Reincarnation of a Hunter Chapter 44.2 - The Ducal Succession War

The bickering father and son left the room, leaving only silence behind for those remaining in the conference room.

 

Vincent, with a hollow expression, received a paper from the attendant in charge of the problems.

It seemed there was one more problem.

 

“Count Marseille, might you also know the answer to this problem?”

 

On the paper Vincent unfolded, a square with a side length of 1 was drawn, with a single diagonal line across it.

 

“1.4142”

 

“As expected. I was wondering how you could find the answer so quickly—it seems you’ve memorized some kind of formula.”

 

“Do you solve it by calculating?”

 

“I probably would have found the answer by the end of today.”

 

“So you are the apostle of the god of mathematics.”

 

At my words, Vincent chuckled.

 

“Tomorrow won’t end as easily as today did.”

 

“It might end even faster than today.”

 

“True. It really might. Count Marseille, you are…”

 

“A weirdo?”

 

Vincent’s eyes widened, then he burst into loud laughter.  

 

“Haha! You know very well, don’t you?”  

 

“A kid shouldn’t mock his elders.”  

 

“Aren’t you 19? You’re practically my age, yet you say that.”  

 

I asked again with a serious expression.  

 

“If you give up now, I’ll put in a good word for you with Viscount Kioja. Use your talents for your brother’s sake.”  

 

“Brother Matteo is too weak. He isn’t fit to be the lord. For the future of the territory, I must become the lord. Viscount Marseille, why not support me instead? I’ll guarantee everything Brother Matteo promised.”  

 

So Vincent also knew that Viscount Kioja was a pushover.  

 

I had nothing to say. Because he was right.  

 

In my opinion, Vincent was better suited to be the next Duke of Veneto.   

 

But of course, I couldn’t just roll over for him for the sake of my territory’s interests. Vincent wasn’t the type to give anything away for free.  

 

“I hope you don’t end up crying after getting crushed tomorrow.”  

 

“If I lose again tomorrow, I might actually cry.”  

 

A shadow fell over the 16-year-old boy’s face.  

 

What could I say?  

 

That’s just your fate.  

 

Endure it with grit and malice.  

 

💫

 

The second day of the ducal succession battle.  

 

Unlike yesterday, Viscount Kioja seemed to have eaten well and slept soundly, his face glowing.  

 

“Looks like you had a comfortable stay.”

 

“Do not change the format.”  

 

“I slept very soundly. Did you rest well, Count Marseille? Haha!”  

 

Count Kioja pointed to an empty table.  

 

“The third son has notified us that he will not be attending. It seems he participated, hoping for a stroke of luck but found himself utterly out of his depth.”  

 

That’s not it—I think he just showed up because it’s a family event.  

 

He had ‘annoyed’ written all over his face.  

 

Count Kioja really doesn’t know his younger brothers at all. Even if they’re half-brothers, how could he be this clueless?  

 

“By the way, what kind of person is Vincent’s birth mother?”  

 

At my question, Count Kioja’s expression turned flushed, and he became quite talkative.  

 

“She is an exceedingly dignified, elegant, and beautiful person. The pride of our Veneto region. If you could see her playing the organ with her slender, jade-like fingers—”  

 

He chattered endlessly, praising the Duchess.  

 

‘Why is he so happy and proud while introducing his stepmother?’  

 

Don’t tell me.  

 

Is Count Kioja infatuated with the Duchess?  

 

Such things happen sometimes—becoming obsessed with an unattainable existence.   But it’s mostly a teenage thing. 

 

Like a middle school student having a crush on a teacher.  

 

‘Ugh, this guy’s mental age is still stuck in adolescence.’  

 

I shook my head involuntarily.  

 

The reason he came to dislike Vincent must be because Vincent receives an abundance of the Duchess’s affection.  

 

Anyway, I asked because I’ve never seen the Duchess before.

 

“Is he busy? I didn’t see him at the banquet.”

 

Count Kioja made a troubled expression and waved his hand.

 

“My apologies for not being able to introduce you. The Duchess left for her hometown a while ago to recuperate.”

 

To her hometown? With such an important event happening, why?

 

“When was that?”

 

“She left right after my brother’s funeral. It seems the incident caused her emotional distress.”

 

I see. So the one who killed the first son was Vincent’s birth mother.

 

Because she was suspected by the Duke of Veneto, she was driven back to her family home.

 

The oblivious Count Kioja thinks she’s just recuperating.

 

I also looked at Vincent. I see a boy with innocent eyes, something no jaded adult could ever mimic.

 

‘That guy either truly didn’t know, or even if he heard the truth, he wouldn’t believe it.’

 

Hearing that your birth mother is a murderer would naturally lead to denial. But Count Kioja was still grinding his teeth as he looked at Vincent.

 

“Damn it, because that bastard killed my brother, all this trouble happened. He’s truly a wicked one.”

 

What should I say?

 

For now, just leave it be.

 

If that fool Count Kioja changes his mind, it’ll be troublesome.

 

💫

 

After a short wait.

 

The Duke of Veneto entered the conference room.

 

Without delay, he spoke as if declaring to everyone in the room.

 

“I will present the second challenge for the succession battle.”

 

As expected, it’s another challenge this time too.

 

It seems they thought the format of the challenge would be somewhat advantageous to Vincent.

 

Then, the servants entered in a line, each holding a porcelain piece.

 

Almost reflexively, I used 〈Convenient Low-Level Appraisal〉 and discovered that one fake was mixed in.

 

‘Could it be a genuine appraisal?’

 

Just as I suspected.

 

“Today’s challenge is to identify the one fake among these five porcelain pieces.”

 

As I was about to give my answer first, the Duke extended his palm as if to stop me.

 

“Being fast is useless. We repeat this until only one correct answer remains. There’s plenty of porcelain.”

 

The Duke of Veneto must truly want Vincent as his successor. He even changed the rules to keep me in check.

 

Anyway, I quickly found the fake, and Vincent also managed to pick out the fake after discussing it with Amar.

 

‘That guy has a good eye, too. He picked out the fake well, even though it had no distinctive features.’

 

While I was admiring Vincent’s aesthetic sense, the servants brought in the porcelain pieces again.

 

The duel continued in this manner until the fifth set of porcelain pieces was brought in.

 

‘At this rate, we’ll be up all night. Aren’t we getting it right too easily?’

 

While grumbling internally, I noticed something strange about the appraisal information for the fifth set of porcelain pieces.

 

‘There are two fakes?’

 

The information displayed by the system is clear. It can’t be wrong.