Chapter 674: A Talk with the Duke of Ash

Ezra watched Veda from the side as the young lord held the Springfield M1903A against his shoulder.

Veda’s gaze remained fixed on the target in front of him.

His cheek rested against the rifle’s stock, and his eye stayed behind the scope as he made small adjustments to his aim.

The five large boulders of Blacksteel hovering around him remained at the same height.

None had shifted out of position.

Then he pulled the trigger.

Bang!

The shot rang across the training ground, but the bullet missed the bullseye by a wide margin.

Veda held his position for another moment before lowering the rifle slightly.

His eyes remained on the target, where several bullet holes had already gathered around the center.

Some were close to the bullseye, while others had struck much farther away.

Ezra’s gaze moved from the target to the ground.

Several sniper rifles lay scattered around Veda.

Some had been placed beside one another, while others rested a short distance away from his kneeling position.

Their presence, along with the number of bullet marks on the target, told Ezra enough.

He must have been doing this for a long time.

Ezra thought to himself.

Veda wasn’t simply practicing his aim.

He was maintaining control over five heavy Blacksteel boulders while trying to hit a bullseye with a sniper rifle.

The two tasks demanded different kinds of attention.

Keeping the boulders suspended required him to maintain his Cognis output and control over their positions.

Meanwhile, firing the rifle required him to control his breathing, keep his body steady, and make precise adjustments to his aim.

A slight mistake in either task could ruin the entire attempt.

Concentration and control. That’s the theme of this training.

Ezra thought about it as the maid led him towards the Duke of Ash.

He glanced at Veda once more.

The young lord’s shoulders were tense, but he continued holding the rifle in position.

Even from a distance, Ezra could see the strain in his arms.

The five boulders remained suspended around him.

It was an exhausting exercise, especially when performed for an extended period.

Veda couldn’t afford to let his attention drift too far from either task.

If he focused too much on the rifle, his control over the Blacksteel might weaken.

If he paid too much attention to the boulders, his aim would suffer.

The training was designed to push him into managing both at once.

Ezra turned his attention back to the maid.

She continued walking until they reached the Duke, who sat calmly on a throw pillow near the edge of the training ground.

His posture was relaxed, and his indifferent expression gave little away.

The maid stopped beside him and lowered her head.

"Lord, the child has arrived."

She spoke quietly, informing Duke Valentine of Ezra’s arrival.

It was a formality more than anything else.

Every Guard and Servant inside the training ground knew that the Duke had been aware of Ezra’s presence long before he reached the mansion’s gates.

With the level of power the Duke possessed it wasn’t surprising or shocking for him to already be aware of Ezra’s presence.

No one could even know the specific moment the Duke had already sensed the Royal Steam Carriage carrying Ezra while it was still far from his mansion.

Still, the maid had to report to her master.

"Sit."

Duke Valentine spoke in a calm voice.

A butler immediately approached carrying a throw pillow.

He placed it on the ground before Ezra, making sure it was positioned at a suitable distance from the Duke.

Ezra looked down at it, then sat.

He folded his legs and settled into a comfortable position, keeping his hands resting naturally in his lap.

There was no need to stand around waiting for the Duke to speak when he had already been told to sit.

The maid and butler bowed before withdrawing to their positions at the sides of the training ground.

Neither of them lingered.

Their duties were complete for the moment, and they returned to their posts while the Duke and Ezra remained seated.

Bang!

Another gunshot echoed from Veda’s side.

The sound travelled across the training ground, followed by the brief ring of the rifle’s report fading into the distance.

"Tsk."

Veda clicked his tongue.

His hands had begun to shake after spending so long in the same position.

The strain was becoming harder to ignore.

His fingers tightened around the rifle’s grip as he tried to steady them, but the trembling had already begun to affect his control.

The five Blacksteel boulders remained suspended around him.

He continued directing his Cognis towards them, maintaining their positions even as his body grew more tired.

He couldn’t simply stop concentrating on the boulders to recover his aim.

The exercise required him to keep both tasks under control until he reached the goal.

The rules were straightforward.

He had to hit fifty bullseyes or continue until his Cognis was exhausted.

There was no other way to finish the training.

Since this wasn’t a real fight, Veda wasn’t using his Cognis in the same manner he would during combat.

Instead of releasing it in a short burst to perform a single action, he had to maintain control over the five heavy objects while repeating the same shooting process.

The prolonged effort made the exercise difficult in its own way.

Veda had been in the same spot for days without eating or drinking water.

Sweat covered his body, darkening parts of his training clothes and sticking the fabric to his skin. His hair was damp, and beads of sweat ran down his face whenever he moved.

Yet he hadn’t finished.

His bullseye count stood at thirty-six.

He raised the Springfield M1903A again.

The movement was slow.

His arms had already grown tired, and he needed to steady the rifle before he could aim properly.

