The Genius Mage Was Reincarnated Into A Swordsman Family - Chapter 326

Chapter 326: The First Silent Move

The sounds of labor were already loud, rising up through the Eastern Tower like a constant, dull roar. Stone against stone, the rhythmic thump of hammers, and the sharp shouts of instruction. The everyday world, completely uninterested in the soul-shattering drama of the last two days, was busy fixing the damage.

As Klaus stepped out of the shadow of the stairwell and into the main hall, a burly mason, wiping dust from his brow, hurried forward.

“My apologies, Young Master,” the mason said, bowing slightly, his voice rough. “I hope the noise didn’t wake you. We’re trying to restore the pillars quickly, but the stone requires time.”

Klaus gave a faint, slow nod. The movement was measured, almost lazy. The mason immediately trailed off, slightly confused by the Young Master’s lack of sharp energy.

The men working in the hall—masons, carpenters, guards—had all heard the wild stories about Klaus. The lightning, the sheer power. Yet, standing before them, he was nothing of the sort. If they hadn’t known he was a Lionhart, they might’ve thought he was just a wealthy clerk. His posture was relaxed. There was no overwhelming pressure, no residual energy. All they felt was the polite, mild presence of a normal young man.

This was the effect of his perfect mental suppression. The chaos, the fear, the silent consciousness of the Ego—it was all hidden beneath the placid surface of a civilian.

“Don’t worry about it,” Klaus said, his voice level and entirely unremarkable. “It’s fine. Keep working.”

He gave the men a brief nod and moved toward the heavy main gates. Every deliberate, slow step was a calculated move to sell the Ego on the idea that he was simply resuming his mundane life, having forgotten the terrifying truth he learned.

Just outside the gates, bathed in the early morning sunlight, stood a figure he hadn’t expected.

Alexandra Lionhart leaned against a repaired stone balustrade, her expression bright and open. She wore simple riding clothes.

Ah, just the perfect distraction, Klaus thought, a flicker of cold calculation running beneath the blankness of his mind. Alexandra’s genuine presence was the perfect camouflage—a loud, energetic shield against the quiet, constant scrutiny of the Ego.

Alexandra turned, her smile widening when she saw him. “Well, look who finally decided to join the living. I was just about to head out. Care for a walk?”

That smile, that easy, normal question, seemed to pull him back from the brink of the abyss.

“Sure,” Klaus replied. They walked side-by-side, exiting the main gate of the Eastern Tower, leaving the noise and the psychological danger behind them.

* * *

The air in the chamber was not cold; it was the temperature of absolute power and imminent consequence.

Deep beneath the Lionhart Main Estate, in a secret catacomb accessible only by blood seal, Roman Lionhart knelt on the rough-hewn floor. His broad back was bare, showing faint, ancient scars. Twelve thick, beeswax candles stood before him in a tight semicircle, their eerie blue flames casting long, distorted shadows that danced across the stone walls.

These blue flames represented the suppressed power seals—the Covenant—binding the greatest powers of the Runiya Continent.

Melo entered the chamber silently, his movement refined enough to avoid creating even a whisper of sound. The mask he wore was solid black, the one reserved for dire reports. He knelt respectfully on one knee several feet behind Roman, not daring to disrupt the solemn ritual.

Roman, the Patriarch, did not turn. “Melo, Report.” His voice was a low, steady rumble.

“It has been confirmed by our spies, my lord,” Melo reported, his voice tight. “The movements are coordinated and decisive.”

Roman’s broad shoulders, tense and powerful, subtly shifted.

“So they truly want to start a war?” Roman asked, the cold tone of his voice seeming to chill the very stone.

“It appears to be so.”

“All of them?”

“All except for the Beast Emperor’s side. They remain still.”

“I expected as much,” Roman sighed, a sound that held centuries of weariness. “His family is still within the Rikxia Empire. He can’t afford to move first.”

Melo added the most unsettling intelligence. “We also received word of unusual movement, from delegates arriving from the Arkadia continent.”

At the mention of the isolated continent, the air around Roman spiked with intense cold.

“The timing is truly unfortunate,” Roman stated flatly.

“My lord, do you truly plan to release your seal?” Melo asked, his rigid formality cracking with genuine alarm.

“What choice do I have? You saw what Sabrina Petrova can do. And what kind of Patriarch am I if my youngest family members are already more powerful than me?”

Melo knew the core issue. The Covenant limited the continent’s strongest people to a specific power level to prevent total war. Breaking it meant a continental collapse.

“But removing your seal will break the Covenant completely,” Melo pleaded.

“Do you think the other Monarchs, after seeing Klaus and Alex’s raw strength, won’t break their seals first? They already think we broke the rules,” Roman countered. “They are just moving to shut us down.”

Just then, without warning, the flame of one of the twelve candles—one of the Covenant seals—snuffed out. The blue light instantly vanished.

“As you can see,” Roman said, his voice flat, “it appears one of them just released their seal.”

And then, in the span of a single breath, the remaining candles began to sputter and extinguish one by one, a rapid cascade of dying blue light. Pff. Pff. Pff. Pff.

In moments, the frantic extinguishing ceased. Only two candles were left burning.

“I guess only the Beast Emperor and I still have our seal intact,” Roman observed, the grim calculation complete.

“My lord, breaking the seal will halve your lifespan,” Melo pleaded, his head bowed low, clearly devastated. “Is it worth the price? If the young master Klaus, young master Alex and our Captains join forces, we might still survive the war.”

“Do you really think we can survive the combined forces of five unsealed Monarchs?” Roman’s voice was ice. “And the Seven Sins will certainly join them. There will never be a better chance to wipe the Rikxia Empire off the map.”

Melo had no reply. Roman was right.

“And if the Arkadia continent is really planning an invasion, we must face them with our full strength,” Roman concluded. “We know nothing about their power.”

“Still, my lord, I beg you to reconsider!” Melo insisted, desperation winning over duty.

“Enough!” Roman snapped, the sound echoing sharply off the stone.

“I apologize, my lord.” Melo instantly submitted.

“Summon my twelve sons and the six elders,” Roman commanded.

“As you command.” Melo disappeared from the chamber instantly, leaving Roman alone in the cold, blue light of the two remaining flames. The continental war had just been declared.