Ancient Imperial Calendar Year 1813
Since Seth's death, time has flown by like water. Years have followed each other. I didn't even understand how time passed so quickly.
Seth's suicide was a trauma for his friends and men, and a great shock for the Western People.
Now the position of heir that I have been chasing for years is mine. Of course, there is the other side of the coin.
Since the last war did not take place because of Seth's suicide, many people have doubts about whether I deserve the position of Heir.
I will graduate from the Academy soon and meet my father face to face for the first time in my life.
Ricardo had a vague excitement. He couldn't understand how the four years of the Blood Academy had ended.
Ricardo had developed a lot physically in the past four years.
He was 1.89 meters tall, muscular, with long blood-red hair that reached just below his neck.
His mustache and beard had started to grow noticeably.
Those who saw Ricardo turned around and looked again.
They lost themselves in front of his handsomeness and magnificence, men and women alike.
The Blood Academy had organized a graduation ball for its students who were about to graduate.
It was mandatory to attend this ball in pairs.
Ricardo was lying on his bed, his left foot crossed over his right foot, his hands clasped behind his head, thinking about who he should go to the ball with.
"Hmm, who should I take to the ball? Marilin is my childhood friend. I don't want to upset her, but let's face it. We can't have a future together. Sometimes I say, 'If only she were not of my lineage, haaa, parting ways is best.'"
Ricardo got out of bed, took a pen and paper, and started writing a letter.
It was an old Academy tradition for male students to ask female students to go to the ball with them by letter at the Blood Academy.
"To Lady Arnheid Payrist, my distant relative from the Payrist Dynasty,
I hope you will grant me the honor of going to the ball with you.
May my last day at this Academy, where we have accumulated many memories, be crowned with your smile.
Signed: Ricardo Kislavein."
Ricardo waited until night to deliver his letter to Arnheid; otherwise, it would attract too much attention and cause a great commotion.
Ricardo quietly approached Arnheid's room in the dead of night.
Ricardo sensed Arnheid's presence; she was not yet asleep.
"She is not yet asleep. This is better. At least I can deliver the letter by hand."
Ricardo knocked on the door three times. Then Arnheid got up from her chair and approached the door.
"Who is it?" she said in a low voice.
"It's me, Ricardo."
Arnheid opened the door excitedly when she heard Ricardo's voice.
"Good evening, Heir of the Dynasty. What brings you here at this hour?"
"Good evening, Lady Arnheid. I won't take up too much of your time, if you'll allow me."
Ricardo gently handed his letter to Arnheid.
Arnheid was very surprised; she even froze for a few seconds.
Arnheid excitedly took the letter. She didn't need to read it to know what it contained, but there was a question on her mind.
"Heir of the Dynasty, not just me, almost the entire Academy thought you were going to the ball with Marilin."
Ricardo agreed with this thought. Marilin's attitudes and actions had given people the image of a lover over the past years.
"There are some reasons, Arnheid. In short, I can't go with her."
Arnheid got worried.
"Did you fight, Heir of the Dynasty?"
"No, no, there are just some reasons I can't explain. Never mind. Will you come to the ball with me?"
Arnheid, although happy that Ricardo chose her, bowed her head. She felt very sorry for Marilin.
She thought they were a good couple. They were very good together.
"I accept your offer, Heir of the Dynasty, but I think you should attend this ball with Marilin."
Ricardo understood where this conversation was going. He wanted to go to his room without further ado.
"Who I go with is my business, Lady Arnheid. Good night."
Arnheid thought she had made the wrong decision, but it was too late. She regretted it, but she was happy to go to the ball with her savior.
"I'm sorry, Marilin. Forgive me, but all is fair in love and war."
Arnheid excitedly entered her room and started dancing. She couldn't sleep until morning because of excitement.
The next morning, the whole academy was getting ready for the ball.
While the students were choosing their outfits,
The Academy Masters were preparing the decorations of the Great Hall for the ball and the food and drinks that would be served to the students.
Ricardo and Marco were drinking outside the academy in a quiet place with a nice view to get away from all this activity and stress, and were chatting about the years that passed.
"Time has passed very quickly, hasn't it, Heir of the Dynasty? Just yesterday we were kids trying to direct aura and mana, now we are graduating from the Academy at the age of 18."
