Free Web NovelChapter 42: Meeting Duke after waking up
"Wait a minute... earlier you mentioned you were busy interrogating the last intruder?"
Emma nodded. "Yes. We managed to track and capture him yesterday at the border checkpoints. I personally spent the night interrogating him in the lower blocks before I came up to check on you."
She let out a light, entirely casual laugh that didn’t match the subject matter at all. "The guy was incredibly cooperative. He spilled every single detail after just a simple request from me."
Eren’s smile instantly stiffened. He looked up at the ceiling as a cold sweat broke out on the back of his neck. ’A simple request... from this girl? Why do I feel pity for whatever is left of that assassin?’
[Ding!]
[HAREM BOUND SKILL ACQUISITION CRITERIA MET!]
[Achievement Unlocked: Taming the Battlefield Lioness!]
[Description: You have successfully claimed an absolute high-tier Muscle Mommy and secured her permanent romantic allegiance.]
[Reward: +200 Fate Points.]
[Executing Data Retrieval... ]
[Accessing Emma’s primary skill archive...]
[Randomizing active draws...]
[New Skill Unlocked: Aura Coating (Level 1)]
[Description: Allows the user to channel and coat any physical weapon or object with a dense layer of refined combat aura. Drastically amplifies the item’s structural durability and destructive kinetic output.]
[Upgrade Path: Level 2 requires 1000 Fate Points.]
’Goddamn... Aura Coating?!’ Eren roared inside his mind with pure joy. ’Fuck, who even cares about some nameless assassin now?’
***
Meanwhile, in the underground prison beneath the Volsver manor, two soldiers stood outside the iron cell. One of them was currently leaning heavily against the stone wall, his face completely losing colours he clutched his stomach, trying not to puke.
"Is... is that thing even still alive?" the young recruit squeaked out, his voice trembling in horror.
The older soldier standing beside him casually let out a sigh. "Yaa. He’s alive, unfortunately for him. It’s just his absolute worst luck that he fell directly into Captain Emma’s hands before the Duke could even take the charge to interrogate himself."
***
The next morning, having recovered with a speed that defied all logics, Eren found himself standing in front of the Duke’s private office. He let out a quiet sigh and lightly tapped the wood, instantly receiving a command from within to enter.
When he pushed the door open and stepped into the room, the entire atmosphere froze. Duke Alfric and a handful of high-ranking estate officials were clustered around a massive desk buried in paperwork, but the moment their eyes landed on Eren, their jaws collectively dropped.
The Duke’s eyes widened in utter disbelief, his hands slamming onto the desk as he nearly bolted upright from his chair. "Eren?! When did you wake up?! Nobody informed me of this at all!"
Eren casually waved his hand, strolling into the room with the supreme composure of a man who hadn’t just survived a three-day coma. "Relax, father. I woke up yesterday. I told my maid to not inform anyone. I just needed some rest."
Alfric didn’t even hesitate. He locked eyes with the trembling officials and barked a single, non-negotiable command: "Everyone, get out. Now."
The officials nodded frantically, gathering their documents in a scramble and rushing out the door, leaving the father and son entirely alone.
The Duke stood there for a moment, his commanding, terrifying presence completely melting away. He walked over to Eren with unusually hesitant, slow steps.
Stopping right in front of his eldest son, Alfric placed his heavy hands gently onto Eren’s shoulders. Eren looked straight into his eyes, seeing a genuine vulnerability and a fear that the legendary lord of the Volsver domain rarely ever exposed.
"Eren... I am truly sorry for what I did to you that day," the Duke said, his voice thick with a heavy, paternal guilt. "I was blinded by panic. And ordered to throw you aside, and I—"
"Don’t blame yourself, Father," Eren interrupted, offering him a calm, reassuring smile.
"I already knew the outcome before surgery. I mean, who in their right mind would let a son, especially one with a reputation for absolutely hating his little sister, just walk into her room and perform some bizarre, unproven experiment on her? I expected to get hit. It’s fine."
Alfric let out an emotional laugh, relived when he realized his son was still acting like a brat. But the Duke’s expression quickly turned intense, his grip on Eren’s shoulders tightening slightly.
"That Librarian girl, Norelia... she said everything about your little project. When I first saw her in Liora’s room, I assumed you had just stumbled upon a hidden genius and asked for her help to save your sister. But when I interrogated her, she flatly refused to take the credit.
She revealed that you were the mastermind behind the entire operation. You gave her the exact ideas, you drew up the flawless blueprints from scratch, and she merely helped you execute it. Eren... she called you a monster of mana engineering."
The Duke stared into his son’s blue eyes, unable to reconcile the useless son of the past with the hidden mastermind who had just conquered a terminal disease. "Tell me the truth, son. How in the world did you acquire the knowledge to build such miraculous things? Where did all of this come from?"
Eren didn’t blink, just giving him a casual shrug.
"Honestly, Father? I don’t truly know myself. Maybe when that bastard Reinhardt cracked my head open a few weeks ago, it accidentally knocked a few hidden gears loose in my brain. Let’s just call it a sudden, divine revelation and leave it at that."
Alfric stared at him for a few long moments, clearly trying to find a logic in the excuse before ultimately giving up with a small, defeated smile. He let go of Eren’s shoulders and walked back to his desk, taking his seat as he idly picked up a fountain pen.
"A divine head injury. Right. I suppose I’ve heard stranger tales from the frontline," the Duke murmured, though his eyes still glowing with father’s pride.
"Eren... If you were to commercialize your inventions, you would easily become the richest person in the entire kingdom within a few short years. Just those picture capture things alone could revolutionize military scouting."
Eren immediately shook his head, raising his hands in a defensive gesture. "Absolutely not. No way, Father. Do you have any idea how much tedious paperwork and professional meetings that would require? It would bring me nothing but a massive, permanent headache. I can give a guide to make them and you can take care without revealing my name."
The Duke blinked, thoroughly confused by his son’s complete and utter lack of financial greed. "Then what exactly do you want, Eren? You’ve just rewritten medical history. Surely you have a grand ambition?"
