The Hero Becomes the Duke’s Eldest Son

Translator: Marctempest
Editor: Rynfinity

Chapter 31

Three days later, Cassie’s treatment for her mana vein disorder began.

Joseph wore a white work uniform, typically donned by alchemists, and had a cloth covering his mouth.

Next to him, Aden stood in the same attire.

‘I want to see for myself.’

How the alchemists conducted their treatment.

Alchemists were explorers and scholars seeking truth within the human body.

Therefore, they specialized in managing the energy within the body.

As a mana martial artist, it was impossible not to be interested.

Cassie had been sedated with a sleeping potion.

The process was somewhat painful, making it hard to endure while conscious.

She was undressed from the waist up, with a cloth covering her chest.

Though the sight of two men looking down at a half-naked woman wasn’t pleasant, neither of their expressions wavered.

It was merely part of the treatment process.

One that had no prior successful cases.

“Then let’s begin.”

Joseph picked up a vial.

Inside was a red liquid.

It was the fire mana potion made from refining the phoenix feather that Cassie had created.

“This syringe is truly an innovative tool.”

Joseph briefly admired it before filling the syringe with the potion.

He then injected it into a pressure point near Cassie’s shoulder.

The potion was slowly injected.

Soon, a change occurred in her.

Cassie’s body began to tremble, and cold sweat started to form.

Her body grew hot as heat surged through her.

“Ugh…!”

Even unconscious, her fingers twitched, and she let out a groan.

She seemed to be in considerable pain.

The fire mana began to boil within Cassie’s body.

If left unchecked, her body would be consumed by the fire mana.

Joseph took something out of a box.

It was a thin needle.

A tool used by alchemists to control the body’s energy.

There were black, silver, and gold needles.

They were made from rare magical metals: true gold endril, true silver mithril, and true iron adamantium.

These were items he had possessed since his time with the Holy Fire Order.

He selected a particularly long golden needle made of endril.

With a firm hand, he plunged the needle into Cassie’s chest area.

Aden recognized it as the location of the mana core.

A change occurred in Cassie’s body, and Aden’s eyes widened.

‘The mana core forcibly opened.’

For someone other than the owner to open the mana core was remarkable.

Joseph took out several more needles.

With precision, he inserted them into various points on Cassie’s body.

The fire mana began to move.

As each needle was inserted, the body instinctively directed the mana, spreading it throughout before gathering it back.

The aggressive fire mana pierced through and expanded the blocked and damaged mana veins.

As the number of needles in her body increased, Cassie’s expression gradually became more relaxed.

‘Incredible.’

Though alchemists were known to be experts in handling the body’s energy, this was astonishing.

For someone with only basic knowledge of alchemists, it was unimaginable.

Just moments ago, Cassie had been on the verge of a mana explosion, but now her energy had stabilized.

Joseph’s body was no different from that of a regular person, unable to store mana.

He lacked the exceptional mana sensitivity and control that Aden possessed.

Yet, Joseph managed the mana flow with dazzling precision as if he could see it with his own eyes.

He was truly a master.

Hundreds of needles were stuck in Cassie’s body.

At the moment the three hundredth needle was inserted, Joseph’s legs gave out, and Aden caught him reflexively.

“Are you alright?”

“It’s… it’s nothing. I’m just a bit exhausted…”

His pale face was drenched in sweat.

He had concentrated so intensely that he was mentally drained.

A single mistake could have killed her.

It wasn’t over yet.

Joseph, with his exhausted body, began to remove the needles in the order they were inserted.

Each move was careful, for any deviation would cause the mana to run wild.

The mana dispersed throughout her body started to gather slowly.

It converged toward her now opened mana core.

The number of needles decreased.

From hundreds, to dozens, to a few.

Only the long golden needle deeply embedded in her mana core remained.

Joseph removed the last needle.

The mana stabilized and settled properly within Cassie’s mana core.

Thud.

Joseph collapsed, sitting down.

With a weary but satisfied smile, he said,

“Huff… it’s done.”

At that moment, the infamously incurable mana vein disorder was completely conquered.

Cassie slept peacefully.

According to Joseph, she would wake up soon, so they decided to wait.

They also brought in Lowe, who had been anxiously waiting outside.

About ten minutes after the treatment ended,

“Mm…”

Cassie woke up.

Lowe was the first to react.

With a worried expression, he grabbed Cassie’s arm and asked,

“Miss Cassie, are you alright?”

“…Mm, I’m fine… No, I’m more than fine.”

She mumbled with bleary eyes and, upon checking her condition, widened her eyes in surprise.

Her body didn’t hurt at all.

The pain that had always felt like being stabbed with knives all over her body was completely gone, replaced with vitality.

She felt as if she had been reborn.

“Congratulations, Cassie.”

Aden’s simple congratulation made her give her characteristic languid smile.

“Thank you, handsome young master. And thank you too, Mr. Alchemist.”

“Haha, it’s nothing. Thanks to you, I had the rare experience of treating mana vein disorder.”

A warm atmosphere filled the room.

“I’m relieved.”

Lowe let out a sigh of relief.

At that moment,

Cassie suddenly pulled Lowe’s arm.

Thud.

She pushed him onto the bed and climbed on top of him.

“Miss Cassie?”

Lowe blinked in confusion, unable to grasp the situation, while Cassie looked down at him with a seductive smile.

“I’ve been starving for quite a while. Sir Knight, I need your help.”

