Duke Pendragon

"Go and call Fiona. And send a letter to the head of the brotherhood. Let him know that I will break his legs if he doesn't come here in five days."

"Yes, father."

"Your excellency, you punk."

"Yes, Y, your Excellency."

Luca quickly left the room after saluting.

"What a pathetic excuse for a son… Dammit."

Once Lucas disappeared out the door, Otto muttered under his breath.

"I need to take care of it as quickly as possible. If that boy becomes the next margrave, we will never have another chance."

Ott looked out the window with sharp eyes while talking to himself. His son Lucas was quite competent as a knight. He excelled at handling the greatsword and was quite prideful, allowing him to maintain control over Mirin's knights. He was quite talented in tactics as well, leading several battles against the barbarians to victory.

However, that was it.

Within the empire, he would be suitable to become a commander of an army or a lord of a random countryside. Unfortunately, Lucas was far from filling the shoes of a great lord who would shake the world.

"That is why I must do it. Mirin… I must achieve independence and have Mirin become a kingdom. Our family cannot remain margrave forever. I must secure enough farmland for our population to grow twice, thrice its current number…"

Otto would never rest until he achieved his dream. It was something he held onto ever since becoming the margrave.

His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a knock. The door opened, and a figure entered.

"Did you call for me, Your Excellency?"

A voice laden with an accent unique to the east.

"Ah! Here you are!"

Otto's expression brightened significantly.

"The captain of the White Skull Knights told me you called. What is it, Your Excellency?"

She never forgot to address her brother and father by their official titles. She was a green-eyed beauty with a cold, indifferent expression. She was unbelievably tall at around 180cm, which would dwarf even most men.

Her name was Fiona Mirin – the one recognized as the strongest by everyone in Mirin. She was known as the Witch of Ice and the Female Monster of the East, which were extremely disgraceful nicknames for a lady of noble birth.

However, Fiona rather liked the nicknames she was given.

And unlike her brother Lucas, who was greedy but content, she had a burning desire to compete with famous warriors from the mainland and the South. As such, Otto cared dearly for his daughter Fiona, who was his eldest daughter of two sons and three daughters, while felt quite disappointed in Lucas for falling short of her.

"It is said that your groom candidate, Isla, is headed to the imperial castle."

"Is that so?"

Fiona's expression remained unchanged.

However, Otto knew that she showed such an expression when she was quite interested. He continued with a grin.

"Let me tell you something even more interesting. Alan Pendragon. The founding king of the Pendragon Kingdom is said to have returned alive."

"Alan… Pendragon…!"

Fiona's long eyelashes trembled.

Otto felt quite bitter and surprised. He knew that his daughter reacted in such a way when she was greatly flustered or excited. His eldest daughter was always uninterested in worldly matters unless it involved a battle against a strong warrior. For her to react in such a fashion, it appeared the name of Pendragon was truly great.

"Why? Would you like to fight?"

"….."

Fiona was burning with fighting spirit. However, she glanced away at her father's words.

"Hmm? What a strange reaction. Well, the Knight King of Valvas is also a great powerhouse. From the rumors, even I, your father, would not be guaranteed a victory in a battle against him. Such a person might be a good partner…"

Otto suddenly paused and frowned at his daughter's reaction. He had never seen her act in such ways before…

"Huh? Don't tell me…"

Otto became dumbfounded and his jaws fell to the floor. His daughter's face was flushed all the way to her ears, and she was warping her body in a weird way.

"You, you… You have been considering Alan Pendragon as a mal?"

"Uh… Yes."

Even in the midst of her embarrassment, Fiona smiled shyly while answering. Otto was at a loss for words.

"Are you insane? He already has a family. My daughter, the eldest daughter of Margrave Mirin, will marry as a concubine? Never!"

"There is a woman who gave birth to his children, but she is not his official wife."

"What?"

Fiona responded with a shrug, and Otto spoke with dismay.

"She is officially Baroness Conrad. Not Queen Pendragon."

"Huh! Haha!"

Otto could not help but burst into laughter. His daughter was never interested in anything other than fighting and swordsmanship. Why was she so well-informed about the details of another kingdom's family?

"Ha. I'm speechless. What is the reason? Why would you want a man you've never seen? A man known to have died seven years ago."

Otto was genuinely curious. He was truly shocked that his daughter was like an actual 'woman'.

"What? Is that not obvious? It's because that person is the strongest in the world."

"What, what…?"

"You told me that he defeated orc warriors, the Troll King, and even a legendary witch. The strongest man in the world. He's so cool."

"….."

Otto was speechless.

It made sense. Indeed, she always loved stories of heroes and knights since she was young, and she was unrivalled in Mirin. Her mind would stretch elsewhere in the world to dream of the strongest.

