0001: Independence
Baima City is a beautiful place, with white walls, red tiles, and lush greenery.
Hill slowly walked towards the castle.
Today, he would come of age and bid farewell to this city.
Hill's identity was somewhat awkward.
His father, Count Perast, had three wives and had a son with each of them. Hill was the middle child.
According to the rules of the Kingdom of Salar, the non-elder son must separate and leave with a sum of property after turning 16.
The mother of the Count's eldest son, Manton, came from a noble background.
As the daughter of Duke Clair, her dowry was generous.
Unfortunately, she had weak health and passed away shortly after Manton's birth.
Having a powerful and influential family through his eldest son, the Count had to be cautious when marrying his second wife.
Unwilling to choose a wife only from the minor nobility, he set his sights on Melanie, the daughter of Court Grand Magician Oberthad Fran, who was outside the nobility system.
Melanie, a beautiful and fair-skinned mage, had long golden hair that resembled a waterfall, deeply captivating the Count.
Count Perast, handsome and wealthy, romantic and passionate, quickly fell in love with the beautiful and innocent female mage, thanks to the encouragement of the court ladies.
However, his regret followed soon after, just two years into the marriage.
The entire Count's castle rejected the female mage, and everyone believed that she would harm the eldest son,
Manton, including the husband who claimed to love her the most.
After Hill's birth, the husband became even more cautious and guarded against her.
However, nobody expected that in the world of mages, there were no boring women's wars.
Melanie delved into alchemy and, with her son, bought an estate outside the town, never to be seen with her husband again.
Before he turned 12, Hill only saw his so-called father at the annual New Year's banquet.
Unfortunately, when Hill was 12, Melanie's alchemical experiment failed, and she suffered a backlash.
A few months later, she passed away, and Hill had to return to the Count's castle.
Count Perast showed no interest in this son and immediately focused on selecting his third wife.
He no longer dared to marry a noble female mage.
It had been 12 years, and he had had enough of the days when the nobles ridiculed him.
Finally, Count Perast chose the daughter of a baron, known for her outstanding intelligence, beauty, and grace.
Two years ago, she gave birth to the third son, Edgar.
This time, the people in the castle finally returned to their familiar rhythm.
The young and beautiful new wife postponed Manton's coming-of-age ceremony, which should have taken place at the age of 16, to after he turned 20.
After all, Manton was not promising and still far from becoming a knight.
Most people, without pressure, pursued comfort and pleasure.
Only when faced with pressure would they strive for excellence.
Thus, Manton began his daily rigorous training.
As for Hill, he was going to leave anyway.
However, if after 14 years, Manton, in his 30s, had not become a knight, the inheritance would depend on whether Edgar could become a knight.
Of course, if the Count happened to meet an unfortunate end before that,
Hill could come back and vie for the title.
After all, among the current next generation, Hill was the only one above the level of a knight.
To minimize trouble and keep things quiet, Hill rarely used magic in the castle, letting these people think he was still an apprentice.
Manton had also tried to win over Hill before, but his methods were clumsy.
Hill showed an aloof and cold attitude, waiting only to come of age and leave the family, and that's how he got rid of Manton.
Hill's stepmother observed him carefully for some time and realized that he truly just wanted to leave without causing any trouble.
Hill spent his days passing time in the castle's study until last night when he suddenly received a message from his grandfather, whom he had never directly contacted before.
He hurriedly went to the estate, and after the indifferent mage sensed his mage-level spiritual power, he gave Hill a storage ring and left without giving him any chance to speak.
Even after calling his grandfather for a long time, Hill received no response.
Feeling frustrated, he packed up the estate and collected his mother's belongings.
The storage ring was large and contained many spellbooks.
Hill understood that being a mage is a self-taught profession, so after his mother introduced him to it, he should read and learn more.
What Fran did was not wrong.
As a grandfather, Fran had poured his love for Hill into the ring, which contained many precious materials, a large sum of money, enough books to fill a library, and most importantly, the building materials for a high-level magic tower core, something Hill couldn't buy even if he had the money.
However! Hill lamented in his heart, "Dear grandfather! I am a warlock! I don't even know my lineage!"
Yes, Hill's years of meditation took a turn as he was about to embark on the path of a mage.
He awakened as a glorious earth, water, and wood-based warlock.
He didn't know if he had caused trouble by crossing time and space, but in his past life, he was involved in civil engineering, and in this life, after awakening, he added water to it.
In Hill's spell list, "Turning Fossils into Mud" and "Turning Mud into Stone" were listed at the top, followed by summoning earth, wood, and water elementals.
Interspersed in between were spells like "Earth Shield," "Tremor," "Slowness," "Natural Growth," "Summon Nature's Ally," and "Purification."
Hill knew that his lineage was definitely extraordinary.
Not everyone starts with so many spells upon awakening as a warlock.
Moreover, since awakening, his body had been growing stronger day by day.
Within his seemingly frail physique resided immense power. As a warlock, his power was almost comparable to that of a formal knight.
During his awakening, Hill vaguely saw a roaring giant bear, and he knew that his primary lineage must be bear-related.
The bear race was mostly earth-based, and only an equivalent lineage could coexist.
