The Hero Becomes the Duke’s Eldest Son

Chapter 125

“Damn it…”

After finishing his conversation with Priestess Lunia, Aden muttered a curse alone in his room.

He was currently very displeased.

‘I really got hit hard this time.’

Thinking about it, it was an obvious thing.

In the past, the spirit king-level entity, the Hat Merchant, recognized Aden and called him ‘Albireo.’

This meant that high-ranking beings could know information about his previous life.

‘Dealing with time is within the realm of gods.’

So, of course, they would know information about the world before his regression.

Like the relationship between the Mercenary King Balkan and Aden.

The Mercenary King was alive.

That was all the information Priestess Lunia conveyed.

If someone else heard it, they would have asked, “So what?” in response.

But Aden couldn’t do that.

As soon as he heard it, he knew that the savior mentioned in the prophecy of the God of Slaughter referred to him.

Through the prophecy, the God of Slaughter had told Aden this.

-If you want to find more clues about your master, prevent the fall of the Slaughter Cult. Well, if you don’t want to, then never mind.

What made Aden even more furious was the fact that, despite knowing the opponent’s intention, he couldn’t refuse.

Grit.

Aden ground his teeth.

The god of slaughter and death dared to shamelessly use his master as bait.

‘There’s no way I could meet a god, but if I ever do, I’d like to punch him in the face.’

Aden harbored a terrifying thought that would have made the priests of the Slaughter Tower cheer if they heard it.

“Hoo, fine. It’s not like money falls out when I get angry alone.”

Although Aden wasn’t pleased with the situation, he needed to suppress his emotions.

“Anyway, I need to stop it if I want revenge.”

Of course, even if he left things as they were, there was no chance the Iron-Blooded Saint would survive.

But that wouldn’t be revenge.

‘I need to personally trap her and make her feel despair for it to be true revenge.’

Therefore, he had to stop what Spica was currently doing.

In the end, nothing had changed.

Curse asked.

-Dragon Slayer, then is there a way to stop those crazy priests and the saint?

Currently, the Slaughter Cult was like a pack of wild beasts that had broken free of their chains and were rampaging.

There was no way to prevent their mass suicide with ordinary methods.

“Of course, there is.”

The fortunate thing was that the God of Slaughter had hidden the solution within the prophecy.

Awaken the ancient king buried under the black stake, and he will rise among the dead. That day, the tower will fall, and salvation will come.

To others, this would sound like an incomprehensible, poetic metaphor meant to sound grand.

But as a regressor, Aden understood the ‘true meaning’ behind those words.

This was almost the only way to defeat the Iron-Blooded Saint Spica and calm the madness of the Slaughter Cult.

A sinister smile crept onto Aden’s lips.

“The god even provided an answer sheet. Fine, let’s stop it then.”

* * *

The next day, Aden accepted Priestess Lunia’s request.

Receiving Aden’s acceptance, Priestess Lunia’s eyes sparkled with joy.

“Wow! As expected, Sir Aden was the savior in the prophecy! Kyaa! I look forward to working with you, savior!”

“Don’t call me by that strange title. Anyway, take this letter to Border Count Sedus, along with this Pledge Token.”

“Aha?”

The Pledge Token received from Taion Sedus during the Forest of Death incident.

Using that, he could borrow the power of the Sedus family at any time.

‘I’ll need the power of Border Count Tiried for this plan.’

It was a one-time authority to use a Sword Master at will.

But if this plan succeeded, he could deal with the Iron-Blooded Saint.

So, there was nothing to regret.

‘Or should I say she’s now called the Usurper Saint?’

The change in her epithet alone indicated that the future had changed significantly.

Anyway, even without the Pledge Token, Border Count Tiried would cooperate.

If the Sedus Territory, which bordered the Wasteland of Death, and the Slaughter Cult annihilated each other with the trolls, the damage would be enormous.

He would surely gain active cooperation.

So, only one problem remained.

‘To make this plan successful, I have to infiltrate the Slaughter Tower.’

He needed to find a secret passage almost forgotten even by the priests of the Slaughter Cult.

‘The passage to the underground labyrinth of the Slaughter Tower.’

The underground labyrinth of the Slaughter Tower.

It was a labyrinth built by the first saint of the Slaughter Cult, existing since the tower’s construction.

It was a place forgotten even within the Slaughter Tower, discovered only in the future.

Aden had to enter there.

But not only was it well-hidden, but there were also bigger problems once found.

‘Because it’s filled with all sorts of traps and security devices.’

It was filled with ancient security devices and complex mechanisms, the origins of which were unknown.

From what Aden knew, the security system was difficult enough to threaten even superhuman individuals.

Brute force was not an option.

So, there was only one way.

‘I need to find an expert who can easily dismantle ancient traps and mechanisms.’

And Aden knew one person who met those conditions.

A genius who easily dismantled any trap and made a fool out of people.

Aden opened his ‘secret magic journal’ for the first time in a while.

Inside, he found the name, or rather the alias, of his target.

Phantom Thief, Unknown.

A phantom thief active throughout the entire western continent for four years from Imperial Year 440 to 454.

Gender, age, and appearance were all unknown.

