CH 9

Chapter 9 - "I'm Ten Years Old. And The Margrave Has Arrived."

And so, for the past three years, I had been training hard, while at the same time teaching my younger brother the knowledge to become a lord and the skills of swords and magic, and now he had grown up to be not so different from me.

That day, I was summoned by my father again. When I went to my father's room to find out what he wanted this time, I was surprised to hear his words.

"Roland, tomorrow the Margrave Byreus from the neighboring territory will come to visit. Therefore, you are forbidden to go out at all from your room tomorrow.”

"W-why, Father!? I've heard that Margrave Byreus is a martial artist who is on par with Father. If I, as the next head of the family, don't greet him, it will be a problem.”

"......"

I said something in response to my father's words, pretending to be desperate to argue with him. I really didn't want to meet such a troublesome person, but I decided that if I just backed down, it might give him a strange feeling of discomfort, so I did what I had always done. I acted like a very troublesome son.

As if to prove my argument was correct, my father's brow wrinkled up as he tried to figure out how to persuade me. He looked a little scary, like the face of a warrior who had faced a dragon.

“I understand. But you must return to your room as soon as you have greeted the Margrave. Understood?"

"B-but ......"

“Do you understand!"

*

The next day, as planned, Margrave Byreus visited Malbert's territory and a meeting was immediately held. If I had to describe my first impression of Margrave Byreus in one word, it would be that of a bear.

He was a huge man, almost two meters tall, with a muscular body, and his eyes were even sharper than my father's. I wanted to run away from him the moment I saw him. I had only heard about him through rumors, but when I actually saw him, I realized that he was indeed a strong man.

"Welcome to our humble territory. Margrave Byreus.”

"Good to see you, Randall. So… this little boy is your eldest son.”

“Hello, Roland.”

At my father's urging, I gave a bland greeting to Margrave Byreus. As if he didn't want to miss a single move I made, his two sharp eyes pierced me. I was convinced at that moment that the Margrave Byreus had come to assess my capabilities. However, this was within my expectation, and since I had assumed that this was the most likely scenario, I was prepared for it.