The Hero Becomes the Duke’s Eldest Son

Translator: Marctempest
Editor: Rynfinity

Chapter 16

……

A middle-aged man appeared.

However, his body was so well-trained that it was hard to believe he was middle-aged.

‘Tiried Sedus, the Border Count.’

Aden immediately recognized who he was.

He was the lord of the Sedus territory in the northeastern borders, much farther north than the southeastern borders where the Remes Duchy was located. He was also responsible for maintaining the actual security of that border.

‘And he’s a knight at the level of a superhuman.’

The stages of mana martial arts were broadly classified into four levels.

The first level, Reinforcement, was known as the realm of initiation.

The second level, Sword Resonance, was within the realm of the ordinary.

The third level, Sword Aura, was considered the realm of geniuses.

But the fourth level, the realm of superhumans, was said to surpass human limits, and such individuals were typically called ‘Sword Masters.’

There were only about a dozen Sword Masters in the entire empire, and Tiried Sedus was one of them.

Aden recognized him instantly because they had a connection in his previous life.

There was an incident where a dragon from the west ran rampant.

At that time, numerous Sword Masters participated, and more than half of them lost their lives.

One of them was the Border Count Tiried.

Aden remembered him well because they had a particularly bad relationship.

Like many knights, Tiried did not think highly of mercenaries.

At that time, he had looked at Aden, who was a disciple of the Mercenary King, with a very disdainful gaze and asked,

– Are you the one raised by those money-grubbing heads?

However, the eyes of the Border Count Tiried, looking at Aden now, were full of goodwill.

“Do you remember me? No, it’s the first time we’ve seen each other since you were a little kid, so I guess you wouldn’t.”

Through the memories of the rogue noble, Aden realized why he had appeared.

‘The Border Count Tiried and Duke Fried are close friends.’

They both graduated from the Academy’s Liberal Swordsmanship Department and were quite close.

So, Tiried would treat Aden warmly, considering him like a nephew.

“You have an outstanding physique. With a body like that, it’s no wonder you’ve awakened sword energy.”

Tiried admired Aden’s body, which had become ideally transformed through physical reconstruction.

Then, he suddenly remembered and said,

“Oh, I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Tiried Sedus, an old friend of your father.”

With the Border Count’s self-introduction, Aden bowed his head in greeting.

“I’m Aden Remes, the eldest son of the Remes Duchy. Greetings to the Border Count Tiried Sedus, guardian of the northeastern border.”

Considering the original personality of Aden Remes, it would be typical to act arrogantly regardless of who the opponent was, but with his current skills, behaving like that towards this man would leave him with not even bones to pick up, so he acted politely.

“Haha! You’re much more courteous than I heard. If you were like the rumors, I would have taught you a harsh lesson.”

Seeing him click his tongue regretfully, Aden realized his actions were correct.

Knowing this man’s personality, it wouldn’t be surprising if something broke if he misbehaved.

At that moment, Duke Fried’s personal servant came looking for the Border Count Tiried and spoke cautiously.

“Excuse me, the Duke is waiting in the dining room. Would you please move there?”

The servant’s behavior was very cautious.

It was none other than a Sword Master.

It was natural to be careful.

Nodding at the servant’s words, the Border Count responded,

“Is that so? Understood. I will go right away. And Aden, may I call you Aden?”

“Call me whatever you wish.”

“I’m going to have a brief meal with your father. Would you like to join us?”

Aden thought for a moment at his suggestion.

The strongest man in the northeastern border, Tiried Sedus.

No matter how close they were, it was very rare for him to leave his territory and visit another.

Why did he visit the Remes territory?

Aden was curious about that part.

‘I need to find out.’

Aden nodded lightly in agreement.

“All right. If it’s okay with you, I’ll join you for the meal.”

* * *

In the dining room of the Remes Duchy.

Across a wide table, the Duke and the Border Count were sitting face to face, cutting steaks.

In between, Aden sat eating with them.

“Brother Tid, you should have given me a heads-up. Your sudden visit is quite surprising.”

“Haha, I wanted to give our Duke a pleasant surprise, seeing him after such a long time.”

“…Your personality hasn’t changed.”

Duke Fried shook his head with a wry smile.

Despite the five-year age difference, Duke Fried and Border Count Tiried were at ease with each other.

It might seem odd for a mere count to be friends with a duke, but given their influence in the empire, it wasn’t strange.

The authority that Border Count Tiried held within the empire was comparable to, if not higher than, that of a marquis.

He possessed strong military power and authority due to his role in defending the empire from the wilderness.

On the other hand, the influence of the Remes Duchy had diminished over the years.

In social circles, the position of the Duchy was comparable to that of a wealthy viscount or baron.

A title was not an accurate measure of an estate lord’s power.

“I’m glad to see you, but what brings you all the way to the southeastern borders? Aren’t you always busy guarding your territory?”

The Sedus County bordered the vast wilderness to the east, the Wasteland of Death, and the northern wilderness, the Frozen Land, so it always faced frequent monster invasions.

As a result, the county was always busy with monster exterminations.

“I’ve left the territory in the hands of my subordinates for a while. I haven’t raised it so weakly that it would fall without me.”

In his knightly order, there were dozens of Sword Aura level knights, which the Remes knightly order didn’t have a single one of.

Even without a Sword Master, there wouldn’t be any major issues in the short term.

“There were some interesting rumors, and I also had news to share with you, Fried, so I came in person.”

Saying it was an interesting rumor, he glanced at Aden.

Aden immediately understood.

‘He’s talking about the rumor that I killed a troll with sword energy.’

Tiried took a sip of wine and continued speaking.

“I heard there was a troll at the monster mountain?”

“Yes, it was a stray troll, but indeed.”

