Chapter 853

“Light Wind Palace?”

Glenn repeated Karoon’s words. He narrowed his eyes, as if it was a proposal he hadn’t even considered.

“I don’t care if the name isn’t Light Wind. The way they fight, they suit Mad Dog more than Light Wind.”

Karoon shook his head calmly.

“I just wish for the Light Wind Division to be promoted to a Palace.”

He straightened his back as he stated this was his proposal.

“You…”

Glenn looked at Karoon, his gaze as sharp as a needle.

“What are you thinking?”

“I am always thinking only of Zieghart.”

Karoon raised his calm face.

“Rimmer is dead, and even if Aris returns, it will take a long time.”

He clicked his tongue, as if displeased by this.

“I’m not someone who’s concerned with emotions, but I do understand that those two were the ones who lightened the atmosphere. The heaviness over Zieghart now is because of that.”

Karoon pressed his right foot into the marble floor.

“To sweep away the gloom hanging over all of Zieghart, celebrating Raon’s transcendence and elevating him to Palace Master is the only thing that will work.” (T/N: Damn right it is!)

He lifted his chin, saying the appearance and recognition of a transcendent—especially one so young—would revitalize the entire house.

“Soon, rumors of Rimmer’s death and Aris losing her power will spread. If, just as word begins that Zieghart is crumbling, we officially announce that Raon has reached transcendence and the Light Wind Division has been promoted to Palace, we’ll be able to show Zieghart’s prestige once more.”

Karoon bowed his head, saying Raon and the Light Wind Division must be promoted for this reason.

“…Is that all?”

“That is all. And…”

He raised his hand to his chest, as if performing a sword salute without a sword.

“I also believe that Raon Zieghart is worthy of being a Palace Master, not just in power, but in achievements as well.”

Karoon added that if not for this, he would never have made the recommendation, and revealed a resolute gaze.

“Huh, you’ve changed.”

Glenn let out a surprised, hollow laugh.

“There’s no sign left of the uncle who tried to crush his young nephew with force.”

“No. I haven’t changed. At that time, Raon was not my nephew. Even if I went back, I’d do the same.”

Karoon said he hadn’t changed and shook his head.

“That’s exactly why I say you have changed.”

Glenn smiled softly.

“The old you would never have acknowledged being overpowered by Raon. If anything, you would have resented Raon for making people say such things about you, and sought revenge.”

He looked at Karoon with warm eyes.

“But there’s not a trace of those negative emotions in your eyes now. You’re just…”

Glenn stood up from the throne and nodded.

“You’re simply straightforward. Like back in the days when you swung a wooden sword following me.”

He said it was the first time in a long while he’d seen such clear eyes, and smiled faintly.

“…I don’t know.”

Karoon’s brows twitched with a reluctant expression.

“It took me a very long time to overcome my own demons. But you and Raon overcame it so quickly it’s almost ridiculous. You two are far better than I am.”

Glenn nodded to Karoon, as if commending him.

“Hmm…”

Karoon’s lips trembled slightly, surprised at Glenn’s words.

“You’ve changed a lot too, Family Head.”

“Yes, it seems I have.”

The father and son, who had always been cold, looked at each other with eyes that were just a bit more transparent.

“I’ve said what I wanted. I’ll take my leave now.”

Karoon said he would be going, bowing his head to Glenn.

“I’ll consider your proposal positively. And come visit me soon. I’d like to have a spar with you for the first time in a while.”

Glenn nodded, suggesting they cross swords lightly.

“…Then I’ll see you in two days.”

Karoon replied and left the main house with slightly trembling steps.

“Changed, huh…”

Glenn smiled faintly as he looked at the main house Karoon had left.

‘I can’t remember the last time I had a conversation like that with Karoon.’

Both my change, and his…

‘It’s all thanks to Raon.’

The turning point for Zieghart’s transformation was Raon. As Raon grew, so did Zieghart, going through various incidents and growing stronger.

And the one who raised Raon was none other than his own friend—Rimmer.

‘Thank you, Rimmer.’

Glenn closed his eyes as he looked up at the calm night sky.

‘Your disciple is changing Zieghart.’

(T/N: F)

—

As Karoon was about to leave the main house, he met Denier coming down the stairs from the upper floor.

“Were you meeting with Father?”

“Yes.”

Karoon paused and nodded.

“I heard you were present at Sia’s awakening. That’s something.”

Denier smiled faintly, sounding curious.

“I just wanted to see the child who would be the newest member of Zieghart.”

Karoon said he only wanted to see her face.

