Reincarnated as the Descendant of a Fallen Noble

Chapter 52: The Great Brother's Record. (5)

Inside the Great Sage’s Record.

In front of a long corridor where the fragments of the Guardians had been scattered to pieces.

Hardin, with an utterly exhausted face, sat down on the floor, clutching a vial and quietly observing it.

Inside the vial, a blue liquid, like waves trapped in a bottle, kept rippling gently.

The family’s elixir, Marina.

Just thinking about the hell he went through to obtain this made his nose sting with emotion.

But why, instead of going outside, had he come back here and was doing this?

‘Since I’m already here, I might as well fix up my body too… right?’

He needed to use this to repair the body that had been wrecked by Maelstrom.

Naturally, this required extreme focus and precise mana control.

For that, he needed a completely undisturbed and silent space—and there was no place better suited than here.

“Cough! Cough!”

With the coughing, a stream of nosebleed trickled down again.

Judging from his condition, it was best to take care of this as quickly as possible.

Hardin wiped it off with the back of his hand and tightly shut his eyes.

 Where the hell have you been?!

 Young Master! What have you done?!

 Brooootheeer!

If he went back to the mansion like this and got caught up in a mess, that would be a whole different problem.

Taking a deep breath, Hardin spoke.

“Let’s get this over with.”

He grabbed the elixir.

Ah, that cool yet heavy sensation. It had been a long time.

Gulp gulp!

He slowly took a sip.

A refreshing sensation spread through his mouth, and the scent of the sea blasted through his sinuses.

Right after that...

“Urgh!”

As the energy coursed down his esophagus and surged through his body, Hardin’s face twisted uncontrollably.

The viscosity was incomparable to any run-of-the-mill potion.

It hurt so much, it felt like he’d swallowed a sword instead of a medicine.

Normally, just drinking it would’ve been enough.

But… Hardin had a slight problem.

Wooooong!

His mana core, perhaps reacting to the mana, began spinning violently, pulling in mana.

The pain intensified, and Hardin’s brows furrowed tightly.

‘Stop, you bastard.’

He consciously suppressed it and made it stop.

The core that had been about to spin calmed down, and the mana flow settled.

Unlike the other knights, whose circuits were stably spread throughout their bodies… the core in Hardin’s body absorbed mana several times faster.

No matter how potent the elixir was in restoring the body, pulling in mana all at once like a flood?

‘That’s a straight shot to death.’

Ultimately, the key was to keep the core inactive as much as possible and allow the elixir’s mana to be absorbed steadily and slowly.

The problem was… that was anything but easy.

‘Stop interfering already.’

Wooooong!

Hardin could feel the mana from the Marina being pulled inward against his will.

It was a phenomenon caused by the core’s inherent gravitational force interfering.

But each time, Hardin consciously suppressed the core.

Very slowly, naturally.

Slow enough not to strain his body.

Easier said than done—in truth, it was no different from consciously controlling one’s internal organs.

Like walking a tightrope, mana flowed through him precariously.

Sweat formed on his forehead, and his skin kept shifting between pale and bluish.

“Fuuuuuuu.”

One sip’s worth of mana was gone, and mana clung to Hardin’s body and core.

‘Keep going.’

Then, once again, his hand reached for the Marina.

Gulp.

He took another sip, suppressed the core, and spread the mana throughout his body.

Three sips, five sips—by the time he had emptied about half the vial...

Wooooong!

In a split second, the core activated.

‘Damn it.’

Hardin quickly tried to halt the core.

“Cough!”

But in that instant, a suppressed cough burst out, and blood trickled from his nose.

A sharp pain, like having his stomach pierced by a sword, shot through him.

However.

‘Got it…’

Fool me once, shame on you—fool me twice, shame on me.

With a reddened grin, Hardin smiled and instead gulped down the remaining liquid.

Gulp, gulp.

He drank every last drop of the liquid in the vial.

“Haaah… haaah…”

Completely drenched in sweat, Hardin tightly shut his eyes for a moment.

Then, he could feel the highly refined mana of Marina spreading throughout his entire body.

It dispersed in all directions, repairing torn muscles and fragments of his damaged core.

Now, all that remained was for Hardin to suppress the core from going berserk until his body fully recovered.

If he lost control of the core even for an instant, the mana spread across his body would rampage and kill him.

‘Keep going.’

Once again, Hardin clenched his teeth and tightly closed his fists.

Gurgle! Gurgle!

The struggle between the core and Hardin continued.

