The Choice of Paths

Castle hall.

Candlelight flickered gently, illuminating the intricate patterns on the tapestries hanging from the walls.

Silver cutlery and empty wineglasses remained on the long table as the maids quietly cleared away the aftermath.

Xian lounged lazily against the soft backrest of the master's seat, while Karen sat upright and properly in the seat to his left.

The banquet had already ended. After he expressed his wish to speak with Viscount Hughes alone, Ilith and Danielle promptly departed after offering graceful curtsies, leaving the two men some space.

"Your Highness, why did you wish to keep me behind alone? Do you find the castle's conditions too poor and wish to leave?"

Although Karen still wore a gentle smile, he was actually growing nervous inside. Even the fingers resting on the armrest trembled slightly.

He had escaped death many times from battlefields littered with blood and flesh. He had thought nothing in this life could cause him such emotional turmoil again, yet after meeting this Highness, he felt as nervous as if he had returned to his inexperienced youth.

After all, this Highness's status was simply too exalted! He carried the weight of the future master of 1.4 Billion humans, a weight almost equal to that of an entire continent!

"Viscount, I have an unreasonable request. Could I ask for your help?" Xian poured another glass of crimson wine and offered it to Karen.

"Your Highness, please say the word. I, Karen Hughes, swear in the name of the Black Wolf Territory Lord that I will do everything in my power to accomplish it!"

Upon hearing that, Karen immediately rose from his seat with a solemn expression.

Being able to help Prince Mingyu was both an honor and an opportunity.

He was not afraid that His Highness might ask for something. He was afraid that His Highness might ask for nothing.

As long as His Highness was not asking for his wife, Danielle, to warm his bed, he would accomplish anything else even at the cost of his life.

Well. If His Highness were willing to become his son Little Hayden's godfather, Danielle would surely be happy to accompany him for a few nights. Karen himself could loosen his belt a little too. "My attendant Berg wishes to advance into a Hunter. Do you know the requirements for a hunter to advance into a Hunter?" Xian asked.

That's all?

Karen's expression relaxed, but he promptly turned serious again. "Your Highness, for a hunter to advance into a Hunter, they must choose and consume a magical potion made from the organs of several magical beasts, such as an Eagle Eye potion, a Cat Tail potion, and so on."

"Viscount, could you help me obtain a bottle of Eagle Eye potion?"

After considering it for a moment, Xian spoke again.

Berg was best with a bow. The Eagle Eye potion should suit him better.

"Your Highness, this may be troublesome for other nobles, but for me, it is effortless."

"The bishop of the Storm Church's southern branch in the kingdom once fought alongside me in the Dragon-Lion War. We shared life and death together. With the friendship between us, he will surely gladly give me a mere potion."

The corners of Karen's lips curled upward, his rugged face brimming with confidence.

Heh. If he refuses, I'll shout throughout the church about how, when his army was surrounded and short on food and clothing during the war, he called me Father just to get a piece of Black Bread from me.

"However..." Karen abruptly changed his tone.

Just as Xian thought he was about to make some request, Karen hesitated. "Your Highness, I actually do not recommend that your attendant take the path of a Hunter. Although Hunters possess greater individual strength and advance quickly, the more powerful a Hunter becomes, the greater the risk of losing their sanity. They are suitable as weapons of war, but as attendants... even the Storm Church has now greatly reduced its cultivation of Hunters."

"You should consider it carefully. If you truly decide on it, tell me then. I will immediately mount a Black Abyss Wolf and set out to obtain the potion for you."

Karen said solemnly.

When Xian left the hall and returned to his room, he discovered that Berg had already been waiting at the door.

"My lord, there is something I ask you to decide for me."

Berg, whose sun-exposed skin was slightly reddened, dropped to one knee before him and deeply lowered his head.

"Speak."

"I learned from Sauron Knight about the later advancements available to hunters and their requirements. I hope you can decide for me, my lord. Should I take the path of a Hunter or the path of a knight?" Berg asked quietly.

"Hmm." Xian rested his chin on his hand and fell into thought.

Hunter or knight? Hunters could easily lose control, and in the future advancement process, they would also replace their magical beast organs, eventually becoming neither human nor ghost. Knights, on the other hand, regarded loyalty to their lord and responsibility as their foremost requirements. For a lord, they were undoubtedly the best profession for an attendant.

From the standpoint of his own interests, persuading Berg to choose the path of a knight should have been the right choice.

But... "Raise your head," Xian said in a low voice.

The youth slowly lifted his head, revealing a face that was still youthful yet already weathered by hardship.

There were still many bruises on his face, all inflicted by Robert before he left the village.

"Berg, how old are you?"

"Sixteen," Berg answered without hesitation.

Sixteen. On Blue Star, he would only have been a student who had just started high school, yet here, he had already lain in ambush with him on the road to kill merchants.

He had also heard from Robert that more than half of Berg's prey had been sold for money to support the village. That was why Fruit Basket Village had not needed to worry about food or taxes for several years.

At that thought, Xian's gaze gradually grew serious.

"In my hometown, there is a saying: no matter what you choose, you will regret it, so you might as well choose what you want to do now."

"So, Berg, ask your own heart. Which path do you want to choose more?"

Xian walked over to Berg and gently patted his increasingly sturdy shoulder.

He decided to return the right of choice to Berg, because Berg was not merely his attendant. He had once been his lifesaver.

Berg had saved him, and he had saved Fruit Basket Village once. Though their identities were lord and attendant, he had always felt in his heart that they were equals.

"Which path do I want to choose?"

Berg's expression became somewhat dazed at those words, and distant memories began surfacing in his mind.

"Berg, when you grow up, you will definitely become a great hunter!"

That had been his father's excited shout when he first saw him shoot an arrow.

"Hunting is the most wonderful thing in the world. You stake everything in a struggle against another life. Even death is happiness."

His father had sat by the river, swaying his fishing rod, before suddenly yanking up a large fish. River water splashed all over his face.

"Why... can I never advance?"

After waking in the dead of night, Berg had secretly watched his father smoke a pipe and sigh deeply as he looked at the game covering the walls.

"Berg, don't cry. I am happy."

During their flight, the man who had fed him all their food, only to have his chest crushed when a wild boar rammed him during a hunt, spoke weakly.

The memories came to an abrupt halt.

The final image was of himself standing in front of His Highness and being sent flying by Sauron Knight's sword.

The youth silently made his decision in his heart as well.

"My lord, I choose..."