Chapter 51: The Han Clan’s Legacy

“Ethan?”

Bliss’s arm encircling his shoulder made Ethan flinch, yet he slowly regulated his breathing. Remaining calm was a struggle, but he knew this was his only chance to ask.

“…What was the surname of the Progenitor Dynasty?”

Ethan’s strained whisper drew Enoch’s gaze. As if parched, Enoch moved to the tea table, lifted a cooled teacup, and replied.

“Before Aitoolia was fully established, there were many minor wars, even more fragmented than the continental conquest. Consequently, information is scarce. Since the Green Dynasty took power, they’ve obscured the Progenitor Dynasty’s history, turning it into something akin to myth.”

“…To make the kingdom’s origins seem grand?”

Pondering Ethan’s words, Enoch’s brow furrowed in contemplation.

“Well, while strengthening royal authority was indeed the objective, I’m unsure if it was to portray the Han clan dynasty as extraordinary, or if something already extraordinary couldn’t be entirely suppressed beyond a certain point, leading them to simply gloss over it. They consistently framed the old tales like dusty fairy tales or myths, so even the nobility had little interest in the Progenitor Dynasty before the Green Dynasty. The sole aim was to instill pride that such a powerful group founded the Aitoolia Kingdom.”

With a slow, deliberate motion, Enoch swallowed a mouthful of tea, then murmured with a faint, wry smile.

“That is, until Devon Green started mentioning it, sometime ago.”

Ethan and Bliss simultaneously turned their heads toward Enoch.

“…Prince Devon Green was the catalyst.”

Bliss murmured as if realizing a new truth, yet Ethan couldn’t grasp the meaning of his words. However, the unease that had been growing since Enoch mentioned the ‘Han’ clan as the Aitoolia Dynasty’s progenitors seemed to solidify. Conflicting desires to stop listening and to know more swirled within him, leaving him utterly bewildered.

“The Progenitor Dynasty was the ‘Han’ Dynasty. However, the remaining imperial records don’t explicitly state ‘Han’ as the surname. Instead, it’s marked as ‘Progenitor Dynasty.’ Whether this was done to legitimize the current rule, I don’t know, but the name of the blue-violet flower blooming on a green stem—the symbol of the current Green Dynasty—is ‘Cold Flower.’ We’re taught from childhood that it inherited the Progenitor Dynasty’s symbol.”

‘[Huh, really? That flower is a Cold Orchid?]’

Ethan wholeheartedly agreed with Dongja’s incredulous lament. He had no idea that the ridiculously flamboyant flower was the Cold Orchid, the symbol of the Han clan. As it was the Empire’s emblem, he saw it almost daily, but he swore that the broad-leaved, ornate, unidentified flower was certainly not the elegant Cold Orchid that bloomed through the cold winter snow.

“Ethan, you don’t look well.”

Bliss poured a warm tea and offered it to Ethan. Concealing his subtly trembling hand, Ethan took a sip. The warm liquid tracing its path down his esophagus seemed to bring a measure of calm.

He had always considered the possibility, of course.

Ethan exhaled a faint, ragged breath. It wasn’t the Han clan settled in Neruan; it was the Han clan that became the Progenitor Dynasty of Aitoolia. He had assumed he’d merely leaped through time, but he had arrived in an entirely different place.

Fifty years had passed since the war ended. However, that was only the passage of time here. In his own world, that timeline could be the present, or perhaps the war was still ongoing.

Furthermore.

He was in a place that was similar, yet different, where no trace of himself or his family, who had lived in the old village of Neruan, might even exist.

‘What have I been searching for all this time?’

The thought instantly choked him. The teacup clattered.

The world tilted, and the ground beneath his feet crumbled. He had desperately ignored the possibility that this could be an entirely different dimension, clinging to the belief that the eerily similar situation here was merely a future version of his own world. His relentless search for his family’s traces, fueled by that conviction, now struck him as pathetic.

‘Kai Cheon (開天)’

‘Literally, a ritual that opens the heavens and sends one to an unknown place. The possibility of that ‘unknown place’ being the future of his own world was, in fact, even smaller.’

“Ethan!”

He saw Bliss frantically calling out, reaching for him. He also saw Enoch spring to his feet in alarm.

“…Uncle Hans.”

The sanctuary he could call his family here. Ethan closed his eyes and whispered softly.

Bliss’s lips tightened into a grim line. Holding Ethan close, his gaze, sharp with possessiveness, swept over the approaching figures as he spoke in a low, husky voice.

“Summon Hans Palmer from his training.”

****

“Ethan collapsed!”

