The Hero Becomes the Duke’s Eldest Son

Translator: Marctempest
Editor: Rynfinity

Chapter 6

……

Aden looked at Lowe.

He would become a free knight or a mercenary known as the One-Armed Swift in the future.

As the nickname suggested, he didn’t have his right arm in the future.

‘He said he cut it off himself.’

Aden had heard he cut off his arm because it was useless and immobile.

He honed his skills to fight with only his left arm.

Instead of the two-handed sword he originally used, he wielded a one-handed rapier.

He focused more on speed than the power of the sword.

As a result of his fierce determination and effort, he became known among mercenaries as the One-Armed Swift.

He became one of the few S-rank mercenaries in the empire, of which there were only about a hundred.

However, he couldn’t achieve his true desire of becoming a knight.

No nobles were willing to take in a one-armed commoner as their knight.

Moreover, if that mercenary was exiled from a high-ranking noble family, even more so.

Aden recalled what he used to say, drenched in alcohol and regret.

– I earned fame with this left arm. But if I had both arms, I wonder how many times I could have lived as an ordinary knight.

Even if he couldn’t make a name for himself, he had a wish he wanted to achieve.

Knowing his regret, Aden thought this would be the best gift for him.

Aden smiled.

“Hard to believe, isn’t it?”

“……”

Lowe couldn’t deny it and stayed silent.

It was understandable.

The reckless young lord who always caused trouble suddenly came and claimed he could cure his illness, having seen through a fact no one else knew.

There were more reasons to distrust and doubt than to trust him.

So, Aden decided to give him at least a minimum level of trust.

“You get minor pains and cramps every two or three days, right?”

“……!”

“It feels like your arm is turning into a stone.”

“How…….”

Aden shrugged lightly.

“I told you. I know about your illness.”

Lowe opened and closed his mouth several times, choosing his words carefully.

“……Do you know why my arm is like this?”

“Can you roll up your sleeve?”

At Aden’s request, he hesitated for a moment, then removed his arm guard and rolled up his sleeve.

His arm was wrapped in bandages.

Slowly, he also removed the bandages.

His face darkened as he looked at his arm.

“……My arm has been like this for some time now.”

The arm was as pale as marble.

It didn’t have the vitality characteristic of a living body.

Aden asked Lowe.

“Did your arm start to change color around the time your mana core awakened?”

Lowe recalled for a moment, then his eyes widened.

“Yes! It was around that time!”

“Your arm has a condition called Mana Blockage.”

“Mana Blockage…… you say?”

Mana Blockage.

Three elements are needed for a person to use mana without the help of magic tools.

A mana core, mana veins, and mana sensitivity.

Mana sensitivity absorbs mana from the atmosphere into the body.

The mana core stores and outputs mana.

Mana veins circulate mana to strengthen the body or cast magic.

Mana Blockage is a term that encompasses all disorders resulting from abnormalities in the mana core or mana veins.

“But isn’t that a congenital disease?”

“That’s true for you as well. You just didn’t know it until now.”

People usually considered Mana Blockage a congenital condition, a disease one is born with.

However, there were cases where Mana Blockage appeared only after a certain amount of mana accumulated in the body.

Such individuals would often practice mana martial arts or magic without knowing they had Mana Blockage, leading to their demise.

“You’re fortunate. The blockage is only in your right arm’s mana veins, causing it to harden. Otherwise, your heart could have turned to stone, and you could have died.”

Hearing this, Lowe’s face grew even darker.

“If it’s Mana Blockage, isn’t it incurable?”

Mana Blockage was known as an incurable disease.

But Aden shook his head.

“What did I say? I know about it well. Why wouldn’t there be a cure?”

“Is that true?”

Seeing Lowe’s desperate expression, Aden nodded lightly.

Indeed, in this era, Mana Blockage was considered an incurable condition.

But it wasn’t so in the future.

About ten years later, shortly after Lowe died in battle, the cure for Mana Blockage was discovered.

Ironically, it was only after the cure was found that the person who lost his dream to the disease died.

“I know the cure and can help you.”

