the First Emperor gifted the Vermillion founder one of the most precious lands in the Empire. The Vermillion territory now covers a whole tenth of the Reinhardt Empire. Encarmine, the city where Julius Sanguinus' manor has been built and his descendants reside since then, is one of the most developed cities across the whole Empire.
Legend says that Julius Sanguinus named this city after a vision he received from the goddess Arthemil herself. No one knew what has been revealed to him, but many thought of Julius Sanguinus as blessed by the goddess.
Although the details of Julius Sanguinius' life have been lost to time, the notable events of his reign over the region have been told and retold so many thousands of times by the citizen of Vermillion that they became legends engraved with golden letters in the Empire's manuscripts, second in glory only to the First Emperor himself.
Be it for his angelic figure, his natural dignified and majestic aura, or the grandiose battle he waged alongside the First Emperor, Julius Sanguinus' deeds are known and celebrated across the Empire even up to this day. While none of his descendants has ever been close to surpassing him, they all religiously followed the teachings he left behind and walked on his steps, preserving the Vermillion heritage and consolidating their family influence through the centuries.
Their lands span from the eastern plains to the northern mountain ranges, and they are one of the few families that have the right to exploit the precious mineral deposits hidden inside the northern mountains for their own benefit.
At the foot of those imposing mountains that are separating the Reinhardt Empire's territory from the human kingdom of Brinhir, a permanent garrison of ten thousand imperial troops is guarding the border.
They are the 7th Imperial Legion, also called the Steel Legion.
Since Angelus was determined to fulfill his mother's wish and join the Silver Lotus Academy far from the Vermillion estate, his father decided to personally choose a loyal bodyguard in addition to Aura to protect him.
"My Lord, with all due respect, why didn't you choose a knight from the Crimson Order, instead of coming this far just to recruit a regular soldier from an imperial legion ?" Vestan, who was inside the Duke's carriage, asked seriously.
He didn't say it clearly, but his Lord understood the hidden meaning behind his words.
Even if the Duke joined the imperial military during his youth and spent a decade in the Steel Legion, it was still a force that belonged to the Imperial Court. The Vermillion family may have a lot of influence across the Empire, it is still not comparable to the Imperial Court's power.
In the same way the knights of the Crimson Order pledge allegiance to the Vermillion household before all, the soldiers of the Imperial Legions are loyal to the Emperor only.
"When it comes to protecting duty, there is no better choice than an experienced soldier from the Steel Legion. I know that a mere soldier seems lacking compared to a fully-fledged knight in your eyes, but you shouldn't underestimate them. As for their loyalty, we are all part of the same empire. Be mindful of your words, Vestan." The Duke answered his knight with a serious gaze.
"Forgive me, my Lord." the knight realized his mistake and bowed his head. Fortunately, only the Duke and his two aides were inside the carriage.
As a doting father, the Duke also wanted to select the best one of his Crimson knights to protect his son, but he feared that being accompanied by a powerhouse would have a bad influence on his son. It could make him lazy and more arrogant than he already is.
After all, the goal of his son leaving the estate was for him to mature and experience the world by himself ; it wasn't for him to rely on someone else.
The Duke wasn't naive, he knew that by living among these cunning mages his son will surely face numerous dangers, but he trusted in his family's heritage more than anything else ; if it took more than an hour for a soul from the Million Pandora Box to accept his son, then its power should be unthinkable.
What are mere mages in front of the might of Vermillion ?
In addition, the Duke didn't want to appoint a powerful knight to his son's side because being exposed to danger is the best method to unleash Angelus' dormant power.
"Did I never tell you how I awakened my own heritage after I passed my Olympiades ?"
Both Vestan and Arlen looked at their duke with round eyes.
"No, you never did my Lord !"
"My Lord, isn't this supposed to be a family secret ?"
They were both surprised to see their lord casually talking about the Vermillion heritage as if it was no big deal.
Except for them, the number of people aware that Vermillion's heritage is hidden inside the manor can be counted on a single hand. As the most trusted subordinates of their Lord, they were aware that every heir of the Vermillion duchy had to enter the secret chamber once they became adults, but nobody, not even them, knew what was kept inside.
"I awakened my heritage by almost dying in my pregnant wife's arms. If not for her saving me with an artifact, I would have been six feet under the ground before my son was born."
Even the most painful memories made the Duke smile when it was about his deceased wife.
"At that time, I was an arrogant squad captain who freshly joined the Steel Legion under the order of my Father. On my third dispatch, I chased a human black mage by myself, only thinking about the merits I would gain if I could bring him down alone. In the end, not only did I not kill him, but I fell into his trap, he successfully escaped, and as a parting gift he cursed me to death."
Both knights were dead silent. They were shocked to learn about this, but they didn't dare cut off their lord.
