Chapter 203
“I guarantee you this: everyone who receives my instruction will have advanced by several stages by the time the Dark Rite begins.”
A heavy silence fell over the hall.
It wasn’t a positive silence.
Everyone wore expressions as if they’d just heard utter lunacy.
‘Even if he’s the Grand Duke, this is too much.’
‘Just because someone’s a genius doesn’t mean they’re good at teaching others.’
Even Count Khazar, Christian’s own father, seemed unconvinced.
This wasn’t a matter of talent for teaching or not.
If people could break through bottlenecks with just a few tips, then no one would be struggling in stagnation.
Even those who had been favorably inclined toward Christian looked doubtful.
‘Exactly the reaction I expected.’
Christian smirked.
Because he’d come prepared.
Clap, clap.
He clapped twice, and a single figure stepped forward toward the platform.
A doll-like girl—Lady Jupien.
“Why is Lady Jupien here?”
“Because I’ve received instruction from Grand Duke Christian.”
“!!”
Jupien stated this bluntly, without emotion.
“Watch my sword.”
She raised her blade to her chest with a smooth, painting-like motion.
As if focusing her mind, she closed her eyes—
And then, something incredible happened.
Paaahhh—!!
Her sword split into multiple forms.
Four blades floated midair.
“Lady Jupien’s signature technique—the splitting sword?”
“No, it’s different!”
First of all—the number.
Jupien had once been known to summon up to sixteen illusory blades.
But now, there were only four.
This wasn’t regression.
Each of the four blades radiated an unmistakable killing intent—sharp, condensed, and lethal.
‘Could it be…?’
The people inside the hall instantly realized what that intent was—
And their eyes widened in disbelief.
‘Impossible!’
‘At Lady Jupien’s current level?!’
At that moment, Christian made a sudden move.
“Here.”
Tap!
He snapped his fingers—
Unleashing dark magic energy in four directions.
And at that same instant—
Jupien’s four swords moved.
All at once.
Directly toward the dark magic energy.
What had just occurred should’ve been impossible.
Jupien’s “Splitting Sword” was a form of illusion.
In other words, it had no substance.
If it touched any magic imbued with real power, it would simply vanish without effect.
That was, after all, the whole purpose of the technique—to blur the line between reality and illusion and confuse the enemy.
And yet… something unbelievable happened.
Slice—
The four streams of dark magic Christian had fired were cleanly severed by Jupien’s four blades.
“!!”
The sorcerers in the hall widened their eyes at the sight.
“She cut through magic… with an illusion technique that has no physical form?”
“That’s… isn’t that the fifth-star realm of illusion arts? True Projection—Reality Interference?!”
“Impossible! How?!”
What Jupien had demonstrated wasn’t something overwhelming in raw power.
All she did was destroy Christian’s relatively weak streams of dark magic using just four swords.
But everyone in the hall was shaken.
Because it meant only one thing—
Jupien had glimpsed the threshold of 5-star.
Of course, that didn’t mean she had attained the 5-star level.
She hadn’t crossed the boundary into 5-Star Advance, either.
It was simply that—
She had barely, faintly, grasped the thread that led to the fifth star.
But that in itself carried massive significance.
Because whether or not you managed to grab that thread often determined whether or not you could break through your wall.
‘No way. She only recently reached 4-star…’
For reference—
Even Ashid, renowned as the most gifted of the next generation in the Dark Demonic House, had not been able to grasp the thread of 5-star until he sacrificed himself in a human offering ritual.
‘Was Lady Jupien always that talented?’
‘No. She didn’t have that kind of genius.’
That’s not to say Jupien was dull.
She was still more than capable, a natural fit for the category of prodigies.
But compared to her almost ox-like stubbornness and relentless hard work, her natural talent had always seemed slightly lacking.
And now, the crowd recalled what Jupien had said just moments ago.
“I received instruction from Grand Duke Christian.”
They stared at her in disbelief.
‘Even if she did get some pointers from him, how could she grasp the thread of 5-star so quickly?’
‘That kind of thing doesn’t happen…!’
Some of the retainers cautiously approached and asked Jupien directly:
“Did you truly receive instruction from Grand Duke Christian?”
Jupien nodded and gave a curt answer.
“Yes. It’s all thanks to him.”
“B-but… how exactly?”
“Well… I mean…”
She trailed off.
Jupien was never good at putting things into words.
“If you receive his instruction, you’ll understand.”
“……”
Jupien glanced sideways at Christian with a slightly crooked look in her eyes.
“That bastard—no, the Grand Duke—is the unluckiest guy alive, but he’s also completely insane. If it were me, I’d never pass up the chance to learn from someone like him.”
With those parting words, Jupien turned and briskly exited, leaving the entire hall in stunned silence.
For a few moments, no one could speak.
Then, Christian glanced down from the stage and gave a wide, crooked grin.
“I believe that’s all the explanation needed. Starting tomorrow, every one of you present will report to me for instruction.”
“!!”
“Consider this an order from your Grand Instructor.”
And so it began.
Christian’s teachings.
The first true step in the rebirth of the Dark Demonic House.
* * *
Soon after, Christian’s declaration shook the Dark Demonic House to its core.
Most dismissed it outright.
Which wasn’t surprising.
Christian was, after all, only a 5-star.
An extraordinary 5-star, yes—but still a 5-star.
Meanwhile, the ones he was offering to teach were already at the 6-star level.
How could someone below teach someone above?
“Even if he is Grand Duke Christian, this is a bit much…”
“I don’t think this is a good idea.”
Even the common magic users who had always supported Christian seemed uneasy.
And the reactions from the intended trainees—his 6-star retainers—were even sharper.
“There’s no way I’ll follow this.”
