Duke Pendragon

Mara Valencia.

How could anyone from Valvas not know of his name?

Knight among knights, king of all cavaliers.

He was the one that united the Seven Clans and all the cavaliers for the first and last time in the history of Valvas. If he only had five more years, he would have gone beyond Valvas and reigned over the entirety of the South.

But he was a knight before he was a ruler or king.

Knights were beings of dedication. Mara Valencia had vowed to devote himself to Valvas, so he would have not waged a war of conquest against other regions. All of the Valvas men thought so, as Mara Valencia was a being of admiration and the most ideal cavalier.

And now, the legendary name had resurfaced, along with the young man’s claim that he was Mara Valencia’s blood descendent…

“Ha, haha…”

Teyo chuckled. But his laughter soon disappeared, and his eyes distorted in fury.

“I let you talk because your spirit was quite formidable, but to think you were a madman! Where do you think you are? How dare you talk such nonsense in this place!?”

The other men also burst out as Teyo reprimanded Isla in a loud voice.

“I can’t believe you are impersonating the name of the Knight King! What a madman!”

“We should cut off his tongue!”

“Right!”

The silence disappeared and anger filled the void. But the man responsible for the commotion stayed silent, his gaze unmoving from one person. As if he could not hear the angry shouts of countless men, Count Herreran also stood still while meeting Isla’s gaze, his white eyebrows trembling.

Then, he slowly lifted his cane as if he had made a resolution.

“Hmm…?”

Teyo frowned while repressing his anger at Count Herreran’s actions. It seemed that the owner of the manor had something to say.

Teyo hit the ground with his scabbard, and soon the commotion died down.

“Listen up, everybody.”

Everyone turned their gaze towards the old count. There was no doubt that Count Herreran would soon cut off the tongue of the mad impersonator and kick him out of Valvas.

“I swear on the name of Herreran. This is… my nephew. He is my blood, the son of Angela Isla Herreran.”

“Huh…!”

No one but Teyo knew of the fact, so everyone became wide-eyed at Herreran’s words.

“And…”

But the count’s following words were even more surprising.

“His father was… Matthias Ariane Valencia. The son of Claudio Valencia, the only blood descendant of Mara Valencia, the Knight King.”

“Gah...!”

Hundreds of men became astonished with their mouths agape as if they had been struck by a huge hammer. The great shock caused everyone to freeze in their place.

Count Herreran was the oldest person here. Even in all of Valvas, it would be harder to find a man older than him. Being old was equivalent to being experienced and knowledgeable. Moreover, Count Herreran had a reputation as an outstanding cavalier until decades ago.

A man of such caliber had spoken while putting the Herreran family’s honor on the line, that the man in front of them was actually a descendent of the Knight King…

***

“…..”

Count Herreran silently observed Isla. His gaze was filled with deep remorse, but also a strange sense of liberation. More than 20 years ago, when he had been active as a cavalier and a griffon rider, his only sister Angela was young and beautiful. The age difference between the two siblings was huge, and she relied on her brother because she had lost her parents earlier on. Her brother also cherished and adored his sister like the most precious of jewels. She was his only remaining family.

Count Herreran had been a famous griffon rider. Growing up with him, Angela was always energetic and couldn’t stay inside the house for a single hour. In addition, even though she was a woman, she was not afraid of griffons, even riding on the creatures.

Then one day, as usual, she snuck out on a griffon and headed towards the Uelba Mountains, the border of Valvas. She went missing. It was late autumn at the time, and strong winds were present near the Uelba Mountains. Even experienced riders would easily be swept away if they were not careful.

All the griffon riders and swordsmen from the Herreran family were mobilized in order to find her. However, the strong winds made it difficult to search for her using griffons, and the temperatures dropped rapidly as early winter started to arrive. Valvas was especially known for its harsh winter in the South.

Eventually, the search ended after a month, and everyone was certain that Count Herreran’s sister had died. But four months after the search ended, she suddenly appeared as spring blossomed, while holding the hands of a young, bearded hunter.

Count Herreran was overjoyed that his sister had returned safely. It didn’t matter that she had come back while holding the hands of a hunter. Valvas was the land of men, and a hunter was equivalent to an experienced warrior. He could easily be incorporated into the Herreran family as a cavalier or a swordsman.

But in a private meeting with the young hunter, Count Herreran heard something that he should not have heard, something he would rather not have heard.

“My name is Matthias Ariane Valencia. My grandfather is Mara Valencia.”

He did not believe it at first.

The man had saved his sister and had fallen in love with her. Surely the hunter was trying to bluff his status because he did not want to be looked down upon by himself, the only lord in Valvas.

But his words had been true.

Mara Valencia had a lover during his lifetime. He had been engaged to the daughter of the Salas Clan’s head, one of the seven most powerful clans in Valvas. But he had died of a disease before they got married. As Mara Valencia was an orphan without any family, Valvas was once again plunged into the threat of conflict.

Just then, the head of the Salas Clan proclaimed that his daughter had conceived a child of Mara Valencia.

The blood of the great Knight King.

It did not matter whether it was a son or a daughter. The most important thing was that the child provided the only justification to unite Valvas together, allowing them to steer clear of the coming chaos.

But unfortunately, the Salas Clan was mistaken.

The other clans had trusted and followed Mara Valencia, not his unborn child. Rather, they became worried that the Salas Clan would try to ascend to power using the child as an excuse.

