The Hero Becomes the Duke’s Eldest Son

Chapter 159

Aden quietly observed, waiting until she calmed down.

Once she composed herself, she spoke again.

“When I learned the truth, I was powerless and couldn’t do anything. I had to pretend to be incompetent, just to avoid becoming a puppet like my father or being killed.”

She confessed that in her despair, she drowned herself in alcohol all day and indulged in luxuries to fill the void.

Gradually, her act of incompetence turned real, and she became a pathetic and useless person.

“It was Master Hermit who saved me.”

Lilianas had met Hermit by chance while wandering drunk through the backstreets.

“Child, why do you drink so much?”

“What else? I just want to forget…”

“Forget what?”

“Everything…! This rotten and stagnant country, my powerless and weak self who can do nothing!”

As she cried and collapsed, Hermit kindly reached out a hand to her.

“Weak and powerless, you say? Then you just need to gain strength. Shall I help you a little, child?”

The princess ignored her words.

However, she soon realized it was no lie when Hermit single-handedly subdued five approaching thugs with a single switch.

Princess Lilianas stopped drinking and gave up her luxuries afterward.

Under Hermit’s guidance, she learned more efficient holy magic and swordsmanship, reaching the level of a Saint Master within a few years.

She unified the forces of the backstreets under the name “Nameless.”

This was the birth of “Kellid,” the ruler of the underworld.

Having gone from a powerless princess to a powerful leader, she resolved to take action.

Her silver-grey eyes shone with determination as she spoke.

“I intend to reclaim my country, to restore the names of the God of Justice and Law to their rightful place.”

The daughter of the Holy King spoke.

“Though it’s only a small part, I’ve secretly recruited priests who haven’t been corrupted.”

The Holy Kingdom had indeed fallen into decay.

Three of the four cardinals had ties with gambling syndicates, and the bishops and priests beneath them were no different.

Most of the priests had already allied with or been seduced by the gambling syndicates.

But even in this corrupt situation, there were those who were different.

Those with unwavering faith, who loved their country, who refused to compromise with injustice.

They had all withdrawn from state affairs, silently keeping a low profile.

She carefully approached these individuals one by one, showing them her abilities and winning their hearts and loyalty.

“I’ve also gained the oath of Cardinal Salvatoros, the only one among the four cardinals who remained a bystander. Now, once we solve one more problem, we can seize control of the central cathedral at any time.”

It was easy to say, but in the current situation, it must have been incredibly difficult to gather allies and build a force.

It showed how extraordinary her abilities were and how much effort she had put in.

This was the full extent of her current situation.

Aden, having heard everything, began to organize his thoughts.

‘The puppet Holy King, the gambling boss, human trafficking, the princess preparing for rebellion…’

Just from this, he could get a rough picture.

‘The evil warlocks and human trafficking are inseparable.’

The mysterious stone fragment known as the “Atonement Stone.”

The one who distributed it and the mastermind behind the downfall of the Holy Kingdom, the gambling boss.

He and his forces were undoubtedly the work of Chaos.

They must have turned the Holy Kingdom into a puppet government to manipulate it as they pleased and gather humans to use as materials for black magic.

‘I didn’t expect them to be pulling off such a meticulous scheme.’

Aden had experienced Chaos committing all sorts of atrocities, but this time the scale was extraordinary and even more insidious.

To devour an entire nation of priests, their natural enemies, was beyond anything he’d seen.

“I was invited here by the Lawful God Church. If what the princess says is true…”

“Yes, the gambling boss must have used the Lawful God Church to lure you and the Saintess here. Though I’m not sure of their exact reason.”

It had indeed felt strange.

The sudden invitation from the Lawful God Church.

It was likely a bait set by Chaos to lure Aden and his group to the Holy Kingdom.

To deal with Aden, that is.

‘Well, they must have figured it out by now.’

The Imperial Palace, the Sacred Fire Order, the Grand Duchy, the Slaughter Tower…

Aden had thwarted their plans numerous times.

To Chaos, Aden was nothing less than a mortal enemy.

It was surprising they hadn’t retaliated sooner.

‘You think I’ll just let you have your way?’

Of course, Aden had no intention of simply accepting his fate.

Aden nodded.

“Alright, Princess Lillith. I’ll help you.”

“Oh! Thank you, Prince Remes!”

Aden recognized that this wasn’t just the princess’s and the Holy Kingdom’s problem.

Helping her would benefit him as well.

‘If the princess is right, a rebellion could happen at any time. The forces are already gathered.’

She alone was a Saint Master, a Holy Knight who had reached the level of a master.

With a cardinal joining forces, taking control of the corrupt church wouldn’t be difficult.

The fact that she hadn’t acted yet indicated there was some obstacle.

“Is the gambling boss the problem?”

Princess Lilianas had cried out at Aden.

“Is this the assassin sent by the gambling boss? Even if you kill me and stop this grand plan, even if you devour this country, in the end, your souls will fall into hell!”

The man she called the gambling boss, it must be related to him.

“Yes, that’s right.”

She confirmed.

“From what we’ve gathered, he and his followers are powerful individuals who have learned evil black magic. The gambling operation is just the surface; their true identity is…”

“A group of warlocks, ‘Chaos,’ right?”

“…You already knew.”

“There was a similar situation with the Sacred Fire Order.”

Aden briefly explained the incident involving the fallen vice-cult leader and Lord Kertel to her, making her sigh in disbelief.

