Past Glory

Alderman Frenzel was a magician.

Within the entire Frenzel family, only Alderman and Yuri possessed the talent to become magicians.

His magical energy was immense, so much so that becoming a Tactical-Class Magician posed no problem. It was only because none of his magic compatibilities reached fifth grade that he couldn't become a Tactical-Class Magician.

Even so, Alderman undeniably possessed magical energy comparable to that of a Tactical-Class Magician.

Therefore, when he got angry and his magical energy was unleashed along with his angry emotions, the entire meeting room shook, even startling the knights outside the room.

Unfortunately, he chose the wrong person to confront.

Magical energy comparable to a Tactical-Class Magician?

So what?

Such a level of power was incredibly fragile in the presence of a Strategic-Class Magician.

*Buzz—*

As the atmosphere began to tremble, a far more massive and overwhelming surge of magical energy burst forth, instantly overpowering Alderman's magical energy. His magical energy was instantly suppressed, retracting around his body, unable to vent any further.

Yuri, on the other hand, was different.

The magical energy within her body was like the pressure in the depths of the sea, filling the entire meeting room like an avalanche. It prevented further shaking but distorted the air in the room.

In the face of this distortion, Mediste was already struggling to breathe, Isaac's eyes were rolling back, and even Sefaz no longer had his usual carefree demeanor as his gaze toward his younger sister was now filled with seriousness.

Fortunately, this pressure came and went quickly.

Perhaps considering Mediste and Isaac's presence, Yuri quickly reined in her terrifying magical energy, restoring calmness.

"..."

Silence spread through the meeting room.

After a while, Yuri turned back, looking at her father's unpleasant expression.

"Explain."

Her voice was as cold as snow.

This was undoubtedly her final ultimatum, the last chance she gave her father.

Realizing this, Alderman, though his face was extremely unpleasant, dared not to act high and mighty anymore.

"What exactly... are you dissatisfied with?" Alderman asked while gritting his teeth. "The Basolo territory borders ours, and both they and us are marquis. If we negotiate this well-matched marriage agreement, the two territories can share resources and cooperate. Our family will then become more prosperous and powerful. Isn't that a good thing?"

At his words, Yuri only laughed, laughed out of frustration.

"You're right, that's indeed a good thing..." Yuri squeezed the words out as if they were coming from her throat. "But you didn't have my consent."

"I am your father!" Alderman slammed the table and declared loudly. "If not me, who else has the authority to decide your marriage?!"

That was what he believed.

It was not strange.

In this world resembling medieval Europe in Riezel's previous life, especially in the noble society, it was quite normal for parents to arrange marriages for their children.

Alderman clearly didn't see anything wrong with his actions.

However—

"It's because of old-fashioned and stubborn thinking like yours that Mother got disappointed, disappointed to the point where she didn't even want to look at your face anymore."

Yuri's cold words froze Alderman's expression.

Two years ago, his wife left officially him and went back to her parent's home, all because she couldn't stand his attitude anymore.

At that time, he was planning to marry off his eldest daughter, Yuri's elder sister, to someone from a duke family as a concubine.

Originally, it wasn't a big deal.

Being a concubine to someone from a duke family was akin to entering the royal family directly. It was considered an honor, even if she was only a concubine.

However, the problem was that Alderman intended to marry off his eldest daughter not to any duke's son but to the then-retired and former duke, a nearly seventy-year-old man. Plus, the reason he gave at that time was to make the Frenzel family great again.

As a result, his wife took their then seventeen-year-old eldest daughter and left, never to return, causing Alderman's dream of climbing up to a duke family to go down the drain.

Nevertheless, being reminded of this incident by his daughter, Alderman took a deep breath and instead calmed down.

"Did you forget?" Alderman gazed deeply at his daughter, emphasizing each word. "Restoring the past glory of the Frenzel family is our family belief, a belief passed down by generations from our ancestors."

His words plunged everyone present into silence.

'Restore the Frenzel family to its former glory' was the first line stipulated in the Frenzel family's ancestral belief, the most important one.

Once upon a time, the Frenzel family was a highly prosperous family, with a legacy spanning nearly two hundred years.

The first head of the Frenzel family, the very first ancestor, just like Yuri, was a Strategic-Class Magician.

As a national treasure and a strategic-class military asset of Jinas, he achieved many feats for the kingdom and became a renowned hero of the time, leading the Frenzel family to its peak prosperity.

Back then, he had four children and took in seven disciples.

Surprisingly, out of these eleven, two became Strategic-Class Magicians and eight became Tactical-Class Magicians, with the remaining one, after realizing he couldn't advance further in the path of magic, resolutely turned to swordsmanship and eventually became a Sword Saint.

