---

Chapter 69: Noble Hunting

After the private family gathering of the Reinhardt household, the Roy family formally entered the royal capital the next day.

Lionheart City, like most royal capitals in the human world, can trace its history back to the Third Era. However, compared to other capitals, Lionheart City seems particularly disaster-prone.

During the Third Era, it was the first royal capital to fall during the first demon tide, suffering total destruction. After a whole era of rebuilding, it managed to regain its former glory, only to be flattened again during the second dragon war.

But the people of Lionheart City have never given up.

This is also the Third Era’s main battlefield, where the human coalition dealt a heavy blow to the demon race, and where Rob Reinhardt raised his banner to sound the horn for a counter-offensive against the dragons.

It is a city that has survived countless battles, continuously reborn from the ashes, and full of glory.

Towering walls and fortresses throughout the city tell tales of the past glories of its ancestors, while the magnificent scenes overflowing with crowds on the streets showcase the current prosperity of the royal capital.

Lionheart Kingdom values martial prowess, and here, knights, warriors, and soldiers are forever sculpted in street corners and public parks. There are heroes from the Third Era who fought against the demons, as well as knights who slew dragons a decade ago.

These marble statues are carved to look lifelike, but most are simply proportional. It is said that they were created to commemorate the glory of the warriors, as well as the nobility’s status.

Especially the statues from the Third Era, which mostly depict people in humble clothing.

However, the style of the Third Era’s statues resembles the robust and imposing nude male style of ancient Greece, compared to the softer styles of statues of figures like Calrob and others.

According to Carl, sculptors of the past decade initially planned to carve them in this manner but were persuaded otherwise by the nobles, which led to them being criticized in the art community as crude and disrespectful to their ancestors.

Roy completely understood.

After all, he wouldn’t want to walk into the capital and immediately see a giant statue of his old man.

The resplendent palace, adorned with ravaging rubies, stands tall in the center of the royal capital, dazzling and eye-catching.

It is said that the sunsets there are a sight to behold, celebrated by bards, and knights take pride in being received by the royals there.

Unfortunately, it was still early for the National Day; even though the townspeople had begun celebrations, with streets decorated with colored lights and balloons creating a festive atmosphere, the inaugural banquet would only take place in the last few days of the week-long festivities.

So most nobles resided outside the palace during this time.

In the city center, there is an affluent area specifically designed with a row of villas for the nobles during such occasions.

Roy and Carl settled in Villa No. 10 in the villa area, which has always been the Ainbrad family’s residence in the royal capital, adorned with portraits of the previous “Iron Blood” heads of the family.

Roy stayed at the residence for the past few days, casually shopping and having fun with Carl, getting to know other noble peers.

Initially, Roy wanted to check out the extraordinary merchant guild in the capital to see what cool stuff they had, but he was left utterly disappointed after one visit.

To put it simply, any random item from the favorability point shop would crush the items sold in the merchant guild by ten streets.

For instance, the invisibility item at the guild was a “Silverless Pearl” which worked like a rough optical camouflage and couldn’t even mask sounds.

Indeed, things really do need a comparison; after wandering through the merchant guild, Roy realized just how high-end the point shop was.

These past few days, Roy also accomplished two important things.

One was tasting local specialty food and checking out numerous dining establishments in the royal capital… unfortunately, this world lacks a way to share food photos, so he couldn’t post about his delightful meals.

The second was visiting many historical museums.

The royal capital has a strong martial culture, so its cultural and entertainment development is relatively behind, but it’s trendy to record the merits of ancestors in museums.

Though compared to museums, they looked more like armories.

In short, Roy found no clues about Rolin after his tour, indicating that her famous locale was not in the royal capital.

Otherwise, a powerful individual with a mysterious bloodline should have left some traces in history.

Especially since Lionheart City was on the brink of destruction a decade ago, it would be hard for an extraordinary being to remain aloof.

What Roy didn’t know was that his penchant for museums became well-known in noble circles, earning him a good reputation.

Remembering history and staying true to one’s roots—that’s the model for young people! Isn’t that better than the aristocratic second generations who party every day?!

Thus, Roy became the “other people’s child” in the mouths of elders teaching their kids, leading many young gentlemen to view Roy quite unfavorably.

Days passed, and just as Roy was getting tired of specialty barbecues and bored of armory visits, he suddenly received a letter.

“Young Master! You have a letter, meow!” A spirited black-haired cat-eared girl burst into the dining room, interrupting Roy’s breakfast.

With Alice absent, the maids attending to Roy were replaced by the cat-eared duo of Choc and Vanilla.

Compared to Alice, they seemed a bit more reserved, but they still got their tasks done well.

“Dear young master Roy Ainbrad, mighty descendant of the Iron Blood… Tomorrow morning, we will hold… filled with glory… meow?”

Non-essential letters are read aloud by the maids.

The maids were not illiterate; it’s just that the flowery wording was a bit too complicated for them.

It’s worth mentioning that while Alice might not understand some terms, she had never had any issues with listening comprehension or reading.

“Let me see.”

“Um, I’m sorry!”

Choc handed over the letter envelope, apologizing profusely.

Carl, nearby, looked a bit nostalgic and explained, “It’s probably an invitation for you to go on a hunting trip.”

“Every year at this time, young people hold some hunting activities to compete in skills and make connections. You can join in and have some fun.”

Roy sipping on his hot milk threw a low glance.

As Carl said, the envelope indeed conveyed that message.

But Roy never expected that just as he finished reading the letter, the panel suddenly flickered up.

【Warning! Detected intertwining fates with Lionheart, triggering a reverse命 task. Every choice you make will alter your fate, please choose wisely!】

【Current Reverse命 Node Lionheart】

【Lionheart Reverse命 Progress】: 5%

“Bah!”

Roy sprayed his hot milk all over, splattering Choc’s face.

“Yow…yow…” The confused cat girl with a face full of white liquid looked up, her big eyes filled with grievance.

“I’m so sorry!”

Roy hurriedly wiped her face, feeling flustered.

Why did a reverse命 node appear at this moment?!

Roy had mentally prepared for the reverse命 nodes not being mere narrative choices, yet he didn’t expect this would hit him so suddenly!

This hunting event has issues!

Could there be danger? But where would the danger come from?

“Father, will Charlotte be attending too?”

“Of course. Not only will Princess Charlotte be attending this year, but Prince Leo will be there as well. He’s a decent young man; it wouldn’t hurt for you to interact with him.”

Leo Reinhardt.

This second prince, who was hardly mentioned in “Angel’s Rondeau,” immediately raised Roy’s vigilance.