“Oh, my God. O God of Justice and Law… To think their claws had reached other orders as well. It’s truly terrifying. Those vile black magicians… How could they do such horrible things…”

“…Black magic isn’t inherently evil. It’s just that Chaos are the ones who are trash.”

“…Pardon?”

Recalling the Silver Witch Niketa, he unknowingly defended black magicians.

But he didn’t feel like taking back his words.

“A warrior can kill innocent people with aura for personal gain, and a wizard can commit massacres to test their magical prowess. It’s not the black magic that’s evil, but those who abuse it.”

Words once spoken by Niketa in his past life.

Aden recalled them and repeated them.

“Just as not all priests are virtuous. I think you know that better than anyone, Princess.”

In his past life, maybe, but now Aden saw little difference between black magicians and priests.

Anyone could become evil, but there were also those who maintained their goodness within.

Like Niketa.

“…I see. I suppose that’s one way to think about it… No, Prince Remes is right.”

The princess couldn’t deny it.

She had seen firsthand how deeply the priests had fallen as the Holy Kingdom rotted away.

And she knew a few who still maintained their faith and loyalty in the midst of the filth.

“Well, Chaos is rotten to the core, so it’s a different story for them. Let’s get back to the original topic.”

“Yes, let’s.”

The princess looked at Aden with a peculiar gaze before returning to the main point.

“As long as the gambling boss remains, there is no hope for the Holy Kingdom. Especially since, even without revealing his full power, the gambling boss is estimated to be at least at the level of a superhuman.”

At least the level of a superhuman.

That meant the gambling boss was at least equivalent to a 7-star magician or a mana warrior at the beginning of the superhuman level.

“With our current power, all we can do is keep the gambling den in check. We don’t have the strength to deal with them after taking the central cathedral.”

If they tried to seize the central cathedral, the gambling den would quickly catch on and send corrupt priests as reinforcements.

That would lead to the rebellion’s failure.

Aden asked.

“Even with your master by your side?”

At this, Hermit, she chuckled and shook her head.

“I’m just a hermit and an observer. I can help indirectly, but I can’t intervene directly.”

“That doesn’t make any sense, but fine, I get it.”

“Correct.”

“Princess, do you have any information about the gambling boss?”

“Yes, I’ll show you.”

She took out a bundle of three sheets of parchment from the documents she kept in a safe and handed it to him.

“It’s the information we gathered about the gambling boss and his associates through ‘Nameless.’ But we don’t know much.”

Aden unfolded the parchment and carefully read the information about the “gambling boss.”

The parchment detailed his physical appearance, the size of the gambling den, and more.

While reading, Aden’s eyes caught on a particular sentence.

“Three black stars under the right eye?”

“Oh, you mean the star tattoo. But is there something wrong with that?”

Seeing Aden’s reaction, Princess Lilianas blinked in confusion.

Aden didn’t answer her question.

He merely smirked, a cold, sinister smile.

‘It seems I know who this is.’

If his guess was correct.

There was a specific, effective way to deal with him.

As long as certain conditions were met.

‘In the future, the princess’s rebellion must have failed.’

If the gambling

boss was the person Aden suspected, there was no way her rebellion could have succeeded.

The rebellion likely failed.

The loyalists were purged, and the princess’s rebellion was probably dismissed as a mere tantrum, leading to her confinement as punishment, with the incident downplayed.

‘I must prevent such a future.’

He had to strike a blow against Chaos.

If that were the case, Aden’s task was simple.

“The gambling boss, we just need to take care of him. Meanwhile, Princess, you can lead your forces and seize the central cathedral.”

Aden would take care of the gambling den, and Lillith would handle the central cathedral.

The princess asked him.

“But, even though I’m the one asking for help, is this really okay? The gambling boss isn’t an easy opponent. It’s not just him; getting past his security will be even harder.”

“There’s no need to worry about that. They’ll come for me first.”

“…Ah! I see. I understand now.”

As expected, she was smart.

She quickly understood what he was implying.

Aden was now a master swordsman who had reached the level of a superhuman.

The only way to confront a superhuman-level warrior was to either be a master themselves or carry out a perfect and thorough assassination.

‘Either way, it’s something that has to be done on their home turf. The gambling boss will likely call me to the gambling den to kill me.’

And that would be both the gambling boss’s opportunity to eliminate Aden and Aden’s opportunity to deal with the gambling boss.

“He’ll definitely summon me.”

Aden grinned wickedly.

“When that happens, Princess Lillith, you can cause as much havoc as you like at the cathedral. I’ll make sure to completely destroy the gambling den.”

That day.

The alliance between the eldest son of the Duke’s family and the eldest daughter of the Holy King’s family, the outcast of the frontier and the outcast of the Holy Kingdom, was formed.

An alliance that would shake the entire Holy Kingdom.

* * *

After leaving the Nameless thieves’ guild and returning to the Sacred Fire Order’s western cathedral, Aden received the expected news.

“Lord Aden, an invitation has arrived from the owner of the Ternian gambling den. It’s addressed to all of us.”

“I! I want to go! Brother!”

-Bark bark!

“Ahem, Lady Elise, please reconsider. How could you think of going to such a lowly place…!”

“Uncle Bali, please? Really? Please?”

“Ugh, Saintess, if you keep looking at me like that, this priest, Bali, might waver…”

“Oh my, I heard Ternian’s entertainment district is quite famous. What do you think?”

“Wow, gambling dens are where the thrill of pickpocketing the customers is the best part… Ow, Seere! Stop nagging! Fine, I won’t steal, I won’t!”

The owner of the Ternian gambling den, the gambling boss.

He had sent a special group invitation to all of them.