Sweat beaded on his forehead, and his whole body trembled.

It was truly like walking a tightrope over a thousand-foot cliff—losing focus for even a second meant death.

How much time had passed like that?

Crunch! Crackle!

He felt something starting to attach itself...

Flash!

Hardin’s eyes shot open.

Blue light blazed fiercely from them, and he let out a deep breath.

“Fuuuuuuu.”

A blue mist drifted from his breath.

“I did it. Damn thing…”

Hardin smiled, placing his hand on his lower abdomen.

Then he focused his consciousness there and activated the core.

Wooooooong!

The core roared to life with intense energy.

The core was enveloped in a radiant light—brimming with the greatest power he could muster.

‘Looks like I’ve more or less recovered.’

In truth, Hardin didn’t even need to check—he could feel it with every fiber of his body.

Then... he turned around and slowly approached the wall of the cave.

‘Let’s check my condition first.’

A blue energy condensed at the end of his clenched fist.

When that light reached its peak, he thrust it forward with all his might.

Kwaaaang!

With a deafening roar, the hard granite cave wall was crushed inward.

It looked as though an ogre’s fist had slammed into it.

“Yeah, that’s more like it.”

After all the hell I went through.

One corner of Hardin’s mouth curled up endlessly.

---

In the center of the lobby at the Daphne Viscounty estate.

Lord Viscount Cobalt and his attendant Gadolph were sitting on the floor, heads bowed, fiddling with something in silence.

In front of them was a pile of white stone rubble that had once been a statue.

“Gadolph, try to find the piece that fits with this one.”

“Let’s seeee… How about this one?”

“Ohoho, it fits!”

“Khhhh, as expected!”

Each time they found a matching fragment, they applied glue and pressed the pieces together.

Thanks to their efforts, they had somehow managed to restore the statue from the feet to the knees.

‘Good. At this rate, we might be able to restore it completely…’

…or so they thought.

Clatter!

Half a day’s work crumbled before their eyes.

“……”

Damn it…

Gadolph blinked, and the lord gently ran his hand over the shattered remains of the statue with a sorrowful expression.

“Haaaaaa…”

“I-I’m sorry…”

“Still no word from Hardin?”

“…No. Nothing.”

Gadolph’s dispirited voice made Cobalt’s shoulders sag even further.

“Hardin… Where on earth have you gone?”

It had been exactly a day since Hardin, covered in blood, smashed the statue and ran off.

More than anger at the family heirloom being destroyed, concern for Hardin took precedence.

The dark shadows beneath his eyes were proof that he had spent the whole night searching for him.

“Hardin… Hardin…”

Trying to shake off his anxiety, he busied himself matching statue fragments, but nothing seemed to fit in his hands.

And understandably so…

‘What on earth happened?’

Hardin, drenched in blood, destroying the statue with a crazed expression.

To anyone’s eyes, it had been the face of a madman.

‘Did he push himself too far and really lose his mind?’

If so, then what should they do from now on…

A bitter expression crept across Viscount Cobalt’s face as he stared at the statue’s remnants.

The statue had once symbolized the golden age of the family, a remnant of the great ancestor, Varlach Daphne.

Even as the family fell into decline, they had done everything they could to protect and preserve that statue.

And now Hardin—who surely knew all of that—had done this. It only deepened the suspicion that he had succumbed to madness.

‘I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry, Hardin.’

Because of this incompetent father, you turned out this way.

If you just come back safely—if only that much—I’ll carry your burdens for you...

Just as Viscount Cobalt was letting out deep sighs—

“What are you two doing over there?”

At the familiar voice, Cobalt and Gadolph turned their heads.

“…Huh?”

Step, step.

From the direction of the stairs leading to the basement, Hardin—soaked from head to toe—was casually walking up.

“H-Hardin?”

“Young Master? Why are you coming from there?”

“Ah, it’s a bit complicated to explain.”

Hardin scratched his head awkwardly, smiling sheepishly.

At that sight, Cobalt’s expression grew increasingly complicated.

“Hardin!”

He rushed toward Hardin with open arms, going in for a bear hug.

Of course—

Whoosh!

Hardin quickly dodged out of the way.

Cobalt, on the verge of tears, demanded again.

“Where have you been and what have you been doing, Hardin?! The entire family’s been searching for you!”

“Ah, well. I had something important to take care of.”

“What important thing! Explain yourself properly! If you don’t—”

“Do I really have to explain?”

