The Failed Swordmaster - Chapter 140

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 140 54. National Son Bragging (1)

This year’s New Year party was coincidentally held in the Carayan Domain.

From Lumian’s perspective, it wasn’t bad at all. The distance was the closest, and it seemed all the resentment had been resolved while he was back at the Academy.

‘Come to think of it, I wonder how Lili Carayan is doing.’

He had been so focused on the work to become the party’s main character that he had completely forgotten about her.

She must have become an incredible beauty by now.

‘Though it seems she hasn’t been appearing at official events lately…’

Maybe she still hasn’t adapted to the sudden changes.

Well, it wasn’t something to think deeply about. If he could see her, he would; if not, so be it.

Lumian pushed thoughts of her far away. Instead, he began refining his plans, considering various variables that might occur at the party.

He quietly closed his eyes, appearing to fall into meditation.

Watching this, his father, Luno Calard, thought to himself.

‘What on earth is he planning to do?’

The night before departure, his son had visited his room.

The boy had talked about various recent developments, including his Academy life. However, as if that wasn’t what he really wanted to say, he brought up a different topic shortly after.

‘At tomorrow’s New Year party, I will become a son who won’t shame Father’s name.’

A meaningful statement.

However, Luno Calard couldn’t ask anything.

It was intuition. He felt that if he asked even one thing, tomorrow’s entertainment would be halved.

The two quietly nodded and spoke of other matters again.

But he couldn’t remember any of the stories that followed.

‘At least flattening those annoying old men’s noses is a foregone conclusion.’

That was natural.

No matter how much those frustrating gentlemen struggled to turn away from the truth, they couldn’t do so even with his son right in front of them.

What he had said until now was truth, not lies. His son was ‘real.’

However, even he had no idea how the process of proof would unfold.

Great anticipation and slight anxiety swirled in his chest.

“Hmm.”

Luno Calard turned toward his wife. She was also looking at him with a similar expression.

And simultaneously, they turned their gaze toward their son, who still had his eyes closed.

They wished the New Year party would start soon.

It was the parents’ shared thought.

* * *

Before long, the day of the party arrived.

The nobles who gathered in the banquet hall for the evening time exchanged various stories.

“Baron Carayan’s daughter didn’t come out this time either.”

“It seems she’s sick, or maybe she’s just avoiding people.”

“I heard she’s incredibly beautiful, but thinking of how she looked a few years ago, I can’t imagine it.”

“Could it be a lie? Maybe they’re deliberately hiding their daughter because they don’t want to be caught lying…”

“That doesn’t seem to be the case. I heard that the marquis family’s eldest son who visited here about three months ago fell for the young lady and has been writing letters constantly?”

“Hmm, hearing that story makes me really curious…”

The hottest topic was naturally about Lili Carayan.

The beautiful daughter of Nack Carayan, who had considerable influence for a baron. Moreover, with her age of marriageable years added to it, there was no way talk wouldn’t arise.

The lords with sons of appropriate age, as well as their children, all exchanged stories about her.

However, if that was the only interesting gossip of this New Year party, that wasn’t the case either.

Luno Calard’s only son, Lumian Calard.

The truth and lies about him would be revealed in detail today.

When stories about Lili Carayan had circulated enough, one noble casually brought up a story about him.

“Come to think of it, we’ll finally see him, won’t we?”

“Who are you talking about? Ah, perhaps…”

“Who else? That famous Lumian Calard, of course.”

“Ah, that… the one they say is a Sword Expert… Puhup.”

Two or three lords burst into laughter at the mention of ‘Sword Expert.’

They couldn’t help but laugh. Even they, who didn’t know much about knights or the realm of swordsmanship, knew what the title of Sword Expert meant.

That wasn’t the only reason they were laughing.

Most of those gathered here were people who had seen Lumian Calard from before.

That child who was extremely shy, weak-hearted, and showed no trace of noble dignity was supposed to be a promising knight cadet.

Even a passing dog would laugh at that.

“Hahaha. Well, we’ll know when we see him. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

“Hmph. But the picture is already forming in my mind…”

“Puhup, hehehe.”

Especially the three lords with sons in their early twenties showed strong reactions. They had never gotten along well with Baron Luno Calard.

Putting others down wouldn’t make their own children excel, but they could feel relative superiority. They continued exchanging jokes about Lumian.

“Hmm.”

“Hmm. Well…”

The other lords responded to their words only by nodding appropriately.

This party was hosted by Baron Carayan, who was close to Baron Calard. In such a situation, actively mocking Lumian Calard felt somewhat distasteful.

