Chapter 36
In the thousand-year history of the Four Great Houses, the Taylors and the Winchesters had been at odds for the past three hundred years.
It began when the Duchess of Taylors was assassinated by an intruder during a visit to Winchester. That incident became the spark that ignited their discord, and as exchanges between them gradually ceased, their hostility only deepened.
At one point, even the Arkada and Halo families became involved, taking sides, and a cold war of factional division began.
A hundred years ago, this conflict reached its peak. Abandoned by both Arkada and Halo, the Winchester family teetered on the brink of annihilation.
It was then that Taylors, determined to secure an overwhelming advantage, summoned the calamity known as “Kaisa.” This disaster changed the fate of the Empire.
Its astounding power and cruelty claimed countless Imperial lives, prompting both Halo and Arkada to condemn Taylors’ actions.
Halo, in particular, sided with Winchester and actively worked to purge Kaisa’s curse.
That incident became the turning point for Winchester’s revival—and the cause of Taylors’ downfall.
After countless power struggles, the strength of the Four Great Houses has finally returned to equilibrium.
“Do you understand?”
[Trait Acquired! Little Explorer!]
Just as Grandpa Hector finished telling me this hundred-year-old story, something popped up before my eyes.
[Through persistent effort, you have become a Little Explorer. Your boundless curiosity is commendable.]
[Continue paving your own path without wavering, and acquire a variety of traits.]
[※ Trait effects can be checked in your Profile.]
[Name: Shasha Winchester (LV. 3)]
[Occupation: Unemployed]
[Traits: Rattle Master (Strength +3), Little Explorer (Intelligence +3)]
It seemed traits could stack.
The fact that my Intelligence had gone up somehow made me happy.
“Grandpa! You’re the best!”
I stuck my thumb up at Hector with a big grin.
Hector, who had been watching me without much reaction, gave a small “hm” and cleared his throat.
Then he murmured to himself,
“…I see now why that fellow is so sensitive about you.”
Just then, a familiar low voice drifted into my ears.
“What are you doing here?”
I looked up quickly to see Lekardo and Lowen, both in their blue uniforms.
Unlike me, startled out of my wits, Grandpa Hector seemed to have already sensed Lekardo’s presence. He answered calmly,
“We were talking.”
At Hector’s reply, Lowen’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.
“…And your impression?”
Ignoring me—the person actually involved—Lekardo asked Hector for his evaluation.
A brief silence fell, and I felt a little nervous. We’d just been chatting about something I was curious about, but now it felt like I was waiting for my report card.
Hector’s lips parted.
“That boy wasn’t much different at her age.”
Lowen’s expression grew even more astonished.
I could guess what that meant for Jin’s standing in the family.
“Start her training soon.”
I blinked in surprise at his unexpected words.
From what I knew, Winchester children typically began “training” around the age of five.
Training included physical conditioning, studying various subjects, and learning how to control black flame.
The seventh head of the family had systematized this scattered education for both direct and collateral lines. Jin and Othello had also undergone this program.
“She’s too young,” Lekardo said.
I wasn’t yet old enough by their standards, but Hector just clicked his tongue.
“The right time is when they’re ready to accept it. To let her sit idle now, when she can already read and understands history, would be wrong.”
That was the moment I began to regret trying so hard.
If I started training, my leisurely free time would vanish, wouldn’t it?
“….”
Lekardo fixed his deep gaze on me, making me feel small.
After a moment, he frowned slightly and asked,
“Will you accept?”
Hmm. What to do? Should I just flat-out refuse?
Crying wouldn’t work here.
But I didn’t want to be called a prodigy for starting early either—that kind of attention wasn’t appealing.
That position was already taken by Jin, after all.
“Well…”
I decided to take a different approach to escape this awkward situation.
“I like Grandpa more than studying!”
Smiling brightly, I voiced my preference. Lekardo’s brow twitched.
“I want to talk and play with Grandpa.”
I turned sparkling eyes toward Hector.
After an uncomfortably long silence, Hector let out a small sigh.
He was a bit of an eccentric old man, but his stories were genuinely interesting.
A moment later, Hector spoke,
“If she doesn’t want it, there’s no helping it.”
Then to Lekardo,
“Come to think of it, I have no particular plans lately. I’ll stay here for a while.”
Lowen’s eyes went wide with shock.
Hector Winchester—the only one in the family whose black flame could rival Lekardo’s—had once led the Winchesters for decades before passing the title to Lekardo, saying he was old and wanted to live out his remaining years in peace. Lekardo had been leading the family for twelve years since then.
Still, there were those who feared Lekardo yet resented him for skipping ranks to become head of the family.
Lekardo could have crushed them by force, but that would be like cutting off an arm because it ached—so Lowen had spent years managing those political tensions.
“Postponing my next trip wouldn’t be a bad idea.”
If the former head stayed in the Winchester estate, it would strengthen Lekardo’s position.
‘Could it be he’s staying because he likes the young lady?’
Hector’s positive influence would extend beyond the family, even affecting relations with others.
“Wouldn’t you agree, Shasha?”
“Yes, Grandpa!”
Just the rumor that Hector Winchester—the man who had revived the family—was staying at the estate would surely dampen Taylors’ fighting spirit.
After watching Shasha for a moment, Lekardo finally said,
“Do as you wish.”
…
Inside his notebook, Evan frowned at the large drawing he’d found.
The character “ㅗ” — a profile of a dragon in flight — meaning ascend, take off, and… hope.
“Köln script?” he thought.
He tore the page out and crumpled it.
Whoever could infiltrate such a tightly secured space so easily had to be formidable.
Silver hair, flaunting their identity…
If it wasn’t Persetos—the damn cause of his regression—then who else could it be?
Someone trying so vividly to intrude upon his fate.
Evan’s blue eyes darkened with pitch-black fury.
— Fool. Even the incompetent second son of Taylors awakened his black flame at seven. Yet you, the heir, are eight now and still in this state—how can I show my face?
This regression was different.
Cheongmyeong, who had always awakened on his fourth birthday, had not awakened this time.
After the hunting competition, tensions with Winchester would flare.
That would spark war clouds over Taylors again, and the other two houses would slowly merge into its camp.
But this time, everyone was wary of Taylors.
Because of that, his father, Duke Chenoa, had shown signs of hysteria early.
The man who usually only became hysterical later had killed two servants just yesterday.
“….”
Evan looked at the crumpled paper in his hand.
This had never happened in any of his twenty-seven regressions.
Someone—like a joke from fate—had trespassed into his space without a care.
The boy with deep blue eyes, Evan Taylors, opened his hand and spoke,
“Whoever you are…”
The mind and spirit were not as infinite as time itself.
After ages of giving up and repeating his own death, he had grown worn and even discarded his own name.
That was why the message he’d sent before had been sincere.
If the sprout he’d buried under the dirt started to peek out in his thoughts again, it was painful—but he had no choice but to admit it was still alive.
That most cruel of words: hope.
“…Whatever you are, you’ll have to answer.”
A flash of blue glinted between his fingers.
“My reason to live.”
