The Hero Becomes the Duke’s Eldest Son

Chapter 96

The guild leader of the Maedala Mercenary Guild, Marcus Maedala, met with Aden alone.

His eyes gradually became moist.

“Aden-nim, I truly thank you. If it weren’t for you, if I hadn’t met you, I would have lost my daughter without even knowing the reason. I will repay this grace for the rest of my life.”

He was indeed a very tearful man.

Without Aden, he wouldn’t have been able to find out the cause of his daughter’s illness, and he wouldn’t have been able to reclaim the spirit from the Umbra Guild.

“It was just a transaction, so it doesn’t matter. But are you really okay with it? That Charles is the contractor of the Spirit of Plague.”

His face turned bitter at this.

His daughter had made a contract with the Spirit of Plague to regain her health.

Once it was revealed that his daughter, who was already a rare spirit contractor, was specifically contracted with the Spirit of Plague, which was considered particularly ominous, many hardships would await her.

And perhaps those hardships had already begun.

The human Chimera corps, Blood Knights, which Silbeta was nurturing.

The most crucial material for creating those Blood Knights was the power possessed by Charles’ spirit.

At this rate, it was uncertain when Charles’ life might be in danger again.

“Surely, it will be tough from now on.”

Soon, his bitter expression turned into one of firm determination.

“But the ship has already sailed. I will do my best to ensure everything goes well in the future. I intend to cultivate strength in my daughter so that she will never be hurt, and even if she is, she will have the resilience to withstand it.”

Since having a family and growing his guild, he was no longer obsessed with reaching the level of a master.

But this incident rekindled his desire for power.

The fervor for the power to protect his guild and family.

‘It’s a bit inappropriate for my age, but…’

Still, he resolved to train again to overcome the wall.

The guild itself, and its power, would grow further due to this incident.

“And… I will no longer see the spirit as an ominous being, but as a blessing that has come to us. That spirit is now also part of my family.”

He decided not to view it through the prejudiced eyes widely spread in the world anymore.

To such Marcus, Aden made a suggestion.

“I’ll write a recommendation letter, so why don’t you send your daughter to study in the Remes family?”

“What?”

The Ent tribe that had settled in the Remes territory.

If she learned spirit magic from them, she would undoubtedly blossom into a brilliant spirit magician.

The power of the Spirit of Plague was of a dangerous kind.

Therefore, Aden judged that it would be better to quickly develop the ability to control that power.

And if a member of the Remes knight order always guarded her and she stayed close to the Ents who handled spirit magic, there would be no danger to her from anyone.

When Aden explained these reasons, Marcus looked bewildered.

The conditions were excessively favorable to them.

“Is it really okay for us to receive such help?”

“In return, whenever I need the help of the guild and Charles’ power in the future, you’ll assist me. I promise not to misuse that power.”

“You’re talking about our Charles, not just the guild?”

“Marcus Maedala, your daughter is special.”

A girl with potential that even the Curse, possessing the self of the Demon Lord, would be amazed at.

Moreover, being the contractor of the Spirit of Plague was a significant plus.

“In the near future, there will come a time when the world needs the power Charles possesses. And on that day, people will no longer see the Spirit of Plague as a being to be feared and guarded against.”

It wasn’t just an empty statement but a fact.

A great calamity would soon occur.

‘And the key to resolving that calamity is Charles and the Spirit of Plague.’

If she honed her spirit magic.

And if a few more conditions were met.

The power possessed by Marcus’s young daughter could indeed defeat that calamity.

Unaware of this fact, Marcus felt a peculiar sensation from Aden’s confident expression and tone.

“Before I answer, I have one question.”

After a moment, he asked Aden seriously.

“Do you know who is behind this incident in the Syres family?”

“…”

“If you don’t answer, I’ll assume whatever I want.”

Aden remained silent, and Marcus was convinced that Aden knew who was behind it.

“Just answer this. Do you hold a grudge against that person? If so, what do you plan to do about it?”

“I…”

Aden replied in a cold voice.

“I will make them pay. I will make them fall to the point where their soul won’t find rest even buried deep in the cold ground.”

Marcus was quite taken aback as he didn’t expect Aden to respond.

The force behind this incident was none other than the Syres Grand Duke family in the north.

Yet, here he was, talking about making them pay with such dangerous words.

“I promise this in the name of Ternia, the god of justice and law, Guild Leader Maedala. Is this answer sufficient?”

At these words, Marcus gave a sheepish smile.

In truth, this was a kind of safety check.

Marcus had the weakness of his daughter, and Aden knew it.

He was worried that the Remes family might use and discard them, leveraging that point.

Thus, he wanted to know Aden’s true intentions.

But having his thoughts read so quickly, and with Aden swearing in the name of the god of law, he felt quite embarrassed.

“Yes, it’s enough.”

He extended his hand for a handshake.

“I also declare here that I will always support Aden whenever he needs help, in the name of the god of justice and law.”

“Good.”

Aden shook his hand.

Thus, Aden and the Maedala Guild Leader joined hands against a common enemy.

—

The Syres Grand Duchy, the northernmost front in the Frozen Land.

“…Things keep going wrong.”

A man clad in armor, sitting cross-legged on a massive dragon-shaped monster’s corpse, spoke.

Silbeta Syres.

