The Hero Becomes the Duke’s Eldest Son

Translator: Marctempest
Editor: Rynfinity

Chapter 19

The next day, Aden went to see Duke Fried and requested to be included in the investigation team.

The Duke was startled by his eldest son’s request.

“You mean you want to go to the mountains as well?”

“Yes, Father.”

“No, it’s too dangerous.”

“Even with Sir Tiried by my side?”

“……”

The Duke was rendered speechless by that question.

Next to him, Border Count Tiried burst into laughter.

“Pfft. Hahaha! He’s right! I’m fine with it. Fried, I’ll protect your son’s life, so don’t worry.”

With a Sword Master accompanying them, there was no chance of anything becoming dangerous.

In fact, being next to Border Count Tiried might be safer than staying in the heavily guarded Duke’s mansion.

If ordinary people were mice and monsters were cats, then the Sword Master was a lion.

A mouse with a lion beside it entering a cat’s den—what cat would dare catch the mouse?

The Duke sighed deeply and made a last-ditch effort to dissuade him.

“Son, this isn’t a picnic.”

“I understand. We’re going to investigate for the safety of the territory. I want to join you.”

“Hahaha! You’re quite bold! Just let him go. You can’t raise your son too gently; he needs field experience too.”

“Tiried, my brother…”

‘Border Count, nice.’

Aden praised the Border Count’s actions inwardly.

That man had been of no help in his previous life, but in this life, he was proving quite useful.

Due to the Border Count’s strong support, the Duke had no choice but to let Aden join the investigation team.

* * *

The investigation team was composed of Aden, Border Count Tiried, and a few servants to attend them.

“It’s a shame I can’t join you, Aden…”

“…Just focus on your duties with the knights, Lowe.”

Lowe, being a trainee knight, couldn’t join this investigation team.

Even if he could have, Aden would have been annoyed by Lowe’s persistence.

But unexpectedly, another person joined.

Aden asked with a sour expression.

“…Why are you here, Carl?”

“As the future heir of the Duke’s family, I must look after the safety of our territory. Don’t worry about me.”

But Aden was quite worried.

If something happened to this guy and the Duke got involved, it would be problematic.

“Did Father give you permission?”

“With Border Count Tiried here, what is there to worry about? Isn’t that why you could come as well?”

“……”

Aden frowned, holding back the urge to punch him.

‘What was he thinking, tagging along?’

Carl, on the other hand, was serious.

‘If there’s a problem in the territory, I, as the future heir, must step up.’

Since the Troll incident, Carl had felt his brother’s status rising, albeit slowly.

And it became more evident after his brother won a bet against Border Count Tiried.

As the future heir, Carl needed to solidify his position now more than ever.

While his elder brother participated in the investigation for the territory’s safety, could the future heir relax at the Duke’s residence?

Obviously, public opinion would sway against him.

So he had to step up.

‘It’s not just that…’

The image of his elder brother beheading a Troll and saving him and the soldiers lingered in his mind.

Since the Troll incident, he had felt strange every time he saw his elder brother.

Carl disliked and denied that feeling.

‘Hmph, I’ll watch closely. I’ll see just how useless he is!’

Determined to observe his brother’s incompetence, Carl made up his mind.

Regardless of the reason, since the Duke had permitted it, Aden had no justification to expel Carl.

Thus, Carl joined the team.

Philip, the servant, was groaning as he moved heavy luggage.

“Ugh, Young Master! Why are you taking so much stuff?”

“Be careful with it if you don’t want to die.”

“Huh? Die? What do you mean…!”

Philip turned pale, misunderstanding Aden’s words.

Aden was just stating the truth.

If any of the items inside broke, it would be a disaster.

‘I think this is overboard, but…’

However, his principle was that one could never be too prepared.

Aden, Border Count Tiried, and Carl Remes headed to the Attila Fortress near the Piern Mountains.

* * *

Attila Fortress.

A fortress built to protect the territory from monsters descending from the Piern Mountains in the northeast of the Remes domain.

But with the decline in monster activity over the centuries, its significance had faded.

Initially, over a thousand soldiers and hundreds of knights were stationed there, but now only around two hundred soldiers and dozens of knights remained.

