The Hero Becomes the Duke’s Eldest Son

Chapter 157

“……”

When Aden silently stared at Kelid while standing in place, Kelid felt puzzled.

“……Is something bothering you? Ah, if it’s because of this mask, I’m sorry, but I can’t take it off due to certain circumstances.”

“No, it’s nothing. I was just lost in thought for a moment.”

“That’s a relief then.”

Aden, who had returned to his usual calm demeanor, shook his head.

Then, he casually sat in the chair by the table, resting his chin on his hand as he spoke.

“You’re more polite than I expected. For someone who’s the head of an organization, I thought you’d show a bit more pride.”

“One must show pride only when the opponent warrants it to live longer, Young Master Remes.”

“You know who I am.”

“Anyone who uses a blue aura blade at your age can’t go unnoticed.”

Kelid said.

“It’s difficult to act recklessly against the youngest Master who defeated the High Troll Shaman in the South and the Winter Queen in the North. Would you like a cup of tea?”

“Sure, whatever.”

Kelid had his subordinate serve black tea, and Aden quietly watched, as if he was hunting prey.

‘That mask, it’s a magical tool that conceals identity and alters voice through a special magic pattern.’

As long as he wore that mask, it was difficult to gauge his level.

Kelid’s voice was quite calm and polite, yet it didn’t seem servile at all.

‘He’s not afraid of me.’

Usually, people in the underworld were strong against the weak and weak against the strong.

That’s how they survive better.

However, despite being certain that Aden was a Sword Master, Kelid remained composed and polite without being intimidated.

Through this brief conversation, Aden could tell that Kelid was no ordinary person.

Aden took a sip of the tea Kelid personally poured.

At least, it didn’t seem to contain any poison.

“If you don’t mind, shall we get to the point? What brings you and the Saint of the Sacred Fire Order to my humble guild?”

“Well, when an outsider visits a local thief guild, there’s usually one reason. You know what it is?”

“Are you here to purchase information?”

“Yeah, but I changed my mind after seeing you.”

He set down the empty teacup.

While speaking, Aden glanced around.

One on the ceiling, three on the walls, one more on the floor…

“What do you mean by that…?”

“Hey, let me ask you something.”

Aden glared at the masked figure and asked.

“Why do you reek of killing intent as if you desperately want to kill me?”

“…….”

The mouth behind the mask remained silent.

That’s right.

Kelid pretended to be calm and composed, but Aden had detected the killing intent he couldn’t completely hide.

It was palpable even without using his enhanced vision.

In the fragile silence that seemed about to break, Aden leisurely grabbed the teapot and calmly looked at him.

“To my knowledge, I don’t recall ever offending the Saint of the Sacred Fire Order.”

At that moment.

The assassins hidden in the ceiling, walls, and floor simultaneously attacked Aden.

* * *

There were generally two situations where a weaker person could kill a martial artist of a superhuman level.

The first was in a large-scale battle, striking a momentary gap while the opponent was using an aura blade.

When an aura is highly concentrated and focused in one place, the passive aura weakens, allowing even regular soldiers to have a slim chance of killing a Master.

And the second method was assassination.

Before the target could notice, an assassin using at least a minimal level of sword aura would surprise attack and pierce through the passive aura to strike a vital point.

The assassins ambushing Aden were all using mid to high-level aura.

‘In that sense, this isn’t really an assassination, since I’ve already noticed them.’

As the assassins aimed for Aden’s heart, he swung the teapot in his hand, splashing hot tea on the nearest one.

With a hissing sound, the assassin drenched in steaming liquid let out a “Krrk!” sound as Aden struck his head with the teapot, causing a concussion.
Taking advantage of the moment when the stunned assassin couldn’t gather himself, Aden grabbed his arm and waist and threw him at the two assassins targeting his back, causing all three to tumble.

Then, avoiding the weapon thrown by the assassin attacking from the ceiling, Aden snatched the dagger from the first assassin and hurled it.

With a “Krrk,” the assassin on the ceiling, hit in the chest by the dagger, fell to the floor.

After dealing with one assassin, Aden threw Andromalius and a spare dagger at the two who were trying to get up, completely taking them down.

Then he drew Baalzebul and thrust it into the floor.

Thud! Blood spurted from the floor.

It was the blood of the last, fifth assassin, who had been hiding beneath the floor, planning a secondary ambush.

Crash!

Kelid kicked the table and stood up.

The wooden table flipped in the air, blocking the view between Kelid and Aden.

Shiiiing!

A sharp streak of white light split the wooden table in half and aimed at Aden.

Aden blocked the white light with Baalzebul, covered in an aura blade, in a cross shape.

Screech!

The white light, split by Aden’s sword, sliced through the wall behind.

A sharp cut was engraved in the wooden wall.

The table, split in half, slowly fell apart.

Kelid, who revealed himself through the gap, held a sword enveloped in white light and swung it at Aden’s neck.

Kaang!
With a strong friction sound, Aden’s Baalzebul and Kelid’s sword clashed.
As Aden’s aura blade and the white energy of Kelid’s sword fiercely collided, the recoil forced both of them to be pushed back.

Piles of documents, broken wooden pieces, and dust flew around, temporarily blocking Kelid’s view.

‘Gone…?’

As the dust settled halfway, Kelid realized Aden wasn’t in front of him and paused.

“You’ve got quite the temper. Like a bomb that explodes if touched.”

“……!”

From behind Kelid, Aden’s low voice could be heard.

She quickly turned, trying to swing the white-glowing sword, but she was a step too late.

Aden’s fist plunged into Kelid’s abdomen.

As she gasped in pain, Aden struck her wrist with the edge of his hand, making her drop the sword, and pushed her down, making her fall.

