Chapter 7
Leon hardt
This inflexible knight was dumbfounded by the scene unfolding before him. Even his usual poker face shattered in an instant.
‘What is this?’
The first time the Fourth Young Master visited the library, he thought it was just a passing whim.
Kyle.
The fact that he possessed no particular talent was already a well-known truth within the Marquis household.
Though he had shown a sudden change, Leon hardt’s heart was filled with concern.
Because in the Fourth Young Master’s eyes, which turned toward the library, there was hope.
Hope.
It’s a good word.
But hope directed at an unattainable goal can quickly turn into despair.
That’s what worried him.
He feared that hope would turn into despair once again.
“I know what you’re worried about, but even if this method doesn’t work, I’m not going to go astray like before, so don’t worry.”
Those words seemed strangely sincere.
From that moment, the Fourth Young Master began to change in earnest.
One month.
During that time, he explored magical tomes without missing a single day and never stopped exercising, even while sweating profusely.
His behavior changed as well.
Though his speech hadn’t become particularly solemn, he always smiled at those beneath him.
Compared to before, it was a remarkable improvement.
Then one day…
“Leon hardt.”
“Yes.”
“About Hermem.”
“……”
“I think I’ve found a way to overcome it.”
“…Really?”
As soon as he raised one hand in silence, a flame began to rise from his palm.
Fire.
It was a simple 1st Circle spell that any mage could cast, but Leon
hardt’s heart pounded faster than it ever had before at the sight.
The fact that he had activated a spell.
It meant that he had overcome the limitations of Hermem.
As an Expert knight, Leon hardt understood the significance perfectly.
Kyle Seltarion.
His talent might be unimaginably vast.
That’s what Leon hardt had thought.
However, the scene before him now surpassed even that imagination.
“How… Is this really Magic Missile?”
“It is. You saw it yourself, didn’t you?”
Magic Missile.
A spell with the impact of a full-grown man swinging his fist with all his strength.
But the result they were witnessing now lightly transcended that common knowledge. Of course, it wasn’t impossible to exert the power of higher-level magic even with a 1st Circle spell.
If a mage with a high Circle poured in mana, they could show far greater power than usual.
But.
The Fourth Young Master was not a high-level mage.
“…How did you do it?”
Kyle smiled slyly at the question.
“I just tried it, and it worked.”
He gave a very simple answer.
It wasn’t just the knight next to me who was shocked.
Even I was wide-eyed at the sheer power. Although I managed to reply nonchalantly, my heart was racing wildly.
‘What is this?’
The magic used by players was indeed more convenient and powerful than that of NPCs, but it wasn’t to this extent.
‘Wasn’t it about 1.5 times stronger?’
From what I knew, the power enhancement was roughly around that level.
But the power being displayed now was no less than 4th Circle.
What on earth was going on?
Soon, my mind started spinning.
Overcoming Hermem.
That would spread as a rumor anyway.
There was no way I could hide it, even if I wanted to. As my body bulked up, everyone would realize the truth sooner or later.
So it was better to just go with the image of a talented mage.
‘But this is a bit much.’
Overcoming Hermem.
This gave hope for the future, but it didn’t mean I could be considered a formidable force right now.
No matter how talented someone was, it still took time to grow stronger.
That’s the common perception.
But if word got out that I could wield magic with this level of power?
‘It’s going to be a pain.’
The Marquis had four children.
The eldest was Abel Seltarion.
The second was Adolf Seltarion.
The third was Duke Seltarion, and the fourth, of course, was me.
As for the second, Adolf…
‘He’s an irredeemable villain.’
The reason the Marquis household met its demise early in the story was due to the successor ceremony.
The ceremony, set to take place in two months.
As the ceremony approached, the entire household’s power was split into two major factions.
Abel and Adolf’s factions.
Abel, the good-natured, affable, and skilled eldest son, was a knight with decent abilities.
Adolf, in contrast, was more cold-hearted, wielded the best swordsmanship among the young knights of the household, and had a cruel nature.
Currently, the Marquis’s favor leaned toward the eldest son, Abel.
The villains weren’t about to let that slide.
They had been quietly approaching Adolf for some time.
And on the day of the succession ceremony…
Having guessed his father’s intentions, Adolf, driven by his lust for power, drew his sword with the villains by his side.
He accepted the power of the so-called Army of Darkness.
This wasn’t just happening in the Marquis household.
The influence of these villains had infiltrated deeply into most of the powerful noble families and even into the Imperial Palace.
There’s a reason why the central continent, where humans had their stronghold, was falling apart.
These villains had been encroaching from outside the central continent, little by little, for decades.
They were meticulous and powerful.
‘Ugh.’
In such a situation, what would happen if word got out that I had incredible power?
It was obvious.
Abel, being the kind person he was, might let it slide, but Adolf…
‘He’ll either try to recruit me or kill me.’
