Chapter 20 - Damn Reincarnation

The Proposal

That night, Eugene received a summons from Gilead. Ordinarily, he would have been training at this hour to work off his dinner. This time, however, the summons came early, so he would not be heading to the main house reeking of sweat as he had before.

With Nina fussing over him, Eugene washed and put on formal clothes. When he emerged from the annex, he found all the attendants gathered outside.

“Hello!”

The reason was the man who greeted him in a cheerful voice. Gion Lionheart, the youngest brother of the family head, Gilead Lionheart. An eccentric who had remained unmarried all these years and accompanied Gilead on his travels.

“L-Lord Gion!”

Nina bowed her head in startled surprise. Eugene followed suit, stealing a glance at Gion as he did. Had the man married at the usual age, he would have had a child about Eugene’s age. Yet Gion looked impossibly young for someone that old.

Still, the ash-gray hair that could be called the hallmark of the Lionhearts lent him an older air than his face did. At a glance, it looked as though his head was full of white hair.

‘Vermouth was like that too.’

That bastard’s face had been bleak as well. Even as a collateral descendant, Eugene apparently could not escape his blood: his own hair had some ash-gray in it.

“My name is Eugene Lionheart.”

“Of course I know your name. Actually, you caught my eye the last time I saw you.”

“Pardon?”

“You positively reeked of sweat. Oh, I don’t mean that bothered me. Anyone who bears the Lionheart name ought to smell of sweat at all times.”

Gion grinned, showing his white teeth, and patted Eugene’s shoulder.

“And I’ve heard all sorts of things about you... Ah, it’s silly to stand here talking. Let’s get going.”

“Did you come to fetch me?”

“Of course. My brother was going to send another knight, but I volunteered to come myself. I wanted to meet you in person.”

Gion turned with a hearty laugh. His strides were as exuberant as his laughter. Leaving Nina’s farewell behind, Eugene followed him.

“You wanted to meet me in person?”

“Just what I said. You beat Cyan in a duel... and I hear you won this Bloodline Succession Ceremony too?”

Gion turned to look at Eugene as though he had been waiting for the question.

“I wanted to watch the ceremony myself, but tradition says no one except the family head may watch it. Well, Master Lovellian attended this time along with my brother, but that was only because he helped with the ceremony...”

“There’s a tradition like that too?”

“Ridiculous, isn’t it? But it’s true. A privilege of the family head, you could say. Only the head of the main family can enter the Treasury, and only the family head gets to enjoy the Bloodline Succession Ceremony.”

Gion had been grumbling, but he tapped his lips as though suddenly catching himself.

“Oh. That doesn’t mean I have any complaints about my brother, understand? It’s just the tradition... Does saying that make it sound as though I object to the family’s rules?”

“I don’t mind.”

“My brother wouldn’t mind either.”

Their conversation had been brief, but Eugene already had a rough idea of Gion’s personality. His free-spirited nature shone through in his manner. That was probably why he had never married.

“Wynnyd.”

Gion was no longer walking ahead of Eugene. He slowed his pace to walk beside him.

“I’ve never used it, but I know it’s a fine sword. Take good care of it.”

“Is there a reason you haven’t used it?”

“Nothing special. I like the sword I have now.”

Gion grinned and pointed to the sword at his waist. It was not one of Vermouth’s swords.

“Splendid, isn’t it? I acquired it while wandering the world years ago. I suppose I’m attached to it because I went through so much trouble to get it.”

“Is that a magic sword too?”

“The magic is nothing special. It can’t compare to your Wynnyd. It just accepts mana a little more readily, I suppose?”

It was hardly nothing special. Even at a glance, the sword looked extraordinary enough that Eugene wondered if a dwarf had forged it.

“How was the labyrinth? I heard about it from Cyan and Ciel, but you might have felt differently.”

“It was fascinating.”

“So it wasn’t difficult.”

Gion burst out laughing.

“Traps and monsters. A troll in the middle, and a minotaur at the end? That’s too much for children. Even Cyan and Ciel didn’t fight the troll head-on. As for the minotaur... My brother and Master Lovellian were rather mean about that.”

“Is Cyan all right?”

“Physically, yes. He seemed to have a lot on his mind, though. But what can you do? It happened because he wasn’t ready. Better to experience a setback while he’s young. If he were a little older when it happened, it would be harder to overcome.”

Gion smacked his lips and looked back at Eugene.

“I’m almost grateful to you myself. Thanks to you, Cyan should become a little less arrogant.”

“... Did Cyan say anything bad about me?”

“He did. Called you a son of a bitch.”

“It’s cowardly to insult someone behind their back.”

“I thought so too, so I gave him a smack.”

His teeth gleamed white whenever he smiled.

“I’ve hit him for you, so don’t go picking a fight with Cyan later. Understand?”

“As long as Cyan doesn’t get smart with me.”

“That’s a problem. He needs to get smart and be put in his place now and then to improve both his manners and his skills.”

“You just told me not to fight him.”

“Hmm. Then go ahead and fight. Just don’t hit him too hard.”

