The Runesmith

Chapter 713: Awkward Son-In-law.

Dianna smiled warmly, placing a hand over her swelling abdomen as she stepped closer. Her sharp eyes softened when they settled on her younger sister. Her long brown hair was neatly styled into a ponytail, and her dress had clearly been made from a stretchier fabric to accommodate her figure. It was a stark contrast to what their mother was wearing, as Francine clearly had a tight corset secured around her waist.

”Look at you, Lucienne.”

Dianna said softly, her voice carrying a calm, mature warmth that contrasted with Francineʼs more frantic energy.

”A representative of one of the great mage schools. I’m so proud of you.”

”Sister Dianna...”

Lucienne blinked as a rare warmth filled her senses. This was her older sister, whom she had not seen in over a year. After Diannaʼs marriage, she had moved to her husbandʼs estate, which was quite far away, with no teleportation gates available nearby. Combined with Lucienneʼs school schedule, they always seemed to miss each other.

From what her mother had told her, Dianna had taken on the responsibility of managing the finances at the new estate and had become rather busy. The fact that she had managed to make it here today, despite looking as she did, almost brought Lucienne to tears.

”Are you sure you should be here? Shouldnʼt you be resting?”

Dianna let out a quiet, melodic laugh, waving away her concern with a flick of her wrist.

”Nonsense. The healers gave me their full blessing, provided I didnʼt push myself. Besides, do you really think I would miss my little sister representing our family at something as grand as the Grand Convocation?”

Francine nodded in agreement, though her eyes shifted toward the gentleman standing behind Dianna. While Dianna radiated an air of maturity, the man behind her looked somewhat less refined and decidedly skittish.

He had light sandy hair and a nervous posture that made him look completely out of place among the nobles and mages. He kept shuffling his feet, his fingers nervously adjusting the high collar of his doublet every few seconds.

”I see. Lord Abollet is accompanying us as well.”

Francine remarked with a slight tilt of her head, though her tone carried a faint hint of ire.

”Ah, Madame Arden. It’s a pleasure, as always.”

Lucienne watched as the man awkwardly stepped forward. He was handsome enough, but it was clear that her mother was not impressed, and Lucienne knew exactly why. Francine cared deeply about titles, and this particular noble held no higher rank than their own family. He was merely a baron, like many others.

‘Is she still mad about this...?’

There was another sister in the picture, Sophia, whose mother was not Francine. She had managed to marry into a viscountʼs family, which had caused no small amount of resentment. Francine believed her own daughters deserved to marry into families with higher titles than the one her stepdaughter had secured. Diannaʼs marriage to a mere baron had therefore been a bitter pill for her to swallow.

While Sophia had elevated her standing through marriage, Francine believed Dianna had settled for less than she deserved, a sentiment she rarely bothered to hide.

”You look well, Lord Abollet.”

Lucienne bowed politely, attempting to smooth over the subtle tension before her mother could make any more incendiary comments.

“Thank you, Lady Lucienne, but you can just call me Cornelius.”

The young girl nodded. The man seemed quite genuine, and from the way her older sister had described him, he was a kind soul.

“Ah, where are my manners? Here, as a token of good luck for your competition.”

Cornelius quickly turned toward someone who looked like a butler, who immediately stepped forward with two maids in tow.

“This is…”

The maids revealed several boxes. When they opened them, multiple lovely dresses were revealed, each made to a standard befitting the dress her mother was wearing herself. There was also precious jewelry in some of the smaller boxes, causing several of the others to stare. These were not simple trinkets of gold and diamonds. They were imbued with magic and powerful enchantments.

“Mother, Lord Cornelius has been working hard. The Abollet House has managed to secure several lucrative contracts recently.”

Dianna chimed in smoothly, a gentle smile gracing her lips as she lightly touched her husband’s sleeve.

‘Ah, right. His house came from a merchant lineage. It’s no wonder he would be good at making money.’

Lucienne thought to herself as she glanced at her mother, who wore a skeptical expression. While this man might be lower in status than a viscount, making money was a skill that could not be ignored. It was also obvious what the man was doing here. He was taking the opportunity to show off before his mother-in-law, hoping to buy his way into her good graces. And it seemed to have worked.

“My… this dress. Is it made of Weaver’s Silk from the Eastern Lands? It is quite fine, Lord Cornelius. I suppose you do have an eye for quality after all.”

Francine lifted the edge of one of the dresses, allowing the light to catch the delicate enchantments woven directly into the thread. At first glance, they looked like dresses fit for a noble lady, but the magic radiating from them clearly indicated that they were robes fit for a mage.

“I can’t say much for these enchantments, but this is quite fashionable. If my little Lucienne wears this, she will be the most fashionable mage.”