Then, he mounted her, pinning her arms with his right hand, pressing hard enough to almost break her wrist.

Crack, her arm bone dislocated with a sound.

“Krk!”

Despite the pain, Kelid struggled to free herself from Aden’s grip.

She stopped moving only when Aden aimed the sword he had taken from her at her neck.

The sword, aimed at her neck, had a sharp aura blade, ready to slit her throat at any moment.

“Stay still for a moment.”

“Krk, shut up!”

“Damn it. You really don’t listen.”
The polite tone was gone, replaced by a domineering one.

Aden, switching his grip from holding her with his right hand to the sword in his left, removed her mask.

“It seems like there’s been a ridiculous misunderstanding.”

As the mask came off, Kelid’s bare face was revealed.

Her delicate and refined features, along with her captivating silver-gray eyes, were impressive.

Kelid was not a man, but a young woman who seemed to have just reached adulthood.

Aden confirmed this once again by using his Fiery Eyes to observe Kelid.

– Activating ‘Fiery Eyes.’
– Fiery Eyes proficiency has increased. Information about opponents lower than the user can be viewed.

Aden’s proficiency with Fiery Eyes had increased after discovering the hidden holy relic in the Western Great Temple.

As a result, Fiery Eyes read and revealed some of Kelid’s information to Aden.

[Name: Lilianas Ternia]
Age: 19
Characteristics: Upright, Holy Eyes, Daughter of the Holy King, Ruler of the Underworld, Bearer of the Divine Mark, Saint Master, Royal Genius…

Princess Lilianas Ternia.

The only child of the Holy King and the next Holy King.

That was the true identity of the unknown master, Kelid.

* * *

Aden had thought that the leader of the Nameless Guild, Kelid, was likely a warlock or someone associated with them.

But once the truth was revealed, she turned out to be the daughter of the Holy King, the Princess of Ternia.

‘The reckless daughter of the Holy King, Lilianas.’

Known for avoiding her teachers’ lectures.

She was infamous for drinking every day, indulging in luxury, and causing trouble— the incompetent troublemaker daughter of the Holy King.

But the information revealed by the Fiery Eyes was completely different.

‘Not only is she the master of the Nameless Thieves Guild, but also a Saint Master… This is ridiculous.’

Priests and holy knights of the Holy Sect used white holy power.

When holy knights trained the use of holy power to the extreme, the level they reached was called ‘Saint Master.’

Princess Lilianas, being of royal blood, might have had some advantage, but reaching that level at nineteen was a testament to her genius.

The other descriptions also did not match the image of the notorious troublemaker of the royal family.

This indicated that she had thoroughly hidden her abilities.

Aden had many questions he wanted to ask, but the atmosphere was not right for it.

Lilianas was glaring at him with a look of extreme hatred, as if she wouldn’t be satisfied until she tore him apart.

The Fiery Eyes also read some of her thoughts.

– Current psychological state: Desires to kill the master corrupted by darkness in front of her.

…Hmm.

That was right.

She was currently under a huge misunderstanding.

Princess Lilianas shouted.

“You wretch corrupted by darkness, the God of Righteousness and Law will never forgive you!”

…He had come to capture a warlock, only to be mistaken for a corrupted person.

“Let’s start by clearing up this misunderstanding. Why did you attack me, mistaking me for a corrupted person?”

“Silence! How dare you continue your deceit!”

At Aden’s question, she gritted her teeth.

“How dare you lie when my Holy Eyes see the deep darkness within you? You truly are a corrupted being!”

At the mention of ‘Holy Eyes,’ Aden roughly grasped the situation.

The holy relic of the royal family, the Holy Eyes.

The God of Righteousness and Law chose the next saint from the royal bloodline, granting them the special eyes called Holy Eyes.

The ability of the Holy Eyes was to vaguely sense the moral and spiritual state of the opponent.

It was a lesser version of Aden’s Fiery Eyes.

She shuddered as she looked at Aden with disgust.

“To be so deeply enveloped in darkness…! You are undoubtedly an evil person destined to plunge the world into chaos! Are you an assassin sent by the gambling den lord? Even if you kill me and thwart the great cause, even if you take over this country, your soul will ultimately fall into hell!”

Kelid— no, Princess Lilianas cursed him with unwavering eyes, as if she didn’t want to leave any lingering regret before her death.

Aden furrowed his brows in exasperation.

‘Deep darkness… Could it be because of the Curse?’

The Curse was a fragment of the soul of the Underlord, the ruler of the underground world.

If she saw the presence of the Curse within him, it explained a lot.

– Or maybe it’s just your rotten personality making you look so dark, Dragon Slayer.

‘Holy Potion.’

– Your guess is as remarkable as always. Your situation analysis is indeed impressive. But how do you plan to clear her misunderstanding?

‘By changing the subject.’

However, as the Curse’s comment had some validity, Aden furrowed his brows in contemplation.

It was impractical to keep a Saint Master like her captured.

He was pondering how to clear this misunderstanding when it happened.

“Lilith, he is not corrupted by darkness.”

“……!”

Aden flinched at the sudden presence and turned around.

There stood a person wearing a mask and robe similar to Lilianas.

Aden’s expression hardened immediately.

‘I couldn’t sense them.’

He felt nothing.

The person had approached right in front of him without him noticing.

Even his superhuman senses had been deceived by this unknown individual.

– Activating ‘Fiery Eyes.’

Aden felt threatened and activated his Fiery Eyes.

But.

– Warning! The opponent’s soul level is extraordinarily high!

– Failed to access information!

Cold sweat broke out naturally.

An unidentified person whose details couldn’t be read even with Fiery Eyes.

Whether it was a man or a woman, the person chuckled at Aden’s expression and said,

“He is actually your only lifeline and opportunity to save you.”