Vincent took a deep breath as he stood outside of the Blue Storm Castle. Two days had passed after he was informed by Knight Claude about their plan to check the fourth camp where the current frontline against the Barbarians is located.
Right now, he can see a few carriages followed by numerous chariots waiting outside and his appearance easily attracted many eyes.
"Is that him? The Potion Master?"
"He looks very young… He's probably just lucky to find a recipe needed to cure the Barbarian Potion."
"That's true… There's no way that he could be better than those 3-Star Alchemists…"
"His name is Vincent, right? I heard that he was just an honorary knight and working as an Appraiser before…"
As they saw Vincent wearing a long overcoat on top of his leather armor, the people from various Sects and large Clans started whispering about him.
Of course, many of them still wanted to approach Vincent but seeing General Yves and Knight Claude beside him, they decided to just wait for some time until the general left his side.
"Knight Claude, you will stay beside Sir Vincent and Sir Severin. I will lead the group in front."
"Yes, General!" Knight Claude replied with enthusiasm.
Because the Vice-Generals were already on the frontlines, Claude became General Yves' right-hand man within the Castle. Seeing that he was being entrusted with a very important role, Claude couldn't help but smile as he led Vincent and Severin to their carriage.
However, as soon as General Yves left their side to arrange a few more things, a group of individuals started walking in their direction.
Vincent couldn't help but raise his brows as this group looked really special. Especially the white veiled woman behind the group of men.
"Oh? It seems that Lady Yulia and the others wanted to meet you, Sir Vincent."
It was Severin who had given him an explanation.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt"Lady Yulia? Wait, are they from the Zemin Clan?" Vincent immediately asked. He hasn't had the chance to tell Severin about his connection to the Zemin Clan yet. However, it seems that even if he does nothing to find them, they have decided to come and see him.
"You're right. I've mentioned you to Lady Yulia. Together with the other Elders, they led the elite clansmen to this city."
"Oh? Why are they staying here then? Is that situation at the frontline not as serious as I thought?"
Vincent asked curiously.
"I will be answering that question, Sir Vincent." A voice coming from a young man in his twenties replied to Vincent.
p
Romain said proudly. However, Vincent noticed that the others beside him looked at Romain weirdly. It seems that his way of introducing himself wasn't normal.
Anyway, the others also introduced themselves but this time, they only gave their names and their position within the clan.
However, there is one who was introduced by Romain instead.
"This is Lady Yulia. She's one of our Clan's Elder leading us in this expedition. The reason why we're here is that this city was previously under the threat of the Rebel Army's invasion."
"W-what? Even the Rebel Army wanted to attack this city?" Vincent asked.
"Yes. Luckily, there seems to be some kind of incident happening at the Celestial Mountain right now. So most of their forces were sent to that place instead of waiting for the Hailstorm General." Romain added.
Vincent wanted to ask why they are waiting for the General but before he could do that, Severin already answered him.
"They wanted to take the General's Legendary Sword."
Upon hearing this, Vincent could only nod. He's unsure what kind of legendary sword the general possesses but it must be something that could threaten the Rebel Army. No wonder they would try to hunt him even while the Barbarians are invading the kingdom.
Vincent decided not to linger on that topic as he asked Romain what he can do for them.
Thanks to the dozens of modified potions he made over the past few days, his reputation among them has certainly improved.
Right now, he's no longer worried about his impression of them once he revealed the medallion that he has and tells them about the arranged marriage.
"You've been very busy over the past few days so we weren't able to greet you properly. First of all, thank you for the potions you made as many of our clansmen were cured thanks to that." Lady Yulia finally spoke using her angelic voice.
Vincent couldn't help but desire to clearly see her face behind the white veil.
"You're welcome. However, it was really Doctor Ji who made most of the potion and I only modified it after."
"Haha… You don't have to be too humble."
Lady Yulia smiled as she continued.
"Anyway, the reason why we're here is to personally invite you to our Clan. Our Zemin Clan may not be the strongest and largest Clan within the kingdom but we can boast that we have the most number of Alchemists within the kingdom… Perhaps only the Royal Family can barely compare to us."
Vincent didn't immediately answer as he tried to understand her words.
"You want me to work for the Zemin Clan?"
"Sir Vincent, we have the best tools and we can have any precious materials that you can think of. We are capable of doing that with our resources and connection. You can try to become our Guest Alchemist first before you decide whether you want to stay within our Clan. There are limits to what you can achieve alone after all."
Lady Yulia calmly explained.
After days of investigation, she already knows about Vincent's background. Though he was connected to the Marshall Clan, that was only a chance he had obtained after saving the Count's daughter.
He doesn't have any prominent background that could support his growth yet. Although he's probably a genius, it wouldn't be enough if he wasn't at the right stage to show and improve his skills.
"Sir Vincent… This is an opportunity. I hope that you accept Lady Yulia's offer." Romain added seeing that Vincent was still thinking instead of just accepting Lady Yulia's blessing.
Unfortunately, even though Vincent agrees that it's better to have a large clan to support his growth, he can still improve even without their help considering the improvements that he made over the past few years.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmFurthermore, he has to consider the prenatal engagement made by his father and the Zemin Clan's patriarch first.
'I guess it's about time to tell them about it…'
Since they are high-ranking members of the Zemin Clan, it seems that it is appropriate to tell them about his real intention.
Vincent took a deep breath as he carefully thought of the words he would use to tell them the good or bad news.
"Ehem… Lady Yulia, Sir Romain, and the Elders of the Zemin Clan, I have an important matter to tell. To be honest, I was planning to visit the Zemin Clan's territory all this time. However, I heard that your clansmen would be here in the city so I changed my direction and went here to meet you all. There were mattes about the Barbarian Poison so I was a bit late to introduce myself…"
Vincent paused as he looked at everyone's reaction. As expected, they don't quite understand what was happening. Although they investigated him a bit, they can't possibly know that he's a descendant of the Kayser Family which was supposedly a decent family previously.
Considering how the patriarch of a large clan agreed to marry his daughter to the Kayser family, they must be quite influential before the Star Garden Sect was ruined by the barbarians.
After confirming this, Vincent continued.
"My real name is Vincent Kayser and I was informed by my grandfather that there was a prenatal engagement arranged by my parents and the Patriarch of the Zemin Clan to marry their son and their daughter. Now that I reached the right age, my grandfather informed me to visit your clan and show this medallion.
This bronze medallion was the proof that was left by his parents as proof of the arrangement.
As soon as they saw the medallion with a winged serpent coiling around a mountain carved on it, the members of the Zemin Clan were momentarily stunned.
This is something they weren't prepared for!
"This… looks real… Lady Yulia, can you please check the authenticity of the Medallion." Romain asked.
On the other hand, Severin asked Vincent as well.
"Sir Vincent… About the Kayser Clan where you came from, how come I've never heard of it before? Is it some kind of secretive clan living in the mountains of the south?"
"That's true… I've never heard of this as well. Besides, it is also unlikely that the Clan Head would agree to this kind of arrangement. We all know his temper…"
"Haa~ We have to at least validate his story first… If it turned out to be true, the Clan Head might punish you."