"Hmm, it really has, Marco. The day I first held the sword, the day I created my mana veins, and even the day we joined the Academy seem like yesterday to me."
Ricardo and Marco clinked their glasses and drank to each other, refilling their glasses that were empty in seconds.
While the duo was laughing and having fun, a few other people who wanted to relax a bit had come to the venue.
"Greetings to the Heir of the Dynasty," they all greeted Ricardo at the same time.
"Welcome, come and join us."
The group consisted of Ricardo's closest friends Jack, Jacob, Benjen, Heinricht, Jonas, and Osiris.
They looked like they had come to pressure him.
The later hours of the night passed with laughter and fun.
The wine, whiskey, and vodka ran out one after another. Almost everyone in the group was so drunk that they couldn't even see the end of their noses.
Ricardo, who was a little sober, performed a healing spell.
Slowly recovering from his drunkenness, Ricardo performed healing spells on the others one by one and woke them all up.
"Ahhh, my head hurts so bad," Benjen complained.
"Ah aaah, my head, damn it. What was that drinking, aaah my head," Jack shouted.
Everyone in the group except Ricardo was complaining about their headaches.
Ricardo approached the owner of the place and left a bag full of money on the table.
"This should cover what we drank."
The owner of the place counted the money quickly, bowed his head in fear, and said in a trembling, fearful voice.
"A-a little... H-heir... V-v... th-this... th-this... a-a little... sh-short..."
Ricardo was surprised.
"How is it short? Even though I gave all the money I had on me? Although we drank so much, I would be surprised if it was enough," Ricardo thought.
Ricardo approached his friends who were writhing on the ground and felt a little embarrassed when he saw their state.
"Oh man, it's a good thing we closed the place, or we would have been disgraced. Does anyone have money?"
The group paid the rest of the bill. The owner of the place wanted to help after seeing their miserable state.
"Here, drink this. It's a bit bitter, but it helps you get over the effects of the drink."
The group had never seen this brown drink served in small cups before.
"What is this?" asked Osiris.
"It's called coffee, sir. I had it brought from the Central Lands. It's a very popular drink there. I've even heard that coffee is served to a family who come to ask for a hand in marriage."
"What does 'asking for a hand in marriage' mean?" asked Jacob.
"It is a tradition in the Central Lands, sir. If two people decide to get married, the man's side goes to ask the girl's family. As you can understand, it is something like getting permission from the girl's family for marriage.
You see, if the girl's father does not give his daughter away, the wedding will never take place. Of course, from what I have heard, in such cases, men kidnap the girl they love.
When this happens, the marriage becomes mandatory. Of course, this is not a common thing. Such situations are mostly seen when the girl's father's stubbornness is not going to be broken. But the consequences are severe. The girl's relationship with her father may become strained; they may even never reconcile. But as I said, this is not a common situation. They usually give the girl away and have an engagement, henna night, and wedding."
"Look, this is very different information. I'm surprised. But what surprises me even more is, how do you know this?"
The owner smiled.
"Because I was born, raised, and married in the Central Lands. Of course I know."
"Oh, so you come from the Central Lands. Then why did you come to the West, even to the very center of the West, Kislathor?"
The owner of the place, who did not expect this question from Ricardo, answered calmly and cheerfully.
"To be honest, things were not going well in the Central Lands. The current Dynasty Lord of the Costin Dynasty is a complete dictator who has crushed the people under heavy taxes.
While his sycophants live in prosperity and wealth, half of the population is poorer than the poor. Corruption, murders, and many crimes that I cannot name have become everyday occurrences. The Central Lands are like hell."
What the owner of the place told the group was shocking.
The Central Lands, which appeared from the outside to have a very powerful army, had rotted from the inside.
While the people lived in misery, the sycophants of the Dynasty Lord lived in prosperity and wealth.
"By the way, we never asked what your name is. I feel sorry for you."
The owner of the place, wiping his tears, answered Ricardo's question.
"Ahmet Palaiagolos. I am a member of the fallen Palaiagolos Dynasty."
"I feel sorry for you, Ahmet, but you have overcome all difficulties and started from scratch. You have earned my respect."
Ahmet enjoyed his conversation with Ricardo.
"Contrary to the rumors, you are a very good person, Heir of the Dynasty."
"What kind of person am I according to the rumors?"
