Became The Son Of The Final Boss [EN]: Chapter 117

117.

Hamilton’s lord castle was very old.

Many nobles reinforce their lord castles every year.

There were very few nobles like Marquis Mike who devoted their wealth solely to the residents.

This was the same for the nobles of the kingdom, not just the Empire.

Because nobles thought it was natural to squeeze the blood from the residents to enjoy their own luxuries.

Baron Hamilton was different from those nobles.

As soon as we entered the castle, the residents welcomed Baron Hamilton with open arms.

Many residents were embarrassed to see me, but there were also many who were very happy that Baron Hamilton had brought the Crown Prince.

“Is the lord finally making a name for himself?”

“He’s already a lord, what do you mean making a name for himself!”

“If he takes good care of His Highness the Crown Prince, he might even receive a higher title, right?”

The residents whispered, but after becoming a Spirit Master, my physical abilities had also greatly increased, so I could hear everything.

I didn’t bother to show it.

Just listening to the residents’ stories, I could guess what kind of lord Hamilton was.

‘There must be slaves from the iron ore mine among them…….’

Nobles discriminated against slaves, but commoners also discriminated against slaves.

Hamilton seemed to have successfully integrated the existing residents and the residents from slave origins.

When I looked around at the residents while heading to the lord castle, there seemed to be no sense of disharmony between them at all.

After confirming that Hamilton was a good lord and briefly greeting the residents, we arrived at the lord castle before I knew it.

It looked old from afar, but when I came inside, it was so dilapidated that I couldn’t believe it was a castle.

“I haven’t properly maintained the castle, so it’s very shabby. I’m sorry, Your Highness.”

I shook my head at Baron Hamilton’s words.

“If you take less, the residents will be eating that much more. The West is a region suffering from chronic famine, but when I saw the residents on the way here, there was no hunger on their faces.”

“It was a territory dependent on fanaticism, but when the mine collapsed, the residents wouldn’t have been able to survive unless I saved every penny.”

Hamilton said that his frugality was an unavoidable choice.

I shook my head.

“Look at the countless nobles. Who else sacrifices their own things and takes care of the residents? Sacrificing the residents and enjoying luxury is what the Empire’s nobles do.”

As I spoke, I became indignant without realizing it.

“They are the ones who are eating away at the Empire. Their own residents are starving to death before their eyes, dying in wars, dying from diseases, but they eat so much that they become fat like pigs, and they send children who haven’t even had gruel to the battlefield.”

“Your Highness.”

Gayle called me quietly.

I took a deep breath.

“I was too harsh. Anyway, I’m not saying that all nobles should be as frugal as you, but I hope they at least emulate your consideration for the residents.”

Baron Hamilton bowed his head, not knowing what to do with my praise.

“I have to show it through my actions first.”

“Your Highness is already setting a sufficient example.”

I chuckled at Gayle’s words and shrugged my shoulders.

“Hamilton, I plan to stay in your castle while I’m in the West, so please show Gayle, David, and Riorden to their rooms.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Hamilton had his subordinates guide the three to their rooms, and Hamilton personally guided me to my room.

I followed Hamilton up to the second floor.

It was quite a large room. It was clearly the room Hamilton used to use.

He familiarly cleared away his clothes and belongings, then spoke to the butler who followed behind me.

“Make sure His Highness is comfortable.”

I had been riding a horse for more than half a day, so my body was stiff.

“Where is the bathroom?”

Hamilton answered my question.

“The bathroom is at the end of the hallway. I’ll show you the way. Butler, prepare a bath.”

I smiled and said.

“Just bring me some clothes to change into. Filling the tub and heating the water is my specialty.”

Hamilton and the butler widened their eyes at my words, and I laughed without realizing it.

“I’m a Spirit Master, after all. Filling the water with Undine [water spirit] and heating it with Salamander [fire spirit] is my specialty.”

“Y-you can use spirits like that…….”

“There’s no rule that you can only fight with spirits.”

Hamilton nodded absentmindedly.

“I suppose so.”

“Then let’s meet at dinner time.”

“Yes, Your Highness, please rest comfortably.”

I told Hamilton my schedule in advance.

“I’d like to see the legacy Pawen left behind after dinner, is that possible?”

“Of course, Your Highness. I’ll prepare it in advance.”

“Prepare it?”

Hamilton smiled awkwardly.

“I hadn’t thrown it away, but I hadn’t organized it either, so there’s a lot of dust inside and things are scattered around.”

“There’s no need to overdo it. We have plenty of time.”

Hamilton bowed his head and left.

I went into the bathroom.

The lord castle was clean.

Hamilton was frugal, but it seemed he was consistently managing the lord castle itself well.

The bathtub was very large.

I summoned Undine to fill the water and asked Salamander to heat the water.

The bathwater was quickly completed.

I went inside and washed away the fatigue of riding.

“I think I’ll grow fond of the West.”

It had been quite some time since I left the Imperial Palace.

By now, Ken would have arrived at the Imperial Palace and delivered the victory report. Gorgan’s body would be shown to my father later, so a glamorous return was still far off.

“Well, they’re probably more interested in the Eastern Expedition than the Western War right now.”

Wasn’t it a war that my father personally led? Probably no one was even thinking about defeat.

I felt the same way.

‘It’s hard to imagine Father being defeated.’

