The Founding Monarch Became the Mastermind

Chapter 63

[The Twin-headed Eagle Castle has been re-registered as the primary stronghold of the Si-on Clan.]

[User 01, Jang Si-on, has been re-registered as the clan leader.]

[The primary stronghold and clan leader cannot be transferred.]

[Would you like to re-register the clan members with the clan leader’s authority?]

[Existing clan members will be re-registered without their consent.]

After re-registering the Twin-headed Eagle Castle as a stronghold, a series of messages appeared before Si-on.

Thus, Si-on re-registered the high-ranking officials gathered in the conference room as clan members, one by one.

By simply looking at the target and thinking of re-registering them, they were automatically registered.

However, some could not be registered.

This meant they were not existing members of the Si-on Clan.

For someone to rise to a high-ranking position in the Twin-headed Eagle Castle without being a Si-on Clan member?

It meant they were traitors.

Or they were people whom the mysterious entity—whether it was a god or a system—did not recognize as clan members from the beginning.

Blint was clearly the latter.

It made no sense that he couldn’t be re-registered despite being of his blood.

As evidence, Piotr and Yonas could be re-registered.

Ultimately, this led to the conclusion that Blint was not Si-on’s blood.

His mother, Katrina, had conceived Blint with another man and tried to make him Duke Si-on.

“Hic! Hiccup!”

Si-on looked at Katrina, who was lying on the floor, hiccupping, as if she were an insect, then turned his head away from her.

He then spoke quietly to the high-ranking officials who were blankly staring at him.

“Listen.”

At the low and heavy voice that pierced through their hearts, the nobles flinched simultaneously.

“All of you, except for these ones, must have seen some characters appear before your eyes and then disappear. That was a divine message.”

Whether it was from a god or a system, it was something these people had never seen before, so calling it a divine message wasn’t far off.

“A di-divine message…?”

“Do you mean the word of the gods?”

Ignoring the murmuring, Si-on continued.

“I’ll explain the details later, but for now, those who saw the divine message all share one thing in common: loyalty to the Si-on Ducal Family. These scoundrels do not.”

At Si-on’s cold gaze, the four high-ranking nobles restrained by Piotr and Stelman, along with the mother and son duo, flinched and began to freak out.

“Nonsense!”

“That’s absurd slander! Our family has served the Si-on Ducal Family as loyal retainers for three generations!”

“Who do you think you are to dare…”

Bang!

Si-on slammed the stone table in the conference room.

They were stunned for a moment by the deafening noise, but quickly tried to speak again.

However.

Crumble…

They fell silent at the sight of stone dust falling from Si-on’s fist.

Even Blaho, who had been watching Si-on with a serious expression, widened his eyes.

The surface of the stone table Si-on had struck was cracked.

No matter how skilled a Swordmaster was, this was impossible.

“Who am I, you ask?”

At his chilling voice, the traitors gulped.

Si-on pulled out a dagger.

The sharp, cold blade made the traitors instinctively shrink back.

Without hesitation, Si-on placed the dagger under his chin and carefully detached the neatly connected mustache.

Ssshh.

As the mustache that covered his cheeks and the area below his nose was removed, his bare face was revealed.

His face, which looked no older than thirty even with the mustache, now gave an impression of being even younger by about five or six years.

But the shock of his youthful appearance was brief.

Those with keen eyes and good memories began to widen their eyes, and soon their expressions turned to disbelief.

“T-that face…”

“My god!”

As those with trembling voices hesitated, others who were scrutinizing Si-on’s face with puzzled looks also began to open their eyes wider.

Their gazes darted between Si-on, standing by the high seat, and the ‘bust of the Founding Patriarch’ right behind him.

The resemblance was striking.

Not just any resemblance—it was uncanny.

The face of the young man standing here resembled the Founding Patriarch far more than those of the previous and prior dukes.

“D-Duke Jang Si-on…?”

“That, that’s impossible…”

Yonas, who had walked over amidst the stunned crowd, stood beside Si-on, suppressing the excitement that threatened to shake his body. He spoke in a deep voice.

“Retainers of Si-on, kneel before our father, the revered Founding Patriarch, His Grace, Duke Jang Si-on.”

After speaking, Yonas slowly bent one knee and bowed his head to Si-on.

“……!!!”

The nobles stood with their mouths agape as if their jaws had unhinged.

Thunk.

As if waiting, Piotr and Friel simultaneously knelt on one knee.

Not just one or two, but almost all of those present had simultaneously experienced what was practically a magical phenomenon—a divine message.

Moreover, Yonas, who was clearly aligned with Gede, and even the Elf warrior who had only ever slightly bowed before the previous dukes, now revered the man who bore such a strong resemblance to the Founding Patriarch’s portrait.

The shocking scene left the high-ranking nobles with no room for doubt.

And as if they had made an agreement, the rumors they had heard in childhood surfaced in their minds.

– They say that Duke Jang Si-on, the Founding Patriarch, neither ages nor dies!

Those born and raised in Sionia, especially nobles close to the ducal family, grew up hearing stories about Si-on.

Nothing captivated children like the tales of the hero who was one of the six heroes and founded the duchy.

Therefore, everyone had heard of the ‘ageless Founding Patriarch’ at least once.

Naturally, as they grew older, they dismissed it as a legend only kids would believe in and laughed it off.

