Episode 73
“Your mother was a healer class?”
Zeke was taken aback, and Rufus nodded in confirmation.
“It’s hard to explain now since the concept of ‘classes’ has faded away.”
Though Zeke knew about classes from his past life’s mentor, he feigned ignorance.
“This is the first I’ve heard of classes.”
“As a pureblood of the Draker lineage, you must remember the blessing ceremony you underwent as a child.”
“Of course. It’s unforgettable.”
“In Draker, they call it a blessing ceremony, but in truth, it’s merely an initiation to open one’s class. Most Drakers are initiated as ‘swordsmen.’”
Rufus had an impressive understanding of the Draker bloodline’s classes.
“Swordsman class, huh. Are there other classes as well?”
“Certainly. In ancient times, people were assigned classes based on their innate talents, allowing them to hone their abilities systematically. But nowadays, with the age of knights, classes are mostly divided into knights and mages.”
“Assigning classes based on talent sounds quite logical.”
“Exactly. Those with a talent for the sword would become swordsmen, those with a talent for the bow would become archers, and so on. That’s the essence of classes.”
Zeke nodded at Rufus’s explanation.
Thinking back to the hardships he endured in the Draker family simply because he had a healer’s talent still made his blood boil.
“Wait, if my mother was a healer, then my father must have known about classes too.”
Zeke asked Rufus.
“Did Arthur Draker know about classes if my mother was a healer?”
Rufus nodded.
“He likely did.”
This raised a question for Zeke.
“If they knew I had a different talent, why did they cast me out of the family?”
If his mother was a healer, she would have understood the value of a healer’s abilities. Why, then, was he abandoned?
Zeke asked Rufus again.
“Do you know anything about the healer class?”
Rufus spoke slowly.
“I don’t know much. It’s such a rare talent that there’s hardly any record of it. But one thing is certain: my aunt, the previous head of the Agamemnon family, also had the healer’s talent.”
As Zeke suspected, the previous head of the Agamemnon family was a healer class.
Considering that only the previous head and Zeke could activate the golden mask, it seemed likely that this artifact could only be used by those with a healer’s talent.
“Was it common for healers to emerge in the Agamemnon family?”
Rufus shook his head.
“Rarely. Most were warriors like me or the elders of the family. But the head of the family was always someone with the healer’s talent.”
“Then my mother could have been the head of the family.”
“She was more than qualified. But Laura left for the Holy Kingdom before she came of age.”
Zeke was surprised by this unexpected revelation.
“The Holy Kingdom? Why did she go there?”
“She didn’t explain much. She only said she was searching for a way to save the family. Later, she left to marry Arthur Draker.”
The more Zeke learned, the more questions he had about his mother.
He pondered the emblem on the golden mask, which matched the insignia of the Holy Kingdom.
“Perhaps my mother went to the Holy Kingdom to research the healer class, hoping to purify the family’s curse with her power.”
Only one person knew the truth.
His father, Arthur Draker.
“Would he even answer if I asked him?”
It seemed the Drakers had left the cursed Agamemnon family to their fate to solidify their own power.
Moreover, in his past life, Arthur Draker had allowed Zeke to be cast out, leading to the Agamemnon family’s silent demise.
Zeke realized there were many tangled threads to unravel.
“I have a lot to uncover, step by step.”
“Zeke, I have something for you.”
Rufus removed a necklace he was wearing and placed it in Zeke’s hand.
Zeke examined the necklace. The pendant could be opened, and inside was an old photograph of a woman.
Zeke’s eyes widened at the sight of the woman’s face.
“Lord Rufus, this photo is…”
“Laura Agamemnon. Your mother.”
Zeke had never seen his mother in either of his lives.
The woman in the photo was around Zeke’s age, with long, silky hair draped elegantly to the side, exuding both grace and strength.
Zeke asked Rufus while looking at the photo.
“Did my mother have black eyes like mine?”
Rufus shook his head.
“No, Laura’s eyes were a beautiful emerald green.”
“I always thought my eyes resembled my mother’s.”
“Except for the eye color, you are the spitting image of Laura. When I first saw you, I thought she had returned.”
The other elders nodded in agreement.
Zeke closed the pendant and hung the necklace around his neck.
“Thank you, Lord Rufus. I’ll treasure it.”
Rufus looked at Zeke and spoke.
“After Laura left the family, she returned once and left a single message.”
“What did she say?”
“The child with black eyes will restore the family.”
Zeke’s expression hardened.
“Was that a prophecy from my mother?”
Rufus nodded.
“Laura was a healer class, but she was also an irregular. She was extraordinary from a young age.”
In the central continent, irregulars were not well-regarded. During the Holy Empire era, there were even religious trials and witch hunts against them.
“My mother was an irregular…”
Rufus took Zeke’s hand and said.