Even when Karen grew up and began to push back against the Empire, my father as an individual was not defeated.

Rather, Karen faced many crises where she could have been killed by my father.

“Father…… repeatedly spared her, saying she was his only rival.”

I smiled bitterly.

I set it up so that my father spared Karen several times, describing the loneliness of an absolute being, but that eventually became the beginning of the Empire’s collapse.

I vowed again today.

‘The Empire will not collapse. That’s a novel, and my life is reality.’

* * *

After finishing Baron Hamilton’s simple welcoming ceremony, I finally got up to see the Pawen family’s legacy.

I told Gayle, Riorden, and David to rest early.

I headed deep inside the castle with Hamilton.

Baron Hamilton’s castle was quite large for a baronial castle.

“The castle is big.”

Hamilton replied to my words.

“The last head of the Pawen family was a Count. Moreover, he owned three iron ore mines, so he amassed considerable wealth.”

“He had a lot of wealth?”

“Yes. The last head squandered a lot of it, so there was almost nothing left, but there was still enough wealth for the residents to live on for several years.”

I shook my head.

“He wasn’t a noble who cared about the residents, but he wasn’t a noble who oppressed them either. He was just indifferent.”

Soon, Hamilton arrived at the room where Pawen’s legacy was stored.

“It was originally a warehouse. There’s also a basement, and all the items there have been collected and stored here. And the iron ore that can produce mana distortion stones is also kept here.”

“That special iron ore?”

“Yes.”

I opened the door.

There were no gold or jewels.

There were so many items that you could call them junk.

There were weapons and armor like swords, bows, and armor, but there were also potions and some luxury items like accessories.

There was so much that it would take quite a while to look through it.

“There’s furniture too?”

“Yes. They all look good, but I don’t have an eye for it and I don’t know how to dispose of it, so I’ve just been keeping it.”

Hamilton’s voice was full of regret.

If it was furniture made by the Reinhardt family, it could be sold to nobles for a considerable price.

With that money, the lives of the residents could be made a little easier, so Hamilton felt it was a waste.

I looked at all the items in detail.

How much time had passed?

‘It would be better to entrust this to an expert. I need to have a magician under my command.’

These were precious items that couldn’t be entrusted to just anyone.

‘If all of them have magic engraved on them…… it might be better to use them than to dispose of them.’

It was Baron Hamilton’s private property, so it wasn’t my place to decide arbitrarily.

“Is there anything else?”

“There are also documents over there.”

I turned my gaze to where Hamilton was pointing.

It was a bookshelf, and there were quite a few documents.

“There were a few books written in a language like assassination secrets, and there’s also the Pawen family’s genealogy and diary.”

“Written in the same language.”

Hamilton immediately went to the bookshelf and pulled out a few books and gave them to me.

‘This is…… Chinese characters.’

It was really amazing that it was clearly Chinese characters, but I could read it very well.

Well, it was no surprise since I had never learned the language and characters of the Calpeon Empire, but I could still speak it fluently.

‘It really is a secret manual.’

It was a martial arts manual. I could clearly read it and understand the meaning, but it was the first time I felt like I didn’t know what it was talking about.

“Can I take this with me?”

“Of course, Your Highness. These items were given to me, but I don’t know how to use them, so I’ve just been collecting them.”

I put the martial arts manuals in my arms and also took the Pawen family’s genealogy and the last head’s diary.

“I’ll look at this in my room. Is it okay if I dispose of the items here?”

I added, worried about causing a misunderstanding.

“Of course, all the profits from this will go to you. It’s better than keeping the items locked up, isn’t it?”

“Yes. Please do as Your Highness wishes.”

Hamilton trusted me enough to entrust his property to me.

“When Ken comes down, let’s look into it calmly. All the items are precious, so it will take time.”

“Yes. Your Highness.”

I left the warehouse with Hamilton.

‘I need to translate the martial arts manuals into Calpeon Empire characters.’

“Your Highness, then please rest comfortably.”

“Thank you for today.”

“I was just doing what I had to do.”

Hamilton bowed his head and left.

I immediately opened the genealogy [family history record].

“It’s a family with a long history.”

Just looking at the genealogy, the Pawen family didn’t have many descendants for generations.

The last head was the only son for ten generations.

‘That’s amazing.’

I clicked my tongue.

Even being the only son for three generations was considered very precious, but being the only son for ten generations was unimaginable.

As I went up the genealogy, I saw the name of the first head.

Above the name of the first head, it was written: From Reinhardt.

“Is he a descendant of Reinhardt?”

I couldn’t know for sure just by looking at the genealogy.

I pushed the genealogy aside and opened the lord’s diary. The powerful handwriting was impressive.

-The time of glory has passed, and our family has gradually declined. When I was born, there wasn’t a single relative.

I swallowed a groan and continued reading.

-Since I was young, I’ve been told that I inherited the blood of the great Reinhardt. The Reinhardt family that once ruled the world!

“He really was a descendant of the Reinhardt family…… but they are dwarves?”

It was hard to imagine a mixed race of humans and dwarves.

‘How did this happen?’

I was increasingly drawn into the diary.

-The reason we live in this barren West is only because of the Guardian that our ancestor created, I couldn’t accept it. The Wyvern, ruler of the ruins, and the Reinhardt family’s greatest masterpiece that the Guardian protects, the Sword of Destruction!

“Karen’s…… sword.”