“Father, you summoned me?”
After traversing the vast courtyard of the Duke’s Mansion, Mu’en finally arrived at the front gate, where he encountered Duke Long En Campbell, and…
“Huh? Mother is here too.”
“Little Mu’en, how are you feeling?”
Mu’en’s dear mother, Noyas Campbell, was also at the gate. Upon seeing Mu’en, she immediately hugged him with a pained expression:
“The healing spells didn’t have any side effects, did they? Ugh, I told you not to get too close to that princess. She’s a jinx. Look, she’s harmed our little Mu’en.”
“Mmm… Mother, no need to worry. I’m completely fine now.”
Enduring his mother’s suffocating embrace, Mu’en forced a smile:
“But if Mother doesn’t let go soon, I might suffocate.”
“Hmph, what’s wrong with me hugging my dear son?”
Noyas pursed her lips like a young girl, reluctantly letting go of Mu’en.
“You spoil Mu’en too much,” said Long En Campbell, who stood nearby, pretending to be stern.
“As a man, he should endure more hardships. How else can he grow?”
“Hardships? Hardships? Do you know your son almost lost his life because of so-called hardships!”
The thought of that incident still made Noyas’ heart race. Her eyes reddened as she held Mu’en’s hand:
“Little Mu’en, promise me you’ll stay away from that woman, okay?”
“…I will.”
Mu’en’s mouth twitched.
Of course, he wanted to distance himself from Celicia for now, as he had no idea how to face her. But wasn’t that marriage contract arranged by you two? With the contract still in place, where could he hide?
“Hmph, it’s all your useless father’s fault,” Noyas said, shooting a glare at Long En.
“Can’t even cancel a marriage contract.”
“Haha, well, Celicia ‘is’ His Majesty’s beloved princess. If I were to bring it up, I might end up receiving a cup of poisoned wine.”
Long En scratched his head, laughing awkwardly.
“Ha. Ha.”
Mu’en forced a laugh and quickly changed the subject:
“So, Father, what did you call me here for?”
Mu’en noticed a luxurious carriage behind them, pulled not by ordinary horses but a majestic griffin.
“Are you going somewhere? And you’ve even brought out the griffin? Are you heading far?”
“Exactly, that’s what I wanted to discuss with you.”
Long En sighed heavily:
“Your mother and I are going on a long trip. We may not be back for a while.”
“For a while? How long exactly?”
Upon hearing this, Mu’en’s head spun.
I just formulated a series of plans centered around you, Father. If you leave, what am I supposed to do?
“Well… It’s hard to say. There are too many variables, but we won’t be back anytime soon.”
Perhaps realizing how abrupt this departure was, Long En offered an apologetic smile:
“It’s just… things happened suddenly. I had no choice.”
“Suddenly… you mean?”
“Those damn demons at the western frontier’s Abyss are stirring again.”
“The Abyss…”
Mu’en was stunned.
The Abyss referred to a chaotic, death-filled, indescribable space controlled by the demons—humanity’s mortal enemies.
Even with the Demon God sealed away, the demons in the Abyss continued to use it as a base, launching attacks on the human continent, aiming to counterattack and free their sealed deity.
And the Leopold Empire, with its vast territory and strength, had the largest shared border with the Abyss, meaning it bore the brunt of the demonic onslaught.
Any major movement in the Abyss required the empire to mobilize immediately. If the frontlines were breached, countless lives would be lost.
And if the Abyss caused such a commotion that even the empire had to act, it wouldn’t be resolved quickly.
“Ah, right,” Mu’en realized.
“I remember this from the original story. The demon invasion was just a feint to mislead humanity and set up their plans three years later.”
“And three years later was when the protagonist officially embarked on the journey of salvation.”
“Wait… three years?”
Mu’en’s face paled.
So, Father would be away on the frontlines for at least three years?
What about my plans?
My teacher?
My safety?
My plan to laze around safely and emerge to astonish the world?
With Father heading to the frontlines…
Poof, gone?
Just like that, my plans are ruined before they even began?
“B-b-but… must ‘you’ go?” Mu’en stammered. “Can’t someone else?”
“I know you’re worried about me,” Long En said, assuming Mu’en was concerned for his safety. “But this time, I ‘have’ to go.”
“Why?”
“Because of this.”
Long En showed Mu’en the emblem on his chest—the Campbell family crest.
A sword slaying a dragon.
The Campbell family, the empire’s sharpest blade, had stood at the forefront of battle since the empire’s founding!
So when war broke out, Long En Campbell had to be on the frontlines!
“I see…”
Mu’en knew there was no use protesting.
“What about Mother?” Mu’en asked, turning to Noyas. “Are you also heading to the frontlines?”
“Of course not,” Noyas shook her head. “Your father is just dropping me off along the way.”
“Dropping off? Where are you going?”
“Back to our fief, the Campbell Territory.”
“Huh? Why? Why is Mother going alone…”
“Because…”
Noyas suddenly looked bashful.
“There’s something we haven’t had a chance to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“Well…”
Noyas placed a hand on her stomach, her face glowing with happiness.
“You’re going to have a little brother.”
“Or maybe a sister,” Long En added, holding Noyas’ hand with a tender expression.
“So? Aren’t you excited?”
“Huh?”
Whether Mu’en was excited or not, he was certainly shocked.
(⊙o⊙) What?!
A brother or sister?
Are you two joking?
Hasn’t the Campbell family always been single heirs?
“Ah, who would have thought that in my generation, the Campbell family curse of single heirs would be broken?” The brave and sturdy Duke Campbell now had a tear of warmth in his eye.
“The heavens have blessed us. I’m sure our ancestors would be overjoyed.”
“So,” Noyas continued.
“To ensure a smooth pregnancy, I’ll be returning to the countryside at Campbell Territory. Since Mu’en will be starting school soon, staying alone at the Duke’s Mansion would be too lonely. It’s better to return to the countryside and escape those annoying noblewomen for some peace.”
