‘How is that child……?!’
‘Even we can barely withstand Lord Theon's pressure!’
Meanwhile, Theon Pellantz's overwhelming presence was not directed solely at the trainees.
The nobles filling the auditorium felt it just as clearly.
Unless someone had reached a sufficiently high level, the pressure of the Pellantz Family Head naturally made their bodies shrink back.
Even ordinary knights—and even the Commander of this place—lowered their heads in awe before that presence.
Theon looked at Shuren, who was still standing perfectly upright.
The corners of his mouth curved ever so slightly.
It was proof that Shuren had caught his interest.
Curious to see how long Shuren could endure, Theon decided to test him.
HUMMMMM!
Along with the pressure, killing intent began pouring from Theon's body.
‘What the hell is this man doing? He's that old and he's picking a battle of wills with me?’
Shuren felt the killing intent against his skin and was dumbfounded.
Before long, his body swayed.
Even for him, enduring Theon's killing intent at his current level was difficult.
‘So you want to see who gives in first?’
Shuren stubbornly held on.
Sweat streamed down his body as he endured the killing intent.
But he never bent his knees.
The other trainees, meanwhile, were having a miserable time.
“Grrrgh!”
Some of them could not withstand Theon's killing intent and fainted.
‘L-Lord Theon……!’
Even the Knight Commander was startled.
But even he did not dare speak up.
In this place, Theon possessed absolute authority.
Theon frowned as he looked at the scene.
“Tsk. You call yourselves knight trainees, yet you cannot even withstand a little killing intent. Titles like ‘the future of the continent’ are wasted on you.”
Theon withdrew both his killing intent and his pressure as he spoke.
His disappointment was plain in his voice.
The trainees' expressions gradually returned to normal once the pressure disappeared.
‘What a ridiculous bastard. He's the one who started playing games with children. No wonder he's a descendant of that bastard Rak.’
Shuren was incredulous.
Could anyone be more petty than this?
His first impression of the Pellantz Family Head was every bit as bad as expected.
“Lord Theon. What brings you to the Hatchling Knight Order Training Center?”
The Commander asked respectfully.
“Must I report even that to you?”
“O-of course not!”
At Theon's response, the Commander hurriedly bowed his head and apologized.
“I merely came because there was a child among this year's trainees who interested me.”
Theon's gaze settled on Shuren.
‘There is a foreign quality to the energy around that child.’
Someone at the level of the Family Head could distinguish even such subtle differences in aura.
From members of the Pellantz Family, one could sense the power of water within their mana.
But from that child, Theon could feel the hot energy of fire.
Step, step.
Theon walked toward Shuren.
The people in his path naturally moved aside.
‘What? Why's that bastard coming over here?’
Shuren could not understand the Family Head's sudden behavior.
“Shuren Pellantz.”
Theon called his name.
“……I greet the Family Head.”
Shuren offered the proper courtesy.
No matter how much he hated the Pellantz Family, this was a time to bow his head.
“Did you break the rules? Or were you simply born that way?”
The Family Head's vague words left the others unable to grasp his meaning.
They could only guess that Shuren might have done something wrong.
‘You're just going to ask me outright?’
Shuren, however, understood exactly what Theon meant.
Before being absorbed, Shuren's family had borne the name Flamer.
Under the convenient pretext of protecting the Flamer Family, the Pellantz Family had forbidden its children from practicing mana cultivation while young.
And yet Shuren had openly entered the training center and was using mana.
It was only natural for Theon to question it.
“I was simply born this way.”
Shuren answered calmly.
Theon's eyes narrowed.
“You are only twelve years old. You reached Two-Star at that age, and you expect me to believe you were simply born that way?”
“One day, while breathing, I naturally became aware of mana. I gathered it and formed Rings.”
“…….”
“Well, I suppose I'm a genius.”
Theon fell silent at Shuren's shameless confidence.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“If you truly doubt me, bring evidence. Right now, all you have is suspicion, don't you?”
The people listening with bated breath were stunned.
Shuren's attitude toward the Family Head was remarkably insolent.
Someone in the Family Head's position possessed enough power to manufacture evidence where none existed, so they could hardly understand what gave Shuren the nerve to act this way.
“Surely the Family Head of the Pellantz Family, which upholds justice and proper order, would not falsely accuse me.”
‘Th-that bastard! What if the Family Head becomes enraged?!’
The Commander nearly jumped in shock at Shuren's brazen attitude.
“If you wish, why not hold a trial? I was taught that even the Family Head of the Pellantz Family, guardian of the Water Dragon, is not above the law.”
He was actually telling the Family Head to follow the law!
The Commander was about to step forward and stop the audacious child.
At that moment, Theon raised a hand and stopped him.
“I see. My apologies.”
Everyone's eyes widened in shock at Theon's response.
The Family Head had apologized first.
Unlike the people around them, who had been worried, Theon was becoming increasingly interested in Shuren's reaction.
‘For a child this young to speak to me as an equal…….’
Theon felt regret.
What if this child had not been born to a branch family, but had instead been his own son or grandson?
Among the direct-line children, none possessed talent like this.
‘I think I understand why our ancestors kept the Flamer Family in check.’