Aden continued.

“Of course, it’s not free. I’m not a philanthropist.”

Aden decided to give him a gift.

But it wouldn’t be right to fulfill his lifelong wish without any reward.

Remembering Lowe led him to recall the existence of a certain item.

An item that could have made him an S-rank mercenary in the future.

‘If everything goes according to my plan, it will be something you won’t need anymore.’

But for Aden, who desperately needed power, it was a very desirable item.

‘You get your arm, and I get that. It’s a win-win.’

“First, Lowe, you will spar with him every day from now on. That’s the first condition.”

It was getting difficult to train with just a scarecrow.

A scarecrow doesn’t attack, dodge, or defend against his attacks.

‘You’re just right to replace the scarecrow.’

Lowe was quickly treated as equivalent to a scarecrow.

Of course, he wouldn’t know this.

‘It’s not difficult to pull you out from your knightly duties.’

Aden was the first son favored by the Duke.

Taking a squire knight out for training wasn’t a problem.

“Sparring, you say?”

Lowe frowned, as if he couldn’t understand.

Everyone knew it had only been a little over two months since Aden started exercising.

Aden silently picked up a pebble from the ground.

Aden grasped it firmly with one hand……

Crack.

There was a sound of something breaking.

When Aden opened his hand, the pebble had crumbled to pieces and fell between his fingers.

Lowe’s eyes widened.

“Enhanced strength?”

The first stage of mana martial arts, physical enhancement.

Especially what Aden had just shown, a skilled technique of grip enhancement.

It was definitely not something a person could achieve in just two months of training.

‘Have you been hiding your strength?’

Could it be that he had hidden his strength and lived as a rascal?

Lowe had no choice but to think that, and Aden led him to that conclusion.

“The second condition is that you swear to do whatever I ask. In a few months, you’ll learn how to cure your arm. So, what do you say?”

Just knowing that Aden knew the secret about his arm was enough for him to do anything.

Although he couldn’t be sure if it was true, he claimed to know the way to cure his arm.

“……It’s not like I have a choice, is it?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“…….”

Lowe looked at Aden silently in response to his playful answer.

Despite his tone, his eyes didn’t show any hint of playfulness or joke.

Something was different. It was unlike the first son he knew.

For some reason……

‘He reminds me of the Knight Commander.’

Aden could sense the composure of a strong person through his eyes.

But it wasn’t just that.

There was something else in his eyes.

Fierceness.

The kind of fierce determination that comes from having a desire for something.

It was similar to what he saw in the mirror every time he, an orphan from the slums, climbed his way up to become a squire knight.

Composure and fierceness coexisted.

This made Lowe feel a slight chill.

What had changed the rascal young lord to have such eyes?

With that strange feeling, Lowe began to believe Aden’s words.

Was it because of that?

Lowe spoke unconsciously.

“I will. I’ll stake everything on you, young master.”

***

The next day, Aden received the ‘List of Knights’ Skills Ranking’ compiled by Carl.

As expected, Carl, unlike the rascal young lord, had a meticulous personality and had analyzed the knights’ skills well, making a list.

But as he handed over the list, Carl said something strange.

“I admire the trick of sending a servant, but it won’t go as you intend, brother.”

He said this with a hostility that resembled an angry cat.

Sending a servant trick?

Aden just asked him to deliver some soda because he looked like he had an upset stomach.

“Remember, I won’t let it be easy!”

Then he turned and fled, almost as if running away.

Aden didn’t know why he was acting like that all of a sudden.

‘Well, it’s probably nothing.’

Aden put aside his thoughts about Carl and scanned through the list of knights.

“Vermon, Hobbes, Pascal…… and Lowe.”

Since it was a list of all the knights, Lowe, a squire knight, was included.

Lowe was roughly in the lower ranks among the thirteen squire knights.

His right arm’s difficulty in movement made it inevitable for him to lag behind.

Aden told Lowe that day.

“Our first sparring match is tomorrow. Keep that in mind.”

He went to the knights’ training ground and called four squire knights, including Lowe.