“Mother… I can’t wear something like this at the competition…”

Lucienne immediately began waving her hands in protest as her mother started getting strange ideas. The dress she was holding was certainly beautiful, but it was not something Lucienne could wear to the treasure hunting event. It would be torn apart almost instantly.

Besides, all the equipment used in the competition had to undergo an inspection beforehand, as there were strict limitations on the enchantments that could be woven into the participants’ gear. These dresses contained high-quality tier two magic, which was not permitted in the tier one treasure hunt.

“Are you sure?”

Francine asked, her brows knitting together in genuine disappointment.

“A proper noblewoman ought to dazzle her audience before she casts a single spell.”

“I’m sure, Mother. The tournament mages check every piece of gear beforehand. They would never allow these clothes to be worn at this point…”

“A shame…”

Lucienne let out a sigh of relief as her mother placed the dress back into the box.

“Truly a shame. I wager you would be even more dazzling than you are now… I wish Robert were here to see everything…”

Her mother continued mumbling to herself, eventually mentioning Robert’s name. Even Dianna reacted to it with a frown.

“Ah, Mother, don’t worry. Brother will be fine. I’m sure we’ll see him again someday.”

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Luckily, Roland had made it possible for the last message to be sent, so Francine at least knew that he was alive somewhere, hiding from Graham De Vere.

“My apologies. I’ve spoiled the mood. This day should be about my Lucienne.”

Francine patted Lucienne’s shoulder, her posture relaxing slightly as she forced a small, encouraging smile onto her face. The tension among the family dissolved, replaced once more by the vibrant chatter of the surrounding crowd. Overhead, the platforms continued to move through the strange chamber, where there was no gravity, and soon they returned to their own conversation.

“You must focus on the task ahead.”

Francine said, smoothing the edges of Lucienne’s collar with motherly care.

“Show everyone the power of our family. Let no one look down on you.”

“I will, Mother.”

Lucienne replied, nodding firmly.

“Our team has prepared well. We’ll make sure Xandar’s Institute takes top marks.”

She was saddened that she could not mention that both Robert and Roland were involved in everything. Dianna offered an encouraging nod, resting her hand on her husband’s arm.

“We’ll be watching from the noble booth, Lucienne. Do your best out there.”

“I’ll be able to join you after my event is over! Let’s watch the other competitions together.”

Even though she couldn’t mention her brothers, she still planned to watch the golem battles with her family. Regrettably, not everyone was here. Her other sister and two older brothers had failed to arrive. She had an idea why they weren’t here, but she deliberately avoided mentioning them so as not to sour the mood.

“We should.”

Dianna replied. Before they could continue chatting, a resonant chime echoed across the vast pavilion. The sound vibrated through the stone floor, causing the floating platforms to stop in midair. The chatter of thousands of spectators hushed almost instantly as an announcement followed.

A grand projection materialized above them, displaying the crests of every participating academy. Magical trumpet calls resounded through the air, announcing the official commencement of the Grand Convocation.

“Attention, magical students and distinguished guests.”

A booming voice echoed from above, projected through powerful acoustic magic.

“The first round of the preliminary events will commence shortly. All participants, please report to your designated staging areas.”

Lucienne turned toward the other students as they were already returning.

“I have to go now.”

Lucienne said, offering her mother and sister a quick hug.

“Wish us luck.”

“I just know you’ll do fine, my cute little sister!”

Dianna called out warmly. Lucienne hurried back toward the floating platform that had brought her there. Sephie was already waiting, and soon they detached from the balcony and glided down toward the lower entryway. A short while later, Arion arrived to collect them and guided them toward the entrance to the pocket dimension, which looked remarkably unassuming.

“It doesn’t look much different from an archway, but the scenery beyond it looks much different. Such powerful magic.”

Selphie commented as they walked forward. They could clearly see inside this pocket dimension while still having the floating city behind them. The sky within was a different color, tinted with red, making it look as if the place were trapped in a perpetual sunset.

The area was covered in dense vegetation that swayed in the gentle wind. The structures inside resembled the sanctuary they had come from, but many of them appeared to have been destroyed or suffered some kind of magical attack. Yet as they walked forward, they watched as the structures slowly restored themselves, as if the entire place were under a spell that could rewind time.

“Fascinating. This place looks like an imitation. Everything looks slightly off.”

Selphie continued to comment as they looked around. Instead of green, the plants were turquoise. The sky was filled with clouds, but they too seemed to drift in unnatural, repeating loops across the horizon, their edges shaded with pink.

However, as they tried to take in their surroundings, a resounding rumble caused them to turn in another direction. There, the students from the various academies saw a row of enormous constructs moving toward the distance. All of them were around ten meters tall and covered in large pieces of cloth that concealed their true forms.

“Oh, it’s the golems. Is the Deputy Professor anywhere nearby?”

