A Brighter Future (Kuroinu)

The next day, early in the morning, Grave woke up and prepared to meet Rhodes. It had been a long time since he had been so enthusiastic and focused on something, even if it might be challenging. He was genuinely excited.

However, just as he was about to leave, he unexpectedly encountered someone who would instantly ruin his good mood. When he saw Klaus, the silver-haired young man with an appearance that resembled a kind-hearted individual, wearing glasses, Grave’s expression immediately soured.

“Father.”

“Don’t call me ‘father’! I don’t have a son as insufferable as you!”

Confronted with Grave’s usual disdainful attitude, Klaus, despite having experienced it many times before, still felt uncomfortable.

“Also, from now on, you are to have no contact with Claudia. She now bears the responsibilities of a Levantine family woman.”

“Responsibilities? Father, what do you want Claudia to do?”

Klaus looked visibly anxious. He knew very well the kind of person his father was, and hearing these words made him even more nervous.

“She needs to leave behind an exceptional bloodline for the Levantine family. That’s her responsibility. It’s not your role as a good-for-nothing to hinder her from fulfilling that duty. After all, being with someone like you might only produce more good-for-nothings.”

“You want Claudia to get married?”

“That’s right. The talent and lineage of the other person will bring a new future to the Levantine family. Since you’re useless, we need to find someone more talented for Claudia to marry and bear children with, ensuring the survival of the Levantine family.”

“But haven’t you considered Claudia’s feelings? Isn’t her happiness important?”

Klaus couldn’t accept this situation, but Grave didn’t attach much importance to it. He cared solely about the survival of the family, and besides…

“Are you sure Claudia dislikes this? Can you be certain that this won’t make her happy?”

In a normal situation, Grave would have directly stated that the family’s survival was more important than anything else. However, given the events of yesterday, he decided to dissuade Klaus from pursuing this line of thought to avoid affecting the situation between Claudia and Rhodes.

“Father… What do you mean by this?”

Klaus’s body trembled uncontrollably, and he couldn’t accept the possibility that was forming in his mind. He was reluctant to believe it.

“Just like what I said, if Claudia is unwilling, she wouldn’t have gone to see that person with me today.”

As Grave spoke, he looked at Claudia, who had emerged from her room, dressed for a meeting. Klaus, upon hearing his father’s words and seeing Claudia, turned to look at her as well. He couldn’t help but feel helpless.

“Let’s go, Claudia.”

Without glancing back at Klaus, Grave and Claudia left the house together. Klaus stood alone, bewildered. He couldn’t understand why so much had changed in just a day. Not only was the person he liked possibly going to be married, but it seemed that she didn’t resist the idea. The outcome was difficult for him to accept.

“Who could it be…”

Klaus couldn’t remember who among the people he knew could capture his father’s interest and Claudia’s willingness to marry. He thought for a moment and then recalled a clue: yesterday, Lady Celestine, the messenger of the goddess, had invited them.

“Maybe it has something to do with that.”

Thinking this, Klaus couldn’t resist taking action. He wanted to know exactly what kind of person could capture his father’s interest and Claudia’s willingness.

Shortly after Grave and Claudia arrived at the church, Klaus also made his way there. Through the guards of the church, he quickly learned where they were. As he observed Rhodes, a young man who was sweating after a rigorous training session on the training grounds, Klaus couldn’t help but wonder why his father held such high expectations for this young man. Rhodes didn’t appear to be exceptionally strong or well-trained. Klaus knew that before becoming a civil official, he had undergone rigorous training himself, and it was precisely this training and his father’s pressure that had led him to abandon the path arranged for him and become a civil official.

As he watched Rhodes being trained, he thought about his own past. He couldn’t understand what was so special about this young man, who had apparently received high praise from his father. He even wondered why Claudia would be willing to go along with this arrangement.

Klaus turned his gaze to Claudia, who was watching Rhodes with a caring expression, helping him wipe off the sweat and offering water. This sight made him feel a twinge of discomfort. He couldn’t help but wonder if Claudia considered Rhodes as more of a child than a lover.

“Could she not see him as a lover?”

Klaus entertained this possibility and felt a momentary relief. But then he realized that even if this were the case, it didn’t change anything. Claudia would still be with Rhodes, and he couldn’t do anything about it.

After the physical training was over, Claudia helped the exhausted Rhodes by wiping his sweat and giving him water. The entire process revealed her deep concern, making Klaus feel a sense of heartache. He had thought about such situations himself, but now he couldn’t help but feel jealous.

“All right, Lord Rhodes, if you’re well-rested, let’s accumulate some practical experience by doing an actual combat.”

“Sure.”

“Actual combat? What are you trying to do? Clearly, the other side is just a novice who has recently undergone training. Why would you suggest actual combat training?”

Klaus completely didn’t understand this behavior. In his opinion, what Grave was doing, apart from causing Rhodes to get beaten up, was not helpful at all. He even thought Claudia would stop this, but instead, he saw her completely indifferent to it.

“Claudia, why didn’t you stop this?”

Klaus didn’t have much negative feelings about Rhodes’s capabilities. After all, he knew that the main reason for this whole situation was his father. So when he saw this situation, he could even imagine the terrible state Rhodes would be in after being beaten by his father, as he had gone through it himself. However, Claudia not stopping something like this was entirely different from the Claudia he had in mind.

But later, Klaus finally understood why his father had demanded a trial and why Claudia hadn’t stopped it.