I Became the illegitimate son of a duke

9 – Inheritance

Kwajik!

“Kyaaa!!!”

Most people will never hear the sound of a person’s head exploding. Especially for people in this world without media.

People witness the horrific scene in front of their eyes the first time, wonder about the sound they heard the second time, and think about the combination of the sound they heard and what they saw.

And the fourth is the scream.

“Get rid of it quickly!!”

“Servant, call the servant!”

“A doctor too!!”

Only aristocrats and a handful of attendants participated, and servants who did physical labor did not participate in the funeral.

They know in their head that they have to remove the heavy chandelier, but they cannot do it with their meager strength.

“ㄲ…Ugh…”

“Hiyaaa!!”

Everybody knows that just screaming won’t make things better, but I can’t stop. It’s so awful.

The huge chandelier was decorated with all kinds of glass decorations, and the glass decorations became fragments and ruthlessly penetrated the duke’s family.

Most of the bodies were cut or crushed by the chandelier’s skeleton, and those who luckily escaped had glass shards embedded in their bodies, bleeding profusely.

“Gong, Duke!!!”

Pajik- Pajik-

What is this… What the hell is this…!

I hurriedly called the duke and ran forward. The sound of stepping on shards of glass echoes unpleasantly.

“Turn off… Ugh…”

“Duke…”

Thankfully, compared to the others, I’m not under the chandelier and I think I’m fine.

There are a lot of glass shards stuck in his body, but he’s in good shape compared to the others whose bodies were completely crushed by the chandelier.

It seems that the chandelier that fell in the middle of the procession did not directly hit the Duke at the front of the procession.

“Cl… Claude…”

The Duke, who found me, started looking at me with an expression of longing for something.

The Duke’s lips and neck muscles twitch with difficulty.

“Fu, please… Han…”

“Don’t tell me because it will hurt!! First of all… Kuck! I’ll support you!”

The floor was full of shards of glass, so you couldn’t lay the duke there.

I held on to the Duke’s body and moved back little by little. The shards of glass embedded in the duke’s body also pierced me, but I didn’t really feel any pain, perhaps because a lot of adrenaline was gushing out.

“Duke!!”

“Charles!!”

After a while, people who came back to their senses rushed at the duke like me.

I joined forces with them and carefully laid the duke down in a place where there were no glass shards.

“…”

And when the spot where the chandelier fell was finally revealed, no one could speak.

Some were still alive, but it was certain that they would die soon.

If a person with no stomach had seen this scene, would he not have been able to eat meat for the rest of his life?

“Kuh…”

…………

“Do, young master…?”

“Ahahahaha… Chloe.”

Chloe’s face when she saw me… I could describe it as pale.

Not too much. The clothes Chloe had been working on for hours had become tattered with shards of glass, and blood was leaking from the cracks.

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I… I…”

“Chloe…?”

What is he saying all of a sudden? Why are you sorry?

She’s a maid, but she doesn’t do outside work, so her skin is white Chloe, but she never thought that white skin would get whiter.

Chloe She is frightened and she is restless. Her eyes are sparkling and her tears are coming out.

“What’s there to be sorry about, Chloe?”

“That, but… Yuri…”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry. It wasn’t shards of glass that splattered into it, it was stuck while moving people, so it wasn’t too deep.”

“But… I like the room better”

Kung kung kung

Chloe’s words are cut off by her knocking sound.

Chloe, who had not been able to come to her senses even just a moment ago, calmed down in an instant when she heard her knocking.

She’s um… She’s saying this is a maid who needs to be noticed by others…?

“…Yes, come in.”

Kikiiikㅡ

Anyway, I couldn’t make the person outside wait longer, so I raised my voice a little and answered the person outside.

Trumbling

“…?”

What are these…?

The people who entered my room were completely different from usual.

First of all, there were no servants in the group of low-ranking and high-ranking servants, and unlike the low-ranking servants who wore black uniforms, the high-ranking servants wore fancy and luxurious clothes.

“His Excellency Claude de Bourgoon.”

“…Yes?”

As I grasped the situation, the high-ranking attendant standing at the front of the group knelt down and said so.

That… What, technically, my name is Claude de Bourgoon.

But in all my life, I’ve never been called like this by anyone other than the Duke. What kind of wind

“His Highness the Duke is looking for it.”

“…”

It was only then that I got a glimpse of how things were going.

Because what had just happened in the church flashed through my mind, and at the same time I saw the sad faces of the attendants.

