The Hero Becomes the Duke’s Eldest Son

Chapter 132

A rare existence in the Western Continent, a Sword Master.

The Syres Grand Duke Family had produced the most Sword Masters in history.

Born with beast-like physiques, the bloodline of the Grand Duke family naturally reached the realm of superhumans.

Following the Syres Grand Duke Family, the Sedus family produced the most martial artists in the realm of superhumans.

The strongest in the northeastern frontier, Border Count Tiried Sedus.

To martial artists, a Sword Master was like a towering mountain, and ordinary people never worried about such a mountain collapsing.

Thus, no one could have predicted it.

No one imagined that the life of the guardian of the northeast, as he was called, would be in danger.

After contacting Taion and Priestess Lunia, Aden decided to visit the Sedus territory immediately.

“The only problem is the travel time…”

No matter how fast he moved, it would take considerable time to travel from the northernmost land, Frozen, to the northeastern frontier.

Of course, there was a way.

“Anyway, I ask for your help, Hetos.”

“So you want to use my workshop as a means of transportation to Sedus, kid?”

“Yes, exactly.”

“Damn it! Do you think my workshop is some kind of vehicle?”

“Come on, it’s urgent, so please open the door, Hetos.”

“At least pretend to be considerate, you damned brat!”

The dwarves’ personal subspace, the ‘Workshop World’, allowed its owner to connect doors to any location as long as they knew the coordinates.

And as an experienced dwarf over five hundred years old, Hetos knew the coordinates to Sedus.

‘Thanks to that, I used it quite often in my past life.’

Whenever he needed to travel somewhere far, or even not so far, he would use Hetos’ workshop to save time and money.

Each time, Hetos would fume, saying, ‘I’m a blacksmith, not a gatekeeper!’ But after about thirty times, he gave up, feeling resigned.

Aden traveled through Hetos’ workshop, accompanied only by Elise and Priest Bali, to the Sedus territory.

“Wow, amazing! So fast!”

“Woof!”

As soon as they arrived, Elise and Choco’s eyes sparkled at the completely different scenery outside compared to before entering the workshop.

Priest Bali let out a soft laugh.

“This is truly astonishing. To arrive at Sedus in an instant.”

It wasn’t unusual for anyone using the ‘Hetos Shuttle’ to react this way.

Upon arriving at the Sedus territory, Aden and his party headed straight to the lord’s castle.

“Aden Remes!”

“Welcome, everyone!”

As soon as they reached the castle, they were greeted by Taion Sedus and Priestess Lunia.

Priestess Lunia was as cheerful as usual, but Taion looked a bit weary and tired compared to the last time they met.

However, his face lit up upon seeing Aden.

“It’s surprising! You said you’d come quickly, but I didn’t expect you to be here already!”

“You asked me to come quickly.”

“Even so, I thought it would take at least a few days. How did you… Never mind, that’s not important now. Thanks to you, I’m relieved!”

Taion’s attitude towards Aden was noticeably more friendly than before, as if he had found water in a desert.

It seemed the situation was quite serious.

Aden asked Taion directly, skipping the formalities.

“Could you explain what’s going on? What happened to Lord Sedus, Taion?”

Aden hadn’t had the chance to hear the details since he came on such short notice.

Taion nodded.

“We’re short on time, so I’ll explain as we move.”

He looked around and then asked Aden curiously.

“But where is the Saint of the Sacred Fire Order? Didn’t she come with you?”

“Where else? She’s right in front of you, idiot.”

Aden pointed his thumb at Elise beside him.

“Let me introduce you. She is Elise, the Saint of the Sacred Fire Order.”

Taion looked shocked, as if he had witnessed a shocking truth.

“This little girl is the Saint?”

“I’m not a little girl!”

“But she clearly looks like a little…!”

“Please watch your words in front of the Saint, Taion Sedus.”

Elise bristled at being called a little girl, and Priest Bali sternly warned Taion.

Taion hesitated, realizing his mistake, and bowed respectfully.

“Taion Sedus, the first sword of the proud Sedus family, eldest son of the guardian of the northeast, greets the Saint of the Sacred Fire Order.”

“Elise of the Sacred Fire Order.”

“I apologize for my rudeness, Saint Elise.”

“Hmph! I’ll forgive you this once!”

Elise folded her arms and tilted her head haughtily, trying to look dignified. But with Choco, who had transformed into a puppy, on her head, she looked more adorable than dignified.

As Taion led Aden’s party into the castle, he began to explain.

The atmosphere inside the castle was gloomier and colder than the last time Aden had been there.

“Aden Remes, first let me apologize. While we used the Sedus family’s Pledge Token to ask for your help, it’s shameful that we are the ones asking for help instead.”

“That’s understood. Now, tell me the details first.”

The thought of that spirited, reckless old man being in danger was still hard to believe.

Taion looked seriously at Aden.

“Can you promise not to tell anyone what I’m about to say?”

“I can’t promise before I hear it, but I’ll keep it secret as long as it doesn’t harm me or my people.”

“Me too!”

“Woof!”

“I, Bali, swear by the Sacred Fire to keep this secret, Taion.”

Once everyone agreed, Taion nodded slightly and began to explain.

“About three or four months ago, my father went to visit the Slaughter Tower.”

At that time, the Border Count visited the Slaughter Tower to investigate anomalies in the Wasteland of Death.

Due to their paths not crossing, Aden had not met him when he visited the Sedus territory then.

