Wizard: I Have a Cultivation System-Chapter 71: I’ll Do for You What You Can’t

Late at night, Baron Duval’s Castle was ablaze with light.

Inside the banquet hall, it was as warm as spring.

Sylvan Duval stood before the main seat, raising a silver goblet high.

The glow of the charcoal fire and candlelight flickered across his pale face, but it could not conceal the fervor in his eyes.

It had taken half a year of both open and secret struggles, but he had finally seized complete control of the domain. The price was steep: ceding thirty percent of the domain’s tax revenue to the Church Court and promising to never rebuild the Northern Trade Route.

"Mother, everyone!" Sylvan’s voice quivered with excitement. He made a point to first look at the Former Lady Baron, who sat to the right of the main seat in a loose-fitting dress. "When the sun rises tomorrow, I will formally inherit the title of Baron Duval! This will be a new beginning for our clan!"

The Former Lady Baron gave a slight nod. The forty-year-old woman’s eyes shimmered with gratified tears. "My child, your father’s spirit in the heavens would surely be proud of you. You have done well these past six months. You’ve protected the domain and driven off those pretenders. You are the most legitimate and rightful heir."

She deliberately stressed the words "most legitimate and rightful," her gaze sweeping across the room. "Those petty scoundrels who coveted the title have ultimately come up with nothing."

The new steward, Bernard, a man the Former Lady Baron had brought over from her own family, immediately chimed in. "My lady is right. The most important thing is that the title has returned to the hands of the rightful heir. Moreover, the Lord Baron has displayed extraordinary wisdom these past six months, purging Viscount Hans’s influence and reaching an agreement with the Church Court. Such decisiveness is truly admirable."

Arthur and Luca, seated in the middle of the long table, exchanged a complicated glance.

As some of the only fifteen followers left in the domain, they were all too aware of the price behind this victory, but for now, they could only remain silent.

"To the new Baron!" Leo raised his goblet with his remaining left hand, his voice booming. "The Duval Clan finally has its rightful heir!"

Hearing this, Sylvan nodded in satisfaction. "Let us raise a toast to the rebirth of the Duval Clan!"

The Former Lady Baron took an elegant sip of wine. "Bernard, are all the preparations for tomorrow’s succession ceremony in order?"

"Everything is ready, my lady," the steward replied quickly. "It will be a ceremony worthy of the Duval Clan’s honor."

Hearing this, Arthur whispered to Luca, "At least the domain is secure."

Luca nodded lightly, his gaze sweeping over the empty seats where the Knights should have been.

The other followers present all raised their goblets with smiles on their faces, but a deep, unspoken anxiety was hidden in their eyes.

"Let us toast!" the Former Lady Baron raised her voice, her face shining with an almost fanatical light. "To the legitimate bloodline of the Duval Clan!"

Sylvan immediately echoed her. "Mother is right! To the legitimate bloodline of the Duval Clan."

Steward Bernard also chimed in hastily, "Indeed. To the legitimate bloodline of the Duval Clan."

The followers present all raised their goblets in response.

"The Duval Clan is finally reborn!"

"The Lord Baron will surely lead us back to glory!"

"Congratulations to the rightful heir on his succession!"

The Former Lady Baron watched everyone with satisfaction, then said softly to her son, "Remember, as long as the title is in our hands, nothing else matters."

Sylvan nodded in understanding, the hand holding his goblet trembling slightly.

An almost morbid flush appeared on his pale face. His voice was soft, yet carried a bone-chilling coldness. "That’s right... This title should have been mine all along. Now that it’s in my hands, that’s all that matters."

His gaze swept over the empty Knight’s seat in the banquet hall, then flickered past the Former Lady Baron in her loose-fitting dress, a cold smirk touching his lips.

He had paid too high a price for this position: the domain’s future, the loss of his men, even his own health.

But none of that mattered. What mattered was that he, Sylvan Duval, was the one standing here now, not those damned bastards.

