Chapter 478 - 477 - Lead the Way! (Final)
The atmosphere inside the Duke’s study froze completely.
The elegant tranquility that had filled the room only moments earlier was shattered by the sudden arrival of two uninvited guests, leaving behind a silence so profound that even the faint crackling of the fireplace seemed to hesitate.
Luca remained seated exactly where he was, one hand still lightly holding the warm porcelain teacup he had yet to finish. Across from him, the old Duke maintained the same composed posture, his own cup resting comfortably in his weathered hand as though nothing unusual had occurred.
Both pairs of eyes slowly turned toward the doorway.
Neither of them spoke.
The silence only made the situation feel more awkward.
Standing near the entrance, Aurelia finally became aware of the scene before her.
She had expected many possibilities during her frantic rush toward the study.
She had imagined Luca injured.
She had imagined the room in ruins.
She had even prepared herself to witness another battle.
Instead...
She found Luca peacefully sitting across from her grandfather.
Drinking tea.
For several seconds, her mind simply refused to process the sight.
Luca blinked once.
The Duke quietly sipped his tea.
Aurelia stood rooted to the spot.
The awkward silence deepened even further.
Then, from directly behind her shoulder, another head cautiously peeked into the room.
Kyle’s crimson eyes immediately landed upon the porcelain cup resting in Luca’s hands.
His gaze remained fixed there.
Then slowly shifted toward the identical cup resting before the Duke.
His expression changed from confusion...
To disbelief.
Then finally—
To utter betrayal.
Without any hesitation whatsoever, he stepped fully into the room while dramatically pointing toward the tea in Luca’s hands.
"Grandfather..."
His voice carried the wounded dignity of someone who had suffered a tremendous injustice.
"...that’s not fair."
The Duke calmly raised an eyebrow.
Kyle folded both arms across his chest.
"I’ve asked to try that tea for years."
His expression became increasingly dramatic.
"And every single time you told me I wasn’t ready."
He pointed accusingly toward Luca.
"Yet somehow this suspicious-looking outsider gets invited for tea the very first day he visits the estate."
Luca nearly choked on the sip he had just taken.
Kyle looked genuinely heartbroken.
"I suddenly feel like I’m not your grandson anymore."
The old Duke remained perfectly composed.
"You exaggerate."
"I most certainly do not."
"You do."
Kyle placed one hand over his heart.
"I have suffered emotional damage."
The old Duke calmly took another sip of tea.
"You’ll survive."
"I don’t think I will."
"You will."
"I need at least one cup to recover."
"No."
Kyle sighed dramatically before looking toward Luca.
"...Would you at least tell me how it tastes?"
Luca glanced toward the cup in his hand.
Then toward the old Duke.
Then back toward Kyle.
"I suddenly feel like any answer I give might cause problems."
The Duke nodded approvingly.
"A wise observation."
Kyle looked even more aggrieved.
During the entire exchange—
Aurelia never once paid attention to the conversation.
Her eyes had briefly noticed the porcelain cup.
Briefly.
Then immediately returned to Luca.
Nothing else mattered.
Not the tea.
Not Kyle’s complaints.
Not even the awkwardness filling the room.
The only thing she noticed...
Was the tear running across Luca’s academy uniform.
The faint traces of blood near his shoulder.
Her expression immediately tightened.
Without another thought, she walked directly toward him.
The movement drew everyone’s attention.
She stopped only when she stood directly before him.
Her violet eyes carefully examined him from head to toe, searching for injuries he might be hiding.
"Luca..."
Her voice had softened considerably.
"Are you really alright?"
Luca smiled helplessly.
"I’m fine."
She continued examining him.
"The blood?"
"A scratch."
"The torn uniform?"
"A consequence of today’s... rather enthusiastic greeting."
"The dust?"
"The study and I had a slight disagreement."
Despite his attempts at humor, Aurelia’s concern refused to disappear.
She reached toward his injured shoulder before stopping herself midway, hesitating as though afraid touching it might make things worse.