He adjusted the position of his hands, settled the stock against his shoulder, and looked through the scope.

The target remained in front of him.

Veda drew a breath and tried to settle his breathing.

He shifted his aim by a small amount, correcting the position of the rifle as he lined up the shot.

The boulders stayed in place.

For a moment, he held still.

Then his finger tightened around the trigger.

Bang!

The shot rang across the training ground.

This time, the bullet struck the bullseye.

Veda’s black eyes widened slightly as he checked the target through the scope.

After confirming the hit, he let out a small breath.

"Yes."

The word escaped him in a low voice.

He lowered the rifle just enough to check his count, his tired expression giving way to a brief moment of satisfaction.

"That makes thirty-six... No, thirty-seven. I can’t afford to forget my counting."

He corrected himself at once.

Veda had been concentrating on the task for so long that even keeping track of his successful shots had become another thing he needed to manage.

He couldn’t allow himself to lose count after coming this far.

He looked back towards the target, already preparing for the next shot.

His attention remained fixed on completing the exercise.

He didn’t even realize that Ezra had entered the same training ground, much less that his cousin was sitting beside his father.

For Veda, nothing else mattered at the moment.

He needed thirteen more bullseyes.

Apart from the occasional gunshot from Veda’s side, silence settled between Ezra and Duke Valentine.

Neither of them seemed bothered by it.

Ezra sat with his legs folded, looking at the Duke with his usual plain expression.

He didn’t feel the need to start a conversation simply because they were sitting together.

If the Duke had something to say, he would speak when he was ready.

Duke Valentine appeared to think the same way.

He remained seated, watching Veda’s training from time to time.

His black eyes showed little emotion, and his relaxed posture gave no hint of impatience.

Ezra didn’t try to guess every reason behind the meeting.

He already had a fair idea of what the Duke wanted to discuss.

Considering what had happened recently, there were only so many matters that would require a private conversation between them.

So, he waited.

The next gunshot rang out.

Neither Ezra nor the Duke reacted to it.

After a while, Duke Valentine finally turned his attention towards the young noble sitting beside him.

"Ezra."

The Duke called Ezra’s name.

"I am listening, Lord Duke."

Ezra replied calmly.

"I would like to apologize for the inconvenience Elder Fredricks has caused you."

Duke Valentine spoke calmly, his indifferent black eyes resting on Ezra.

"He has done something that doesn’t only affect you, but also the reputation of the family, which was already being questioned before."

As he spoke, he folded his arms.

His left middle finger tapped against his right upper arm at a steady pace, the small movement being the only visible sign of activity in his otherwise still posture.

"Elder Fredricks has been placed under house arrest. And any further action against you would lead to some of his Elder rights being revoked."

He delivered the information directly.

There was no attempt to make the punishment sound more severe than it was.

The Duke simply explained what had happened and what consequences Elder Fredricks would face if he acted against Ezra again.

Ezra listened without changing his expression.

He showed no surprise that Elder Fredricks had finally been restrained.

Nor did he look particularly satisfied with the punishment.

House arrest was a restriction, but it was hardly the harshest measure the family could have taken.

The possibility of losing some Elder rights was another consequence, yet the Duke had made it clear that those rights would only be revoked if Elder Fredricks took further action against Ezra.

The punishment came with conditions.

Ezra understood that much.

Still, he didn’t interrupt the Duke or demand a harsher sentence.

He kept his attention on the older man, waiting to hear the rest of what he had to say.

Duke Valentine watched him for a moment.

"I know you must be wondering why harsher action hasn’t been taken against the Elder."

His tone remained calm, as though he had already anticipated Ezra’s thoughts.

"The only thing I can tell you is that certain circumstances have made it difficult."

He didn’t offer a detailed explanation.

Ezra didn’t press him for one.

"I understand, Lord Duke."

His reply was plain and measured.

He understood that the Duke was not going to disclose everything about the matter.

Since there were situations within the family that he had yet to learn about, and forcing the issue would not necessarily give him the answers he wanted.

Especially when the words are coming out from the man in power.

For now, he accepted the explanation.

Duke Valentine gave a slight nod before shifting his position.

"Now, the reason I wanted to talk to you."

He adjusted his folded legs, raising one knee and resting an arm on it.

His gaze moved away from Ezra for a brief moment before returning to him.

"The gun you used against the Elder Ghost Crawler."

The Duke’s words caught Ezra’s attention.

Ezra blinked.

An AK-12 was already resting in Duke Valentine’s left hand.

The rifle had appeared so suddenly that Ezra hadn’t noticed the moment it arrived.

He stared at the weapon, then looked at the Duke’s hand, trying to work out what he had just witnessed.

No Alchemy ignition sound?

His thoughts moved quickly.

I didn’t even catch sight of him performing the Alchemy.

Ezra examined the rifle again.

The Duke was holding it as though it had been there all along, with no sign that he had needed to struggle or make any noticeable movement to bring it out.

