Chapter 42

“Wow… How amazing,” Esther muttered. “It seems that he passed the first stage.”

Trying not to get too excited, I laughed.

“Would you please give me a few more of your hair? Steps 2 and 3 take a little time.”

“Yes.”

“In step 4, we’ll have to see the mana compatibility, so do not use any magic items in the meantime. Particularly the nail because they are the main materials needed.”

“Okay. Well, if you’re a butcher, where would I ever have to use magic items that nobles use?”

Hans nodded happily, pulling a few more short hairs from under his ears.

His hair was almost completely peeled off, I suddenly felt sorry to take a few strands only for the paternity test.

“And…”

I blinked as I looked at Hans’ cherry basket.

“My family has five daughters. When Mary returns, there will be six. The thing in common between the mother and our five daughters is that they all love cherries.”

The cherry was red and thin. I accepted the basket without noticing. The sweet scent came in.

“I thought maybe you might like cherries if you were Mary, so I brought them.”

“…Yes.”

“My house isn’t that great, but I’ve always had Mary’s space ready. I know you’re doing well, but our butcher business is also doing pretty well, so it’s my long-cherished dream to live in the village of Rivello with all my family.”

“······.”

“My wife is very sick right now… She wishes to see her youngest daughter immediately.”

I fiddled with the basket and said nothing.

“Then call me when you’re done with the second step.”

Hans bowed and left the drawing room.

I took care of Hans’ hair and the basket of cherries and slowly headed to my lab.

I thought I had always lived with a clear mind, but I felt a little absent-minded today. It was probably because it’s been a long time since someone passed the hair test.

I was a person who always lived on a high note, but I’ve only thought of my biological parents unexpectedly when I was sentenced to death before my regression. So this time, I really wanted to live a happy life with my family…

I recalled the loneliness of that time by eating cherries.

“Are you done? You’ve been to a cherry buffet and you’re still eating cherries.”

Daniel, who was arranging the lab next to me, talked.

“Shall I throw away the basket?” asked Diel.

“Oh, no.” I shook my head without realizing it. “Let’s just… Let it be.”

“Really?”

Diel looked at me with a strange expression on his face, then changed the topic as he looked at me, who seemed to have a somewhat complicated mind.

“You know what?” He asked, narrowing his eyes. “Master Erhan…, I think he really hated me. Sometimes he just stared at me, but I got goosebumps every time he did that.”

If the intention was to change the topic and change my thoughts, it was a huge success.

“Hey.”

Because it was ridiculous, I laughed.

Of course, Diel was already used to hearing the titles ‘Hey’ or ‘You’ from someone who was five years younger than him.

“What are you afraid of with Master Erhan’s gaze? That little Master is cute no matter what.”

“I’m telling the truth. It’s because you don’t know.” Diel frowned. “Master Erhan has always been friendly to you. So you don’t know those eerie, madam-like eyes.”

“Rather than goodwill, I think it was a little bit dependent. He was weak in many ways.”

I couldn’t erase my pathetic expression and clicked my tongue.

It was sad to know that he was scared of a depressed kid who was five years younger than him,  smaller than his peers, and was even wary of others.

“If he looks at me with those eyes after he comes back since he’s already a grownup, I might really faint.”

“I don’t think he’ll be that tall. So you won’t pass out,” I said casually. “Because it’s a friend’s request.”

Those words were almost invincible to Diel.

“…Okay.”

Anyway, the duchy was waiting for its legitimate successor who had been away for 5 years, and everyone was excited.

‘Although Baron Ishid’s thoughts might be a little different.’

Now, when he came back, there was a high possibility that he would do something strange in earnest. My responsibility to monitor with a hawk’s eye was quite heavy.

Now that he is of adult age, he will be awarded the title by the Emperor, and he will safely become the Duke of Casseus.

What comes after that was the important part.

‘It’s time for Baron Ishid, who has a thorough preparation, to do something about the Dukedom.’

I fiddled with the basket of cherries, lost in thought.

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It was Erhan who rapidly steered the ship because of the rumors that the route was roughly maintained.

