Chapter 232

The unexpected declaration from the Sword Master brought an unwelcoming silence that did not fit the tense atmosphere of the great hall.

Aristocrats were all doubting their ears and looking at each other, soon, their eyes widened in disbelief.

“The Sword Master?”

The great hall fell so quiet, one could hear a pin drop.

Within that sudden hush, Logan’s eyes slowly changed.

His wavering gaze steadied, and his agape mouth firmly closed.

An expression that indicated a resolute decision.

Patrick, who has been watching his son, seemed somewhat relieved.

‘The Sword Master has acknowledged Logan.’

How he had appeared in the great hall at this moment.

Why he behaved in such a manner.

Despite the puzzling situation, it didn’t matter anymore.

Knowing the painstaking dilemmas his son had been considering, Patrick could only breathe a sigh of relief.

Thus, the most influential father and son remained silent.

In the stillness of the silent hall, the Sword Master opened his mouth again.

“I have heard that the kingdom’s people have made up their minds. Please make a firm decision for the sake of the citizens who have suffered from the years of calamity, Your Majesty.”

His Majesty.

The resonance of the word made Logan, sitting in the regent’s seat, quiver with emotion.

His clenched fists and trembling lips seemed to express the turmoil within.

But as his tightly sealed lips opened, a clear and resonant voice spread as if no tremor had ever been present.

“I accept that oath.”

Then.

“Gasp.”

“This is…”

“So…”

Astonished exclamations from the nobility flowed throughout the once-quiet great hall.

Logan, with a firm expression, declared his unwavering resolve before all.

“I, Logan McLain, hereby accept the will of all within this land and proclaim the beginning of a new dynasty!”

“Oh!”

Cheers erupted in the great hall, announcing the beginning of a new era.

After which, Patrick McLain’s voice resonated throughout the hall.

“Ministers shall prepare for the coronation, announcing the new dynasty! Prepare for the start of a new era!”

“Yes!”

Declaration of the new kingdom.

As news began spreading rapidly from the palace.

Logan was facing his master, who had appeared in a way he had never anticipated.

* * *

“Master, what on earth is going on?”

“I was determined to do this since I set foot on the battlefield. The loser must follow the victor. For the sake of this kingdom’s people.”

The Sword Master’s answer to Logan’s question was firm, and his changed tone was hard to adapt to.

“…Please speak comfortably, Master. It’s uncomfortable when you suddenly act like this.”

Although Logan said it with an awkward face.

“No, it’s not right. If I, being a master, do not use honorifics towards the monarch, the authority of the new dynasty we are about to start will not prevail.”

“I am uncomfortable. I wish you’d speak more comfortably, at least when it’s just the two of us.”

Despite Logan’s request, the Sword Master’s attitude was inexorable.

“No, a leaking jar leaks from both inside and out. It’s right to do it this way. In that regard, there’s something I need to ask forgiveness for.”

“…Yes?”

“I have escaped the prison and hurt some knights rashly. I ask Your Majesty to punish this criminal.”

Thump.

Confronted with his master’s ever more painstaking attitude, Logan was at a loss for words.

But after a while.

Logan sighed deeply and reached out to his master.

“Stand up. I have never once thought of you as a criminal.”

At those words, the Sword Master, who had been bowing, slightly twitched his eyebrows.

But his attitude remained unchanged.

“I thank Your Majesty for your mercy.”

With a still awkward tone, the Sword Master stood up.

Watching him rise, Logan began to confide the worries he had been harboring in his heart.

“Did you know? Up until your arrival, I had been full of concerns.”

“Yes. I presumed as much.”

“…Yes?”

“That’s why I came to dispel those hesitations, Your Majesty.”

“Ah…”

With his remarks, the master’s face, still beaded with cold sweat, came into view once again.

Stiff expressions and unnaturally pale complexions, unlike that of an Aura User.

‘Master…’

A master whom Logan had once admired without limit and later even disputed.

However, even at the apex of their extreme conflicts, his master had been thinking about him.

From the moment the Esperanza army surrendered without warning to the incident in the great hall.

A confrontation with swords to defend one’s convictions but preparing for the aftermath of a defeat.

‘What if I had been defeated?’

Suddenly, Logan recalled the final moment of their duel.

The Sword Master’s strength had rapidly decreased at the end, using that very sword.

Perhaps it was an attempt to capture Logan alive.

He had wielded his sword disregarding his master’s life and death.

‘Certainly…’

Once his thoughts began to steer in that direction, an unfounded conviction followed.

‘Even if I didn’t have the luxury to do so…’

He felt ashamed.

So, Logan blurted out unintentionally.

“Master, that time…”

“Let bygones be bygones. Now it’s time to prepare for the future.”

However, the master cut off the question before it was even finished.

“…You don’t regret it?”

“What is there for me to regret now? I’ve already settled my heart. Rather, there’s something I would like to confirm with Your Majesty.”

“Yes?”

“The invasion of the empire you mentioned before, how certain are you?”

His deep blue eyes, which had already discussed this subject before, reopened it.

But the situation was clearly different now.

In the past, the Sword Master, suspecting the odds and demanding solid evidence, considered it a mere excuse by Logan to justify his rebellion.

Yet now.

“100%. The empire will certainly invade. I assure you again, I’d stake my life on it.”

There was no reason to make excuses in the current state.

Nevertheless, Logan’s voice was devoid of any hesitation.

‘No. It must have been the same before, I just ignored it because of my own stubbornness.’

Having heard the answer he wanted and admitted that it was his arrogance, the Sword Master finally sighed deeply.

