Episode 47
Chapter 19: The Banquet (Part 2)
As the master arrived, the guests began filing into the Garden of Blades.
Delegations from the Biment Empire and various kingdoms, the Biment Royal Guard, the Special Forces, the Dragon King’s Knights, the Iblliano family, the Tuko family, the Keng family, the Black King’s Order, the Ghost Corps… all of them.
Each one hailed from a prominent house, each figure renowned far and wide. As they entered one by one, the Garden of Blades—nothing more than a building—seemed to take on the regal bearing of a king itself.
It was as if the garden was silently declaring: “If you wish to visit the Runkandel main estate as a guest, you must possess both honor and strength.”
Thousands of swords were planted throughout the garden, and countless footsteps echoed between them.
That alone made the scene as lavish and dazzling as the Biment Emperor’s coronation. Nearly a thousand guests had gathered at Runkandel today, embodying the family’s authority and power.
Not only the family’s guardian knights but even the servants wore proud expressions, intoxicated by the weight of that prestige. After all, to them, which family a knight or servant belonged to was a direct reflection of their social rank.
Except for Jiple, there was no family that could rival Runkandel. And since Jiple hadn’t sent a formal invitation for this banquet, the pride of Runkandel’s retainers soared sky-high.
Jin watched the entire scene alongside Siron. From the balcony overlooking the courtyard, Siron occasionally waved to the guests, and Jin responded with a respectful nod.
“This must be your first banquet,” Siron said.
“Yes, Father.”
Jin had attended banquets of other families a few times in his previous life, thanks to his magic tutor, but this was his first time at a banquet hosted by the Runkandel main house—even across both lives.
Before his reincarnation, whenever the family held a banquet, he was forced to hide like a criminal, never allowed to enter the hall. As the youngest pureblood who had only just reached first rank at twenty-five, it was a source of shame.
“But now, here I am, the guest of honor alongside my father. Only after dying once before.”
The feeling was both proud and bitter. If emotions could be measured, the bitterness outweighed the pride.
Still, Jin kept his expression neutral and waited for his father’s next words.
“As you know, our family rarely holds banquets.”
“Yes.”
“We only hold them to celebrate truly significant achievements. Your accomplishments are that remarkable.”
“Thank you, Father.”
Siron lightly ruffled Jin’s hair. Jin was startled but kept his composure.
“How many guests do you think have come?”
“About a thousand, I’d say.”
“Right. That’s what I was told as well. Compared to the last banquet seven years ago, that’s roughly two hundred more guests. Do you know what that means?”
Jin didn’t hesitate.
“It means that over the past seven years since the last banquet, our family’s influence has only grown stronger.”
Siron smiled with satisfaction.
“Exactly. Banquets with a thousand guests happen in other families too… but every single one of these thousand is exceptional. There’s not a single mediocre or worthless person among them.”
Jin nodded.
As Siron said, the thousand guests gathered in the Garden of Blades were truly the brightest stars of the world—leaders among billions of people.
And at the very pinnacle stood Siron Runkandel himself.
“All I’ve done these past seven years is train by slaying monsters in the Black Sea. Yet the family’s prestige continues to rise because I am the only Ascendant Knight of this era.”
Jin waited respectfully for his father’s next words, and Siron gave a wry smile.
“That also means… if I were to disappear, most of these people would likely turn their backs on Runkandel.”
Jin knew this better than anyone.
Without his father, Siron Runkandel, the family would never have reached this level of power. Though Runkandel and Jiple were the two great families of the world, without Siron, the gap between them would widen drastically.
The world would inevitably fall under Jiple’s sole dominance. Even the Biment Empire, which balanced between the two, would likely side with Jiple.
“I wonder how the youngest will respond.”
Siron had had similar conversations with his other children before.
When he posed the question, “If I were gone, and people turned their backs on Runkandel, what would you do?” most children answered uniformly:
“That would never happen, Father.”
Or, “How could you even say you’ll disappear, Father?”
Some even naively claimed they would become the next Ascendant Knight.
“Father.”
After a long silence, Jin quietly called out.
“Speak, my son.”
“If you’re gone and they truly abandon Runkandel… if Jiple then presses down hard and the family falls beyond recovery…”
Jin paused and met his father’s gaze.
“I will leave the family.”
Siron’s eyes instantly flared with anger.
“What? You said you’d leave?”
“Yes. If Runkandel collapses simply because you’re gone, then it’s ultimately the failure of the next head. I have no intention of dying a meaningless death under an incompetent leader.”
