Background

Several days later, at dawn.

Walking through the attic, he reached the end, where a hall stood.

All around stood guards, clad in armor, their gazes sharp, clearly all elites.

He walked quietly through the space, Arthur's expression unchanged, his eyes fixed on the hall at the far end. Someone was waiting for him there.

After a period of adjustment, the master of this castle, Count Polia, had finally summoned Arthur, commanding him to come here in person today for an audience.

"Please follow me; the lord is waiting for you inside."

A young man in a black formal suit, who appeared to be a steward, spoke with a smile, polite and courteous, personally guiding Arthur forward.

Arthur nodded, his expression unchanged, and followed the young man ahead.

They walked a considerable distance before finally reaching their destination.

"Please enter on your own, sir; Lord Polia is inside." At a corridor, the young man looked at Arthur with a hint of apology and said.

"Thank you." Arthur offered a smile and walked forward.

Inside, a tall, middle-aged man stood there, quietly waiting for him.

"My lord!" Without hesitation, Arthur performed a half-kneeling bow to the man.

"Rise." A dignified voice came from ahead.

Sensing Arthur's arrival, the middle-aged man across from him turned around and spoke.

Only then did Arthur stand and look up to see the other's appearance clearly.

He was a tall, imposing middle-aged man, appearing no older than his thirties, with powerful, muscular limbs that made him look very strong, and a broad face full of authority.

He wore a black robe, his expression gentle at the moment, quietly regarding Arthur.

This was the first time Arthur had been so close to and observed Count Polia. Though in Arthur's past memories, the count often patrolled various places, he was always surrounded by many guards. A private conversation like this, in Arthur's memory, was unprecedented.

Upon seeing the count's face, Arthur's body suddenly stiffened, because in his mind, the Chip's mechanical voice abruptly sounded.

"Name: Polia, Falkus. Strength: 5.7. Agility: 5.4. Constitution: 5.8."

"Ding! Target life poses extreme danger. It is recommended to keep distance!"

In an instant, Count Polia's physical data was transmitted to his mind by the Chip, shocking Arthur inwardly.

"Such stats!" He was stunned, almost unable to believe it.

He had been reborn into this world for half a year now, and the Count Polia before him was the strongest he had ever seen, far surpassing even Knight Flar from before.

Flar was already at the peak of knighthood. So what level was Count Polia before him?

Across from him, as if sensing Arthur's tension, Count Polia showed a gentle smile, looking like a kindly elder: "Don't be so nervous. Relax."

"You and I share the same surname. Your father was my cousin. If we're being honest, you could call me uncle."

Arthur paused, then quickly reacted, showing a warm and slightly shy smile: "Yes, Uncle Polia."

"That's right."

Seeming satisfied with Arthur's attitude, Count Polia nodded with a smile and said to him: "Time really flies. I still remember the way you looked three years ago when your father sent you here—so cute and shy. I never thought you'd become a knight so soon."

As he spoke, he walked behind him, took out a box, and placed it on the table in front of Arthur.

The box was large, pitch-black on the outside, but clean, its contents unknown.

"Open it. Inside is a gift from me, consider it a celebration of your promotion to knighthood." He looked at Arthur gently, like an elder caring for a junior.

Arthur stepped forward and, under Count Polia's gaze, opened the box, revealing what was inside.

Within the box lay a black longsword, clean and clear, reflecting a faint luster under the light.

"Is this... a weapon forged from Black Rui Steel?"

Looking at the weapon, Arthur gently touched it. The cold sensation made him pause, and he spoke uncertainly.

Black Rui Steel was a special metal in this world, scarce in production, only found in a very few mysterious places.

Weapons made from this Black Rui Steel were not only lightweight but also sturdy and sharp, making them very precious.

If the longsword before Arthur was truly forged from Black Rui Steel, it would be worth at least five or six thousand gold coins, roughly equivalent to a full year's income for an ordinary barony.

"Correct."

In response to Arthur's question, Count Polia maintained his smile and nodded affirmatively: "This is indeed a weapon forged from Black Rui Steel. I obtained it by chance on the battlefield in my youth and have kept it ever since."

"Come, pick it up and try it. See if it feels right." He encouraged Arthur.

Arthur didn't hesitate. He reached out his right hand and lifted the Black Rui Longsword from the wooden box.

The black longsword was even lighter than Arthur had imagined, as if weightless—even a child could lift it.

Moreover, holding this sword, Arthur faintly felt that the conduction of Life Energy within his body had become somewhat easier.

This was another property of Black Rui Steel: it allowed knights to conduct Life Energy more easily, using less power to execute Knight Secret Skills.