Erhan quickly liquidated his five-year life in Irvia and led the knights and their men to the Duchy of Casseus.

However, the Duke’s colorful ship met the remnants of the pirates shortly after sailing.

“It’s the ship of the imperial nobility! Catch only one of those nobles!”

The purpose of the pirates on board was clear.

It was to take the high ransom noble hostage to avoid the knights and obtain the luxury goods that were full of this ship.

The eyes of them looking for the nobles to avoid the knights hurriedly ran across the boat. Of course, they thought they would hide in the safest and deepest place…

“Ah.”

On the deck, a dark-haired young man with a solid body pulled out his sword and clenched his teeth.

“I’m in a hurry to get there, but all sorts of annoying bugs are…”

“Master Erhan, please calm down.”

Zikel hurriedly grabbed his right arm.

“Once you’re safe inside, we’ll take care of it first.”

“I am faster. You are slow.”

“B-But… If you go through the procedure of identifying the boss and handing it over to the nearby imperial navy, you will surely get a reward….”

“Zikel.”

Erhan said in a low voice, raising his eyebrows.

“I don’t need anything like that. It’s just a waste of time.”

Without further intermission by Zikel, Erhan began to blend in with the knights and slaughter the pirates himself.

“······.”

Zikel swallowed his dry saliva unknowingly as he saw Erhan with a cold expression that quickly cut off the pirates’ throats faster than anyone else.

I never dreamed that the 13-year-old boy who didn’t even know how to hold a sword could become that big.

He was now better than anyone else in the Knights, even compared to his old teacher. To be so big like a monster, the Duchess would certainly be frightened.

There are laws to capture and interrogate a few of them, but Erhan was busy stabbing the pirate’s vital point. It was as if he didn’t even have to think deeply about what was blocking his way.

“Ah…”

When he first took care of Master Erhan, he felt like he was absorbing all his teachings like a sponge.

It was not only on swordsmanship but also in his other lessons with his tutors, so even if they had famous teachers in the fields of liberal arts and history, they said they had nothing left to teach. Time passed while thinking of the 13-year-old cute boy and having fun in the strange southern land.

After that, it is only now that Zikel realized this tremendous fact.

‘I couldn’t do personality education!’

Almost all of the older knights remained in the Duke’s Castle, and of course, they had no family.

Moreover, Erhan did not even try to make friends with different people.

‘He doesn’t have empathy!’

He was scared of being behind because he started learning late, that’s why he became obsessed with martial arts and swordsmanship.

“Maybe I’ve done too much result-oriented, trick-oriented swordsmanship…”

Zikel, who learned swordsmanship himself, didn’t have a particular moral mindset, so he was suddenly worried.

‘Somehow it looks like something with the young master is a bit weird…’

Zikel scratched the back of his head as he looked at the bodies of the pirates on the floor and – without confirming their identity – kicked them one by one with his shoes into the sea.

‘It seems like he’s rushing for something… Like his attention is only focused in that direction…’

In Zikel’s eyes, it seemed that Erhan only wanted to go to the Casseus Duchy as quickly as possible.

And for that, killing was easy, rewards weren’t noticeable, and he didn’t seem to care much about his own well-being.

‘Um… Did you want to go home that much? You’ve been well in Irvia. What’s the rush?’

Erhan, who has thrown almost all of the pirates into the sea while dancing with his sword turned his eyes and spoke convincingly, wiping the blood off his sword.

“Set sail immediately.”

There was still a long way to travel. With the sea that had been stained with blood by himself, Erhan looked at the horizon in the distance with a cold expression.

The expression of displeasure was just about the fact that the sailing had stopped for a while.

After Prince Jade’s long and hard battle with the pirates, the first civilian voyage was rough. It was not even a warship, but a ship of the Duke of Casseus, so everyone rushed for the luxurious items of the said noble family.

The ship had to stop frequently because of the remnants of the sea pirates, and each time, the pirates had to be stuck in the sea, facing a more monstrous black-eyed man than the Imperial Navy.