Viscount Marcus

After seeing off The One-Armed Man, Harrot thought of the Marcus he had mentioned—the noble who had given him his sword.

According to The Bald Man, Viscount Marcus was Count Sarik's younger brother, more than ten years younger than Sarik and only in his twenties.

Yet he had awakened his bloodline before coming of age. After adulthood, he had participated in several wars against the orcs and earned many military merits, making him something of a hero.

However, he was rather rebellious, and the Old Marquis did not like him much, favoring his older brother Sarik instead.

Just then, someone knocked on Harrot's door again. Harrot wondered who had come this time.

Was it The Bald Man? Or had Count Sarik come to find me himself? Maybe some other noble wanted to recruit me?

The moment he opened the door, Harrot recognized the man before him. Vivid red hair, a straight and tall figure, a handsome face—it was Viscount Marcus!

"Yo, good evening!" Marcus showed none of a noble's arrogance and naturally sat down to talk with Harrot.

"My name is Marcus. You still remember me, right?"

Harrot hurriedly replied, "Of course I remember, Lord Viscount. I will never forget your kindness. Without the sword you gave me, I would have died at the hands of the ogre long ago."

Harrot had a very favorable impression of this noble. Without that sharp greatsword, there was no way he could have defeated the ogre, so he lowered his attitude considerably.

Marcus smiled. "That sword was your reward for killing the troll! There's no need to thank me. I won't be a noble much longer, so don't call me Lord Viscount!"

Harrot thought Viscount Marcus was far too approachable. But why had he said he would soon no longer be a noble?

"Why won't you be a noble much longer?" Harrot asked curiously.

Marcus was a true noble who had awakened his bloodline. No matter how much Harlaus disliked his younger son, he could not possibly throw him out of the family and strip him of his title, could he?

Marcus smiled and said, "I'm going to betray the country! Naturally, the Kingdom of Lucanir will strip me of all my titles and property!"

Harrot was so shocked he nearly fell out of his chair. Betray the country? Your father was one of the kingdom's greatest lords, and your family stood on equal footing with the royal house. Had he gone mad and decided to betray the country?

Marcus was not surprised by Harrot's reaction. He patted Harrot on the shoulder, signaling him to calm down, then explained:

"It's called betrayal, but I'm not planning to do anything that would harm the kingdom. I'm simply preparing to head east to develop new territory and establish a new nation!"

"Still, according to Kingdom Law, it does count as treason. The King and most nobles do not want the number of nobles in the country to decrease and weaken the kingdom's strength."

Marcus knew Harrot did not know much about noble bloodlines, so he simply explained the matter to him in detail.

In this world, humanity's extraordinary power came from the bloodlines of nobles. Every noble family capable of awakening its bloodline was an important pillar of the kingdom, and the overall strength of a nation depended on the number of its nobles.

There was one especially important point: possessing Heroic Bloodline did not guarantee that one could awaken it and gain extraordinary power. Most nobles were still ordinary people, and nobles who could not awaken their bloodlines could not pass Heroic Bloodline on to the next generation.

Simply put, only children born to nobles who had awakened their bloodlines had the possibility of awakening one themselves.

Nobles unable to awaken their bloodlines would have their titles reclaimed after death, and their descendants would be demoted to Commoners.

Therefore, even though every noble in the Kingdom of Lucanir had many wives and children, the kingdom's total number of nobles remained relatively fixed.

Harrot understood that. According to the saying that poverty did not last beyond three generations, if a family remained poor for three generations, it would lose the ability to continue producing descendants. The Commoners of this world could not possibly have all been born from marriages solely between Commoners. By blood, they were more or less related to nobles.

But according to The Bald Man, Commoners had absolutely no chance of awakening bloodlines. Harrot therefore guessed that the inheritance of Heroic Bloodline was not as simple as ordinary genetic inheritance.

Still, Harrot did not understand why Marcus wanted to develop new territory. He was the Old Marquis's son and had awakened his bloodline. Land and titles should have been within easy reach. There was no reason for him to take such risks!

Facing Harrot's confusion, Marcus gave his answer. "Because Father does not favor me. He would rather pass his title and lands to Sarik, and Sarik and I have a terrible relationship!"

"I am unwilling to humble myself and beg my father or Sarik for land and wealth."

"I want to completely break away from my family, rely on my own efforts, gain land that belongs to me, and establish my own family!"

Harrot was stunned by Marcus's words. If Marcus had been some incapable rich second-generation heir, Harrot would have thought he was merely an arrogant idiot putting on airs.

But Marcus was a hero who had fought the orcs several times and a noble who had awakened his bloodline.

His achievements and strength were no less than Count Sarik's. He was one of the most prominent nobles in the entire Kingdom of Lucanir.

Marcus understood how high the Old Marquis's status was and how great his power was. He also knew how difficult it would be to develop new territory. This was certainly not some child's game.

Yet he could still make up his mind to abandon everything and strive for his own future. His determination and will earned Harrot's sincere admiration.

