At the man’s words, Manuel rose from his seat without thinking.

"Is that... true?"

"Of course, Sir Manuel. I heard there’s definitely a barbarian with violet eyes that has appeared."

The man was a low-ranking official working for the Duke’s household.

He handled the outsiders coming in through the servants' entrance.

Normally, he wouldn’t have had any reason to meet this man, nor even see his face.

If the information the man brought hadn’t been related to the successor, they would never have met today either.

"The head butler went to retrieve him personally. I don't know the details, but it’s possible he has already met with the Duke."

"…."

The man’s words passed through Manuel’s ears and then faded away.

They didn’t register.

‘My God…’

Manuel muttered softly and sank back into his chair.

A barbarian with violet eyes?

Helga and Klaus's son?

That barbarian and Klaus had a child together?

‘How… How could that even be possible?’

He pictured the face of his younger brother, who was born from the same mother, and closed his eyes.

Klaus.

A truly beautiful child with violet eyes.

A masterpiece crafted by the gods.

Anyone who laid eyes on him would fall hopelessly in love.

But Klaus lacked the gift of wind magic.

Despite being the rightful heir born into a family of magicians, he couldn’t wield magic.

Klaus couldn’t even summon the slightest breeze.

No matter how beautiful he was, someone who couldn't use wind magic couldn’t fit the role of the Duke in the Walther family, a household renowned for its mastery of wind magic.

As Klaus grew, more and more people within the household began to whisper that he wasn’t suitable.

They all said that no one would follow a Duke who couldn’t wield magic in a house known for its magical prowess.

Even though their father had designated Klaus as the heir the moment he was born, people believed that once enough voices gathered, their father would listen.

So, naturally, Manuel had believed that the position of heir would pass to him. That it would only be a matter of time.

But their father’s decision never changed.

Whether Klaus could use wind magic or not, or how powerful his magic was—none of that mattered in the slightest.

To their father, the only thing that mattered was that Klaus had violet eyes.

Even after Klaus had been kidnapped and over twenty years had passed, nothing had changed.

Because their father had never spoken a word about the successor, fierce battles for power erupted within the household.

Many of their father’s children, believing they had a chance, gathered followers and vied for the position of heir.

But officially, Klaus remained the successor.

Even if everyone in the household ignored and gave up on Klaus, their father remained unwavering.

And now, they said Klaus’s son had appeared?

With violet eyes?

‘No… If that’s true, this battle for succession will become meaningless. That child will take everything. My father will definitely make him the successor.’

Even if he’s a barbarian, even if he’s the son of Helga, whom countless noble houses want dead—none of that would matter to their father. He would surely welcome him into the family.

Their father would bring him back, even if it meant making enemies of other noble houses, and place him in the heir’s seat.

Manuel had finally felt relief after Klaus disappeared. But now, once again...

‘No, I can’t let that happen.’

Manuel clenched his fist tightly.

‘I have to kill him.’

He had to kill him before their father could find him.

The man who had brought the information had already left, and only his confidant remained in the room.

As if wary of prying eyes despite no one else being around, the confidant whispered softly.

"Sir Manuel, what should we do?"

"Have someone follow the informant. And for the barbarian... hire the same group as last time."

"The same group... You mean the one you hired for Klaus?"

"Exactly."

"I understand."

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

The confidant bowed deeply.

After Klaus had been kidnapped by Helga, countless noble houses had tried to track her down.

But most hadn’t even been able to lay a finger on her.

It wasn’t just that Helga was strong—she seemed to have help.

What exactly had happened, or what the truth of the matter was, Manuel didn’t know. But many of those who pursued her were led astray, while others simply vanished.

After Helga entered the Forbidden Forest, tracking her became completely impossible.

Some noble houses still sent hunting parties after her, but none succeeded.

From what Manuel knew, the only groups that ever came close to Helga and survived were a few assassin organizations.

One of them had been the group Manuel hired to kill Klaus.

An organization like that, with its information network, would find Klaus’s son before his father ever could.

"…."

Fortunately, his father never had dealings with such groups.

His father wasn’t the type to hire someone to kill.

"Tell them to hurry. Offer them extra payment if needed."

"Yes, Sir Manuel."

After his confidant left and the room was empty, Manuel’s head drooped.

‘Klaus.’

The only sibling born from the same mother as him.

The brother their mother adored.

The only heir in their father’s heart.

‘Why do you always stand in my way, making me this vile person?’

If only that child hadn’t existed.

If only Klaus hadn’t been born.

Manuel stared at his hands.

Wind stirred, swirling lightly over his palm.

It wasn’t as powerful as his father’s, but it was still the strongest wind in the Valther household.

Yet, how had things come to this?

By all rights, he should have been the successor.

‘Is having violet eyes that important to Father?’

What’s so special about the color of his eyes?

----------------------------------------

The second job was guarding a merchant caravan.

They say hunting magical beasts brings in more money.

Some of the beasts on the current request list were extremely valuable.

But hunting them requires not just strength but skill—preserving the beast’s hide, head, and horns intact is more important than the hunt itself.

I don’t have that kind of expertise yet. For now, Jenny suggested I work as a guard to get used to society here.

She decided I’d do well in this after seeing how I handled the one-eyed dog problem.

It made me feel a bit proud, though I kept that to myself.

Just as I’d been told, I arrived at the square before dawn, and the merchants were already out.

There were four other guards besides me.

Three were adventurers from the guild, and one was an employee of the merchant company.

That person was the leader.

He stiffened like ice when he saw me, which made me a little worried about whether I could trust him.

To my surprise, the bald man was there too.

"Oho! The rookie's here!"