“Once again, I pledge. I, Felix Esperanza, will give my life to thwart the empire’s invasion and protect this kingdom.”

Thump.

Logan’s face expressed nothing but awkwardness as the Sword Master knelt again.

* * *

“Our Crown Prince has become the king!”

“Really?!”

“So what happens to us now?”

“What do you mean what happens, we’ll obviously live better!”

“Is that so?”

“Uh… I don’t know! Anyway, if the Crown Prince has become the king, it’s a reason to celebrate, right?”

“Indeed!”

“Quiet!”

The knights barely managed to calm down the murmurs and chatter as they organized the lineup on the wide road leading from the McLain Town and throughout McLain territory, now filled with voices praising the new king and eagerly awaiting the start of a new nation.

Conversely, the people of other territories, not included in McLain, could not hide their lukewarm response.

“A new country?”

“Does this mean Grandia isn’t Grandia anymore?”

“They say it will become McLain.”

“What’s that about? It’s strange…”

The streets were filled with not so favorable murmurs.

Even after declaring a new dynasty, at the end of the day, the kingdom’s name was less important to citizens than their livelihood.

However, for the new kingdom’s leadership, desperate to announce a new era, that beginning was very important.

So, the great hall meeting, where preparations for the coronation were being made, was more intense than usual.

“The order of events…”

“The locations will be the great hall, in front of the palace, and the procession around the capital…”

“Isn’t a procession too much? Better to…”

The hall was filled with the heated discussion of ministers, and the nobility from each territory, invited for the coronation, were attending without fail.

In a sense, all nobility had agreed to the beginning of a new dynasty.

But while they were supposed to be watching the ministers’ debate, some nobles’ gaze was elsewhere.

At the grand seat of the great hall.

Next to Logan McLain, the knight now seated on the throne.

Their attention was directed towards the Sword Master, Felix Esperanza.

The nobles who had discussed among themselves before coming to the capital found this situation troubling.

– If the McLain dynasty begins like this, the king will have absolute power.

– Absolute power absolutely corrupts. We must unite for the sake of the country.

– As nobles, we must protect our rights at the very least.

– We shall be loyal to the new king, but we must unite to ensure our voice is heard.

The nobles had covertly agreed upon these points, thinking that the Sword Master’s family, the Esperanza duchy, which had fought against the McLains until the end, and still preserved its name by Logan McLain’s respect, could become the centerpiece of the ‘Noble Faction’ they intended to form.

An expectation to lead the collapsed family.

Yet, the head of that family, the Sword Master thought to have fallen, was standing right next to the new king.

Moreover.

“In times of turmoil, the costs of the coronation should be minimized…”

“That cannot be, Your Majesty. The dynasty that will lead us for the next millennium cannot start humbly. If funds are lacking, I will open the coffers of Esperanza to ensure the funds. Please focus solely on elevating the dynasty’s prestige.”

This was the man who showed the utmost respect towards his once disciple.

The nobles’ plan to initiate a new Noble Faction crumbled at that moment.

“You still haven’t fully recovered, there’s no need for you to exert yourself so early.”

“It’s alright. By standing firm here, I ensure that no one harbors different intentions at the start of the new dynasty.”

The Sword Master’s forehead was barely sweating, but his stubbornness was evident even if his health wasn’t fully recovered.

The Sword Master, who had lived a politically neutral life, knew the nature of the nobility all too well.

Thus, he is determined to firmly lay the foundation of the new dynasty, just as he declared.

Merely standing there was enough to ensure his purpose.

And as the new Noble Faction’s birth went unnoticed by anyone.

“Then, let’s set the coronation schedule as decided.”

The meeting in the great hall came to an end.

Officially determining the day the McLain dynasty would begin.

* * *

Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.

“Stick to the formation!”

“Maintain the distance!”

“You there! A little to the right!”

Along the broad road that stretched from the gates of Grang’s inner castle to the entrance of the royal palace.

The multitude crowding the wide street moved left and right, following the soldiers’ orders.

“Why are we starting outside the palace gates…”

“I heard that His Majesty wanted to commemorate his first journey to the royal palace by starting the coronation there.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I don’t really know either.”

“Well, as long as we see the new His Majesty’s face, we’re supposed to reap blessings, right?”

“Indeed!”

“Quiet!”

As the knights managed to arrange the murmuring crowds, order was finally established on the wide road around noon.

Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.

The sound of drums resumed, and a mighty voice echoed throughout the entire street.

– Long live Logan McLain, His Majesty, the founder of McLain Kingdom!

With that proclamation, the western gate of the inner fortress opened, and a procession slowly made its entrance.

A man in ornate armor, aboard a steed boasting an imposing figure and a blazing mane, made for an eye-catching sight as he, with hair matching the horse’s mane, led his entourage slowly into the inner sanctum.

Yet, it was noteworthy that all of his attendants were knights, rather than mere servants.

As the knights, dignified and garbed in stunning armor matching the king’s, began their march.

“Wow!”

Cheers powerful enough to startle a Rubens’ breed horse used to the battlefield reverberated throughout the capital, proclaiming the commencement of the new kingdom.

“Long live the kingdom!”

“Long live McLain Kingdom!”

“Long live His Majesty Logan McLain!”

Endless cheers of ‘long live’ resonated in all directions.

Logan had to suppress his steed’s startled reactions with his aura, and only then could he move forward, step by step.

Following his path, petals were strewn about him.

From the roofs of houses on either side of the road and far beyond, endless petals created an almost ethereal atmosphere.

Amid this tumultuous and vibrant scene, Logan surveyed his surroundings and steadily rode forth.