The Third Apostle

My name was "Luke Notos Greyrat."

As the second son of the Notos Family, I lived under tremendous pressure every day.

From the age of three, my parents arranged for the family's swordsmanship tutor and magic tutor to teach me magic and swordsmanship. To me, a three-year-old child at the time, all of it was far too difficult.

Every day, the family's swordsmanship teacher trained me until I was utterly exhausted, and magic lessons were even more like listening to a heavenly scripture. One day, I even happened to hear my magic teacher complaining to my father in a corner.

"Mr. Piremon, I have never seen such a dull-witted child. His talent for magic is basically zero. I suggest you devote more of his lesson time to the study of swordsmanship.

Continuing to have Luke study magic like this is simply a waste of time."

My stupidity made my father beat and scold me at the drop of a hat. Before I began learning swordsmanship and magic, he had clearly doted on me the most.

Although I was the second son of the family, I could feel that Father had held higher expectations for me at first.

My elder brother was much older than me, but when he was just over eight, Father arranged for him to go out and work. Only I remained at home the whole time.

But I disappointed Father.

Once, because my swordsmanship had not improved at all, he began to beat me. After beating me for about ten minutes, he seemed to grow tired as well, and when he saw my body covered in wound upon wound, he started to feel somewhat guilty.

He held me in his arms and murmured to himself:

"Why can't you be a little more promising? Why can't a second son have more prospects than the eldest son? Why do they all look down on second sons?"

Father's words left me lost in the clouds and fog, unable to understand them. It was only later that I learned Father was also the second son in his family.

He had once been very unfavored at home, but because of certain matters, his elder brother had quarreled with my grandfather, the previous head of the Notos Family, and run away from home. After that, he never returned.

Later, with no other choice, the position of family head was passed to my father. This was something my father had always brooded over.

When my grandfather was on his deathbed, he did not care at all about my father's attentive care at his side. His mouth kept calling only my father's elder brother's name.

Because of this, when I was born as the second son, my father was actually filled with expectations for me. He wanted to prove that a second son could also do better than the eldest son.

My life of study continued as before.

Although I had always worked hard, my swordsmanship was never very good. By the time I reached five years old, I had only barely reached beginner level in the North God Style.

But through my efforts, I learned reading and writing, etiquette, and dance very well. In these areas, Father also gave me some approval.

He could be considered rather relieved. As long as I did not make a move, in the eyes of others, I was still very much in line with the identity of the son of the Notos Family head.

In the eyes of outsiders, as my etiquette, appearance, and conduct became more and more proper, I would also become a very promising next-generation noble in the Asura Kingdom's aristocratic circle.

In recent years, my father also often boasted at noble dances that I was relatively promising, and this made me very happy. As long as I could make Father proud, then no matter how much effort I put in, it was worth it.

Until that man appeared, and everything changed!

When I was six, a boy about my age came to Ars. Although he had never appeared at any dances in the Asura aristocratic circle, his name had always circulated at those dances.

At four years old, he could use all advanced offensive magic, was intermediate in Water God Style swordsmanship, and had taken the Water God Reida Reia as his master.

Some people even spread the word that he had already mastered three languages: Human Language, Demon God Language, and Beast God Language, and had recently been studying Battle God Language.

Etiquette and dance were also easy as turning a hand for him. He was the grandson of the most powerful noble in the Asura royal palace, Darius Prodia Greyrat: Dolin Prodia Greyrat.

Of course, my father and I did not believe a single bit of these rumors. After all, Darius was currently the most powerful upper minister in the country.

If he wanted to build momentum for his family's heir, would that not be an extremely simple matter?

The Prodia Family and our Notos Family had also always found each other displeasing to the eye. Among the four great Greyrat families, we were the two families that looked down on each other the most.

This meant that from the very beginning, Dolin Prodia Greyrat and I would not be friends.

In the future, he would definitely be my opponent. At least, that was what I thought.

When I was six, my father brought me to attend Dolin Prodia Greyrat's birthday banquet.