Marcus continued, "Right now is a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity!"

"The Sacred Mountain in the north of the continent has opened. The Eastern and Western Orcs have fought each other bloody, and the Western Orcs will not trouble humanity again anytime soon!"

"Marquis Prague completely activated his Heroic Bloodline several years ago and entered the legendary realm. Now he has issued a proclamation inviting all ambitious people to head east and develop new territory together!"

"With Marquis Prague leading the way, not even the King can forcibly stop the expansion!"

"Join Marquis Prague's expedition east now, and you can gain honor, wealth, and land!"

Marcus rose excitedly to his feet and said to Harrot with solemn seriousness, "Are you willing to become my Knight and travel east with me to accomplish great deeds?"

"As long as you agree, I can appoint you as my chief Knight and reward you with 1,000 gold coins, five attendants, and three maids! And after that, I will never treat you unfairly for any merit you earn!"

Harrot stared into Marcus's eyes, his mind racing as he considered whether to accept Marcus's invitation.

What should my future be like? Should I strive for my dreams, or live out my life safely and ordinarily?

Harrot had dreams—great dreams that refused to settle for mediocrity. But pursuing dreams was too difficult and dangerous, and he preferred an ordinary, peaceful life.

But after being plotted against during the day and fighting the ogre to the death, Harrot understood that the so-called ordinary and peaceful life was nothing more than self-deception.

In this world where the strong devoured the weak, how could someone with neither status nor power guarantee their own peace?

Offend a noble on a whim, encounter a natural disaster by chance, and the result would be the destruction of one's family! The original Harrot's first half of life had been the best example!

I want power. I want status. I want the ability to control my own life! Having figured it out, Harrot understood his choice.

"My lord, I am willing to become your Knight. I am willing to go east with you and develop new territory!"

The nobles of the Kingdom of Lucanir had already divided up nearly all the kingdom's benefits. He was not even a noble himself, so no matter how hard he worked, it would be difficult to rise. Heading east to open up new land was his best opportunity!

Harrot looked Marcus straight in the eye and gave his answer with conviction!

Marcus was extremely satisfied with Harrot's answer. Eagerly, he told Harrot about the ceremony and oath of knightly loyalty, then began to bestow Glory of the Knight.

Marcus placed one hand on Harrot's shoulder, signaling him to kneel on one knee before him.

Harrot did not put on any airs and immediately knelt on one knee. Marcus had given him a sword during the day and saved his life, and now he was accepting him as a Knight. By both sentiment and reason, Harrot should kneel.

Marcus said solemnly:

"I, Marcus Elvin, swear in the name of my heroic ancestor Elvin that if you offer me your loyalty, I will grant you the land and wealth you deserve!"

"I now share the power of a hero with you. Are you willing to accept this power and become my Knight?"

Harrot raised his head and declared loudly, "I am willing to accept your power and serve you! Your will shall be my direction! I swear in the name of the sun that I offer you my loyalty!"

Harrot had no impressive ancestors, so he could not swear in an ancestor's name. But he had received Sun's Blessing, so he could swear by the sun.

In this world, the consequences of breaking an oath were severe. Nobles swore in the names of their heroic ancestors, and once they broke their vows, they would lose their bloodlines and become ordinary people.

Harrot, however, had sworn in the name of the sun, and the effect was even more obvious. In the middle of the night, a beam of sunlight suddenly shone into their room, perfectly enveloping the two of them without spreading even a trace beyond them.

Harrot still found such a phenomenon miraculous, but Marcus was used to it. Whenever nobles awakened their bloodlines, they would be enveloped by Divine Power of the Sun.

Once both parties had completed their vows, a bright flame flew from Marcus's body and burrowed into Harrot's chest. Harrot felt every aspect of his body improve, and he instinctively sensed that he could use certain special abilities!

Marcus truly deserved his reputation as a noble famous for being rebellious and disregarding convention. He had known Harrot for less than two days and exchanged only a dozen or so sentences with him, yet he had already bestowed Knight's Glory upon him.

The power each noble could share was limited, and under the constraints of an oath, they could not casually take back power they had bestowed. Nobles were usually extremely cautious when knighting someone.

The One-Armed Man had simply been set up by Count Sarik. The moment Sarik suggested it, The One-Armed Man had voluntarily returned the power bestowed upon him without hesitation. If he had refused, Sarik truly could not have done anything to him.

A Knight who had received Glory in the Kingdom of Lucanir was considered an upper-class figure of some standing, with a status even slightly higher than nobles who had not awakened their bloodlines.

Even if a knighting ceremony did not need to be grand, one should at least choose a more formal occasion and time, then find a few important figures to witness it! Who performed it secretly in a little wooden house in the middle of the night?

It could be said that Marcus's actions were completely beyond what a normal person could do. Only a country bumpkin like Harrot, who had seen little of the world, would not find it strange.

Marcus nodded in satisfaction. "From now on, you are my Knight. I will assign you tasks when I have them! If you have any suggestions or needs, you may also bring them to me."