[IYFILWATIP] Chapter 21

In the central region, gold was abundant, but honour was in short supply. The newly established noble families of the central region, who had only found their footing after the empire’s founding, harboured a sense of inferiority toward the families of the southern and northern regions, which had produced distinguished scholars and remarkable knights since ancient times.

To compensate, they sought to acquire the descendants of prestigious, albeit declining, noble families. Mixing their bloodlines to gain honour was a lazy approach, but no more effective strategy existed.

If there had been just one more element in his favour, Jade might have easily secured an engagement with the daughter of a wealthy noble and spent his life wielding a sword as he pleased, without the need to learn about practical matters like business, investment, or politics. After all, countless families in the central region coveted the illustrious name of Eclipse.

Thus, young Jade Eclipse had little reason to worry about his future. He assumed that he would marry his mother’s chosen bride when the time came.

His eldest sister, Tyron, the most practical of the siblings, sometimes looked at him with concern, but in the end, she would merely pat his head without much reproach.

“It’s fine. There’s no need to live a hard life. You’re a descendant of the Eclipse family and good-looking too.”

At twelve years old, Jade didn’t fully understand the true meaning of her words, but later, he would realise it deeply. He would marvel at Tyron’s insight whenever he reflected on those words. Her concerns were justified.

Perhaps due to their guaranteed future, or perhaps because the blood of Yuri Eclipse truly ran in their veins, the descendants of the Eclipse family shared certain traits. Young Jade had them, and so did his brothers, except for Tyron.

In a positive light, they were courageous, idealistic, and righteous young people who cherished pure values that had long since disappeared from the world. In a negative light, they were...

People who didn’t know how to look after their interests, who would pour everything they had into whatever they became obsessed with, making them prime targets for exploitation and starvation if left to their own devices.

Of course, under the protection of the Eclipse name, they could live out their lives upholding beautiful ideals of chivalry. That was likely why Tyron had left him to his own devices. But there was one thing that even the sharp-witted Tyron hadn’t anticipated.

It’s hard to build honour, but it’s easy to lose it.

As mentioned, there was only one thing Jade Eclipse lacked. Unfortunately, it was the most crucial factor in determining the future of a young nobleboy.

Jade Eclipse was not blessed with a good mother.

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The Countess of Eclipse was a rare woman in the Mihadas Empire who had married for love without any strategic purpose. Moreover, all four of her children had the same father, which was nothing short of a miracle in the Mihadas Empire, where even the Emperor’s daughters had different fathers.

“Mother loved Father. When Father’s friends visited our estate, they would cry whenever they drank, shouting, ‘You’re the best! You’re the winner in life!’ and envying him.”

The eldest, Tyron, would always tell the same story whenever she drank, pointing to the portrait of their father hanging above the dining table where the siblings would gather.

“Especially you, Jade Eclipse. You should be grateful to Father.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re good-looking, thanks to him. Look at your brothers. They don’t look like Father, so they don’t get nearly as many marriage proposals as you do.”

“...”

“Anyway, our mother truly loved Father.”

Sometimes, Tyron’s gaze would drift toward the firmly closed door of the Countess’s room. And when that happened, she would invariably add a bitter comment.

“But she loved him a little too much...”

Unfortunately, that fortunate man died of tuberculosis while the Countess was pregnant with the youngest, Jade. After his funeral, the Countess shut herself away in her room and didn’t come out for a full ten years.

As a result, Jade Eclipse grew up without ever seeing his mother’s face. When he was very young, he even thought his eldest sister, Tyron, was his mother.

The only consolation was that, despite her seclusion, the Countess managed to handle the estate’s affairs to some extent. Although Tyron had to take on many of her responsibilities at a young age, no major problems arose.

Of course, saying there were no major problems doesn’t mean there were none at all. As the Countess’s seclusion extended beyond ten years, the household’s finances began to leak, and the name of the Eclipse family became tainted with dirty rumours.

“They say the Countess has gone mad.”

“They say she brings in young men who look like her late husband and sleeps with their corpses every night.”

“In a way, it’s very Eclipse-like...”

“They say the previous and the one before that also had similar scandals. Is madness hereditary in that family?”

Whenever Tyron overheard such gossip, she would angrily tear at her chest. With her natural pride and aristocratic attitude, she couldn’t bear to endure such rumours. Moreover, the heavy responsibilities she had to shoulder as a proxy from such a young age had worn down her patience.