Chapter 1: 1 Deprived of Inheritance Rights Just After Transmigrating

Chapter 1: 1. Disinherited Upon Arrival

In early August, the blazing sun hung high over the Wushan territory, baking the earth until the very air twisted and shimmered with heat.

Yet Romon walked wrapped tightly in noble vestments, treading the smooth flagstones of the road that led to the highest point of the manor—the Wushan Fortress.

Barely ten minutes prior, he had been a game designer working through the night to finish a proposal, never imagining he would suffer a sudden, fatal heart attack only to be reborn in the body of an otherworldly aristocrat.

Before he could even fully digest the memories of his predecessor, guards had escorted him under strict supervision toward the Wushan Fortress to face a trial brought against him.

Fortunately, the walk was long enough to grant Romon the time he needed to absorb fragments of those memories and make sense of his current predicament.

It turned out this was a world superficially resembling Earth's early Middle Ages, but one actually possessed of extraordinary forces like battle qi and magic.

The predecessor whose body he now inhabited was named "Romon Wushan," the eldest legitimate grandson of the Marquis of Wushan, holding the rightful claim to inherit the marquisate.

Yet, despite being raised in the lap of a premier noble house, this man had failed to master a single shred of extraordinary power, spending his days drifting through banquet dances and drowning himself in fine wine and women, completely devoid of achievement.

Just two nights before at a grand banquet, the predecessor had become thoroughly intoxicated and ended up in bed with a certain lady.

No one could have foreseen that this lady would commit suicide the very next day, leaving behind a letter of grievance that indicted him and instantly set the entire region abuzz.

By all accounts, the private lives of many nobles were scandalous, and trysting with a woman at a banquet was hardly a grand affair.

Furthermore, the suicide of a common woman would ordinarily be forgotten, carrying little consequence.

The ruinous detail lay in the fact that this woman's status was far from ordinary; she was the youngest granddaughter of Count Orson Hyde, the frontier earl of the Wushan territory.

Currently, the Wushan region was plagued by internal strife and foreign threats, rendering it highly unstable, and this frontier earl not only commanded a thriving house but also bore the critical responsibility of maintaining the realm's border security.

Consequently, though the frontier earl was a vassal to the marquis, any falling out that caused him to slacken his efforts—or withdraw them entirely from major affairs—would inflict immeasurable harm upon the Wushan territory.

To this end, the predecessor's father, freshly returned from a military campaign, had delivered a single, furious punch to his son upon hearing the news, intending merely to discipline him, but unexpectedly sending his soul straight to the heavens.

As his recollections reached this point, Romon's heart grew increasingly heavy with sorrow and apprehension.

Would the Marquis of Wushan sacrifice him to preserve the stability of the territory and the family?

When he thought about it, the probability seemed dangerously high.

After all, the predecessor's mother had died young; he was unloved by his father, neglected by his grandfather, and backed by no powerful faction, leaving him in a precarious plight despite his high political rank.

"How could I run into such a thorny mess the moment I cross over?"

Romon felt utterly helpless, glancing to his left and right at the guards surrounding him, a sight that completely extinguished any lingering notions of slipping away.

Alas...

The marquis's estate was vast, adorned with countless rockeries, fountains, and floral displays that everywhere proclaimed the luxury and deep heritage of the Wushan clan.

Ascending the wide stone staircases, a massive military bastion constructed entirely of white marble loomed at the summit of the hill, magnificent yet profoundly heavy.

This was the Wushan Fortress.

Romon's mind was awed by the spectacle for only a second or two before anxiety reasserted its grip.

He was about to face not only Count Wiggins, the father whose punch had sent his predecessor to the grave, but also the representatives of the Hyde family who had come in fury demanding an explanation.

Both factions desired to pour their wrath upon him, and he, a poor, freshly arrived novice, could hardly withstand such monumental anger.

"Heavenly spirits, earthly forces, let the legendary cheat system quickly manifest and rescue its master!"

As an avid lover of games and novels, he knew well that every transmigrator possessed a unique gift.

Driven to despair, he could only offer this desperate prayer.

Perhaps in response to his plea, a line of text did indeed begin to flicker across his vision:

[Activates upon obtaining a title of nobility]

Seeing these words sent a thrill of joy through Romon; he did indeed have a cheat system to rely on.

Yet as the full meaning of the text registered, the smile froze upon his face, for this gift required activation!

"A title... how could that possibly be easy to obtain?"

Though the predecessor held the right of succession, becoming the Marquis of Wushan required first that his grandfather pass away, and then that his father die, before the inheritance would ever devolve upon him.

To take a step back, his father might bestow a title of viscount or baron upon him after he graduated from the extraordinary academy, but that was a matter for next year, a full twelve months away.

