109.
Although they were moving to attend the party, they didn’t head straight to the hall.
“Traditionally, the host of the party appears last,” said the butler of Lucid.
“However, there are exceptions. When someone of higher rank than the party host attends, for instance.”
This time, the Roeng Duke’s family had expressed their intent not to participate. They had decided to refrain from activities for a while due to what Lyunne had done.
“Today, one member of the royal family and someone from the Sepinel Duke’s family are scheduled to visit. This is because the matter of Lucid’s successor is that important. The visitors will be Prince Faust and Lord Rollin, the eldest son of the Sepinel Duke’s family. The Duke of Sepinel wanted to visit himself, but due to an issue at the border, he said he could arrive just in time.”
So, what would be the order of entry? As if reading Yu Jin’s thoughts, the butler added an explanation.
“The Prince said he would arrive a little later with Lord Rollin. So, Yu Jin, you should enter with the family head. Jinhyeon and the others should enter first and join later. I wish you could all enter together, but today is about solidifying the position of the successor.”
Yu Jin didn’t like being separated from his companions, but there was no choice. He nodded at the butler’s words.
“Let’s do that.”
“Then, I’ll guide you to the family head now.”
Ruhan greeted Yu Jin differently than usual. When Yu Jin saw him in the office earlier, his attire was simple, so he hadn’t noticed, but now that Ruhan was dressed up, he realized that Ruhan was quite handsome. While Yu Jin resembled his mother a lot, his current appearance was also influenced by his father.
“I greet you, Family Head.”
“Welcome.”
Was it just his imagination? Ruhan’s tone seemed gentler than usual. Since naming Yu Jin as his successor, Ruhan had been showing slightly different behavior. If Yu Jin had wanted his father’s affection, he would have been pleased. But the resentment built up over the years made him feel hatred rather than affection. Of course, he couldn’t openly show this, so Yu Jin just smiled appropriately.
Perhaps because it was an important occasion, the second wife Azeth and her son Ahmed were also present. When Azeth saw Yu Jin, she bit her lip and bowed her head. Ahmed’s behavior wasn’t much different from hers. Since this wasn’t their usual demeanor, it seemed they had heard something from Ruhan before Yu Jin arrived.
“Stand beside me.”
Ruhan positioned Yu Jin next to him. Noticing that Azeth and Ahmed took their places a step behind them, Yu Jin looked at Ruhan. Initially, he had decided to accept the position of successor for future peace. But seeing the results of the power Ruhan wielded, ambition arose in him.
‘I’m sick and tired of being pushed around.’
And then it was time. In the hall that had fallen silent as the music stopped, Ruhan and Yu Jin made their appearance. Those who used to mock Yu Jin were now looking up at him. Simultaneously, the music that had been interrupted resumed.
“Thank you for coming to this gathering to introduce the successor.”
Saying this, Ruhan brought Yu Jin forward.
“Yu Jin El Lucid. He is the successor who will become the next head of Lucid.”
As the brief introduction ended, applause erupted. What followed was the same procedure Yu Jin had seen at the Roeng Duke’s family in the past. He was introduced to those who were friendly to Lucid or held strong power, and engaged in conversations. Then he received congratulatory gifts, the quality and quantity of which were tremendous. The gifts piled up at the mansion seemed trivial in comparison.
Around that time, Prince Faust arrived. The prince with dark blonde hair had a fragile-looking impression. Born as the eldest son of the royal family, said to have inherited the blood of the gods, he lacked talent in physical matters. Instead, he was intelligent, but the problem was that he couldn’t discard what needed to be discarded. He could become a wise ruler if he became emperor in peaceful times, but he lacked the strength to overcome turbulent times. That’s why the current emperor was hesitating about succession despite the principle of primogeniture.
‘He’s much less capable compared to the current emperor.’
But then again, it was debatable whether the current emperor was a great person. The emperor was aware of Leviathan’s existence and felt threatened, but lacked the power to resolve the situation. That’s why in the novel, only after Jinhyeon took that position did the pursuit of Leviathan begin.
“It’s been a long time. The last time we met, you were a child who barely reached my waist.”
Faust greeted Yu Jin casually.
“That’s right, it was like that back then.”
