Chapter 642: Eager

Chapter 642: Eager

House Ernst was a huge family, consisting of several main lineages, with a significant number of members from the side branches.

At the banquet, nearly a hundred knights bearing the Ernst surname were present.

Among them, six were Rank Two knights, including Natalya.

Two were Rank Three knights, one was Sein’s future mother-in-law.

Sein’s future father-in-law, Wilson, was absent.

He was reportedly in Thunderfall World, assisting Steel Fist the Rank Four knight.

The demigod-level knight of House Ernst was not present either.

Nevertheless, both of them would be attending Sein’s wedding ceremony. Master Lorianne would likely make a brief appearance too.

The event was sure to be lively.

Scarlet, whose real name was Reenee Ernst, belonged to a lineage descending from the siblings of Natalya's great-grandfather.

Given their generational gap and age difference, Scarlet was indeed Natalya’s grandniece.

However, Scarlet’s branch had gradually transitioned from the main line to a side branch within House Ernst.

This change was due to the absence of any Rank Three Sky Knights in recent generations of Scarlet’s lineage.

In prestigious knight houses like House Ernst, only those of the purest bloodline or those who had risen to Sky Knight status were considered part of the main lineage.

Among Scarlet’s direct elders, only one remained a Rank Two Land Knight, and given his advanced age, prospects for advancement were slim.

It was no surprise that their lineage was gradually relegated to a branch status.

Rank One female knights bearing Ernst as their last name often became critical assets for the family to leverage in forming external alliances through marriage.

Every influential family looking to grow actively sought to incorporate new blood outside their own family.

However, to maintain the purity of their lineage, some degree of “internal consolidation” typically occurred too.

When Samson heard about the rumor between Sein and Reina during the Thunderfall World War, it could not help but mentally give Sein two thumbs-up and commend Sein for his special taste.

The engagement banquet lasted only two days, but Sein stayed in the Lysian Alliance for nearly a month.

Selina also took the time to visit House Farion. Having ascended to Rank One, she was now considered the elder in her family.

Although House Farion was a declining family in the Lysian Alliance, it had seen significant growth in recent years.

Aside from Selina’s promotion to Rank One, several children from House Farion had joined the prestigious Divine Tower of Verdant Spring and performed well during the latest regional academy war.

Although House Farion was Sein’s maternal family, he rarely interacted with them due to his intensive experimental research, which left him little time to focus on such matters.

Fortunately, Selina periodically checked in on them.

Moreover, the family initiates did not require the oversight of a Rank Two mage like Sein.

They generally managed quite well in the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring by merely mentioning the existence of a Rank Two mage in their family.

Once the engagement ceremony concluded, Sein returned promptly to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

On the other hand, Natalya accompanied her mother back to the Order of the Steel Fist.

Now that they were officially engaged, Sein and Natalya were expected to spend more time together. However, their relationship remained unconsummated, primarily because Sein had shown no inclination toward advancing their intimacy.

Before his engagement to Natalya, Leena's visit to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring had left Sein exhausted for several days.

Leena was not the only one; Selina and Eileen also demanded much of his attention.

Although the two women did not comment on Sein’s engagement, they probably harbored some reservations about it.

As for Natalya, she could not bring herself to initiate something like that with Sein. Despite her tough personality, she was still a pretty reserved woman.

Upon returning to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, Sein received an important update from his mentor.

Since the Order of the Steel Fist lacked the resources to wage another interplanar war, the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring had decided to conquer the microplane that Lorianne had named the “Verdant Leaf World”.

The campaign was slated to begin in three years; it seemed like Lorianne was eager to expedite it.