The Genius Mage Was Reincarnated Into A Swordsman Family - Chapter 331

Chapter 331: The Ice Bear’s Smile

Roland Lionhart stopped his slow, deliberate advance right in front of Alexandra. He was an imposing figure, easily three heads taller than Klaus. The man’s dark, obsidian eyes fixed on her, cold and assessing, but the lips beneath his iron-gray hair curled into a smile that was entirely artificial.

“It has been a while, my dear niece,” he said, his voice a low, smooth rumble that somehow cut through the surrounding chaos. “I did not expect you to grow into such a beautiful woman. You truly resemble your late mother a lot.”

Alexandra’s heart ached at the mention of her mother, but she offered a simple, practiced smile in return. She could not afford to show weakness. “It has indeed been a while, Uncle Roland.”

Roland then turned his gaze toward Klaus. The shift was like a physical weight being lifted from Alexandra and deposited squarely onto Klaus.

“And you must be Klaus, Ludovic’s son. Am I right, young man?”

For a moment, Klaus just looked at him. He could sense an intense, suffocating aura around the man, like compressed steel ready to spring, yet it was deliberately shielded. Something is dangerously off about him, Klaus thought, unable to pinpoint the exact anomaly, only the terrifying strength it concealed.

“Yes, I’m Klaus Lionhart,” Klaus replied, his answer steady, though the name felt hollow—more an identity for the army than for himself.

At the sound of the name, Roland’s smile froze but his eyes turned perceptibly colder, like chips of ancient ice.

“I’m Roland Lionhart, firstborn son of Roman Lionhart. To put it simply, I’m your first uncle,” Roland stated. He then let out a sharp, mocking chuckle. “Though I’m really not sure if I’m still your uncle, since your father was banished from the main line. I heard his new status is even lower than someone from the collateral branch…”

Before Roland could finish the cruel thought, Alexandra sharply interrupted, her composure finally breaking. “Uncle!”

Roland waved a dismissive hand, the smile widening with malicious delight. “Haha, my dear niece, what am I saying that he doesn’t already know, right, my little Klaus?”

Klaus simply met Roland’s stare without answering. Roland’s presence was suffocating Alexandra, who was visibly struggling to maintain her posture, but Klaus barely felt the physical pressure. He knew Roland was immensely powerful and dangerous, yet the crushing aura seemed to glance off him, absorbed by the changes in his own body. However, there was something else, an undercurrent of power he couldn’t identify, that intrigued him.

Roland continued, clearly attempting to provoke a reaction. “To be able to conceal your internal energy to this extent is quite impressive. If I did not know about you, even a warrior like myself could be fooled into thinking you were a normal civilian. I guess the reports I received about you were wrong—though not all of it. You do truly resemble my father, though you lost your silver-colored hair because of the Icarus cult, I heard.” Roland paused, letting the implication that he knew everything about Klaus hang heavy in the air.

Roland then leaned in, closing the already narrow gap between them. He was overwhelming, forcing Klaus to tilt his head back to meet his gaze.

“The current situation we are in is probably also because of you, isn’t it, my dear nephew?”

Klaus did not flinch, his expression remaining utterly neutral despite the proximity. Seeing no sign of intimidation, Roland’s smile became a cold, satisfied mask, and the intense pressure he was releasing abruptly stopped.

“Well, we will find out soon enough,” Roland said, pulling back and turning to rejoin his silent, dark-armored unit.

* * *

As Roland walked away, Klaus turned and looked at Alexandra. Her legs were trembling slightly, a tiny tremor she immediately tried to suppress. Roland’s momentary pressure had been devastating to her.

“I guess you need some special training,” Klaus said, a faint, teasing smile touching his lips.

Alexandra, rubbing her forehead where she’d been tense, gave him a small frown. “Sorry about him. Uncle Roland was always like this. Have you heard about him?”

How could he not have heard about Roland Lionhart?

In his past life as Klaus Zagerfield, the Ice Monarch’s first son was legendary. His moniker was the Ice Bear, the Mage Killer. Every mage he knew in the old world was terrified of the day they might face him. He was rumored to be one of the cruelest and most powerful swordmasters alive. But that was based on old reports. Now, seeing Roland in person, Klaus knew the man was even more powerful than those rumors claimed. He was like a sleeping glacier—massive, ancient, and capable of erasing entire landscapes.

“Kind of,” Klaus replied simply, giving her shoulder a small, reassuring tap.

“Pay him no mind,” Alexandra continued, trying to sound more confident than she felt. “He is rarely at the estate. If I’m correct, he is currently serving as the Duke of Ludenport.”

The two of them resumed walking, pushing back into the flow of the military crowd heading toward the estate’s main gate.

Greed, who had been completely quiet, finally spoke through the telepathic link.

{Your family is really something else.}

‘I thought you had decided to stay quiet today,’ Klaus replied mentally.

{Well, with everything I revealed to you about Arkadius, I figured the last thing you needed was to feel someone in your mind.}

‘You’re quite different. You’re not trying to take over my body, or are you?’

{Why would the Great Me need a body this weak? In my eyes, you are still nothing but an ant,} Greed scoffed, the comment delivered with an amused, superior air.

