Side Story 4: My Son-in-Law Was a God, Altear Hyrost.
He was a baron who ruled over a small fiefdom in the empire’s borderlands.
He had a personality that could not stand injustice, and he was hated by many nobles because of it.
The reason why he was now imprisoned in the Cloud’s underground dungeon was also because of his bad relationship with the nobility.
The nobles who had always regarded him as a thorn in their eyes had framed him and dragged him to the capital.
“…”
But even after spending several years in prison, Altear’s mind had not changed much.
He was a person who would not bend his beliefs even if he suffered disadvantages.
The only thing that bothered him now was his daughter Eutenia, who was left alone. He wondered if she was doing well.
‘She must be doing fine, but…’
Altear knew Eutenia as a smart and upright daughter.
She would have managed the territory well even without Altear.
Maybe by now she had gained the trust of the people and had more authority than Altear.
Either way, he did not doubt that Eutenia was doing her role well.
As Altear was pondering in his prison cell, he heard someone’s footsteps from beyond the bars.
His eyes quickly turned to the source of the sound.
“Baron Hyrost.”
Thud. Thud.
The one who came down to the underground dungeon with his footsteps echoing was a Cloud’s investigator.
He had been facing Altear for a long time, and he had a complicated expression on his face.
Altear looked at the investigator who confronted him and asked.
“What is it?”
“Release.”
“…?”
The Cloud’s investigator did not give Altear any time to be lost in thought.
He immediately unlocked the padlock that locked the prison cell.
Clang.
The prison door that confined Altear opened, and the jailer who guarded him stepped back.
“Hurry up and get out. The crown prince is waiting for you.”
“Th-the crown prince…?”
The words that came out of the investigator’s mouth, who glared at Altear as if urging him, were more shocking than anything else.
The crown prince.
The one who was next in line to the emperor of the empire was waiting for him.
Altear was flustered more than ever by the crown prince’s request to meet the knight of the borderlands.
“What are you doing? Do you intend to make His Highness wait?”
“I-I’ll follow you right away!”
But he did not have much time to delay.
The other party was none other than the crown prince of the empire.
Altear shook his head once and quickly got up from his seat.
The meeting with the crown prince.
It was an unexpected event for Altear, but it might also be an opportunity.
****
Altear, who was released from the Cloud’s underground dungeon, was helped by the maids who came from the palace and quickly finished his bath and grooming.
He could not go to meet the crown prince in a dirty state, so Altear accepted the maids’ hands without any refusal.
After he finished dressing up and went to the reception room, someone opened the door and came in.
It was the crown prince who had invited Altear to the palace himself.
“Nice to meet you, Baron. I am Eicliffe Rogasion.”
“Ah, I am Altear Hyrost…”
Altear quickly got up and bowed as much as he could at the sight of the crown prince who entered the door.
It had been a long time since he had formalized, so Altear’s greeting was a bit awkward.
But Eicliffe did not mind him and took a seat opposite Altear.
He gestured for Altear to sit down and spoke in a relaxed voice, as if he was meeting an old friend.
“Baron Hyrost.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“How long has it been since you came out?”
“I asked some people, and it seems that it has been about four years.”
Altear did not count the time while he was in prison.
At first, he tried to calculate the time, but at some point he realized that it was meaningless.
Instead, he tried to remember the day he first came in.
He asked the palace servants for the date, too, to calculate how long he had been in prison.
Eicliffe nodded his head and lifted the teacup in front of him.
“I ordered a reinvestigation of the baron in Cloud. It turned out that you were falsely accused.”
“Your Highness…!”
“I heard that you had a hard time. The empire will compensate you enough for that.”
Eicliffe smiled kindly at him and said, and Altear felt like he was going to shed tears of gratitude.
He had been reinvestigated and released from prison by the authority of the crown prince.
There was nothing better than that for him.
The crown prince also mentioned compensation, but Altear declined it with a humble expression.
It would be a little money at best, and he was satisfied enough with the fact that he had been helped by the crown prince to get out of prison.
“Your Highness. Compensation, that is an unworthy word…”
“His Majesty has decided to give you the Colt Duchy, which was confiscated from the traitor Duke Colt.”
“Yes, yes…?”
But Altear felt like he had been hit hard on the back of his head by the next words of Eicliffe.
The traitor Duke Colt.
And the Colt Duchy.
He could not understand the words that he heard in his ears, even though he knew them.
‘What? Did I hear it wrong?’
He must have heard it wrong.
Otherwise, there was no way that he would suddenly give a duchy to a baron of the borderlands.
As Altear waited for the next words of the crown prince, thinking that way.
Eicliffe’s mouth uttered an even more shocking story.
“Also, His Majesty wants to grant you the title of Duke Hyrost and entrust you with the important role of guarding the northern part of the empire.”
“Ah, ah, no, you mean me as a duke…?”
Duke Hyrost.
In other words, he was going to elevate the baron’s family to a ducal family.
It was an unprecedented and unheard-of event in the history of the empire.
And it was a ridiculous story, no matter how he thought about it.
Just because he had been unjustly imprisoned, he would give him a duchy and a ducal title.
It was a decision that the royal family would not make unless they went crazy.
