CHAPTER 72: IMPENDING WAR

’Is this really Lucien?’

While Lucien left with Garrick, he didn’t realize that, aside from him and Sera, there was someone else who had witnessed everything that happened here.

’Why has he changed so much? And... how can he use so many abilities?’

Perched atop a tall building under the cover of night, completely without presence, Velmara observed Lucien with its large blue eyes, deep in thought.

As it followed Lucien with its gaze, its head turned a full 270 degrees, yet the confusion and astonishment never left those glowing eyes.

’It seems Malcolm finally found a good heir. But did he know it?’

Velmara doubted that was the case. Lucien’s abilities were far too unusual.

When he was engulfed by Sera’s phoenix fire, Velmara was already ready to save him. But to his surprise, Lucien didn’t resist the flames; instead, he absorbed them like they were nothing.

Not to mention the series of abilities he used right after.

Even for someone like Velmara, that was eye-opening.

’Forget it. I’ll just follow him silently. This guy’s way too unlucky, he’s bound to land in trouble again.’

Thinking too much wasn’t Velmara’s forte. Once he felt his reserve dipping, he simply brushed the matter aside and rose into the sky without a sound, following Lucien silently.

In his opinion, whether Malcolm knew or not didn’t matter. As long as the Goldveil family had someone like him, that was more than enough.

’Maybe he will find things that Malcolm couldn’t find yet?’

***

"Lucien, you are here? Thank God you’re fine."

As soon as Lucien entered his mansion with Garrick, he saw his mother and father waiting for him at the gate, anxious.

Only when they saw him intact did they relax slightly. His mother, Seraphine, even came forward and hugged him in her arms, pressing his head directly against her huge bosom in warmth.

"It’s good that you’re fine. Don’t leave home this time. It’s dangerous."

She caressed Lucien’s hair lovingly, warning him in the process.

With the impromptu declaration of war from the Lionheart family, the situation for their family had become complicated.

Fortunately, Malcolm woke up from his coma, so the situation wasn’t that dire.

"I know. But... what did Grandpa say? Why did the Lionheart family suddenly declare war?"

Lucien slowly stood up, leaving Seraphine’s warm embrace, and asked while walking inside.

After all, although he and Hugo had some conflict, it was nowhere near enough to start a war.

It wasn’t even a life-and-death fight in his opinion. So, hearing such news right after leaving the Genesis Rift Dungeon made Lucien feel the stench of conspiracy.

There was no way the Lionheart family didn’t know that Malcolm had awakened from his coma. Still, they declared war.

’There has to be someone behind them. But... who is it?’

Lucien had no idea, so he looked at his father for answers, only to be disappointed.

"I have no idea either. We already had a deal with the Second Prince earlier. Now, suddenly..."

Cedric was also confused as he mulled over the situation with no clue. He didn’t even know the details of the deal between his father and Dorian.

’Sigh... my bad, I shouldn’t have asked.’

Lucien rolled his eyes at his father, making him even more confused, and didn’t ask further.

He had already realized that Malcolm only handed over the merchant side of the family to Cedric, leaving the more complicated matters to himself.

So it made sense that Cedric and Seraphine didn’t know anything.

"Okay, let’s not talk about that deal with Dorian. He’s not a good seed, and those deals mean nothing to him."

Lucien then informed both his parents about everything that happened in Malcolm’s mansion, which immediately made their expressions turn solemn.

"I had a feeling there was something fishy going on. But... we had no choice then."

Seraphine bit her lip, feeling like they had lost a large amount of gold and land for nothing.

’Well, at least Lucien managed to awaken his class thanks to the Awakening Altar. It’s not a complete loss.’

She thought to herself, unaware that her son had nearly lost his life because of that altar.

Well, Lucien had no intention of telling them what truly happened inside the dungeon.

Instead, he took his seat in one of the chairs along with his parents, as by now they were already inside the main meeting hall, and asked again,

"So, where is Grandpa? He must know why this is happening, right?"

If anyone knew the truth behind this incident, it had to be Malcolm. But Lucien still hadn’t seen him.

"He’s been summoned by the owner of the inn you used to visit. He just said not to panic and stay alert. Maybe it’s related to all this?"

Cedric speculated.

"Oh? The owner of the Golden Hearth Inn?"

Lucien raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"But... isn’t the owner a duke?" He asked, feeling weird.

Why was a duke suddenly involved in a conflict between viscount-ranked families?

He thought the situation wasn’t that serious, even if Lionheart declared war or whatever.

After all, their family didn’t even have a fiefdom here. At most, they would lose some wealth outside.

But if a duke was truly behind everything, then...

"Yeah, there seems to be some kind of conspiracy going on. Maybe we’ll know more when Father returns."

Cedric nodded a little solemnly. This was also why he asked Lucien to return quickly.

After all, a viscount wouldn’t dare to make a move inside the capital, but if they had the backing of a duke, that changed everything.

They might even attempt to attack Lucien directly. The Lionheart family had already publicly declared they would kill Lucien if he left the capital.

"It’s nothing more than trying to put pressure on me. After all, that bastard Dorian spread the rumor that I received the Invitation to the Circle of Nobility from him."

Just when the meeting hall had returned to silence, heavy with uncertainty, an old voice broke through it, startling Lucien, Cedric, and Seraphine.

"Father..."

"Grandpa, you’re here."

Lucien turned around, only to see Malcolm slowly entering through the door of the meeting hall. He walked over while nodding and took a seat right beside him.

"Yeah, that Duke Castor Viremond caught wind of the rumor and directly pushed the Lionheart family to declare war on us. Apparently, their reason is that Lucien tried to kill their heir in the dungeon."

Malcolm looked at Lucien as he said that, causing Lucien to cough awkwardly.

"Cough... Grandpa, it’s not my fault. That guy lost his mind and tried to kill me in the dungeon. I let him go, honestly, that was already mercy."

Lucien didn’t want to be the reason for any war that could throw his family into chaos. So he quickly defended himself, to which Malcolm simply waved his hand.

"Don’t worry. I’m not blaming you. In fact, I think you made a mistake. You should’ve just killed the guy instead."

Malcolm said in a cold voice.

"But I understand why you let him live."

He signaled not to take it to heart and then explained,

"It’s just that Duke Castor wants the Invitation to the Circle of Nobility that I possess. So, he’s using the Lionheart family to stir things up. This isn’t your fault."

"Then what are you going to do? Are you going to give him the invitation?"

Lucien asked, raising his eyebrows.