Golden Mage Chapter 26

Chapter 26

“After pushing you away, I realized what a huge mistake I made. I wish I could turn back time, Cilfir.”

“I’m sorry, Father.”

Cilfir, in a complex state, could only utter those words.

Seeming to understand Cilfir’s feelings, Count Einhart gently looked at El and spoke.

“Is he your son?”

“Yes, he’s his son. Elly, come here and greet your grandfather.”

Wiping away tears, Cilfir introduced El to Count Einhart.

And El politely bowed.

“I’m El. Your… grand… father.”

To others, it might have sounded like he couldn’t speak properly due to overwhelming emotions. But El was just forcing himself to call him that.

El saw it.

The fleeting look in Count Einhart’s eyes when Cilfir referred to him as his son.

He didn’t know what it meant, but he could tell it wasn’t something good.

“Well, well, I’m your grandpa. It’s good to meet you, even now.”

As he said that, Count Einhart’s hand rested on El’s shoulder.

In that moment, a discreet mana scan was silently cast by Gleton and El, unnoticed by anyone else but a fellow 7th-class mage wouldn’t catch it in time.

El was inwardly surprised. The spell Count Einhart cast in that split second was incredibly fast.

It was almost as fast as when El corrected Brien’s formula.

“Is this… one of Count Einhart’s visionary magics?”

If the spell’s casting speed was any indication, he wouldn’t lose to a Sword Master in combat.

Count Einhart, a 7th-class mage who produced not one but three 8th-class mages in his lifetime, truly had remarkable power.

On the other hand, when Count Einhart cast a mana scan on El, he was taken aback.

“This, is this real?!”

The fact that Cilfir returned here meant that he had become a 6th-class master at the age of early thirties. That meant there had to be something extraordinary about him. So he cast a mana scan to find out.

And the information he gained was truly astounding.

El, who was merely seventeen years old, emitted a power equivalent to a 5th-class expert.

“It’s truly astonishing. Is there some special secret? If so, the family can make even greater leaps.”

Count Einhart felt a glimmer of hope.

Given Cilfir’s accomplishment of becoming a 6th-class master at the age of thirty, he felt there must be a method to achieve that level for someone like El, too.

Suppressing his greed for the 8th class as he aged, Count Einhart saw a glimmer of hope in El’s power.

But he couldn’t reveal his intentions yet.

Cilfir was still wounded, and his heart wasn’t fully devoted to the family…

As Count Einhart got lost in thought, Gleton intervened.

“After seventeen years, we finally meet again, Cilfir. Glad to see you.”

“Yes, Father…”

As Cilfir replied, Gleton pointed to Serena and Kaina. Their remarkable beauty caught his attention, but he was also curious about their identity.

“Who are they?”

“…They are my disciples.”

He couldn’t call them maids, nor could he introduce them as El’s disciples. Cilfir gave the most appropriate answer.

“I see.”

Gleton nodded in response.

Then he looked back and forth between Count Einhart and Cilfir.

“Let’s go inside and talk. How about going in to have a chat, Father?”

Count Einhart, lost in thought, snapped out of it.

“Ah! Let’s do that.”

“Follow me.”

As Gleton led the way, everyone followed him.

Serena and Kaina seemed uneasy since they were noble ladies and felt the oppressive atmoCilfir in the place.

El placed his hand on their shoulders, giving them a reassuring smile.

“Don’t worry too much. I’m here with you. Just trust and rely on me.”

His words brightened up the expressions of the two ladies. They nodded and replied.

“Yes!”

“Then let’s go.”

As El led, Serena and Kaina followed behind him.

—

“How have you been all this time?”

Sitting in the spacious reception room, Count Einhart asked about Cilfir’s well-being.

In response, Cilfir answered.

“I spent my time training magic relentlessly. To return to the family, I had to become a 6th-class master.”

“I’m sorry. After I sent you away, I regretted it…”

Seeing Count Einhart genuinely apologize, Cilfir sighed.

“I, too, feel deeply sorry for leaving and causing you trouble. But I truly loved him, and I have no regrets about my actions. You did what was best for the family, and I did what was best for myself. So you don’t have to apologize to me for that.”

“Uh… I see.”

Count Einhart’s tangled emotions remained unresolved.

A heavy silence filled the air as a result.

At that moment, a servant’s voice was heard from outside the room.

“Your Excellency, an urgent first-class magic letter has arrived.”

“A first-class magic letter? I see.”

A first-class magic letter contained critical matters.

The servant discreetly exited the room, and Count Einhart opened the letter.

As he read the contents of the letter, his expression brightened, and he started to chuckle.

“Kukuku! I see, so that’s it? It seems that the Crown Prince went on an expedition and saw Cilfir. Come to think of it, the Crown Prince used to be deeply infatuated with Cilfir… He wrote that he wishes to revive the broken engagement from the past.”

“What do you mean, Father?”

Inquiringly, Gleton asked Count Einhart.

“The Crown Prince recently went on an expedition, didn’t he?”

Gleton recalled the report that the Crown Prince had left the palace to observe the lives of commoners.

“Yes, I heard that a few days ago he went on an expedition.”

“Exactly. It seems that the Crown Prince saw Cilfir during that time. And it’s written here that he wishes to revive the engagement that was broken due to a regrettable incident.”

“Then…”

With a glint in his eyes, Gleton saw this as another chance. A perfect opportunity to entangle themselves with the Crown Prince as his in-laws.

Elfinthellgat Evendream III was quite a ruthless man.

To think he would consider sending back his daughter, who suffered an irreversible trauma from him, just for his ambitions…

But that was how Einhart and Gleton thought.

To achieve the reputation of the Empire’s top noble, the Einhart family had to sacrifice something… and that’s what they believed.