At night, the bruise I received from Ranista became worse. The affected area heated up red, and then the blood vessels swelled up enough to puff me up.
What’s wrong with me?
My body was turning red and chubby, like a tomato. Even when I tried to get up, my body would stiffen as if something was pressing on me and wouldn’t let me move.
Ranista, you jerk!
I recalled that Ranista was from Murim. They possessed techniques that can cause a person to explode and die a few hours later.
As soon as I thought I was dying, I shouted urgently. I have to let the ferocious Ranista know what he did.
“Uh…Uh!”
However, no voice could come out of my mouth. No matter how hard I tried, only moans came out.
My heart skipped a beat.
Did Ranista do this knowingly?
He used a trick so that my voice wouldn’t come out!
My mind became more chaotic as the wound swelled up more.
I’ve never suffered such a bizarre and terrible happening in my past life.
My swollen skin began to spit out red and black essence.
The smell was more disgusting than that of some rotten tomatoes.
“Uhh…. Uhh.”
Even if I shouted with all my might, my voice wouldn’t come out as I wanted.
The wound in my lower abdomen soon swelled more than in my head.
My body is getting stiff. I felt sick and tired.
Will I die like rotten tomatoes?
What a terrible end!
The red and black liquid pouring out looked painful to anyone, but strangely, I wasn’t feeling anything.
I couldn’t feel the pain at all. If it was painful, I would have lost my mind. This may be the consideration of the Ranista. Is he telling me to at least die painlessly, if I die?
A subtle light now leaked from the wound that had been pouring smelly liquid for a long time.
Did I already die? Was this the light of heaven?
I stared blankly at the subtle light. Many thoughts crossed my mind, and I was even recalling the memories of my past life.
Crap, there are only three people who influenced me the most in my past and present lives.
“His past parents raised him wrong. I’m sure something went wrong with his home education.”
At this time I cursed at Ranista’s unknown parents from his past life.
After some time, my lower abdomen felt better. However, it didn’t last long.
“Argh!”
For the first time in history, the most terrible pain I felt in my both past and present life was the pain from my abdomen.
* * *
The warm sun tickled my eyes. When I came to my senses, I slowly opened my eyes.
I didn’t die, fortunately.
“Ehem, ehem.”
My voice is coming out, too. My body moved, too.
I bowed my head carefully and looked down at my abdomen.
It was as if what happened last night was just a nightmare, the wound had disappeared neatly. But it was not a nightmare at all. The smell of the dark red discharge that stained my bedcloths, proved that what happened last night was reality.
I touched the liquid with my finger. It was slippery like oil and steeper than sugar syrup.
Ugh, this disgusting odor is so terrible.
How could something terrible like this come out of my body?
Ring! Ring! Ring!
The bell rang three times. It means that the morning has begun. Before Michelle arrived at the medical center, I hurriedly changed the wet bedcloth and blankets.
If I did this, it will be easier to explain it as the youngest son of Duke Reinberg drew a map with urine at the age of 14.
I quickly left the medical center to avoid troublesome things. I could ask Girlie to take care of the blanket.
“What did he do?”
Running down the hallway didn’t let me feel tired at all. Not like yesterday, when just 5 minutes of run made me feel somewhat tired.
I feel refreshed, too.
I even felt uncomfortable running because my pants were slightly tighter.
It was clear that Ranista did something to my body, a strange physical condition.
The heavy blanket felt light like a handkerchief. It is clear that the strange situation I experienced last night affected me, but the reason was unknown.
I climbed the high stairs four times from the medical center to my room, but I wasn’t out of breath at all.
* * *
Since the day I became a rotten tomato, I have been training at the training ground every morning.
Ranista had not yet come back from the Bemonia city near Quilz Castle.
At the age of 14, he is already working for the family. It was fortunate that he often left home.
“Young master, are you okay?”
“If you’re having a hard time, please let me know.”
To the knights, I was the fragile youngest young master.
Compared to my monster-like first brother, they felt the need to protect me.
Still, training was a fitness exercise. I stood side by side with the knights and ran around the outskirts of Quilz Castle together with the knights.
Knights patrolled Quilz Castle every morning for security and physical training, and the distance they ran was over 40km.
From the training ground, the knights usually passed through Quilz Castle and the Red Forest. They had to run for decades without a break to the guard post. I admire them for doing this every day.
Even when I was in the villa on the southern island, I steadily trained my basic physical strength.
It’s not comparable to the knights receiving combat training, but I have my own confidence in physical strength.
It is break time when knights receive reports from the squad monitoring the Ain people at the guard post. After that, I looked around the streets of the common people, around the outskirts, and then returned to Quilz Castle.
It’s like running a marathon every morning. Basically, people here are very strong, unlike the Earthlings. I heard that this much physical training is basic even among apprentice knights.
Three hours had passed when I returned to the training grounds.
The knights were exhausted, too. After lunch, I will go back to training in the afternoon.
“See, no need to worry about me. That much of run is easy.”
They were embarrassed and stopped pretending to be worried about me, but they were forced to follow me. The youngest young master wants to run, but he can’t be left out alone.
I ran nonstop this time. While running, I also ran with all my might.