“So what kind of child was she?”

“I can’t say yet. Physically an adult, but mentally like a five-year-old.”

He said he would withhold judgment for now and waved his hand.

“Hm, I’ll have to visit the annex myself soon.”

Denier smiled, saying he wanted to see his new niece.

“Surprisingly, you didn’t show up.”

Karoon narrowed his eyes sharply like a blade.

“What’s so surprising?”

“Balder’s always unpredictable, so it’s no shock if he comes or not. But you always show up for events like this. What were you doing?”

Karoon asked, his eyes sinking, while looking at Denier’s hand behind his back.

“I was doing some research.”

Denier brought forward the books he’d had behind his back, saying he was looking for ways to help Aris recover her strength more quickly. They were books about shamanism.

“And why were you still at the main house? I heard everyone else had gone back.”

“I made a proposal to the Family Head.”

“A proposal?”

“I asked for Raon and the Light Wind Division to be promoted to Palace.”

Karoon, thinking there was no reason to hide it, told Denier exactly what he’d just discussed with Glenn.

“You recommended Raon as Palace Master?”

Denier let out a hollow laugh, as if it was unbelievable.

“That’s right.”

“Why?”

“Because Raon Zieghart is qualified.”

“If Raon becomes a Palace Master, that’ll be a huge obstacle to your goal of becoming family head, won’t it?”

He tilted his chin, as if questioning Karoon’s intentions.

“If Raon becomes the head after fair competition, it just means I was weaker than him. There’s nothing to be dissatisfied about.”

“Hm…”

“A power without competition will rot and decay. I’d rather not become the family head than let Zieghart fall apart. And…”

Karoon shook his head, his eyes sharp as blades.

“I have no intention of losing to that kid.”

“Hah…”

Denier gave a hollow laugh as he looked at Karoon.

“You’ve changed so much, it’s hard to get used to.”

“I haven’t cha—”

Karoon started to say he hadn’t changed, but remembering his conversation with Glenn just before, he stopped.

“No one stays the same forever.”

He admitted he’d changed and nodded.

“So I want to ask you, too.”

Karoon turned his ankle to face Denier directly.

“What is it you’re really looking at, Denier?”

“……”

Denier didn’t answer, just drew a faint smile as he descended the stairs.

“I’m the same as you. I’m always looking at Zieghart, and I’ll always follow Zieghart.”

With those words, he left the main residence.

“……”

Karoon watched Denier’s back, then clenched his fist at his side.

—

“Hm…”

Federick checked Merlin’s condition after she’d lost consciousness, then smacked his lips briefly.

“How is she?”

Raon approached Federick and asked about Merlin’s state.

“There’s nothing wrong with her body. She just used up all her mana and ran out of stamina.”

Federick shook his head, saying there was no serious problem.

“To drain that much mana, she must have felt pain worse than death, but she was smiling until the end. And…”

He furrowed his brow, as if something was bothering him.

“Is something wrong?”

“No, I’m not sure yet…”

Federick said something was on his mind, but he wasn’t certain.

“She’s an odd one. Her body is like a human’s, but somehow not quite human.”

He shook his head again.

“Hm…”

Raon bit his lip as he looked at the sleeping Merlin.

‘Even the Saint can’t figure her out.’

No one else kept themselves so hidden.

Merlin never hesitated to sacrifice herself, almost as if her senses were broken.

And, curiously, she could empathize deeply with others even though she couldn’t with her own pain. In many ways, she was a strange one.

“For now, all we can do is give her some nutritional supplements.”

Federick clicked his tongue, apologizing.

“No, it’s alright.”

Raon said it was enough and bowed his head.

“You must be tired after taking care of Sia and my aunt. Thank you for coming.”

“Of course I’d come! Even if you hadn’t asked, I would have checked on them.”

Federick said it was fine, gathered his medical equipment, and stood up.

“See you later. I need to get some rest, too.”

With a tired face, he opened the door and went outside.

“Hm…”

Federick paused as he reached the entrance. He glanced toward Sylvia’s room, where the sounds of laughter and crying could be heard.

“With the whole family together, shouldn’t you go join them?”

Federick blinked, wondering why Raon wasn’t with everyone.

“As Merlin said, Sia’s mind is still that of a five-year-old. If she sees me, she’ll be surprised. For now, it’s better for her to be with Mother and Father only.”

Raon looked upstairs and shook his head. He wanted to care for Sia, but to her, a suddenly appearing uncle as a younger brother would be shocking.

“Uncle? How could someone like you be an uncle!”

Federick waved his head, saying only someone like Balder should be called that.

