Chapter 4
Duke Leston’s family fortress, also known as Azureocean Castle, was a place saturated with Azure Mana. The castle had been with the Leston family throughout its three-hundred-year history. It was also where the Oceanwolf Knights were trained. The name Oceanwolf came from a legend that said the ancestors of the Leston family had received their mana from the ocean.
Although, the family doesn't really have anything to do with the ocean now.
The first ancestor, blessed by the North Sea and its guardian dragon, had built this fortress after settling on the continent. Caron remembered hearing from Halo that the most sacred site of the Leston family lay in the perilous heart of the North Sea.
Upon arriving at the main residence, Caron’s parents had gone to pay their respects to the family elders, leaving him alone in the reception room. Nodding slowly, Caron had sunk into the sofa. The servants were unpacking his belongings in the room he would use, and he didn’t feel like staying cooped in his room anyway.
Maybe I should check out the library.
Since his reincarnation, Caron had taken a great liking to reading. Even though it hadn't been that long since the end of his previous life, the world had changed a lot. He was looking forward to finding some rare and valuable books in the ducal family's library.
"Is anyone there?" Caron called out while still seated on the sofa.
A maid cautiously stepped forward. "Did you call for me, sir?"
"Is there a place to do some strength training? No, never mind. I want to take a look at the library first."
"Allow me to escort you to the library, sir."
At that moment, a boy walked into the reception room.
"Looking for the library as soon as you arrive? Just as they say, you're quite the model student. I've heard rumors about you being a bookworm."
Caron immediately recognized this boy as a member of the Leston family. Despite how faint its presence was, the Azure Mana emanating from him indicated he carried the blood of the Leston family. As the boy appeared to be around the same age as him, he assumed this was one of his cousins. Based on his observations, Caron could guess that the boy was Leo Leston, the second son of the Duke's second son.
"I'm Leo Leston. I'm your older cousin." Leo waved condescendingly at the maid standing in front of Caron, saying, "Everyone, leave. I want to have a private conversation with my cousin."
The startled maid bowed, and the other servants quickly vacated the reception room. Caron could guess what kind of person Leo was from their reactions. Soon, only the two of them remained in the reception room.
"I thought I'd give you some advice on the Awakening Ceremony," Leo said as he sat down across from Caron.
Caron stared at Leo's face without saying a word.
"Oh, no need to be nervous. My father told me to have a chat with you," Leo said, acting as if Caron was intimidated by him. With the servants gone, he smirked. "I heard your father never awakened his Azure Mana. They're saying you might not either. If you don't, Grandfather could be quite disappointed."
As Leo nonchalantly invoked his grandfather's name, Caron quickly understood the purpose behind this orchestrated meeting: It was a simple probing followed by an attempt to assert dominance. It was a childishly cute move, so Caron decided to play along. After all, this was his first time playing with a cousin in either of his lives.
But shortly after, Leo undeniably crossed a line.
"But, don't worry. My father doesn't hold any ill feelings toward your father. He actually pities him, saying how it's pathetic that the son of a hero is so obsessed with money. What a disgrace." Leo didn't hesitate to deliver a blatant insult, even though Fayle was his uncle. He leaned closer to Caron and said, "And by the way, I think the same way."
Caron responded with a bright smile and whispered, "How interesting. I didn't expect there to be a budding troublemaker in the family."
"What?"
"You've exceeded my expectations. This is quite a shock. I need to be more vigilant, or you might steal my spot."
Caron had underestimated the significance of this family being his old friend’s lineage. Given that his old friend was the most infamous troublemaker in the empire, it made sense that his friend’s grandsons would follow in his footsteps. It seemed he had been too complacent all this time because his father was so normal compared to Halo.
As Caron rose slightly from his seat, Leo shrugged and said, "Do you want to duel because I insulted your father? If you want, I won’t use mana. Consider it a practice match for your Awakening Ceremony."
"A duel?"
"Since you grew up without learning chivalry from your father, you might not know about... Gurrk!"
Wham!
Using his fist, Caron struck Leo's lower abdomen, where the core of one’s mana settled. He quickly assessed Leo's level upon observing the latter’s reactions. While it was true that Leo had awakened his Azure Mana, his mana level wasn't particularly high.
Mana allowed humans to go beyond their limits, but mastering it took time. At a higher level of mastery, one could use mana to fortify one’s entire body as if clad in armor. However, Leo had yet to reach that level of proficiency.
"You, you... How... How can you use mana...?"
"Oh, you mean this right here?"
Whoosh.
Indeed, Caron had already awakened his Azure Mana. Brandishing a fist that undulated with mana, he answered, "I’ve had it for quite a while."
"My father never mentioned this…"
"Of course your father doesn't know. Even my parents don't know." Caron laughed as he kicked Leo in the stomach, sending him sprawling. After a moment, he added, "Actually, everyone in the family should probably know by now. I got caught at the train station earlier."
One of the knights waiting at the train station had noticed, so there was a good chance that his grandfather or the elders of the family would know by now. He had managed to hide it from the knights in the mansion where he had stayed until now, but it was impossible to hide such a thing from knights who exceeded a certain level.
Perhaps it was actually better that Caron had never interacted with the main family.
After all, this is the surprise party I've planned.
And this was just a teaser for what Caron had planned.
Unlike his previous life, in which Cain had needed to painstakingly accumulate the devils’ mana, his current body absorbed mana effortlessly. With the Awakening Ceremony and the Leston family's practice methods, he would be ready to surprise his grandfather and his friends.
Caron smiled cheerfully as he stood over Leo, who was lying on the floor. He said, "You’re right, my father never taught me chivalry. Duels? Kids like us don't engage in formal duels. We just go for it."
Thud.
Caron threw a punch at Leo’s face.
