The Gradov Margrave Territory located at the northernmost tip of the Ganadia Kingdom cannot be called an easy place to live, even as a courtesy.
On the west, north, and east sides, the territory is surrounded by the Strark Great Forest, a woodland teeming with monsters, and the only trade route to neighboring lands is a treacherous path that cuts across the rugged mountain region of the Strava Mountains to the south.
The Gradov Margrave Territory was, quite literally, an isolated island on land.
What makes this isolated land surrounded by danger worthy of being a margrave’s territory is its importance to national defense.
It serves as a shield protecting the Ganadia Kingdom from the threat of the Vida Kingdom to the north.
Although the border between the Ganadia Kingdom and the Vida Kingdom is separated by the Strark Great Forest, during the era of continental war, the Vida Kingdom launched an invasion against Ganadia.
At the time, Ganadia was already engaged in conflict with a coalition of southern nations, and it was clear that if Vida’s forces were allowed to invade through the Strava Mountains, Ganadia would be caught between enemies to the north and south and forced into a brutal two-front war.
Shortly after the invasion began, it was discovered that the Vida Kingdom had constructed a fortress at the foot of the Strava Mountains as a foothold for their campaign.
Andrei Gradov, the first head of the Gradov margrave family who at the time held only the rank of knight, successfully captured that fortress through a desperate surprise attack.
However, even after taking the fortress, the situation was far from favorable.
They were surrounded by the dangerous Stark Great Forest and cut off from reinforcements and supplies by the Strava Mountains, forcing them into a gruelling defensive battle.
On the desperate northern front, Andrei displayed extraordinary skill with both magic and the sword for three years until the war’s end.
He went far beyond what one would expect of a mere knight, cutting down enemy soldiers and fighting with lionhearted ferocity to successfully defend the fortress.
Thanks to Andrei’s efforts in halting the Vida Kingdom’s invasion, the Ganadia Kingdom was able to concentrate its forces on the conflict with the southern nations and ultimately succeeded in defending the country.
Andrei was hailed as the Northern Hero who saved the Ganadia Kingdom, and after the war, he achieved the unprecedented promotion from knight to margrave.
The lands surrounding the fortress that had become the battlefield, now the territory of the margraviate, were granted as a reward alongside his elevation.
Even now, after the end of the continental war and the signing of a non-aggression treaty with the Vida Kingdom, relations with the neighboring country can hardly be called good, and from the standpoint of national defense, the Gradov Margraviate remains of great importance, with the margrave family holding significant influence within the kingdom.
Within the margraviate, the origins of the margrave family are regarded with near-reverence.
There is an absolute pride in being the shield of the kingdom, and an intense fixation on valuing martial strength has become the norm.
It is a land that stands out even within the Ganadia Kingdom, where an extreme ideology prevails: strength alone is valued, and those too weak to fulfill the duty of national defense are deemed guilty.
In such a place that was like heaven for the strong and hell for the weak…Dmitri Gradov was born.
***
It’s cold… my ankle… is broken too.
On the training grounds, now completely dark after sunset, I slowly opened my eyes while lying collapsed on the ground.
I have to… at least change my position…
Lying face down made it hard to breathe, so I tried to adjust my posture if only to ease the strain a little.
Summoning the last of my strength, I thrust my relatively less injured right arm against the ground. After struggling for several seconds with sweat beading on my brow, I managed to rotate my body and ended up on my back.
Even though I hadn’t moved with much force, the moment my back hit the ground, a searing pain like a lightning strike shot through my entire body.
“Gah…! Ugh…”
My breathing fell into disarray, and the pain made my consciousness waver.
Clenching my teeth, I somehow endured it and gradually steadied my breathing. Through tear-blurred vision, all I could see was darkness, not a single star in the sky.
If only my brother hadn’t said anything unnecessary…
What had been called today’s “training” had begun with a remark from father’s beloved eldest son and heir… Igor.
– My dear little brother has yet to be recognized by those around him, and it pains me deeply. Father, even in my eyes, Dmitri has been diligently training every day and is steadily improving. Please, I beg you, would you personally oversee his training so that you may witness his growth?
My brother’s dramatic plea seemed, through father’s biased eyes, like the model of a caring older brother concerned for his inadequate sibling.
As a result, I was subjected to violence under the guise of training, and after I was no longer able to stand, father enraged that I had “trampled on brother’s feelings” beat me half to death.
What do you mean, dear little brother… you were laughing from the shadows of the training grounds…
Among the people of the Gradov territory, and especially within noble families, strength is demanded above all. Compared to my talented older brother, I had been branded a failure who brought disgrace upon the illustrious House of Gradov.
I am, at least, the second son of a margrave… and yet I’m left here in the training grounds without even treatment.
My father, who believed strength to be justice above all else, made no attempt to hide his son’s inadequacy, openly spreading word of it without shame or concern for appearances. As a result, my abysmal reputation was known throughout the territory.