His booming laughter rang in my ears.

"Good morning. I heard we were leaving at dawn, so I came early. Am I late?"

"No, no. Everyone showed up early because of you. They were all pumped up, afraid of what might happen if they arrived later than a barbarian!"

"..."

The other guards behind him had pale faces.

It was dark, but even in this gloom, I could tell their faces were ghostly white.

"And where’s that cute bird of yours?"

The bald man glanced at my head.

"Still sleeping."

It seems Rella has given up on being an early bird. She used to catch worms before dawn when I first met her, but now she doesn't bother.

They say animals raised by humans can’t return to the wild—looks like she’s heading down that path.

I’m supposed to teach her, but I’ve never raised a bird before, so it’s tough.

Still, phoenixes are strong creatures.

I’m not sure what powers they have, but since she’s already spewing fire, she might breathe it later. She’ll get stronger on her own.

I decided to leave her be.

Sorry, Rella.

I have no idea how to teach a bird to hunt or fight.

It’s not like I can catch worms with my mouth to show her how it’s done.

While I was lost in thought about Rella, the bald man smacked his lips.

"Still sleeping... I’d like to see her."

He seems to be fond of her, but why does he have the same look I get when I’m craving chicken?

"..."

His eyes were fixed on the top of my head.

Since I’m two heads taller than most people, he couldn’t see her unless I bent down.

But I’m not in the habit of offering my head for people to look at.

Ignoring his gaze, I turned to the others.

"My name’s Rafa. Let’s do our best together."

"O-Oh!"

"Nice to meet you."

"Y-Yeah, welcome."

The adventurers awkwardly greeted me, but the leader of the group was too frozen to respond.

He was so stiff, I wasn’t sure I could trust him to lead us.

After a while, the merchant showed up, a little late.

He had a solid, firm look about him.

In his mid-thirties, maybe?

He seemed young.

He wasn’t afraid when he saw me; instead, he squinted slightly, studying me closely. Bold.

"…."

It made me feel a little down.

Is this my new standard now? Evaluating whether or not people are terrified of me?

How did it come to this?

Feeling a bit depressed, I introduced myself.

"My name is Rafa. I look forward to working with you during our contract."

"Such a polite greeting... It’s a pleasure to meet you. You really are just like the guild described. Not a barbarian at all—oh, sorry, that was rude. Haha."

The merchant’s eyes scanned me thoroughly.

He was probably testing to see if I’d get angry.

If I had a short temper, would he have refused me?

Seeing that I didn’t react, the merchant explained the schedule to the guards.

By the time the sun had fully risen, we set out from the city.

We had two large carriages and three wagons.

Each carriage had a driver and a few shop workers.

It was a small caravan, run by the owner himself, who traveled to buy and sell goods. The bald man gave me that bit of insider info.

In a small merchant group like this, the guards not only had to protect against bandits and beasts but also help load goods and accompany negotiations during purchases.

"Sometimes people steal the goods right there, so our job is to threaten them, make it clear they’ll die if they try anything," the bald man said with a big grin, rubbing his head.

"I shaved my head for that reason, you know. Adventurers like us can’t afford to be underestimated. If we lose that initial spark, we’re done for."

He clapped me on the shoulder.

"That’s why you’re off to a great start. You don’t even have to do anything to exude that intimidating aura."

I think he was trying to reassure me about my appearance, though it wasn’t exactly comforting.

Still, I appreciated the sentiment.

Suddenly, I understood why Jenny had so strongly recommended this job.

It wasn’t just that the work was fine—she knew the bald man would take care of me, guide me along without me even asking.

Grateful to Jenny, I offered the bald man a piece of my prized jerky.

I had bought it at the market.

It wasn’t just dried with salt but was properly seasoned and incredibly delicious.

It had cost a small fortune by my standards, but I had splurged.

"Oh, this is the good stuff! I buy it every now and then too."

The bald man swiftly took everything I had in my hand, leaving me with nothing but a small piece.

"..."

Surprisingly greedy.

But I guess that’s why he’s survived as an adventurer.

One of the adventurers, who had been walking a bit behind, edged closer and spoke quietly.

"That jerky’s really good."

The way he was eyeing me suggested he wanted a piece too.

No way.

I wasn’t just going to hand out free food.

Maybe if he had done something to earn it, but asking for something without lifting a finger? Ridiculous.

I snorted and pulled out a piece of jerky, chewing it slowly.

"We’re colleagues, you know... No need to be so stingy," the adventurer muttered under his breath.

But when I glared at him, he just chuckled awkwardly and shut his mouth.

It’s funny how I'm starting to understand how this world works.

It feels like I’m finally getting the hang of surviving in this medieval society.

"How’s the bird doing?"

Out of nowhere, the bald man looked up at my head again.

"Still sleeping."

"Cute, I bet."

"Very cute."

"..."

He clearly wanted to see her, but for some reason, the more someone asks to see something, the less I want to show it.

Maybe I’m just twisted.

Well, it’s also because I don’t want to show Rella to others.

According to the witch, young phoenixes are hard to identify.

People usually think phoenixes are red.

Adult phoenixes apparently have fiery or orange plumage.

So, no one would guess Rella’s true identity.

But still, I had no intention of parading her around.

Besides, becoming too comfortable around people wasn’t good for her.

Seeing that I wasn’t planning on showing her, the bald man smacked his lips again, looking at the top of my head.

He’s strange.

Why does he keep smacking his lips?

Is it because she’s cute or because...?

Then it hit me.

Was he thinking about eating her...?

I quickly shook my head.

‘What a ridiculous thought.’

How foolish of me.