“This is nothing short of an insult. I don’t care if he’s the Grand Duke—some things just shouldn’t be done.”
Sure, Jupien had clearly shown she’d made tremendous progress…
But that wasn’t enough to break through their hardened pride and open their hearts.
If someone had reached the 6-star level, they usually had immense pride in their own skills.
Some retainers were even so offended that they personally sought out Nordian to file complaints.
His response?
“This is not my concern. Handle it with the Grand Duke directly.”
Once Nordian had made his stance clear, the 6-star retainers split into two factions.
The first: those who decided to outright ignore Christian.
“Since our Lord has left it to our discretion, I won’t be participating.”
“Agreed. I have no reason to entertain this farce.”
These were mainly Marquis Langham’s faction.
And their numbers weren’t insignificant.
For reference, there were just over twenty 6-star Master-class magic users in the entire Dark Demonic House.
Considering how rare even 7-stars were, this was quite a substantial number.
Among them, nearly half—just shy of ten—openly aligned themselves with Marquis Langham and chose to ignore Christian’s teachings.
Meanwhile, the remaining retainers exchanged hesitant looks.
“What will you do?”
All eyes turned to two specific individuals.
The first: Count Khazar.
The second: Count Berkel of the Black Lion Knights.
Both were acknowledged as the most powerful among the 6-star retainers, each having reached 6-star Upper-Rank.
And Count Khazar was the first to speak.
“I’ll follow him, of course.”
Count Khazar was the first to speak.
“It’s not just because the Grand Duke is my son. I believe in him. He’s never once made an empty promise—so I’m sure he’ll pull off another one of his insane miracles this time too.”
Beside him, Merian nodded in agreement.
“I feel the same. He’s an annoying little brat who keeps calling me ‘Auntie’ and never bakes the cookies he keeps promising me, but... he’s never failed to keep his word.”
Count Khazar then glared toward the seats vacated by Marquis Langham’s faction, his tone sharp and biting—he clearly hadn’t forgotten the insult toward his son.
“Mark my words. Every one of you who looked down on the Grand Duke will regret the things you said. Lost in your arrogance, you’ve no idea who the real fool is.”
More hands rose in the air.
This time, it was two of the Five Generals of the Dark Demon Army, Leon and Sanin, both of whom had recently acted under Christian’s command.
For reference: The Five Generals are responsible for guarding the Four Demon Stars, so only some of them had returned to the main house.
“We’ll be receiving instruction as well.”
“General Leon?”
Leon chuckled lowly and replied:
“Heh. We Five Generals know better than anyone just how insane the Grand Duke really is. I’m looking forward to it again.”
Sanin nodded in agreement.
“He’s an arrogant bastard, but yeah… definitely a madman.”
“The rest of the Five Generals will also be taking turns receiving instruction.”
And so, those who had already experienced Christian’s overwhelming brilliance firsthand chose to accept his guidance without hesitation.
The remaining eyes in the hall turned toward one final figure—
Count Berkel, Commander of the Black Lion Knights.
For context: Count Berkel had accompanied Christian as a bodyguard during the recent trip to the Venomous Demonic House.
“What will you do, Commander?”
Berkel gave a blunt reply, true to his nature as someone who served only the Head of House:
“Since our Lord has acknowledged Grand Duke Christian as a Grand Instructor, I’ll receive instruction as well.”
But that wasn’t all he said.
“This will also be a good opportunity to learn exactly what kind of person the Grand Duke is.”
“!!”
“As the one who will become the next master of our Dark Demonic House.”
The hall collectively drew in a breath.
A weighty statement—
Berkel was making it clear that he intended to evaluate Christian’s worth as a future Lord.
In truth, this event would serve as Berkel’s final litmus test.
“If he can’t follow through with what he promised in front of everyone, he doesn’t deserve to rule the Dark Demonic House.”
Berkel’s eyes sharpened coldly.
Because in truth—
He did not support Christian.
He had never openly opposed him, out of respect for Lord Nordian’s decision.
But internally, he had long harbored doubt.
Is Christian truly fit to become the next Head of House?
He didn’t deny that Christian was remarkable.
But in his view, it simply wasn’t enough yet.
Much like how Marquis Shupen had once felt.
“And yet, Lord Nordian chose Grand Duke Christian over Marquis Langham.”
That could only mean one thing—
That Nordian had seen something immense within Christian.
Something powerful enough to overcome any deficiency…
A miracle waiting to happen.
Count Berkel wanted to see it with his own eyes.
Even if Christian was still lacking in many ways…
He wanted to confirm for himself whether Christian truly possessed the qualifications to become the next master of the Dark Demonic House.
Whether he carried within him the kind of miracle that defied all logic and reason.
“I’ll know this time.”
To raise the entire House’s members in just six months and lead them to victory against other Houses in the Dark Rite?
It wasn’t a matter of difficulty or hardship.
It was something that should have been outright impossible.
But if Christian truly managed to make that impossibility a reality—just as he claimed—
Then Count Berkel would acknowledge the miracle Christian bore…
And offer him his loyalty.
* * *
Meanwhile, in a room within the main estate of the Dark Demonic House…
A woman was sipping tea in a quietly arranged space.
It was Yulian.
“The mansion’s awfully noisy today.”
“Mm, Christian did something insane again.”
The girl facing her was Jupien.
The two noble ladies were supposedly having a tea time together.
…Although, to be precise, only Yulian was actually drinking tea.
Jupien, on the other hand, was on the floor in front of her doing push-ups, training her muscles mid-conversation.
Yulian frowned slightly at the sight of her overly zealous, training-obsessed friend.
“…Would it kill you to take a break once in a while?”
“This is my break.”
“……”
“So why did you call me anyway? I haven’t even finished today’s workout quota yet. I’m busy.”