I had no allies, not even among the servants. No one would come to help me.
I had never left the territory and knew nothing of how other noble houses operated… but even so, I understood that this treatment was abnormal.
I had been beaten down, my whole body ached, I was cold, miserable, and pathetic.
It was frustrating.
The tears that had welled up from the pain now flowed more freely, running down my cheeks.
Get a hold of yourself! If those madmen see you still lying here, they might actually kill you this time…
I closed my eyes as I steeled myself, forcibly suppressing the swirl of negative emotions inside.
Focusing my awareness on my mana, I circulated it through his body and activated the self-healing technique I was accustomed to using.
If only I could use proper healing magic, not just the basic body enhancement and self-healing anyone can manage…
“Haa…”
I let out a sigh, disgusted with myself for voicing weakness so soon after trying to steel my resolve.
The magic I could use was shockingly limited for someone of a noble house. More precisely, it would be more accurate to say that I could not use anything that was officially defined as magic in the Ganadia Kingdom.
Physical enhancement, which manifests by refining and controlling mana within the body, and self-healing, which converts mana circulated through the body into life force, are both considered to fall within the scope of mana manipulation.
What is defined as magic is the act of manipulating mana to affect the world… for example, something like the earthen projectile my father launched during training today that shattered my ankle.
If only my recovery ability were a little stronger…
Self-healing accelerates the body’s natural healing ability, allowing wounds to mend faster, but there are limits to what it can heal. Serious injuries like fractures cannot be repaired.
Fortunately, aside from the fractured left ankle and the heavy blow to my back, I had desperately protected myself with physical enhancement, so while my injuries were not minor, they were not fatal, and I managed to cling to life.
Growing increasingly anxious that I had to move soon, I continued applying self-healing, and after about an hour, while not fully recovered, I had healed enough to move to some extent.
It’s pathetic, but I’ll have to crawl to the annex…
Branded as the disgrace of the Gradov family, I was not permitted to set foot not only in the main mansion but even in the secondary building, and instead I lived in a detached structure at the edge of the estate.
Not being able to use magic was already a fatal flaw, but having less mana than the average noble only worsened how poorly I was treated.
Because my mana reserves are low, even physical enhancement can only be used sparingly.
Used sparingly, I can muster strength comparable to an ordinary soldier in the territorial army…
But it seems that for someone belonging to the battle-oriented Gradov family, being on the level of a mere foot soldier is unacceptable.
Even so, I believe I spared no effort in trying to grow stronger.
To improve my ability to stay in a fight even with limited mana, I trained my mana control so I could activate physical enhancement in brief bursts timed with attacks and evasions, rather than keeping it active at all times.
To conserve mana, I also learned to avoid activating physical enhancement at full power every time, instead adjusting its intensity as needed through precise control.
I desperately thought things through in my own way and refined my approach so I could achieve maximum effect with the minimum necessary mana consumption.
Believing that increasing the strength of my body through physical enhancement would make me stronger, I never neglected my basic training either.
And yet, in the end, nothing changed.
From the day I underwent the appraisal ceremony at age ten when it was revealed that I could not use magic, had received no divine blessing, and possessed less mana than the average noble to today, at seventeen, seven years have passed, and the way others see me has only grown worse.
Come to think of it, it’s my birthday… Deliberately setting Father on me today really is just like my older brother… I’d completely forgotten until now.
Thinking this, I finally made it to the annex, but unable to properly open the door while using my left leg, I lost my balance and tumbled inside.
Although I had recovered to some extent through self-healing, my stamina was reaching its limit.
Forcing my screaming body onward, I somehow managed to reach the potion I had set aside for emergencies.
Even now, it’s still hard to believe that just drinking it can heal a fracture.
The harshness of my life can’t be summed up simply by saying I’m constantly covered in fresh wounds.
One-sided violence like today, reckless orders during expeditions into the Great Strark Forest, harassment from territorial army soldiers…..
I live a life that stands shoulder to shoulder with death in many ways, so I keep several potions stocked in the annex.
Of course, I have neither the money nor the connections to buy expensive potions that can heal fractures. It’s nothing to be proud of, but I’ve been “borrowing” various supplies from the territorial army.
If my theft is discovered, I won’t get off lightly. Even so, it’s not just about securing a means of recovery. I also need to make up for the food I’m not properly given. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that this is what it takes to survive.
As a warrior, I’m still considered a failure, yet only my thief-like skills keep improving. Even I find that ridiculous…
Thanks to my mana control training, I gradually became able to suppress even the mana that unconsciously leaks from my body, making it harder for me to be detected.
As I continued stealing without being noticed by the guards at the supply and food storage, only my skills as a thief ended up becoming unnecessarily refined.
If I could just grow stronger through proper training… maybe I’d be treated a little better, and I wouldn’t have to steal at all…
With such futile thoughts in mind, I finished the potion and, unable to resist the fatigue, I fell asleep on the cold floor.
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