Of course, they didn’t disagree with the three lords’ thoughts. They too thought Baron Luno Calard’s words were boastful.

However, compared to his disappointing appearance in the past, there might be some definite improvement.

They were expecting at least that much.

That’s when it happened.

A loud voice rang out from the servant at the banquet hall entrance.

It was a voice announcing the entrance of Nack Carayan and his wife, the hosts of this New Year party, along with Baron Calard’s family.

Everyone in the hall turned their heads with smiling faces.

Some to pay respects to Baron Carayan, others to see if Princess Lili Carayan had made an appearance, or curious about what state that supposedly excellent son of Baron Calard had arrived in.

Gazes filled with various reasons poured out simultaneously.

But what ultimately captured people’s attention was just one person.

A sturdy man with a completely different appearance and atmosphere from a year ago.

It was Lumian Calard.

‘No way, could that child be…’

‘Lumian Calard?’

‘Is he a different person? No, but Baron Luno Calard shouldn’t have another son…’

‘He’s definitely Baron Calard’s eldest son, but his atmosphere is completely different. For a person to change this much in just 1-2 years!’

Among those gathered here, some were seeing Lumian for the first time in a year, others hadn’t seen him for a long time.

However, everyone showed the same reaction.

That was natural, because Lumian’s change wasn’t at a level that could be explained by the simple passage of time.

The first thing that caught the eye was his body. His physique, which hadn’t stood out much despite being a knight cadet, had grown dramatically.

Not the currently fashionable clothing with exaggerated chest and shoulders, but perfectly fitted clothes. Nevertheless, a strong feeling emanated from him.

But what drew even more attention was his surprisingly handsome appearance and an indescribably overwhelming atmosphere.

It was as if a rose made from carved ruby had been illuminated with magical lighting. Lumian’s explosive splendor seemed to create the illusion of paralyzing not just sight but smell and hearing as well.

Only he was visible. Only he was felt.

Silence fell over the banquet hall.

“Haha, it’s good to see everyone. This is my son, Lumian Calard, who is living as a cadet at the Academy.”

Even until the host Nack Carayan finished speaking, people couldn’t come to their senses.

Only when Luno Calard introduced himself and then introduced his son did focus finally return.

“Ahem.”

“Hmph, hmm.”

“Hrmph.”

Several people showed bewildered expressions.

They were the three lords who had been persistently mocking Lumian.

Runo, who deliberately cast lingering gazes at them, seated Lumian next to him and said.

“Though this fellow is lacking to sit in this place, so many people are usually curious about him… may I ask for your understanding?”

Meaning whether a young son could join a gathering where only lords met.

People naturally nodded their heads.

Their already high curiosity seemed to pierce the sky the moment they saw Lumian armed with his aura image.

“Of course.”

“Naturally. Hehe, to think young Lumian, whom I only knew as a child, has grown into such a fine figure – time truly flies.”

“Ah, well, ahem. Since we’re on the topic, may I also call my eldest son to this gathering?”

“Same here. He’s grown quite mature now, so there shouldn’t be anything too lacking in your eyes…”

“Me too…”

The three lords, their competitive spirits ignited, also asked for understanding and brought their respective children.

The sons, unexpectedly dragged to this uncomfortable gathering, wore extremely tense expressions.

It couldn’t be helped.

Who raised their children better!

From the fathers’ perspective, nothing was more important than this.

While anticipation weighed down on the young men’s shoulders, only Lumian looked around with a relaxed expression.

‘Should I use the aura image weakly for just a moment?’

Currently, he was recreating the splendor that Cal Krone had shown in the early first semester.

If he continued to maintain this, he could monopolize all attention throughout the party.

But he didn’t do that.

To create a more dramatic situation, he needed to control the pace.

Swoooosh-

Lumian withdrew the power he had been pouring into his aura image. That wasn’t all. Instead of his gem-like brilliant presence, a gentle candlelight-like atmosphere emanated from his body.

‘Chatter away. Just for a little while.’

The other lords, already itching to talk and noisily bragging about their children. Seeing this, Lumian looked at his father.

Runo Calard nodded slightly.

He had no intention of doing anything. If he stayed quiet, his son would take care of everything.

A faint smile appeared on his lips.

* * *

“Haha, so my son…”

“No wait, listen to my story first…”

“Didn’t you tell that story last time too!”

“Come now, there are many who haven’t heard it, aren’t there?”

The situation flowed differently than initially expected.

The Calard father and son, who were thought to be the most talkative, kept their mouths tightly shut, while the other three lords endlessly bragged about their children.

