Chapter 23: Visiting the Duke's House (1)

The duchess's carriage left, and a few days later, my sister Elena also left the mansion.

I also received training from Miguel.

It was the same life as before.

The people who whispered about me remained unchanged, and the two brothers who tried to ignore me were the same.

However, Miguel spoke differently when he saw me.

"Are you learning from another knight besides me? There's no way your skills could suddenly improve like this..."

"Ugh, it's not just that I'm a genius; my understanding of the sword has clearly changed."

I was frustrated because my body, which had become young again, wouldn't move as I wished, but Miguel saw it differently.

After all, my body had returned to when I was six, but the training and combat experience I had until I was ten were still firmly in my mind.

If everything was the same, there would be no point in coming back.

Perhaps because of that, I grew much faster than before.

The time it took to understand swordsmanship decreased, and since I only needed to strengthen my body, I could surpass my past growth in no time.

Unlike before, the captain of the knights also showed his face, and the duke seemed to pay more attention to me.

There were rumors that I might be a genius in swordsmanship, not just in academics, but I didn't care about such talk.

There were many things I needed to investigate and prepare for besides training.

In my previous life, I had been too focused on learning the sword and neglected the surrounding political situation.

Objectively, a child under ten shouldn't have been concerned with such matters, but because of that, I ended up dying. It wasn't the time to worry about what others thought.

First, I went to the study and looked through all the books on the kingdom's history.

Most of them were books I had read before.

There was nothing new in them. They were just filled with praise for the hero who founded the kingdom and the royal family that inherited his blood.

Moreover, they didn't mention the current situation of the kingdom, which I wanted to know.

"There's no newspaper or broadcast here, so I have to ask people..."

"The current situation of the kingdom?"

Miguel's answer was much more dire than I expected.

"There's the king, his two sons, and one daughter. There are also the duke and other nobles."

Well, I knew that much.

"I'm a knight. Knowing that much is enough. More importantly, it's training time. Please focus on the training."

I sighed at Miguel's words.

"......I can tell you the basics, but it won't be much help."

I heard a few more things, but the butler wasn't much help either.

Fortunately, I could get more detailed information from the scribe.

"This is... You mustn't say I told you."

"Don't worry. You know I can keep a secret."

The scribe nodded at my words.

It was worth all the favors I had done for him.

"Our kingdom's nobility can be divided into two major groups, or more precisely, three groups."

He lowered his voice and continued.

"The royalists, who support the king, and the nobles, who want to protect the rights of the nobility and their territories. Recently, the royalists have split into the supporters of the first prince and the second prince."

"Is it because of the king's age?"

"Yes."

The scribe nodded, satisfied with my answer.

"There's also the princess."

"Eventually, she will marry a high-ranking noble or go to another country."

This made me realize how close to the medieval era this world was.

"The Grecia duchy supports the first prince, right?"

"Oh, yes. Why do you think so?"

I knew from before I died, but I couldn't say that.

"Since we are part of the royal family, we are likely to be royalists. The first prince has the legitimate claim, so we support him."

The duke, a staunch noble, wouldn't support anyone else.

"You know a lot. The Grecia duchy supports the first prince. However, the king is still in good health, and the princes are just beginning to come of age, so the situation isn't that divided yet."

That would change in four years, when the Grecia duchy and the Iero marquessate would need to form an alliance through marriage.

But by then, the nobles would also be aligning themselves with both princes.

"Is there a leader of the nobles?"

"Yes. Julian de Carlos, the current king's brother."

Wow, what a mess.

"He's a remarkable person. After all, he practically built the duchy himself."

He seemed to be a popular noble. The scribe, who had been indifferent when talking about the princes, now showed deep respect.

In any case, there were two princes vying for the throne and an uncle who had gathered the nobles to form a power bloc.

In the end, there were three people vying for the throne.

Then, who were the people who killed Adria?

"Which side is the Raphalma count on?"

Raphalma count, the noble who served the person who killed me.

"Raphalma count is a bit ambiguous... Some say he supports the second prince with the Iero marquess, but he is closer to the nobles."

I looked at the scribe again. Was he really like this?

"You really know a lot."

"Hehe, to teach a genius, you have to know a lot."

Being six again, I continued to be known as a genius in my studies.

But more than that, the scribe knew a lot about the kingdom's political situation.

He was a regular scribe who handled the estate's affairs besides teaching me.

For him to know so much about the kingdom's political situation, did he have some ambition in his heart?

I kept a close eye on the young scribe and deeply remembered our conversation.

Even after getting the political situation from the scribe, I continued to ask people.

