I’m the Madman of This Family

Chapter 326. It Was Winter (2)

The moment Keter explained what authority truly was, Maknun nodded his head.

‘That’s a brother-like authority.’

An authority unbound by anything. Now, everything made sense.

Keter’s unpredictable and swift movements were not just difficult to deal with—they were impossible.

To counter him, opponents mainly used binding-type magic, but none of it worked on Keter.

The Eternal Freezing of the Lord of the West, Mage Krona, didn’t work—and even when trapped in Ivan’s Final Magic, the Three Thousand Worlds, Keter escaped thanks to Unchain.

Keter hadn’t known this from the start. It was during the Southern Sword Tournament that he realized it, thanks to Ayrus’s “Deep Dark Fantasy.”

Deep Dark Fantasy is a magic that isolates space, completely separating the inside from the outside, making entry or escape impossible.

Yet, Keter could move freely. It was a lucky guess that turned out to be true.

That’s when Keter realized it. His past life’s authority, Unchain, was still active in this life.

‘Brother said I have two authorities. The first is Unchain from my past life. Then the second must be an authority I gained in this life. I wonder what it is.’

Authorities aren’t given randomly. They’re closely tied to the individual’s personality, psychology, and preferences.

Weaponmaster Eslow’s authority is the manifestation of his desire to turn everything into a weapon. Gulrag, the Blood-Drinking, has an authority meant to kill anyone who knows of his existence. Similarly, Keter’s desire to be bound by nothing manifested as “Unchain.”

‘Then what is Brother’s wish in this life?’

Probably to revive Sephira and kill Queen Lilian. I wonder what authority that would manifest as. I can’t wait to see.

But there’s no need to rush. It’ll happen soon.

‘It’s a fight with Lord Eslow. I can’t win while hiding my authority.’

Keter plans to fight Eslow. When that happens, he’ll surely reveal his authority.

Maknun believed in Keter’s second authority, while Special Operations Unit Kai felt that just seeing the first one was enough.

“Unchain, huh? That’s so like you. If you use it to run away, no one could catch you.”

Even if things go wrong and Keter is cornered, he can just escape. That’s what Kai thought.

But Keter had no intention of running. No, even if he wanted to, he couldn’t.

‘It’s not an authority for running away.’

Authorities aren’t something you can use infinitely as you please. The more powerful the effect, the greater the restrictions.

For example, Eslow’s Weaponization has the relatively light restriction of only working on “disabled opponents.”

Gulrag’s Eye Encounter, Immediate Kill has almost no restrictions, but its power is relatively weak.

Keter’s Unchain ignores any binding, even those of a god.

However, its power comes with a heavy restriction. Unchain cannot be used for escaping. The moment you harbor such a thought, the authority vanishes. Breaking free from bindings is for fighting, not running.

‘Well, I’ll keep that to myself.’

For now, Kai is an ally, but if we end up fighting the Empire, I’ll have no choice but to become his enemy.

‘I don’t want it, but if the world only let you do what you wanted, it’d be boring.’

As always, the complex and numerous emotions are brushed off with a shrug.

Kai, whose situation is just as complicated as Keter’s, doesn’t waste time nitpicking.

“What do you want? Do you want her brought here?”

“Even if Eslow is holed up in the palace, he’s on high alert. He’d sense even the slightest hint. There’s no need to create the impression that Henya is contacting Sephira.”

“That’s unusually cautious of you. Searching for Henya in the first place is also uncharacteristic. Is this some strategist’s secret plan?”

Kai side-eyes Maknun. Keter wiggles his finger.

“You want to call me dumb, but that depends on the situation and opponent. Eslow is strong. Much stronger than me. If I have no choice but to fight, I’ll fight. But if it’s not that kind of situation, why would I charge in recklessly?”

Tap tap. Keter taps his forehead.

“I like fighting, but I like winning even more. And isn’t it human to use any means necessary to win?”

“Good news. So, what should I tell Henya?”

“Set a trap and lure Eslow out. Tell her I’ll handle the rest. That’s enough. Just let me know the location.”

“Is that all?”

A question not about the message, but whether that’s enough to defeat Eslow.

Keter turns and answers.

“Probably.”

*

The battle with Eslow was set.

Not a match. A trap meant to kill the opponent. It wasn’t something that could be prepared in a day or two.

Keter didn’t wait anxiously. He spent each day leisurely. Of course, he only told Hisop about the fight with Eslow.

Hisop was naturally worried. He knew Keter was strong and amazing, but the opponent was a lord. He tried not to show it, but eventually, he exploded.

“Keter. Are you sure about this?”

“Huh? About what?”

“Isn’t there something more important than building a snowman in the yard?”

Keter then spoke seriously.

“This isn’t just a snowman. It’s a giant snowman. Have you ever seen a snowman this big?”

The snowman Keter made was massive, worthy of pride. He had gathered snow since last night, crafting it stitch by stitch.

