In the morning, when the first ray of sunlight fell on the Arclore family residence, Mordred heard a knock at his door.

"There’s gonna be a crime if it's not something important."

Still sleepy, Mordred got up from the bed. But before he opened the door, without even realizing it, he began to dress himself.

"So this is what the dignity of a villain is called."

Finally noticing his actions, he looked at himself in the mirror. Though still in his nightdress, he looked like a flower blooming in the morning.

"Come in."

At his words, an old butler dressed in a dark suit stepped in. "Young master, the mistress invites you to dinner."

"My mother?....... I will be there in a minute. You can go now."

The butler lowered his head in response as he took his leave.

It's been at least a week since I've been in this body, but not once have I been invited to anything. Why now, all of a sudden…?

Getting up, he changed into a darker outfit—a color that made him appear deep and mysterious.

Stepping out of his room, he followed the path to the dining room with the help of Mordred's original memories.

On his way, he passed numerous maids and butlers working in the residence, as well as knights guarding the place, all of whom bowed slightly to him. In front of them, Mordred stayed sharp, like a knife that had just been sharpened.

"Did you feel like something changed in the young master?"

Looking at Mordred’s distant figure, the maids whispered to another.

"Shh! It's not our place to discuss them."

The dining hall of the Arclore family was a grand space filled with numerous paintings and sculptures by skilled artists. Surrounding the entire place was a beautiful garden, with giant windows on each side offering a perfect view of its beauty.

As Mordred approached, he heard the sounds of plates and cups moving. When he finally arrived, he saw his mother—a true beauty even in her mid-age—sitting alone at the dining table. The maids were preparing the table, placing two plates on either side.

So it's just me and her.

"I hope you had a wonderful morning, Mother," Mordred said, drawing all attention to himself.

In Destiny Quest, Mordred hid his secret business so well that even his own family remained unaware of his true nature. His mother still believed him to be her dear, clueless son, ignorant of society’s workings. However, in one scene, when one of the heroes exposed Mordred’s true colors, his own mother had him executed in public.

Since none of that happens now, I should be the clueless son.

"Sit, my son; I hope you had a wonderful morning as well," Mordred’s mother, Isadora Arclore, returned the greeting, showing a beautiful smile that warmed up the room. She was dressed in a bright red gown, and her skin was like a fairy’s—just seeing her was enough to make someone feel at ease.

"Certainly, I did, but I wonder mother, why did you called me." While sitting down, Mordred got straight to the point, but his mother responded with a hint of laziness.

As Mordred took his seat, a maid offered him a cup of tea along with the breakfast he desired.

"Why? … I just wanted to spend some time with my son. Don't you like it?"

"......I missed you too, Mother," Mordred answered after pondering for a few seconds.

After finishing their small talk, the maids all left, leaving the mother and son alone. Dining on his meal, Mordred savored the taste. Something this fancy had never been a delicacy he enjoyed in his previous life.

Only after a long silence did the two speak again.

"There was a letter from the royal family. Apparently, they're choosing candidates for the academy this year."

Lifting his head, Mordred looked at his mother, finally getting the reason for his summon.

There are a few academies in the kingdom—Vanguard and Baranguard are some of them—but the Kengen Academy, which is directly supported by the royal family, is something only the best of the best can attend. As one of the most prestigious families, Arclore would definitely receive admission.

"Come to think of it, I'm not an adult yet. I'm just in my academy years. Also, the academy will be the best place for me to locate other heroes' whereabouts."

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"Do you want me to attend the academy, Mother?"

"I'm glad you agreed," Isadora responded without delay.

Looks like I had no option from the beginning.

"Don't worry, you won't feel alone; after all, that girl is also going to be there." With a teasing smile, Isadora looked at her son.

"Pff... What... What girl?" Mordred almost spilled his tea if not for his traits. Also, seeing his mother's smile made him feel a bit sick.

"Who else but your fiancée?"

My fiancée...?

. . . . . . .

To humans, companionship is something serious; as weak beings, we depend on each other for physical and mental needs. But I'm different. I lived a dull life, and the only thing I focused on was my job. In truth, I never had a female companion, even in school. It's not a problem for me to talk to a woman, but I don't know how to handle someone who is supposed to be intimate with me.

After breakfast, Mordred bid farewell to his mother, quickly returned to his room, and began to think. In the game, Mordred definitely had a fiancée, but later on, after being exposed for his crimes, she also became someone who helped the hero execute him.

It's okay; with my knowledge, I should be able to prevent her from turning against me. But the problem is... I don't know how to talk to a woman like that.

He originally tried to lean against the door to think about it, but his traitor forced him to sit on a nearby chair and cross his legs in a prideful manner while pondering this devastating problem.