They reached the main house as they talked. Gion brushed off the attendants’ greetings and led Eugene upstairs.

“By the way, why did the family head summon me?”

“To praise you?”

“He already did that earlier.”

“You can never praise someone enough.”

“So you don’t know why either, Lord Gion.”

“Well, I do have some idea... But it’s not something I particularly want to concern myself with. It’s a matter that directly involves you, after all.”

After climbing the stairs, they walked down a long corridor together. This was Eugene’s first time roaming through the main house like this, and he looked around curiously.

“Still...”

Gion stopped. Before them stood a large, firmly closed door.

“I hope I’ll be seeing you often.”

He turned to Eugene with a broad smile.

“So do I.”

His first impression was not bad, so Eugene smiled back. Gion composed his expression and knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

Gilead’s voice came from inside. Gion opened the door, then stepped back a few paces and winked at Eugene.

‘He’s a nice enough fellow, but a bit much.’

Feeling somewhat awkward, Eugene entered the room. The spacious interior had a thoroughly businesslike air.

“I’m sorry to summon you so suddenly.”

“It’s quite all right.”

Eugene answered with a bow. Gilead smiled and indicated the sofa.

“Have a seat first.”

Refreshments had already been laid out. But Eugene simply stared at Gilead without touching the sweets or his teacup. It was rude, certainly, but a child could get away with it.

“This necklace.”

Gilead did not admonish Eugene for his behavior. If anything, he found that boldness endearing. First impressions inevitably shaped how one viewed a person afterward.

“I asked Master Lovellian to appraise it, and it turned out to be an ordinary necklace.”

“I see.”

“He even read the memories of the mana dwelling in it, but there was nothing unusual at all.”

He had read the mana’s memories? Eugene concealed the agitation he had almost betrayed.

‘Right, there was a spell like that.’

Senya’s magic. But nothing unusual? He could not help feeling bewildered by that.

“... What do you mean by memories?”

“Hmm... I’m not sure how to explain it. Put simply, it was a spell that let him read where this necklace came from. Master Lovellian said it had been bought on a street in the capital roughly a hundred years ago.”

Eugene examined the necklace after it was handed to him. No, there was no mistaking it. This was the necklace Hamel had worn three hundred years ago, the keepsake of his parents. How could he fail to recognize a necklace he had worn for decades?

‘Who in their right mind would sell a necklace this worn-out on the street in the first place?’

Anyone selling it would have to be mad, and anyone buying it even more so. Even the discoloration of its cord remained unchanged, and the scratches on the cheap crystal hanging from it were exactly as he remembered.

‘Lovellian has no... reason to lie. Did he read it wrong? An archmage who holds the position of tower master?’

If that was not it...

‘... Magic powerful enough to fool a tower master has been layered over it... Maybe the mana’s memories were overwritten. But who could have done it? Vermouth?’

What reason would that bastard have to do such a thing? Keeping a dead companion’s belongings in the Treasury as a memorial was not strange. Vermouth had been as bleak as could be, but after returning from the demon lands, he had taken more than ten wives. Time changed people.

‘If he really wanted to honor my memory, he should have killed every last Demon King.’

If he could not do that, he could at least have registered the necklace properly in the Treasury. Despite the tangle of grievances and questions in his mind, Eugene nodded.

“... Then may I keep this necklace?”

“It has no value at all. Do you still want it?”

“I feel strangely drawn to it.”

“Hmm. Some objects do have that effect.”

Children were often drawn to strange things. Gilead himself had collected old coins as a child.

“Have you always liked antiques like that?”

“I’ve never disliked them. There’s something fascinating about them.”

“If you want it, you may keep it.”

“Thank you.”

Eugene smiled brightly and immediately put on the necklace. Watching him intently, Gilead cleared his throat softly and rose.

“... Eugene. Giving you the necklace was one reason I called you here... but there is another.”

“What is it?”

Rather than answer immediately, Gilead came over and sat opposite Eugene. He ran his hand over his teacup as he gathered his thoughts.

“... This will seem sudden, but it shouldn’t be a bad proposal for you either. In fact, it is a proposal for the sake of your future.”

‘Surely not.’

Eugene’s eyebrow twitched at the slowly delivered words. A proposal for his future? There were only so many proposals that could be introduced that way in this situation.

“Eugene, I would like to...”

“Sir.”

Eugene spoke at once. Gilead stopped and tilted his head.

“Hmm?”

“Ciel is kind and cute, but I don’t want to think about marriage already.”

A political marriage.

Eugene was certain of it. Thinking back, things had been strange from the start. He had left her older brother Cyan in that sorry state, yet from the very next day, Ciel had come looking for him with a bright smile, sticking close to his side and pestering him.

It had been the same during the Bloodline Succession Ceremony. Ciel had acted oddly familiar with him and spouted bullshit about being his older sister because she had been born a few months earlier.

‘I wondered what the hell she was up to. She was already trying to establish the pecking order with the husband who’d be marrying into her family.’

There was no doubt. And what about in the labyrinth? She had laughed her head off while watching her brother get the shit beaten out of him by the minotaur.