At those words, Rollin, standing next to him, spoke in a cold voice. With a typical knight’s physique, he was looking at Yu Jin with disapproval. Yu Jin had heard that Rollin, known for his righteous and upright character, disapproved of Yu Jin who used to be a troublemaker. Although Yu Jin had changed now, it seemed Rollin couldn’t believe it. Rollin was wary of Yu Jin as if he might have a bad influence on Faust.
Although irritating, it wasn’t an incomprehensible behavior, so Yu Jin dealt with him appropriately. Dealing with people in this manner, Yu Jin could only have free time much later. Of course, it wasn’t completely free time. As people kept clinging to him, Yu Jin barely managed to divert their attention to the prince and Rollin and quietly slipped out of the hall. Only then could he meet Jinhyeon.
“How was it?” Jinhyeon asked.
Yu Jin sighed. “It was terrible.”
He wondered if he could handle constantly dealing with such people if he became the family head.
“You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to.”
It was a tempting suggestion, but Yu Jin shook his head.
“I still have to do it. I realized that even peace requires power to create.”
“Then, hang in there. I’ll help you by your side.”
Yu Jin smiled brightly at Jinhyeon who was offering words of comfort. The party ended without any special incidents. Most of the guests left, and only a few remained to stay in the guesthouse of the mansion. And before Yu Jin could go to his bedroom, he received a summons from Ruhan. Like Yu Jin, Ruhan was still wearing the clothes from the party.
“What’s the matter?”
Yu Jin grumbled inwardly, wanting to go to his room, wash up, and sleep with Jinhyeon. When he asked about the business, Ruhan replied.
“There’s a place we need to go together.”
With those words, Ruhan took the lead. Yu Jin hesitated for a moment before following him. He left the mansion and walked for quite a while. It seemed that having an excessively large house wasn’t always a good thing. Thinking this while absent-mindedly walking, Yu Jin realized where they were going about halfway through.
‘We’re going to the family mausoleum.’
When direct members of the Lucid family die, they are laid to rest in the family mausoleum located in a corner of the garden away from the mansion. This was the case for Yu Jin’s mother as well. At the time of her death, there were voices saying that a woman of low status couldn’t be buried in the mausoleum, but when Ruhan beheaded those who uttered such words, the opposition disappeared. When Yu Jin was very young, he visited his mother’s grave a few times.
It was an act born from a child’s desire to be comforted by his mother, but Pamina disapproved of it. Azeth was the same. For this reason, the bullying intensified after Yu Jin visited the grave. And the bullying didn’t stop with Yu Jin. That’s why it had been a really long time since he last visited the mausoleum.
‘It feels nostalgic.’
Yu Jin walked silently alongside Ruhan. Then Ruhan broke the silence first.
“Come to think of it, you call me ‘Family Head.'”
“Because you are the Family Head.”
“When you were only as tall as my knee, you used to call me ‘Dad.'”
What? When was that? When his mother was alive and he believed that family was made of love, he might have done so briefly. But that was really just for a moment. Yu Jin soon realized that his father didn’t love him. The only person precious to him was Yu Jin’s mother, and Yu Jin was merely an accessory to that. That’s why Yu Jin changed how he addressed him.
‘It wasn’t just me who did that.’
It was the same for the other siblings. Although some were faster or slower, eventually they all called Ruhan ‘Family Head.’ Not knowing how to respond, Yu Jin rolled his eyes and decided to pretend he didn’t remember.
“Did I?”
Silence fell between them again. And after some time, suddenly Ruhan stopped walking. Wondering why, Yu Jin saw a masked man prostrating himself in front of Ruhan. He didn’t seem like an enemy, so he must be one of the family head’s shadows.
“What’s the matter?”
When Ruhan asked, the man answered.
“There was an intruder at the mausoleum. The two knights guarding the front are dead.”
“Any damage?”
The shadow hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“A body has been stolen.”
At those words, Ruhan’s face darkened ominously.
“Whose body?”
“Lady Asha’s body.”
Someone had stolen his mother’s body. Yu Jin couldn’t help but show a surprised expression at this unexpected news.
“How dare they!”
And then he saw Ruhan’s enraged face.