The Sword Master of the Syres Grand Duchy, known as the Thunder Knight.

A horrific scene was depicted on the vast snowfield.

Cannibal giants, Frost Ogres, on the snow.

Silent ambushers of the snowfield, Ice Snakes.

The tyrants of the Frozen Land, Snow Drakes, and so on…

The corpses of numerous fierce monsters were piled up like mountains, brutally mangled, and the pure white snowfield was painted crimson with blood.

And in the middle of the mountain of corpses was Sylbeta Sias, the mastermind behind it all.

His loyal subordinate, Endawyn, the White Knight and one of Sylbeta’s Three Hounds, swallowed nervously.

“I am sorry to report only bad news, my lord.”

The terror attack at the imperial banquet hall, intended to cripple his younger brother, the spear knight, was in vain.

The plan to manipulate the Sacred Fire Order to his advantage using the Warlock Vice-Cult Leader also failed.

The most crucial laboratory in Sedus County, created to produce the ‘Jewel,’ was destroyed without a trace by an unexpected monster wave, and the Black Knight went missing.

Even worse, the Umbra Guild, the experiment site for the Blood Knights Project, had collapsed.

Upon hearing this news, Sylbeta couldn’t contain his anger and stormed out of the fortress, massacring monsters in a fit of rage.

This horrifying mountain of corpses was merely the aftermath of a ‘temper tantrum.’

Recently, all the projects conducted for the grand plan had been going awry.

“Is someone interfering?”

“Considering the testimony of the Red Knight, it is highly likely that the Dayer faction is leading this.”

The Red Knight was someone who had fought Aden after noticing him spying during a meeting with the Vice-Cult Leader’s aide at the Sacred Fire Order.

Seeing the swordsmanship used by Aden, he assumed him to be a subordinate of the Dayer faction.

“Although we have no concrete evidence to announce it publicly, it is certain that the spear knight is colluding with the Sacred Fire Order to carry out disruptive operations. The most compelling proof is the saint’s entry into Kartan City.”

Although the news reported that the downfall of Umbra was led by the Maedala Guild, those who discovered that the saint’s entourage had visited the Maedala Guild during their pilgrimage knew that the Sacred Fire Order was the true mastermind.

“There is merit in that.”

“Furthermore, Chaos has informed us that due to the recent severe damage, further research must be postponed…”

Crunch.

Sylbeta ground his teeth softly in irritation.

“Damn it. Are they backing out now? I should never have trusted those filthy warlocks from the beginning. They are the lowest of the low, even among the remnants of a fallen nation.”

His face twisted with rage, and a ferocious aura swirled around him like that of a wild beast.

Boom!

Sylbeta’s intense pressure, Master Fear, emanated and suppressed the surrounding air.

“Ugh!”

Even Endawyn, who was a semi-master knight, staggered under the Master Fear of his lord.

A Sword Master, who could dominate the battlefield with mere killing intent, was a rare existence.

There were few who could withstand it.

But it didn’t last long.

“Ugh!”

Sylbeta suddenly vomited blood and clutched his chest.

Naturally, the Master Fear dissipated.

“Sylbeta, sir!”

The White Knight, startled, ran to support Sylbeta.

Mana swirled around Sylbeta’s body, unstable.

“You’ve overdone it. Please calm down!”

“Damn, another seizure…”

With trembling hands, he pulled out a bottle containing black liquid from his coat.

The White Knight quickly uncorked the bottle and poured the liquid into Sylbeta’s mouth.

The excruciating pain, as if his entire body was being torn apart, subsided, and the mana stabilized.

As his rough breathing steadied, his body was drenched in cold sweat.

He stared at the empty bottle in his hand with a look of disgust.

“To think I have to rely on the medicine made by those filthy creatures. How pathetic I am…”

About seven years ago, when he fought to stop a large-scale monster wave that occurs once every ten years.

He faced the Frost Ogre Lord, the leader of that monster wave, an exceptionally large and powerful mutant.

The Frost Ogre Lord.

A monster that could instinctively use ice magic.

With a single attack, dozens of high-ranking sword aura knights lost their lives.

After a life-and-death battle, he finally killed the Ogre Lord and ended the battle.

But in the process, his mana core, the most vital organ for a mana warrior, was severely damaged.

It was virtually half-destroyed.

Not even a pope-level priest could heal it.

If not for the blessed body of the Sias Grand Duke family, he would have died from mana overload long ago.

To maintain his life and use aura, he had to periodically consume the potion made by the warlocks from human vitality.

‘But this is only a temporary measure. I need a new mana core.’

The replacement for the role of the mana core. That was the ‘Jewel.’

‘Once the Jewel is completed, not only will I recover, but I will become even stronger.’

Therefore, he had no choice but to continue cooperating with the warlocks of Chaos.

He concealed the damage to his mana core from everyone except his closest aides.

If revealed, he would be immediately ousted from the succession race.

‘Dayer is too weak to become the next Grand Duke. Such a fragile person cannot be allowed to become the Grand Duke.’

A ruler must be willing to sacrifice the few for the many and make ruthless decisions in battle.

There was no way his younger brother, barely more than a novice, could do that.

Only he becoming the Grand Duke would benefit the Sias family.

‘I must become the next Grand Duke!’

His eyes, filled with bloodlust, showed a fierce obsession and madness towards his sole objective.