‘Right beside me.’

He thought she had subtly tried to keep Dezra in check too. Everything Eugene had seen of Ciel strengthened his conviction. It might not have been planned from the first day the twins picked a fight with him, but he had undoubtedly been maneuvered toward a political marriage little by little.

‘No wonder he was so willing to give me a weapon from the Treasury. He was planning to marry me to Ciel and tie me to the main family.’

To think he had been plotting something so sinister while acting so kindly. Would he sell off even his daughter’s future to achieve his aims? That malevolent heart certainly marked him as Vermouth’s descendant.

‘No, even Vermouth wouldn’t do this.’

Gilead’s image was rapidly deteriorating in Eugene’s mind.

“I’m too young to be thinking about marriage already. And I would need my father’s permission... Even if he did give it, I don’t want to marry Ciel—”

“Wait.”

Gilead, who had been listening in a daze, hurriedly waved his hands.

“Eugene. You’ve misunderstood something.”

“Pardon?”

“I didn’t call you here with the intention of marrying you to Ciel. That... hmm... is for Ciel to decide. Your wishes matter too, of course.”

It was true that he had thought it a rather good option, but Gilead had not the slightest intention of forcing a political marriage upon them.

“... Th-then?”

He had been utterly off the mark. Feeling his face burn bright red, Eugene stammered out the question.

“I called you here because I would like to adopt you as my son.”

“... Pardon?”

But what followed was shocking too.

‘So that was an option.’

It made sense. At the same time, he was so embarrassed he wanted to jump out the window. He wanted to tear apart the mouth that had babbled about not wanting to marry a thirteen-year-old girl. No, more than that, he wanted to smash the head that had even thought of marrying a thirteen-year-old girl.

‘I must be out of my mind.’

Acting like a child seemed to have genuinely done something to his brain.

“... Adopted... uh... This is so sudden...”

“Not as sudden as a political marriage, surely.”

“I’m sorry.”

“But do you truly dislike Ciel? The fact that it occurred to you suggests you aren’t entirely indifferent to her...”

“I dislike her.”

“Hmm...”

Gilead looked disappointed. But he soon composed himself and continued.

“... Let’s stop talking about political marriages. What do you think of becoming my adopted son?”

“But... my father is in Gidol.”

“If you wish, I will invite Gerhard to the main house as well.”

“Then I’d have two fathers.”

“But Gerhard would still be your birth father.”

“I don’t understand what the point would be.”

“There is no need to make it too complicated.”

Gilead lifted his teacup with a faint smile.

“Your family would simply be welcomed into the main family’s embrace. I would be your adoptive father in name, but you would not have to think of me as your father. Naturally, I would treat you as my adopted son.”

“I think that would put my father in an awkward position.”

“I will have to discuss that with Gerhard at length. But Eugene, I too am a father, with three children of my own. I am not trying to take Gerhard’s son away from him.”

“... Hmm...”

“I have yet to meet Gerhard, but I will treat him with the same respect I would a brother.”

“If I refuse, will you not respect my father?”

“Of course I will.”

Gilead burst out laughing at the bold question.

“It feels awkward to say this about myself, but I am not so petty a man. If you refuse... I will simply... feel regret. That is all. I will respect your choice and wish you well in your future. Only... I hope that future might shine within the main family’s embrace.”

“... I don’t think this is something I should decide alone.”

For now, Eugene decided to take a step back. Ultimately, the decision would be his, but he still wanted to hear his father Gerhard’s opinion.

“Then I will postpone the banquet.”

Gilead took up his words. A banquet celebrating the conclusion of the Bloodline Succession Ceremony had originally been scheduled for the following evening.

“I will send a messenger to Gidol with instructions to escort your father here with all due courtesy.”

“I’m grateful for your consideration, sir, but it does feel a little overwhelming.”

“Don’t think of it that way. You were the most outstanding child in this Bloodline Succession Ceremony. It would be a sad thing for a father to be absent when his son receives blessings and praise.”

“Thank you.”

Eugene bowed without further protest. Inwardly, he was pleased as well. In truth, he liked the proposal to become Gilead’s adopted son. If Gerhard’s character had been as shitty as his skills, he would have accepted without hesitation.

But Gerhard was a loving father. Because of his memories of his previous life, Eugene simply could not think of him as his father, but he liked Gerhard nonetheless.

“... Earlier, you said this would be good for my future too.”

Eugene set down the teacup he had been sipping from.

“What exactly did you mean by that?”

“If you grow up in the main family, you will enjoy many advantages.”

Gilead was pleased that Eugene was taking an interest in the proposal.

“First... yes. You said there were no knights in Gidol you could ask to teach you, didn’t you? You need not worry about that here. We have many outstanding knights.”

“If I’m going to learn, I’d like to learn from the very best.”

Eugene put on the most innocent smile he could manage. Looking straight at Gilead, he continued.

“If I become your adopted son, could I learn from you as well, sir?”

Eugene was curious to discover just how strong the head of the Lionheart family was.