C6. The Grand Duke's Long Lost Son

"Oh," I muttered in interest as I finished reading the letter, an interesting idea popping into my head.

With both the badge and letter in my possession, a get-rich-quick plan began to rapidly form.

I folded the lettered back into the bag and estimated the time via looking at the sun. It was around mid-noon.

The littered boxes and clothing kind of matched the chaotic scene of the slaughter so there was no need to clean them up. All I needed to do now was find the real body of the Grand Duke's son and make sure it's unrecognizable.

Which one. I quickly wandered over to the corpses, closely examining to see which one looked the most similar to a 19-year-old boy.

"Ah, this one," I found the corpse of a young boy with short black hair, his face deeply clawed to the point his skull was clearly seen and both legs had been torn off at the joints.

"The hair color seems to be the same," I touched my own hair, "What about the eyes," I leaned over and tugged his eyelids open to check. It was sort of similar, just a tiny bit lighter if I looked closely enough.

The only major difference between Grand Dukes Son and myself would be the height and maybe the face shape.

The boy had a bit of a babyface and was a bit short for his age, but that doesn't seem to be too big of a problem since in the letter it seems the Grand Duke may have not actually seen the boy yet.

"Alright," I muttered, quickly taking off my shirt to make sure it wouldn't rip and transformed my arm, piercing my hand right onto his face, completely obliterating his face, and only leaving behind a crushed skull. Additionally, to confirm that even if they did try to investigate the identity of the body, I completely crushed the rest of his body and tore off his hair and scalp completely.

"That should do it," I untransformed my arm and wore my shirt again, walking over to the remaining half of the carriage and laid down on the seat. Seeing as the carriage had been attacked by me about over an hour ago, a scouting team may be arriving shortly to investigate. And when that happens, I'll be here as the unconscious Young Duke.

I also made sure to give myself some wounds, cutting a deep wound on my arm, abdomen, and legs. Although not fatal, it'll give an impression that I may have fainted from my wounds or shock.

—————

A cluster of footsteps rapidly sounded through the midnight forest as a crew of 20 men could be seen running and swiftly jumping between trees.

"Irregularity spotted ahead!" The man in the front yelled out, halting the group as they instantly stopped where they were, cautiously sticking behind the shadows of the thick shrubbery.

"Duke's insignia located on carriage!" He explained, looking back at his group nodding and spinning his finger. In an instant, the 20 men dispersed, surrounding the scene with their weapons drawn.

The leader quickly stood up from hiding, sprinting over to assess the damage.

"Around ten bodies spotted, none of them matting the description of the young master." He commented, walking around with a frown. "Something around the size of 2 men, perhaps 3. Inhuman strength." He analyzed the claw masks scraped deep into a nearby tree trunk.

"Commander! There's a boy here. Still breathing! Various claw wounds on his body!" A voice called from a distance.

"I'll be right there!" The Commander nodded, taking a quick sketch of the claw mark then ran over.

"Is this the young master?" He asked, putting his fingers on the boy's neck to check his pulse.

"Fits the description, sir."

"Alright."

Breathing out a sigh of relief, he withdraws his arm and hovered it above the boy's head.

[Spirits of the wind. Heal]

A soft breeze blew past them as a glistering light covered the wounds, instantly healing it back to perfection.

"We'll carry him back to the Capital." The Commander ordered, holding the boy with both hands and nodding at his team to prepare for their journey back.

"Yes Sir."

—————

"He's awake!"

The first thing I hear when I opened my eyes was the shouting of a girl.

With a small groan, I raised myself up from the bed, still a bit delirious on what was going on.

"My lord?" The girl's voice called out next to me.

The high fancy ceiling decorated with gold linings and the giant glass pane windows with a giant field of flowers outside told me the first part of my plan had worked. I made it into the so-called Grand Duke's home. Now the second and most important part of the plan was about to begin.

