Chapter 245: 245 "Siblings
The royal capital, Yeluf, housed a luxurious mansion.
Positioned in the heart of the royal capital, yet strangely contradicting the direction of the royal palace, the mansion stood in direct opposition to it.
Spanning a vast area, even larger than the Franzel family’s secondary residence, it was hard to find a few places within the entire royal capital that could compare, declaring the dignity of the owner.
In the backyard of such a mansion, a young man was fervently swinging his sword, drenched in sweat.
With striking blonde hair, a robust physique, and remarkably handsome features, the young man resembled the sporty, sunny boy often found in youthful fantasy novels, not only attractive but also strong.
The sword in the young man’s hand appeared quite heavy; each swing generated a gust of wind, causing his arm muscles to bulge and even his veins to show prominently.
"1305...1306...1307...1308..."
He continued to swing his sword like lifting weights, counting with each movement as sweat poured relentlessly.
In a moment, a figure walked in from outside.
"I’m back, elder brother."
Accompanied by a voice as clear as a skylark’s, a girl entered the backyard.
She bore a slight resemblance to the young man, with waist-length blonde hair and a very delicate and beautiful appearance.
The girl had a graceful figure, fair skin, well-proportioned features, and a distinguished aura, looking every bit the princess stepped out of a painting, with enchanting, bright eyes.
"You’re back?" The young man did not look at the girl, continuing to swing his sword as he said, "How did it go?"
"I lost." The girl looked at her brother, sighing, "Though it’s unbelievable, the Lees brothers truly lost to that Reiger Brillhaut, who even gave them advice. Upon returning, they held him in high esteem."
"...Is that so?" The young man’s actions paused momentarily, then resumed again, without turning his head, "If even the Lees brothers lost, then it proves Reiger Brillhaut is genuine."
"He is indeed a Sword Saint."
With that, the young man’s sword swings grew even heavier.
"I still can’t believe it." The girl frowned, "A 17-year-old Sword Saint is too unimaginable, not to mention that two months ago Reiger Brillhaut was just an ignorant country bumpkin at the Sprieller Academy and has now suddenly become a Tactical Level Magician, and not only a seasoned Swordsman but a Sword Saint. It’s like a dream."
"That’s what everyone thinks." The young man said calmly, "But the fact remains before us, from the moment Reiger Brillhaut left the palace after an audience without receiving nobility or being retained by the royalty, we should have guessed that unless he had become a Sword Saint, His Majesty would not let such a talent slip away easily."
Upon hearing this, the girl showed an unhappy expression.
"Yuri Franzel is just too lucky, casually picking up such a treasure outside, why didn’t I encounter such fortune?"
The girl couldn’t help feeling envious and jealous.
"This is what’s called ’the outstanding attracting each other’, isn’t it?" The young man said indifferently, "Marquis Franzel became a Strategic-Level Magician at 15, which also caused a huge stir on the continent once."
"Over the years, there are said to be only two people who became Strategic-Level Magicians at the age of 15 in the history of Akasha Continent, and not even one in the history of the Ginas Kingdom."
"But Marquis Franzel became the third one, and now he’s met the youngest Sword Saint in history. Perhaps this is the attraction between the truly exceptional."
The girl was very displeased with the young man’s remarks.
"I don’t think I would lose to her." The girl said defiantly, "If it weren’t for my inferior magical aptitude, I could have become a Strategic-Level Magician by now."
"This ’one level’ is as vast as the heavens." The young man stopped swinging his sword and said, "Alright, now that we’ve confirmed Reiger Brillhaut is a Sword Saint, let’s call back the spies we’ve sent out, lest we offend those two."
"What?" The girl raised her eyes, "Does elder brother intend to recruit Reiger Brillhaut?"
The young man did not immediately answer the question, instead setting down his sword first.
With a heavy "thud," the sword hit the ground, making a small crater, illustrating its exceptional weight.
The young man picked up a towel from the nearby rack, wiping his sweat as he began.
"If I could, of course I’d want to." The young man said lucidly, "But I don’t believe it’s possible."
"Why?" The girl protested, "If Yuri Franzel can succeed, why can’t we?"
