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The second son of the third wife, ‘Emil,’ the Mistress of Camellia Palace.

Emil was the daughter of Marquis Troyban, a prestigious family from the East, known for its swordsmanship that rivaled even that of the Ragnar family.

Thanks to the backing of such a remarkable maternal family, Axion had a solid standing from a young age.

And on top of that, he possessed exceptional talent.

Some praised this as the union of the two greatest swordsmanship families of the North and East, the fruit of Ragnar and Troyban’s alliance.

Because of this, Axion had become one of the most prominent contenders among the Ragnar heirs by the time he reached adulthood.

‘The influence of his organization, the Gathering of the Hidden Dragons, was also considerable.’

You could tell just by the fact that the opportunist Rendon had turned to Axion as soon as he escaped the Rose Palace.

However—

‘Axion moved the moment Rendon died…? Can this really be a mere coincidence?’

In truth, Theo had only speculated about a possible link between Rendon and Axion, but he hadn’t thought it plausible.

After all, a family like Troyban had no reason to rely on a shady swindler like Rendon.

Even if they did, was either Cecilia or Theo really valuable enough to warrant their attention? He wasn’t so sure.

Now that things had turned out like this, though, it was no longer something he could dismiss so easily.

‘I’ve kept my distance from people, not knowing who might be pulling whose strings… And this is where it leads?’

Having once climbed fairly high within an intelligence organization, Theo knew that nothing in this world was a coincidence.

‘Well, I’ll find out for sure once I check it out myself.’

Perhaps there was some connection to the blue light that had lingered on the invitation.

As these thoughts swirled in his mind—

Creak!

The carriage came to a halt.

“It seems we’ve arrived.”

Wellington opened the carriage door and stepped out first, followed by Theo.

They were met with the sight of a castle that appeared to be at least two or three times the size of the Rose Palace.

At that moment—

“Young Lord Theo!”

Wellington, having spotted something, cried out in alarm.

But Theo had already reacted first.

A heavy sack was falling from the sky.

Fwoosh!

Theo dodged just in time as the sack exploded where he had been standing.

A thick cloud of flour burst forth, spreading like mist.

“Axion! What do you think you’re doing?!”

Wellington’s furious gaze landed on the culprit.

Kahaha!

Axion stood there, bursting into laughter.

Meanwhile, the other companions gathered at the entrance wore awkward expressions as they glanced back and forth between the two of them.

“What kind of behavior is this, you ask? It’s a welcoming greeting for a new friend. But when I saw who it was, it turned out to be Theo! Wow, it’s been a while. Nice to see you!”

Although there were dozens of direct descendants of the House of Ragnar, only about three or four of them were the same age, fifteen.

Even if they didn’t interact regularly, they at least knew each other by sight.

Theo swept back his slightly tousled hair as he stared at Axion.

If he hadn’t dodged, the clothes his mother had painstakingly prepared for him would have been ruined.

The guy was exactly the same as in his previous life.

‘Honestly, I should have expected this from him.’

[“Observing ‘Axion Ragnar.’”]

+

Axion Ragnar (Age 15/Male)

– Title: Dark Leopard
– Talent: Madness. Psychopath.
– Condition: Excited at the discovery of a new toy.

+

‘A toy? Does he see me as a toy?’

As expected, the information window confirmed what Theo had predicted.

“You’re not saying anything. Are you mad? Come on, at least accept a greeting from your brother.”

“No. I’m not mad, I just didn’t expect such an intense welcome.”

“A welcome… are you thanking me?”

Axion’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Isn’t attention better than indifference?”

Theo’s calm response made Axion chuckle.

“You.”

Axion’s gaze curved as he focused on Theo.

“You’ve become quite interesting since I last saw you.”

* * *

The ballroom, where soft music played in the background, was unusually quiet.

It was originally supposed to be a lively social gathering, but today, it was oddly subdued.

Wellington was furious over Axion’s sudden outburst, and everyone else was busy reading his mood.