I silently took a deep breath and utilizing the acting skill I had carefully perfected in my previous life. Mostly for scamming people, but that's a story for a different time.

"Where?" I looked around cautiously, my hand on my forehead.

"My lord!" The girl hurried to my side with a small fancy cup of water. "Are you alright?"

"Who?" I hesitantly looked over at her with a look of confusion.

Her soft brown hair fell beneath her shoulders, tied up in pigtails with a frilly maid hairband. Her black and white formal maid outfit swayed from side to side as she walked over.

"Who are you?" I muttered out slowly, before looking at my own hands and frowning. "W-Who am I?"

"My lord?" She quickly patted my back as I leaned forward, resting my head on the blanket with a confused and frantic expression.

Suddenly, interrupting my brilliant acting, the doors of the roof slammed open as a tall figure with short pitch-black hair and dark brown eyes walked in with an entourage of people I can only assume is his guards.

"Greeting, my lord, Grand Duke of Suin." The maid quickly bowed the moment she saw the man walking in.

"Lenso." His deep rustic voice echoed through the silent room.

I looked at the maid hesitantly, slowly pointing at myself in confusion.

She quickly nods before turning back at the Grand Duke.

"I-I'm sorry My Lord. Unfortunately, it seems the young duke may have sustained a head injury, causing him to have lost his memories." She reported, her head bowing lower than ever.

The Grand Duke's eyebrows slightly frowned before walking over.

"Lenso," he repeated, "Do you remember what happened during your trip here?"

I slowly shook my head.

"Do you know who I am?"

I shook my head again.

The Grand Duke sighed before looking back at his entourage.

"My Lord, I believe this may not be that bad of a matter." A man suddenly interrupted, stepping forward.

"Speak," The Grand Duke waved his arm.

"Because the young Duke has been reported to be previously living in a commoner village, him starting fresh here with no memories of his past may cause him to be able to focus more on becoming the future heir and have no lingering feeling of going back." The man whispered to the Grand Duke, afraid I would hear. But, unfortunately for him, after becoming a werewolf. My natural hearing, even without transforming is twice as sensitive as normal.

"Hm." The Grand Duke considered the suggestion before nodding, "Organize etiquette training and swordsmanship training for the boy within 24 hours."

"Understood, my lord." The many men stood at the doorway bowed and began to disperse among themselves.

"Lenso, my son." The Grand Duke smiled as he sat beside me. "Listen closely to what I'm about to tell you."

I cautiously looked at him, nodding.

"You are the only heir to the Einsoi family. The only Grand Duke family in our Continent. The second most powerful lineage in Suin. You will one day take my place and become as powerful as I am.

"Powerful?" I repeated with a look of confusion.

"Any amount of fame. Any amount of riches and any amount of women will all one day be within your grasp." He smiled, waving his arm in the air.

"But before you become able to gain those rewards. You'll need to learn the etiquette and behavior of high society." He smiled, clapping his hand, causing the doors to once again open with two people elegantly walking in, respectfully bowing at the entrance. A male wearing a long black tailcoat suit and the other, a well-dress woman in an extravagantly large aquamarine gown.

"These two will be your instructors for the next two years to assist you in catching up with the rest of your age group." He explained, nodding at the two, indicating for them to raise their heads.

"She's Marquise Sally Enslim, your new etiquette instructor, and Count Leroy Alms, your new swordsman instructor."

Noticing that the Grand duke wasn't going to let me have a single day of rest, I could only hesitantly nod my head and face the two people I'll be forced to interact with for the next two years.

"P-Please treat me well?" I stuttered out, bowing my head at them.

"Rule one. As the Young Duke of Suin, you never bow to anyone except the royal family." A sudden crisp voice interrupted my bow.

"Rule two. Speak with confidence. Never exude an unconfident attitude in public."

A small tug on the corner of my lips began to rise as I felt a sweat drip down my back. There goes my 'lazy aristocratic get-rich-quick' scheme. Just which circle of hell did I voluntarily drag myself into.