Stole precious treasures from shady noble families or wealthy households.

However, perversely, he would send a notice before stealing the treasures.

No matter how tight the security or how well the treasures were hidden, he would always succeed in stealing them.

Ultimately, he even infiltrated the royal palace, stealing the royal family’s treasures, making his name known across the continent.

But he ceased his activities after 454, and his whereabouts became unknown.

No matter how complex and terrifying the magical traps, locks, and snares, he dismantled them with ghost-like skill.

Though a perverse lunatic, his trap dismantling and disguise skills were unmatched. Knowing him would not be a bad thing.

Phantom Thief Unknown.

A pervert who enjoyed sending notices, causing the target to tighten security, and then stealing the treasure right under their noses.

People called him ‘Unknown’ because they couldn’t identify him.

In his previous life as a mercenary, Aden had once been tasked with guarding a noble family that received a notice from him.

‘And I failed to catch him.’

Though he hated to admit it, he was indeed an outstanding thief.

The guy’s disguise skills were perfect, reminiscent of a doppelganger.

Even if they managed to capture him and wrapped his entire body in locks and chains, somehow, in just a few seconds, he would break free with a “ta-da!” and escape.

Thinking back to that time, the veins on Aden’s forehead bulged involuntarily.

‘It was one of the few requests I failed to complete while carrying out mercenary tasks.’

Sending a notice meant he was confident in his own skills.

“There’s no one more suitable for this task than that bastard Unknown.”

At this point in time, his activities had just started, and the name of the phantom thief Unknown was beginning to spread.

Finding him wouldn’t be much of a problem.

All he had to do was visit the noble families who received his crime notices.

In the early days, he mainly operated in the north, so it wouldn’t be too far.

Aden furrowed his brows as if he had a headache.

“The problem is how to catch him and make use of him…”

Even if he was locked up in locks, chains, and iron bars, he had escaped from all of them.

Even Aden wasn’t confident he could catch such a guy.

He considered finding another dismantling expert, but just as that thought crossed his mind.

-Dragon Slayer.

“What?”

-I think I might know this guy’s identity.

“What?”

Curse said something unexpected.

-I’m not completely sure… but with exceptional disguise skills and thievery prowess, there’s someone suspicious.

Aden’s eyes widened at Curse’s words.

Curse shared with Aden all the information and the identity he suspected belonged to Unknown.

-…What do you think, Aden Albireo? Isn’t it a plausible theory?

“Indeed… it’s quite convincing.”

If what Curse said was true, then it could explain the extraordinary abilities the thief possessed.

Moreover, there was a sure way to capture him.

It was an unexpectedly good stroke of luck.

“It seems things might go smoother than I thought.”

Aden’s lips curved into a meaningful smile.

* * *

Viscount Heraid’s Estate.

A noble family in the Syres Grand Duchy, currently in a great uproar.

All because of a letter that had somehow been placed in Viscount Heraid’s bedroom two days ago.

On the night of the full moon, when the moonlight is deepest, I will take the treasure of the Heraid family, ‘Tear of the Blue Sky.’

-Phantom Thief Unknown

Viscount Heraid, upon seeing the letter, tore it apart and roared loudly since the morning.

Ordinarily, Viscount Heraid was a very ordinary noble who sucked the blood of his territory’s people with high taxes and used the money to indulge in luxury.

The thing this ordinary noble cherished most was a necklace made of a huge blue sapphire, the Tear of the Blue Sky.

The Tear of the Blue Sky.

That one necklace was worth about half the sum of all the luxury items he had collected so far.

And all that money was spent at auctions using the taxes squeezed from the people of his territory, who worked their fingers to the bone.

“I cannot let such a lowly thief take my treasure! Summon all the troops!”

Viscount Heraid immediately gathered all the knights in his territory and had them guard the mansion.

But even that did not put his mind at ease.

He had heard plenty of rumors about the phantom thief Unknown.

Other nobles also claimed to have tightened their security thoroughly upon receiving the notice, but they were all robbed.

Two nobles, whom Viscount Heraid knew personally, had been defeated by that thief.

One of them even had documents revealing his involvement in all sorts of corruption and illegal slave purchases and abuses scattered around after the heist, completely overturning his territory.

When it came to corruption and tax evasion, Viscount Heraid was no less guilty than that noble.

He feared he might end up the same way, and every day felt like walking on thorns.

Then, the day before the full moon when the thief was supposed to strike, a very welcome guest visited the viscount.

Aden Remes.

The youngest Sword Master, who defeated a disaster-level spirit, the Winter Queen, alone and subdued the Grand Duke’s eldest son, the Thunder Knight!

His visit was good news for the viscount’s household, which needed more guards.

A superhuman was a one-man army, a ruler of the battlefield.

Moreover, Aden Remes had proven his skills by defeating the Winter Queen and subduing the Thunder Knight.

Viscount Heraid welcomed Aden with open arms.

Thus, Aden entered the Heraid estate, the place where Unknown was expected to show up, warmly received by the viscount.

‘This time, I’ll catch you and see your face, Unknown.’

Aden smiled grimly at the thought of making Unknown pay for the humiliation in his past life.