"The soldiers from my squad that I left behind found me soon after and brought me back half dead to the camp. When even the best shamans of the legions couldn't do anything to remove the curse, the commander decided to send me back to my estate. Up until this day, I could never forget the look of pity he had when he looked at me, with my frail body agonizing on my bed. More than mad at me for disobeying, he was above all disappointed to see another pretentious noble not following orders just to seek glory."
Looking at the quickly passing scenery out of the carriage window, the Duke continued his story.
"As the curse was slowly devouring me from within, I understood that I was already as good as dead. The commander also realized it, and because he knew that I was about to become a father, he sent me back to the Vermillion estate in hope that I could pass my last moment in the company of my pregnant wife. On the way back, I pried to Arthemil day and night for her to not reclaim my soul before I could see my child's face."
Both knights had their throats dry by listening to their Lord's story, especially since they knew that the Lord's wife passed soon after giving birth. They knew the young master's birth was dramatic, but they didn't expect it to be so heartbreaking.
It must have been unimaginably hard for the Duke.
"When I arrived at the manor, my beloved wife, pregnant with my son, collapsed in tears when she saw the state I was in. For an entire month, she brought all the best shamans of the empire one by one to our manor, but none of them has been able to remove the curse slowly extinguishing me. She even caused an uproar when she went as far as clandestinely bringing a renowned human white mage to our estate, yet even him was clueless about how to cure me from this deadly curse."
The Duke picked up a glass of wine and took a sip, before continuing.
"Unable to move or speak, I mustered all of my last forces to write and leave a few words for her and my unborn child. The same night, while my wife was gently patting my head, I closed my eyes and had no strength left to open them again. I heard her paniked voice when she noticed my body getting cold. She was painfully crying and calling for me, asking me to wake up, but no matter how hard I tried... I couldn't answer her. When her sweet voice faded away and everything around me was dark, I knew that it was my end. I was ready for it, but I didn't expect it to come so suddenly, without any warning. As weird as it may be, death came as smoothly as a current of wind passing through an open window. During my last breath, I only wished to see my lovely wife's face one last time."
The Duke's voice cracked at the last phrase, and the knight felt how much sorrow and pain he felt by recounting this memory. The carriage once again fell silent.
After the Duke took his composure, he continued.
"Just before my soul left my body, I suddenly felt a surge of power going through my body and resonating with my blood. It felt as if thunder stroked me at the top of my head and brought me back to life. Just a second later, an intense flow of mana raged throughout my body and surprisingly... this unknown mana consumed the curse from within. When I opened my eyes, not understanding how I was still alive, the first thing I felt was the tears of my wife flowing on my frozen visage."
The Duke slowly closed the curtain of the carriage window, and solemnly looked into the eyes of his knights.
"We didn't know at that time what happened, but it turned out that the silver necklace with an incrusted ruby my wife's mother offered to her daughter when she married me was in reality an extremely rare artifact from a long-forgotten age. I later figured out that it had a single-use property to deceive death's call and heal its owner."
"..."
"..."
Both Vestan and Arlen were too shaken to speak. Their respect for their lord skyrocketed once more after hearing such a painful story.
They were also curious as to how the Duchess' mother got her hand on such a precious artifact. Even to this day, life-saving artifacts are considered to be the rarest ones, and even among them, very few can save someone on the verge of dying.
"While I am grateful that this artifact saved me from an incurable curse, sometimes I can't help myself but think about what would have happened if I died far from my wife so the artifact could remain functional. I even suspect that my stepmother offered this precious item knowing that giving birth to Angelus would cost her daughter's life..."
The Duke's pain could be felt through his voice. Despite not saying it, his knights understood how guilty their lord felt for the death of his wife.
It was a pity that both the son and the father felt responsible for the death of the deceased Duchesse... Life hasn't been fair to them.
"Cough!... Anyway, if I hadn't decided to face a black mage by myself when I wasn't even a 3-stars swordmaster, all of this wouldn't have happened. The day I got cursed to death is the day I bitterly learned that glory and honor were pointless to a dead man. Never forget this : only fools pledge life to honor."
"We won't, my Lord." Both knights answered at the same time and bowed their heads, their eyes brimming with reverence and loyalty, but also sadness and compassion toward their liege.
The Duke lightly smiled at his two loyal knights, before adding.
"The most ridiculous part about this story, is that my heritage awakened the day after I got cured by this ancient artifact. I didn't know why, out of an entire year, it decided to manifest only now... until my late father's words made me realize. He told me that only in blood do the Vermillion truly see the truth. Without this curse almost killing me and this powerful artifact reviving me... I may have not been talented enough to awaken my heritage by my own means."
The scenery outside the windows slowed down, until the carriage stopped in front of a massive fort embedded between two huge mountains.
The Duke opened the door, and said in a low voice.
"My father used to say that the Vermillion heritage is a blessing in disguise... In reality, it's closer to a lifetime curse than a blessing. I just hope for my son to not experience the same pain as I did."
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