Damn Reincarnation

m…” Eugene cleared his throat.

“You surely have a strong pride in yourself, kiddo.”

“I’m not a kid.”

“You do have a point.”

“The Coming-of-Age Ceremony is already over, so what does Black Lions’ hunting season have to do with me?”

“A lion pushes its cubs off a cliff,” Carmen spoke in a serious tone, not chuckling anymore.
With a solemn face, she crossed her arms since she didn’t want to bite onto her bitter cigar, and she stared at Eugene.

“Do you know what that means?”

“The story of a lion pushing its cubs off a cliff is a groundless rumor.
What kind of animals throw their cubs off a cliff?”

“That means…beasts…umm…put their children through trials and tribulations…to raise them as predators…”

‘Lions do not push their cubs off a cliff? Really?’ Carmen’s thoughts fell into chaos.

As she had spent her entire life believing that story, her eyes lost focus for a moment.
However, she didn’t ask Eugene about the story in detail, since she had to preserve some face.

“Anyway, the point is that the Demon King of Incarceration delivered a warning, and we are the Lionheart Clan, the most prestigious warrior family on the continent and the descendants of the Great Vermouth.
We don’t know the future ahead of us, but we have to make the necessary preparations so we can live up to our bloodline.”

“Aha.” Eugene chuckled as he nodded.
Since he had heard this much, how could he not know what Carmen was trying to say?

“So you are saying you will make me participate in the hunting season, because the young lion needs training, huh?”

When you ’re just trying to make great content at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

“Like a lion pushing its cub off a cliff.”

So what if the story was a groundless rumor? Carmen liked the story.
No matter what the reality was, the lions in Carmen’s mind pushed their cub off a cliff.
They had to.

“Is it mandatory?” Eugene asked.

“We are not forcing anyone. If you wish to become a real lion, you are going to willingly participate…”

“Yeah, then I’m not gonna go,” Eugene instantly answered and stood up. 

However, Carmen urgently reached out and grabbed his wrist.

“…It’s optional for everyone else.
Not for you.”

“Why is it different when it comes to me? To be honest, I think I am already a great lion without getting pushed off a cliff.”

“All the more reason for you to do it! You have to set an example for the other lions.”

“Let ’s stop beating around the bush and be honest, shall we? It seems many collateral descendants will participate in the hunt.
You are hoping I will maintain the main house’s dignity and become a source of motivation to the collateral descendants, aren’t you?”

Carmen didn’t answer Eugene and just scowled at him instead, with a dissatisfied look on her face.

“I am curious about one thing, though.
Is it you or the Chief who wants me to participate?”

“…I have been asked to persuade you to participate,” Carmen answered bitterly.

Figuring out that his guess was correct, Eugene smiled and sat back in his seat.

‘I did expect him to contact me soon, but was this his way of contacting me?’

He wasn’t certain, but he had a suspicion that it was the Council Head who had ordered Barang to kill him.
If Doynes was really the villain behind all this, he would try to contact Eugene, who had returned alive and in one piece, in one way or another.

‘Uklas Mountains are large, and on top of that, it’s a demonic beast nest.
Anything can happen in such a place…assassinating me, perhaps?’ Eugene smirked internally. 

“Well…it does sound interesting.
I would like to hear more about it.”

Only the young lions who had participated in the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony seven and seventeen years ago could attend the hunt.
The Bloodline Continuation Ceremony seventeen years ago had taken place without any children from the main house.

“Some of the people who distinguished themselves at the time joined the Black Lions Knightage.
However, there are two people I wanted as my subordinates, to be honest.”

“And those are?”

“One is Genia Lionheart, Sir Genos’ daughter.”

He never heard her name, but he knew that Genos had a daughter.
If his memory served him correctly, she was twenty-seven years old now.

“Genia has been in Shimuin to cultivate, but she is returning to take part in this hunt.
The other person is Hector Lionheart,” Carmen said. 

“Ah.” Eugene had heard about him.
Gerhard had talked about him several times before Eugene had to participate in the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony a long time ago.

“It seems you have heard about him.”

