Someone once said that a person's true nature emerges when they face an uncontrollable fear.
If that's the case, then my true nature must be that of a fugitive.
I've always lived a life running away from fear.
My first fear was my grandfather.
He was someone I never once called by the affectionate title of "grandfather."
Kedral.
Kedral was an iconic figure.
Born as a penniless commoner, he became the wealthiest man in the history of the Terra Kingdom.
He was the only victor in the era of war, where everyone else was recorded as a loser.
His wealth was so vast that Kedral posed a question to the noble society that no one had ever dared to ask:
"Is the aristocratic class a commodity that can be bought with wealth?"
All the nobles were thrown into chaos.
Though this happened before my birth, it is detailed in the history books.
As a result, Kedral became the first person in history to purchase a noble title.
He proposed the need for a major canal project that would span the kingdom and offered to cover all the expenses.
Thus, the man born a commoner became the head of the prestigious Diamond Baron family—Kedral Diamond.
He was a remarkable man.
But because of that, he was a tyrant within the family.
He wasn't inherently violent, but his unparalleled intellect was, in itself, a form of violence.
With such a brilliant mind, how could he ever be satisfied with his family?
After having children, his tyranny only grew worse.
Kedral could not bear the fact that his heir, the one who would inherit everything, was a "mildly retarded" individual.
Eventually, he began producing children until one who could rival him in genius was born.
It was madness.
When he heard rumors about a wise daughter from a specific family, he would bring a fortune to win her hand.
If money didn't work, he would use his political influence, and if that failed, he would ruin that family.
Thus, many children were born.
Among them was my father.
Though my father was once expected to live up to Kedral's standards, his overly delicate personality led him to be rejected.
Around that time, Kedral changed his line of thinking.
He was aging and no longer in good health.
Thus, he thought the chances of a better result would lie with his grandchildren, rather than his children.
His children were Armyd into marriages, and my father was no different.
At least he ended up genuinely falling in love with my mother, which may have been a stroke of luck.
And so, I was born.
Though Kedral never bothered remembering the names of most of his children and grandchildren, he knew mine.
Dominic.
That was both my name and the name of the first heir Kedral had ever chosen.
Yes.
I was chosen by my grandfather.
"Dominic Diamond. Choose."
"Which one should I kill to send a warning to the nobles profiting from the canal project?"
"Today, one person will lose their life according to your will."
But hadn't I already said?
My true nature is that of a fugitive.
I ran away from the horrifying lessons on succession and the unavoidable fear.
And I headed for the military academy that trains knights.
I thought that Kedral's influence would not reach there.
I had no idea how harsh that decision would be for my parents.
I didn't know that there was no paradise in the places you flee to.
***
The military academy was founded and directly managed by the royal family.
It didn't discriminate against any ideology or social status, focusing only on the qualities necessary to become a knight.
... Or so I believed.
I was young.
The military academy was completely different from what I had imagined.
The only thing that matched my expectations was that it was indeed a place untouched by Kedral's influence.
But that didn't mean it was free from anyone else's influence.
This place was under the influence of "those who hated Kedral."
The royal family and the traditional nobles, who had been deeply wounded in their pride as nobles because of Kedral's existence.
They couldn't stand that I had entered as a noble, and they couldn't accept that Dominic Diamond would graduate from this academy.
The nobles attacked me, hindering my studies at the academy.
But it was no big deal.
After all, the ones who attacked me inside the academy weren't the grand nobles like the Serpents and Sagals.
It was their immature children.
Their petty schemes weren't even as painful as the succession lessons Kedral put me through.
If I truly wished to, I could use what I had learned from Kedral to subdue them.
But…
I didn't want to become someone like Kedral.
I enrolled to escape from my grandfather, but before long, I genuinely wanted to become a knight.
So, I participated in the competition to select the student representative and won every match.
The nobles who attacked me, the commoners who subtly mocked me—they weren't my opponents.
Finally, I felt free.
Two hands gripping a sword.
Two feet planted firmly on the ground.
A righteous belief leading them.
With just that, it was enough to prove that I was me.
Now, if I win the final match tomorrow…
But freedom only lasted until then.
"During the final, I'll sever your filthy arm with my precious sword."
"Once your arm is severed, bow to me. Then the priest waiting will reattach your arm for you."
Edgar Repuri.
The eldest son of the Repuri family, my opponent in the final match.
He was holding my parents hostage.
At that moment, I realized everything.
This wasn't something Edgar would do alone, nor was it something the Repuri family could handle.
Whether they had bought their title or not, my parents were also part of the nobility.
It was impossible for a noble to hold another noble hostage.
Kedral had handed my parents over to the nobles.
He was sending a message.
Kneel.
Despair in the face of something you cannot oppose with your own strength, and beg for my help.
Then you will still be my successor.
I was filled with rage.
From now on, Kedral would continue creating situations where resistance was impossible, and until I became his substitute, he would repeat everything.
I ran toward the family home, furious.
My family's soldiers tried to stop me, but they were no match for me.
If they had tried to kill me to stop me, things would've been different, but I was still the only heir to the Diamond family.
Breaking through my soldiers, what I saw in the office was…
A cold Armye.
Kedral was dead.
"Master…!"
It happened in an instant.
Anyone could see that I was the one who had killed the master.
The dagger stuck in Kedral's heart wasn't mine, but it had to be mine.
That way, anyone who had plotted his assassination would be safe.
I fled the Terra Kingdom.
Because I was afraid.
But what was it that I feared?
Was it the death of my grandfather, whom I had once seen as an iron man? Or the power of the one who killed him?
Or was it the false accusations thrust upon me?
Looking back, I think the fear I felt was the "truth."
The fight to uncover the truth would be arduous, and ignoring it would be easy.
It was my second escape.
***
After that, my life was a continuous series of escapes.
The third time, I had to run away, leaving my parents' Armyes behind.
"Live."
"Dominic, you must live..."
Guilt was a painful weight on me, but I chose to escape from even that guilt.
I wanted to die, but I couldn't bring myself to go against my parents' last wishes.
A life without purpose or meaning drifted on.
I ended up in the "Terra Defense Army" at the edge of the kingdom, defending the border.
I spent many years there.
And finally, when the death I had longed for came…
"What is this…"
I ran away from death.
No, death began to flee from me.