“You called us suddenly…….”

“You want us to spar with you?”

“You mean to fight one after another right after defeating the previous opponent?”

The three squire knights couldn’t help but express their astonishment at his request.

They quickly managed their expressions, but it was obvious.

“……”

Only Lowe silently watched Aden.

Aden had anticipated the reactions of the three.

‘They’re probably busy training, so it’s understandable.’

They were in the lower ranks among the squire knights.

They were anxiously training, fearing they might be completely weeded out due to their lack of skills.

And now, the young lord, who had only just begun exercising for a couple of months, wanted to spar with not one but several of them in succession.

It must have seemed like a childish challenge.

They were displeased at losing their training time because of such a reckless challenge.

Moreover, who was the challenger?

The infamous rascal young lord.

What if they won and the young lord took offense and had them dismissed?

What if they accidentally injured the young lord during the sparring?

It was natural for them to feel such unease.

So, he decided to bait them.

“I can’t take your time without giving a reward.”

Aden took out a shining white object from his pocket.

It was a platinum coin.

It was part of the new allowance Aden received from the Duke.

“I’ll give one platinum coin to each of those who defeat me.”

The eyes of the squire knights changed instantly.

A platinum coin.

It was equivalent to three months’ salary for a formal knight.

For a squire knight, a platinum coin was an elusive fortune, so their eyes naturally lit up.

“But the condition is to fight with all your might. I promise in the name of Remes that the outcome and any injuries during the sparring will not be questioned.”

Although it wasn’t his real surname, it didn’t matter. This should relieve the squire knights’ concerns.

As expected.

“I’ll do it right now!”

“I’ll fight with all my might! Young master!”

“Take as much training time as you want!”

Their enthusiasm was overflowing.

In their minds, they already had the platinum coin in their hands.

Even Lowe looked tempted for a moment.

But he quickly regained his senses when he saw Aden smirking at the excited knights.

It was a smile as if Aden were looking at fish willingly swimming into a net.

“Now, let’s start right away.”

Aden faced the squire knight named Vermon.

He was his first opponent.

Lowe, as the referee, announced the start of the match.

Tap.

Lowe lowered his arm, signaling the start of the match.

With a bright smile, Vermon shouted.

“Young master! I’m coming right away!”

As soon as the match started, Vermon charged.

His mind was filled with one thought.

‘Heh, platinum coin. Shiny, white platinum coin.’

Vermon, slightly out of his mind, swung his sword at Aden’s shoulder……

Clang!

It was blocked by his sword.

“You’re too distracted.”

Then came his cold voice.

It was when Vermon felt something was wrong.

Smack!

his sword struck Vermon’s helmet.

“Gah!”

The helmet rang, and his vision blurred for a moment.

Thud.

Taking advantage of that, Aden struck Vermon’s throat.

“Ugh!”

Vermon choked and gasped in pain.

Thud.

He kicked his knee, making him lose his balance.

“Argh!”

Vermon fell forward, unable to keep his balance.

It all happened in an instant.

“Huh……?”

Lying on the ground, Vermon didn’t seem to realize what had happened.

“Pathetic.”

Aden looked down coldly at him sprawled on the ground.

“Blinded by greed and letting your guard down, you’re unfit to be a knight, let alone a mercenary.”

“……”

Only then did Vermon realize he had lost, and his face turned red with shame.

“How long are you going to lie there?”

“S-Sorry!”

Watching Vermon hurriedly stand up, Aden said.

“You’re fundamentally flawed. If this were a real fight, you’d be dead. And that too, by a ‘rascal.’”

“……”

“You look fit, but that’s all. You’re not qualified to wield a sword unless you develop seriousness. It would be better for you to go out and do some hard labor.”

Vermon was too embarrassed to say anything.

Develop seriousness.

It was advice he had heard many times from senior knights.

He never imagined he’d hear it from the young master.

The other squire knights watching were stunned.

Seeing Aden speak coldly to Vermon, they thought.

“Next.”

If they didn’t stay sharp, they wouldn’t even get a sip of soup, let alone the platinum coin.