Looking back, the ancestors who had absorbed the Flamer Family and placed them beneath Pellantz rule had made the correct decision.
‘Child of Flamer. That bold attitude of yours only shines when it is backed by strength. Do you possess enough strength to support it?’
No matter how talented Shuren was, his abilities had yet to mature.
‘Even if he is a branch-family child, he is still Pellantz. I need only make him kneel beneath me and use him.’
With that thought, Theon looked at Shuren.
“This was something I should have praised instead. A genius like this has appeared in our family. As Family Head, should I not be pleased?”
Theon smiled.
‘Our family?’
Those words touched Shuren's reverse scale.
Shuren bit down on his lip and swallowed his anger.
“Shuren. Congratulations on your enrollment. I will be watching you closely.”
After saying that, Theon looked toward the Commander.
“Make every effort to ensure this child grows well.”
“Yes! I will obey!”
Leaving those words behind, Theon departed without looking back.
After the storm had swept through the auditorium, only silence remained for a long while.
***
Thanks to the Family Head's arrival, the enrollment ceremony filled with high-ranking nobles who had originally been expected not to attend.
As a result, the ceremony became extremely grand.
Only the servants, who suddenly found themselves buried beneath a mountain of same-day work, suffered for it.
Meanwhile, the trainees entering alongside Shuren looked at him with eyes full of envy.
Jake was no different.
From a child's perspective, it looked as though Shuren had received the Family Head's full attention.
But Shuren, who understood Theon's intentions, was in a foul mood.
‘That bastard played me.’
Shuren had realized it while speaking with him.
Theon had a sinister personality.
‘He really is the spitting image of that bastard Rak.’
Shuren did not know how many generations had passed, but that personality had not been diluted in the slightest.
He had inherited it perfectly from his ancestor.
‘And these idiots…….’
Shuren could vividly feel the envious and jealous gazes aimed at him.
‘Haah. What would children know?’
Theon had never viewed Shuren favorably.
Suppose the Family Head personally singled out one child during the enrollment ceremony.
And then went as far as mentioning that child by name and telling the Commander to take good care of him?
Naturally, word would spread throughout the Hatchling Knight Order.
Being envied by the trainees who had enrolled alongside him was the least of his worries.
The older classes who had entered before him would see him as a rival and start scheming against him in advance.
Shuren hated annoying situations like that.
‘Sinister bastard…….’
Theon's actions reminded him of Rak, which made Shuren feel even worse.
Pretending to be fair and righteous on the surface.
While plotting pitch-black schemes behind the scenes.
‘He's exactly like Rak!’
Shuren clenched his fist.
Perhaps the reason the Flamer Family had recently fallen into such a sudden crisis was because that bastard had become Family Head.
The newly enacted law that had almost stripped them of the Pellantz surname was proof enough.
‘The more I think about it, the angrier I get.’
Shuren had always known the day would come when he drew attention.
But he had not expected the Family Head himself to appear and make the first move like this.
‘So that's how you want to play it?’
Shuren decided he needed to bring Theon down as quickly as possible.
The man was certain to become an even greater obstacle in the future.
To restore the Flamer Family's former glory and tear down everything Rak had built, the current Family Head had to disappear.
‘I will cut off your head myself.’
With that vow, Shuren once again stoked his hatred for the Pellantz Family.
***
Inside the inner palace where the Family Head handled his affairs—
Theon Pellantz finished his schedule for the day and quietly reflected on what had happened.
“Something that happened today seems to be weighing on your mind.”
Seeing Theon's troubled expression, his Attendant Knight cautiously spoke.
“Yes. It concerns me somewhat.”
Theon adjusted his posture before speaking.
“You saw him too. That boy Shuren is exceptional, even among children his age.”
“I agree.”
“He would not fall short even compared to the highest-ranked trainees currently training with the Hatchling Knight Order.”
“To that extent?”
“I am speaking of his talent, of course. His current visible strength still has a long way to go.”
“I am somewhat concerned. Is that child not learning the swordsmanship of the Flamer Family? For such an anomaly to appear while we have spent nearly two hundred years wiping out their bloodline…….”
“I know what concerns you. But there is no need to worry.”
Theon reassured his Attendant Knight.
“That child's ability will invite jealousy. I personally went there today and deliberately praised him, so even more attention will fall upon him. Do you truly think he can withstand all that envy and resentment alone?”
“What if—only if—he endures it?”
“There has never been such a case throughout history. If he endures, he will only break. But I have already planned what comes after that as well.”
“As expected of you, Family Head.”
“Tell me. Do you know why the Flamer Family fell to Pellantz in the past?”
“I do not.”
“It was because of the Calamity Flame.”
“Ah……!”
“They can never defeat us. They were born with the inherently unstable power of the Fire Dragon. Unless they solve the Calamity Flame, their achievements can never rise beyond a certain point. The further they grow, the closer they come to destroying themselves.”
Theon spoke with the corner of his mouth raised.
‘Child, what a pity. Had you been born into the direct line, you would have become an outstanding talent.’
But since Shuren had been born a child of Flamer, Theon had no choice but to crush him thoroughly.