By Zephyria 
After escorting Rubel, who was reluctant to part, to the front of the second-year dorms, I was finally able to return to my own dorm room.
Shayden Rose, who had already packed his luggage, suggested we eat first, so we headed to the dining hall.
It didn’t seem like much time had passed, but when I asked how he was already ready to leave, he said he planned to take only the essentials and leave the rest in the room.
He explained that his school uniform could be returned to the academy if it no longer fit upon his return, so there was no need to take it, and the same applied to his other clothes. I nodded in agreement.
Thinking about it, I realized I only needed to pack my flying daggers for practice during the break and the sword I always carried.
Knowing that packing wouldn’t take long, I no longer felt that the time spent with Rubel was wasted.
With a light heart, I returned to my room and finished preparing for my departure.
When I first enrolled in Sierun Academy, I had mistakenly believed I would accomplish something grand during this summer break.
There was a time when I would suppress the distressing worries that surfaced, firmly resolving to cut down any dangerous beings, be they spirits or mountain lords, near where my kin resided, even if my skills were insufficient for wandering knights.
However, now that I had successfully completed a semester and received the handout listing the classes I could take next semester, all I felt was the leisurely thought of returning home to spend time with my family.
I regretted and felt apologetic for having refused the Ernhardt family’s invitations to visit the seaside or lakes several times last summer.
Back then, I was hesitant to travel far, fearing that my own underdeveloped body might fail to protect my kin.
Even in the Central Plains, in my youth, I had once wandered the world with good friends, admiring beautiful landscapes.
Among the companions I often met was one named Jegal Amugae, who particularly enjoyed quenching his thirst with fine wine and reciting sijo poems.
When we set out various dishes in a high pavilion and raised our cups, I felt an arrogant pride, as if I were an immortal.
The few sijo poems I know by heart were all learned during that time.
Of course, those were also events that occurred during my wandering knights’ journeys, and though I had to struggle to fend off attackers while eating, I still managed to cut them down…
Having left all the rough and difficult tasks to my younger days, I clearly remembered how, as I grew older, I would only recount amusing anecdotes when talking with friends whose hair had turned gray.
Now, it would be fine.
I was relieved to know that even if my skills were insufficient, my kin’s bodies and minds would not be harmed. I firmly decided to take Michael and Asdel, the two young children, and go sightseeing anywhere.
I shared a carriage with Shayden Rose, who was heading part of the way, and we traveled to my family’s estate.
❖ ❖ ❖
After seven days and nights spent on the road, arriving at Young Count Ernhardt’s Residence felt profoundly moving.
I recalled the day I was first born into this land, when I didn’t realize how much my height had shrunk and perceived this vast estate as impossibly distant.
My family, who had been waiting with the gates wide open, welcomed me as I alighted from the carriage.
“Brother!”
“Oppa!”
As soon as I stood on my own two feet after getting out of the carriage, the short figures flew towards me like bows and embraced me.
Michael claimed my embrace first, and Asdel, who always wanted to imitate her older brother, called out to me and leaped into my arms.
I snatched them up one by one with each arm, lifting them high to prevent them from falling.
“I’m home.”
“You get sturdier every time I see you, my son.”
“Of course. It’s thanks to my parents giving birth to me healthy.”
The servants and knights of the family waiting on either side couldn’t help but chuckle.
I knew that my speaking with a maturity beyond my years amused them. However, I felt it was better to simply let those around me enjoy themselves than to act childishly at my age, so I paid it no mind.
I walked on, comforting the children.
The estate, which had once felt so vast, now seemed insignificantly small compared to Sierun Academy.
I remembered having the exact same feeling when I saw Namgung’s estate after returning from Shaolin.
No matter how grand a building is, it is small in comparison to something larger. As I looked at the mansion, which had shrunk in proportion to the world I had learned and experienced, I felt a renewed sense of embarrassment for having clung to this enclosure.
I politely replied to my parents’ words, responded to the children’s chatter, and walked around, taking in my surroundings.
A flower garden, which made particularly liberal use of pink and white, caught my eye.
I now knew that when my mother was still Valentia, not of House Ernhardt, my uncle had gathered all the flowers in the street simply because she resembled her.
I had once heard my mother say she liked red flowers that resembled Father’s eyes. Therefore, the flowers in this garden must be to Father’s and my uncle’s taste. The thought amused me.
A smile never left my lips.
Beneath a white table placed in a corner of the garden were two steps resembling the ones I used.
One was for Michael, and the other for Asdel. It was evidence that the children, who made imitating me their utmost priority, had long ago refused help from those around them.
I felt anew the ten years that had passed since I took my first breath in this land.
Carrying the children, who had each perched on my arms and were chattering about whatever they pleased, I passed through the flower garden.
