Chapter 53
After arriving at the training ground.
“Then, I’ll try activating Storm Swordsmanship using this new method.”
After speaking, Leonhardt drew his sword from his waist. He began moving according to the altered Storm Swordsmanship method I had described.
He thrust at the midsection, then seamlessly transitioned into a slash at the upper section.
With his footwork, he connected all five sword paths.
On his sword, a faint yellow aura spread thinly.
As each sword path was executed, the aura’s brightness intensified.
‘It worked.’
The result was easy to predict.
If it had failed, his aura would have immediately gone awry.
Leonhardt successfully demonstrated the first form of Storm Swordsmanship without any issues.
Afterward, he approached me, his expression tense.
Was there a problem?
“…Young Master.”
His voice, tight with restraint, carried a hint of emotion.
From what I could tell, it seemed like he was overwhelmed—but in a good way.
Might as well ask.
Smiling slightly, I asked him, “How is it? Do you think it’s usable?”
“…‘Usable’ doesn’t do it justice. This… honestly, it’s incredible. How on earth did you manage to modify Storm Swordsmanship like this?”
I knew my eyes hadn’t deceived me.
Still, I needed a clearer answer.
“Compared to the original, how does it feel?”
“The power has increased significantly. Also, the movements themselves feel much smoother.”
“What about its stability?”
“If a few details are adjusted, it could be made even more stable.”
“Can you fix those details?”
“Yes.”
“And the aura consumption?”
“It has increased by about 50%. However… considering the enhanced power, it’s still manageable.”
“How much stronger does it feel?”
After some hesitation, my escort answered.
“…About twice as strong.”
‘Twice as strong, huh.’
Unfortunately, it wasn’t as dramatic as the magic enhancements.
In the game, using the hybrid activation method for magic increased power by at least sevenfold.
Of course, it came with extreme fatigue, but the power boost was immense.
However, swordsmanship was different.
From what I could see, it only enhanced the swordsmanship to the level of the hybrid activation method for magic.
Even though I had passed on my knowledge correctly, I wasn’t sure why there was such a difference.
‘Well, even so…’
Twice the power.
Even that much was enough to shock everyone in the family.
Doubling the power wasn’t a trivial improvement.
If the aura consumption had also doubled, it wouldn’t have been ideal. But with only a 50% increase in aura usage…
“In terms of efficiency, it’s definitely worth using. Go ahead and teach this to Seron as well.”
“Understood. But… what do you plan to do with this modified swordsmanship?”
For now, it needed to be kept secret.
If it spread, Adolf and his underlings would also reap the benefits.
“For now, only you and Seron should know about it. Use it only when no one else is watching. I’m not ready to reveal it just yet.”
“Understood. And later…?”
It seemed my loyal escort hoped to share this with the Seltarion Family eventually.
“In due time, I’ll reveal it to the family gradually.”
“That’s a good idea. If the head of the family sees this technique, I’m sure he’ll offer significant compensation.”
“I’m sure he will.”
After finishing the conversation, I watched as Leonhardt sheathed his sword.
“Let’s step outside for a bit.”
“Outside the castle?”
“Yes. I want to buy some flowers.”
Leonhardt’s eyes filled with curiosity at my words.
“Why do you suddenly want to buy flowers?”
“It’s almost Mother’s death anniversary. I’ll probably be in Helena at that time.”
Aisha.
The mother of this scoundrel had come to mind when I acquired the advanced elemental stone from the marquess.
Her death anniversary was only a few days away.
Since I would be in the magic city at that time, I planned to visit her grave in advance.
Leonhardt silently gazed at me.
“…Have you changed your mind about something?”
I could guess what he meant.
Kyle Seltarion.
This guy had never once visited Aisha’s grave after her passing.
From what I remembered, it was likely due to fear.
Even a scoundrel like him probably knew he hadn’t been a good son.
That was probably why he avoided it.
But I didn’t feel the same way.
I didn’t have any particular feelings for her, but she was someone who never gave up on this scoundrel and took care of him until the end.
At the very least, paying my respects once seemed like the right thing to do.
Unfinished business should be resolved.
“I need to visit her at least once.”
After responding to Leonhardt, I left the castle.
After purchasing flowers, I headed to Aisha’s grave with Leonhardt and Seron following behind.
The location wasn’t far.
It was in the inner section of the Seltarion Family’s estate.
A well-maintained and clean grave rested in a quiet corner.
I bowed my head toward it.
‘I hope you rest in a good place.’
As I placed the flowers and turned to leave, a voice called out from behind.
“…Kyle?”
When I turned around, I saw a familiar face.
[Heart Eye activates.]
[The target is of a higher level. Only partial insights can be gleaned.]
[Duke Seltarion (14)]
[Talents: ??, ??]
[Traits: Familial Love, Benevolent, ??]
[Favorability: -20]
Duke Seltarion.
He was Kyle’s true brother, born from the same mother.
Familial love, benevolence.
Despite his positive traits, his favorability was in the negatives.
I could understand why.
Aisha.
Duke had been deeply attached to her. Because of this scoundrel, she had passed away earlier than expected.
It wasn’t hard to see why his favorability was so low.
As children, their relationship had been decent. But after Aisha’s passing two years ago, their bond had completely broken.
Since then, I didn’t recall a single conversation with him.
They had lived under the same roof as though the other didn’t exist.
‘Still, his favorability is higher than I expected.’
Recalling the memory of when we last turned our backs on each other with curses flying, it wouldn’t have been surprising if his favorability toward me had dropped below -70.
But that was two years ago.
A lot of time had passed since then, and perhaps rumors of my transformation had begun to affect him.
Duke was also holding flowers.
“It’s been a while, Brother,” I said.
