Knight Lords: Infinite Simulation and the Path of Light

Chapter 107 A loving mother and a filial son
The two strolled leisurely through the upscale residential area, observing the diverse architectural styles of the buildings lining the street, much like two country bumpkins who had never seen the world before. They paid no heed to the pointing and whispering of the shopkeepers.

"So, Mr. Will, who is your mother?"

When Lori asked him, Haven couldn't help but recall his days in Whiterun, a painful feeling of wanting to be a couch potato but not being able to.

"Um, have you heard of Cavendish?"

Lori scratched the back of his head, feeling a sense of familiarity, as if... as if... Suddenly, Lori's eyes widened as if he had remembered something.

“Mr. Will, I remember now, Cavendish is not one of the oldest noble families in the Empire. It is said that he appeared in the early days of the Empire.”

I read in a book that the Cavendish family is an ancient family, dating back to the Great Chaos two thousand years ago. Although they experienced several periods of destruction during their development, they miraculously survived.

Haven glanced at Lori in surprise. He had only asked casually, but Lori actually knew the answer. It seemed he didn't just read storybooks all the time.
"It seems there is such a thing, but I'm not very interested, after all, I don't even know the whole history of our White Lion family."

My mother's full name is Louise Mona Angeli Cavendish. She is the youngest daughter of the Marquis of Cavendish. She recently came back to help out at my cousin's wedding.

"Oh, I see~"

Looking at Haven, who is so easygoing, carefree, and free-spirited, I couldn't help but think of this.

“Mr. Will, your mother must have been a very good person to raise you to be such a wonderful person.”

Lori's sudden praise startled Havent for a moment, and then he began to recall the painful days before, and a smile involuntarily appeared on his lips.

"Well, Ms. Louise is indeed a rather outstanding person. You'll see when you meet her. I hope that once you get to know my mother better, you'll still stick to your current ideas."

Hearing Haven's answer, Lori scratched his head in confusion, not quite understanding what Mr. Will meant.

The two strolled leisurely through the noble district for half an hour, encountering several patrolling guard squads along the way. However, after respectfully bowing to Havent's gleaming white lion emblem on his chest, they continued on their way.

After Haven spent a long time looking at the map, the two finally stopped in front of a magnificent manor. He turned around, glanced at Lori who was panting heavily, and gave an awkward smile.

"Um, um, this is my first time here too. It'll probably be easier next time."

Lori, whose legs were already a little weak from walking, silently rolled her eyes at Havent's dry explanation, thinking to herself that Mr. Will was perfect except for being a little too oblivious at times.

After confirming the location was correct, Haven put away the map that Earl Hyland had hand-drawn for him and swaggered inside.

"Halt! Who are you? The Marquis's mansion is not a place you can come and go as you please."

Haven and his companion were stopped by guards in full armor just as they reached the door.

Seeing that he was stopped again, Haven coughed awkwardly. Did he really look like some nobody?

"Cough~ Hmm~ Ha~"
"My name is Haven't Hyland, and I'm here to see my mother."

"What Haven... um..."

The guard, who was about to speak again to drive them away, suddenly realized what was happening and, like a rooster with its neck being squeezed, could not utter a sound halfway through his sentence.

After all, the young master of the manor is about to have his big wedding, and too many people want to take advantage of this time to find a job in the Marquis's manor. I mistakenly thought that these two boys had the same idea.

The guard, realizing what was happening, quickly scanned Havent and soon spotted the exquisite white lion noble badge on his chest. After confirming it was genuine, he immediately strode down the steps to Havent and gave him a standard knightly salute.

“Young Master Haven, I didn’t know it was you. I was very rude just now, please punish me.”

"Ah~ It's okay, can I go in now? By the way, is my mom home?"

The guard quickly stepped aside and led the way diagonally ahead.

"Of course, Master Haven. Miss Louise is not at the manor right now. She went to the Obera Jewelry store on Queen Street in Sydney this morning. I will arrange for someone to inform Miss Louise of your arrival immediately."

Hearing the guard's words, Haven nodded and followed him inside. Compared to the simple and understated gate outside, the interior of the manor was much more luxurious. Everywhere there were exquisite statues carved from milky-white moonstone, and some of the statues even had names inlaid in gold on their bases. The high-class atmosphere made it clear that they were the work of a master craftsman.

"Young Master Haven, the Marquis is currently at the manor. Would you like to see him first?"