But it wasn’t a legend.

It was the truth.

Thud!

Stelman, who had been standing in a daze like the others, snapped back to his senses and hastily dropped to his knees, trembling.

Following him, the high-ranking nobles began to kneel one by one.

Of those who were present, only one person remained standing, apart from the four traitors sprawled on the floor and the mother and son duo.

The Swordmaster of the duchy, breathing heavily, his face flushed red.

Si-on met Blaho’s eyes naturally and slightly lifted the corner of his mouth.

“You’re fortunate—or unfortunate—not to resemble your grandfather much except for your face.”

“……!!!”

Blaho, who had stubbornly refused to let go of his doubts about Si-on, proving his extraordinary mental fortitude as a Swordmaster, widened his eyes at those words.

Even though his grandfather had died before he was born, his father had always ended his stories about him with those very words.

In the end, everyone in the conference room—

Those who held the highest positions in the heart of the Si-on Duchy, the Twin-headed Eagle Castle—knelt before Si-on.

It was the day the Alpha and Omega of the duchy had reclaimed them.

* * *

“I apologize, but was it alright to reveal your identity to those people?”

Yonas looked uneasy.

He was only slightly regretful that he was no longer one of the select few who knew the Founding Patriarch’s identity and had his trust.

As someone who had already pledged absolute loyalty to Si-on, Yonas was more worried that today’s events might cause trouble for the Founding Patriarch.

“The retainers? There shouldn’t be any issues.”

Originally, Si-on had planned to reveal his identity to only a few direct descendants, but he changed his mind.

The family and duchy were in far worse condition than he had expected.

In this situation, trying to change things little by little with a handful of direct descendants would be a waste of time, and there was no guarantee that the problem would be solved.

But upon arriving at the Twin-headed Eagle Castle, Si-on received a “message” from a mysterious entity—whether it was a god or a system.

At that moment, Si-on realized.

From the beginning, he alone could be the master of the family and the duchy.

So he changed his plan.

Though he had lived for over a hundred years, the ageless and immortal sage found the most certain way to seize control of the family and duchy.

“Defy me in this land? Do you think that’s possible?”

That’s right.

In the Si-on Duchy, especially here in Sionia, Si-on held a god-like status.

The nobles, split between Gede and Blint and fighting over the duke’s position, would never defy the Si-on Ducal Family itself.

And Si-on was the Si-on Ducal Family itself.

“Besides, the text you saw recognized those individuals as part of my lineage. If they weren’t loyal to me and our family, it wouldn’t have appeared in the first place.”

“Well… if that’s the case, I feel reassured.”

Si-on patted his great-grandson’s shoulder, who still couldn’t hide his concerns.

“Don’t worry. The retainers are those whose roots and foundations are all here. None of them would be foolish enough to risk everything just to speak against me.”

Because those who were that foolish were already dead by my hand.

Though he didn’t say it out loud, Yonas seemed to understand and finally looked somewhat relieved.

“I apologize. I was a little worried as an unworthy descendant… But, Grandfather.”

“Hmm?”

Yonas cautiously continued after briefly gauging Si-on’s expression.

“Leaving aside the traitors, what do you plan to do about those two?”

Katrina and Blint.

Upon discovering Si-on’s identity, the mother and son trembled like aspen trees.

Katrina even wet herself on the spot and had not uttered a single word since, as if struck mute.

On land where Si-on reigned as a god, that very god had descended.

Moreover, he had uncovered all her biggest secrets.

They could neither speak nor think of anything.

Resistance was meaningless; the mother and son could only wait for the god’s judgment.

“As much as I’d like to erase them both, it would be a bit problematic. The people might think it’s too much.”

To kill Katrina and Blint with a valid reason, Si-on would have to reveal that Blint wasn’t the true son of the late Brian.

If he executed them without that revelation, the citizens of the duchy would have difficulty accepting it.

After all, Katrina was considered the late Duke’s wife, and Blint was believed to be the only surviving son.

“That’s true. Although no one can stop you from acting, the citizens don’t know the truth, so it could be troublesome.”

“Me? No, I meant you.”

“Pardon?”

Yonas blinked.

Si-on gave a meaningful smile.

“Anyway, if those two were killed, you would have a harder time than I would. For now, I plan to confine them in the spire. No one will be allowed to meet them. Even meals will be delivered by deaf servants or maids.”

“Oh… yes.”

Though puzzled as to why he would face trouble, Yonas couldn’t ask further.

As always, Si-on would inform him when the time was right and likely had a solution already in place.

“Well, now only one thing remains, right?”

“…Yes.”

Thinking of Gede, Yonas nodded.

By now, he should have a rough grasp of the situation, even if he didn’t know the specifics.

“Are you planning to mobilize the army?”

Recalling his half-brother Gede, who was a half-day’s distance away, and the family retainers and forces loyal to him in the Paloma vicinity, Yonas asked.

If necessary, the forces accompanying them, Sionia’s guards, and even Blaho’s Black Eagle Regiment—who, despite having quit, would follow Si-on’s orders at any moment—would make victory likely.

“We won’t need the army.”

Yonas’s eyes widened at the unexpected answer.

“I’m enough on my own.”

“W-What!?”

Si-on smiled at Yonas, who was too shocked to keep his reaction in check.

“Do you think those who follow Gede will be any different?”