Building A Human Empire By Creating A Clan [EN]: Chapter 81

Immediately after Edar left, Eirik lowered his head.

He took out the hand he had been hiding before entering the drawing room.

An orichalcum ring [a mythical metal, often associated with Atlantis] emitted a subtle purple light.

He caressed the ring before entering the drawing room.

“I’m back. Father, Mother.”

“Eirik—”

“Why are you only coming now?”

As soon as he greeted them, Ibella cut off the Duke and snapped at him.

“Pardon?”

“Do you even know what happened to your brother Haral?”

When he blinked and remained silent, she glared at him.

“Are you too busy playing outside? Do you even know who has come to this mansion right now?”

“…Yes. Edar has returned, I heard. Did you just see him?”

“Yes! While you were out gallivanting, the ‘eldest son’ Edar returned, demanding the estate and succession rights of Thredret.”

Eirik was silent.

It was news he already knew.

Because his return was the reason.

Because he came to Thredret because Edar was here.

– Eirik Thredret.

In an instant, Archbishop Gottlob’s voice echoed in his mind.

– Do not forget your duty.

The light disappeared from Eirik’s eyes as he heard the voice.

“Eirik!”

Ibella raised her voice at his preoccupied appearance.

The light returned, and he raised his head.

“Yes, Mother.”

“You really are… No, it’s nothing. I had too much expectation for you.”

Eirik frowned at her clicking her tongue.

The dazed look from before was nowhere to be found.

He glared at Ibella with a clear gaze.

“Then what do you want me to do?”

Ibella blinked at her son’s harsh tone.

She flushed and was about to retort when the Duke stepped in.

“That’s no way to speak to your mother.”

“…I’m sorry.”

“If only you were half as good as your brother.”

“……..”

“Dear.”

Eirik’s expression disappeared at Ibella’s muttering.

However, the Duke and his wife did not pay attention to their son’s change.

The Duke stroked his chin, affecting a refined air, and asked.

“Eirik, have you heard from the Archbishop?”

“He was supposed to visit the Theocracy, so he should be back soon.”

“Then tell him I have something important to discuss with him.”

Eirik narrowed his eyes.

“May I know what it is about?”

The Duke looked at Eirik for a moment before shaking his head.

“You don’t need to know.”

“Why?”

“It’s better for you not to know.”

“Father, I am also a son of this house. I also have a say in the family—”

The Duke raised his hand to cut off Eirik’s words.

“You just need to devote yourself to Horbid [likely a deity or religious figure] and rise high in the church, and assist your brother. There’s no need to get involved in the family’s affairs.”

“…Am I not allowed to inherit the family title?”

The Duke frowned at his son’s words.

“What do you think is the reason I sent you to the Church of Horbid?”

“I thought I would eventually inherit the family.”

“Your brother is more talented than you, so there’s no need for that.”

A cold answer that couldn’t be seen as something to say to one’s own child.

Eirik widened his eyes and trembled.

His gaze turned from the Duke to his mother.

She also nodded as if agreeing with her husband’s words.

“You just focus on your duties. Leave the family inheritance to Haral. If you receive your bishop appointment soon and are assigned here, wouldn’t it be nice to see the brothers leading the family together?”

Eirik clenched his fist tightly.

His expressionless face turned pale.

“That’s enough for today. I’m busy, so let’s end this here.”

The Duke got up from his seat.

Ibella also stood up, following him, and whispered softly.

“Go see your brother. He’ll be happy to see you.”

Eirik did not answer.

He stayed in his seat for a long time after the two left.

The words they had exchanged a moment ago and the Archbishop’s words swirled in his mind.

– Your brother is more talented than you.

– Leave the family inheritance to your brother.

– You are the master of Thredret.

Crack…

He clenched his teeth and squeezed his hand so tightly that it bled.

Ibella scolded him for playing around, but that was not true.

He went to the Theocracy with the Archbishop and received deep teachings.

– Humans each have their own destiny. Nobles as rulers, slaves as laborers. What do you think your destiny is?

The Archbishop whispered to him as he considered leaving the family.

– You must have heard it. The destiny that Horbid has marked. Yes, you must become the master of Thredret.

Talent is not important.

Effort is not important either.

The only thing that matters is the destiny that God has determined.

The Archbishop said so and told Eirik.

– But you are rejecting your destiny. Do you understand what I mean?

‘I ran away from destiny?’

Eirik was just trying to follow the family’s wishes.

But the Archbishop said that following the family’s wishes was an act of defying the destiny that God had marked.