Furthermore, Romon now faced not only the wrath of Wiggins but also the risk of being "sacrificed," so where on earth was he supposed to procure a noble title?

"To have a cheat system but be unable to activate it, this truly is the absolute height of misfortune!"

He truly... had grievances he could not voice.

"Young Master Romon, the lords are waiting for you inside!"

The guards escorted Romon to the fortress gates and took up positions on either side, their captain making a gesture of invitation to indicate that Romon must enter alone.

Standing beneath the five-meter-high gates of the fortress, Romon felt acutely aware of his own insignificance as he peered inside, where several figures could be dimly discerned at the far end of the hall dozens of meters away.

Heavy, oppressive.

"What must come, cannot be avoided!"

He took a deep breath, then stepped forward into the interior.

No guards stood watch along the sides of the long castle hall, suggesting they preferred that the arguments within remain privy to none.

"Perhaps things aren't quite as bad as I imagine."

Romon comforted himself as he quickly approached the end of the hall, finally getting a clear look at the five individuals gathered there.

Directly ahead, seated upon a high throne of jade, was a white-haired, deeply wrinkled old man.

At the sight of him, Romon's heart leaped into a faster rhythm.

This old man was the builder of the castle, the master of the Wushan territory, a powerful Meteor-class knight, and a marquis of the Kingdom of Audouin—Rulance Wushan.

Romon had not expected this matter to disturb even the old marquis, who had neglected political affairs for over a decade, indicating that the relationship with the Hyde family was something even the marquis could not afford to ignore.

Standing to the right of the old marquis was a burly, rugged middle-aged man with a full beard.

He was the second son of Marquis Rulance, the Count of Wushan City, the future heir to the Wushan territory, and Romon's father, Wiggins Wushan.

As the second son of the old marquis, Wiggins should have had no right to inherit the title, a privilege that fell to him only because his eldest brother, Gremes, had fallen in battle thirty years ago, though he was clearly ill-prepared for the mantle.

At fifty-two years of age, Wiggins remained merely a high-tier knight, lacking both sufficient strength and clarity of mind to suppress the restless vassals in these chaotic times.

Meanwhile, the predecessor, as Wiggins's eldest son and the second heir to the Wushan territory, was an ordinary human who had failed to master even the slightest extraordinary power.

With both heirs exhibiting such flaws, the outside world naturally perceived that once the old marquis succumbed to illness, the Wushan marquisate would gradually fall into ruin.

This was the very root of the Wushan territory's instability.

Romon quietly glanced at the three individuals on the opposite side, all of whom wore armor and bore swords, radiating powerful auras; the golden-haired man in the center, in particular, made Romon deeply uneasy.

If his memory served him correctly, this man was the knight who followed the frontier earl—Nigan the Golden Wild Lion, a peak Gold-class knight who stood but a single step away from rivaling the old marquis in combat strength.

As Romon approached, the five men in the hall displayed various expressions.

The old marquis on his high throne remained impassive, showing neither anger nor sorrow;

The three knight representatives gave cold snorts, their furious, glaring eyes looking ready to devour him alive;

Only Wiggins roared in a violent rage, "You miserable wretch, get down on your knees!"

Romon was startled by the sudden shout, wondering if all high-tier knights of this otherworldly realm possessed such thunderous voices.

Considering the punch that had slain his predecessor, he could only submit meekly, kneeling in the center of the hall.

"Heh~"

Just then, a cold sneer drifted down from above. The representative of the Hyde family, the gold-tier knight Nigan the Golden Wild Lion, glanced at Wiggins with utter disdain.

"The primary culprit has arrived, so the Earl of Wushan Castle need not put on these empty performances before us. Miss Selena died because of Ronin, and the Wushan family must give our Hyde family a satisfactory account for this matter!"

"Indeed!"

The knight beside him chimed in, "Furthermore, regarding this campaign against the Black Gold Brotherhood, it was precisely your erroneous command that led to the death of Baron Slant in battle. You must pay the price for your blunder!"

"The Hyde family's eldest grandson of the direct line and their youngest granddaughter have both perished because of your Wushan family. If this matter cannot be properly settled, it will only damage the friendship between our two houses!"

Adhering to the principle that 'the vassal of my vassal is not my vassal,' the three knights represented by Knight Nigan regarded the Earl of Hyde as their sole master. They gave Wiggins no face whatsoever, launching into an immediate tirade, projecting an air that signaled an outbreak of hostilities if no price were paid.

Under normal circumstances, Wiggins would have roared back even louder.

Yet at this moment, he found himself unable to refute them, for in this war to suppress the bandit group, he had indeed committed an error in command.

His face flushed with suppressed rage, and with nowhere else to vent his anger, he could only bellow at Ronin once more, "Damn it!"

