In the dining room, Luke sat at the head of the table and laughed heartily.

"Hahaha! Sorry, Nolan. I’ve been too busy preparing for the contest, so I couldn’t welcome you sooner. Once again, I’m truly sorry."

Nolan, seated on the right side of the table, smiled. He shook his head and replied casually, "It’s fine, Uncle. Don’t worry about it. I know you’ve been busy, so I’m not offended at all."

Hearing that, Luke felt relieved. Nolan was a prince. Regardless of his status as Evalyn’s childhood friend, basic etiquette in welcoming a guest still had to be observed.

Moreover, Nolan had accomplished a great deal over the past year.

One of those achievements was helping the empire gain an advantage over the Kingdom of Kaldarion.

"Honey, be careful. Don’t laugh while you’re eating."

The beautiful woman sitting beside Luke let out a small sigh and handed him a tissue.

Luke blinked in surprise, then touched his lips. Sure enough, a bit of food had stuck there, making him cough in embarrassment.

Nolan’s gaze shifted toward the woman. This was the first time he had seen her.

She had dark red hair tied into a simple bun. Her face was oval, and she carried a gentle, maternal expression. Nolan didn’t recognize her at all.

"Uncle Luke, could you introduce the beautiful lady sitting next to you?" Nolan asked with a grin.

"Oh! Right, sorry—I forgot!" Luke slapped his forehead. Then he placed a hand on the woman’s shoulder and introduced her. "This is Tessia, my new wife."

"New wife?" Nolan froze.

Although he had suspected it, the news still took him by surprise.

Tessia smiled at Nolan and bowed her head slightly.

"I apologize for the late introduction, Your Highness. I am Tessia Belorde, of the Viscount Belorde family."

Nolan’s eyebrows rose slightly. The Belorde family was one of the viscount families from the western region.

They weren’t particularly famous or obscure—just average.

In addition, Viscount Belorde was an honest man. Nolan had met him once in the past.

"I see..." Nolan nodded and smiled. "It’s a pleasure to meet you, Lady Belorde. You may already know this, but I’m Evalyn’s childhood friend."

Tessia lifted her head and let out a soft giggle.

"I’ve heard. You two seem very close."

Tessia turned her gentle gaze toward Evalyn, who was sitting beside Nolan.

Evalyn glanced at her and snorted coldly.

Nolan noticed the reaction and smiled faintly. It seemed Evalyn’s relationship with her new stepmother wasn’t very close.

Still, he could understand why. Evalyn’s biological mother had passed away when she was still a child.

The cause had been an illness, though even now, no one knew exactly what it was.

Many doctors and healers believed it was related to Evalyn’s talent for gaining recognition from the Divine Sword of Luminus.

Whether it was true or not, many people accepted it. Some who disliked Evalyn even used it as a way to mock and insult her.

"By the way, Uncle, I want to ask you something," Nolan said, changing the subject. "What do you think of the Asbourne family’s progress over the past ten years? Do you think Nathan can defeat Evalyn?"

Luke’s expression turned somber. He stabbed a piece of beef with his fork and ate it.

"To be honest, the Asbourne family has improved drastically over the past ten years," he explained, his voice tinged with envy. "Their heir, Nathan, has successfully mastered the sword techniques left behind by their first ancestor."

Nolan and Evalyn were stunned.

"Nathan managed to obtain it? How is that possible?" Evalyn exclaimed in horror.

The Lionheart family and the Asbourne family shared the same roots, yet they were also different. They were descendants of two legendary figures from the past—two heroes who had defeated the Demon Emperor Zerathos.

Both heroes had left a legacy to their respective families: the Divine Sword of Luminus and the Dark Sword of Eclipse.

At least, that was what outsiders believed. But in truth, there was another inheritance those two heroes had left behind: their sword techniques.

Each hero had possessed a distinct fighting style and approach.

The Transcendent who wielded the Dark Sword of Eclipse—the ancestor of the Asbourne family—was said to have fought with an aggressive and overwhelming style.

Meanwhile, the Transcendent who became the ancestor of the Lionheart family possessed an elegant, calm, and gentle style, like water flowing through a stream.

That contrast made the two families very different, and often at odds with one another.

Unlike gaining recognition from the Divine Sword of Luminus, inheriting an ancestor’s sword techniques required understanding, dreams, and various unexpected methods.

For over ten years, Evalyn had tried to claim that legacy, yet she had always failed.

But now, Nathan had managed to inherit the sword techniques of the Asbourne ancestor—something that left her shaken and panicked.

If Evalyn had previously believed she had a forty percent chance of winning, now she wasn’t even sure she could win at all.

After all, the fighting styles of the two family ancestors were perfectly compatible with their respective legendary swords.

"Sorry, I’m only telling you now. I just found out that Nathan managed to obtain it. The Asbourne family is truly cunning, aren’t they?" Luke said regretfully.

The Lionheart family’s chances of winning this contest were extremely slim. Even if Evalyn were exceptionally talented, the outcome might not change.

Nathan was no less talented than Evalyn, and more importantly, he had gained the recognition of the Dark Sword of Eclipse, along with the legacy left behind by the Asbourne family’s ancestor.

His strength was beyond question.

The atmosphere in the dining room instantly grew heavy and silent. Evalyn lowered her head and continued eating without a word.

Suddenly, she put down her cutlery and stood up.

"I’m full."

Without waiting for Luke’s response, she turned and walked away.

Luke wanted to stop her, but Tessia stopped him first.

"Her mind is a mess right now. It’s better to let her be alone for a while so she can calm down," she said softly.

Luke swallowed the words that were about to escape his throat and nodded weakly.

"I understand."

He then turned to Nolan and gave a sheepish smile.

"Sorry, Nolan. I didn’t expect you to see something like that."

Nolan continued eating calmly and waved his left hand.

"It’s fine, Uncle. I understand how Evalyn feels. She must be devastated."

Considering their training sessions over the past few days, it was clear that Evalyn was deeply shaken by the news.

It must have felt as though all her efforts had been in vain.

After finishing his meal, Nolan exchanged a few more words with Luke and Tessia before heading in the direction Evalyn had gone.

Watching his back disappear from view, Tessia smiled and turned to Luke.

"Honey, Prince Nolan and Evalyn are so close. Don’t you think we should match them up?"

"Ahem!"

Luke, who was sipping his coffee, suddenly coughed. He looked at Tessia in confusion and asked hesitantly, "Match them up?"

"Exactly." Tessia nodded and glanced again toward the hallway Nolan had disappeared into. "I mean, Prince Nolan isn’t like how the public portrays him. He’s polite, kind, and easy to talk to. Wouldn’t it be better to arrange an engagement between them?"

Luke considered her suggestion, then gave a wry smile.

"It’s a complicated matter. But I won’t deny you have a point. We’ll see."

Tessia simply smiled and said nothing more.