After returning to Rome…
Tiberius and Night temporarily parted ways, with Tiberius returning to his family and then heading to the Senate, where he became busy.
As for Night—his brilliant performance on the battlefield earned him the favor of many established noble families and factions in Rome.
Numerous families sought to tie him to their ships through marriage, offering olive branches.
They promised that if he became one of them, they would arrange the best career path for him.
He would soon become a noble, join the Senate…
With the title of 'Rome's Last Hero,' they were confident that even though Night hadn't reached the legal age of 30 under Roman law, they could make an exception to help him enter politics early.
Starting as a tribune, his future as a governor or consul of Rome would no longer be just a dream.
However, he turned down all of these offers as he had no interest in such things at the moment…
Until, a week after returning to Rome.
Night: 'Is everything ready?'
Tiberius:
"Yes, I've secured all the post-war compensation from the Senate for their families and personally distributed it.
Carl's family name has also been restored. I'll leave it to you to deliver the remaining items and return their family name to that child…"
"Alright, leave it to me. But aren't you going?
You no longer hold any hatred for Karl, do you?"
Tiberius: "Of course I don't hate him anymore… In fact, I feel immense guilt toward him.
And toward everyone else too…
If it weren't for bringing me along, you would've reached the shore and returned to Rome much sooner.
But—"
"But…?"
Tiberius: 'But I have more important things to do.
I need to make sure that more soldiers like Karl and the others get what they rightfully deserve.
Maybe I'm just running away.
I don't have the face to meet that man's child…'"
Night nodded and didn't push Tiberius further.
Instead, he tied up Karl's two swords that Tiberius had sent people to retrieve from the battlefield and carried them on his back.
He knew what Tiberius was planning to do next.
It was also Night's original goal, and he would assist him, but for now—
He left alone, following the address that Karl had left behind.
There were words he needed to deliver on Karl's behalf.
When Night arrived at the location on the address:
—"Who are you?"
A boy who opened the gate looked at him with suspicion.
Even though Night wasn't widely recognized by every single person in Rome, the title "Rome's Last Hero" had already become well-known.
But it seemed, this boy was one of the few exceptions—someone who hadn't attended the victory parade and didn't recognize Night.
However, he wasn't bothered by this and instead studied the boy.
Although dressed in a servant's attire, he appeared neat, well-dressed, and well-fed, bearing the same complexion, hair color, and almost identical appearance as Carl.
"Are you Karl's son?"
"…! Who are you?! I don't know who you're talking about."
Hearing his words, the boy's eyes flashed with surprise, panic, and disgust.
Seeing his resistance, Night didn't say much, he simply placed the tied swords down and handed them to the boy.
"What are these?"
"They are your father's swords."
The boy knew that receiving his father's swords meant that his father was no longer alive.
But even so, just as his initial reaction to hearing his father's name was not joy but disdain, he rejected everything related to his father.
Even if Carl was already dead—
"Get lost! I don't need that stuff. I don't care what that old man told you—it has nothing to do with me!!"
"You're not planning to take them? They are your father's legacy, a symbol of honor…" Night said calmly.
One sword was found on the battlefield, while the other was taken from the Roman treasury.
One was rusty and worn, while the other was Carl's family heirloom.
The significance behind these swords was the honor Carl had fought for with his own blood, reclaiming the glory of his ancestors.
They were the possessions hr valued most during his life.
Accepting these swords meant taking on his father's responsibility, carrying the emblem of a distinguished lineage, and restoring the family name, elevating the boy to nobility.
Night didn't explain this to him… simply because of the boy's earlier expression.
But as Karl's child, he was willing to give him a chance.
If he chose to inherit his father's legacy, all the wealth and status that came with it would be rightfully his.
But if he loathed his father so much that he would reject even his final wish…
"I don't care about honor or anything like that. Just throw them away.
Or—if you like that rusty trash, then keep it for yourself," the boy said scornfully, his eyes filled with ridicule.
It seemed he found the idea of someone treasuring such weapons absurd and laughably foolish.
"He was a hero. Don't you want to inherit the honor of being a hero's son?"
"Hero? A hero who couldn't even protect his family's name, who fought in wars for over a decade without sending a single penny home?
Shut up!
He was nothing but a failure. Because of him, do you know what kind of life I lived in Rome?
I had to beg on the streets, rummaging through trash bins for food.
If someone froze to death, I'd strip them of their clothes so I could survive the winter.
Where's the honor in a life like that?
Hero's son? Honor? Pride?
None of it matters.
I hate him. I even hate everything about our family. For the sake of that family name, he abandoned me and went off to war.
In the end, it wasn't even him who returned—just two broken swords in his place.
I will never follow the same path as him." As he spoke, the boy's eyes turned red, tears glimmering in them.
"What if I told you he succeeded…
He's already reclaimed your family's name." After listening to the boy's words, Night fell silent.
After a while, he continued.
But the boy's eyes showed no joy.
He wasn't proud of his father's efforts because it was precisely those efforts that made his past life a living hell.
Yet deep down, he knew that under Rome's conscription policies, his father wouldn't have returned regardless of how hard he tried.
However, understanding was one thing, but acceptance was another.
The boy was only filled with confusion; in the end, he coldly said, "It doesn't matter anymore…
I'm living a good life now. I don't need to inherit some new family name."
.....
Night: "…I see. It's your choice if you don't want to inherit that name.
But even so, you can't truly sever ties with Karl.
Soon, all the war compensation and benefits Carl earned will be sent to you.
It's up to you whether to accept it.
If you don't like it, you can always treat those gold coins as trash and throw them away."
.....
No matter what, the boy was still Karl's son, the last thing he cared about.
Even if the boy deeply resented his father, ensuring his happiness was Carl final wish.
So, whether he liked it or not, Night would deliver those bloodstained coins into the boy's hands.
Night suddenly regained his composure, closing his eyes slowly… He recalled Carl's final words to them.
....