Klaus chuckled, an honest burst of humor at Greed’s eternal arrogance.

“Why are you laughing?” Alexandra said, noticing his slight shoulder movements.

“Ah, nothing much. I just remembered something funny.”

“Tell me what it is! I want to laugh too,” she insisted, playfully elbowing his arm. “Was it about Uncle Roland? Did you think he looked like a frozen stick?”

Klaus simply smiled and started walking slightly ahead of her, accelerating into the crowd.

“EHH! Tell me, Klaus!” she called, hurrying to catch up.

‘What was the comment about my family being something else about?’ Klaus projected, his mental voice sharp.

{Well, that man, that Roland Lionhart. He is the second most dangerous man I’ve met since we formed our pact.}

‘Second? Then I guess the first is the current Patriarch?’ Klaus mentally scoffed, picturing the Ice Monarch, Roman Lionhart.

{That weakling! Hell nah! He might be the Patriarch of the Lionhart family, but in your current state, you are far more dangerous and powerful than he will ever be.}

‘Wait, you mean that Roland is currently stronger than Roman Lionhart?’

{If what I sensed on him is correct, even you in your current state, will have trouble facing him,} Greed replied, the playfulness gone.

After hearing that, Klaus stopped abruptly. Alexandra, walking closely behind him and still complaining about the joke, collided nose-first into his back.

“Aie! Why did you suddenly stop walking?” She rubbed her forehead and nose in pain.

Klaus turned and looked at Alexandra, his attention already elsewhere, and simply said, “Sorry,” before quickly starting to walk again.

Though he didn’t ask Greed anything more, Klaus was consumed by the information. Could Roland Lionhart really be that powerful? If so, how? And the question that truly intrigued him, the one he could not resist, clawed at his mind: ‘You said he was the second most dangerous, then who is the first one, if it’s not the Patriarch?’

{Ha ha ha ha ha! The Great Me got you curious again!} Instead of answering, Greed let out a long, grating laugh. Though Klaus felt a surge of annoyance, Greed’s laughter was a strange comfort, reminding him of the old, less complicated days of his training time at Ludovic’s mansion and at the Lionhart Youth Training ground.

‘How much do you want this time?’ Klaus asked, steeling himself for an absurd stat point demand.

{Nothing much. I just want you to promise me to let me absorb another fragment of my fragmented self if you stumble upon one one day.}

Klaus sighed internally. He had allowed Greed to absorb a fragment just three days ago, strengthening the entity in ways Klaus couldn’t fully quantify. Though Greed was his partner, the ancient fear that all of the Arkdieu were his enemies remained. Is this what Arkadius wants me to think? Are they truly the enemies of this world? Another thought surfaced: Is it really my idea to protect Xyros, or just another thing Arkadius wants me to believe is my own choice?

He put the existential dread aside. ‘Okay, we have a deal. Now tell me, who is it? Who is the most dangerous man present in the Lionhart family?’

{I once already hinted it to you, but I guess your brain, though that of a mage, was still a bit brainless at the time! Ha ha ha ha!} Greed’s voice was high with glee.

Klaus felt his patience thinning. ‘Just answer me, will you?’

Greed did not reply, letting the silence stretch as Klaus and Alexandra finally entered the main gate of the Lionhart estate with the crowd of soldiers. Inside the vast courtyard, the density of the mobilization was complete. They stopped in front of a solid wall of human bodies—row upon row of soldiers, completely blocking the path forward. They could not proceed anymore.

“I guess we have to wait here like everyone else,” Alexandra said, relief and exhaustion in her voice. Klaus didn’t reply but simply nodded, turning his focus inward again.

‘Why aren’t you answering me now?’ he pressed Greed.

{Well, the subject is quite delicate. What I will tell you might change your view of a certain person.}

‘You saw my sea of consciousness, and all the multiple lives I now remember. Do you think I really care much about the meaningless fourteen years I spent as Klaus Lionhart?’

{Ha ha ha! Don’t try to fool me, kid. You do care. So much that you were even willing to die at Northwatch when you could have escaped alone, didn’t you, Mr. Mage? And despite the multiple lives you are now remembering, thanks to the Ten Eyes Mantra centering your current self, the memories won’t overwhelm you anymore. The more time passes, the more you become what you were before merging with the Icarus fragment. Though you still can access those memories, they can no longer affect your sense of self as they used to when you first awoke inside the Icarus cult chamber.}

Knowing that Greed could see right through him, Klaus dropped the pretense. He did care about his life as Klaus Lionhart—about his mother, his younger sister, his father, and very much about Alexandra.

‘Just answer me,’ he said, quieter this time.

{Well, the choice was yours to know. Don’t forget it,} Greed started, his tone suddenly growing immensely serious. {The most dangerous person I’ve met since we linked together, and even after you being you… in my eyes, you are still far weaker than that person…}

‘Stop turning around the bushes and just say the name.’

Klaus braced himself. He was expecting Melo, the Patriarch’s right-hand man, or perhaps even his mother, since he knew she was the daughter of the Beast Emperor.

He did not expect the name that followed.

{Ludovic Lionhart, your father…}

Creation is hard, cheer me up! (power stone plzzzz) (golden ticket or gifts plzzzz)