After Gawain and Amber left, only the grandfather and granddaughter, separated by six hundred years, remained in the reception room. Modir stared toward the door for a long time before slowly withdrawing his gaze, the excitement on his face fading as well.
The old mage sat in his chair, seemingly trying hard to maintain a stern, composed expression that revealed neither joy nor anger. Yet compared with his truly poker-faced great-great-granddaughter beside him, his hastily forced blank expression still lacked polish. After adjusting his face for quite a while, the old man ultimately failed to suppress the upward curl of his lips.
"You seem very happy." Victoria's somewhat cool voice came from beside him. She had been watching the changes in her ancestor's expression all this time, and only now could she no longer resist breaking the silence. She had expected Modir to be delighted upon seeing Gawain, but she clearly had not expected him to be this delighted.
"Of course!" Modir immediately replied, no longer bothering to hide his smile. "That was Gawain Cecil! The founder of the kingdom, the pioneer in the wilderness! I never imagined that one day, I would be able to see him with my own eyes—a living, breathing legendary hero in the real world! Wouldn't you be excited to meet someone like that?"
"...The first time I met him, I was indeed excited," Victoria said, recalling her first encounters with Gawain. Then she remembered the series of trade dealings and exchanges between the Ansu Royal Family and the Southern Territory, as well as that living ancestor's highly memorable economic and diplomatic tactics. The Duchess of the Northern Territory, who had nearly lost even her dowry money back then, found her mood turning subtle. "...Afterward, all I felt was pressure. He is quite a frightening