Sovereign of the Ashes

House Ernst was a huge family, consisting of several main lineages, with a significant number of members from the side branches.

At the banquet, nearly a hundred knights bearing the Ernst surname were present.

Among them, six were Rank Two knights, including Natalya.

Two were Rank Three knights, one was Sein’s future mother-in-law.

Sein’s future father-in-law, Wilson, was absent.

He was reportedly in Thunderfall World, assisting Steel Fist the Rank Four knight.

The demigod-level knight of House Ernst was not present either.

Nevertheless, both of them would be attending Sein’s wedding ceremony. Master Lorianne would likely make a brief appearance too.

The event was sure to be lively.

Scarlet, whose real name was Reenee Ernst, belonged to a lineage descending from the siblings of Natalya’s great-grandfather.

Given their generational gap and age difference, Scarlet was indeed Natalya’s grandniece.

However, Scarlet’s branch had gradually transitioned from the main line to a side branch within House Ernst.

This change was due to the absence of any Rank Three Sky Knights in recent generations of Scarlet’s lineage.

In prestigious knight houses like House Ernst, only those of the purest bloodline or those who had risen to Sky Knight status were considered part of the main lineage.

Among Scarlet’s direct elders, only one remained a Rank Two Land Knight, and given his advanced age, prospects for advancement were slim.

It was no surprise that their lineage was gradually relegated to a branch status.

Rank One female knights bearing Ernst as their last name often became critical assets for the family to leverage in forming external alliances through marriage.

Every influential family looking to grow actively sought to incorporate new blood outside their own family.

However, to maintain the purity of their lineage, some degree of “internal consolidation” typically occurred too.

Upon her promotion to Rank One, Scarlet found herself in a much better position compared to ordinary female members of the family who failed to achieve such a rank.

She at least had the opportunity to choose her happiness within certain bounds, with her family considering her preferences rather than completely disregarding them.

However, Scarlet’s options were still limited. If even a Rank Two knight like Natalya could not defy her parents and family’s expectations, what chance did Scarlet have?

In the Magus World, knights were especially driven to continue their bloodline and expand their territory, unlike mages, who tended to remain single and unmarried.

“She does look a lot like you. I’ll get to know her next time,” Sein commented with a nod.

He had no intention of approaching Scarlet at the moment, as doing so would likely have been extremely awkward for both parties.

Moreover, if Sein remembered correctly, he was Scarlet’s first man. They had shared an intense session back then, and Scarlet, as a knight, had not shown any signs of vulnerability but had instead often tried to dominate the situation.

That experience forced Sein to acknowledge the superiority of a knight’s constitution, prompting him to explore the Verdant Flame Body Tempering technique.

The engagement banquet, which lasted two days, concluded with a lengthy list of gifts. Knights who were more distantly related to House Ernst began departing.

The remaining attendees were mostly entertained by the members of House Grantt and House Ernst.

Sein’s great-grandmother, Cleona, and his future mother-in-law, Sia, were both social butterflies. With them overseeing the event, Sein and Natalya could relax without any concerns.

Samson, the Reverse Winged Lion King, took a look at the long list of gifts and then exclaimed loudly, “Whoa, you’re only getting engaged and we’ve already received so many gifts! Imagine how long the list will be when you two get married! I bet the gifts will be even more lavish! Sein, maybe you should consider getting married a few more times, that way-...”

His remark was cut short by a stern glare from Natalya, who was speaking to Scarlet nearby.

As a Rank Two Land Knight, Natalya held considerable sway and was not about to let the Reverse Winged Lion King speak so freely.

Crack!

She clenched her fist so hard that her knuckles popped.

The Reverse Winged Lion King gulped nervously and quickly turned away to leave.

He was well aware of Natalya’s reputation and was curious about how Sein had managed to “tame” her.

In the Order of the Steel Fist, there were two female knights whom even Samson would steer clear of—Natalya and Reina.

When Samson heard about the rumor between Sein and Reina during the Thunderfall World War, it could not help but mentally give Sein two thumbs-up and commend Sein for his special taste.

The engagement banquet lasted only two days, but Sein stayed in the Lysian Alliance for nearly a month.

Selina also took the time to visit House Farion. Having ascended to Rank One, she was now considered the elder in her family.

Although House Farion was a declining family in the Lysian Alliance, it had seen significant growth in recent years.

Aside from Selina’s promotion to Rank One, several children from House Farion had joined the prestigious Divine Tower of Verdant Spring and performed well during the latest regional academy war.

Although House Farion was Sein’s maternal family, he rarely interacted with them due to his intensive experimental research, which left him little time to focus on such matters.

Fortunately, Selina periodically checked in on them.

Moreover, the family initiates did not require the oversight of a Rank Two mage like Sein.

They generally managed quite well in the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring by merely mentioning the existence of a Rank Two mage in their family.

Once the engagement ceremony concluded, Sein returned promptly to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

On the other hand, Natalya accompanied her mother back to the Order of the Steel Fist.

Now that they were officially engaged, Sein and Natalya were expected to spend more time together. However, their relationship remained unconsummated, primarily because Sein had shown no inclination toward advancing their intimacy.

Before his engagement to Natalya, Leena’s visit to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring had left Sein exhausted for several days.

Leena was not the only one; Selina and Eileen also demanded much of his attention.

Although the two women did not comment on Sein’s engagement, they probably harbored some reservations about it.

As for Natalya, she could not bring herself to initiate something like that with Sein. Despite her tough personality, she was still a pretty reserved woman.

Upon returning to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, Sein received an important update from his mentor.

Since the Order of the Steel Fist lacked the resources to wage another interplanar war, the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring had decided to conquer the microplane that Lorianne had named the “Verdant Leaf World”.

The campaign was slated to begin in three years; it seemed like Lorianne was eager to expedite it.