“Yes! I won’t move a single step until you do!”

Ugh, what a headache.

Hardin scratched his head and replied.

“Then just follow me for a moment.”

“Huh? Follow you where?”

“Come with me, and I’ll show you what I’ve been doing.”

Showing them once... would be easier than explaining a hundred times.

---

Inside the Great Sage’s vault.

In front of the shattered bookshelf and heaps of scattered novels...

“So, you’re saying you discovered this place?”

“Yes, that’s what I’m telling you.”

“……”

Cobalt and Malion blinked in stunned silence.

“How did you even find it?”

“I told you—Viscount Ruder said something before he died. Those bastards… they were after this place when they started the war.”

“Good heavens…”

“My word…”

Neither of them could close their gaping mouths.

They had followed the boldly confident Hardin into the barred-off basement area.

Just when they were wondering what he could possibly be up to, a flash of light blinded them—and when they came to, they were here.

‘I’ve lived in this mansion for decades… and something like this was here?’

Just as Viscount Cobalt stood dumbstruck—

Malion slowly approached the bookshelf, pulled out a few books, and checked them.

“Father, look… These are books written personally by Lord Valter!”

“A-Amazing!”

The two of them clamored, shouting excitedly.

“There’s even a book he wrote about monster recipes!”

“It’s true! My goodness… Did he leave all this behind for us?”

“There are novels he wrote himself over here too.”

“Ooooooh…!”

Hardin, arms crossed, shook his head as he watched them.

‘Study, my ass… This is all just nonsense, complete nonsense.’

Hardin recalled all the eccentric things his eldest brother used to do when he was alive.

In his view, it was nothing more than Lord Valter dumping his embarrassing past here, but to the other two, it clearly looked very different.

They genuinely looked thrilled.

“Well done. Truly well done, Hardin! Lord Valter would be pleased with today’s discovery!”

“Yes, yes. Of course.”

“Thank you for your effort, Brother. This will be incredibly useful!”

Even that cold Malion guy was sparkling with admiration as he said that.

But seriously—what exactly are they planning to use these books for?

While the two were still buzzing with excitement, Hardin gave a small laugh and said,

“Well, anyway, that’s how it turned out. You two take your time looking around. I’m heading out.”

He turned his back and began walking toward the portal again—when Malion called out to him.

“Um… Brother.”

“Yeah?”

“May I ask you one more thing?”

“What is it?”

Peering through his glasses, Malion studied Hardin and asked,

“Is your body okay now?”

“My body? What about it?”

“Not long ago, your condition seemed really bad. But now… well, you look fine.”

“That’s right! Hardin, are you feeling better?”

“Oh, that. I got better after some rest.”

Hardin shrugged his shoulders awkwardly, smiling faintly.

But Malion tilted his head and asked again,

“But the physician said it wasn’t something that would heal quickly?”

“…Huh?”

The sharp gazes of the two pierced right into Hardin.

His skin, now firm and full, had regained a healthy glow.

At a glance, he radiated vitality.

A stark contrast to his zombie-like state just before he vanished.

Malion adjusted his glasses and asked,

“Brother… did you perhaps find something else in here?”

“Huh? Like what?”

“Something like an elixir, maybe…”

“Oh come on, what are you talking about? That’s nonsense.”

Hardin waved his hands vigorously, then abruptly turned his head away.

At that,—

‘Did he pick something up here?’

‘…As I thought.’

Malion and Cobalt, if anything, grew more certain.

“Really?”

“I told you, yes.”

Hardin answered awkwardly as the questioning continued.

‘Why’s he being so persistent?’

As he racked his brain to come up with some kind of excuse, sweat started to bead on his forehead.

Just as Hardin was trying to think of a way to talk his way out—

Malion let out a long sigh and added quietly,

“Well, if you say so, Brother, then that must be it.”

“Really?”

“Yes. You worked hard, Brother. I’m glad your body’s recovered.”

With Malion backing down so smoothly, Hardin smiled awkwardly and said,

“Well, I’m off then! Take care!”

Wooooong!

Hardin quickly disappeared into the portal.

With that… Malion and Cobalt exchanged glances.

“So there really was something, wasn’t there?”

“Seems that way.”

“What will you do?”

“This time… why don’t we just let it go? Hardin was the one who discovered this place in the first place.”

“……”

Malion stood silently for a moment, then—

“Yes. I think it’s fine to let it slide this time.”

He nodded, a faint, almost imperceptible smile forming on his lips.