"Gah… Ugh…"
"And more importantly, I hate duels, Leo. Why would we need to duel when I can beat you up without worrying about rules? I prefer it this way." Caron covered Leo’s mouth, muffling his scream. "If you scream, others will hear."
Insulting his grandfather was one thing, because Halo deserved it. But insulting Caron’s father was something he couldn't tolerate. It stirred a rage he had never felt in his previous life.
Of course, that wasn't the only reason he was beating Leo. He also sensed a significant threat from Leo—the threat of losing the position he had been striving for.
"I never thought you were such a troublemaker that you’d spew such disrespect toward your uncle! That really fires up my competitive spirit."
Wham!
Leo screamed as blood spurted from his nose, but he couldn't escape from Caron.
"I'll be the troublemaker in this family. I'll be the one giving Grandfather headaches."
Having two troublemakers in one family would be problematic, because there could be only one. Otherwise, it wouldn’t mean anything. And the Leston family’s troublemaker had to be Caron, so he had to eliminate his main competitor in advance.
Leo's blatant disregard for his uncle showed he was a natural troublemaker, but it was good that Caron had discovered that sign so early. Leo was young and could be easily reformed with a touch of violence.
"I’m going to claim the troublemaker spot in this family."
Leo saw something flicker in Caron's eyes. Being just twelve years old, he struggled to find the words to describe it, but he understood one thing for certain: His cousin was a mad dog.
And that scared Leo. He didn't know what this mad dog would do next.
"As soon as the third son's family returned to the main house, the youngest grandson beat his cousin to death. What do you think? This is just my opening move."
Drip.
Leo wet himself, but he didn't even realize it. There was no time to notice, because the cousin in front of him was more evil than a demon.
"So you should strive to be a good child from now on, Leo. If you become a good child... hmm, yes. You know that darkness needs light to exist, yes? It’s the same. For every troublemaker, there’s a noble gentleman. I think you'll fit that role quite well."
Leo nodded as he trembled. Only then did Caron stop his punches.
"Understood?"
"Mmph, mmph."
"That was a good talk. Let’s get along from now on."
Leo managed to escape the situation for the time being. As soon as he left the reception room, he intended to report everything to his father, knowing that he would surely punish the mad dog severely.
"But ending it here feels a bit lacking."
"Mmph?"
"I’ll give you something extra. This is for insulting my father."
Wham! Bam!
The relentless assault resumed until Leo lost consciousness. Only when Leo lay limp and frothing at the mouth did Caron finally stand up, muttering with regret, "Oh, I should have asked if there were any other cousins with similar personalities… I guess I'll have to ask later, right? Everyone is pretty quick."
Bang!
The door burst open, and knights and family elders rushed into the reception room. They were horrified by what they saw.
"L-Leo?! Someone call a doctor! Bring a priest!"
"Young Master Leo!"
The reception room was thrown into chaos. Caron smiled in satisfaction, watching the scene he had created.
"...Son."
Fayle looked at his son, whose hand was stained with blood, and was at a loss for words. While he could make a rough guess as to what had happened, believing that speculation was a different matter.
Just a moment before, he had heard unbelievable words from the leader of the knight squadron who had been escorting him after his family’s arrival at the train station.
"Young Master Caron has already awakened his Azure Mana. If you were unaware, he must have been hiding it. Concealing mana is not easy. As soon as this Awakening Ceremony is over, I plan to reprimand the knights stationed at your residence. And I also need to ask you some questions. I would appreciate your cooperation."
He didn't know how long his son had been hiding the fact that he had already awakened his Azure Mana. Just that alone would have turned the family upside down, but this time, Caron had even beaten up his cousin. The nephew who had just been carried out seemed to have fairly severe injuries, even to Fayle.
Despite causing such huge incidents in quick succession, his son still looked confident. In fact, he was even smiling.
"He insulted you, Father," Caron said confidently to Fayle. "I couldn't just stand by as someone openly insulted my father, the one I respect most in this world."
"...My son, this is just..."
"It served him right. Don’t you think, Father?"
However, Fayle couldn’t ask his son any more questions.
"Fayle!"
Raphael Leston, Leo's father and Caron's second uncle, had already grabbed Caron by the collar and lifted him.
"Raphael, please stop."
"Fayle, your son beat my son to that extent. Would you just stand by if your son were the victim?"
Raphael glared at Caron, gripping his collar more tightly. It was his first time meeting his youngest nephew. However, the boy met his eyes without flinching.
Not only that, the boy even smiled as he spoke to Raphael. "Pleased to meet you, Uncle. My name is Caron Leston."
"You're quite an interesting fellow."
"Your son insulted my father. Would you just stand by if someone insulted your father?"
As the ten-year-old boy echoed his uncle's words exactly, a tense silence settled over the reception room. The servants didn't dare to intervene, and Caron's mother, Sara, looked to be on the verge of fainting.
Fayle clenched his teeth and struck Raphael's hand away. Then, he pulled Caron into his embrace and said, "He is my son."
"It was my son who was carried out. It seems your son hasn’t received proper etiquette training, so I will train him instead."
"I don't think this is any of your business, Brother."
"Fayle, are you serious?"
The one who defused the extremely tense situation was none other than the elderly butler, Heinrich. He intervened and said, "Lord Fayle, the Duke requests your presence, along with Young Master Caron."
The head of the family had summoned them.
Fayle felt a chill run down his spine at that moment. He couldn’t think of a way to explain this situation to his father. Considering his father's personality, there was no way Halo Leston could just let this incident slide.
However, his only son, seemingly oblivious to what his father felt right now, said, "I think this is the first time I'll be meeting Grandfather since I was born. Wow, I'm excited."
He simply smiled and took his father's hand.
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