Ronin's heart, however, sank to rock bottom.

He had not expected that two of the Hyde family's grandchildren would die at once. A granddaughter was one thing, but even the eldest grandson of the direct line, who held succession rights, had unexpectedly fallen in battle.

And it was a blunder caused by his predecessor's father.

"Could this blame end up on my head as well?"

Ronin felt increasingly uneasy. Being the eldest grandson of the direct line himself, surely they wouldn't trade his life to compensate for that Slant person's life?

The silent, oppressive, and suffocating atmosphere made Ronin's breathing grow shallow. He was merely a newcomer to society who had just left school; when had he ever experienced such a daunting situation?

Yet he knew that the person who held the key to his safety was not his father, let alone the three representatives of the Hyde family, but rather Rulance Wushan, who sat upon the high seat and had remained silent all this time.

The old Marquis had once groomed his predecessor as the successor—after all, his son was already a failure, leaving him with no choice but to pin the hope of reviving the family upon the eldest grandson of the direct line.

But his predecessor's performance had disappointed him, particularly after failing to master extraordinary power even over the past two years.

"Though war inevitably brings death, I am deeply grieved by the passing of Baron Slant. He was a brave boy!"

Upon the high seat, the old Marquis slowly opened his eyes and finally spoke.

"I must ask Sir Nigan to convey my grief and apologies to Orson and Barrington."

Hearing this, Nigan stood up, placed one hand over his chest to render a knight's salute. It was clear that his attitude toward Wiggins was completely different from his attitude toward Marquis Rulance.

"Nigan will certainly convey it, but..."

The old Marquis raised his hand, sighing heavily, and cut the other man off.

"Speaking of which, Wushan and Hyde are bound by marriage, yet I never expected such two unfortunate events to occur. Slant's death in battle involves Wiggins' fault, and we ought to compensate, but Selena..."

At this point, he glanced at the grandson kneeling on the floor, and Ronin's heart leaped into his throat at that very instant.

Whether he lived or died depended entirely on the next words.

"Selena, that child, committed suicide. She did not die directly by Ronin's hand."

Upon hearing these words, the weight hanging over Ronin's heart finally lifted.

With this statement from the old Marquis, he knew his little life was finally saved.

As long as he could survive, things would be manageable.

But on the other side, Nigan and the other two men grew anxious.

"My Lord, although Miss Selena did not die directly by Ronin's hand, she died because she was defiled by him! You cannot dismiss this matter with a single sentence!"

Saying this, he drew a piece of parchment from his pocket, speaking with tears and a strained voice, "This parchment was written by Miss Selena's own hand. It records everything that transpired after she was forcibly dragged into the room by Ronin! If this goes unpunished, then we..."

"Do not be in such a hurry."

Marquis Rulance interrupted Nigan once more.

"I merely said that Selena did not die directly by Ronin's hand, so I will not agree to your demand for Ronin's life. But I never said I would not give the Hyde family an account."

Hearing this, Nigan, who had been prepared to argue further, checked his words.

In truth, he also knew it was impossible to demand the life of the Marquis's eldest grandson of the direct line, but they could only obtain what they truly wanted by raising such a demand.

After a long silence, Rulance finally spoke slowly:

"Slant's death in battle has cost the Hyde family an excellent eldest grandson of the direct line. His death, as well as Selena's, can be attributed to my Wushan family. Therefore, I shall give my promise here."

Ronin held his breath and strained his ears to catch the subsequent words. His fate depended entirely on how this old man on the high seat arranged things.

"I can promise."

Marquis Rulance spoke solemnly, "In the future, among the third generation, the title of Marquis of the Wushan Territory shall be inherited by my youngest grandson, the son of Wiggins and Dianne, Breton Wushan. As for Ronin..."

He paused, glancing at Ronin who had his head bowed, "Strip Ronin Wushan of his inheritance rights!"

Although there was a system of inheritance based on the eldest son and eldest grandson of the direct line, as long as they committed a fatal error, that inheritance could be abolished just as easily.

Ronin had now committed a fatal error, or rather, he had fallen into the vortex of a fatal error.

As for whether stripping Ronin of his inheritance rights could improve relations and count as giving an account?

That was a certainty.

Because Breton, who would replace Ronin's inheritance rights, bore a mother whose surname was 'Hyde'; she was the daughter of Orson Hyde.

In other words, Breton was the biological grandson of this Border Earl.

Ronin's heartbeat quickened violently, and in that instant, he seemed to understand everything.

Could Selena's suicide have been for the sole purpose of stripping him of his inheritance rights and transferring them to his half-brother, Breton?

If so, the scheme behind this was truly far too insidious.

"No, I must find a way to leave the center of this vortex!"