I entered the meeting room without even realizing it, driven by a mix of anger and excitement I couldn't understand. Ever since I was young, I had always loved things that were dangerous. I often told myself that only those who achieve the impossible become great men. Yet I had never been impulsive; I had always known how to keep calm. So when I realized that I had walked in here without thinking, only one thought crossed my mind:
"Why did I do that?"
But in the end… what was done was done. I had to face it.
My mother, shocked, stood up abruptly."Greed! I taught you better manners! Leave this room immediately," she said with a completely shaken expression, as if I had just exposed her entire life.
My former instructor, however, remained calm. He turned slightly toward my mother."It may be time to tell him the truth, Lady Luna."
My mother pressed her lips together, clearly displeased."He doesn't need to know yet," she answered sharply.
I watched them in silence. Questions crowded my mind:
What is Mother hiding from me?Who is this patriarch?Why hide things from me all my life?
It was obvious my instructor wanted me to insist, to demand an explanation. But I knew that if I opened my mouth now, I would only make things worse. So I stayed calm and left the room with a darkened expression.
As I walked toward the central garden to clear my mind, I suddenly heard someone call me.
I turned around, but no one was there.
"An hallucination?"
That's what I thought. So I ignored it. The fresh air eased my thoughts.
But a few moments later, the same voice returned, clearer:
"Greed Groundhutt…"
I stood frozen.
Greed Groundhutt?That couldn't be me.My name is Greed Arguett.
At first, I thought it was the call of a lost soul.In the books I had read, it was said that the souls of the dead do not always leave this world immediately. Some wander between two realms:
• The Underworld, domain of demons• The Celestial Realm, domain of the divinities known as transcendents
So I assumed the voice was searching for someone else.Someone named Greed Groundhutt.
I ignored it.
Days passed. For a whole week, every time I went to the garden, the voice came back… always clearer. But I stayed calm. I wasn't afraid. I simply wanted to understand where it came from.
One evening, as I was reading as usual, a servant came to fetch me: my mother wanted to see me.
I went to the central hall. She stood before the same window where I had once asked her why I wasn't allowed outside. In her hand, she held a letter, and her face looked… sad, almost broken.
"Mother, you asked for me?"
She flinched slightly."Oh, Greed… yes, you're here."
She tried to smile, but it was obvious she had failed at something important.
"Have you had dinner yet?"
"Yes, the servant brought it to me a short while ago."
"Alright, sit down."
I sat across from her. Her gaze trembled.
"The other time… you overheard your instructor and me, didn't you? You heard him mention a patriarch."
"I did."
I knew that in this moment, I would finally learn what had made my mother so anxious all these years.
She took a deep breath.
"That patriarch… is the head of the Groundhutt family. Your father."
I wasn't very surprised to learn that the strongest man in the North of the empire, nicknamed the Sword of Disaster, was my father.
I had never really been interested in him.Mother never spoke of him, so I chose not to ask. It was simpler that way.
But what struck me… was that coincidence.
That voice that kept calling Greed Groundhutt…That name I thought belonged to a stranger…
No.
If my father's name was Groundhutt…
Then I, too, was Greed Groundhutt.
The voice wasn't calling someone else.It had been calling me.
I felt the urge to run straight to the garden, but I forced myself to stay still. I had to hear my mother out.
"That letter…" I asked quietly."Is it from him?"
She nodded."Yes. He wants you to come to the main residence… to take the Orientation Trial."
I knew of that trial.It determined one's class: mage, swordsman, healer, assassin…
In prestigious families, every child had to take it at the age of ten. And the Groundhutt family, known as the Sword of the North, produced mostly swordsmen who protected the empire from monsters.
"Why now? I thought I wasn't allowed to go outside," I asked calmly.
My mother gave a faint smile."Your reaction… you don't sound like a nine‑year‑old."
She lowered her eyes."You're right. I wanted to protect you from everything related to the main family. I tried… but your father had the final word."
In her words, I sensed a strange, almost desperate will to stop me from leaving. I concluded she must have had her reasons—or truly feared for me. I stayed silent for a moment before saying:
"Do not worry, Mother. I'll be fine."
She looked at me with both worry and relief, then whispered:
"Be careful, my son."
She wanted to have dinner with me that night, but I told her I had a book to finish. I didn't know that this simple request of hers might be the last.
After leaving the central hall, I went to the garden, hoping the mysterious voice would speak again. I stayed for nearly an hour, but nothing happened.
The next morning, on the eve of my departure, I learned that my mother had left the residence without warning anyone. Her sudden disappearance felt strange; she never left without informing at least her personal maid. Worried, I called the captain of our knights to ask if they had found her. He replied that they were still searching.
It wasn't the first time she vanished briefly… so I tried to calm myself.
To my surprise, I received a message from the main household ordering me to come immediately. It felt unusual, but I had no choice. Before leaving, I wrote a letter for my mother, promising to visit her as often as possible.
On the road, the unexpected happened.
We were attacked by men whose strength far surpassed anything I had ever imagined. In just a few minutes, they slaughtered the six knights escorting me. I didn't even have time to understand what was happening before a violent blow to my head knocked me out.
When I regained consciousness, I found myself in a dark, suffocating room, like an abandoned torture chamber. I walked toward the door to escape, but it opened abruptly.
A one‑eyed man entered. His presence radiated malice, yet strangely, I felt no fear.
He stopped in front of me, observed me for a moment, then smiled in a disturbing way.
"Wow… It's been a long time since they brought me someone like you," he said in a deep voice.
I answered calmly:"What do you want from me?"
He let out a long sigh, as if this whole situation bored him.
"You see, kid… in this world, powerful people give orders, and we follow them. I would've liked to keep you as my subordinate, but orders are orders: you're going to die. But before that… we'll play with you a little."
I asked who had ordered this assassination. The man burst into hysterical, almost animalistic laughter before staring straight into my eyes.
"Since I like you, I'll tell you something… You were simply born in the wrong place, into the wrong family. What an unlucky child you are."
At that moment, I truly believed my end had come. Sadness filled my heart: I wouldn't even get the chance to live the way I wanted. All hope seemed lost…
Then he uttered words that froze my blood.
"When we're done with you… it'll be your little mother's turn."
My heart tightened.
I immediately remembered her disappearance that morning.There was no doubt left:
They were holding her too