"It is not my place to say, Heir of the Dynasty. Please forgive me."
"Don't be afraid. Tell me so I can hear what the people say about me."
"Well, they say you are a cruel, ruthless, extremely handsome person who makes enemies fear and friends trust. Of course, there are a few more things. For example, one of them is about you not showing any interest in your lover."
The atmosphere suddenly became serious. Ricardo's murderous intent made the air unbreathable.
Ricardo grabbed Ahmet's neck and squeezed until the mark of his hand appeared. In a thick, deep, and angry voice, he said.
"Tell those bastards, if they continue to spread such rumors, I will feed them all to the monsters in Kerbel."
Ricardo threw Ahmet down hard, turned around, and left the place.
Ahmet was out of breath, in shock, speechless with fear. He had never seen anything like this before.
There was silence as Ricardo and his group headed towards the academy.
No one dared to speak or chat with Ricardo, but this silence was becoming unbearable.
Marco finally broke the silence.
"Heir of the Dynasty."
"Did you know about these rumors?"
No one spoke up; they just shook their heads as if to say no.
Their silence made Ricardo even angrier.
"So that's how they gossip about me. I'll show them. If I don't build towers out of all their heads, they shouldn't call me Heir of the Dynasty."
Marco couldn't take it anymore.
"Ricardo, please calm down. You always make calm and rational decisions. What happened now? Besides, I don't even have a lover."
"Marco, didn't you understand who the rumors said my lover was?"
"Yes, I understand. I'm not stupid. My sister. My sister who is madly in love with you. But tell me, Ricardo, are they lying? Did you never show any interest in her? Did you ever give her any face while she had an unrequited love for you? Instead of my sister Marilin, whom you've known for ten years, you chose Arnheid, whom you've known for only three years. TELL ME, RICARDO, ARE THEY LYING? Haa ha, forgive me. I suddenly lost my temper. Forgive me, Heir of the Dynasty."
Ricardo hadn't expected such a reaction. He didn't know Marco had kept so much inside.
"Lift your head, Marco. You're right. I have no right to talk about what you're saying. Let's go. It's late. Let's talk about this tomorrow with a calm mind, okay?"
Marco nodded. Both of their faces had fallen. The smiles that hadn't left their faces all day had been replaced by pessimism.
The next day.
Ricardo and Marco thought it was time to talk about some things.
Their friends who had witnessed the incident last night were also waiting in case a fight broke out.
Marco clasped his hands and started talking. He had a very serious air.
"Alright, Ricardo. Tell me. What did you find in that girl that you couldn't find in Marilin?
Why don't you respond to my brother's feelings? Why do you keep hurting Marilin? When you ascend to the throne, you will have many wives. Let her be one of them."
When Marco finished speaking, it was Ricardo's turn.
Ricardo's face and aura had a serious but emotional air.
"Because I always saw her as my brother.
I never looked at her the way she looked at me.
When I ascend to the throne, I don't want her to see her children killed by assassins. She can't be happy with me, Marco. I care about both of you. You are like brothers to me. I don't want you to suffer.
Because of me, your grandfather, my master Richard, died, and now I don't want my grandchildren's children to die for the throne."
Marco swallowed at these words. He had shouted at him and felt bad for the things he had said.
"I understand, Heir of the Dynasty. We are grateful for the honor of you seeing us as your brothers. But I don't think Marilin will give up.
She is a very stubborn person, and a stubborn person will never stop until she gets what she wants. She will probably wait for you, even if years pass."
Ricardo stood up and put his hand on Marco's shoulder.
"Well, it's her choice whether to wait or not. But I hope she finds someone better than me."
Everyone stared at Ricardo. Their eyes had an expression like "What the hell is this guy talking about?" It didn't take long for Ricardo to realize this.
"What are you looking at?"
"What do you think?" said Osiris, a little sarcastic and a little questioning.
When Ricardo didn't understand, Jacob intervened.
"Heir of the Dynasty, do you think there is a better man than the heir to the throne in the Western Lands? Do you really believe that?"
Ricardo was a little bit right in the face of these reactions.
"Actually, you have a point, but the world is very big. You never know who will show up where and how," Ricardo said, a little smugly and a little seriously.
Ricardo and Marco's tension had given way to a humorous conversation. Everyone was in a good mood as the ball approached.