She licked her lips hungrily.

Her eyes gleamed like a starving beast ready to devour.

She was a beastkin.

A race that followed their instincts, with animal blood running through their veins.

The desires she had suppressed due to her frail body exploded at that moment.

Seeing this, Aden realized that she had no sense of restraint.

“…Joseph, you must need some rest. Let’s go.”

“…Alright.”

“Aden, wait! Please, do something…!”

“Hm? Ignoring me for someone else? That hurts.”

“Miss Cassie!”

Clang.

Aden closed the door and ignored the sounds coming from within.

The next day, while Cassie was full of life, Lowe emerged looking utterly drained.

—

About ten days had passed since Aden brought Joseph and Elise to the Duke’s estate.

Joseph and Elise were assigned a room next to the annex where Cassie stayed.

When Aden went to see Joseph, Elise was playing with a dog in the garden in front of the annex.

“Come here! Choco!”

-Woof! Woof!

Joseph watched his daughter with a pleased expression.

The only issue was that the dog wasn’t a cute puppy but a large, intimidating search dog.

Aden had heard that it was a search dog managed by the knights, but its leash had broken, and it had ended up where Joseph’s family was.

However, Elise liked the dog, and the dog also took a liking to Elise.

“Choco, shake.”

-Woof.

“Sit.”

-Woof!

“Play dead!”

-Whine.

The dog followed Elise’s commands perfectly.

“Hehe! Good job, Choco!”

-Woof woof!

It was hard to believe it was an ordinary dog, as it understood commands so well.

Since she had already named it ‘Choco,’ Aden sought the knights’ permission to keep it as Elise’s pet.

Thanks to this, despite the harsh experiences she had endured, she seemed emotionally stable.

Watching her, Aden chuckled.

“You seem to be having fun.”

“Oh, Aden. You’ve come.”

Joseph finally noticed Aden and greeted him politely.

“How are you adjusting?”

“Haha, thanks to you, I’m living quite comfortably, young master.”

Joseph’s complexion was much brighter than when he was in the black market of Makellan.

He seemed to be enjoying his stay.

“Aden!”

Elise ran up to Aden, her curly blonde hair bouncing.

The cute girl clung to Aden’s waist.

Joseph, seeing his daughter, panicked and didn’t know what to do.

“Daughter! How many times have I told you not to behave like that with the young master!”

Aden was not only the eldest son of the Duke’s family but also a sword aura-level swordsman.

Furthermore, after witnessing the festival in the Remes territory, Joseph realized how extraordinary Aden was.

It wouldn’t be strange if commoners like them were punished for being disrespectful.

However, Aden didn’t mind.

“As long as she behaves in front of others, it’s fine, Joseph.”

“See, he said it’s fine.”

The girl tilted her head, wondering what the problem was.

Joseph sighed, admitting defeat. “Oh dear.” He held his head.

Elise beamed proudly at her father’s reaction.

Since being rescued from the guild, his daughter had become very attached to Aden.

Anyone seeing her wouldn’t believe that just two weeks ago, she had endured such harsh treatment, given how bright she had become.

Of course, she wasn’t like this from the start. She had seemed very anxious for the first two or three days after being rescued by Aden from the Cerberus Guild.

But day by day, she regained her spirit and now could smile like this.

Aden found Elise endearing.

‘She’s a strong child.’

A child with a remarkably strong spirit.

In fact, from the moment she charged at him with a fierce cry of ‘Die!’ immediately after being rescued from the solitary cell, he knew she had a different temperament.

Aden highly valued Elise’s strong heart.

His thoughts were interrupted by Curse’s words.

-You’re over thirty inside and being called ‘oppa’ by a child. No shame.

“…”

For once, Aden couldn’t argue with Curse.

Initially, Elise had called him ‘ajusshi’ (uncle).

Upon hearing it, Aden had reflexively made her call him ‘oppa’ (older brother).

It was an unyielding pride as a man.

Elise tugged on Aden, urging him.

“Oppa! Let’s train together later!”

About a week ago, Aden had started teaching Elise mana martial arts.

Elise had timidly approached him and said she wanted to become stronger.

Normally, Aden would have ignored such a request.

However, he was impressed by the seriousness in her eyes.

So, during his spare time, he taught her the basics of hand-to-hand combat.

For Aden, it was just a way to pass the time, but the more she trained, the more Elise became fascinated with martial arts.

She also had quite a bit of talent, making it enjoyable for Aden to teach her.

This was why she recovered so quickly and showed high affection towards Aden.

Aden couldn’t help but smile softly at the sight of Elise pleading like a puppy.

“Alright, later.”

For now, he had business with Joseph, so he postponed it.

Aden and Joseph went inside to have a conversation.

Aden asked Joseph,

“Is it possible to make another top-grade pill?”

Aden had tried the high-grade pills Joseph made after arriving at the Duke’s estate.

However, they didn’t have the dramatic effects of the top-grade pill he had taken in Makellan.

The top-grade pill was highly desirable.

So Aden asked with a hopeful heart.

Joseph had to make a troubled expression.

“That would be… difficult. It’s hard to obtain the ingredients.”

He took something out from the medicine cabinet on the wall.

In his hand was a small item wrapped in cloth.

“In fact, the ingredients for high-grade and top-grade pills are almost the same, except for one.”

He unwrapped the cloth.

Aden’s eyes widened at what he saw.

“This is…?”