CHAPTER 14: VALERIAN VON HOHENBERG

Eldric von Hohenberg forced himself to breathe.

In... and out.

He took deep breaths multiple times to calm his heart, he wasn’t at the comfort of the clan so he couldn’t show any sort of weakness.

His position didn’t allow it.

His knuckles were white against the carved lion-head arms of his chair, his nails digging into the wood so fiercely that splinters had begun to break off.

His chest heaved with the storm he was keeping locked inside.

A moment ago, he had erupted in disbelief when Lucius awakened Wood.

But now, silence was the only thing keeping him from unraveling.

He was the Patriarch of House Hohenberg.

To the country, he was a pillar, a sovereign within his own right, he was the ruler that headed one of the original clans and he did it well.

Yet right now, he felt smaller than ever.

Lucius.

That boy... he was finalizing the details of his Awakened ID, like he was unknown to the storm he had just caused.

Space.

Wood.

Both Divine ranked.

Eldric’s throat tightened.

’Why... why did I not listen to Elena?’

His daughter’s voice returned to him like an echo, one he had dismissed too many times.

She wasn’t his daughter in blood but by adoption but that did not mean she wasn’t a true Hohenberg.

She had begged him not to cast Lucius away, had pleaded that there was more to him than he let on.

But Eldric had been proud, too proud.

Lucius had shown no talent, and in the Hohenberg creed, the talentless were discarded.

And now...

The Space element.

The world had seen it with their own eyes — the stars, the black expanse, the moon itself reflected around them as if the chamber had been torn open and hurled into the heavens.

Space.

The element wielded by the First Awakener — the man whose awakening had marked the dawn of this new age.

That very man had used Space to tear apart the single mass of the earth and split it into continents.

That was the scale of its power.

That was its history.

And now, his exiled son held that same dominion.

Eldric’s lips trembled as he bit back a roar.

And then — Wood.

The very element of the Elder Hohenberg, the founder of their clan.

The element upon which House Hohenberg’s legacy had been built.

Both belonged now to the child they had thrown away.

The Patriarch’s grip cracked the wood of his chair.

’FUCK!’ The scream tore through his mind, but his tongue was iron.

He could not allow himself to lose control again.

Not in front of everyone.

"Steven," Eldric rasped at last, his voice low but sharp as a blade, "the mansion we granted him upon his exile. Does he still live there?"

The steward, trembling, shook his head.

His tie quivered with the motion.

"N-no, Patriarch. Young Master Lucius sold it shortly after his exile. Since then, we have not been able to trace where he lives."

Eldric’s jaw clenched until the muscles ached.

The boy had cut them off completely.

No ties, no threads, nothing for them to pull on.

He had prepared for this.

He had anticipated their regret.

The mighty Patriarch of House Hohenberg sat trapped in his own silence, seething in humiliation.

Across the hall, the Silberhain family were no less shaken.

Leo von Silberhain, their Patriarch, looked like a man caught between disbelief and terror.

His hands, usually steady, tapped incessantly at the silver head of his cane.

"H-how?" His voice cracked. "How could this be? Two Divine elements? Is it a trick, some deceit—?"

But he faltered before he could finish.

He had seen the orbs shatter, felt the weight of the energy in the chamber.

There was no trick.

There was no doubt.

The world’s attention was not on House Silberhain, not on his daughter, not even on the rivals who usually circled them like wolves.

All eyes were on Lucius.

And Lucius... Lucius did not spare them a glance.

The boy who had once courted his daughter, who had once walked their gardens as a suitor, now stood across the chamber without even acknowledging their existence.

To him, they were irrelevant.

Like dust in the wind.

Leo’s pride twisted like a knife in his gut.

"Lily," he said, swallowing back his shame. "Perhaps you should... try speaking with him. If he still harbors even a fragment of affection, then perhaps—"

The words hung heavy. Lily, face pale, nodded slowly. "I... I will try, Father."

’Anything,’ Leo thought.

He would do anything to to salvage the disaster of binding her to Elliot Runenforscher.

What was the Runenforscher name before the first Space Awakener of the new age?

...

At the other end of the hall, Lucius turned a new card over in his hands.

"This is my Awakener ID?" His voice was calm, almost casual.

[Name: Lucius von Hohenberg]

[Status: Awakened]

[Rank: E-Rank]

[Elements: Space (Divine), Wood (Divine)]

Arnold nodded vigorously.

"Y-yes, Sir Lucius. With this, you may go to the Awakener Association, take on missions, raids, or expeditions. And should you wish for full privileges, we implore you to join a Guild or the official Hunter Association. With your rank, any would—"

"I will choose the guild I want," Lucius interrupted coolly, tucking the card away.

Inwardly, his thoughts burned sharp and decisive.

’Once again like any regression novel, I’ll take the GUILD that has opportunity.’

He would ask Elara to research on them when he got home.

He turned toward the exit, intent on leaving this suffocating hall, when the air itself seemed to tighten.

A presence swept through the chamber immediately — overpowering, suffocating, like a mountain pressing against the chest of every man and woman present.

The nobles instinctively drew back, heads turning toward the stairs as a figure descended.

A man with hair black as midnight, eyes burning crimson, and a sword at his hip that hummed with restrained power.

His mere steps echoed like thunder, his aura cutting through the hall.

"Dear brother," the man’s voice boomed, firm and unyielding. "Congratulations on awakening."

Lucius turned his head slowly.

Valerian von Hohenberg.

The Sword of the Royal Guard. Eldric’s firstborn. The empire’s crimson blade.

And Lucius’s eldest brother.

[Author’s Note]

See? I did it according to our promise, Phew 100 PS for another Mass release.

I hope you’re enjoying the novel as much as I am.