When they arrived at the fortress, the person in charge came out to greet them.

A man in his mid-forties.

The current lord of Attila Fortress and defense commander, Viscount Dasvalt Timon.

“Welcome! I am Dasvalt Timon, the commander of Attila Fortress.”

The Viscount greeted them with excessive formality.

Aden and Carl’s presence alone wouldn’t have made him this nervous.

As a nobleman and the fortress lord, he would have just shown the appropriate courtesy to the Duke’s sons.

But with Border Count Tiried, a high-ranking noble of the northeast and a Sword Master, present, he was filled with tension.

Receiving salutes from the lined-up soldiers, Aden and the investigation team entered Attila Fortress.

Due to the peaceful nature of the fortress, some soldiers were whispering secretly during the salutes.

They thought they were speaking quietly, but Aden’s keen senses picked up everything clearly.

“That’s the Sword Master…”

“I never thought I’d see him in my lifetime…”

Half were in awe and admiration of seeing the Sword Master.

“Isn’t that the notorious young master?”

“Hey, don’t make eye contact. You might get into trouble.”

“There’s a rumor he killed a Troll…”

“No way, that’s just nonsense.”

The other half were badmouthing Aden.

His notorious reputation had spread far and wide.

Even in this remote place, the rumors about the notorious young master were rampant.

“Tsk.”

The Border Count clicked his tongue softly.

Aden could hear it, so it was no wonder the Border Count heard their whispers too.

But since these weren’t his territory’s soldiers, he didn’t interfere.

If he did, it would be seen as military interference, regardless of the friendship between lords.

‘In my opinion, just being here is military interference.’

After relieving their fatigue from the journey, they were invited to dinner by the fortress lord.

Border Count Tiried and Carl led the conversation, asking Viscount Timon if there had been any abnormalities in the Piern Mountains.

“Hmm, nothing significant comes to mind. I apologize for not being more helpful.”

There was no useful information from the fortress.

The only notable incident was a small group of goblins and gnolls appearing a few days ago, but that was a common occurrence.

Border Count Tiried scratched his chin and murmured.

“Hmm, it’s quite a peaceful fortress.”

For someone used to constantly subjugating monsters in the northeastern Wasteland and Frozen Land, Attila Fortress was extremely peaceful.

It was almost strange considering it was near the Piern Mountains, a monster habitat.

Viscount Timon explained the reason.

“This part of the mountains has long been occupied by orcs. As a result, other monsters rarely approach.”

The orcs didn’t descend to human settlements and instead fought with monsters from the Wasteland, reducing the monster threat.

That was his explanation.

Regardless, there was little information to be gained from the fortress.

Thus, they decided to enter the Piern Mountains for investigation as planned.

Since it was late, they would stay at the fortress for the night and depart the next morning.

Aden still had doubts.

‘The orcs make the area safer?’

How could that be true?

It seemed to be accepted as normal here, but it was definitely strange.

Orcs were essentially high-level bandits.

Stories of orc tribes descending from the mountains to raid settlements were common.

‘Well, I’ll find out during the investigation.’

Part of the investigation plan included visiting the orc settlement.

They slept at the fortress, and the next morning arrived.

“Did everyone sleep well? You must be hungry. Let’s have breakfast.”

As the fortress lord politely led them to the dining hall, there was a loud noise outside.

A loud explosion drew everyone’s attention to the window.

A firework shot up into the sky and exploded, its smoke billowing.

The fortress lord was startled.

‘That’s the rangers’ emergency signal…’

Despite being a declining fortress, it was a defense stronghold against monsters.

They sent rangers on patrols morning and evening as a rule.

The signal indicated the rangers had spotted something threatening.

Ding, ding, ding, ding-!

The emergency bell rang loudly.

“What’s going on…?”

Then, hurried footsteps approached, and a soldier came to them.

It was a watchtower soldier.

“Lord! We have a problem!”

“What is it?”

“A monster wave! Monsters are attacking the fortress!”

“A monster wave?”

A monster flood that hadn’t occurred in decades was now threatening Attila Fortress.

Aden thought to himself.

‘Damn it. There goes breakfast.’