"Does it hurt?"
"Not anymore."
"You are lying."
"I’m being optimistic."
She narrowed her eyes.
"You always become optimistic whenever you’re injured."
Luca laughed quietly.
"I didn’t know that was a habit."
"It is."
Only after hearing him laugh normally did the tightness within Aurelia’s chest finally begin to ease.
She quietly released the breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding.
Then—
Almost as though remembering where she actually was—
She slowly turned toward the old Duke.
The relief lingering upon her face gradually transformed into something considerably more familiar.
A granddaughter confronting her grandfather.
"Grandfather."
Her tone remained respectful.
Yet unmistakably dissatisfied.
The Duke calmly looked at her over the rim of his teacup.
"Yes?"
Aurelia folded her arms.
"What exactly happened here?"
The old Duke answered without the slightest hesitation.
"We had a conversation."
She stared at him.
"...That is not what the corridor sounded like."
The old man appeared thoughtful.
"I suppose not."
Kyle immediately joined the discussion.
"The entire corridor was shaking."
Aurelia nodded firmly.
"There were repeated explosions."
Kyle continued counting upon his fingers.
"The walls trembled."
"The doors nearly came off their hinges."
"I distinctly remember hearing what sounded like half the study collapsing."
Aurelia looked directly at her grandfather.
"And after all of that..."
Her eyes shifted toward Luca’s torn uniform before returning to the Duke.
"...you expect me to believe the two of you were simply having a conversation?"
The old Duke slowly placed his teacup back upon its saucer.
A faint smile appeared beneath his beard.
"It was..."
He spoke with complete composure.
"...a very lively conversation."
Aurelia looked utterly unconvinced.
The atmosphere inside the Duke’s study remained strangely suspended between awkwardness and silence.
Warm sunlight continued spilling through the crystal windows while the fragrance of freshly brewed tea lingered gently throughout the room, creating a scene that contrasted almost absurdly with the earlier battle that had nearly reduced the entire study to rubble. The old Duke sat calmly behind his desk with his teacup resting comfortably in one hand, Luca remained seated opposite him wearing a helpless smile, Kyle stood to one side looking between everyone in complete confusion, and Aurelia stood directly before Luca with her brows tightly knitted together.
The more she looked at the tear across Luca’s academy uniform and the faint bloodstain near his shoulder, the more dissatisfied her expression became.
Finally, she turned toward the old Duke.
"Grandfather."
Her voice remained respectful.
Yet there was unmistakable dissatisfaction hidden beneath it.
"How could you do something like this?"
The old Duke simply looked at her.
Aurelia continued before he could answer.
"You called him here without explaining anything, and the next thing everyone outside hears is what sounds like half the manor collapsing."
She gestured toward Luca.
"He is still only a first-year academy student."
Her violet eyes carried genuine frustration.
"Even if you wished to test him, there were countless other ways to do it."
She folded both arms across her chest.
"What if he had been seriously injured?"
For several long moments—
The Duke simply stared at her.
Then—
A deep laugh suddenly erupted throughout the study.
"Hahahahaha!"
The booming laughter echoed from wall to wall, startling all three members of the younger generation.
Kyle blinked repeatedly.
Aurelia looked completely baffled.
Even Luca stared at the old Duke in surprise.
The elderly man continued laughing for several more moments before finally calming himself enough to speak.
"My..."
He wiped the corner of one eye while looking between Luca and Aurelia.
"...what an interesting pair."
The unexpected comment only confused everyone further.
The Duke looked first toward Aurelia.
"You."
A faint smile remained beneath his beard.
"You dared to force your way into my private study without permission simply because you were worried about him."
His violet eyes then shifted toward Luca.
"And you..."
The smile widened.
"...are even more outrageous."
Luca raised an eyebrow.
The Duke chuckled deeply.
"You sat in front of the Duke of House Drayden..."
His voice carried unmistakable amusement.
"...and calmly challenged traditions that have existed within this family for centuries."
Another laugh escaped him.
"Not for your own sake."