At the banquet, I met my natural-born opponent.

He was about the same height as me, slightly shorter, with a rather young-looking face. When greeting nobles, his smile was a little fake. His head of fiery red hair was somewhat offensive to the eye.

But after seeing his grandfather, I felt relieved. He would definitely go bald very early.

The banquet was acceptable. Could one say, as expected of the Greyrat Family? The banquet was also held very splendidly.

What made me happy was that at the banquet, I encountered the girl I would protect for my entire life: Princess Ariel Anemoi Asura, whom my father had spoken to me about long ago.

Her eyes were more brilliant than diamonds, and her golden hair was smoother than expensive silk. Although she was only a little over four years old, she was definitely the most beautiful angel among all the women present.

What angered me the most was that Dolin actually used the excuse of the opening dance at his own birthday banquet to go ask my princess to dance.

If not for the fact that I had learned my etiquette lessons well, I would have gone up, drawn my sword, and challenged him to a duel.

Fortunately, it was probably his first time dancing as well, and he made quite a few mistakes. After he finished dancing with Princess Ariel, he disappeared somewhere.

At my next birthday banquet, I would definitely ask Princess Ariel to dance the opening dance as well.

Through my father's arrangements, my father communicated with the king and settled it so that I would become Princess Ariel's Guardian Knight at Princess Ariel's fifth birthday banquet.

This was an extremely important honor to me. Any Guardian Knight and the person they protected were very close. As long as I could become Princess Ariel's Guardian Knight, I would be able to become the bridge between Princess Ariel and our family in the future.

At the same time, I would also be inseparable from Princess Ariel in the days to come.

Very soon, the birthday banquet arrived. Although I had dressed myself very handsomely, Princess Ariel was still very shy and asked her royal father to dance the opening dance.

That was perfectly understandable, and during the ball that followed, I also successfully invited Princess Ariel to share a dance with me.

The glove on the hand I used to hold her little hand today—I intended to preserve it as an important keepsake.

After that came the king's public announcement of the appointments and dismissals of Ariel's Guardian Knights.

Naturally, I became Ariel's closest Guardian Knight, the one who would block any enemy who came for her and become her strongest shield.

After I finished my oath of loyalty, my heart was full of joy. But then an accident happened.

Dolin Prodia Greyrat, that red-haired opponent—the king read out his name. The king actually wanted him to become Ariel's Guardian Knight too. Wasn't something wrong here?

I knelt there where I was and forgot to rise. I turned to look at the red figure behind me.

His face was full of shock and confusion, and his body even seemed a little resistant!

What did that mean? Could it be that he was unwilling to become Lady Ariel's Guardian Knight?

The position I had dreamed of in my eyes had turned into a flood and a savage beast in his. If he disliked it, all the better. I hoped he would refuse the position on the spot.

What a pity, what a pity. He was not that stupid. He still walked forward and accepted the duties of a Guardian Knight.

Sigh. Living in this world, eight or nine things out of ten go against your wishes. I accepted my fate, but I was filled with confidence. I would definitely be able to gain more appreciation and favor from Her Highness the Princess than that red-haired brat.

After all, my family as a whole supported Princess Ariel, while his family supported Prince Gravel. Between the two of us, who was more important would be clear as day before the princess.

Damn it. Why did things turn out like this?

The next day, Dolin came to the palace to pay his respects to Her Highness Ariel. Just as I had expected, because his grandfather did not support Princess Ariel, and also because of his family's foul reputation in the royal capital, he was despised by Her Highness Princess Ariel's attendants. All of the attendants targeted him. Unlike the fawning and currying favor I received after arriving, he was blocked outside and could not even see the princess's face.

He actually even thought of using his title as Guardian Knight to forcibly drive away those attendants of Princess Ariel. Truly laughable.

Just when I thought he would soon slink away with his tail between his legs, something unexpected yet reasonable happened.

Ariel's attendants were preparing to attack him. You had to know that among Her Highness Princess Ariel's attendants were several children in their teens. With such a large age gap, even I was afraid this six-year-old child would be beaten into a pig's head.