Following the family’s wishes means he will not inherit the family.

The destiny that God has marked is that he will inherit the family.

Which is more correct, Duke Thredret or the wolf god Horbid?

– Become the master of Thredret. Eirik. Do not reject destiny.

“Destiny…”

Eirik caressed the ring.

He couldn’t hear a voice, but he felt a strange energy.

The energy flowed through his body, invigorating him.

“I am the one who should inherit Thredret.”

Eirik could not understand his parents’ decision.

He thought of himself as the true heir, setting aside the bastard.

Eirik was born when Ibella was suffering from worries about the birth of the bastard eldest son, so he received that much expectation.

Even if he is a bastard, the eldest son is still the eldest son.

To surpass the illegitimate eldest son and inherit the title of Duke.

Ibella rigorously educated Eirik.

Much like when she was tormenting the bastard.

The only difference was whether there was affection or not.

‘I endured and endured with what kind of heart…’

Everything changed when his younger brother Haral was born and his talent bloomed.

If you know one thing, you know ten – that’s how prodigious his younger brother’s talent was.

Overwhelming talent that would surpass his father within 10 years.

When that talent bloomed, Eirik became an object of no interest.

The efforts he had made up until now were not rewarded at all.

‘Was sending me to the Archbishop not giving me a chance?’

He was mistaken.

That sending him to the Archbishop was giving him a chance to inherit the family.

Because it was common in the world for bishops to also be secular lords.

He thought it meant that he would succeed the Archbishop and also inherit the title of Duke.

But that was a delusion, and the reality was cold.

– Your brother is more talented than you, so there’s no need for that.

“Damn it…”

Although the method and degree were different, he was also abandoned.

Just like Edar was deprived of his estate and succession rights and sent to the Great Plains.

‘How did I get this far!’

He swallowed the shout that lingered in his mouth.

Eirik rubbed the ring several times.

Each time, his body was invigorated and his spirits were lifted.

His depressed mood also revived.

‘Lord Horbid… Lord Horbid has marked me. He has marked me as the master of Thredret.’

With an expressionless face, he walked down the hallway for a long time and went to his brother’s room.

“Oh, you’re here, brother?”

His younger brother, Haral Thredret, waved his hand casually while giggling with a maid.

Eirik sent the maid out and sat next to him.

“What, did you come empty-handed?”

Haral grumbled and tilted the glass of wine that the maid had left.

Wiping the wine that flowed down his mouth, Haral said.

“Brother, you know that bastard is back, right?”

“Yeah.”

“I heard that the son of a whore, who doesn’t even know his place, somehow sweet-talked Father and got permission. That he can come back home.”

Haral tilted his glass again and continued.

“Is Father going to pass the family on to that bastard?”

“No.”

“Right? You don’t think so either, right? Father told me that I should succeed him. You think so too, right, brother?”

Eirik closed his mouth.

Haral smiled at this.

“Why are you reacting like that? Did you perhaps think that you would inherit it?”

He laughed, already getting drunk, hahaha.

“Dream on, brother. Honestly, you have no talent.”

“…I have no talent?”

“Isn’t it true? You’ve never beaten me once.”

Eirik stared at Haral silently.

His face was expressionless, and his lips were tightly closed.

If Haral wasn’t drunk, he would have shuddered and swallowed his words.

But he didn’t seem to be in a position to care, so he continued to run his mouth.

“Brother, honestly, your talent is trash. If it weren’t for that bastard Edar, you would have been treated like that, right? You know how much Mother expected from you and how well she treated you, right? But seeing that you’re still like that, the answer is obvious.”

“……..”

He clenched his hands on his knees so tightly that they bled.

His teeth were clenched so hard that his jaw made a cracking sound.

His face turned pale instead of red, and his nostrils flared.

‘Even you see me that way…!’

Passion boiled.

The passion to tear apart everything within reach right now.

Cold reason quickly melted into hot emotion.

At that moment, the Archbishop’s voice was heard again.

– Eirik, protect your destiny.

The ring trembled, spreading the energy it contained into his body.

– You must continue the loyalty of the Thredret Dukedom.

As the energy permeated his body, the blood vessels on his skin became prominent.

– But, if, that is not possible…

The light disappeared from his eyes.

– End the history of Thredret. Cut off the seeds of betrayal with your loyalty, so that they never sprout again.

Eirik’s gaze turned to Haral’s neck.

As if he would grab and break his neck at any moment.

And Griff’s kite was watching that scene from outside the window.