Chapter 423: The Strange Marquis of Elmhart

The Strange Marquis of Elmhart

In another, he was apparently some depraved noble who cared about nothing except women.

The details changed constantly.

But the general image remained the same.

A lustful noble.

A man who cared only for pleasure.

A person whose behavior was so disgraceful that ordinary villagers could easily hate him.

Victor did not believe it.

Not entirely.

Rumors could be born from truth, but they could also be deliberately cultivated.

And someone trying to hide their true identity might find such rumors extremely useful.

If everyone believed the Marquis was merely a lecherous nobleman, nobody would bother looking for a deeper reason behind his actions.

Diana leaned closer.

"Do you believe them?"

Victor glanced at her.

"No."

"Why?"

"Because the stories are too inconsistent."

Diana nodded slowly.

Victor continued walking.

"A man can be cruel. He can be lustful. He can be foolish. But when every village has a completely different version of the same person, someone is probably feeding them stories."

Diana’s expression became thoughtful.

"So you think the Marquis deliberately created a false reputation?"

"Maybe."

Victor’s gaze moved toward the distant hills.

"Or someone else did it for him."

They continued.

At another village, the story was completely different.

This time, an old woman spoke quietly while preparing vegetables outside her home.

"The current Marquis wasn’t always like this."

Victor stopped.

"What was he like before?"

The old woman looked around before answering.

"Timid."

Victor’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"Timid?"

She nodded.

"He was kind. Quiet. Understanding. Even when people complained about taxes or asked for help, he would listen. He wasn’t much of a noble, but nobody feared him."

Diana looked at Victor.

Victor remained silent.

The old woman continued.

"Then one day, everything changed."

"What happened?"

"We don’t know."

She lowered her voice.

"He suddenly became fierce. Cold. His servants began saying that he spent most of his time inside the residence. He stopped attending gatherings. He stopped visiting villages."

"Why?"

The woman shrugged.

"Nobody knows."

Victor exchanged a brief glance with Diana.

Again.

The same pattern.

A sudden change.

A completely different personality.

A man who had apparently transformed overnight.

The old woman continued speaking.

"They say he started conducting experiments."

"Experiments?"

"Yes. Strange ones. Nobody knows exactly what he was doing."

"What kind?"

"Alchemy, perhaps. Magic. Something involving weapons. Different people tell different stories."

Victor thanked her and continued onward.

Diana waited until they were out of earshot before speaking.

"That sounds more believable than the wife-stealing story."

"It does."

"And more suspicious."

Victor smiled faintly.

"That too."

The rumors became even stranger as they traveled.

One story claimed the Marquis had spent months locked inside his residence without seeing anyone.

Another claimed he had suddenly become obsessed with swordsmanship.

Then they heard the most interesting rumor of all.

One day, the Marquis had left his residence and challenged every swordsman living nearby.

Victor stopped walking.

Diana almost bumped into him.

"What?"

Victor looked toward her.

"You heard that?"

"Yes."

"Tell me what you heard."

Diana thought for a moment.

"They said the Marquis challenged all the swordsmen near his residence."

Victor’s eyes gleamed.

"All of them?"

"Apparently."

"Continue."

"He defeated them."

Victor’s expression became more serious.

"And his swordsmanship?"

"According to the villagers, it was unlike anything they had ever seen."

Diana folded her arms.

"That would certainly explain why people are confused."

Victor nodded.

It was one thing for a timid noble to suddenly become confident.

It was another for that same noble to suddenly display profound swordsmanship.

That kind of transformation could not easily be explained.

Especially not in a world where martial ability took years of training, blood, sweat, and near-death experience.

Victor’s thoughts became increasingly focused.

There was something familiar about this.

He had encountered people who changed too suddenly before.

People whose knowledge exceeded what their bodies should have possessed.

People who behaved as though they had memories belonging to another life.

People who looked at the world with an understanding that did not match their background.

The villagers continued telling stories.

Everyone knew that the Elmhart family had once been a powerful group of mercenaries.

Their name had carried weight.

Their blades had been feared.

But after the king dealt with them, their former glory gradually disappeared.

Their strongest children were taken away.

The weaker members remained behind and inherited the family title.

Over generations, the family had become a shadow of what it once was.

That situation had not changed even with the current Marquis’s generation.

At least, that was what everyone had believed.

Until now.

Because the current Marquis was apparently a powerful swordsman.

Victor walked silently for several moments.

Diana noticed the change in his expression.

"You’ve gone quiet."

"I’m thinking."

"About the Marquis?"

"Yes."

"Do you think the rumors are connected?"

Victor looked at her.

"Which ones?"

"The personality change. The experiments. The swordsmanship."

Victor’s golden eyes narrowed.

"They probably are."

Diana smiled faintly.

"Then what do you think happened?"

Victor did not answer immediately.

He looked toward the distant mountains, where the afternoon sun was slowly sinking behind the ridges.

Fourteen days.

Fourteen days of traveling.

Fourteen days of following scattered rumors.

And now, finally, they had found a trail worth following.

The sudden change in personality.

The unexplained knowledge.

The drastic increase in combat ability.

Victor had witnessed something like this before.

He knew exactly what kind of possibility could explain it.

His lips slowly curled upward.

’Heh, so he’s a transmigrator. Victor have wild guess if this woman...’

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Authors Notes: Dear Readers, Thanks so much for joining me on this adventure! Your enthusiasm, feedback, and encouragement really keep me motivated to keep bringing *Journey to Become the Zenith* into existence. If you’re loving the Chapters, I’d love it if you supported my book with a Powerstone, review, or even a Golden Ticket—it helps me develop as a writer and lets more readers enjoy the story. I look forward to hearing your ideas and thoughts, so please don’t hesitate to share!

With love,

Scorpio_saturn777

Creator of Journey to Become the Zenith

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