“Well, I suppose you’re right for now.”

He left Raon with a word of encouragement and opened the front door.

“I plan to rest for a while, but if anything happens, call me right away.”

“Yes.”

“See you then.”

Federick said he’d finally get a good sleep for the first time in a while and left the annex.

“Thank you.”

Raon kept bowing until Federick was gone, then closed the door.

Upstairs, the voices of Sylvia, Edgar, and Sia could be heard.

Hearing their laughter, Raon found himself smiling without realizing it.

‘I can’t remember the last time I heard laughter like this.’

Since Sia became unable to wake, there had been no laughter in the annex.

After Rimmer’s death, it was as if a curtain of darkness had fallen—so it felt especially good to hear such pure laughter again after so long.

-Of course, a home where people live should be filled with laughter!

Wrath nodded vigorously, saying he felt his own gloom lifting as well.

‘But you’re a demon…’

-I’ve said it many times: I’m more human than you are!

He knocked on his own head, telling Raon to get a grip.

‘Not right now, you aren’t.’

Raon gave a faint smile and returned to the guest room to check on Merlin.

He thought about removing her mask, but decided to leave her as she was and lowered his hand.

‘Did you notice anything odd about Merlin?’

-Hmm…

Wrath looked at Merlin and smacked his lips.

-She just seems to be asleep. Why do you ask?

He tilted his head, wondering if Raon had noticed something strange.

‘When Merlin finished waking Sia with her magic, she looked so faint it was like she was about to disappear. Just like…’

He swallowed the words before finishing, remembering what it was like when he last saw Rimmer.

‘And Merlin said it wouldn’t be easy to wake Sia even with the soul stone, but she woke up so easily. That’s strange.’

-I was too busy checking on your sister to pay much attention to that madwoman at the time. But right now, I don’t sense anything in particular.

Wrath shook his chin, saying he didn’t know.

‘That’s a relief.’

Raon tucked the blanket around Merlin and sighed.

‘This feels suffocating.’

-At times like this, sleep can help…

‘At times like this, you have to swing your sword.’

Raon licked his lips and left the annex, heading for the 5th training hall.

-Hey! Can’t we finally get some sleep? Isn’t it about time you stopped your midnight rampages?

—

After spending the night training in swordsmanship, Raon only returned to the annex at dawn.

Perhaps because Sia had woken up, he was able to focus on his training to the very end for the first time in a while.

-Urrgh, damn brat…

Wrath groaned, his chin trembling, having been unable to sleep because of the sound of Raon swinging his sword.

-Even if no one else curses you, I’ll curse you myself…

‘Should we start the party now?’

Raon flicked his finger at Wrath, who was spitting out curses one after another.

-P-party? Really?

Wrath’s eyes widened in disbelief.

‘Yeah. I promised.’

Raon nodded. Now that he’d said farewell to Rimmer and Sia had woken up, it didn’t seem so bad to hold a small party to satisfy Wrath.

-But isn’t that troublemaker still left?

‘Aunt…’

He let out a short sigh.

‘It’ll probably take a while.’

Aris still hadn’t left Federick’s mansion, and whenever she woke, she fainted again. It would take a lot of time for her to stand up again.

-Mm…

‘Don’t worry. She’ll definitely get back up.’

Raon shook his head, saying he believed in Aris.

-O-of course, I’m all for it! Then how many boxes of ice cream…?

Listening to Wrath’s mouthwatering anticipation, Raon opened the annex’s front door and stepped inside.

“Huh?”

Sia stood at the entrance with her arms folded proudly.

“You’re late!”

She shouted in a bright, childlike voice that he was late.

“Huh? Why is Sia here?”

Raon blinked at Sylvia, Edgar, and Helen standing behind Sia.

“No, that’s not right!”

Sia shook her head emphatically.

“Sis! Big Sis Sia!”

She stuck her lips out, insisting he call her “Big Sis.”

“Uh…?”

Raon’s jaw dropped open. Sylvia and Edgar shook their clasped hands, signaling him to just go along.

-You said it yourself! She’s still five!

Wrath snickered, telling Raon to hurry up and call her Big Sis.

“Uh…”

Raon swallowed dryly and stepped inside the annex.

“B-Big Sis?”

“Big Sis Sia!”

“Big Sis Sia…”

“Well done!”

Sia raised her hand and patted her own head.

“Uh…”

Raon’s lips trembled and his eyes went vacant, like Runaan’s.

-Kuheheheheheh!

Wrath clutched his belly and burst out laughing.

No party for you…