Chapter 68
The Draker Tournament.
It literally meant a martial arts tournament hosted by the Draker family.
However, it wasn’t limited to only those belonging to the Draker family.
Any young knight who had been promoted to purple knight within the last 5 years could participate.
In essence, it could be considered a competition to identify the next generation of rookies who would lead the continent.
Zeke nodded at the head of the family’s words.
“I understand.”
The head of the family looked at Zeke and asked.
“Are you sure you’ll win?”
“Yes.”
Though it was a short answer, Arthur could feel Zeke’s determination within it.
He grinned and said.
“Good. I hope I’ll be able to present you with the winner’s medal on the last day of the tournament.”
Zeke nodded.
Arthur rose from his seat with a satisfied expression.
“And I’ve prepared your graduation gift.”
He brought a box from his desk.
“Open it.”
Zeke opened the box Arthur had prepared.
His eyes widened upon seeing its contents.
‘This is…?’
Inside the box were a metal plate and documents.
Zeke was shocked by the metal plate.
It was none other than a territory rights plate.
Zeke asked in surprise.
“Are you giving me territory?”
Arthur nodded.
“Yes. I’ve decided to grant you the northern territory of the Troy Principality where you recently caught the Magical beast.”
‘A territory as a graduation gift.’
Even receiving a knighthood was different from receiving territory on a whole different level.
Even with the smallest territory, a knight who owned it could use the title of ‘Lord.’
It effectively meant receiving a noble title.
Even as a Draker family knight, one usually needed to become a senior knight to receive territory.
Giving territory to Zeke, who had just become a formal knight, was quite an exceptional matter.
Zeke conveyed his gratitude to Arthur.
“I will strive to live up to your expectations, Head of Family.”
“Regarding territory management, an administrator will visit you soon, so listen to the details from them. Actually, professional managers will handle the management, so you don’t need to worry too much about it.”
“Thank you for your consideration, Head of Family.”
Zeke only left the head of family’s office after receiving the Eastern tea that Arthur prepared at the end.
‘I never expected to become a Lord at this age.’
Indeed, Draker was Draker.
As he was leaving the Four Seasons Castle feeling somewhat dazed, someone approached Zeke.
“My busy disciple.”
It was Duke, who looked somewhat tired.
“Master. What are you doing here?”
Duke groaned in response.
“Ugh. I came to Atlas to rest comfortably beside you, but got caught by Arthur and ended up doing unnecessary work.”
“Aren’t you retired, Master?”
“I only retired as a knight, but my position in Draker is still active, so I got caught.”
“You’ve rested for 10 years, so working a little shouldn’t hurt, right?”
“Listen to how you talk. Just like Arthur’s son. Anyway, let’s quickly go home before those leeches catch us.”
Duke hurriedly took Zeke back to the mansion.
As soon as they arrived, he took off his boots and uniform and lay down on the sofa.
“Whew, now I feel alive. Home is the best.”
“This is my house though.”
“What belongs to the disciple also belongs to the master, you fool.”
Duke took a sip of the liquor brought by the servant and said.
“So why did Arthur call you? I heard it was for graduation congratulations, but he wouldn’t have called just for congratulations.”
“I received a graduation gift.”
“Graduation gift? Well, that guy is good at preparing gifts. Sometimes I wonder if he’s a knight or a politician.”
Duke filled his glass with alcohol and asked.
“So what did he give you? Usually, it’s things like swords or armor.”
“I received territory.”
“Yeah, territory is also go… What? What did you receive?”
“I received the northern territory of Troy Principality.”
Duke was so surprised he didn’t notice the alcohol overflowing from his glass.
He finally gathered his wits.
“Huh, receiving territory at your age. Seems Arthur must have been quite pleased. And it being Troy Principality, even the northern part should have decent tax revenue.”
“It was the area where I completed my recent mission, and all the villagers were good people, and the atmosphere was peaceful.”
“Well, isn’t that good? Having territory as a lord is completely different from just having a knight’s title.”
Zeke nodded and said.
“There’s one more thing.”
“You received more gifts?”
“No. More like a mission. I was told to participate in the Draker Tournament and win.”
Duke’s face darkened upon hearing Zeke’s words.
“The Draker Tournament.”
As Duke silently drank from his glass, Zeke asked.
“What’s wrong, Master? Is the tournament that difficult?”
Duke shook his head.
“No. If we’re just looking at your skills, winning shouldn’t be difficult.”
“Then why do you look troubled?”
“If it were just about competing based on skill, there wouldn’t be any problem at all.”
Duke said as he put down his glass.
“Have you ever seen the Draker Tournament, Zeke?”
“I’ve only heard it happens once every 5 years. Between focusing on advancing from Cradle to Academy to Valhalla, I never had the chance to watch.”
Duke nodded.
“Then you might not know. Zeke, the Draker Tournament isn’t just a simple martial arts competition.”
“What do you mean it’s not a tournament?”
Duke said with a serious expression.
“It’s a battlefield for families wearing the mask of a tournament.”
Zeke looked perplexed at Duke’s words.
“Are you saying there’s corruption in the tournament?”
“The concept of corruption doesn’t even apply. All possible power can be used. The winner is determined including all of that.”
“Good heavens.”
Zeke pondered after learning the true nature of the Draker Tournament.
At first, he thought he just needed to win somehow, but seeing Duke’s expression, it didn’t seem like such a simple matter.