His gaze briefly shifted toward Aurelia before returning to Luca.
"But for someone else’s."
"Hahahahaha!"
The laughter once again echoed throughout the room.
Only now—
Aurelia slowly turned toward Luca.
Her violet eyes widened noticeably.
"You..."
Her voice became much quieter.
"...challenged Grandfather?"
Luca rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
"It wasn’t exactly a challenge."
The old Duke immediately interrupted him.
"It most certainly was."
Luca smiled helplessly.
"I merely answered the question honestly."
Aurelia continued staring at him in complete astonishment.
She knew her grandfather better than almost anyone.
Very few people possessed the courage to disagree with him.
Even fewer dared to do so while sitting inside his private study.
Yet somehow—
Luca had done exactly that.
And judging from the Duke’s reaction...
He hadn’t been offended in the slightest.
The old Duke slowly shook his head before looking toward Aurelia once more.
A knowing smile rested beneath his beard.
"As they say..."
He spoke almost absentmindedly.
"...a young daughter cannot be kept at home forever."
The meaning behind those words settled over the room almost instantly.
Kyle’s eyes widened.
Luca froze.
Aurelia needed only a heartbeat to understand exactly what her grandfather had implied.
Her face immediately turned bright crimson.
"G-Grandfather!"
The composure she had maintained throughout the entire morning disappeared completely.
She glared at the old man with burning embarrassment.
"Wh-What are you even saying in front of everyone?!"
Kyle slowly looked between the two of them before quietly taking a step away.
"I suddenly feel like I shouldn’t be here."
Luca coughed awkwardly into his fist.
"I think I also qualify as everyone."
The Duke merely laughed once more before the amusement gradually faded from his expression.
The room slowly became quiet again.
His posture straightened.
The warmth within his eyes remained.
Yet it was now accompanied by the dignity that had earned him the title of the Iron Duke.
He looked directly toward Luca.
For several moments, neither spoke.
Then the Duke finally broke the silence.
"I will give serious thought..."
His deep, weathered voice carried quietly throughout the study.
"...to what you said."
Luca’s expression showed genuine surprise.
He had expected disagreement.
Debate.
Perhaps even outright rejection.
Not this.
He inclined his head respectfully.
"I am honored."
The old Duke slowly nodded.
"Indeed."
His gaze drifted briefly toward the windows overlooking the vast Drayden territory.
"The era approaching this continent..."
His voice became noticeably heavier.
"...will not belong to old men like me."
The words lingered within the quiet room.
"The war that is coming..."
He slowly looked back toward Luca.
"...will not be fought by my generation."
His gaze then briefly passed over Kyle.
Then Aurelia.
Before finally returning to the young man seated before him.
"It will be yours."
The study became completely silent.
No one interrupted him.
No one even breathed loudly.
The old Duke slowly rose from his chair.
Despite his age, his towering figure seemed as imposing as a mountain.
The enormous black spear resting beside the desk appeared almost like an extension of his very existence.
His violet eyes met Luca’s crimson ones.
Then, in a voice that carried the weight of decades spent defending both family and Empire, he spoke.
"You, young man..."
He paused.
"...have earned something that I do not grant lightly."
Another moment of silence followed.
Then—
"I..."
The old Duke stood proudly, every word carrying unquestionable conviction.
"...the Iron Duke of House Drayden..."
"...acknowledge you."
The declaration echoed throughout the study.
Kyle’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Aurelia stood completely frozen.
Even Luca, who had remained remarkably composed throughout the entire meeting, could not hide the surprise that flashed across his face.
The old Duke continued without hesitation.
"So hold your head high."
His voice rang with unwavering authority.
"Walk the path you believe to be right."
His gaze remained fixed upon Luca.
"And when the day comes..."
The atmosphere itself seemed to grow heavier beneath the weight of his words.
"...lead the way."
The old Duke’s expression remained solemn.
"The future..."
His voice became quieter.
Yet somehow even more powerful.
"...rests upon your shoulders."
The study fell into absolute silence.