“Once again, I apologize on his behalf. He’s not usually like this… I think he just got a bit too excited today.”

“Really, it’s fine. Axion has always been playful, hasn’t he?”

Despite Theo’s repeated reassurances, Wellington couldn’t bring himself to leave his side.

‘At this rate… I’ll never be able to face Lord Theo again.’

Wellington had hoped to introduce his close friends to Theo and become ‘real’ friends with him as well.

But now, he had to worry about whether they would grow more distant instead.

The atmosphere was so awkward that none of the other guests dared to approach Theo.

In many ways, it was frustrating.

‘Why on earth did Axion pull such an absurd stunt…?’

But contrary to Wellington’s concerns, Theo was actually enjoying this banquet.

Since no one was engaging with him, Theo could leisurely explore the interior of Camellia Palace.

And then—

‘There should definitely be something here connected to that blue light…’

Perhaps he could see the same light he had spotted in the invitation here as well. Or maybe a new message would emerge.

His gaze stopped around the central hallway that led to the second-floor staircase.

At the end of the stairs.

Through the narrow crack of an old door, which looked like it led to a storage room, a faint blue light seeped out.

There it was.

Theo’s eyes gleamed.

Just as he was considering how to approach the second floor naturally without raising any suspicion, a voice interrupted his thoughts.

“Why aren’t you enjoying the banquet and sitting around here doing nothing?”

Axion approached, twirling a whiskey glass in his hand.

Wellington’s face hardened immediately, but Theo, unbothered, asked casually, “That thing in your hand, it looks like alcohol.”

“Yeah. You’re right. How’d you know?”

“It’s supposed to be banned until the coming-of-age ceremony.”

“Heh. When else would I get a chance to act like an adult, if not now?”

Theo let out a small laugh.

In a place like the House of Ragnar, with its strict rules, Axion was probably the only one who could be so nonchalant.

“But Theo, why have you changed so much? You’ve gotten really tall. And your physique looks solid too. You used to talk a lot more, remember?”

“Just thought I’d try being different.”

“Huh? Why all of a sudden?”

“I don’t want to mess up too badly during the Blossoming Ceremony. It’d be embarrassing.”

“Ahaha! That’s true. With so many people watching, messing up would be humiliating— utterly humiliating.”

Theo couldn’t tell what Axion was really thinking, even though he was smiling widely.

“Anyway, about earlier—sorry. Wellington and the butler both scolded me pretty hard. So, you’ll forgive me, right? Yeah? Yeah?”

It didn’t seem like the attitude of someone sincerely apologizing, but—

“Is there really anything to apologize for?”

“Huh?”

“As you said, it was just a greeting between brothers.”

“Right? We just exchanged greetings.”

“Of course.”

“Kahahaha. See? Our Theo is so generous.”

Thump!

Thump!

Axion slapped Theo’s shoulder hard as he laughed loudly.

It was clear to anyone watching that Axion was looking down on Theo.

Theo could hear the murmurs of onlookers who were glancing their way.

– At least it all worked out without any major conflict. I was worried Axion and Wellington were going to fight.

– Right? If those two started fighting, ugh!

– But really, isn’t that something anyone could handle? I think Wellington took it too seriously.

– Exactly, that’s what I’m saying.

– Isn’t it kind of funny though? If you think about it, what’s there to be angry about? Isn’t it ridiculous for a bastard with no real standing to even try to argue with someone of Troyban’s noble blood?

– Well, if we’re being honest, Wellington too…

– Hey! Watch your mouth!

– Oh, right. That’s a banned topic, isn’t it?

They thought they were having a quiet conversation amongst themselves, but since they weren’t exactly subtle types, everyone nearby could hear them clearly.

Wellington’s face flushed bright red with anger.

For the first time in his life, he was ashamed of his friends.

Up until now, he had always thought of them as understanding and broad-minded, but he never imagined they could be so narrow-minded.

He was about to get up and snap at them—

“So.”

“Huh?”

“I suppose I can give a ‘greeting’ to my new friends as well?”