Elian asked, pointing toward the golems as they slowly moved in a row toward what appeared to be a giant colosseum in the distance.

Many such structures existed within this dimensional space, and the golems were heading toward one of them to prepare for the first phase of the golem battle, which would take place in a few hours.

“Oh, there he is!”

Elian spoke again as he pointed into the air. A man floated there, looking in the direction of a golem that somehow resembled his current robe-covered form.

*****

‘It’s going to start soon.’

Roland thought to himself as he watched the group of students from Xandar’s Institute. Some of them had spotted him, but he refrained from making direct contact. His sole focus for the moment was ensuring that the Runic Mobile Armor reached the central staging grounds without a single hitch.

Beside his own golem, he was the only one remaining, while the dwarven smiths had taken a different path. There were numerous golemic constructs ahead of him, many still hidden beneath large tarps while others had been fully revealed, almost as if their creators wanted to boast about them.

Each group had its own garage of sorts, along with a crew responsible for repairing its golem. This was just as much a part of the competition as the golem’s combat power. The strongest construct did not always win, as its repairability was also an important factor.

In the past, some superior golems had managed to reach the finals, only to collapse under the strain of shoddy repairs from their crews. Damage accumulated over consecutive clashes, meaning that quick and effective repairs between rounds often determined who ultimately walked away with the trophy.

Roland knew this better than anyone, and thus he had designed his golem with this very thing in mind. However, how much damage it accumulated would ultimately depend on Robertʼs piloting skills. Even if Robert was able to replace everything properly, unless the machine suffered damage in the first place, all of it would be for nought.

As they reached the designated preparation area, the massive curtain surrounding their main rival was raised. The Ironspire Collegium was actually hiding their project. It seemed they wanted to reveal it to the others during proper combat, probably to turn heads as always.

Many of the others tried to sneak a peek, but they were promptly escorted away by a group of dwarven warriors surrounding the entire structure. Roland, on the other hand, did not bother with it. He was now focused on his first bout, which would also serve as the final test for his golem.

“I’m disappointed. No one is really paying any attention to us.”

Robertʼs voice resounded through the communication feed in his helmet. It was true. Xandar’s Institute was not particularly well known for its crafting department or runes. Most probably assumed they had simply produced a standard golem that would not fare too well against the heavy hitters, who had more experience and access to better materials.

“Being underestimated will work to our advantage.”

To Roland, this did not matter. He had been underestimated for most of his life and had always used it to his advantage. It was quite easy to achieve victory when an opponent did not realize what they were up against. However, they could not afford to become too confident either. They needed to face their opponents with the respect they deserved.

“Everything seems to be working fine. We just need to wait for our match to be announced. After that, we’ll be able to take a break and perhaps…”

“Oh? Do you mean?”

“Yes. Once the competition starts, we’ll have a chance. Just remember, don’t remove that helmet, and keep the voice modulator on at all times when speaking to her. Be careful as well. Your mother is also here, along with your other sister.”

“Dianna is also here?”

Robert was clearly surprised by this revelation and sounded more hopeful than ever. For a moment, Roland wondered if he should withhold the information about her pregnancy, but decided it would be better to be upfront about it. He knew she would eventually make it into the stands, and if his brother saw her swollen belly during a fight, the sudden revelation might affect his battle prowess.

“Yes. She arrived with her husband. He seems to be treating her well, and she is also with child.”

“She is with child?”

“Yes. It looks like she might be around her fifth month.”

“Fifth month…”

Robert mumbled from within the golem’s piloting seat before quickly asking another question.

“How do you know this, brother? Did you meet them?”

“Not directly, but I saw it through the eyes of one of my creations.”

While Roland had not been there personally, the small spider golem he had given to his sister remained with her. It was hidden beneath her clothes and transmitted its feed directly into his helmet, allowing him to see and hear everything they were saying.

“I see…”

Robert paused for a moment inside the cramped cockpit, absorbing the news. A soft chuckle came through the communication line, distorted by the mechanical tone of the voice modulator.

“I suppose I’m going to be an uncle, then.”

Robert’s voice carried a mixture of disbelief and curiosity.

“It feels surreal. The last time I saw Dianna and actually talked with her, she was still complaining about all the suitors Mother kept trying to parade in front of her. But I guess… time goes on, even when we don’t want it to…”

Robert began reminiscing about the past, but after giving him a moment to process the news, Roland reminded him why they were here.

“Keep your mind focused on the competition for now. I’m sure your sisters wouldn’t be happy if their brother lost in the first bout.”

“Hah, I don’t think they would!”

Robert chuckled, and the golem visibly mimicked his mannerisms. Time continued to tick away, and soon, several bells resounded throughout the dimensional space, signaling that the first event was finally about to begin.