"Did my brother call me back... to attend my second brother's funeral?" Linton tried to ask.
"Well..." Tyrwin hesitated slightly.
"What's wrong, Lord Tyrwin?" Linton asked.
"To be honest, I'm not really sure, but Lord Randna's death hasn't been made public yet," Tyrwin replied. "It's unlikely they'll be holding a funeral."
Linton wasn't too surprised. After all, his second brother was just the second son of the family, like himself, without much status. The only difference was that his second brother didn't have the reputation of being a useless person, so he was treated much better. After thinking for a moment, Linton asked, "So, do you know what this is all about?"
"I think... it might be a wedding," Tyrwin said.
At this, Linton immediately felt a headache and quickly asked, "Whose wedding?"
"It's said... the Meloway family is going to form an alliance with the Temlin family," Tyrwin explained. "When I visited the Baron's estate earlier, I saw people from the Temlin family."
"The Temlin family?" Linton was confused for a moment. He hadn't even heard of this family, not surprising given that he knew very little about his own family's affairs.
"Nobles from the southwest, a very powerful family," Tyrwin briefly explained.
"Uh... do they have any famously ugly women or widows?" Linton asked.
"That... I haven't heard of. But I did hear that the young lady of the Temlin family is the most beautiful woman in the entire Roshander region. Maybe they're arranging her marriage," Tyrwin speculated.
"A beauty, huh..." Linton spread his hands. "Then it's got nothing to do with me. No way they'd arrange a beauty for someone like me."
"I think it's possible that the Baron himself is planning to marry this beauty," Tyrwin shared his guess.
"Oh?" Linton thought that was quite likely. He had heard that his brother's wife had died earlier this year, leaving him single. A marriage alliance between two families made sense, but it still felt odd to be summoned back just for a wedding. Could it really be that simple? Linton wondered if they might actually be arranging some kind of marriage for him.
As strange as it seemed, Linton still had to go back. He knew that the identity of Linton Meloway wasn't his real identity, but he wanted to figure out how he had become this person. It might even be connected to his true self.
As soon as Linton said he was ready to go, Tyrwin made arrangements. Since Linton had been missing for two days, they couldn't delay any longer. Tyrwin suggested they depart immediately, fearing the Baron might get angry.
Tyrwin even lent Linton his own carriage, probably the only passenger carriage in the entire town. Although it was the mayor's carriage, it was still very shabby, as the town was incredibly poor. Tyrwin also arranged for two guards to escort Linton, one of whom was Radnor, while the other was Zarg, a young man in his twenties.
At that moment, Eke returned just in time. As Radnor had guessed, Eke had been faking his illness. Upon hearing that Linton was being summoned, Eke miraculously "recovered" and rushed back to help pack.
Of course, Linton didn't have much to pack. As mentioned earlier, the only wearable clothes he had were the ones on his back, and they were in tatters. Fortunately, Tyrwin noticed his predicament and helped him find some suitable clothes. After a bit of preparation, Linton, along with his three companions, set off on their journey to Degarnor City.
According to Eke, the town wasn't very far from Degarnor City. By carriage, it would take just over a day. Along the way, Eke couldn't contain his excitement and kept talking to Linton.
"Master, I told you! The Baron must've heard about you awakening your battle energy, and that's why he's called you back," Eke said.
"Really? You think so?" Linton replied. "Awakening battle energy at 19? What's so impressive about that? I bet even a random knight apprentice at the Baron's estate is stronger than me. Why would they call me back for that?"
"It's different, Master. You're a member of the Meloway family," Eke insisted.
"So you think my brother has suddenly developed a sense of family affection and called me back?" Linton gave Eke a look that seemed to say, "You're trying to make me laugh." "Eke, it's not that complicated. If I'm lucky, my brother remembered me while planning his wedding and casually invited me back to attend. If I'm unlucky, they've arranged something for me, probably a marriage. And I'm sure the match won't be someone to celebrate."
"Marriage...?" Eke hesitated, realizing that what Linton said made sense. The family had kept Linton around for some purpose, and it did seem more likely that a marriage had been arranged.
"It could even be a political marriage," Linton added. "Watch out, Eke. Your new mistress might sell you off..."
"This..." Eke was naturally worried. If Linton married into another family, he would become a servant of that family. Getting sold off seemed entirely plausible. Eke knew he was getting old and wasn't much use anymore, so what Linton said could very well happen.
"Aren't you worried, Master?" Eke suddenly realized Linton didn't seem concerned at all.
"Of course I'm worried. That's why I'm thinking of a solution," Linton said. "Help me think of something, too. Even though nothing is confirmed yet, it's always good to prepare in advance."
After thinking for a moment, Eke said, "Master, how about we visit Baron Sedes? Do you remember? You had an engagement with the Sedes family a long time ago."
"Did I? Like an arranged marriage?" Linton asked.
"Yes, your father arranged it with Baron Sedes."
"And then? Was I dumped?" Linton asked.
"No, Baron Sedes's daughter passed away at a young age, so the matter was never brought up again," Eke explained.
"Oh..." Linton had been hoping for the classic "dumped" scenario so he could say that famous line. It felt like a staple of all time-travel stories. He was a bit disappointed he wouldn't get to say it. "So why are we visiting him?"
"Even though the daughter you were engaged to has passed away, the engagement wasn't formally resolved. In theory, the Sedes family should provide another member to marry you," Eke said. "If you go see Baron Sedes, you might be able to secure the marriage, and then you wouldn't have to marry someone else."
"Baron Sedes hasn't brought it up all these years, so he probably doesn't want to acknowledge it," Linton said. "Back when the engagement was made, I wasn't a 'useless person.' But now, I am."
"But, Master, you've awakened battle energy, haven't you?" Eke said.
"Who told you that?" Linton smiled.
"Huh? But didn't you defeat Zirao?" Eke was stunned.
"Does Zirao know how to use battle energy?" Linton asked.
"No... so... you don't have battle energy?" Eke was dumbfounded.
"That's right," Linton nodded. He truly didn't.
"This... this..." Eke panicked. Without battle energy, none of the plans he had in mind would work. Baron Sedes wouldn't accept a useless person as his son-in-law. In other words... they were out of options.
As Eke was panicking, the carriage suddenly stopped. Linton, puzzled, opened the curtain and asked the driver, Radnor, and Zarg, "What's going on?"
"Master, there seems to be a situation up ahead," Radnor said, pointing forward.
Linton looked closely and saw what Radnor was talking about. A riderless carriage was heading toward them, and it was splattered with blood.
It wasn't hard to guess what had happened. The occupants of that carriage had likely been attacked, and the frightened horse had bolted in their direction. The incident must have occurred not far from here.
"Judging by the carriage, the owner must be someone important," Eke commented.
Indeed, the carriage was much fancier than theirs, clearly belonging to a wealthy or noble individual.
"We should take a detour," Eke quickly suggested. "Whoever owns that carriage probably has many guards. If they can handle it, they will. If they can't, it's trouble we don't want to get involved in."
"Come on, that's pretty heartless," Linton laughed. "Do you know the Meloway family motto?"
"Master, now's not the time to be making things up," Eke urged.
"Do good to others. It means that if we can help, we should at least try. After all, it's tough out here for everyone, right?" Linton said, ignoring Eke's protests.
"But, Master, it's not that we don't want to help. We just can't."
"Radnor, speed up. Let's go check it out," Linton ordered, waving his hand.
(End of chapter)