Receiving the summons, Hans rushed over, his face etched with alarm. Bliss fixed his gaze on Hans, who was brimming with worry. While he was glad Hans was the first Esper Ethan encountered, he couldn’t help but wish he had been that first connection.

Spotting Ethan lying on the bed, Hans started to stride forward, but then hesitated under Bliss’s piercing gaze.

“He’s merely asleep for now, so let him rest. His physician stated that such phenomena can occur when lost memories are restored through a specific trigger.”

Seated closest to Ethan’s bed, Bliss presented a resolute front, effectively forbidding any approach. Hans remained awkwardly standing, unable to draw nearer. Enoch, subtly observing Bliss, broke through the tense silence to explain.

“…He collapsed after seeing the banquet attire designs.”

“The banquet attire designs?”

“His Highness Herace is scheduled to host a victory celebration banquet for this recent battle. The victory is merely a pretense; the most crucial event of the evening is the debut of Bliss Moore’s matched Guide, Ethan Prescott.”

“I heard that to avoid revealing him as a Multi-Guide, there’s an intentional emphasis on him being Lord Bliss’s Guide. Surely, the banquet didn’t have a specific theme? What kind of theme could make someone faint just by seeing the attire designs….”

‘Ha.’ Enoch frowned at the suggestion that the party’s theme might be something unspeakable. While such parties weren’t unheard of among the nobility, the idea of turning an official banquet hosted in the First Prince’s name into such a sordid affair was, frankly, outlandish.

“Surely, a formal banquet wouldn’t descend into something so vulgar. There is a theme, but it’s simply ‘Winter’s Glory.’ Given the battle was fought and won in winter, it’s a common method to elevate the battle’s significance with classic and symbolic elements.”

“…But why then….”

As Hans trailed off, his gaze drifting to Ethan’s bed in confusion, Bliss extended the tablet he was holding. Hans examined the designs displayed. As he had suspected, there were no strange or inappropriate themes woven into them. The garments themselves were exotic yet possessed a modern sophistication. Nevertheless, Hans scrutinized the banquet attire designs for a long time.

“As you mentioned, it might be related to his amnesia. Although the designs and colors of these clothes vary slightly, their overall silhouette… is quite similar to the attire Ethan was wearing when he was first discovered by the lake.”

“…!!”

Hans murmured an addendum, tilting his head.

“However, Ethan’s clothes were white, whereas these banquet attires are quite opulent. I wonder if Ethan will recall other forms of clothing once his memories return.”

Bliss and Enoch’s eyes met simultaneously.

****

“We will keep this matter concealed for now. Even from Herace.”

“Bliss!”

Enoch’s voice was sharp with reproach, but Bliss remained unmoved.

Upon waking, Ethan didn’t recall anything new or different. However, after Enoch told him that the clothes he wore when he was found were ceremonial attire worn by royalty during the Progenitor Dynasty, he smiled faintly and uttered something astonishing: ‘I think that’s right; those were also worn for rituals in my village. I remember that clearly. I was also wearing those clothes during a ritual, and after that, my memory completely broke off.’

Enoch irritably pulled a red pouch from within his clothes, opened it, and without water, swallowed a pill. As Ethan and Bliss’s gazes simultaneously fell upon the pouch, Enoch’s expression twisted.

“Damn it, I’m struggling more and more without proper guiding. So please, stop grating on my nerves, Bliss. Ethan’s hometown might be where the descendants of the long-lost Han clan dynasty reside; how can we not share this with Herace?”

“But I might not be the real thing. I don’t know the village’s location. Since I remember nothing, I’ve studied everything about the place I was found, and the broader region, but I haven’t found any village that I recall.”

Enoch then brought a hand to his forehead, scoffing at Ethan with an exaggerated, theatrical gesture.

“Oh, Ethan. I didn’t take you for someone who’d utter such ‘truthful’ and earnest words in this situation. Are you naive, or are you merely pretending? I sincerely hope it’s the latter.”

“I’m more honest and naive than you think. But do I need to be less naive for this to be helpful?”

“Your reply confirms it’s the latter. What a relief. Devon Green is already trying to leverage the legitimacy of the ‘Han’ Dynasty with fragmented, almost vestigial data. What’s the harm in making someone like you, who seems more genuine, into the real deal? The information we have is limited either way.”

“If you’re going to create a fake, it doesn’t necessarily have to be me.”

“Why not? You’re a Guide. What’s more, you’re matched with Bliss Moore, the Empire’s top Esper. Who else could possibly replace that?”

“What does the Han clan dynasty have to do with Guides?”

“Because in the Han clan dynasty, powerful Multi-Guides became either the king or the queen.”

“…!!”

Ethan’s eyes widened at the information Enoch had just revealed.