Altear rudely expressed his honest opinion to the crown prince, who was flustered.
“Are you saying that the hardships I endured in prison are enough to make me a duke? No matter how you look at it, this is…”
Well, the main reason why you were appointed as a duke was the First Apostle’s will, rather than your hardships.”
“First Apostle…?”
“First Apostle, Eutenia Hyrost. She has chosen you as the guardian of the north.”
Hearing Altear’s question, Eicliffe told him about the First Apostle Eutenia’s involvement.
Altear’s eyes widened at the mention of his daughter’s name.
He quickly grabbed the table and stood up, facing Eicliffe.
“Eutenia… First Apostle…? Your Majesty, where is my daughter Eutenia, where is Eutenia now?”
“Calm down. You will meet her naturally when the time comes.”
“But, Your Majesty…”
“You should rest in the palace for a while and wait for your appointment as a duke.”
Eicliffe said that and sipped his tea.
The crown prince’s lips still had a kind smile.
The sudden conversation with the crown prince.
The incomprehensible promotion to a duke.
And the story of his daughter who had become the First Apostle.
All of these stories felt like a joke to Altear Hyrost.
It was as if the whole world was trying to deceive him.
After the meeting with the crown prince, Altear’s time passed very quickly.
He heard stories about the responsibilities of a grand duke every day, and received reports on the changing situation of the Colt duchy.
He also met some excellent talents introduced by the crown prince.
Sometimes he was invited by the nobles to attend the splendid parties of the empire, which was a strange experience for him.
“Dad!”
“Eutenia!”
“Dad… I don’t know how long it’s been since we last met…”
Another day, he unexpectedly met Eutenia.
Eutenia, whom he hadn’t seen for a long time, looked much more mature than the last time he saw her.
She was wearing a very elegant dress and had a noble aura around her.
Altear’s attitude towards Eutenia was so polite that it was even respectful to his own flesh and blood.
“Me too. But Eutenia, I heard that I became a duke, do you know anything about that?”
“The elevation of the Highrost family? It was all approved by the great one.”
“The great… one?”
“The only divine seat who descended to the earth. He understood my merit and your hardship, and bestowed grace upon our Highrost family.”
Eutenia’s face turned slightly red as she talked about the great being.
Altear looked at her and then collapsed on the chair with his legs losing strength.
No matter how hard he thought, his head couldn’t keep up with the situation.
What was the First Apostle and who was the great one?
But Eutenia, who faced him, only told him incomprehensible stories.
“So, we can’t help but go to thank the great one.”
“Thank… prayer?”
“Then let’s go to the temple of the church together.”
Altear had no chance to object to the bewildering story.
He was led by Eutenia’s hand to an unknown place, and met unknown people there.
And he received a lavish treatment from them.
It was a treatment that he couldn’t understand the reason for.
“Your Grace. The meal is ready.”
“This is the scripture that we, the church, present to you as a gift.”
“Wear this necklace and call the name of the great one ten times a day.”
They devoted their time and effort to Altear as if they had met a great person.
And at the end of those incomprehensible things, there was an incomprehensible result.
At some point, he was kneeling in front of everyone who was praying.
“Highrost Duke. I appoint you as the honorary bishop of the church.”
“Yes…?”
“Yes. You were born to serve under the great one.”
“…?”
“From now on, you and your subjects will pray and dedicate to the great one. Then the great one will promise eternal prosperity to the Highrost duchy.”
Honorary bishop of the church.
With that incomprehensible title, a splendid badge was added to Altear’s shoulder.
After that, he received the same treatment as before and spent a few days with Eutenia.
He regained his senses after a few days in confusion and returned to the palace.
***
“Your Grace. I will take you to the castle.”
Altear looked at the servant who bowed his head with a blank eye.
It had been a month since he escaped from the damp underground prison of Cloud.
When he came to his senses, he was in front of a servant who greeted him politely in the cold land of the north.
It was the servant of the castle who came to meet the new duke, Altear.
He showed respect to Altear and praised him.
“I heard that you have done a great deed on your way here, Your Grace.”
“Deed…?”
“When you enter the castle, the knights who know your feat will salute you all at once.”
“…?”
Tap. Tap.
On the saddle of the slowly moving horse, Altear thought.
What did I do?
No matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t guess.
He just woke up and became a duke.
‘What deed did I do?’
Altear looked at the servant who moved in front of him with a doubtful gaze.
But the servant didn’t care about Altear’s gaze and just did his job quietly.
Creak-.
As the door of the castle opened and Altear and the servant entered.
The servant shouted in a loud voice that could be heard throughout the castle.
“The lawful ruler of Alterius! The divine seat who descended to the earth and the faithful honorary bishop recognized by the church! And the great knight who is the guardian of all the northern people! The Highrost Duke has arrived!”
“Woaaaaah!”
As soon as the servant’s words ended, the knights who were lined up slammed their swords on the ground.
The stewards of the ducal family behind the knights cheered.
With the thunderous applause and the bursting cheers.
In the midst of the cheers that echoed everywhere, Altear thought.
‘Really, what is this?’
Altear Hyrost.
The new duke of the empire still couldn’t believe the sight in front of him.