Adolf Seltarion was not the kind of person to simply laugh and brush off such a variable.
Adolf had already embraced the power of darkness deep within him, and his strength was enough to stand toe-to-toe with Marquis Remton, a Sword Master. There was no way a mere 1st Circle mage like me could possibly stand up to him.
A Sword Master.
That title was reserved for monsters who could only be challenged by at least a 7th Circle mage.
Getting noticed by him would be the absolute worst-case scenario.
“Even if I tell someone about this, it’ll cause problems.”
Even if people believed that this delinquent had reformed a bit, it was still questionable whether they’d trust me on such a major issue. And more importantly, there was no way I could provide any proof that he had accepted the power of darkness. That kind of power only reveals itself once it’s fully unleashed.
It’s not as though the light powers of the priests could make the demons inside someone suddenly leap out.
It probably works the same way here.
Even if it didn’t, I had no intention of testing it out by suggesting it to anyone.
A single word could cost me my life.
‘For now, this perception is perfect.’
A delinquent who’s slightly reformed.
And a 1st Circle mage who’s gradually overcoming Hermem. Someone who could become a valuable asset in the future but isn’t quite useful just yet.
This was the best way to be perceived right now.
Adolf Seltarion probably saw me in just that light. After all, I had carefully leaked just enough information to the spies he had planted throughout the separate building.
Intelligence.
One of the hidden talents above the heads of the maids who passed by with innocent smiles. Without my Heart Eye. I would never have known they were spies.
It was obvious who had sent them.
It wasn’t my kind-hearted eldest brother, and my third brother was just someone who could barely pull his own weight.
That left only one person.
The cunning villain, Adolf Seltarion.
These were likely spies that had been planted a long time ago, considering how long they’d been around in Kyle’s memories. He had even gone so far as to spread his surveillance network to monitor a delinquent like me.
He was an extremely meticulous person.
The one saving grace was that he hadn’t sent any particularly skilled spies.
The talents I saw in those spies weren’t that impressive. As a result, using this against him wouldn’t be difficult.
‘In two months.’
Before the succession ceremony begins, I would need to quietly grow my strength out of the villains’ sight.
I turned to Leon hardt and spoke.
“Hey.”
“Yes?”
“Was there anyone nearby?”
“There was no one I could sense.”
Leon hardt was a knight of Expert rank.
There weren’t many in the marquisate who could avoid being detected by someone of his level. Any low-level spies would easily be caught and dealt with.
That’s why I always kept him around.
How could I find a better human radar?
This meant that the only person who had witnessed my magic was the knight standing in front of me.
It was highly unlikely that Adolf Seltarion would assign an Expert-level knight to keep watch over a delinquent like me.
‘Good.’
All I had to do was seal the lips of the sole witness. Thankfully, this wouldn’t be too difficult.
Leon hardt.
Over the past month, his favorability toward me had steadily risen to a healthy 43 points.
“Could you keep what happened today a secret?”
“…Even from the Marquis?”
“It would be inconvenient to let him know right away.”
Marquis Remton.
In the early stages of the story, he was one of the characters who died in the rebellion led by his second son, Adolf Seltarion.
I didn’t know much about him.
From what I recalled, he had shown a certain degree of affection for Kyle.
But that didn’t mean I could trust him enough to tell him this news right away.
Ever since I took over Kyle’s body, I hadn’t actually met the Marquis in person.
Leon hardt furrowed his brow at my words.
He seemed to be deep in thought.
If his favorability had still been in the negatives, he would’ve rejected me outright. But now, we had grown considerably closer.
He had a lot to think about.
This is why relationships are so powerful.
Seeing him like this, I gently nudged the conversation.
“This power is dangerous. You know how fierce the fight for succession is right now in the marquisate, don’t you?”
“…Yes.”
“This isn’t just a variable; this power could end up swallowing me whole. It’s not that I don’t trust my father, but there’s no reason to tell him right now. The fewer people who know, the better.”
“I understand what you mean.”
“So, I’m asking you to keep this a secret for just two months. After that, you can tell my father if you’d like.”
“…”
Come on, stop thinking so hard.
It seemed like I needed to push him a little more.
“Leon hardt.”
“Yes.”
“Whose knight are you?”
I stared directly into his eyes as I asked the question.
I wanted him to realize his duty.
This was a choice.
Would he follow me, or would he follow Marquis Remton?
With a favorability score of 43 and having already shown him some of my potential, I felt confident I could win this.
While Remton was still the current ruler of the marquisate, the time for a generational shift was coming soon.
My knight would need to start thinking about finding a new patron. And I was the coin that was guaranteed to skyrocket in value.
I wasn’t asking him to betray the Marquis, but given the circumstances, keeping this secret was in his best interest as well.
After a moment of contemplation, his lips parted, having made his decision.
“…Just two months.”
“Exactly, two months.”
Two months.
That would be more than enough time to establish myself as a significant force rather than a mere delinquent.
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