“More than needing the family’s support, Zeke, you are the sole heir of the Agamemnon family.”
“Haah.”
In the Agamemnon estate’s training hall, Zeke steadied his breath and swung his sword, Bahamut.
With the head of the family naming him as the heir, Zeke had to stay longer to handle various formalities.
There was still time before the martial arts tournament, so Zeke decided to follow the head’s wishes.
During his stay, Zeke began learning the Agamemnon family’s secret swordsmanship, the “Golden Swordsmanship.”
He started by studying the family’s historical records to learn the forms.
The Agamemnon family, with its long tradition, had a deep history of swordsmanship.
The inherited swordsmanship for direct descendants involved wielding both a shield and a sword.
As Zeke practiced the forms, he noticed similarities with the Paladin’s inherited swordsmanship and the Imperial style.
“Could all three swordsmanship styles share the same roots?”
The Agamemnon-style shield swordsmanship, the Golden Swordsmanship, was designed for use with full plate armor and a large kite shield.
Zeke understood why the Agamemnon people were so robust.
As he practiced the Golden Swordsmanship, he had an idea.
“The Golden Swordsmanship is well-balanced in offense and defense. If I combine it with the soul technique I learned from my former master…”
Though he couldn’t fully use the soul technique due to the unsealed dragon skill, once the skill was unlocked, combining it with the Golden Swordsmanship could create a new weapon alongside the Elemental Sword and the Dragon Slayer Sword.
Having learned the forms, Zeke activated Hersion, donned the full plate armor, and wielded Golyn’s shield and Bahamut to practice the Agamemnon’s Golden Swordsmanship.
Whoosh!
He struck with the shield, retreated, thrust with the sword, then turned to slash again.
He enhanced his agility with the Wind Technique and strengthened his attacks with aura.
Swish!
Even without creating an aura blade, Zeke’s attacks were swift and powerful enough to overwhelm an ordinary knight.
Whoom!
“Haah.”
Removing his helmet, Zeke smiled, satisfied with his movements.
He looked at Hersion and clicked his tongue.
“This is really good, but I can’t use it freely for fear of being discovered by the Empire.”
If only he could change its form, he would use it more actively.
Zeke decided to find time to meet Golyn and modify Hersion.
Having finished his training, he deactivated Hersion and left the training hall.
In the garden, he saw the Agamemnon elders surrounding Felix, instructing him in swordsmanship.
Swish!
“Don’t turn there!”
“Keep your axis steady!”
“Hold your center of gravity!”
Since the Paladin’s inherited swordsmanship and the Agamemnon’s Golden Swordsmanship had many similarities, learning from the elders would be invaluable.
But for Felix, the lessons were grueling.
“Master, please save me.”
Felix looked at Zeke with a pleading expression, but Zeke turned his head, ignoring the silent cry for help.
“Hang in there, Felix. It’s not because I’m too lazy to teach you.”
For the elders, who had been cooped up for fifty years, Felix was a welcome distraction.
Leaving Felix to be thoroughly trained by the elders, Zeke headed back inside the estate.
At that moment, the head maid approached Zeke.
“Young master, the lord is calling for you.”
The once eerie old woman had transformed over time, becoming more graceful with each passing day.
“Though, I must admit, her wheezy laughter still gives me the creeps sometimes,” Zeke thought to himself.
Following her words, Zeke made his way to the lord’s study.
When he arrived, he found Rufus’s desk buried under a mountain of documents. The Agamemnon family had reemerged into the world after fifty years, and there was no shortage of matters to attend to.
“Grandfather,” Zeke addressed him, as Rufus had requested to be called when they were alone.
Rufus looked up from the piles of paperwork and stood up as Zeke entered.
“Ah, it’s been ages since I’ve had to deal with this much paperwork. Let’s step outside for some tea.”
As they moved to the terrace, maids brought out tea for them.
Zeke took a sip and asked, “So, how have you been managing the city all this time?”
Rufus stroked his neatly trimmed beard and replied, “I left it to agents outside the estate, only making the crucial decisions and sending them by letter.”
“So, you had agents,” Zeke noted.
Rufus set his teacup down and said, “That’s actually why I called you here.”
He looked at Zeke and continued, “The Agamemnon family has long been the guardian of Mycenae. Three other families have assisted us in managing Mycenae and the surrounding territories.”
“The vassals, you mean,” Zeke said.
“Zeke, to become the official heir of Agamemnon, you must earn their recognition.”
This was a safeguard to prevent any one person from wielding unchecked power.
Zeke nodded in understanding at Rufus’s words.
“Actually, this is perfect timing. I have a request for you, Grandfather.”
“What is it? Speak your mind,” Rufus encouraged.
Zeke’s eyes gleamed with determination. “I would like you to invite the heads of those three families, along with all the lords and nobles associated with Agamemnon, to the castle.”