‘The head of the family didn’t just assign this randomly.’
Then Duke said to Zeke.
“Zeke, I’ll be direct. Honestly, it’s difficult to properly survive in the tournament without a sponsoring family.”
Zeke’s expression darkened at the mention of sponsoring families.
It was actually impossible to achieve such results within Draker without a sponsoring family.
Zeke asked Duke.
“Is your connections alone not enough, Master?”
Duke shook his head.
“Even if I can somehow handle the practical matters, the political aspects of the tournament are beyond me. For one thing, I’ve been away from the family for a long time.”
It meant they needed to have a sponsoring family somehow.
From the beginning, Duke himself started as a commoner and became a Black Knight, creating Draker’s rags-to-riches legend, so he was far from sponsoring families.
As an unexpected problem arose, Zeke’s head throbbed.
‘I’m really weak in this area.’
In his previous life, he had his fill of rolling around and fighting, but had no connection to politics.
Duke took a drink and said.
“I’ll look for some families I know, so let’s see for now. We still have some time until the tournament anyway.”
Zeke nodded.
He planned to rest in his room for a while before going back to training.
But when he entered his room, someone came in.
“Decker?”
The servant Decker approached Zeke.
“Young master, I have something to tell you.”
When Decker suddenly came with a serious expression, Zeke was surprised but decided to listen first.
“Alright. What is it?”
“I heard your conversation with Sir Duke earlier. About you entering the Draker Tournament.”
Zeke nodded.
“That’s right. But Master says it’s difficult without a sponsoring family.”
After considering briefly, Decker spoke to Zeke.
“Young master. Please look at this.”
Decker suddenly drew his sword.
Woong!
A clear aura blade formed on his sword.
Though Zeke knew Decker was a Blue Knight rank, he pretended not to know.
“De-Decker. You’re a Blue Knight?”
Then Decker said.
“I know you’ve already noticed.”
At Decker’s words, Zeke looked sheepish.
‘He’s always so quick to notice.’
Decker bowed his head to Zeke.
“Thank you for believing in me without suspicion despite knowing I was a Blue Knight, young master.”
Zeke felt slightly guilty at Decker’s words.
He had slightly suspected that he might be a spy sent by other direct siblings.
Decker slowly began speaking.
“Actually, I was a knight belonging to Draker.”
‘As expected. He wasn’t just an ordinary servant.’
“Why are you suddenly telling me this, Decker?”
“It’s to bring up the story about your mother, young master.”
Zeke frowned at Decker’s words.
‘Mother.’
Zeke had almost no memories of his mother.
She died right after he was born.
He grew up in a wet nurse’s care when young, and at age seven he immediately entered the Cradle to train with other Draker bloodline members during his childhood.
There was no way Zeke could have memories of his mother.
“This is the first time anyone’s bringing up mother. Even when I whined to my wet nurse as a child, it was useless. No one else ever told me about mother either.”
Then Decker said.
“I was the guard knight who protected the madam.”
“Mother’s guard knight?”
“Yes. It was the mission I received after becoming Draker’s senior knight.”
Zeke was shocked to hear Decker was Draker’s senior knight.
He thought Decker was unusually skilled, but didn’t know he had reached the position of senior knight.
Decker slowly continued.
“There’s a reason why no one talks about the madam within Draker.”
“What’s that reason?”
“It’s because of my lady’s family.”
“Mother’s family? Wasn’t she a commoner?”
Decker shook his head.
“My lady’s family… was once the most powerful among the Draker blood allies. Even more than today’s Tourn or Jiemens.”
Zeke was surprised at those words.
“But why does no one remember them now? No, rather, it seems like no one wants to talk about them.”
“That’s because bad rumors spread about that family.”
“What? Bad rumors? Over something that trivial?”
Zeke found it ridiculous.
He couldn’t understand how such a massive family could be virtually erased over mere bad rumors.
But Decker spoke with a serious expression.
“To be precise, people feared them. They avoided them, calling them a cursed family.”
“Cursed?”
Curses definitely existed.
Even the Scorpion Clan in the South used curse magic to kill or torment people.
But the curse Decker spoke of wasn’t that kind.
“What kind of curse was it to cause that?”
“The family’s children died.”
“The children?”
Decker nodded with a grave expression.
“Yes. Pregnant women bore stillborn babies, and even children who were born died before turning five.”
“Without a single exception?”
“Only one person, young master’s mother, my lady, survived and grew up.”
Zeke made an expression of disbelief.
‘Feared because of a curse… Well, it was worse up north. Those people are particularly susceptible to superstition.’
Sometimes these superstitions wielded more power than a dark mage’s magic.
What starts as simple doubt turns into questions as strange incidents pile up.
Questions transform into fear over time.
Then Zeke looked at Decker and said:
“Decker, are you saying I should make this cursed family my sponsoring house?”
Decker nodded.
“Once, they were the greatest family in the central region. Moreover, young master, you qualify as their only heir.”
“Hmm.”
A family once the most powerful among the Draker blood allies, but now forgotten by everyone.
It was perfect for Zeke, who only needed the legitimacy of a sponsoring house.
Zeke asked Decker:
“So what’s my mother’s family name?”
Decker slowly opened his mouth.
“That family’s name is……”
He spoke in a clear voice.
“House Agamemnon.”
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