Chapter 44

My name is Rondo Duke de Orion.

I am the current head of the Orion Duke family, which has existed since the founding of the country.

I have been blessed with adorable children, and the management of my territory is proceeding smoothly, leading a life that could be described as smooth sailing.

However, even I have a few worries.

First is my second wife, Hilda.

She constantly demands that I make her eldest son the heir to the Duke family.

No way!

This is not because he is the child of the second wife.

There are countless examples of children of second wives or those with lower succession rights inheriting noble territories.

Tradition is important, and as a noble, I understand that much.

However, I also know that being too fixated on it is not good.

If Rain were a fool, it might have been a different story.

But that’s not the case.

He is the real deal.

At first, I cannot deny that I found him unsettling.

But after reading books with a high degree of credibility about heroes and their stories, I realized that the line between genius and eccentricity is very thin.

Even the most famous hero, Glorious Noa, took actions that are incomprehensible to ordinary people, such as taking an assassin as a concubine.

When I asked His Majesty the Emperor about geniuses, he revealed that even Princess Almeria, who is known for her picky eating, has abnormal behaviors that are not widely known.

Compared to that, the eccentricities of a genius like Rain are not that significant.

He is far more intelligent than ordinary people and just a bit more cautious.

He is not good at socializing, but my love is not so fragile that I would dislike him for that.

Indeed, his inability to use magic is a significant drawback.

But I cannot keep worrying about it forever.

Speed is not a particularly useful ability for a noble.

But with his exceptional intellect and character, it is more than enough.

Rain is cautious but not a recluse.

He is willing to go out and broaden his horizons, which is a commendable attitude.

Then it is fine.

Then there is no problem with him inheriting the Duke family.

There are plenty of opportunities to change his cautious nature in the future.

In comparison, Prowse is...

His talent is below average, and his magical talent is not something to boast about.

His skills are also not particularly rare.

This is probably due to his mother.

He never takes the initiative to learn anything.

His tendency to make decisions based on personal bias is already evident at his age.

This is not acceptable.

As a noble with the largest territory in the country and one who engages in trade with other countries, such a mindset is not appropriate.

It would destroy the relationship between the Duke family and the people that has been passed down through generations.

I do not mean to speak ill of him.

But if I state the facts as they are, it inevitably comes to this.

Rain has already mastered the skills of managing the territory and improving farmland at his age, and he has been conducting experiments on borrowed land from me.

While it is still too early to say, according to him, things are going well.

The initiative he has shown since the age of five is rare even on this continent.

I am sorry to the other younger brothers, but it is impossible for anyone other than Rain to inherit this territory.

I will protect him from plots and schemes.

When he is a bit older, I will teach him how to bring down nobles and how to avoid being brought down.

He is a bit careless, so he needs to improve on that.

Then, after visiting the capital and meeting with His Majesty, the time came for him to meet his betrothed, the princess.

The marriage was decided before he was born.

When I told him about the betrothal, he made a very unpleasant face, but I could only tell him to accept it.

He needs to learn to control his facial expressions when something unpleasant happens.

At the party, the princess, who did not know Rain, came straight to him (despite some interference) and greeted him.

I also went to the princess to discuss matters.

When Rain heard that the princess was his betrothed, he was in a daze.

His face was unclear, whether he was unhappy or happy.

(He must be happy, he must be happy. Yes, I've decided! He is happy.)

Since there is nothing we can do about it now, I decided to proceed as if he was happy.

The discussion was brief, but it seemed that he was quite well-liked.

After finishing our business, I called Rain, and it seemed that things did not go well.

He seemed to be hiding something, but it seemed to end on a good note, so I will check later.

The next afternoon, it was reported that the second princess, Rain's betrothed, had been kidnapped.

I immediately gathered my troops and began a full-scale search.

The information we received suggested that the kidnappers were beastmen who were demanding the abolition of discrimination using the princess.

I informed only the nobles and the royal family to prevent the information from leaking to the general troops.

There is a risk that all the beastmen in the country could rise up if the kidnapping is successful.

A civil war at this time would be disastrous.

After searching for a while, I returned home and found Skuna there.

She was talking to Sophie, and they noticed me.

Upon hearing the story, it turned out that Rain had defeated four thieves and found the princess's location.

Sophie asked me to return immediately if I met him, but I could not do that.

As a noble, I could not miss this golden opportunity to solidify the relationship between Rain and the princess.

At first, I thought that just following him would have some meaning, but we managed to reach the warehouse where the princess was held without any scouts.

It was ominous, but it seemed that they did not have information about our approach.

I could not believe that their reconnaissance was that poor.

So, it must have been the Skuna group that was a bit further away.

We need to have a serious talk later.

Then, we planned to raid the warehouse and try to minimize casualties on our side.

I wanted to avoid a direct confrontation with the beastmen, who have strong physical abilities.

If we surrounded them, they might charge recklessly.

If they took advantage of the chaos to escape with the princess, it would be all for nothing.

The only option was to wait for reinforcements... I glanced at Rain.

Rain had a troubled look and started muttering something about blinding the enemy and how to breach the area.

He quickly came up with a plan: he would jump into the enemy commander's arms and detonate a flash grenade he brought from home, and at the same time, we would breach the area. He would use earth magic to collapse a wall to create an escape route for himself.

I thought it was dangerous, but I felt a baseless confidence that he could do it. When we executed the plan, it worked surprisingly well.

The coordination was sloppy, but with my direct knights in the front, the guards easily overpowered the blinded and panicked thieves.

Later, I learned that the enemy commander had fainted, causing the command structure to collapse.

As for Rain, he was hugging the princess in a corner.

(Yes! This solidifies Rain's position as the heir to the Duke family!)

I nodded to myself and went to fulfill my duties as a noble.

The capital's knights soon arrived, and the princess returned. I decided to send Rain back with a knight as his escort.

When I returned, I noticed that Sophie was waiting, and I instructed the knights to bring him back even if they had to restrain him.

But I am sure Rain can easily escape.

After reporting to His Majesty the Emperor, I was finally able to return home.

Just then, a report came in:

"Lord Rain suddenly screamed, spat blood, and collapsed!"