Son of the Hero King

Chapter 13 CH 13: THE DUCHESS

Finished with the boring yet necessary lessons for his future role as a King, Sol was now free to do what he really wished to do all day; as was the case for any day for as long as he remembered.

Walking, nigh sprinting, towards the stables while keeping his noble appearance intact, by some measure, Sol barely managed to hide his excitement, until he found himself face to face with another person — his next instructor.

"Prince Sol, I am happy that you took your precious time to come learn from this old man. I hope you had a beautiful day, today."

Smiling at the words of the white-haired old man bowing in front of him, Sol wanted to answer casually but remembered where he was.

Right now, he was outside the tower, but still close to it. He understood that he shouldn't go too far as long as he didn't awaken and obtain a reliable way to defend himself, he had to be very careful about his safety.

"Do not worry lord Gerald. You are a man I respect very much and taking lessons from you has always been a pleasure."

Having finished his piece, with elegant steps, he began to walk towards the office building while Gerald always remained half a step behind him as he followed Sol's pace.

Once they entered the office building, however...

"*Pfft* Hahaha, little Sol I must say you are acting more and more like a true prince, with each passing day. I remember the snotty brat that was looking at my horses with stars in his eyes, eager to ride it."

Feeling his shoulders relax, and his heart noticeably less burdened at the old man's quip, Sol smiled at Gerald's nostalgic remarks, glad to be able to converse with the wise and benevolent old man.

"Uncle, I already told you that I don't mind if you treated me more casually even outside."

Shaking his head in response, Gerald denied him of the suggestion, chastising him for even making that remark.

"You know I can't do that Sol. I represent the previous power. It doesn't matter what people know. But as long as we are in public, I must treat you as the prince you are, otherwise, I would be seen as trying to grab more power than I should dare to wield."

A disgruntled sigh escaped Sol's mouth. Politics, politics, and more politics. He knew it was necessary but it didn't mean he had to like it a single bit.

Gerald wasn't his biological uncle, unfortunate but that's just how it was. He was just one of the many retainers of the previous king before Mars — Neptune. Still, Sol really respected him and always felt uncomfortable seeing someone the age of his grandfather bow in front of him even though he knew this was how things were around here.

It didn’t help that Gerald did not need to bow to him? He was a member of the Highland family, after all — one of the four Duke Families, and while Sol was the crown prince, his position wasn’t absolute enough by itself to command such respect from the members of the Duke households. A certain annoying woman had already made that clear to him years ago.

Gerald gave an encouraging smile as he understood Sol quite well. One of the many reasons he liked the young lad was the humbleness he wielded toward others, and his respect for the old and wise. Sol was the sort of guy who didn’t let his title get to his head like so many young shitheads from noble houses these days. Truly, these were troubling times for the next generation of the empire.

"Enough chit-chat. You should already be rather tired. So let's get this done quickly. Anyway, you already grasped the basics and just need more experience, who will you choose this time?"

"My usual ones. Black and white."

"Hahaha~!" Another cheerfully loud laugh escaped Gerald's lips as he chortled, "Those two are basically your private property now, they never let anyone else mount them."

Sol smiled at his comical accusations. White was his horse. A rare breed of nightmare horse. A rank D species. Black was his wyvern, a rank C species of the Draconic branch.

Wyverns were an extremely devolved form of Dragons. So much so that in the legend, dragons saw the wyverns as inferior creatures not unlike how humans saw apes. Still, they were cool and since he was half-dragon, all dragon-related species always obeyed him without question.

"You are right uncle. Let's go."

Riding was one of his favorite lessons, after all. Partly because of the coolness of the act and partly because he was able to interact freely with the man he regarded as his dear uncle, akin to the father he didn't have.

“Oh. Now that I think about it. Where are Athena and Ares?”

While Gerald was his surrogate uncle, in a sense, he was the real grand uncle of Athena and Ares, the heirs of the Highland family.

Normally, they should be present during the training sessions since the two of them were already active in the army.

Sol’s question prompted Gerald’s face to darken, something wasn't right...

“The situation on the border is quite tense. Wratharis is causing problems again. They are trying to test the limits of our defense system. It's just a harassing technique nothing more, but it doesn't bode well for the future.”

Out of the seven countries, while Lustburg had waged war with many of them, their most recurring enemy was Wratharis, the country of Beastkin, from which Setsuna and technically Milia were from.

The current Leader of Wratharis seemed to be quite belligerent so he was a real pain in the ass for humanity.

Unlike Sol who was yet to awaken, both Athena and Ares had already done so long ago and were members of the army thanks to their high talents. Athena in particular was a great force on the battlefield because of the special skills of her contracted magical beings.

Sol sometimes wondered if the names of people in this world could affect their personalities.

“Well, we are here. Take your wyvern.”

The rest of the time was spent with Sol riding in the air and relaxing a little.

When Sol finally went back, after a fun riding session with his favorite mounts and his ever-cheerful uncle, he began preparing himself for the incoming night out.