Hearing the guard's question, Haven paused for a moment, and then the image of a stern-looking, fierce old man flashed into his mind.

"Um... He didn't go to work today... He went to court... Doesn't he have a job?"

The guard looked at Havent with a strange expression, and said hesitantly:
“Young Master Havent, it’s almost time for dinner. The Marquis returned from the Senate around noon.”

"Ah~ um~ well~ how about I wait until my mom comes back before we talk about it? I'm not very familiar with my maternal grandfather."

Seeing Haven's resistant expression, the guard couldn't help but raise his eyelids. Young Master Haven is really... really... witty.

"Then I will take you to Miss Louise's courtyard first, where you can rest for a while."

Haven, who had been wanting to rest for a long time, finally got the answer he wanted and nodded in satisfaction.

"That would be great! I'm so tired. Is there a public bathhouse here? I want to take a bath."

"Um...you can ask Miss Louise's steward, Ms. Su Lin, to arrange that for you."

For the next ten minutes or so, the guards became unusually quiet, afraid that if they continued talking to Young Master Havent, they would lose control of their expressions. In the Marquis's mansion, it was a very serious matter for a subordinate to behave disrespectfully towards his master.

"Well, thank you."

Seeing Havent waving goodbye at the gate of Miss Louise's courtyard, the guard bowed respectfully and fled as if in a panic. Watching the guard walk away, Havent shook his head regretfully; he had originally wanted to praise them a couple more times.

"Honestly, I was going to thank him for showing us the way, why did he leave in such a hurry?"

Lori, who was standing to the side, breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that she and Mr. Will were the only two left. Although nothing had happened and she had only seen various guards, maids and servants along the way, she felt very depressed for some reason.

"Mr. Will, I feel like that guard is trying to escape from you?"

Hearing Lori's words, Haven raised an eyebrow.

"Is that so? That shouldn't be the case. I'm such an easygoing and approachable person, much better than those old fogies."

Seeing the smug Haven, Lori couldn't help but give an awkward laugh.

“Um, Mr. Will, is it possible that he’s a little uncomfortable because you’re too easygoing?”

Just as the two were arguing, a well-dressed and elegant woman came out with several maids. When she saw Havel standing at the door, a glint flashed in her eyes, and she quickly walked forward.

"Ah~ Young Master Haven, it's you. Why are you dressed like this? Oh dear~ you've grown quite a bit taller, and um~~~ you've gotten quite tanned too."

Upon hearing the sound, Haven turned around and looked back, immediately revealing a joyful expression.

"Ah~ Ms. Su Lin, it's so good to meet you."

Facing the woman who had watched him grow up, Haven gave her a bear hug. Feeling the strength of Haven's embrace, Ms. Su Lin, who was nearly fifty years old, couldn't help but have tears in her eyes. This child she had watched grow up was still so sensible.

“Young Master Havent, come down, come down. As the heir to the White Lion, you must always be mindful of your etiquette, image, and manners as a nobleman.” Hearing Madam Su Lin begin her familiar lecturing again, Havent stuck out his tongue in annoyance, then remembered something and showed Lori, who was standing next to him.

“This is Lori, my partner and my little brother. By the way, he is also a nobleman. His father is Baron Suier of Poli Town.”

Su Lin looked at Lori, whose skin had also turned yellow from the wind and sand, and nodded in a friendly gesture.

"Then please come in with me. I'll arrange a bath for you first, otherwise Miss Louise will scold you endlessly when she sees you like this when she gets back."

Remembering his mother's terrifying appearance when she was angry and furious, Haven couldn't help but shudder and pulled Lori inside.

"You should wash too, wash properly. My mom doesn't like dirty kids. Ms. Su Lin, give us both a good scrub, hopefully it will make us look whiter."

Watching the energetic Haven, Su Lin, walking behind, covered her mouth and chuckled softly.

"Young Master Haven is still as energetic as ever."

On the other side, in the Marquis's study.

The guard who had brought Havel in was now standing respectfully not far from the desk, opposite an old man with snow-white hair and a serious expression. Under the glow of the magical light, the wrinkles on his face were exceptionally prominent.

"Which little white lion is here?"

"Yes, my lord."

"He arrived pretty quickly! Why didn't he come to see me?"

Faced with the old marquis's question, the guard suddenly became hesitant and stammering. The old marquis, who had been waiting for a long time without getting an answer, looked up in surprise and seemed to remember something when he saw the guard's conflicted expression.