The Border Count, who had been in a relaxed and cheerful mood, suddenly turned serious.

“Yes, it’s not unusual for a stray troll to wander in.”

The main habitat of trolls was the Wasteland of Death to the east.

Although the Remes Duchy bordered the Wasteland of Death, the Monster Mountain and the Piern Mountains to the east acted as natural barriers, reducing the damage.

Tiried continued speaking.

“But it’s a bit unsettling considering the timing.”

“What do you mean by timing?”

Tiried rummaged through his belongings and pulled something out onto the table.

“This is…?”

“It’s the banner of the Black Boar Orc Tribe. They lived near the southern part of the Wasteland of Death, close to the Piern Mountains. But about a month ago, they came up and attacked our territory.”

Although it wasn’t a particularly threatening large tribe, it was quickly resolved with the Border Count stepping in personally.

However, the problem was why the orcs, who lived in the south, moved north.

“The Slaughter Tower also recently reported that the monsters in the Wasteland of Death were showing strange movements, trying to move north.”

The Wasteland of Death was teeming with powerful monsters.

The Border Count guarded the northwestern part of it.

The Piern Mountains served as a natural barrier to the south.

And in the middle, the holy land of the Cult of Slaughter, the Slaughter Tower, managed to suppress the monster overflow.

The Cult of Slaughter was composed of battle priests specialized in combat and extermination, controlling and suppressing the powerful monsters of the Wasteland of Death.

With a serious expression, Tiried furrowed his brows and spoke.

“Sedus, Slaughter Tower, Remes. Rare incidents related to monsters are happening simultaneously in these three places. It’s definitely not a coincidence.”

Meanwhile, Aden, who had been listening attentively, thought.

‘Is it related to the monster attacks that the merchant Pobol mentioned?’

Did such an incident happen in his previous life?

He briefly searched his memories but couldn’t recall.

At this time, Aden had been active in the western borders, which was almost the opposite side.

So, he had no way of knowing what had happened here.

Duke Fried understood what Tiried was implying.

“Are you saying there’s an anomaly in the Piern Mountains or beyond?”

“That’s highly likely.”

All three incidents pointed to the southwestern part of the Wasteland of Death, which was the eastern part of the Remes territory.

“So, I plan to investigate the Piern Mountains this time. Will you help?”

Asking for help meant forming an investigation team and including himself in it.

“Of course. In fact, I’m grateful.”

If there really was an anomaly in the Piern Mountains, the troll incident was just the beginning.

In the worst-case scenario, there could be an overflow of eastern monsters.

Knowing this, the Duke had no choice but to form an investigation team.

For the safety of his subjects, it was essential.

And having a superhuman knight lead the team was the most reassuring thing possible.

Hearing the Duke’s answer, the tense expression on the Border Count’s face relaxed.

“Haha, good. Then let’s put aside the heavy talk for now and catch up on the old days. Starting with your son.”

He looked at Aden with eyes full of goodwill and admiration.

“Fried, you were never good with physical skills, but it seems your martial arts have paid off. You’ve raised quite a talent. Hahaha!”

“Haha, I can hardly believe it myself.”

When Tiried first arrived at the Remes Duchy, he didn’t believe the rumors about Aden.

‘Hmph, awakening sword energy at eighteen? That’s impossible.’

Even his son, considered a genius, only awakened Sword Aura after turning twenty.

It was impossible for the notorious rogue to be faster than his son.

He assumed the rumor that Aden killed a troll was just an exaggeration of him delivering the final blow after the knightly order exhausted it.

But seeing Aden in person, he couldn’t help but be amazed.

‘Wow! Such ideal muscles! It’s as if he went through physical reconstruction!’

His assumption was spot on, but Tiried couldn’t know the truth.

Physical reconstruction was extremely rare and difficult, and awakening sword energy at eighteen was many times more unbelievable.

Feeling the mana radiating from Aden’s body, Tiried was convinced that Aden was indeed at the level of Sword Aura.

Once again, he couldn’t help but be impressed.

‘Such ideal muscles and already at the level of Sword Aura.’

He was tempted.

He was sure that his friend Fried’s son would continue to grow and develop his talents.

He wanted to have that talent under his command.

So, Tiried impulsively said something shocking.

“Aden, would you like to join my knightly order?”

“T-Tid brother!”

Duke Fried jumped up in surprise at Tiried’s offer.

To ask his delicate (?) son to join a knightly order!

Tiried waved his hand to calm Duke Fried.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of him. I can’t give him special treatment openly, but you know how much of an honor it is to join the Sedus Knightly Order, right?”

It was true.

Among Sword Masters, Tiried was comparable to the Imperial Guard Captain or Grand Duke Syres.

Joining his command was a great honor for any family or warrior.

But Duke Fried didn’t care about any of that.

His eldest son was all that mattered.

“My son has never held a sword before and has only been training for five months. How can I send him into danger…?”

Tiried paused at Duke Fried’s words and looked back.

“Wait a minute, Fried. Did I hear that right? Five months?”

“Yes? Yes.”

At the Duke’s reply, Tiried burst into laughter.

“Haha, Fried, your exaggerations are too much. Even so, you shouldn’t lie.”

“As unbelievable as it is, it’s true. Have you ever seen me exaggerate to you?”

He knew.

Tiried knew better than anyone how honest Duke Fried was.

“…So, it’s true?”

“Yes.”

“Five months? Not five years?”

“It’s indeed five months.”

“……”

Tiried fell into silence.

After a moment, he slowly approached Aden and then…

Thud.

He placed his hands on Aden’s shoulders.

Then, with an infinitely serious look, he spoke.

“Become my disciple.”

His eyes were filled with eager desire.