I asked knowledgeable people about the kingdom's political situation and ordinary people about the estate.

One day, while asking questions and wandering around, I met Manuel in the hallway.

He was a kid who usually tried to avoid me, but today we met right in the middle.

Seeing the 12-year-old Manuel and then the 8-year-old Manuel made me laugh.

His sneering face was so funny and cute.

"You're going around asking strange questions, right? Be careful. Your mother didn't look happy when she heard about it. Don't get too cocky just because you're being pampered lately."

Ah!

Manuel said it with a sneer, but I was suddenly alert.

I was wrong. I had been too active in asking questions.

By going around asking about the kingdom's political situation, I was bound to be misunderstood.

Especially if the duke or the duchess, Manuel's mother, heard about it, they might suspect that I was vying for Simon's position.

Now was not the time for such misunderstandings. I had died several times due to similar misunderstandings and had no intention of going through that again.

"Thanks, bro! I'll be careful. I'll make sure not to talk too much. Really, thanks for telling me!"

"Y-Yeah, yeah, I get it."

Manuel made a face as if this wasn't what he wanted and ran away.

Since I had gathered enough information, it was time to be more cautious.

I continued my training and started a new investigation.

It was about the emblem I saw at the Mayorka fortress and in the underground tomb.

I searched the study for the emblem and started asking scribes and people about the emblem and the fortress. Soon, the rumor that I was vying for Simon's position subsided.

People started to see my wide-ranging interests as those of a genius. As a result, rumors spread that I was a temperamental genius, but I could tolerate that.

I heard many interesting legends about the Mayorka fortress, but unfortunately, no one recognized the emblem.

I even checked the emblems used by the heroes, but they weren't in the books I had.

I spent my days, not much different from my past life, always keeping my ears open.

Three years passed.

Finally, I could match Miguel in a tense duel.

"Ugh! This is impossible!"

Miguel gritted his teeth. His arm was swollen, and his face was red.

I couldn't respond.

If I opened my mouth, the mana connected to the ground would surely scatter.

Our swords were locked, not moving an inch.

"How can you not be pushed back? There's such a big difference in weight!"

I understood his frustration.

There was a clear height difference, and my weight was three times less than his, yet I was holding back his sword.

It was thanks to the new mana usage technique I had learned, but since I hadn't revealed my secret, it was natural for him to be upset.

"Let's stop."

He stepped back.

"How did you do that?"

"It's a technique."

"Ha, a technique... Then I can't teach you anymore. Your skills are on par with mine, and you're using techniques I don't know. It's too much for me to be your instructor."

Oh, that was a direct attack.

That would be a problem. If my sparring partner ran away, it would be a big issue.

Where would I find such a good sparring partner?

"It's just a duel without using mana. You still need to learn how to obtain mana and the mana cultivation techniques."

I had already obtained mana and was confident I could hold my own in a mana duel, but since Miguel didn't know, it was fine.

"That's true. Still, if you're a prince, you'll quickly learn and soon surpass me in a mana duel."

It worked again. He was indeed a good sparring partner.

"Anyway, that's enough for today's training. I have to go to the knight assembly."

"What's going on?"

"In a few days, the captain of the knights and Prince Simon are going to the Iero marquessate. They called a meeting to select who will go and adjust the duties."

This was it.

Finally, the event I had been waiting for began.

After returning to the mansion with Miguel, I requested an audience with the duke.

"Come in."

Perhaps because of my improved skills, I didn't have to wait this time.

As I entered, the duke put down his pen and looked at me.

"What is it?"

The treatment seemed a bit different, but his cold expression remained unchanged.

Since I didn't expect anything, I wasn't disappointed.

"I would like to join the group going to the Iero marquessate. I will secretly protect Simon."

It seemed to be an unexpected request. The duke's expression changed slightly.

"Hmm. It's a useful idea..."

As expected, the duke accepted it positively. It was worth the effort to improve and show off my skills.

"Why did you suddenly think of this?"

"I've only seen the world through books. Now, I want to go out and experience the world."

Ugh, it gave me goosebumps.

It was a chilling line that a dreamy young boy, confined to the mansion, might shout.

"...Is that so? You're nine years old, right?"

The duke, who had been expressionless, looked at me with a defeated expression.

Damn, I felt even more embarrassed.

"Whatever the reason, it's a good idea. I'll allow it."

Yes. It was worth the effort.

The duke was indeed a cold and rational... trash noble.

"By the way, did you tell Amanda?"

"Ah..."

"Since you asked, you should tell your mother yourself."

It was over. I could imagine my mother crying.

The duke's lips seemed to curl up slightly as he looked at me.