Rumors started to spread. Many people believed that the child of the daughter of the Salas Clan’s head was not the child of the Knight King. Even dirtier, scummier rumors began to spread, and the head of the Salas Clan did not stay still as his daughter and clan’s honor was tarnished.

This led to a war between the Seven Clans. Since then, the story of the Knight King’s child was buried. The only mystery that was left behind was that several items of the Knight King had gone missing – the Griffon Sword that Mara Valencia used during his lifetime and a Ring of Detoxification he received from a wizard.

More than 50 years of confusion and strife had passed since then. That was Count Herreran’s knowledge of the story back then.

Then, the young hunter who saved his sister showed him a Griffon Sword and a ring that emitted a brilliant light, proving his identity as Mara Valencia’s descendent.

Joy descended upon Count Herreran after shock. It was a time when he was still ambitious, so he had thought to unite Valvas once more alongside Matthias Ariane Valencia. Even though he was the only lord of Valvas, the Herreran County could not exert much power due to the influence of the Seven Clans. This was an opportunity for his family to rise to the center of Valvas.

Unfortunately, he had been mistaken.

Matthias Ariane Valencia was an unambitious man.

He had revealed his identity because he could not lie to the woman he loved and the brother who raised her like his father. He had no intention of succeeding the name of the Knight King.

Count Herreran had been disappointed, but he did not obsess over it. He thought to persuade Matthias slowly. But things never worked out as intended.

One day, the Medien Clan and the Valencia Clan found out about the matter. They were the most powerful of the Seven Clans.

The Valencia Clan was created by a cavalier who was Mara Valencia’s closest aide. They aimed to continue the great heritage of the Knight King, and they were unforgiving towards anyone who sold out the name of their hero.

When Matthias briefly returned to the mountains, a cavalier had visited him. The cavalier was the successor to the Valencia Clan, and after a duel between the two, Matthias died.

Then, the two clans joined forces to pressure the Herreran County from all directions. Even the Herreran County was unable to withstand the joint efforts of two of Valvas’ strongest clans. Even Count Herreran’s newborn son, Kyle, was in danger. The family could disappear within a year.

Even the emperor’s influence could not save them in Valvas.

In the end, Count Herreran swallowed blood and tears as he cut off his sister’s tongue and exiled her from the family. The only thing he could do for her was to send Cain with her, one of his two most trusted cavaliers.

Not knowing that she was pregnant with the child of Matthias Ariane Valencia, the count sent his sister to the Uelba Mountains and never looked for her again. He told Cain to never contact him until his sister had died.

He had visited the mountains for the first and last time when his sister died. There he saw him, his only nephew, the boy who succeeded the blood of the great Knight King. The boy’s eyes were the same color as Angela’s eyes. But unlike his mother, who had always been energetic, Elkin Isla’s dark, blue eyes glowed as coldly as a deep lake.

He had to be killed for the sake of the family. However, the count had already killed his sister with his own hands. He could not bring himself to kill the boy.

He would let the boy live quietly.

Thinking it would be okay to let the boy live as a hunter for the rest of his life, the count turned away, avoiding the gaze of the child with eyes that looked just like his sister’s.

But one could not fool their blood.

Elkin possessed an ability to communicate with the griffons even without being taught. His talents did not allow him to live out a life as a hunter.

Soon, rumors of a young hunter in the Uelba Mountains began to spread. He supposedly traversed through the mountains on the back of griffons, and the story reached the ears of some of the clans. Since Count Herreran had confined his sister to the Uelba Mountains, the clans once again pressured Count Herreran. In the end, he had no choice but to tell the truth.

All he could do for his nephew was to send Cain a secret message telling them to leave. The young man and Cain left Valvas while being chased by the Medien and the Valencia Clans.

In the end, Cain died and the young descendent of the Knight King escaped Valvas.

“Everything I did… It was for the sake of my family…”

Tears started forming in the eyes of Count Herreran as he muttered to himself.

“What is… M, my lord?”

Teyo stuttered. His shock was much greater than others’. It was surprising that the young cavalier was the only nephew of his lord, but it was even more astonishing that he was the descendent of legendary Knight King.

For nearly 20 years, Teyo had served the Herreran family as a faithful sword. He thought he knew everything there was to know about the count and the Herreran family. Hence, the truth came as a complete surprise.

“I am sorry for hiding it, Teyo. But it was an inevitable choice to protect the family…”

“M, my lord…”

The count’s eyes and voice were filled with remorse. It was an unfamiliar appearance for Teyo. The count he knew was always strict and sober. Count Herreran was strict even towards his own blood, so it was shocking to see him act like this.

“In the name of the Herreran family, I say this once more! This knight is Elkin Isla, the knight of the Pendragon Duchy and my only nephew. He is the descendant of Mara Valencia, the Knight King!”

“What? Is this true?”

“H, how could this be…?”

“Huh…”

The hundreds of men were shocked into confusion and silence. However, this was Valvas. Some of the men tried to come forward. Then, a man with a stout figure like a bear stepped up, stomping his feet.

Boom!

“I am Cavalier Urso from the Medien Clan. I would like to ask you a question, Your Excellency Herreran, the only High Lord of Valvas.”

“Huh…!”

The hall once was once again enveloped in silence at the words of the cavalier. He stemmed from the Medien Clan, one of the most powerful forces in Valvas alongside the Valencia Clan.