The result made my jaw drop.

No, impossible. Was he really an advanced mage? Why could he use chantless magic at such a young age, and such powerful magic at that? The magic he used felt like something even my former magic teacher could not cast.

At the moment that molten lava ball was about to smash down in front of us, my mind turned into a lump of paste. All I kept thinking was, why was he so powerful?

Why had I studied so hard, yet still could not even catch up to a single hair on his hide? Why? Was this world truly so unfair? Were some people born with such powerful ability to learn?

Some people, no matter how hard they worked their whole lives, would still achieve nothing.

Before I could react, the magic ball wreathed in blazing flames passed over our heads.

He swaggered toward Ariel. No one dared stop him again, and I did not dare either. I was so frightened I could not move at all. Even now, my legs were still trembling.

He walked up to Lady Ariel and spoke to Princess Ariel in an insulting tone. Without giving Ariel any chance to refute him, he found himself an excuse not to come and fulfill his duties as Guardian Knight.

Then he left.

I still had not reacted. Hadn't he come to protect Her Highness Ariel? From his words, I felt his disdain for this position. It seemed he did not want to stay by Her Highness Ariel's side at all.

This could be considered a good thing, right? My greatest rival had directly forfeited. This way, at Princess Ariel's side, only I remained as her Guardian Knight. None of the other attendants had a status higher than mine, nor were they closer to Ariel. From that perspective, I even had to thank him.

Forget it. I would not bother with him. Perhaps Dolin and I were simply not people of the same world. I should just do the work before me properly.

The days passed one by one, and Her Highness Ariel's relationship with us grew better and better.

She was actually a very easy person to get along with. After spending a long time together with us, she would chat with us about all sorts of topics every day.

Recently, Her Highness Ariel had been racking her brains over whether or not she should fight for the throne. All of her attendants, myself included, supported Her Highness Ariel.

If Her Highness Ariel did not fight for the throne, then she could only become a beautiful vase in Asura's noble circles, without any power at all.

Once Prince Gravel rose to power, he would definitely arrange for Princess Ariel to marry some noble he needed to win over, or a prince from another country.

That was certainly not something we wanted to see. I even thought of the figure of that red-haired boy. If his magic was so powerful, then perhaps His Highness Prince Gravel might even betroth Princess Ariel to him. That way, not only could he rope in the Prodia Family, he could also rope in a powerful mage.

This was very possible, so I absolutely had to support Princess Ariel in ascending the throne, to ensure that such a thing would not happen.

Once we decided to do it, we did it. Through the forces behind each of us, we built momentum for Lady Ariel, while also searching for a way to break the deadlock.

As expected of Lady Ariel, her speeches and her bestowal of favors upon the commoners and the army were all extremely successful. This also allowed us to see hope of success.

Until that day arrived.

That day, after the patrol corps returned, we held an investiture ceremony for the corps leader in Her Highness Ariel's name, and she also gave speeches before many knights and commoners. This greatly increased Her Highness Ariel's influence.

That afternoon, taking advantage of the rare chance to leave the city, we went shopping in the commercial district together with Lady Ariel. Of course, Lady Ariel had disguised herself.

However, I did not know whether it was the First Prince's faction or the Second Prince's faction, but someone actually launched an assassination at the entrance of the shop we were browsing.

The accident happened very suddenly. Right from the start, we lost one companion. When I saw our dead comrade, I was stunned stupid. Only after I saw the other attendants around me draw their swords did I timidly draw the sword I carried with me.

I did not charge forward to risk my life against the assassins. I did not know whether my courage was too small, or whether my legs were trembling so badly I could not move. I could only stand shivering in front of Princess Ariel. Perhaps, in the end, I could become Her Highness Ariel's final meat shield.

After Aristia fought to the death and killed one assassin, my heart rose into my throat. I guessed I might die just as silently too.

