I thought my first day on what I would be doing for the rest of my life would be rather simple. Well as simple as a gladiatorial fight to the death can be. Once the decision on who would lead the Hounds of Luna was made a grand meeting of the Frontiersmen was held. This grand meeting was to decide future activities. Apparently, the rest of the world has begun encroaching on our territories. Some groups wished to attack them, others wished to hunker down in defense, and the smallest minority wished to open relations with the others. The last one is the most problematic due to the rest of the world being outright hateful toward us. Hell, they literally refer to us as Outcasts.

The differences in opinions led to a prolonged trial that felt like a multi-month gladiatorial tournament. I doubt there was a form of combat or debate that was unused. The decision in the end would decide the fate of the entire Frontiersmen people. This tournament continued, the debates continued, and there was no movement in any direction. Those who wished to fight claimed honor as their reason, and those who wished to hang back and wait claimed a lack of information and numbers to fight an offensive war. Then those who wished to assimilate gave no reasoning but kept their opinion. Then came the cheating accusations.

No one knows which group cheated first, and it's debatable if cheating ever happened in the first place. Due to this though all talks fell through, if one person cheats then the sanctity of the trials is gone, and either a new one has to be called and the old one must be dissolved. No new one was called, and every group decided to go their own ways and do as they pleased.

The Stella Coyotes were adamant to hide in our city, and in the mountains to slowly grind any attacker to dust against our ancient walls. Slowly reports from the aggressive cities became rarer and rarer. Suddenly the Voivode and honor guard of the Crimson Jackals came to visit my own. The Jackals are part of the Hounds of Luna so they were let in. They had decided to join the foreigners rather than fight a devastating war. We respected their wishes but asked them to send any who disagreed to our city to bolster our defenses. Unfortunately, their visit was not to announce this information, instead, it was to sabotage our defenses which they did with great proficiency as the Jackals are known for strategic warfare. They discovered an ancient passage, and during their visit, they opened it up once more.

I remember the night of the fall. I was awake when the battle began. Food stores erupted in flame, the gates were thrown open and the mechanisms to close them were shattered it happened so fast that our defenders could not stop these actions. Our enemies were not the foreign powers but instead were other frontiersmen. The Jackals showed the way for other groups, such as the Hammerheads who are devastating close-quarter combatants, the water moccasins, who struck from the shadows, and the worst of all, the Solar Dragons, a group who was most outspoken to join the foreigners and is known for their less than honorable actions when fighting, especially if civilians are involved.

The Coyotes fought hard, I took multiple injuries in defense of my home but was eventually forced to yield when four men with man-catcher poles held me down and then bound my hands and feet, as was the fate for most of the honor guard and others soldiers. The city truly fell once an entire army of foreigners marched through our gates, we had lost.

The aftermath is beyond words in how horrible it was. Many of us were tortured for the amusement of the foreign leaders, the lucky ones were executed, and the rest were sold into slavery. I watched my father fall during the fighting in a valiant last stand, but that doesn't soothe the hurt in my heart. I don't know what happened to mom, but I hope she died, the alternatives are many times worse.

After some time I was sold into slavery and was bound away from the beautiful valleys and mountains of my home. Chained and shipped like an animal to a different land, and a different kingdom.

I never allowed myself to be degraded beyond measure, but I didn't put up as much of a fight as I should have against my slavers. I was too heartbroken by the loss of my parents and the loss of many friends. The work was mostly physical labor as I am a man and we Frontiersmen are renowned for our physical strength and endurance. I was constantly beaten for my weakness compared to the others as I could not move as heavy of objects due to my curse. After a long while of this work, I was sold to a different master. This one was made to work as a blacksmith's assistant and did quite well. The master of the forge was a forgiving man and only really scolded me for failures rather than physical harm. I advanced my ability to work metal in these forges despite their lack of quality compared to the ones back home, but I adapted quickly.