"It fits perfectly."

After feeling the sword in his hand for a while, Arthur spoke truthfully.

"Since it suits you, then take it."

Count Polia nodded first, looking at Arthur. After a moment, he said, as if casually: "I heard that you've been asking your father about your mother's situation?"

Hearing these words, Arthur was momentarily stunned.

In his memory, before he had transmigrated, the original owner of this body had indeed been fixated on this matter. Even after arriving at Count Polia's castle, he hadn't given up, often writing letters to his father to inquire about it.

With that in mind, Arthur could only nod along with the count's words, putting on an excited expression: "Does Your Excellency know about my mother's situation?"

Seeing Arthur's reaction, Count Polia smiled: "I've heard a little about the matter between your father and mother back then."

"Your mother, in truth, was an elf from a distant land."

"What!" Hearing Polia's words, Arthur's face showed a "shocked" expression, looking utterly genuine.

Strictly speaking, this expression wasn't entirely an act.

He had some mental preparation for such a guess, but hearing the final answer still caught him somewhat off guard.

So-called elves were a real species in this world, rumored to dwell on another continent, rarely seen in these parts.

Watching Arthur's "shocked" look, Count Polia pondered for a moment, then slowly recounted a beautiful story.

The gist of the story was a love tale between an elf who had wandered to a foreign land and a young, vigorous human lord. It sounded deeply moving, almost enough to be written into a romantic epic.

Throughout Count Polia's narration, Arthur gritted his teeth and listened, his face displaying an excited expression, quietly taking in every word of the story.

"...Unfortunately, any love that defies others' opinions is bound to invite opposition. When you were very young, some who disapproved of your father's union with the elf attacked your mother and killed her."

"You originally had a twin sister, but she also died in that incident. From then on, your father was overcome with grief. He began to hate anyone mentioning your mother, which is why he didn't want to tell you these things."

"Now that you've grown up, there are things you should know. Since your father isn't in a position to say them, let me pass them on to you in his stead." In the end, Count Polia said this.

Across from him, Arthur's face showed sorrow and emotion, his eyes faintly red, looking deeply stirred.

Seeing him like this, Count Polia nodded with some satisfaction, kindly said a few more things to Arthur, and handed him a badge symbolizing a Knight Token before seeing him out.

Arthur walked out slowly, keeping a mournful expression all the way until he reached his room.

Once inside, he closed the door, and the sorrow and emotion on his face vanished without a trace.

"A nauseating, clichéd, third-rate love story." Arthur's face was expressionless as he quietly voiced his inner judgment.

He didn't believe a word of the story Count Polia had just told.

In Arthur's memory, his father had always been a domineering and brutal man. Though he treated Arthur well, he was usually lecherous and violent, often seizing commoner girls, and when angered, would beat those he had abducted to death.

That such a man would have a romantic love story with an elf? More likely, he'd seen her, grabbed her, and forced himself on her.

Count Polia was probably too embarrassed to speak ill of Arthur's father, so he covered it up like this.

And why was Arthur so certain?

Because among the books Arthur had read before, there happened to be one epic praising love. The story in it, if you just swapped the names, was exactly the same as the one Count Polia had told.

Based on Arthur's speculation, the real truth back then was probably that his father had forcibly captured his mother and brought her to his territory, originally just to satisfy his desires. But it resulted in Arthur's mother becoming pregnant, giving birth to Arthur and his possibly existing sister.

After a few years, perhaps when vigilance slackened, Arthur's mother seized the chance to escape, taking Arthur's sister with her. Whether she was killed or successfully fled in the end was unknown.

Arthur guessed that successful escape was more likely; otherwise, his sister would have been more likely to be left behind.

"But if that's really the case, then this body's powerful talent and his father's high regard for him make sense." Thinking this, Arthur murmured to himself.

In this world, elves and humans rarely produced offspring.

According to records, unions between elves and humans rarely resulted in children, but when they did, the half-elf hybrid would combine all the strengths of both parents, possessing formidable talents in every aspect—a natural-born genius.

Though it was hard for humans and elves to conceive, half-elves didn't have this problem. They could reproduce normally with either humans or elves, and their descendants would even inherit the half-elf's powerful talents.

Arthur's father in this world was someone with weak knightly talent; the knight bloodline in his body was nearly spent, and he had no other heirs. Suddenly having Arthur as a successor, he naturally treasured him like a jewel, placing great hopes on him.

On the other side, for Arthur's mother, a half-elf descendant like this was equally rare, so she decisively seized the chance to take Arthur's sister. The reason she didn't take Arthur was likely because, as the heir, he was watched too closely for her to succeed.