◈ Episode 163: The Rumos Family (3)
“The excitement has cooled.”
Cayden Lumos said that, then turned and left.
“Ah, Father!”
His son and daughter, Kamal Lumos and Katrina Lumos, hurried after Cayden.
Before leaving, Katrina Lumos glared at Ludgar and Flora standing behind him with a ferocious gaze.
The nobles who followed Lumos also pursued Cayden.
The atmosphere full of tension was relieved as people were considerably absorbed.
The spectators scattered one by one.
The only people left were Rudger, Flora, and Heyback.
Flora had been unable to meet Rudger’s eyes for a moment.
She was at a loss as to how to treat Rudger now.
“Are you okay?”
“… … .”
Flora couldn’t answer.
As usual, it was only right to say thank you here.
But what are you thankful for?
What kept you from being humiliated by your family?
What did you coolly shoot at your father who didn’t acknowledge you?
It’s a confirmation kill.
If you say thank you here.
It was tantamount to admitting that he was treated as an abandoned child in his family.
Flora bit her lip.
‘Teacher knows. There’s no way you don’t know what I am.’
Know.
Rudger already knew everything about his situation.
‘Nevertheless, I… … .’
Even so, it is different from taking it out of your own mouth.
It was good even if it was self-esteem.
Because there was only this left to protect her.
That was all.
The only thing she’s holding.
It is a very small and beautiful piece of glass.
It was so precious that I held it tightly in my hand.
A piece of glass that cracked and shattered at some point.
What I now held in my hand could no longer find its former form.
broken
breaking down
The sharp shards cut into pieces pierced her palms, even injuring her.
Still, I couldn’t let it go.
I had no choice but to hold on tighter so as not to lose what I had.
hurt yourself
Even while making your palms bloody.
Because this is the only ‘true’ that a girl who has not been recognized by her family has left.
So Flora couldn’t say thank you or sorry.
Couldn’t.
All she could do was desperately endure the beating of sorrow.
Then Rudgar’s soft voice rang in Flora’s ears.
“Go and see.”
Facing Flora, who raised her head in surprise, Rudger turned and stared to one side.
“I thought your friend was waiting for you.”
just like usual
okay. Even in this situation, this man is considerate of others and treats them as usual.
At the end of that line of sight was Cheryl Wagner.
her old childhood friend.
“Flora… … .”
Sheryl must have intuited that something had already happened, and her usual bright smile wasn’t there.
Cheryl came over to Flora and examined her complexion.
“Flora. are you okay?”
“huh… … .”
“… … Let’s go back.”
“okay.”
Cheryl bit her lip at the sound of Flora’s seemingly weak voice, then bowed her head while glancing at Ludger.
It meant thank you for helping my friend Flora.
Eventually, as I watched the two of them moving away, Heyback, who was next to me, let out a sigh of pity.
“It is a pity. No matter which family you were born into, that talent would be a blessing. All of a sudden, I was born in Lumos, which believes in the Lumensis cult, and is treated like that.”
“Despite his appearance, Duke Cayden seems to have been a very pious believer.”
“It’s not godly, it’s close to madness. But the good thing about that kid is that he’s not stigmatized.”
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stigma.
At that, Rudgar frowned.
Heyback nodded in understanding.
“The Cult of Lumensis stigmatizes an unfaithful child when it is born. A stigma that won’t go away even after his whole life. It is a barbaric act of doing bad things to a child.”
“And even rationalizing it by packaging it as God’s will.”
“But that child is not stigmatized. Even though it wouldn’t have been strange to label him with a guy like Caden.”
Still, by giving the last warmth?
no.
There is only one reason.
“The child’s mother desperately protected him.”
“Flora’s mother… … .”
“Unfortunately, she is not of this world.”
In the end, Flora Rumos lost her mother early and lived a life unappreciated by her father.
‘For that matter, her evaluation within the academy wasn’t that bad.’
If he was the son of a concubine, it wouldn’t be strange if some noble students were at odds with Flora.
That she didn’t do that means that her position in the family has not yet been revealed to others.
‘The Rumos family intentionally hid it.’
It is a ulterior motive to use it according to the circumstances necessary for the family rather than stigmatizing it.