In summer, the sunlight was too harsh, so it was better to stay in the indoor garden rather than outdoors.
We ordered sweet and cold dishes to be brought out and sat around a large table in a corner of the garden.
“You’re not putting the younger ones down.”
“I’m still fine. If you’re worried about spoiling them, I can put them down.”
“Mmm, no. It’s been a while, so it’s okay to keep them with you. But promise me you’ll sit properly in chairs starting tomorrow. Michael, Asdel, can you promise Daddy?”
“Yes!”
“Yes!”
My Father, who had tried to put on a stern voice, couldn’t resist their cheerful replies and ended up laughing.
I sat in a chair with a child on each thigh, chatting with my parents about various things.
Most of it was information we had already exchanged, but they had many things to discuss regarding my midterm and final exam scores, which they were hearing for the first time.
My family was surprised to hear that I could use Freezing Magic Formula, and they burst into laughter when I mentioned I hadn’t yet reached the realm of a Sword Master.
Their words of reassurance, telling me it was okay not to rush, felt like a heavy burden being lifted from my shoulders.
“And… I hope we can go on a trip as a family this summer.”
“Wow!”
When I finally voiced the words I had been longing to say, my parents’ eyes widened in surprise. The children, excited, giggled and clung to me.
I held them firmly by the waist to prevent them from falling off their chairs.
In the Central Plains, it was not customary for those who were not martial artists to travel long distances for leisure.
Unless fleeing a great tragedy or pursuing and vanquishing an evil enemy, what reason would there be to leave one’s familiar homeland and travel far?
Therefore, the suggestion of the whole family traveling far together felt awkward and unsettling. All requests to go on distant excursions were firmly refused.
Consequently, whether in summer or winter, the kin of House Ernhardt considered resting by visiting scenic spots within the Count’s territory for half a day and returning.
Yet, I now understood the tender feelings of my parents, who would often wistfully plead to see the sea, the lake, or the river, and I could no longer delay.
As I spoke my words one by one, my Father’s and Mother’s faces bloomed like flowers.
It was a truly beautiful sight.
“I feel the reward of enrolling our son early in moments like these.”
“A family trip! Oh my, where should we go? Since it’s summer, perhaps the sea?”
“We should ask if we can borrow a nice villa from House Cervelle. If we send a telegram today, we can depart within a week, right?”
“We need to prepare clothes to wear at the summer resort. I’ll call a tailor tomorrow. Since they’ll be made of thin fabric, it won’t take long.”
Feeling a bit awkward at my parents’ fuss, I scooped up some ice cream placed before me and put it in my mouth. I felt a sense of remorse, wondering if I had been so terrible until now.
I listened until my ears buzzed as the children chattered about the beautiful scenery of the sea, lakes, and rivers they had seen in picture books.
❖ ❖ ❖
In the quiet darkness, the small, rapid breaths I heard were unfamiliar.
Michael, unwilling to be separated from his brother who had returned home after a long time, clung to my side. With my parents’ permission, I had been allowed to have him sleep with me for just this one night.
As I stroked the soft, fine black hair of the child clinging to my side, I was filled with peace.
In the Central Plains, I considered it impolite for people to be physically close, so I had never allowed anyone to get near me.
The gentle breaths and heartbeats I felt with each of his inhales and exhales seemed like something I would never forget, no matter how many lives I lived.
My room at Young Count Ernhardt’s Residence was very spacious.
Sierun’s affluent noble families made their kin’s rooms large.
The room was decorated similarly to the academy dormitories, but grander. The reception room had three doors, leading to the bedroom, bathroom, and personal study, respectively.
The bedding was also of much higher quality than that of the dormitories, and as I lay down in my bedroom after a long time, my body felt as comfortable as if I were resting on a cloud.
Unlike the plain white ceiling of the academy dormitory, my room’s ceiling was adorned with paintings of various patterns.
They held no particular meaning, serving merely as beautiful decorations.
Tracing the patterns from one corner, I fell into deep thought.
The thought that most captivated me was how to raise this young child clinging to my side.
My mother, who had given birth to me, might laugh if she knew, but this was the first child I had ever felt so strongly was my own son.
Considering that I would likely never marry, it was only fitting that I pass on the title of Count to this child.
Furthermore, if I pursued Hwagyeong and attained the Single Ascent Title, would there be any need for me to bear unnecessary titles or appellations?
I considered managing the estate and engaging in social activities to be rather ill-suited for me.
If I intended to entrust these matters to the child, it was only right to also grant him the fruits that would arise from those responsibilities.
A fleeting thought crossed my mind: if I had felt more strongly that I was my parents’ biological son, would I have been less willing to compromise?
No matter how much I pondered, it remained a vague matter. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep.