Chapter 90

Five days had passed since the encounter with the Silver Dragon.

After Nebel and I were sent flying to the Silver Dragon, Faiwalter took Theo and the others back to the capital to report to Grandfather. Tref and Pete contacted other monster hunting teams that were exploring the Unreturning Forest, dividing the work into two parts: the dissection of the Hippogriff we had slain and the search for us.

Nebel and I explained that the Silver Dragon had called us to its place when we were about to be sent flying by the Hippogriff's final attack.

The evidence was the Silver Dragon's scales.

I think it was convincing because the monster hunters who investigated us and the blacksmiths in the capital went crazy when they saw the Silver Dragon's scales.

That day, the monster hunting was cut short, and we returned in triumph with the Hippogriff's meat, feathers, beak, claws, and the horse's tail from its lower body, among other materials.

There were some troubles, but my first monster hunt was a success, right? I'm glad the initiation ceremony for my first hunt went well.

On the way back to the capital, we ran into Grandfather and Father Clegger leading the Fulftball army toward the Unreturning Forest, and they praised us for doing a good job.

Monster hunting itself is a dangerous business of taking lives, and Nebel and I didn't do anything dangerous by not listening to the experienced monster hunters like Tref.

The troubles were the result of irresistible forces, so we weren't scolded.

I killed a Hippogriff on my first hunt, returned without any major injuries, and even got the Silver Dragon's scales, so I think my first hunt was a good one.

However, because it was my first monster hunt and I had slain a Hippogriff, Grandfather strictly ordered me to rest for a while.

Indeed, the next day, I became a resident of my bed due to the backlash from the long use of magic. It's a good idea to listen to the advice of older, experienced people.

While I was confined to my bed, I told Grandfather what the Silver Dragon had told me.

I didn't mention my past life, but I told him about the pact the First Generation had made with the Silver Dragon, how the pact fixed the First Generation's soul to be reborn as a member of the Marquessias family, and that I was the reincarnation of the First Generation.

I also mentioned that Mother had been manipulated by the goddess Wysteria to become fixated on the King.

Grandfather looked as if a long-standing mystery had been solved after hearing the story.

"I did think it was strange. It wasn't like Lise to be so fixated on the King. She is a woman, but she is a daughter of the Marquessias family. She should understand that the family's code of conduct cannot be ignored. Our family, not needing political marriages, allows a certain degree of freedom compared to other nobles. However, the family rule that we must not mix our direct bloodline with the royal family is absolute. Even if Lise had a fondness for the King, she would not have expressed it or wished to be with him, given her understanding of our family's code. That is the discernment of a noble."

In other words, keep your feelings to yourself. This is a common practice in noble marriages, where nobles marry people they don't like for political reasons and don't show their feelings for anyone other than their designated fiancés.

"At first, I thought the former King had used some kind of mind control magic on Lise."

Grandfather had thoroughly investigated everyone who had approached Mother and even consulted the mages of the magic tower to examine her.

The result was negative. Of course, since it was the work of a goddess, not a spell or manipulation by the former King's people, nothing would have shown up.

"There have been marriage talks with the royal family in the past. However, when it came to our family marrying into the royal family, the person in question would always refuse, citing the family rule. 'I don't want to marry that prince.'"

This must be the backlash of the pact the Silver Dragon mentioned.

"Has it ever happened the other way around?"

"By 'the other way around,' do you mean a royal marrying into our family?"

"Or a royal marrying in as a son-in-law."

After thinking for a while, Grandfather spoke.

"I have never heard of such a case, but who knows. Would a royal living in the capital want to marry into a rural territory plagued by monster attacks? However, I can't say it never happened. A collateral princess might have married in, but not into the direct line of the Marquessias."

That's right. Due to the backlash of the pact, the direct line of the Marquessias family should not consider the royal family as a romantic option. In Mother's case, the pact was broken when the First Generation's soul was sent to another world, and then the goddess intervened, making her fixated on becoming the King's wife.

"Should we keep it a secret from Mother that she was manipulated by the goddess Wysteria?"

"Yes. It's all in the past. Lise has returned to the Marquessias family and come back to Fulftball. That's the end of it."

Saying this, Grandfather looked at me with a nostalgic expression.

"Albert's resemblance to Will might be because Will was also the bearer of the First Generation's soul."

Oh, right, Grandma and Nebel said that I look like Uncle.

If that's the case, Uncle might have been sent to another world after he died. But if that's true, when did Uncle die...? It's a strange thought, but could it have been the work of the goddess Wysteria?!

It might be overthinking, but I can't say for sure that it wasn't.

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