It was judged that Flora’s value was sufficient if she formed an alliance with another family through an arranged marriage.
That’s why rumors about her haven’t spread in Seorn yet.
‘Fortunately, rumors like this won’t spread among students.’
Of course, looking at Katrina’s behavior, it wouldn’t be strange to spread rumors to Seorn right away.
‘Duke Cayden won’t let that go.’
He’s a man who only exchanged glances a few times while facing each other.
Rudger immediately figured out what kind of personality he was.
Cayden Lumos is a man who will suck the marrow of his opponents if he is useful.
According to her personality, she would have stopped spreading bad rumors about Flora.
It’s not because I’m worried about my daughter.
This is because he does not want the value of the tools he will use to be damaged.
‘Is that kind of person Flora’s father?’
For Rudger, the existence of a father was to the point where even that memory was blurred.
Even so, one thing I can be sure of is that my father was definitely a good person.
A person who can be reassuring and supportive when times are tough.
And when it’s gone, a sad and painful person.
Such was the presence of a father to his children.
However, Cayden Lumos did not show any favors towards the daughter he gave birth to.
They don’t even deal with blood.
‘That kind of thing can’t be my father.’
Parents are more important to children than anything else.
Rudger knew better than anyone what happened to a child who lost a mother or father.
It was for that reason that he came out emotionally.
i was just angry
so i just went
“Sir, are you okay?”
Maybe it was because the emotions were overblown and showed through facial expressions.
Heyback asked worriedly.
“it’s okay.”
Rudger, who immediately changed his expression, replied casually.
* * *
“father. Are you really going to let that c*cky teacher go like this?”
Kamal argued with Caden, haughtily as if he hadn’t been offended by what had just happened.
“The fallen noble insulted my father and my sister in front of everyone.”
“that’s right! He even did it in front of Flora!”
Katrina also helped.
Kayden, who had been walking in the lead, stopped abruptly.
He slowly turned his head and looked back at his children.
“So, what are you going to do?”
Katrina shut her mouth tightly at the voice filled with irritation.
However, even though Kamal was intimidated, he had to say something to relieve his aptitude.
“We must formally protest against Ceorn and call Flora into the family… … .”
“Kamal. What do we gain from doing that?”
“yes? The prestige of a fallen family… … .”
“Stupid.”
Cayden glared at Kamal and frowned.
“Do you think Lumos’s prestige will collapse just because that teacher said a few words? Or, do you just want to say that our Lumos is that much?”
“That is not so!”
“Then what? Are you saying that the teacher had to be buried there? All you get from doing so is the lowly satisfaction of extinguishing the emotion of anger for a moment.”
low-key satisfaction.
Cayden dismissed the emotions his son and daughter harbored in those six words.
“Of course, the guy’s behavior is obviously arrogant. But as you saw, the sly old Kadatushan stayed by his side.”
“That, that… … .”
“And you guys don’t know, but the president of Ceorn was also watching the situation.”
“Cho, you mean the president?”
“okay.”
Everyone had their eyes on Ludgar, so he probably didn’t know, but Cayden knew.
That Ceorn’s president, Elisa Willow, was watching them from a distance.
“And if I ever tried to move, I would have thought of stepping in and stopping it.”
“Yeah, it can be.”
Kamal muttered in disbelief.
I was surprised to see that Ceorn’s president was there, but what surprised me even more was Cayden’s keen eye.
In that situation, Cayden looked around with a wide perspective and calculated everything that would happen in the future.
“Ha, but why is the president… … .”
“It must mean that the fallen aristocratic teacher is more trusted by the president than he seems.”
“So, are you saying you’re going to leave this matter alone?”
Normally, Kamal would have agreed and withdrew.
However, he asked his father if Ludger’s figure still shimmered in front of him.
“Kamal. what did i teach you As a family member, remember what I told you.”
“… … Lumos never forgets his enemies.”
“and?”
“That grudge will surely be repaid even if it takes 10 years… … no see.”
“okay. That’s it.”
Cayden nodded instead of trying to put his hand on his son’s shoulder.
“Our Rumos family was able to come up to this point because they did not forget their grudge. I’m leaving right now, but I’ll never forget this. Do you understand?”