When I came back after another round, the knights were exhausted. When I told them to rest, they lay flat and gasped. Their breathing was also organized by inhaling deeply and exhaling.
I didn’t sweat well, and my legs didn’t hurt. If this was before, even if I continue to train my physical strength, I am no match for the physical strength of the knights. If I were to run for an hour, I would have been exhausted and fallen.
“What did you do to my body?”
I am not yet tired.
After one night I became stronger.
I remembered what Ranista said. Is this what is meant by engraving it on my body?
He’s not some kind of physical therapist, but he punched me a few times and fixed myself.
I shrugged while looking at the sweaty knights.
Maybe being hit was not bad after all.
* * *
Today is the day when I am alone with my father.
My father called me to Ducal Hall, not his study or reception room.
He was a Duke of the Empire, the blue pillar, and a war hero, and Ducal Hall is the most secret and mysterious place in Quilz Castle, where only a small number of people which he allowed can enter.
This means that he didn’t call me just to say hello.
“I have a bad feeling about this.”
From the beginning, it would have been nice if my father wasn’t so talented. Four years ago, after my Heavenly Sky Eye activated, I unexpectedly received my father’s attention. He still thinks I’m a genius to this day because of that.
My father was more affectionate than those heartless fathers of other noble families, but he was not easily swayed. If he thought I was a useless child, he would have let me stay at the southern island villa.
“Follow the light, young master.”
Under the guidance of a maid, I finally arrived at the Ducal Hall.
The maid, who manages all the chores in Quilz Castle, was also not allowed to enter the Ducal Hall.
I walked alone in the hallway of the Ducal Hall.
The deeper I went into Ducal Hall, the more the atmosphere changed. The antique interior of Quilz Castle, gradually became a forest path covered with tree roots and flowers.
The landscape of the forest unfolded that even the hallway I was walking earlier disappeared.
I heard that the space itself changed under the influence of a Spirit’s power. It is like a dense forest created inside Quilz Castle. As the maid said, I followed the subtle light of the plant’s roots.
“That’s an amazing power.”
After walking in the forest for a long time, I was finally able to meet my father at the end of the road.
A legend who deals with the Spirits.
The blue pillar of the empire, the hero of the Great War.
A strong man who everyone in the empire respects and has a commanding reputation beyond the lands to other continents.
Libera Quilz Reinberg. He was attached to the branches of a giant tree rooted in the Ducal Hall like a cicada. With his eyes gently closed and a happy expression.
“What are you doing?” I asked, looking at my strange father.
My father replied with a smile.
“I’m communicating with the Spririts. Wait a minute, I’ll be done soon.”
Contrary to his image among the people, he is actually a weirdo.
* * *
When referring to Libera Quilz Rainberg, he is nicknamed as the continent’s No. 1 pitiful husband, except that he was a War Hero and a Duke of the Empire, my father was also famous for his marriage beyond his status. He was the only man in the entire history to have married a royal princess while possessing the status of a commoner in the Empire.
Of course, several factions supported him for fear, but the majority were still having doubts about him. However, my father shouted at the nobles who protested, “I didn’t love her because she was a royal princess, but the one I loved was a royal princess.”
Anyway, he is such a great person. He became a duke even though he was born a commoner and a war hero who overpowered the Empire’s army at a young age. He is a contributor to the founding of the Empire, which had already collapsed, and has maintained a peace decades later.
“Come here.”
When my father, who came down from the tree, waved his hand, the roots of the tree moved by themselves and turned into a chair. Two chairs were created immediately, when my father sat down, I sat on the opposite chair.
“I heard you were doing well.”
How am I doing well?
“The maid didn’t tell you that I was beaten by Ranista?”
“Ha ha, brothers grow up fighting each other.”
I had a lot to say, but I kept my mouth shut. Father is not someone I can reason with.
My father treated me kindly. He tried to be considerate of me by asking if I was feeling uncomfortable anywhere or if there was anything I wanted. However, encouragement was not the point. My father asked me secretly.
“What about your communication with the Spirits?”
Spirit is a mysterious power also called the beast of transcendence.
It was a special and powerful force that existed only in this world, which was different from the bizarre forces from my past life.
My father saved the empire with the power of Spirit.
Spirit Power was sometimes seen as magic, force, army, and disaster.
The tough rope that tied me was also the power of Spirit.
As it was a special power, other Spirit practitioners were very rare. And it was said that no one who reached a level as great as his father in the history of the continent.
But funny enough, my father considered me a genius that would succeed him.
The reason was simple.
When I decided to go down to the villa to avoid my other twins after the Heavenly Sky Eye activated, I followed my father into Ducal Hall for the first time.
The existence of Spirits was so rare that I only knew my father as the strongest Spirit user.
That’s why I said to him innocently, “Father, I see a lot of bizarre beasts.”
However, I found out later, that the stronger the Spirit power a person possesses, the more difficult it is to sense the Spirit of other people. But that day, I saw all my father’s spirits at once.
I didn’t need to feel them, because I literally saw them.
Because of my ability also called the Eyes of God.
Heavenly Sky Eye.
That day, I witnessed my father falling backward. He was more surprised than the “Artemis’ritual” incident.