Sadly the forge master passed away as he was already an old man when he bought me I will admit I mourned his death as he did not add more to my suffering. By this time I had learned the language of the kingdom I was held in bondage in, and I became quite fluent in the cultural norms as well. Then came my lucky break. I was sold along with the master's estate to a very rich owner. A noble in fact. At first, I was afraid of what might come when I was bought once again, but to my surprise, I was given a set of nice clothes and asked to go meet with my new master...

I nervously follow behind the servant leading me down the luxurious halls of this noble. I knew this man was nobility, but quickly I learned he was a full-blown Duke of the kingdom, meaning he is very rich and very high up in the pecking order. Eventually, I am stopped in front of two heavy wooden doors and I swallow hard. I remember the stories from my old life about how elites in society are horrible perverts or are just terrible people, I fear my fate may be along these lines.

When I am allowed to enter I step through the doors as they are opened for me. Sitting in front of me is the Duke. I respectfully bow at the waist as the servant had instructed me to do. The middle-aged man smiles warmly at me and then says,

" Please come in and take a seat son. No need to be overly formal with me."

I nod and hesitantly do as he says, still a bit afraid of a terrible fate. I get a good look at him as I sit down.

He is a clean-shaven man with short jet-black hair that is starting to get gray around the edges. His eyes are a deep brown color that radiates fatherly warmth, and his most striking feature is his near porcelain white skin. He smiles at me and then speaks again,

"I've been somewhat looking for you for a while now. Not you per say, but someone like you. I have an offer and you are free to do with it as you wish. Do not feel as if I am forcing you to decide in a certain way. No harm will befall you if you decline."

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I nod once while swallowing hard and ask,

"I'll hear you out. What is your offer, sir?"

He smiles and continues,

"First I'll introduce myself. I am Duke Brant Illa Con Hasselrauge the third. I ask you to call me Lord Hasselrauge or just my lord."

I nod in understanding and introduce myself,

"I am Isa son of Garland and Streya of the Stella Coyote. You may call me as you wish."

He smiles and then explains the offer,

"Okay, Isa... My offer is strange and it requires some background so please lend me your ear before I offer you.

My wife and I have been blessed with many children, more than I can handle at times, but I love them all. Unfortunately, they all have been daughters. I do love my daughters deeply and would gladly give them my title and possessions upon my passing, but the problem is the Hasselrouge tradition. It's that only a man may inherit the title as head of the family and all the possessions and claims that come with it. That would mean my cousin, who is quite unfit for the position.

There is an exception. If a daughter of the current head marries someone who does not have a title to claim themselves, that daughter will be able to inherit the title and claims. Unfortunately, this exception is designed to not work as it requires the husband to be from the nobility of some kind, and very rarely is it worth marrying a lower son of a noble, plus I hate dealing with their fathers.

My offer to you is this, and you may decline as I do not want to force this upon you. I will free you from slavery and formally adopt you as a "son". In kingdom law, you are allowed to adopt from another family in order to guarantee an heir through marriage. You will be in this role. You will be of course trained and expected to act as I deem fit for any one of my daughters, but you will be free to do as you please aside from the marriage part.

What do you say?"

I blink a few times out of surprise, that's one hell of an offer. I never thought I would be offered so kindly to be groomed into a perfect spouse for some noble. I stutter out,

"What makes me so special? We, Frontiersmen, don't exactly have nobility."

He smiles and then replies,

"Well, you do now, lord Isa of the Stella Coyotes."

I nod and then ask another question,

"Why go this far? I get you don't like dealing with other nobles, but why not adopt one of their bastard sons or a very minor noble kid?"

He thinks about my question for a moment and then replies,

"I understand your concerns here but to put it simply, I want someone who has no ulterior motives. You are not of this kingdom, so you do not stand to gain anything but your freedom really. That is something I can control, and because of that you will more or less do what I ask of you.

While that sounds bad, which it kinda is, the problem is that being a noble is a constant power struggle, so many others are over-ambitious and greedy. I have grown tired of dealing with the constant politics of it all and wish to just have my heir sorted out to stop the constant marriage requests and other such things.

My other motivation is that I can make you at least act like a perfect husband for one of my daughters so that she is either well attended to, or taken care of. I know frontiersmen are very big on loyalty to one partner so I think you'll at least be faithful."