At Theo’s sudden remark to Axion, Wellington’s gaze shifted.

What was he planning?

Just as Axion was about to ask a question, Theo suddenly threw the glass he was holding toward the group of loudmouths who had been laughing.

Thud—

Crash!

The guy who had been mocking others’ bloodlines got hit square in the head, causing it to snap back violently.

“…!”

“…!”

“…!”

No one had expected something like this to happen, and their eyes widened in shock.

“You bastard! How dare you!”

The guy whose head was now bleeding profusely charged at Theo.

But Theo remained completely unphased, calmly standing up.

“Bastard? I was just happy to meet my new friends and wanted to greet them properly.”

As the guy’s fist flew toward Theo’s face—

“Saying such harsh things, it hurts my feelings, you know?”

Theo casually tilted his head to the side, effortlessly dodging the punch. In the same motion, he closed the gap between them and grabbed the guy’s arm.

Then, with a swift movement, he flipped him over.

Boom!

“Argh! Let go! Let go of me! Can’t you hear me?”

The guy thrashed around, desperately trying to shake Theo off, but for some reason, he couldn’t overpower the force holding him down.

“Ah, is it because we haven’t properly introduced ourselves yet? Hey, Axion.”

“Yeah?”

Axion, strangely amused, was laughing even though his friend was being overpowered.

“We’re friends before we’re brothers, right?”

“And what about it?”

“So if they’re your friends, that makes them my friends too, right? I suppose it doesn’t matter then.”

Theo smirked as he twisted the arm he was holding.

Crack!

“Aaaaargh!”

The sound of a harrowing scream filled the ballroom, replacing the music that had long since stopped. Some onlookers turned their heads, unable to bear the sight of the arm bent at an unnatural angle.

“Since I greeted you so warmly, I suppose I should say goodbye as well, right?”

“Wa-wait…!”

Crunch!

The other arm was twisted as well, so violently that the white bone of the elbow protruded through the torn muscles. The injury was so severe, he would never wield a sword again.

Theo let go of the guy, who had passed out from the sheer pain, foaming at the mouth.

“…”

“…”

“…”

Everyone was stunned, shocked that Theo had gone this far. Only Axion, who was watching with keen interest, seemed amused.

Theo chuckled.

‘Still just a bunch of kids.’

No matter how high and mighty they acted, they were all still minors. It must have been a shocking sight for these sheltered, greenhouse flowers, who had never ventured beyond the protection of their families, to be so easily defeated by Theo, the one they had always treated as a “cripple.”

Only Axion, with his inherently cruel nature, appeared to enjoy the situation.

As expected, a Ragnar was still a Ragnar.

“Anyone else want to exchange greetings?”

Theo’s cold, dragon-like eyes swept across the room.

Everyone clamped their lips shut, the silence growing deeper.

“…Do you even realize what you’ve done?”

One of the boys finally stepped forward, biting his lower lip. He was the close friend of the guy Theo had just taken down.

“And if I do?”

“No. You don’t know. That guy is…!”

“The third son of the Hanabi family, right?”

“You knew, and still did this?!”

The Hanabi family was one of the Six Snow Families that supported the Ragnar household. They were on the same level as the House of Narcio.

Just then—

Flash!

Screech—

Suddenly, four swordsmen descended from the sky like bolts of light, pointing their blades at Theo’s throat.

“The crime of injuring the young master.”

“You will pay with your life.”

Despite the sharp swords threatening him, Theo didn’t even blink. Instead, he raised one eyebrow, smirking.

“Dare you, mere lackeys from a lowly knight family, not even vassals of Ragnar, speak of claiming my life?”

In that moment, the four swordsmen felt an invisible pressure, their shoulders weighed down by an overwhelming aura they couldn’t comprehend.

“Can you bear the consequences of those words?”

Boom…!

The sound of Theo’s heart pounding seemed to reverberate through Camellia Palace itself.

Thud thud thud thud—

The Dragon’s Heart had begun to beat.

(E/n: king? What are you doing here?)