Nevertheless, Otto's doubts were not fully resolved.

"Okay, fine. Let's leave it at that. Then why not the Knight King of Valvas? He can also be considered to be one of the strongest in the South? Don't you find your reasoning weird?"

"Not at all. That's completely different from being the strongest in the world. And rather, Your Excellency is the one acting strange. You always told me so many stories about Duke Pendragon ever since I was young. I thought you obviously wanted me to marry him."

"Huh…!"

Otto felt as if he had been struck with a hammer.

It was a mistake.

He was quite fond of Duke Pendragon's stories, so he often told his daughter the stories about the most famous and great stories about Duke Pendragon. However, he never thought it would affect his rather single-minded daughter in this way.

Thinking back, Fiona certainly might have interpreted his intentions as such.

"Ha! This is going to drive me nuts…"

The strongest warrior of Mirin looked at her father with a puzzled expression as he let out a troubled sigh.

***

"I cannot believe I am able to accommodate Your Majesty Pendragon! It is truly an honor for my family."

"Not at all. I have heard stories about the Ivy Barony from Ian, no, from His Majesty the Emperor."

"F, from His Majesty…!"

The middle-aged baron trembled as great emotions surged over him. He was extremely touched that the king of the Pendragon Kingdom would visit his territory. Although he was a noble, his territory was quite small. However, he was even more deeply moved that the emperor himself had remembered him and mentioned him to King Pendragon, even though his status was considered quite low in the imperial castle. His heart thumped rapidly.

"O, oh my! Let us head! The wind is cold!"

"Thank you."

Although the territory was rather small, the troops were well disciplined. Three or four knights and dozens of soldiers escorted the group from front of the gate. As soon as the residents heard of the group's arrival, they had rushed out into the streets. The lord of the territory guided the group with his head held high with pride.

"They're coming! There!"

"What kind of person is King Pendragon?"

"I think that must be him?"

"Where? Where!?"

Thousands of residents formed into waves of bodies on either side of the street. They had only ever heard the stories and rumors and were excited to finally witness the legendary hero's group.

Baron Ivy would wanted to ask Raven if he could give a small wave to the crowd, but he held back his greet, straightened his shoulders, and solemnly rode the horse.

It was then.

Raven approached the baron and spoke with a smile, as if they were close friend.

"Now, let us go together."

"Y, your Majesty…?"

Baron Ivy became startled, and Raven continued while looking around the resident-filled streets.

"The expressions of your people are very bright. Is this not proof of Lord Ivy's excellent leadership and power?"

Then, Raven grabbed Baron Ivy's hand and raised it into the air.

"Uwaaahhhhh!"

The crowd shouted like thunder in response. They could not believe that a legendary being was so intimate with their lord. The residents went wild, feeling as if they were Baron Ivy himself.

"Your Majesty Pendragon… Keugh!"

The baron's eyes turned red at Raven's considerate action.

"Haha! Don't be so weak-hearted. This is your territory. Be confident. We will go together."

"Yes, yes!"

He was 40 years old this year.

The middle-aged lord ruled the territory for decades without being particularly good or bad. He rode the horse with the legendary hero while feeling the greatest surge of emotion.

"Huh? Elkin, what the weird face?"

Raven asked with curiosity. As soon as they unpacked their luggage in Ivy Castle, Isla had been looking at him with a strange look.

"Well, it seems you have changed a little, my lord."

"Me?"

Raven asked back, and Isla nodded.

"Yes. What you said and did to the territory's lord a while ago. It was something you would have never done in the past… And with all due respect, I am wondering if there is any reason for us to visit such a small territory when we are in a hurry."

"Haha! You had me worried for no reason.''

Raven burst into laughter before continuing.

"I am doing this for the Shadow Brotherhood and Mirin to see and hear. You have a point, but if we quickly and quietly head to the imperial castle, they will not know for certain if I really returned or not."

"But would they not fall into greater confusion?"

"Right. But if you create too much smoke, rats will hide and watch from the shadows."

"Hmm…"

"We need to spill some information. That way, they can plan their next course of action. In addition, this is an expression of confidence."

"Confidence…?"

Isla narrowed his eyes.

Raven spoke in a relaxed, but powerful voice. His eyes glimmered coldly.

"You and I are openly showing ourselves. We are revealing to the world that no matter who comes at us, we are perfectly capable of dealing with them."

"Hmm!"

Isla nodded while narrowing his eyes.

It made sense.

Who in the world would dare stand against himself and his master?

However, the opponent did not know that. Rather, even if they knew it, they had not experienced it yet.

So they would show the world.

They would engrave Pendragon into the world.

They would show the enemy that even if they attempted to kidnap Raven's son and younger sister, Pendragon had what it took to stand confidently and proudly.