“It’s my first time seeing one…!”

Hisop clenched his fists, glancing around, and kept his voice as low as possible.

“The opponent is a lord. Shouldn’t you be preparing through training or matches?”

“Ah—that’s not really important.”

Even while talking, Keter diligently gathered snow with both hands and added it to the snowman.

“In a fight, technique is important, but so is mindset. Like Brother said, I’m planning to fight a lord. Even if I lose, it wouldn’t be strange.”

“……!”

“Living each day fully so that even if I die fighting, I’ll have no regrets. That’s what I’m doing now.”

“Keter…”

Hisop choked up, then felt something was off.

“Is building a snowman really living fully? The other day, you were having a snowball fight with the knights.”

“Resting while others work. That’s the greatest joy I can think of.”

“Sigh…”

Hisop’s envy rose to the tip of his tongue. Of course, he works through the night by choice, but if he didn’t have to, he wouldn’t.

‘Will that day ever come?’

Hisop’s inner thoughts were clear on his face. Just then, Keter suddenly threw snow at the back of Hisop’s neck.

“Gah!”

“Lord. Because you work every day, your subordinates can’t rest properly. Show them how to rest by example.”

Thud!

Keter threw a snowball, provoking Hisop.

Hisop slowly wiped the snow off his face after taking a direct hit. The knights guarding the lord gulped.

Clack clack.

Hisop gestured to the knights, pointing at Keter.

“Throw snow at Keter right now! This is an order! I’ll reward whoever hits him!”

Hisop fully exercised his authority as lord.

And so, another day passed, and there was still no news of Henya. Normally, such silence would be frustrating, but Keter just waited. Kai didn’t report anything either, so time simply passed.

February arrived. The bitter cold had eased somewhat, but the world was still frozen.

“Hua, where on earth are you?”

The knight frantically looking around Sephira’s territory was Nabakin.

“Hey. Has anyone seen Prince Keter?”

Nabakin asked a passing servant about Keter’s whereabouts. The servants shook their heads, saying they didn’t know.

“Prince Keter? I saw him heading to the blacksmith.”

A passing servant finally gave a clue. Nabakin warmed his hands with his breath and ran to the blacksmith.

Even in midwinter, the blacksmith was hot. Nabakin, having removed his outer coat, asked the gatekeeper.

“Have you seen Keter…!”

“Ahhh!”

The gatekeeper had a fit just hearing Keter’s name. Nabakin was startled.

“What’s wrong?”

“Ah, sorry. Just hearing that name makes my heart ache. What’s the matter?”

“I heard Prince Keter went to the blacksmith. Is that true?”

“Yes. He entered 30 minutes ago.”

“Hasn’t he come out?”

“Not yet.”

The answer was oddly vague, but since he hadn’t left, Nabakin went straight into the blacksmith.

‘He must’ve gone to Vulkanus.’

Still, just in case, Nabakin looked around. He did find Vulkanus, but Keter wasn’t there.

“Keter? That guy left a while ago.”

“Huh? A while ago? Do you know where he went?”

“No idea. Get out.”

Vulkanus shooed Nabakin away, clearly busy.

“He hasn’t come out, they said…”

Keter’s trail ended at the blacksmith. Nabakin wandered aimlessly around the estate but couldn’t find Keter anywhere.

“No! Where on earth did he go?!”

Nabakin had searched almost everywhere in Sephira. But not only were there no traces of Keter, no one even knew where he was, which was frustrating.

“Ugh, I can’t take it.”

Nabakin headed to a secluded training ground on the outskirts. Due to the heavy snowfall a few days ago, there was no one around, just a large snowman sitting alone.

Still, just in case, Nabakin looked around and, confirming no one was there, took a deep breath.

“Uwaaaah! Keter, you jerk! I know you’re amazing, but cut it out!”

For such a deep breath, his voice was small. It was Nabakin’s cautious shout, just in case.

After venting his frustration, Nabakin looked around like a squirrel and shouted again.

“Always playing around! Showing off! I’m so jealous, seriously!”

This time, Nabakin mustered the courage to raise his voice slightly and punched the snowman.

“Even if it’s Keter, if he takes my punch! Like this!”

There’s no way the snowman could withstand Nabakin’s aura-infused punch. With one hit, a chunk of its body fell off.

“I just want to hit him once!”

Thud.

“Huh?”

Nabakin felt something strange at the tip of his fist.

It was clearly a snowman, but there was something else inside.

Feeling around.

“Did someone put leather inside the snowman?”

Stretching his fingers, he felt something leathery. It wasn’t just in one spot—it was everywhere he reached, and it even felt warm.

“It’s pretty big. What’s inside?”

Curious, Nabakin rolled up his sleeves and tore off the snowman’s face—

“…….”

Inside the snowman, Nabakin locked eyes with Keter.