Reincarnated as a Genius Prodigy of a Prestigious Family - Chapter 16

# 5. Talents like This (3)

“Are you abandoning the spear, Dane?”

As a devout believer in the superiority of spears over swords, the Count’s heart ached at the sight.

In a flash, Duke Termione came to mind.

That damn brother must have filled his head with nonsense. Otherwise, Dane wouldn’t be swinging a sword after training so well with the spear.

Just as Count Sogress was about to approach with his heavy heart, he stopped.

“Wow.”

Dane’s sword stance seemed incredibly familiar.

How?

A boy who had never held a sword before, how could he?

Moreover, the aura he emanated was comparable to someone who had trained extensively with the sword.

Whoosh! Swoosh!

No, considering his young body, it was even more impressive. It was baffling.

When did he learn?

At five years old? Or from books?

Impossible to know, but one thing was clear.

“He has talent with the sword too…”

It seemed unbelievable, but it looked true.

There was no other way to explain those sharp movements, the stepping, and the form of his swordsmanship.

Could this be real?

He’d never been seen with a sword or had a teacher.

Yet, his basics and skills were this good?

Unless he practiced in dreams, it made no sense.

Or –

This too was ‘talent.’

“Ha.”

Count Sogress let out a hearty laugh.

He was curious about how Dane came to learn the sword.

But first, he needed to be certain of something.

“This castle is too small for him.”

The Count’s desire to keep his son close was fading. With such talent, he couldn’t be held back.

No, it would be unreasonable to keep him confined to the castle when he showed talent in spear, magic, assassination, and summoning.

He had been ignoring it until now.

But with his talent in swordsmanship, it was hard to ignore any longer.

“Did Duke Termione teach him?”

That seemed even more unlikely.

No matter how close they were, the Duke wouldn’t teach without saying a word.

“His Grace has finally arrived.”

Hermann approached and greeted.

“Yes, why did he come early?”

“The young master wanted to start an hour earlier.”

“An hour early…”

“Shall I call him?”

“No, let’s watch until he finishes.”

Count Sogress watched Dane’s swordsmanship, lost in thought.

After a while, Dane noticed his father and put down the sword, running over. His eyes briefly glanced at the Dragon Tail his father held but then returned to his father.

“When did you learn the sword?”

“…”

“As I thought… it’s a talent.”

Count Sogress nodded knowingly.

Dane seemed like he wanted to say something but closed his mouth again.

Count Sogress asked decisively.

“Dane, aren’t you curious about the world?”

The question was unexpected.

“Spears, magic, assassination, summoning… and now swordsmanship. If I were someone else, I wouldn’t believe a child could be talented in all these things.”

He continued.

“Of course, the world isn’t confined to this castle. There are many things you don’t know. I think… this castle is too small for your talents.”

Count Sogress was serious.

Keeping such a talented child confined to this castle would be a great loss.

As a parent, he realized he couldn’t keep him any longer.

So, he asked if Dane was curious about the world.

“I am curious.”

Dane’s answer was a resounding ‘yes.’

Very much so.

He wondered how far his talents could take him in the world.

What the battlefield and the world outside this castle were like.

Count Sogress smiled at his response.

It was unfortunate, but what could he do?

His son wanted it.

“Alright. Then you must prepare to go out into the world.”

Count Sogress showed him the Dragon Tail.

“I brought this for you to hold today.”

“This is…”

“Yes. The Dragon Tail you held and reacted to when you were one year old.”

He handed over the Dragon Tail.

“Would you like to try holding it?”

Dane accepted the Dragon Tail without hesitation.

At that moment—

Whoom!

The Dragon Tail responded eagerly.

It was a much stronger reaction than on his first birthday.

Count Sogress watched, then burst into laughter.

“Ha ha ha…”

Spear skills.

Assassination.

Magic.

Summoning.

And now swordsmanship.

He had a genius talent. Seeing the Dragon Tail react, he felt a desire to highlight his talent in spear skills above all.

“I plan to teach you spear skills properly before you leave, so be prepared.”

Dane nodded eagerly.

“Of course.”

Count Sogress smiled warmly.

“One day, this spear will be yours. Until then, train hard and become worthy of it.”

Dane’s unexpected reply came.

“I will become worthy of your teachings before the spear.”

Indeed.

He was his son.

The thought of parting in a few years was becoming bittersweet again.

* * *

After being caught with the sword by my father, I returned to my room and fell into deep thought.

The battlefield.

It was a stagnant world.

Even if the frontlines moved, my life didn’t change. Set up camp, clean weapons, eat tasteless food, and go into battle.

There were two ways to escape.

Discharge or death.

But I stayed because I had nowhere to go even if I were discharged.

“I was curious about the outside world back then too.”

But knowing I would have to return to the battlefield made me hesitant.

Born and raised on the battlefield, I couldn’t imagine living outside it.

Seeing soldiers rejoice at being discharged made me wonder.

What does it feel like to go ‘home’?

Then I died and woke up in a world unlike any I knew… Ironically, I became curious about the outside world.

How my talents would be used outside the battlefield, how the world would accept me, what I could do in the world.

“Academy or anywhere…”

My vague promise to Layla about going to the capital became clearer.

Previously, I just wanted to stay in this warmth for as long as possible, but my father’s question changed my thinking.

“Talent, huh.”

It made no sense to waste such talent.

So I resolved again.

“I’ll go out. Anywhere.”

But only after thorough preparation.

Then—

“So you’ve really decided, son.”

When did she come in? My mother stood in my room.

“Mother?”

I sprang up from the bed.

“Don’t misunderstand. I didn’t come in without knocking. You were so deep in thought you didn’t hear me.”

“Oh…”

Mother approached slowly and sat next to me.

With a slightly regretful expression, she asked.

“Son, you’re curious about the world outside this castle?”

I suddenly realized.

My sisters had all left the castle.

They occasionally returned, but only briefly.

And after they marry, they’ll rarely visit.

In such a situation, I was the only one left, and now I was talking about being curious about the world.

I felt as if I had momentarily forgotten the family’s importance, something I never felt in my past life.

“I’m sorry, Mother.”

“What are you sorry for, Dane?”

She patted my head.

“I know how amazing and exceptional your talents are. Even if you don’t want to, the world will.”

“But Mother, I also like staying here with you for a long time.”

Mother smiled, finding my words endearing.

Her green eyes looked at me. Unlike my sisters, I had inherited those green eyes.

“If you’re born in the Sogress family, you must go out into the world. Of course, I would love for you to stay here with me, but the world won’t allow it.”

Her hand moved from my head to my hand.

“So go out and do what you want, Dane.”

Do what I want.

Those words sparked something in me.

“I want to see the world. And…”

I gave the best answer I could.

“I will come back often and tell you about the world I’ve seen.”

Mother smiled brightly.

“Thank you, Dane. You’re so thoughtful.”

Her embrace was warm.

I was in a dreamlike moment.

But only for a moment.

“Then, like your father, I must prepare you to face the world.”

Just like my father…

“I was going to teach you tracking techniques step by step, but now I’ll include traps and evasion.”

Mother added thoughtfully.

“Assassination requires various skills. Understanding traps, tracking techniques, evasion, and disposing of bodies. Oh! You should learn anatomy too. Even a small needle can silently kill an enemy if you know where to strike.”

My head was spinning.

It even sounded frightening.

Why so much, Mother?

“And, well, you need essential dagger skills. Given your talent in swordsmanship, you should learn daggers well too. Anyway… I will teach you a lot!”

Another grueling training session was coming.

Even too much talent is problematic.

Should I not tell my sisters about this?