"Come to think of it, Mordred doesn’t have just one girlfriend. Later in the game, it is revealed that the original Mordred, the clueless son of Isadora, had been possessed by a spirit that escaped from an ancient city. The lore explains that when the original Mordred first summoned a spirit being, this particular spirit emerged with the help of his comrade from the ancient spirit society. But in the end, he betrayed his comrade, seized Mordred's body, and closed the spirit gate to prevent others from coming through.

As a result, except for the Hellhound that Mordred summoned using a very secret method, he never opened the spirit gate again out of fear that his old comrade would find their way to him.

Among those old comrades, one had a romantic relationship with this spirit. I think she also ended up helping the hero in the same group.

"Let's see what I remember about this fiancée of mine." Leaning back in the chair, he started to dig through his memory.

. . . . . . .

That same morning, in the Hansvill Valley, which belonged to the Luminious family...

"Young lady, young lady, look", a maid ran in the corrode before barging into a room where a young woman was lying on a long, comfortable sofa, reading a book in her hands. Upon hearing the maids, she lowered the book to look at her.

"Misifin, it's quite unsightly to see you run like that"

"I apologize, my lady, but look", the maid showed a letter in her hand before giving it to the woman.

'invitation to the Kangan Academy" After leading the latter, she tosses it aside before going back to reading the book.

"An academy exists only to show off their power; I'm not interested."

"but my lady..."

"How is the task I gave you? "she asked, interrupting the maid while turning a page from her book.

"... my lady, the books have been secured, but we lack the necessary security to transport them back" The maid took her usual demeanour, one fitting for a high aristocrat family servant.

"What about the mercenaries"

"because of the mercenary king's sudden announcement of taking a disciple, almost all of the mercenaries gone to Eluwald wild to test their luck" As she reported, the maid looked around the rooms, seeing how messy it was; she began to pick up the clothes and other things around the floor. Her young lady appears diligent to the outside world, but in private, she's a carefree flower in the noble house. Even now she is dressed in a light dress that can see through her undergarments. All of her carelessness is because she is completely obsessed with learning magic, and all the books in her library are filled with knolwage about element magic, which is the thing she is proficient in to the point she became the Adept stage element magician at just young age.

"It has been months, and the mercenary king still hasn't chosen a disciple, is he that stingy with that barbarian title"

"Someone did come at the top in these past months but suddenly someone else who had been at the bottom of the ranking showed a sudden burst of strength and began to compete for the title, thus prolonging the event"

"who's that, "asked the lady, turning another page, still not much interested in the topic.

"his name is Agathor; some say he's someone from a fallen family trying to revive its name, but some says he's the illegitimate child of the mercenary king. Nonetheless, he seems skilled from what I heard"

"..."

"He even said to defeat young master Loren", said the maid, looking secretly at the young lady.

"Loren.. The same one that a friend with the young master Mordred" The girl lowered her book to look at the maid. Finally taking an interest in the subject.

"That's what I heard. But don't worry, young lady, someone like young master Mordred would never be the type to seek vengeance for his friend... Not after he attended the academy, of course."

Then, finally, the girl put down her book.

"Young master Mordred, attending academy this year.. "

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Josaphin ven luminous"

Just like I remember, she's from the luminous family, the prodigy whose class is a magician with sub-class Elementalist. Even before turning twenty, she was at the Adept stage.

In Destiny quest, there exists a ranking system with living beings having five different stages while items having six different stages. Unlike magicians and warriors ranking systems where their own power is considered for rank. A summoner's rank is represented by the power of his soul. Item rank depends on rarity and the kind of ability it processes. Except for item rank, the other ranking systems each have three stages in an exact rank: bigining stage, middle stage, and peak stage they are.

Considering I summon hell hound, I should be also in the peak initial stage. Not bad..

Sitting in his chair, holding the token of gratitude in his hand, Mordred thought to himself in silence. The sound of birds and wind kept echoing in his surroundings as he opened a window on the side.

In timewise, I'm at the stage where some hero isn't even know yet. And Since there is no player to limit or guide the individual strength, I'm sure things will change in powervise.

< item appraisal complete >

Name - Token of gratitude.

Grade - Rare

Description - an item bestowed by the Knight of Ramir to his saviour. Once it recognised its owner, it was bound by life to him. (contain the avatar of knight Ramir)

The current owner - Mordred vorthian Arclore

Appraisal takes a lot of time to work, and it only works on the magic items and other nonliving stuff. And the need for touch is necessary.

Putting the token back into storage, Mordred stood up and walked up to the opened window and gazed out at the bright sky and beautiful scenery of Arclore's residents.

The whole place is like a luxurious city, but only the Arclore family and its servants can stay here.

"It's too peaceful... A typical villain would hate this, but I... I guess I should enjoy this."