“… … yes.”
“I wish I knew.”
“father. Then what about Flora?”
Katrina, who had been listening quietly, could not stand it and asked.
She was still blushing, as if it was hard to bear that she had been humiliated in front of Flora.
“Leave Flora alone.”
“Why? You have to tell them right away that the failed work is the son of a concubine… … .”
“Then won’t the value go down?”
value.
In those words, the two siblings could clearly sense how Caden viewed Flora.
He did not see Flora Lumos as his own blood.
Just a nice tool to use. That was all.
If Flora hadn’t excelled in magic, she wouldn’t have been treated like this.
Knowing her father’s character well, Katrina didn’t argue any further.
“… … all right.”
“I wish I knew.”
Saying so, Cayden took the lead again.
However, siblings Kamal and Katrina looked at their father’s back with respect.
But there was one thing Caden Lumos never told his children.
‘That teacher.’
Caden, thinking of Rudger staring at him, slightly opened his hand.
His palms were wet with cold sweat.
‘He’s a dangerous guy.’
The reason Cayden didn’t provoke Ludger was because of his instinctive intuition.
The various experiences he had while ascending to the position of family head. As a result, the accumulated keen eye and instinctive sense.
His senses were telling him not to fight Ludgar.
So I got out of the spot right away.
It was because there was pressure on him, like you would feel from a king.
‘But, Lumos doesn’t forget the grudge.’
Resentment must be repaid.
It was the history of Lumos and the driving force that brought the family to this point.
As the owner of the house, he felt that fact more than anyone else.
* * *
“Really. I almost got caught up in trouble again.”
Elisa shook her head as she watched Cayden Lumos withdraw from a distance through her opera glasses.
But even as she said that, a smile crept across her lips.
“As expected, I’m quick-witted because I’m going to go.”
Elisa put her opera glasses on the table.
Wilford, who was pouring tea beside him, asked.
“Is that so?”
“The family head Kayden knew I was watching and withdrew. She knew right away that when she got emotional, he wasn’t good for her.”
“But given his personality, I won’t easily forget him. I think I will keep it in my heart forever.”
“I guess so. In words, they claim to be lofty eagles, but the Lumos family are narrower than snakes.”
The Lumos family was one of the famous magic families, but what made the name known to Lumos more than that was their zeal and obsession.
The most representative example was the conflict with the Deville family.
The Deville family was once a vassal of Lumos.
The Deville family used the eagle’s seal because they were allowed to use it when serving the Rumos family.
However, now that Devile has gone under Kadatushan after a certain incident.
Rumos was constantly putting pressure on the Deville family to stop using the eagle symbol.
That too for 100 years.
However, Veronica Deville, who now represents the Deville family, did not respond.
Veronica, the vice-captain of Cold Steel, rather mocked Lumos’ request and openly wore an emblem symbolizing an eagle.
“There’s no way that the tenacious Lumos family would give up easily, right?”
“You look pretty happy for that.”
“Nothing. This incident gave me confidence in Mr. Rudger.”
“What do you mean by certainty?”
“I knew for sure when I saw how he stood up to the duke for his students. I think I can trust him properly.”
Elisa had been suspicious of Rudger several times before.
In fact, not only Rudger, but others as well.
However, it was only that Ludger looked particularly extravagant, so his suspicions did not go away for a long time.
However, judging from the various attitudes Rudger has shown so far, he was by no means an evil person.
Of course, concerns still remain.
What if all of this is an act to buy favor from this side?
‘No way.’
No matter what, there is a degree.
He would never reveal new magic information like Ludger did, or openly pretend to be a duke for a student, just to buy someone else’s favor.
And a person who acts to buy favor has no choice but to show off.
Rudger did not have the blatantness of deliberately appealing to others for his good deeds.
‘Of course, he’s a person who hides a lot.’
Wouldn’t that be more attractive?
Elisa was sure.
The center that can stand up to the aristocratic faction in Seorn will be Ludgar.
‘So please take good care of me in the future? Mr. Rudger.’
* * *
‘what?’
Rudgar shuddered with a sudden chill running down his spine.