Hearing my words, Duke glanced awkwardly at the people standing beside me before giving a reluctant nod.
“…Yeah. What brings you here?”
Rather than explaining, I decided it was better to show him. I subtly gestured toward the flowers I had laid at the grave, and Duke’s eyes began to widen.
“…Is what I’m thinking right?”
“Probably.”
“…Why all of a sudden?”
“It’s a bit embarrassing to say this myself, but you’ve heard the rumors that I’ve changed, right?”
At my words, Duke reluctantly nodded.
“…Roughly. I also heard you played a significant role in hunting the Twin-Headed Ogre.”
“Honestly, I wasn’t a good son to Mother, was I?”
“…”
“That’s why I couldn’t come before. I think I was too afraid… because I disappointed her so much in the end.”
Speaking as if I were the spokesperson for the scoundrel Kyle, I continued.
“But things are a little different now, aren’t they? I don’t think I’d be an embarrassment of a son anymore, so I came. Mother’s death anniversary is coming up, but I’ll be away then.”
“…I see.”
“That’s all there is to it.”
Duke didn’t say much else.
He simply brushed past me and quietly placed another bouquet of flowers on the grave.
An awkward silence lingered between us. When I looked at Duke, he had a look on his face as if he didn’t know what to say.
‘Duke, huh.’
A low-level Sword Expert. While not incredibly talented, he was at least competent enough to pull his weight.
Even though his favorability was in the negatives, there wasn’t any need to maintain a hostile relationship with him.
As a direct child of the Marquess, he was someone who could still be useful.
‘Come to think of it, there’s something I wanted to ask him.’
To break the awkward atmosphere, I decided to lend him a hand.
At times like this, it’s the elder’s role to take the lead.
“How’s your swordsmanship training coming along?”
“…Just so-so. What about you? I’ve heard that learning magic requires a lot of intelligence.”
“It’s not that hard. I seem to have quite the knack for it. Honestly, I don’t really look like someone who’d suit being a knight, do I?”
“Well, even though you’ve put on some weight, you do look like that. You’re kind of… the frail scholar type.”
Frail scholar?
I didn’t think I looked frail.
But compared to Duke, who looked like a spitting image of Remton, it wasn’t an entirely off observation.
A brute like him might see me that way.
“Well, I’ll give you that. Compared to your face, I suppose I do look like that.”
“…What’s wrong with my face?”
“Never mind.”
“Men are supposed to look like this.”
Sure, rugged features aren’t necessarily unattractive.
It’s a perspective I can understand.
But if someone asked me to trade my face for his, I’d refuse without hesitation.
I turned my gaze to Duke.
“By the way, Brother. Are you close to our second brother?”
“Why do you ask that all of a sudden?”
“When I reported on the Ogre-related matter last time, you were seated near him instead of the eldest brother. The factions were all divided, so I was curious.”
Feigning nonchalance, I probed. Duke hesitated briefly before giving a slight nod.
“We interact often. He regularly teaches me swordsmanship.”
I see.
It seemed he was using swordsmanship lessons as a pretext to subtly win Duke over.
‘Now that I think about it.’
Duke Seltarion.
After the rebellion, I never saw him again. In the game, the rebellion storyline had two main outcomes.
One was successfully stopping the rebellion, and the other was failing to do so.
When I didn’t intervene, the outcome was completely random.
Abel and Adolf.
At first glance, they seemed evenly matched.
But in reality, Abel’s faction was at a significant disadvantage.
‘That is, if Adolf’s forces fully unleash their power.’
However, Abel’s side had Remton, the Marquess.
He was a powerhouse, a knight who could easily be described as a monster. Adolf would need at least five of his top eleven subordinates to take on Remton alone.
Regardless.
Even if the rebellion was stopped, the Marquess would die, leaving Abel as the acting head. If it wasn’t stopped, the Marquess and much of Abel’s faction would be wiped out.
In either case, I never saw Duke again.
To be honest, he wasn’t an important character, so I hadn’t paid much attention to him.
But now that I was talking to him, I felt I understood why.
‘It seems likely that Adolf dealt with him before the rebellion even started.’
If not, there would’ve been at least one or two instances where he survived.
The fact that he never appeared in hundreds of rebellion scenarios raised questions.
The knights and remaining personnel always varied after a rebellion, but the fact that I never once saw him suggested…
Adolf had a reason to kill Duke every time.
‘Interesting.’
As I realized this, Duke started to appear in a different light.
The rebellion storyline took place early in the game. That’s probably why I had only evaluated Duke as a low-level Sword Expert.
Up to that point, he was just a regular knight—neither remarkable nor unremarkable.
‘But this guy.’
Considering his hidden talents and traits, I wondered if there was something special behind the question marks.
Right now, Duke seemed unimpressive.
But if someone went out of their way to eliminate him every time, there had to be a significant reason.
It was likely tied to the mystery behind those question marks.
‘If that’s the case.’
Adolf approaching Duke, and the fact that Duke always ended up dead, suddenly made sense.
What if Duke possessed exceptional potential?
If Adolf noticed it first and began covertly approaching him…
Whether he failed to win him over or eliminated him to prevent future complications, the reasoning was clear.
By building a connection with Duke beforehand and calling him over under the guise of trust…
‘He could’ve dealt with him discreetly.’
If they had built a rapport, calling him in secret at night wouldn’t have raised suspicion.
It all lined up perfectly.
This was still just speculation.
‘But.’
It was a theory with a high likelihood.
To thwart Adolf, I’d need to bring Duke over to Abel’s side.
If Abel could protect him, I could figure out the question marks later.
Having reached my conclusion, it was time to act on it.
First.
I needed to facilitate a meeting between this brute and Abel.
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