It’s precisely because Marquis Franzel has succeeded that we can’t." The young man laughed at his sister’s stubbornness and said, "Based on the intelligence so far, the relations between Marquis Franzel and the young Sword Saint are undoubtedly quite good."
"That Yuri Franzel, who used to treat everyone indifferently, for some reason sees this man differently and even took him back to her ancestral home."
"In the past, who ever received such a treatment?"
No.
No one could become so intimate with Yuri nor could anyone make her treat him so well.
"To be regarded so differently by Marquis Franzel, and even have the royal family fail to recruit him, unable to bestow even the title of an honorary noble upon him, demonstrates that this man has no intention of joining others,"
the young man analyzed meticulously to his sister and concluded.
"Therefore, it is enough for us to maintain a good relationship with him; let’s not do anything superfluous, lest we arouse the animosity of the two most outstanding individuals."
While the young man’s comprehensive analysis quieted the girl, her expression clearly remained unconvinced.
Seeing this, the young man said helplessly,
"Why do you make that face every time we talk about anything related to Marquis Franzel?"
The young man truly felt helpless.
In response, the girl huffed lightly.
"Who keeps comparing me to her?" the girl said somewhat angrily: "No matter who it is, they only say things like ’Truly befitting of the young miss of the Codelion Family, almost catching up with Marquis Franzel.’ Who could stand that?"
"But it seems you’re being a bit too hard on Marquis Franzel, aren’t you?" the young man said casually: "She knows nothing about it and hasn’t even met you, yet she has become the target of your grudge."
"I don’t care!" the girl lifted her chin arrogantly and said: "Her existence makes me unhappy, so I have to compete with her."
"Don’t be rash," the young man reminded, "After all, she is a legitimate Marquis, unlike us who haven’t inherited a title yet and are just children of a noble family; our status is much lower than hers."
"So what?" the girl obviously didn’t take it to heart and said: "I’m also a Tactical Level Magician. If I hadn’t refused the royal title and didn’t want to split the family, I would be a noble with a legitimate title by now."
But you wouldn’t be a Marquis, you would only be a Viscount.
The young man silently mocked her in his mind, but he didn’t voice his thoughts.
Otherwise, his sister, who was determined to compete with Marquis Franzel, would never let it go.
"In any case, just don’t do anything reckless," the young man could only issue a warning, "Father already interfered in the Basoro family’s affairs last time. If Marquis Franzel learns about it, it will surely displease her, and if you stir things up and push her to be against us, it will please the royal family."
"...I know already," the girl said, puzzled: "I only instructed our people to get on good terms with Reiger Brillhaut and didn’t bother with Yuri Franzel. That’s acceptable, right?"
"That’s fine," the young man nodded with satisfaction, "I will also find an opportunity to meet this soon-to-be legendary Sword Saint and see if I can persuade him to join our side."
"What?" the girl was stunned, "Didn’t you say you weren’t going to recruit him?"
"We’re not recruiting, but that doesn’t affect our chance to cooperate, right?" the young man tossed the towel, smiled at the girl, and said: "He’s been attacked twice by ’Shadow’s men, and one time he nearly died. It’s true the first attack was a result of our conflict, causing the mad dog to lash out at him, but his relationship with that mad dog Prince is definitely not strong."
"Given that, we can certainly cooperate on matters regarding that mad dog."
"I see," the girl understood, then asked: "When do you plan to meet him?"
"No rush," the young man shook his head, "He’s the hotshot of the entire royal capital now. The royal family is watching him, and so are other nobles. If I approach him now, some people will surely overreact."
"You can let Kaliya make contact with him first, preferably to establish a good relationship and sound out his thoughts on us."
"When the time is right, then I can meet him."
Having left those words behind, the young man then left the back garden to take a shower inside the mansion.
"Alright then,"
the girl shrugged her shoulders, looking mischievously at ease as she talked to herself here.
"It’s a pity, I wanted to meet this Swordsman of my age myself."
"With Kaliya around, he shouldn’t be hostile towards me, right?"
"It would be great if I could make him my Attendant. That woman would be so furious."
After muttering to herself for a while, the girl’s eyes gleamed, and she suddenly smiled.
"Why not use the old method and sneak over?"
Thinking of something amusing, the girl hopped away happily.