“And a few days after you left, my father returned.”

Grit.

Taion’s teeth gritted audibly.

“With his body covered in large and small wounds.”

“Wounds?”

Aden questioned, and Taion nodded affirmatively.

“Yes, we didn’t have time to ask what had happened at the Slaughter Tower. We immediately began treatment through our healers and priests.”

They managed to heal the smaller wounds on his body.

But no matter what they did, a deep wound on his side wouldn’t heal.

The skin around the wound turned black and spread.

“No one knew the cause, but I was certain of one thing. If it spread throughout his body, his life would be in danger.”

The wound spread rapidly, and Tiried raised his aura throughout his body and went into meditation to fight it.

“He told us not to act rashly and to keep his injury a secret from everyone. He then confined himself under the guise of closed training.”

“That was the only option.”

To fight the spreading wound with his aura, he needed to concentrate without external disturbances.

And it was a choice for the Sedus territory.

The presence of Border Count Tiried Sedus, known as the guardian of the northeast, held significant deterrent power.

Due to the presence of Count Tiried Sedus, the monster lords near the Sedus territory couldn’t move recklessly.

If news spread that he was injured and unable to move, the monster lords, who had been wary of Tiried and refrained from invading, would seize the opportunity to launch a large-scale invasion.

“For the past few months, Father focused on resisting the wounds while I secretly searched for a way to heal them.”

“That must have been very difficult.”

While Aden fought through various adversities for his revenge, they too had been engaged in a fierce battle of their own.

“But now, as if Father has reached his limit, the wounds that had stopped are slowly starting to spread again. So, I was considering whether I should lead the Sedus Knights and attack the Slaughter Cult to find a solution.”

At that time, Priestess Lunia arrived at the lord’s castle with a letter from Aden.

When Lunia, a priestess of the Slaughter Cult, visited Sedus Castle, he almost attacked her.

Fortunately, the misunderstanding was quickly cleared up thanks to the Pledge Token and letter she brought from Aden.

“Upon arrival, the knights suddenly mobilized and surrounded me! I was so surprised!”

“That doesn’t seem like something to laugh off so cheerfully, does it?”

It could have almost led to a meaningless bloodshed.

Of course, that meant the Sedus Knights.

Anyway, now he seemed to understand what was going on.

Wounds that were gradually spreading.

It was something Aden had never heard of before.

“So, you asked to bring Elise. Because the holy power of a saint might be able to heal the wounds.”

“Yes, exactly, Aden.”

It was already widely known that Aden Remes had a close relationship with the Sacred Fire Order.

These wounds, inexplicable and akin to a curse, left Saint Elise’s holy power as the only hope for Taion.

“He is not just my father but also the pillar of our territory. I can never lose him like this, Aden.”

With those words, Taion bowed his head deeply to Elise.

“I will repay this debt in full later, so please help our family and heal my father, Lady Elise.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll do my best, so cheer up.”

“…Thank you.”

Although their first impression was quite bad, Taion wasn’t inherently a bad person.

Elise couldn’t afford to be petty when a life was at stake.

Taion led them to the indoor training hall in the most secluded part of the lord’s residence.

Officially, it was the place where Count Tiried Sedus was training in seclusion, so others couldn’t approach.

When Taion opened the door to the indoor training hall…

‘It’s hot.’

The first thing they felt was the scorching heat, akin to a furnace, along with an overwhelming presence.

Sword Master, Tiried Sedus.

He was sitting cross-legged in the middle of the training hall, shirtless.

‘It seems he is unconscious.’

He appeared to be in a semi-sleep state to operate his aura for as long as possible.

It was an impressive feat that not just anyone could achieve.

As Taion said, about two-thirds of his skin was blackened.

Only his face and chest were free from the black discoloration.

*Goooooo.*

Despite his considerable age, his robust physique was still packed with solid muscles.

The air around him shimmered with heat waves due to his aura, heating the atmosphere.

This was the cause of the heat felt as soon as the door was opened.

“Huh, huh… This, this is really amazing.”

“Sorry, Aden, but I can’t get any closer from here.”

Priest Bali trembled at the sheer ‘presence’ of Master Tiried Sedus radiating from his entire body, and Taion was barely holding himself up, breaking into a cold sweat.

“He’s much weaker now because he hasn’t eaten and has been using his aura for a long time. Before, you couldn’t even get near the annex.”

Aden usually hid his extraordinary presence, so others were unaware, but if a master revealed their full presence, ordinary people couldn’t even approach.

“Elise, how about you?”

“Yeah! I’m fine!”

Of course, even though he was a master, that was still a ‘human level.’

As a transcendent being, the Saint of the Sacred Fire, Elise, felt only a bit warm and was unaffected.

Naturally, Aden, who was also at a master’s level, was free from the aura of Tiried Sedus.

Aden and Elise strode towards the unconscious man.

Up close, a long scar on his left side looked like a spreading tumor.

The scar subtly squirmed, black roots extending in real time, aiming for the core near the heart and mana organ.

It looked as if it wanted to devour Tiried Sedus whole, which was rather unsettling.

‘What on earth is this?’

Aden had never seen such a form of illness or curse before, so he couldn’t identify it.

-Hoo, could this mark be…

-Kugh, I had just managed to forget about it, and now it comes to mind…

However, upon seeing the wound on Tiried Sedus, Curse and Andromalius each had their own reactions.