Therefore, Hill had been pondering over what kind of lineage could blend with the Great Earth Bear to produce a combination of earth, wood, and water.
He was extremely curious about his own lineage but couldn't find any clues even after reading all the books in the castle and estate.
Just when he had a possibility of finding out through a great mage, he ended up empty-handed.
Instructing the estate's housekeeper, Lena, to pack up his luggage and wait for him at the estate's entrance, Hill, feeling suffocated, had to walk back to the castle under the morning light.
The Count had not yet woken up, and the castle was filled with Manton, who had awakened, diligently practicing with a few of his illegitimate siblings.
Hill ignored them and went straight to his room to tidy up.
A few days ago, the housekeeper had already informed him of the Count's intentions. The Count gave Hill two choices:
Either become a lord with a small fiefdom within the Count's territory or become a baron without a fiefdom but holding an exploration permit.
Without hesitation, Hill chose to become a baron. Are you kidding? Staying within the Count's territory would only bring him trouble in the future.
Magic is much more enjoyable than dealing with the hassles, and he had no interest in alchemy.
No one in the Count's castle knew that Hill was a sorcerer. Low-level mages were not uncommon among the nobility, but the growth of a mage required a significant amount of time and countless resources.
Hill, who had a cold relationship with the Count and would not receive much property in the event of separation, was not valued.
However, if he were an inheritor of a bloodline of sorcerers, he would undoubtedly be treated as a valuable stud and offered in marriage to a high-ranking noble family.
Hill just wanted to run as far away as possible, find a place to survive until he became a grand mage.
After tidying up his room, Hill didn't have to wait long before the butler came to escort him downstairs.
The Count, the Lady, and the other family members were all waiting for him to have a meal together.
Hill descended the stairs slowly, and the dining hall was filled with people who had come to witness the spectacle.
They finished a breakfast that made Hill's stomach ache amidst whispered conversations and then proceeded to the meeting hall together.
Count Perast bestowed upon Hill the title of Baron Polanio in the name of the Perast family.
The Count stood in front of the crowd, facing Hill, and with a smile, he said, "Dear Hill, my cherished second son, on this important moment of your adulthood, I, Count Perast, bestow upon you the title of Baron Polanio!"
"I, as a father, gift you 20,000 gold coins and allow you to take possession of your mother's entire estate. I hope that as Baron Hill Perast Polanio, you will bring further glory to the Perast family."
As soon as the words fell, Hill heard a sudden increase in whispers, and the onlookers' surprise could not be concealed.
Count Perast's annual income was estimated to be around 50,000 to 60,000 gold coins.
The title of a baron without a fief was considered high in the eyes of commoners, but it was customary for a powerful feudal lord to bestow such a title once a year to win over knights or nobles through financial means.
Since there were no prominent knights this year, it was normal for Hill to receive the title of baron.
However, the Count didn't even grant his own son a fief!
The combined assets Hill received were not even worth two years of the Count's annual pension.
Hill knew that the Count believed that Melanie's inheritance was sufficient compensation for him.
Although the Count was not afraid of the court's grand mage, he also didn't want any trouble.
But he disliked this son very much, and it was evident proof that he was despised by his own wife.
As long as Hill was around, no one would forget Melanie's story.
He would never leave this son on his own fief.
Moreover, Hill was a mage, and he would definitely not choose to be a lord.
The Count had always thought that Melanie was just a mage with some knowledge of alchemy, and he had been foolish.
Even if he left the inheritance to Hill, it would be worth no more than 100,000 gold coins.
That's why after Melanie's death, he generously told Hill to keep it for himself.
And before reaching adulthood, Hill had no intention of letting the Count discover that Melanie was a mage with a storage ring.
With Manton, the powerful firstborn of the maternal side, if the Count wanted to divide his wealth among the other children, he could only do so from his own pension.
Therefore, for a son he didn't like, he didn't want to give too much to Hill.
Originally, the coming-of-age ceremony, which should have taken place before the enfeoffment ceremony, was completely ignored by the Count.
Usually, children who left for their own families would receive a generous compensation at their coming-of-age ceremony.
And Hill, he didn't even have a coming-of-age ceremony.
Everything that happened today only made it clearer to everyone that Hill would not be favored in the future based on the Count's face.
Hill didn't care about any of this. He calmly observed the instant change in the atmosphere within the hall.
From now on, this place would be left to the new Countess and Manton to continue their war!
Hill only took 20,000 gold coins, while Edgar and his yet-to-be-born younger brother would receive several hundred thousand.
Hill saw Manton's eyes suddenly turn fierce, and his younger brother Edgar became his true enemy from this moment on.
As for the young and beautiful stepmother, her eyes shimmered.
Everyone understood that even though Edgar would receive a lot in the future, she desired even more.
The Perast Castle would undoubtedly become a bustling place, leaving plenty of topics for those contented individuals.
Hill didn't want to pay attention to these people and matters.
He received the baron's documents from the steward and sincerely thanked the Count for the enfeoffment.
With everyone's gaze following him, he turned and left the castle.
NOTES:
I want to start retranslating this novel because there are some parts that, in my opinion, feel a bit problematic and awkward to read.
Comments