“Chloe, I’ll be back.”

“…Yes.”

Chloe replies so coldly that you can’t even imagine that she was a girl who cried even just a moment ago.

Umm… Are you holding back because the attendants are right in front of you? I’m proud as an older brother because I’m doing a good job… But it’s kind of sad that I have to kill my emotions and live.

Later, when the attendants disappear and we are left alone, I will have to comfort her more.

…………

“His Excellency Claude has arrived.”

“Close, load… You’re here…”

“This is…”

The Duke’s condition was worse than the last time I saw him.

The whole body was wrapped in blood-soaked bandages, and one eye was also covered with an eyepatch, probably injured from the impact of falling on the floor.

“Huh… Hehhhhh… Doctor, Doctor… I heard… All, all dead… All…”

“…”

Hearing that, I looked at the doctor beside the duke, but the doctor just closed his eyes and nodded slowly.

“God, God… Why the hell…”

“Duke, the wound…”

“Cool…! Such an ordeal…!”

The doctor hurriedly tries to stop the Duke trying to speak, but the Duke ignores it and continues talking.

The duke lost all five of his children and grandchildren in a week, and was in danger of losing his own life as well. Even at their children’s funerals.

I can’t imagine what he must be feeling. Just looking at it makes his heart sore.

“Claude…”

“Yes.”

“Now… It’s only you… You…”

“…”

The Duke’s one remaining eye is staring at me.

The body is seriously injured, but the eyes are burning.

“I, my… Only, one… Child…!”

“…Father.”

“Yes…Yes… Father…”

When I say father, the duke, no, the father exhales deeply and smiles.

It is a very bright smile that can be confirmed that he is smiling even though it is difficult to see his expression because his face is wrapped in bandages.

“Meeting you was… Lucky.”

“…”

My father’s eyes are looking at my face, but they are not looking at me.

“Marie… Marie… And me… Are very similar… Very…”

“…Yes.”

“Huh, heh heh heh…”

My father smiles contentedly.

While everyone is so solemn, only the father’s laughter echoes in the room.

“Cool…! Everybody… Listen…”

“””…Yes”””

After a while, the duke coughed up blood and continued his words.

His voice continues to tremble, but the Duke is doing everything he can to keep it as solemn as possible.

Everyone in this room can know.

What is the next word?

“I… Charles… Charles of Burgon… Appoints Claude… As the successor… Next… Duke… “

“…”

With that said, my father drew his last breath, but no one in the room let out a grievous sound. He didn’t even flinch.

Only the doctor, who had a solemn expression on his face, moved quietly to catch the pulse of the duke, and then weakly shook his head from side to side.

On this day, Claude became the Duke of Burgon.

…………

“…Really? He’s dead?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

In front of a huge cloth with a white lily pattern on a blue background, a man wearing a red fur cape is sitting on a chair in the office, listening to someone’s report.

“Well, it could be. It’s a bit early, but isn’t it nearing 60 soon?”

Charles VIII, the king of the Carolingian kingdom, the man in the red fur cloak, feels a little strange that the ruler with the same name as himself is dead, but he quickly passes it on.

The name Charles was taken from the great king, so there are many people with the same name.

“…Died in an accident. Above all… It is said that he was succeeded by an illegitimate son.”

“…What?”

After hearing the report, King Charles VIII narrowed his eyes and urged the chancellor to say more.

“Whoa…”

The chancellor nodded and explained everything that had happened in the Duchy of Burgon for three weeks.

“…The Chancellor.”

King Charles VIII, who rested his chin on the desk in his office and was lost in thought, spoke to the chancellor, who was standing still in front of him, in a cracking voice.

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Isn’t the Carolingian law that if a vassal dies without an heir, the title goes to the king?”

“Yes.”

“And isn’t the duchy of Burgon our fief?”

“Yes indeed.”

It is a Duchy of Burgon whose independence was recognized through a peace treaty 20 years ago, but the King and Prime Minister are intentionally ignoring that fact.

In that peace treaty, it was only written that [The Duke of Burgon renounces all rights and obligations as a vassal of the Carolingian Kingdom].

In practice, that sentence is seen as acknowledging independence, but strictly speaking, there is no problem with interpreting the sentence as it is?

The Duchy of Burgon, the Duchy of Burgon is still part of the Carolingian Kingdom, only without duties and rights.

“I cannot accept the accession of an illegitimate child.”