He turned to the Former Lady Baron and said solemnly, "As long as I am Baron Duval, no one can take away what is mine."

Hearing this, the smile on the Former Lady Baron’s face deepened.

...

After the banquet, two elderly servants stood guard at the outer door to Sylvan’s bedroom—the former Baron’s chambers.

Suddenly, the sound of shattering porcelain came from the bedroom, followed by a stifled roar of fury.

The older maid sighed. "It’s starting again."

The younger male servant wrung his hands anxiously. "Ever since that news got out, the master has been like this every day..."

"Shh!" the maid cut him off sharply. "Don’t gossip about things you shouldn’t."

But the servant couldn’t help but whisper, "The whole domain is talking about it. They’re saying the master... not only can he not have children, but he can’t even... perform as a man. That move by Viscount Hans was truly vicious."

Another heavy thud came from inside the bedroom.

The maid shook her head. "He smashes things every time he has an episode. It’ll take all day to clean up tomorrow."

The male servant said worriedly, "Without an heir, the title’s future..."

"Shut your mouth!" The maid shot him a harsh glare. "Just do your job. The rest isn’t our concern."

But as she turned back to the closed door, her eyes couldn’t help but betray her own worry.

...

Inside the bedroom, Sylvan swept the documents from his desk, sending parchment scrolls scattering across the floor.

He viciously kicked an oak chair beside him, which crashed against the stone wall with a loud BANG.

"Why... Why did it have to be me..."

He whispered hoarsely, his mind replaying the fleeting look of disappointment in his mother’s eyes when she learned he had lost his ability to have children.

Even though his mother had continued to fully support his bid for power, it was only because she had another motive.

He snatched the silver goblet from the table and hurled it at the fireplace. The grating sound of metal striking stone echoed through the room.

He remembered it clearly: when the physician had delivered the terrible news, his mother’s eyes held not only disappointment but also a kind of resolve.

"My dear mother," Sylvan roared into the empty room, his voice laced with bitterness and resentment. "Do you think I don’t know what you’re thinking? You didn’t want the title to go to that bastard Kelvin, and you don’t want it to go to me, a cripple! Your support was just to pave the way for the child in your belly!"

He staggered to the window, the moonlight illuminating his twisted face.

Sylvan knew with perfect clarity that if he hadn’t lost his fertility, his mother would have undoubtedly supported him without reservation.

But now...

The thought of his mother’s affair with the Roton Knight sent Sylvan into a greater rage.

That unborn child was his mother’s true hope.

A hope for decades from now!

In a world where the culture of taking lovers was prevalent, the Former Lady Baron’s relationship with the Roton Knight was an open secret among the nobility. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The late Baron had been well aware of it but didn’t care in the slightest; he needed it as a way to win over his most capable Knight.

Even if a child were born from the affair, it could be passed off as the Baron’s own, though it would have no right of inheritance.

Roton, far from being dissatisfied, would have become even more loyal.

Murphy had heard of this peculiar custom before. Though he could never understand it, it was indeed an unspoken rule within noble circles.

The Church Court, of course, officially opposed such relationships, viewing them as adultery, but it still turned a blind eye.

Even if one were discovered, a small donation was all it took to make the problem go away.

"Heh heh!"

Sylvan let out a wretched laugh. "Father, you were so generous. And look where it got us. Roton is dead, but his seed lives on..."

He began to frantically tear at the curtains, the sound of ripping fabric piercing the silent night.

"I won’t let you get your way, Mother," he said, gritting his teeth, a crazed light glinting in his eyes. "No matter the cost, this title is mine forever. It can only be mine! If I don’t give it, no one can take it! Not even in the distant future! Not even you, my dearest mother..."

Just then, a low voice spoke from behind him. "Is that so? I don’t think you can do it. Leave it to me. I will fulfill your wish."

The voice sounded familiar to Sylvan, but before he could think about it or turn around, a sharp pain shot through the back of his neck.

His vision went black, and he lost consciousness.