The bluntness of his answer was shocking. Siron’s anger flared briefly, but curiosity outweighed it.
“Go on.”
Jin exhaled deeply.
“How many weaknesses do you think we hold over them?”
“Weaknesses?”
“Yes. Take the Duke of Bern over there. As head of the Bern family, he managed to steal imperial treasures from the Emperor and still attend this banquet unscathed. That’s because he owes us a debt.”
“And the man smoking on the left side of the courtyard—is that Lantz Kleber? I’m a bit confused since I’ve only seen his portrait. Anyway, Lantz, the greatest warrior, once hired us to kill three of Jiple’s mages.”
“Over there, Miss Charlotte Herald is a gambling addict who secretly sold off her family’s heirlooms. We recovered them on her behalf, but the Herald family still hasn’t paid us back.”
“And the woman behind Charlotte is the mistress of Marquis Bellado. Originally a concubine of the Biment royal family, she was exiled by purebloods who feared her genius as a mage. Marquis Bellado has been requesting our protection for her for years.”
“And that person is…”
“Enough.”
Siron waved his hand gently.
“You’ve been looking through the family’s contracts. That’s only allowed for the stewards. Did Luna show you? Don’t worry, I won’t scold you. Just be honest.”
“No. I asked Viego to return the sword I took from him earlier. It was a sword I didn’t need.”
“Haha, the mountain keeps growing.”
“Just from what I skimmed, there are this many weapons—not swords, but Runkandel’s true assets. The confidential contracts only you and Mother can access must list even more.”
“So you’re saying that even without me, the next head could use these secrets to protect the family?”
“That depends on their negotiation skills. You’re the strongest, so you don’t need to negotiate. But if a non-Ascendant Knight leads Runkandel, that’s a different story.”
Siron nodded slowly and grinned.
“That’s true. But, youngest, remember: we’re not the only ones holding secrets. Jiple has plenty of weaknesses of their own.”
“Sure. But Jiple has no justification to wield those weaknesses recklessly.”
“No justification? Why not?”
“Because playing the villain is Runkandel’s role. No matter what dirty things Jiple does behind the scenes—whether forbidden magic experiments at the Colon Ruins or mass-producing seventh-rank mages—they can’t openly act like villains the way we do.”
“Haha, revenge, huh? Well, revenge only works if you’re alive. I understand your thoughts. Not bad.”
Jin nodded silently. He felt a twinge of disappointment that his father’s evaluation was harsher than expected.
“Well, that’s still pretty good. Father’s always been a tough judge.”
“Not bad.”
Though he said that, Siron was inwardly pleased. To him, Jin’s answer was realistic and effective.
His other siblings had likely considered similar thoughts but lacked the courage to voice the possibility of Runkandel’s downfall in front of Siron. Jin, however, spoke plainly and confidently.
He didn’t spout nonsense or act recklessly; his attitude was coldly rational. That was what Siron admired most.
“It’s a shame I only had you late in life. You’re like a blend of Luna’s talent, Mary’s wildness, and Dipus’s fighting spirit.”
Ten years at the shortest, fifteen at most.
Siron estimated he had that much time left to hold the family headship.
It would be interesting to see if the youngest could overturn the succession within that span.
“The guests seem to have mostly arrived. Let’s head inside.”
Beneath the dark night sky, countless lights flickered beyond the gates of the Sword Garden. They came from the camp set up on the outer plains by the attendants who had accompanied the banquet guests.
They would have to sit in those tents, waiting out the three-day-long feast with growing boredom.
“Yes, Father.”
“Oh, and once the banquet ends, I have something important to discuss with you. Stay on standby until you’re called.”
The qualification to become a knight-in-training!
That was what this was about. Jin had already heard bits of it from his uncle before and had an inkling, but hearing it directly from his father felt entirely different.
‘Once the banquet is over, I’ll be leaving the family for a while.’
Before becoming a knight, what was needed was honor.
After the feast, Jin would set out to earn that honor by wandering the world.
During that time, he wouldn’t be bound by any restrictions from the family, so he could train freely—not just in swordsmanship, but also in magic and spiritual energy.
Based on memories from his previous life, he might even seek out rare opportunities and divine artifacts.
‘These three days of the banquet are going to feel awfully long.’
Stepping out onto the balcony and heading toward the central hall, the bright glow of a massive chandelier bathed Siron and Jin’s faces.
Just as Siron was about to begin greeting the guests from the second floor, three head butlers hurried over to him.
“Master of the house, unannounced guests have arrived without sending a formal invitation. How shall we proceed?”
Unannounced guests.
They meant Ziphl.