----

Sol stood before a floor mirror — made from the finest crystal essence that clearly reflected his features — and scrutinized his attire for the ensuing event.

A white tailored suit he adorned, with the hem reaching his buttocks and the buttons embedded in the regal piece of clothing being made out of gold, yes gold, the general metals found on earth also existed here with a blend of fantasy metals to add to the list.

A light shade of red formed on Sol's face as he remembered the embarrassing memory, one of the many he shared with the Supreme Daughter.

The barely hidden laugh from the nuns standing around didn't help him either.

If asked where Sol spent most of his time a few years back, the answer wouldn't be the tower of Babylon where he resided, but rather the church where he stood now. The church of Castitas, the goddess of Chastity was like his second home. He had many embarrassing and emotional memories here full of nostalgia over the years, memories he held dear to his heart.

"How uncouth of you to shame his highness in public. Or is this how his highness raised his slave?"

A gentle yet scathing voice of ridicule broke the harmonic atmosphere — a jet black-haired woman, the origin of the mocking tone, made her appearance seemingly out of nowhere. Behind her, stood two young boys about Sol's age as well as one girl. They were also accompanied by three bodyguards and one handsome man attired in butler clothes.

'Shadow walk.'

Nightmare Crows weren't the sole beast able to use the power of teleportation.

Dark Phantom — a higher-tiered magical being.

Sol's gaze settled on the raven-haired man standing with a smile close to 'that' woman.

It was a member of the demon race, one of the races of the world, and he was quite highly ranked too at that, with a quality of B+ rank.

'*Sigh~* I had hoped that I wouldn't have to meet them so soon. Just my luck, her odious face graced me at the entrance'

"I am sorry for the display my servant showed. I will be sure to discipline her at a later date."

Sol answered smoothly while ignoring the nigh perpetual scowl on the face of the woman who was taking the lead. That scowl, however, couldn't do much to hide the mesmerizing beauty she held.

The Duchess Arachne Milaris of the Milaris family. She was truly a beautiful woman. Even more so in her dark-as-night evening gown and despite her clear lack of womanly assets. To quote a sage of culture, flat was justice.

However, beauty equated to half the reason for her fame. For she was equally as powerful as she was beautiful. Be it as an individual or as a noble. She was like a rose filled with thorns.

Despite never having married, she was still respected and feared because of her prowess and talents be it on the battlefield or as a renowned artist.

While Sol was quite sheltered, he still had to meet the members of the four great families from time to time. The other three weren't much trouble. Some, even rather pleasant and became close friends of his, like the heirs of the Highland Duke family — Athena and Ares.

But the Milaris family was a little bit different. They weren’t outright enemies, but the relationship between that family and the royal family was quite awkward and bitter.

The reason?

Well... Arachne Milaris was the original fiancée of his father and the fact that she was neither his mother nor his stepmother gave the answer to how that engagement ended up.

'*Sigh~* I feel like today will be quite an eventful night.'

He sighed for the third time today as he prayed to both Luxuria and Castitas to give him the energy to get through this day with a sane mind.

———

[In the Church.]

"Your holiness, they have come."

A nun bowed, conveying the news of the arrival of the guests with an expression of awe barely contained.

If one was asked who was the most influential or powerful woman in this kingdom, the opinions would vary without a doubt.

But if one was asked, who was the most beautiful. They would receive a unanimous answer.

Camelia Castitas. The Supreme Daughter of the Goddess Castitas.

Seven churches existed in this world. Correlating to the seven virtues that held dominion. Those churches all prayed to their respective twin goddesses.

Camelia, as the Supreme daughter of Castitas, was the highest authority in the church with absolutely no one to contend against her.

As the leader of the church, her power was in no way inferior to the royal family. In fact, you could even say that they faintly surpassed the royal family because of the current dismal situation the royal family faced, being without a true leader and all.

In any normal state, this dissonance would have been quite dangerous and the royal family might have tried to keep the church in check. But this was not the case for Lustburg.

The reason?

"Hehe~! My little Sol is finally coming to see me. It has been such a long time. I was beginning to think he had forgotten me. This must be that woman's fault. Lilith was always such a worrywart. Always hogging him all to herself for nonsensical reasons. Don't you think so?"

Camelia was what one could call a fangirl. And she was head over heels for Sol Dragons Luxuria, the heir of the empire.

The nun could only awkwardly shuffle around. On one hand, she was already used to the eccentric antics of this mistress of hers, what's more, she had to admit that Sol was really cute and partially agreed with her declarations.

He was basically the mascot of the nuns at this level.

Finally, the other reason was that even though there were only the two of them present in this room, she knew that she wasn't the one Camelia was talking with.

Bitter at the eccentricity of the Supreme Daughter she opted to bow her head, close her eyes, and wait for the delirious leader of the church to get out of her fantasies and invite guests in.

'I hope the future of the church isn't doomed.'