“The few remaining records indicate that they were naturally absorbed into the Green Dynasty, which had a stronger Esper force, through marriage. That’s why Devon Green is trying to legitimize his own Multi-Guiding ability.”

“Multi… Guide?”

It seemed information was truly scarce. They defined ‘powerful Multi-Guides’ as only those, like Devon Green or Ethan himself, who could guide many Espers with high matching rates due to their multiple affinities. However, the Han clan’s Multi-Guides were categorized differently. While some possessed multiple affinities, the common trait across all classifications was their ability to ‘command gwi and provide guiding.’

The Han clan had a higher probability of Guides being born, but if an Esper appeared, there were also Multi-Espers whose abilities diversified by commanding gwi even after their first and second awakenings. If Aitoolia’s Han clan dynasty shared these same characteristics, then these individuals were believing incorrect information to be true. And indeed, a great deal of information must have been damaged and manipulated.

‘But I can’t tell them any of this.’

Ethan’s lips parted in thought, then he exhaled a long breath. Having accepted that this was not his original world, he wondered what good it would do to intervene actively.

Believing Ethan’s expression indicated he understood, Enoch pressed firmly on his increasingly throbbing temples and spoke.

“Prince Devon Green even suggested ‘Winter’s Glory’ as the banquet theme; his intentions are transparent, aren’t they? Our plan was to thwart Devon Green from ruining the banquet by dressing Ethan and Bliss in attire designed to outshine anything Devon Green might wear, effectively checkmating him. That’s why His Highness Herace pretended to fall for Devon Green’s machinations. In any case, since things have come to this, if you wear the prepared banquet attire and become the Multi-Guide inheriting the Han clan’s legitimacy before Devon Green…”

“How will you prove it?”

Bliss’s low voice, calm as he silently drank his tea, abruptly cut through Enoch’s lengthy explanation. Enoch, who had momentarily paused his speech at Bliss’s interjection, soon understood his meaning and his eyes snapped wide open.

“Bliss. If we just reveal that Ethan Prescott is a Multi-Guide, no less capable than Devon Green…”

The unspoken words, ‘I’ll create the information afterward,’ remained unsaid. Around Bliss, the tea in his cup began to rise, dispersing in all directions, shimmering like a hazy mist.

“Surely, Enoch Cloud, who was with Herace, hasn’t forgotten that I only agreed to introduce Ethan as my perfect matched Guide.”

Instantly, the surroundings grew humid, like a greenhouse. Enoch lightly flicked his fingers over the water mist, which seemed capable of thickening at any moment to choke him.

Crackle—!

As sparks flew, the widely dispersed water instantly coalesced, charged with electricity, and dropped into the teacup. This was to prevent Enoch’s electricity, which had traveled through the spreading mist, from reaching Ethan.

“I haven’t forgotten, but there’s no need to turn away from a potentially useful move, is there?”

As Enoch’s anger flared, Bliss, who had been staring intently at him, let out a faint, dry chuckle.

“I wonder, Enoch Cloud, why you haven’t sought a new Guide, even though you’re constantly relying on Esper pain relievers, which you despise. If you can’t have s*x with Scott Kenton for recovery, isn’t it your usual method, Enoch Cloud, to find another suitable Guide of the same affinity who could be useful?”

“…!!”

Ethan held his breath. Bliss, who seemed to be smiling but wasn’t smiling at all, and Enoch, whose teeth were clenched, exchanged fierce, entangled gazes. The tension, taut as a bowstring, suggested an imminent attack. Just as Ethan felt something was about to snap, Enoch Cloud was the first to avert his eyes.

“……Considering other options today seems… difficult.”

Slam—!

He muttered lowly and exited through the door. Ethan rose from his seat and approached Bliss. The blue and ash-gray eyes, which moments ago had held a chilling intensity, now turned to Ethan, clearly displaying a different emotion.

“…Do you want another matched Esper?”

A long arm wrapped around Ethan’s waist. Ethan removed Crow Oweol’s shield and pulled Bliss’s head close.

“No.”

Bliss exhaled the breath he had been holding, then rubbed his head against Ethan’s stomach.

“That’s a relief. I sometimes feel murderous toward Hans Palmer, your family.”

He said, then lifted his head to meet Ethan’s eyes. The piercing emotion instantly softened, and the corners of his eyes curved gently. Ethan slowly stroked Bliss’s soft hair, feeling him relax with their contact, and smiled faintly. The emotion, which had flared with fierce intensity before settling into a dark, gentle facade, was immense possessiveness.

“It seems we’ll have to choose new banquet attire.”

At Ethan’s quiet voice, Bliss’s lips curved into a loose smile, and he pulled Ethan even tighter.

“I’ll do my best.”