* * *

Outside, the situation was chaotic.

Knights were shouting at soldiers.

“Emergency! It’s an emergency! A monster wave is happening!”

“Everyone, reorganize!”

“Get to the walls! Quickly…!”

Soldiers scrambled under the knights’ commands.

Beyond the wide-open gates, the monsters were visible.

They were descending from the mountains.

Goblins, gnolls, mutated wolves, and more.

Hundreds of monsters from the Piern Mountains were swarming toward them.

Hearing the monsters’ roars, the soldiers and knights turned pale.

“My god! There’s so many of them

!”

A knight urgently shouted at the soldiers.

“Close the gates!”

Soldiers struggled with the pulley mechanism to close the gates.

Their faces went pale.

“The, the gate is stuck!”

“It seems rusted…!”

“Are you kidding me!”

It had been a long time since the fortress had seen a proper siege.

The soldiers’ discipline, equipment, and the general negligence had led to this.

Monsters were descending, and they couldn’t close the gates?

At that moment.

“Move aside!”

Aden pushed the soldiers away and looked at the pulley mechanism holding the gates.

He drew his sword, Baalzebul.

Flames of Sword Aura enveloped the sword. Aden struck the joints of the pulley.

With a clang, the chains snapped, and the gates quickly closed.

Boom-!

But a wolf slipped inside just as the gates closed.

-Howl!

A large wolf charged at a soldier.

“Ahhh!”

The soldier screamed as the massive wolf pounced on him, unable to react in time.

Just as the wolf was about to bite the soldier’s neck.

Slash!

Aden’s sword cut the wolf in half.

The wolf’s blood splattered on Aden and the soldier’s faces.

Unintentionally, the sword collected the necessary life force to awaken.

It was a negligible amount.

Aden frowned and glared at the stunned soldier.

“If the enemy attacks, you should either fight back or dodge! You were dead just now!”

“S-sorry! Thank you for saving me, Young Master!”

“Don’t waste time thanking me, raise the barricade!”

“Y-yes, sir!”

-Cry!

Monsters slammed into the gates, howling in frustration.

“At least the gates won’t break.”

The gates were made of solid iron, so they wouldn’t collapse.

The soldiers and knights who witnessed Aden’s actions were shocked.

‘Was that Sword Aura just now?’

‘He split the wolf in half in one strike?’

‘My god, the rumors were true!’

Their perception of the notorious young master was shaken.

Seeing Aden kill the wolf and reprimand the soldier with blood splattered on him was impressive enough to give them chills.

Border Count Tiried, the fortress lord, and Carl arrived at the gate belatedly.

“Haha, trouble always seems to follow us.”

They had come to investigate the abnormal behavior of monsters, but they hadn’t expected an incident right away.

Even so, Border Count Tiried showed no sign of concern, only amusement.

“Aden, I’ll go clean up the morning mess.”

Border Count Tiried gathered mana and leapt into the air.

He jumped onto the protruding stones of the wall and climbed up with just two steps.

The fortress lord and Carl were stunned.

A soldier on the wall shouted in shock.

“A person jumped over the wall!”

It was a skill only a Sword Master could display.

Monsters swarmed below the wall.

They were pounding against it, some even climbing halfway up.

Border Count Tiried clicked his tongue.

“My, there are a lot of them.”

He jumped off the wall and landed outside.

Despite the height, it was as easy as jumping over a neighbor’s fence.

-Monsters roared in anger as they spotted him.

Viscount Dasvalt Timon was horrified.

“Border Count is alone! We must rescue him immediately…!”

“Let’s wait.”

But Aden shook his head coldly.

Viscount Timon shouted, somewhat agitated.

“What do you mean by that, Young Master!”

“Viscount is right, brother! No matter how skilled Sir Tiried is, he can’t handle all those monsters alone…”

“Of course not. The monsters can’t handle him.”

“What…?”

“……?”

Viscount Timon and Carl, being border nobles, didn’t seem to understand what a Sword Master truly was.

They only had a vague notion of their greatness.

Hence, they were spouting nonsense about rescuing him.

As they looked puzzled by Aden’s words, a loud noise erupted outside.

It was the desperate cries of the monsters.