The other lords frowned.

They had already heard what those men were saying more than five times. Their repertoire was so identical that they could predict what would be said next.

But they didn’t have the confidence to interrupt those who were completely excited. That would be too tiresome.

‘This party is worse than usual.’

‘They should do it in moderation…’

‘Should I make some excuse and leave early?’

Most were having similar thoughts in their heads.

It was then that Lumian Calard, who had been silent until now, carefully joined the conversation between the three lords and their sons.

“By any chance, was that statement just now a quote from the famous words of George Crusoe, a figure from the Kingdom of Cairo?”

“Huh? Ah, that’s right. The great minister from 200 years ago… But how does a knight cadet like you know this?”

One of the lord’s sons, who had been showing off his knowledge in narcissistic intoxication with no trace of initial nervousness, asked a question in return.

Lumian answered.

“I don’t know it well. I just briefly heard it in liberal arts class… I apologize if I was presumptuous.”

“No, it’s fine. Actually, I’m a bit surprised. I thought it would be rather difficult content for a knight cadet like you to be interested in…”

He said with a slight smile.

It meant what business did a knight cadet with only muscles in his head have butting in.

But the other lords, who wanted to escape from the tedious atmosphere, were delighted and threw questions at Lumian.

“Oh, do you also have knowledge in academics, young Lumian?”

“Not at all. I just picked up bits and pieces.”

A modest tone.

However, Lumian’s words that followed boasted considerable knowledge.

It was definitely not the level a knight cadet would know as general education. Rather, it felt much deeper than what the person who had been spitting and bragging until just before.

It was natural. The learning accumulated from decades of life in Jenas Palace couldn’t be inferior to that of a rural lord’s child. Not only that? He had devoted himself to academics beyond the liberal arts level for the past year to maintain his model student concept.

The eloquence that increased from associating with Tania was a bonus.

People’s eyes lit up at Lumian’s new side.

“Oh, such…”

“Your breadth of knowledge is considerable?”

Lumian’s performance didn’t end there.

Whenever other lords took the opportunity to brag about their sons, and the sons had their time to prove it, he subtly joined in.

And while maintaining courtesy and humility, he completely overwhelmed his opponents.

The expressions of the three lords hardened stiffly.

‘That bastard, he was quiet all this time and suddenly why is he like this!’

‘Did he deliberately join late to get attention?’

‘What kind of shameless bastard is that!’

They rolled their eyes back and forth, gauging the atmosphere.

Before they knew it, the flow of conversation had completely shifted to Lumian’s side. All the lords were absorbed in Lumian’s words, and each of their sons became rapidly dejected and couldn’t open their mouths.

If they had been truly capable people it might have been different, but with their level, this was the limit.

Of course, the lords didn’t acknowledge this.

‘Damn, to think he’s just making flowery words with knowledge picked up from somewhere! And he calls himself a knight cadet!’

Malicious feelings beyond envy and jealousy arose.

They wanted to bring down Lumian Calard somehow.

They wanted to see him flustered and stammering, to see him humiliated.

Fortunately, this wasn’t difficult.

They just had to point out the boasts that Runo Calard had made so far, one by one.

‘Right. Let’s turn the topic to Sword Expert.’

One lord who had been most severely beaten cleared his throat.

If he denied his question, Runo Calard would be humiliated, and if he affirmed it, both father and son would be humiliated together. Unless he could actually draw an aura sword, this was a predetermined future.

Having finished his thoughts, he opened his mouth to ask the question.

That was the moment.

A servant who had rushed urgently into the banquet hall spoke to Baron Nack Carayan.

“My, my lord!”

“What is it? Why the commotion?”

“It’s, it’s terrible. Unscheduled distinguished guests have expressed their desire to participate in the party.”

“What? Distinguished guests? Who?”

“That, that is…”

The servant caught his breath for a moment. During that time, people’s interest heightened even more.

Who could be the distinguished guests who would bother to come to this place at this time?

Wasn’t the servant exaggerating too much?

He wasn’t.

The names that came from his mouth were enough to surprise everyone.

“Sir Bercal Garcia, High Knight of Jenas, Sir Irene Curtis, Knight of Rodisia, and… Swordmaster Morghen have arrived.”

“…!”

Figures beyond imagination.

They were people in positions too great to participate in a party where rural lords gathered. People all gaped with their mouths wide open, unable to say anything.

Of course, only Lumian Calard was an exception.

Who was it that had called them?

It was none other than himself.

He smiled secretly to himself and thought.

‘It’s better to have others praise you than to boast about yourself.’

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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