Did he even use materials?

He considered the possibility for a moment.

No... Maybe he brought it out from somewhere.

Ezra’s gaze shifted towards the Guards of Ash and the personal Guard of Ash standing farther away.

They were positioned around the training ground, watching the Duke, Ezra, and Veda as the exercise continued.

Could the rifle have come from one of them?

The thought rested in Ezra’s mind for a brief second.

Perhaps one of the Gun Alchemists present had already created the AK-12, and the Duke had simply taken it from them.

That would explain why Ezra hadn’t seen an Alchemy Circle or noticed any ignition sound.

But the idea didn’t fit perfectly.

Because if Duke Valentine had taken the rifle from a guard, Ezra would have expected to see some movement.

The guard would have needed to hand it over, or the Duke would have had to control the rifle towards himself, but then....

Why would the Duke need to use Alchemy levitation, in a fast approach?

He looked back at Duke Valentine.

So, he created the rifle himself. But how?

That was the question he couldn’t answer.

Ezra wasn’t interested in the matter merely because the Duke had produced a firearm without warning.

He wanted to understand what the action revealed about the Duke’s level of Gun Alchemy.

If an Alchemist at the same rank as Duke Valentine no longer needed visible materials or an obvious ignition process to create a firearm, that would tell Ezra something important about the limits of the path.

But he couldn’t conclude that from what he had seen alone.

There were several possibilities.

The Duke might have used materials so quickly that Ezra hadn’t noticed them.

He might have performed the Alchemy with such speed that the process appeared to have happened without any action at all.

Ezra couldn’t rule out that explanation.

After all, there was a difference between failing to see an action and an action never taking place.

His gaze remained on the AK-12.

The rifle was familiar to him.

He knew its design and had introduced it to the Ashenlocke House, so he could recognize it without needing to inspect every part.

What he didn’t understand was how it had appeared in the Duke’s hand.

If he’s fast enough to perform Gun Alchemy without me noticing, then I need to reconsider what I can actually perceive at his level.

Ezra kept that thought to himself.

He glanced once more towards the guards, then returned his attention to the Duke.

None of the guards had approached, and no one was handing the Duke a weapon.

That left him with the same question.

Why had Duke Valentine created the AK-12 in the first place?

Ezra couldn’t find an answer yet.

Duke Valentine allowed him to finish considering the matter before continuing.

He didn’t interrupt or rush him.

Instead, he raised his left hand, lifting the AK-12 slightly before releasing it.

The rifle remained suspended in the air.

Ezra’s eyes followed the movement.

The weapon hung in front of them, held in place without anyone supporting it.

Duke Valentine lowered his hand, leaving the rifle floating between himself and Ezra as though its weight no longer mattered.

"Do you know what I noticed when watching you use this firearm while fighting the Young Ghost Crawlers?"

The Duke pointed towards the AK-12.

Ezra looked at the weapon again.

"Its efficiency."

He answered calmly.

That was the most obvious difference.

The AK-12 wasn’t simply another firearm with a different appearance.

Its design had improved upon the older weapons, and Ezra had made those changes for specific reasons.

But the Duke Valentine seemed to be asking about something beyond the fact that it was an upgrade.

"And what do you think you added when creating this firearm that made its efficiency different from the AK-47 and even the FAL battle rifle?"

The Duke’s eyes remained fixed on Ezra.

His question was direct, but he didn’t immediately explain what he had discovered.

He wanted Ezra to consider the difference for himself.

Ezra stayed quiet for a moment.

He understood the comparison.

The AK-47 had already established itself as a useful firearm, and the FAL battle rifle was another weapon the family could examine.

The AK-12 had been introduced as a newer design, but the Duke wasn’t asking him to list its improvements.

He was asking why those improvements mattered.

"Because, when I compared the AK-47 to the AK-12, I didn’t treat it as just a new upgrade. I considered why it felt like an upgrade..."

Duke Valentine paused.

His expression remained unchanged, but his attention shifted towards the floating rifle.

"I realized something different. Something interesting about the AK-12 and all the guns you have created for this family."

He looked up.

Ezra followed his gaze.

The AK-12 wasn’t alone in the air anymore.

Other firearms had been suspended around it.

Ezra recognized the weapons he had introduced to the Ashenlocke House, including those whose production had already reached the required level.

Alongside them were the other firearms belonging to the Ashenlocke Series.

One after another, their familiar shapes filled the space before him.

Ezra raised his head a little farther, taking in the collection of weapons suspended in the air.

His gaze moved across them, recognizing each firearm as he considered why the Duke had gathered them all for this conversation.

The AK-12 remained among them.

Duke Valentine had not brought out the rifle merely to discuss its appearance.

He had gathered the firearms Ezra had created for the family, placing them where both of them could examine them together.

And whatever he had noticed was not limited to a single weapon.