“Yes, I have.”

“You must have, since Hector was considered the best among the collateral descendants of the Lionheart Clan before you showed up.”

When Hector participated in the Bloodline Continuation Ceremony seventeen years ago, he had been thirteen years old, just like Eugene when he took part in the ceremony.
That must have made Gerhard talk about Hector.

“The Bloodline Continuation Ceremony is a tradition that’s unfair and bothersome in many ways.” Carmen calmly made an unconventional comment.

“Still, we can’t abolish the tradition.”

“Such is the nature of traditions.
It’s old and boring, but we can’t abolish it since we have carried it out for three hundred years,” Carmen continued as she tapped on the table.
“The Bloodline Continuation Ceremony takes place every ten years.
Only the children from ten to fifteen can participate in the ceremony, so… the Lionheart Clan have to time their births.
Besides, unlike the descendants in the main house, the collateral descendants participate in the ceremony without any knowledge of how to use mana or wield real swords.”

The restrictions were only given to the collateral descendants.
That was why the ceremony seventeen years ago had been fair.
Without the children from the main house, who were given a head start, only the collateral descendants competed against each other.

“Hector’s family was quite ordinary among the collateral families and the ceremony seventeen years ago was about wandering in the forest for ten days.
The frontrunner was Genia Lionheart.
Unlike the other children, who were exhausted after enduring the days in the forest, those two spent the ten days very… well,” Carmen reminisced.

“They competed on the last day, right?”

“Yes, Genia challenged Hector, wishing for the glory of victory.
However, Hector won an overwhelming victory in that fight.”

Genos’s family was a special one, even among the Lionheart Clan.

They were the first Black Lions and Lionheart hounds who had been taught the Hamel Style by the Great Vermouth himself.

That meant the family was just as prestigious as the main house, despite it being a collateral family.
And the spirit of this warrior family had also been passed down to Genia, who was only ten at the time. Even though she wasn’t able to use mana and had never used a real sword, Genia’s power wasn’t that of an ordinary child.

Still, she had lost the fight.
Although Hector also couldn’t use mana and hadn’t wielded a real sword, just like Genia, he had won the fight and the first place in the ceremony.

“Just like Genia cultivated in Shimuin, Hector has been cultivating in Luhr and he is taking part in this hunt.
So what do you think? Don’t you wanna change your mind and participate?” Carmen excitedly spoke.

“Not really.”

“Don’t you want to compete with him? Hector was called a genius among the collateral descendants before you showed up.”

“Then, the outcome is already decided.
If I was weaker than Hector, he would still have the title of a genius,” Eugene answered, snorting.
“If he was better than me, Hector would have been the one who got adopted, instead of me.”

“Haha!”

Carmen absentmindedly blinked for a moment, but then broke into laughter.

“That is some cool arrogance.
Yes, you are right.”

“Is there anyone else who is participating other than those two?” Eugene asked. 

“Out of those who have gone through the same Bloodline Continuation Ceremony as you, there are Gargith and Dezra Lionheart.
Of course, the twins from the main house will also participate.”

“Ciel is also participating? Then why did she come to the main house when she was going to participate anyway?”

“She insisted on following me no matter what.
Isn’t there only one reason? She must have wanted to see her mother for the first time in a long time.”

In fact, Ciel wasn’t with them right now.
Instead, she was spending time with Ancilla and Mer.

“…And there are two more.” Carmen hesitated for a moment 

Eugene read ‘perplexity’ from her eyes, so he asked, “Two more?”

The Bloodline Continuation Ceremony seven years ago came to Eugene’s mind.
Cyan, Ciel, Gargith, and Dezra had participated.
There were also some losers, but they weren’t worthy enough for him to remember their names.
Had one of those losers trained themselves over the last seven years and volunteered to join the hunt in the Black Lion Castle?

“Deacon Lionheart…”

It seemed that he had been at the same Bloodline Continuation Ceremony as Eugene, but he wasn’t so memorable.
Why had she hesitated to say the name of a nobody?

“…and Eward Lionheart are participating.”

Eugene’s jaw dropped.