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Chapter 7.1: The Unfilial Sons Part 1

The black-haired boy said so and left the Duke\'s office.

Thud. The door closed with a heavy sound,

leaving only a faint silence to fill the space.

Steiner, left alone in the room, stared blankly at the spot where his son had been standing.

Contrary to the quiet atmosphere of the Duke\'s office, his mind was filled with noisy thoughts.

The cause was, of course, his son, Raiden, who had just been talking to him.

"......"

Just a few words.

Questions about what he had been doing during his six-month disappearance and whether he would continue attending the academy.

And his responses.

It was a conversation that didn\'t even exceed twenty words.

However, Steiner could clearly feel it.

\'It\'s gone.\'

The venom that had been lingering in his son\'s eyes had disappeared.

This small change had significant implications.

Steiner slowly replayed the way Raiden had just acted.

His polite yet firm tone.

His expression, not smiling but not annoyed either.

An atmosphere that felt strangely nostalgic.

Steiner felt his chest tighten with emotion.

It was a sight he hadn\'t seen since that day, the day his wife, Philippa, died.

"......Ha."

What had happened?

What had transpired?

Had he gone on a journey to clear his mind during his six-month disappearance?

It was a plausible hypothesis.

If he had traveled across the continent to a distant land for training,

it would explain why the Duke\'s family couldn\'t find him and why his venom seemed to have subsided.

"Are you alright now, Raiden?"

Steiner muttered those words with a glimmer of hope, but he soon let out a heavy sigh and shook his head.

No way.

That couldn\'t be it.

The wound his son carried was too deep.

Steiner scoffed at himself.

-Dad... Brother\'s been acting strange lately. He\'s been saying mean things to the servants and being cold to me...

-I see. Let\'s talk to him when I get back from the expedition.

-When will you be back this time...? You just came back yesterday after being gone for half a month. And you\'re leaving again today...?

-......Ariel.

-Can\'t you just stay with brother? He\'s really strange these days... What if something happens to him...

-I\'m sorry, Ariel. It\'s all for you. And for your mother and the Empire.

While his son was suffering from loss and emptiness, he, who hadn\'t been there for him, using the Empire and the family as an excuse,

what right did he have to wish for his son\'s peace?

Steiner leaned back in his chair and groaned.

"......I\'ll have to watch him."

He couldn\'t be sure yet.

Whether his son had overcome his past, or whether he was so broken that he could no longer feel pain.

Just because his eyes had softened, it didn\'t guarantee that he wouldn\'t act like a delinquent again, nor did it guarantee that his wounds had completely healed.

It was absurd to judge based on such a short conversation.

I\'ll watch him.

Steiner muttered those words.

Raiden had said he would leave for the academy as soon as he was ready, so he would probably arrive in about four days.

He had connections at the academy, so he could hear news through them.

Steiner organized his chaotic thoughts and clenched his hand over his lips.

It might be premature to think this way, but if...

If Raiden had truly returned to his former self, he was ready to cast aside his mask of a stoic father and embrace him with tears of joy.

"......I pray for your peace."

Steiner closed his eyes gently, whispering those words.

***

A grand carriage, boasting its splendor.

Black and red harmonized beautifully in its design, and various jewels formed the Lishite family crest, stretching across its surface.

Riding inside this extravagant, seemingly uneconomical luxury was a black-haired boy.

And...

-Snore... Mmm...

Beside him, a brown-haired maid was sleeping peacefully, neglecting her duties.

The girl, leaning her head against the window and mumbling in her sleep, looked not only confident but almost shameless.

What the...? Just a few minutes ago...

-Young Master, trust me! I\'ll take good care of you!!

Was falling asleep right after getting into the carriage also part of her duties?

Was there some kind of etiquette I didn\'t know about?

I stared at the girl\'s face, pondering these trivial thoughts.

\'......By the way, won\'t her neck hurt if she sleeps like that?\'

I carefully reached out.

And gently pulled her closer, resting her head on my lap.

The so-called \'lap pillow\'...

"......"

Well, how should I put it...

It\'s a bit embarrassing.

It seemed quite natural in Raiden\'s memories.

Well, it\'s the warmth of another person, something I haven\'t felt in a long time.

It\'s natural to feel awkward.

"Mmm..."

For a moment, I wondered if I should wake Rachel up, but since I had already done it, I decided to leave her be.

...The warmth I felt through my legs was strangely... addictive.

I pondered these complex feelings and opened the status window.

-Ding!

[Status window activated.]

"Just show me the skill information. Skip the rest."

-Ding!

[Skill Information]

1. Imperial Common Language (Automatically Activated)

2. Iron Will (Automatically Activated)

3. Short-Range Teleportation (Blink)

4. Empty Slot

5. Empty Slot

[Click on the skill text box to check its rank.]

I had plenty of time anyway.

I scrolled down, wanting to take this opportunity to learn about the skills I possessed.

Let\'s see.

Skipping over the passive skills, numbers 1 and 2, and skill number 3 is...

"......"

The moment my eyes met the words of skill number 3,

I couldn\'t help but freeze.

The thick emotions of anger and resentment that still lingered in this body surfaced.

In the wave of emotions that felt like they would incinerate my reason and thoughts, I had to clutch my chest.

I took deep breaths to calm my pounding heart.

"Huff... Huff..."

It was the most intense reaction I had experienced so far.

Well, it was understandable from Raiden\'s perspective.

Skill number 3, \'Short-Range Teleportation (Blink)\'.

It was the monstrous skill that had devoured Raiden\'s mother.

.

.

.

In the world of the novel \'Sorrow-erasing heroes\', people born with the talent for spatial magic were extremely rare.

You could barely find one or two in the entire continent.

Of course, mages who reached the pinnacle could forcibly distort coordinates and teleport, but it required incredibly complex chanting, calculations, and an extremely inefficient amount of mana.

There was even a saying among mages, "It\'s more reasonable to run to your destination than to teleport."

However, this was the story of ordinary people.

Those born with the inherent talent for teleportation were different.

They could teleport without any restrictions or delays as long as they had enough mana.

In some ways, it was a talent valued even more highly than the talent for manipulating time, so it was natural for them to attract attention.

The world called them \'Those Blessed by Space\' and praised their genius.

-Oh my... The young master of the Lishite family\'s inherent talent is spatial magic...?

-Goodness, it seems a genius who will dominate the era has been born.

And Raiden was one of those \'Blessed by Space\'.

The boy was born with the \'Short-Range Teleportation\' magic as his inherent talent.

The entire continent was in an uproar.

The Lishite family, already known for their powerful martial prowess as the sword of the Empire, was now about to produce a \'spatial mage\', a talent so rare.

Some looked upon him with interest and admiration, while others harbored jealousy and hatred.

However, the commotion didn\'t last long.