My name is "Luke Notos Greyrat".
As the second son of the Notos Family, I face immense pressure every day.
Since I was three years old, my parents arranged for sword and magic instructors to teach me. As a three-year-old, it all seemed too difficult at the time.
Every day, I was exhausted by the sword instructor, and the magic lessons were like listening to a foreign language. One day, I overheard my magic teacher complaining to my father in a corner.
"Mr. Pélemon, I have never seen such a dull child; his magic talent is basically zero. I suggest you allocate more time to sword training."
"Continuing to let Luke study magic is just a waste of time."
My father often resorted to scolding and beating me because of my perceived stupidity. He used to dote on me the most before I started learning magic and the sword.
Although I am the second son, I could feel that my father initially held high expectations for me.
My brother is much older than me, but when he was eight, my father sent him away to work, while I was the only one who stayed at home.
But I disappointed my father.
Once, because my swordsmanship hadn't improved at all, he started beating me. After about ten minutes, he seemed tired and began to feel guilty seeing the bruises on my body.
He held me in his arms and muttered to himself:
"Why can't you be more ambitious? Why can't a second son be more successful than the eldest? Why do they all look down on second sons?"
My father's words confused me until later when I learned that he was also a second son.
He was once very unloved at home, but his older brother left home after a fight with my grandfather—the previous head of the Notos Family—and never returned.
Eventually, the position of family head had to be passed to my father because there was no other choice. This is something he has always brooded over.
On his deathbed, my grandfather didn't care for my father's meticulous care; he kept calling out the name of my father's older brother.
This is why my father was full of expectations when I was born as a second son; he wanted to prove that a second son could do better than the eldest.
My education continued.
Despite my efforts, my swordsmanship was mediocre. By age five, I barely reached the Beginner level of the North God Style.
However, through my hard work, I excelled in reading, writing, etiquette, and dancing. My father acknowledged me in these areas.
He was somewhat relieved. As long as I didn't have to fight, I appeared to be a fitting son of the Notos Family head to outsiders.
To the public, as my etiquette and appearance became more refined, I was seen as a very promising next-generation noble in the Asura Kingdom's aristocratic circles.
In recent years, my father often boasted at noble balls about how ambitious I was, which made me very happy. As long as I could make him proud, all my efforts were worth it.
Until that man appeared, and everything changed!
When I was six, a boy about my age came to Ars. He had never appeared at any of the Asura Noble balls.
Yet, his name was constantly whispered in those circles.
At age four, he could use all Advanced Attack Magic, reached Intermediate in Water God Style Swordsmanship, and became a disciple of Water God Leda Lia.
Some even rumored that he had mastered the human language, Demon God Language, and Beast-kin Language, and was recently studying the Fighting God Language.
He was also proficient in etiquette and dancing. He was Daolin Prodia Grellat, the grandson of Darius Prodia Grelat, the most powerful noble in the Asura Royal Palace.
Of course, my father and I didn't believe these rumors. After all, Darius is currently the most powerful high-ranking minister in the country.
It would be easy for him to create hype for his family's heir.
The Prodia Family and our Notos Family have always disliked each other. Among the Four Great Greyrat Families, we are the two who look down on each other the most.
This meant that Daolin Prodia Grellat and I were never going to be friends from the start.
He would definitely be my rival. At least, that's what I thought.
When I was six, my father took me to Daolin Prodia Grellat's birthday banquet.
At the banquet, I met my natural rival.
He was about my height, slightly shorter, with a youthful face and a somewhat fake smile when greeting nobles. His fiery red hair was quite an eyesore.
But seeing his grandfather put me at ease; he would definitely go bald early.
The banquet was decent. One could say, as expected of the Greyrat Family? The event was very grand.
What made me happy was meeting the girl I would protect for the rest of my life: Princess Ariel Anemoi Asura, whom my father had spoken to me about long ago.
Her eyes were more brilliant than diamonds, and her golden hair was smoother than expensive silk. Though she was only four years old, she was surely the most beautiful angel among all the women present.
What infuriated me most was that Dorin actually used the opening dance of his own birthday banquet as an excuse to ask my princess to dance.
If it weren't for my excellent etiquette training, I would have drawn my sword to duel him.
Fortunately, it was likely his first time dancing, and he made many mistakes. After finishing the dance with Princess Ariel, he disappeared to who knows where.
At my next birthday banquet, I must ask Princess Ariel for the opening dance.
Through my father's maneuvering and communication with the King, it was arranged for me to become Princess Ariel's Guardian Knight at her fifth birthday banquet.
This was a very important honor for me. Any Guardian Knight is very close to their charge. If I could become Princess Ariel's Guardian Knight, I could serve as a bridge between her and our family.
At the same time, I would be inseparable from Princess Ariel for the rest of our days.
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