I nod thinking through my old business ventures and thinking of ways to sweeten the deal and then say,

"It sounds like too good of a deal to me... but I see where both of us stand to gain. If possible may I tweak the deal while offering something else from myself?"

The duke leans forward and replies,

"Continue."

I smile and then start my counter-offer,

"Your deal is great and all, but I think it can be tweaked a little to help make us both quite happy. First, you have no need to try and completely control how I act or what I do, I am very thankful for freedom so I'll definitely act in a way that will make both you and your daughters happy. I do not plan to offend anyone in your household unless you give me a go-ahead to do so.

Second, I would like the complete freedom to pick up some trades in order to keep myself sharp while also becoming a far better suitor for any of your daughters.

Lastly is my final offer, back home I was of the honor guard for my people, I am quite skilled in many aspects and I believe you can find more use out of me than just a suitor for your daughters."

He mulls over my counter-offer for a second and then replies,

"Alright, I think I get what you are after. What I was meaning wasn't some kind of overbearing control. What I meant was I'd keep you in line, but if you are being honest it makes my job easier.

As for your other points, I will grant you whatever tutor or materials you need to work on your trades, and for your current position and skill, I may find some use for you. How about that?"

I nod and say,

"I accept your deal."

The duke smiles and then says,

"Now one last thing. While I may have come up with this deal and you have me sold I am not the only deciding factor here."

He motions for the servant standing by the door. The servant dutifully opens the door and in steps, a beautiful woman who I assume is the Duke's wife due to her seeming around the same age.

She is gorgeous with the same pale skin as her husband. Her most striking features are her crimson hair, which I assume is dyed, and her emerald eyes. She is wearing a flowing red dress cut low showing off her womanly assets. She looks at me with what seems to be a glare. I stand up in respect for her and she seems to soften her gaze slightly.

She stops at the desk next to her husband and analyzes me carefully. She motions for me to turn around which I do. Once she is seemingly satisfied with my looks she then starts grilling me with questions,

"Where did you get that scar on your face?

What is your favorite pastime?

How many women have you been with?

What would you do on the first meeting with your wife?

Have you slain anyone in combat before?"

I stutter a few times in surprise but finally find my voice to answer,

"My scar was an accident during training back home, my sparring partner performed a wonderful attack which I failed to properly counter. It cut my cheek up pretty badly. I learned from this experience of course and it never happened again.

I never had much free time back home, but I like to have small sparring matches to keep my skills sharp, and I like to work on crafts and trades to become more well-learned.

I have not been with a single woman in my entire life.

If I were to first meet my wife I would of course like to know her a little before taking any steps forward. I would not wish to make a bad first impression by acting too forward.

Yes, I unfortunately have had to take a few lives. Twice in ritual combat, I killed my opponent, and during the attack on my home, I had to do what I could to protect it. I do not have a count for this as I had no time to think about it."

She seemingly thinks about my answers for a few minutes and whispers in her husband's ear. The duke smiles and then says to me,

"Good job Isa. You managed to get the go-ahead from my wife. A very difficult thing to do. From now on you are known as Isa Hasslerouge. Welcome to the family. I will handle all the admin work to get you formally added to the family, but first, let's take those iron bracelets off."

I hold my wrists out in front of me, even in the nice suit I still had my slave shackles on, just two iron rings around my wrists, no keyhole that I can notice either. The slaver who first owned me said that they would make it impossible for me to escape. I have no clue how, but again I never tried it.

Duke Hasselrouge holds his hands over my wrists and whispers something and with a sudden glow they pop off easily. My eyes go wide at the display. That was actual magic. I guessed there was some form of magic or something in this world because there are dragons here, but I thought it would be really rare with like witch covens and wizard towers, not like this, not like the stupid anime magic shit.

The duke sees my face and laughs before saying,

"Yes, the Hasselrouge family is renowned for our prowess as mages. I hope you'll eventually learn to expect lots of magical happenings around our home."

I let out a small laugh myself, looks like my second change at life is going to be more bullshit than I ever thought...