Outside, figures overlapped one after another. There should still have been many assassins standing there. Inside the shop, three assassins remained. Although we seemed to have more people, aside from several teenage attendants, the rest of us were all young. I felt that I might not even be able to withstand a single blow from an assassin. Despair crawled over all our hearts, and I heard the sound of a girl crying. That should not have been from Her Highness Ariel, right?

Just as we were all about to sink into despair, an accident happened. The assassins outside had clearly engaged an enemy in battle. This made the three assassins inside the room even more anxious. They did not know whether to go out and fight side by side with their companions, or rush in and complete their objective this time.

Not long after, a strange whistle sounded outside, and the remaining three assassins inside the house all withdrew as well.

That let us breathe a sigh of relief too.

The people who came in afterward to check on us made my eyes nearly fall out of my head: a red-haired man and a blue-haired woman. Just the two of them.

I knew the red-haired man. He was Princess Ariel's other Guardian Knight, the man who had skipped out on work for two years, the man who had never once appeared: Dolin Prodia Greyrat.

There had just been at least four assassins outside. How had the two of them driven the assassins back?

What rank of magician was Dolin now? Saint-tier? Surely he had not already reached King-tier, had he?

The gap between him and me was too great. I had already given up on ideas like surpassing him.

He was still as arrogant as ever, looking down on everyone. The moment he arrived, he started scolding Her Highness the Princess, saying she should not have come out shopping, and should not have moved around outside without bringing more guards.

Actually, I thought what he said seemed right, but his tone was extremely bad. It made all of us furious, but faced with someone that powerful, I was also a little afraid to retort.

After the matter ended, we returned to the palace. To our surprise, Princess Ariel gave all of us a day off and told us not to enter the palace to serve tomorrow.

I did not know what had happened, but on the third day, Dolin actually came to the palace and began drilling us. I did not mind too much. After all, our abilities really were too low. If we could only serve as meat shields for Princess Ariel, then why not choose people of even lower status?

Time passed quickly. Dolin's drills lasted only a little over a year before ending. After that, no one knew where he ran off to.

Several more years passed. During this period, we were all very well-behaved. I did not know whether Lady Ariel had given up, but she had us lie low and work hard to improve our individual abilities.

That was actually a little difficult for me. My swordsmanship and magic had no room left to improve. But as Ariel's Guardian Knight, if the time came for me to act, that would mean all the guards had already died, right? Situations like that should be fairly rare.

Until that day appeared. On that day, a purple light lit up in the sky. Then a gigantic Demonic Beast fell from the heavens. We lost three companions, and the Demonic Beast was killed by a girl who descended from the sky.

Afterward, Dolin hurried over too. I did not know what he and the princess discussed.

That night, I dreamed of a god.

It was a white figure. His entire body had only a white outline, hazy and indistinct, impossible to see clearly. Every word the god spoke struck right into my heart, making me believe in him without the slightest doubt.

The god analyzed our current situation for me. He said it was impossible to successfully seize the throne in Asura, and that only by going to another country and playing along insincerely could we obtain final victory.

The god gave me advice. He told us to leave the Asura Kingdom before Princess Ariel's fifteenth birthday, so we could catch the First Prince's faction off guard.

Day by day, time passed, and the god often gave us suggestions. These suggestions brought me, or all of us, great benefits.

I had already become the central figure among Princess Ariel's attendants. I trusted this god more and more. He gave me the feeling that I had been chosen by the heavens.

Through his advice, I also got to know more buxom women at school. Unfortunately, Dolin's buxom maid did not accept my invitation. I had even prepared to spend money to redeem her freedom.

But things went against my wishes. Ever since Dolin brought that hateful cousin of mine to our school, I found that everything had changed.

Lady Ariel seemed to trust him even more, and the two of them spent more time alone together. I was excluded by Lady Ariel. She often spent time alone with Dolin.

Could the two of them have already developed some complicated relationship?

I did not even dare imagine it. I could only seek comfort every day among the female classmates with whom I had good relationships.

The god never appeared in my dreams again either, and I felt lost. I needed the god's guidance.

Only after Dolin left Sharia did I once again receive the god's gospel!