"I will now open the door, young master," Hans informed Eren as he stood by the dining room entrance.
"Sure."
Eren nodded his head towards Hans.
Eren's memories of past life's childhood were faint, he hardly remembered anything after going through all the hardships, but even then some of the memories were special for him and some people stood at the forefront of such memories, and Hans was one among them.
Hans had been taking care of Eren since he was a young boy, treating him like his own grandson, and Eren felt a comforting warmth whenever he was surrounded by his family and Hans.
"I hope you enjoy the breakfast," Hans said with a smile.
"Thanks. Hans, make sure you have a good meal too," Eren replied warmly before walking past Hans and entering the dining room, where his family was already seated.
His father, Hubert Pendragon, the current head of the Pendragon Barony, sat at the head of the table. Beside him was his mother, Sears Pendragon, the baroness, and his uncle Huges Pendragon. They all looked at Eren as he joined them in the dining hall.
"You are here, come take a seat," Hubert said, beaming at his son.
"Yes, Father," Eren replied and settled into his seat, his eyes falling upon the sumptuous feast laid out before them. He was taken aback by the grandeur of the dishes, not expecting such a lavish spread for breakfast.
"What? You're surprised by the dishes?" Hughes teased with a smirk, noticing Eren's expression.
"We have to prepare at least this much for the hero of the Empire," he continued, playfully pulling Eren's leg, which caused laughter to fill the dining room. Eren's cheeks flushed with a mix of embarrassment and amusement.
As the servants started serving the meals, Eren couldn't help but express his delight. "This is delicious," he exclaimed, particularly enjoying the mango pie that served as dessert.
"Of course, it would be. After all, it is made from the ripe mangoes grown in our region," Hughes proudly stated, puffing up his chest.
It had been three months since Eren came back from their point of View, Sears had personally prepared a variety of meals for her son along with excellent chefs of the Pendragon family.
Amidst the enjoyment of the meal, Eren sensed a shift in the atmosphere and noticed his father's thoughtful gaze fixed upon him.
"Is there something you need to say, father?" Eren inquired.
"Let's talk after dinner," Hubert replied, and the family once again focused on the delicious feast before them.
****
The dinner was peaceful and Eren enjoyed the company of his family. They talked about Eren's academic life, how he has been, how Eren met the sword saint and many more things.
Of course Eren made sure to only tell the things that wouldn't make his family worry.
After the peaceful dinner, the mood turned serious.
There was a minute of silence before Hubert broke it, addressing Eren with a grave tone. "Eren."
"Yes, Father," Eren responded, sensing the gravity of the situation. Sears and Huges also fell silent, aware that something important was about to be discussed.
"Generally, I should have told this to you when you were 18, but I am doing this four years earlier since I believe you are qualified enough," Hubert began, explaining a custom followed by the Pendragons. At the age of 18, teenagers of the Pendragon family would undergo a ceremony to take an oath and meet their guardian, the fire dragon.
"The reason why the Pendragons don't allow children below 18 years to meet the dragon is that they wouldn't have the power to stand before it," Hubert added, alluding to the immense responsibility and danger associated with meeting the legendary creature.
Dragons, as the pinnacle of all species, wielded a power that no ordinary mortal could defy. Their sheer aura alone was so overwhelming that even when they meant no harm, it was challenging to withstand their pressure. This was precisely why the Pendragons hesitated to let their children meet the fire dragon. To endure the dragon's presence, one needed to be at least a 3-star knight or mage. Since Eren had attained such a level, Hubert believed he was qualified to meet their guardian.
In Eren's past life, he had missed the opportunity to attend the ceremony due to the fire dragon's rampage and the subsequent decline of the Pendragon household. So now, in his current life, he was eager to learn about the ceremony and, most importantly, to confront the fire dragon, the culprit behind his family's tragic demise in his past life.
"You are qualified enough to meet Sir Ugram and he has given permission for you to meet, so let's not waste time. Follow me," Hubert said, rising from his seat and leading Eren somewhere within their household.
Eren silently nodded and trailed his father, while Sears and Huges observed them from their seats.
Observing Eren's back as he followed behind his father, Sears remarked, "It's only been three months, but he has grown so much."
Huges concurred, "Right, I can hardly recognize him both mentally and physically."
It wasn't just empty words, Hughes has been observing Eren for the past few days, his behavior, his attitude, everything about his nephew has changed, it was like he was a completely different person.
The playful behavior of Eren who used to banter with him has disappeared without any trace and he acted more mature like an adult. Although he was happy seeing his growth, somewhere in his heart, Hughes felt empty like Eren has gotten more distant from them.
Anyway, he didn't express his thoughts but just gazed at the kid's back.
'He is growing so fast that it is worrying'
While Sears and Huges were thinking about Eren, the young boy was concentrated on his father's back. who was leading him somewhere inside their household.
As they walked together, they arrived at one of the hallways within the household facing a dead end.
Nothing seemed out of the ordinary about it except for some statues of the fire dragon which were placed for decoration.
But that was until Hubert suddenly stopped and shifted a dragon statue on display, revealing a secret passage leading underground.
"...!"
Eren was taken aback; he had no idea their household possessed such a hidden pathway.
'Wait a minute, I haven't even seen the dragon which everyone in the Mauryan knows is under the care of Pendragons, then it is only natural that I don't know about these secrets.'
He lamented on himself before turning his gaze to his father who was now looking back at him.
Noting his son's surprise, Hubert smirked, assuring him, "Don't be shocked by this. There is much to see. Follow me." With that, he descended the steps leading to the underground, and Eren quietly followed suit.
As they ventured deeper into the underground, the room initially plunged into darkness.
However, soon, illuminating stones lit up on either side of the steps, casting a magical glow. The whole phenomenon seemed to be an application of some high level magic which worked by detecting the sign of life and lighting up the illuminating lamps.
Even with his little knowledge in the domain of magic, Eren knew that it was a high level magic, at least above that of 7-stars. High level magic like this was a rare sight in the Pendragon family, as their origin was that of the knights and rarely any magicians could be seen in Pendragon Barony, not to mention a high level one, so he was quite surprised.
Hubert walked down the steps leading to the underground and Eren followed him quietly.
As they walked down, Eren could see many peculiar drawings on either sides of the walls, they seemed to be telling stories of the past
And there was one thing that was common in all the drawings, that was the presence of the red dragon!
'Does these walls record the past of Pendragons?'
Eren had such thoughts but then again he was confused as to why the pendragons would carve their history on the wall when they could use paper?
Was there some special meaning to it? Or Were they some sort of hidden texts or something? There were many such questions that invaded his mind but Eren had no time to dwell on such thoughts because what he witnessed as he reached the end of the steps took him by surprise.
"....!"
—***---
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