Four children, seven disciples, a total of eleven people, among whom there was one Sword Saint, two Strategic-Class Magicians, and eight Tactical-Class Magicians—none of them was mediocre.

Without surprise, this undoubtedly shocked countless people at the time and left many countries in awe.

Thanks to this, at that time, the Frenzel family quickly reached the pinnacle in both reputation and strength. Not to mention duke families, even the royal family and all the countries on the continent dared not underestimate this family.

People even referred to the Frenzel family of that time as the most prestigious family on the continent and believed that this family was the strongest noble family in Jinas.

Unfortunately, all of this was ultimately just fleeting glory, a momentary splendor.

When the first-generation family head passed away and those eleven people also gradually departed from this world, the Frenzel family never again produced another Strategic-Class Magician, not even a Tactical-Class Magician.

After all, becoming a Tactical-Class Magician or a Strategic-Class Magician depended on personal talent and ability, not on bloodline or legacy. It was not uncommon for the descendants of powerful magicians to lack the talent to become magicians themselves.

The fact that the four children born to the first-generation family head and the seven disciples he took in achieved such heights could only be attributed to sheer luck, as they all happened to possess remarkable talent and ability. In the end, after these eleven people passed away, there was no such luck again for the new generation, as each one of them was just ordinary.

As a result, the Frenzel family began to decline.

However, for the descendants who had personally witnessed the glory, prosperity, and prestige of the Frenzel family, how could they resign themselves to their family's decline?

Therefore, they regarded that past glory as something the Frenzel family must reclaim, inscribing it into their family teachings, passing it down from generation to generation, telling later generations that they must prioritize the prosperity and glory of the family and reclaim the former glory before anything else.

This obsession, this stubborn belief, had persisted to this day.

Alderman Frenzel was precisely the faithful executor of this obsession and belief.

He didn't view his own children as insignificant or tools; even if possible, he also hoped they could find happiness. However, these matters were insignificant in the face of the family's beliefs and grand cause. Otherwise, he wouldn't have handed over the position of family head to her still twelve-year-old daughter, Yuri.

Within the family, Yuri wasn't the eldest child nor a son, but rather the third child and second daughter. According to standard noble tradition, the position of the family head would never be passed to her but to her elder brother, Sefaz.

However, because she had the talent to become a Tactical-Class Magician, and even the talent to become a Strategic-Class Magician, Alderman didn't hesitate and directly passed the position of family head to Yuri. He knew that as soon as she took the position of family head, the Frenzel family would become a major noble family.

In the end, he was right.

As for the reason why Alderman still held control of the Frenzel territory, it was not because he coveted power. It was simply because he believed Yuri couldn't manage the affairs in the royal capital while handling the territory simultaneously, as she was too impulsive and fundamentally not ready for such heavy responsibility.

Consequently, in order to prevent the Frenzel territory from declining under her leadership, he didn't dare to relinquish the territory's authority.

In truth, if Yuri could do everything perfectly, allowing the family to rise steadily and restore its former glory, Alderman wouldn't mind giving up his authority entirely.

In Alderman's eyes, the grand cause of the family was everything, and all else could be completely ignored and sacrificed for this grand cause. Yet, it was precisely because of this way of thinking that nobody in the family liked him.

"Our family is already a major noble, so there's no need to climb any further in wealth or connections." Yuri protested.

"No, it's not enough..." Alderman said without hesitation. "When our family was at its peak, our territory directly occupied a tenth of the entire kingdom. Now we have less than a fiftieth of that, far from what it used to be."

"Hmph, why don't you just usurp the throne directly then?" Yuri mocked. "Seize the king's position and the entire kingdom will be yours."

"Insolent!" Alderman snapped. "Do you think you've earned the right to say anything you want now?!"

"It's still better than just talking and dreaming like you do, dreaming of the impossible!" Yuri retorted coldly. "I don't care what you want to do—whether it's to expand the territory, make the family prosper, or even reclaim your position as the head of the family—I can give it all back to you anytime. But if next time I find out you've made such a marriage arrangement without my consent again, I'll go to Mother and break ties with this stupid family!"

"You dare?!"

"You bet I am!"

Soon, the father and daughter faced off in the meeting room, throwing insults and curses at each other relentlessly, showing no mercy whatsoever.

By the end of their argument, Alderman was visibly very enraged, his palms clenched and veins bulging on his forehead.

In the next moment, however, he suddenly declared something shocking.

"If that's what you want, let's settle who submits to whom according to our family tradition, with the War Festival!"

With his declaration, the faces of everyone present changed drastically.