"What did that little guy say this time?"

"This... um... sir..."

"Go ahead and tell me, I don't blame you."

Under the old marquis's persistent gaze, the guard reluctantly repeated what Haven had just said.

"Young Master Haven said he's not very familiar with you, sir, so he won't come to see you. He said he'll wait for Miss Louise to return before we talk."

After the guard finished speaking, the old marquis's breathing became noticeably rapid a few times. After composing himself for a moment, he waved to the guard.

"Alright, you can leave now."

The guard silently bowed and left the study. A long while later, the old marquis closed the books on the table, chuckled softly, and muttered a curse:

"That damn brat is just as annoying as his bastard father. I don't know what Louise saw in that white lion."

Sigh... I'm getting old, getting old. Since that brat won't come to see me, I'll go see him myself.

Fragrant Courtyard
The bright, warm-colored crystal chandelier illuminated the rising steam like transparent, elastic ribbons of light, and two naked boys were leisurely floating in the huge bathtub.

"Mr. Will, your house is so big!"

Haven peeled the petals off her body, genuinely puzzled. Why put petals in a bath when it doesn't smell good or look nice?

"It's a total rip-off! To be precise, this is my mom's house, but it's really big. Compared to this, the place I live in Baiman City is like a pigsty."

After this period of training, Lori has become much more outgoing. Sometimes, Haven even felt that Lori was a repressed person who looked decent on the surface but had a lot of hidden thoughts in his mind.

"By the way, after I finish taking care of things, let's go to the Royal Academy together to report for duty."

"Oh? Mr. Will, are you also going to the Royal Academy?"

Seeing Lori's surprised expression, Haven raised his hand and gave him a sharp rap on the head. What did that expression mean? He had no manners.

"What! No way! I came to the capital to study. Besides, without my protection, you'd just be the one getting bullied."

Half an hour later, after being carefully tidied up by the maid, the two, feeling several pounds lighter, walked out of the bathroom. Thanks to the care of high-end magical potion products, their skin, which had been a bit dark and yellow from being exposed to the sun, had now recovered considerably.

"Ah, Haven! My son, how did you manage to sneak into the capital by yourself?"

Just as Haven was about to find something to eat, he suddenly felt himself being pulled into a warm embrace. Then, a strong feeling of suffocation came over him, and he could only smell a faint scent of gardenias.

After struggling a few times, Haven finally managed to break free. Looking at the tall, broad-chested, and well-dressed beautiful woman before him, Haven said helplessly:

“Mom, I’m a big kid now. According to the laws of the Empire, I’ll be an adult soon. You can’t keep treating me like a little kid.”

However, it was clear that the beautiful woman did not heed Havel's words of protest and continued to grope him.

"Wow, son! You've grown quite a bit taller! You were only three months old when you were just born here."

As she spoke, she gestured to her bulging chest, and then casually stroked Haven's wet, medium-length hair a couple of times.

Feeling a bit annoyed by the petting, Haven forcefully pushed away the beautiful woman's hand; the way she was being petted, like petting a puppy, was extremely irritating.

"Ah~ Little Vent has grown up, he's not my good baby anymore, so..."

Haven! Did you do your homework properly? I'm going to check it later, and if I find out you're wasting your studies just like your unreliable father, I'll make you pay!

Seeing the beautiful woman, who had been smiling with curiosity, suddenly change her expression, Haven couldn't help but swallow hard and subconsciously pulled Lori out from behind him.

“Mom! This is Lori, a friend I made on the way here.”

Lori, who was suddenly pushed in front of Haven, looked completely bewildered. Looking at Haven's mother, who was smiling at him, he stammered a greeting.

"Hello, beautiful lady, I'm Lori from Polly Town."

"Ah! Hello, child. Don't be shy. Make yourself at home here."

"Hehehehe... It's very lively here."

Just as Haven was explaining to his mother how he met Lori and some of Lori's background.

An elderly man with snow-white hair, dressed in gorgeous clothes, walked in, escorted by guards.

“My grandson said he wasn’t familiar with this old man and didn’t want to come see me, so I, this old man, have no choice but to come see my grandson in person.”

Seeing the old man's mocking smile, Haven's neck hairs stood on end, and only one thought crossed his mind: Oh no, oh no, oh no.

"Havent!!!!!!!!!"

How could you be so rude?! How has your mother always taught you to be like this?!

(End of this chapter)