Reincarnated as Duke’s Heir
Copyright© 2025 by TheSmartOne
Chapter 8: Shock
Lucas looked at his father.
It had been a long time since he last saw him.
Around him, the entire training ground fell silent. Even Aldred, Orion, and Selene—who moments ago had watched Lucas with barely veiled disdain—bowed deeply, their voices shaking as they spoke in unison.
“We greet the Great Duke of Ashes and the Lady of Crimson.”
Noah Ignis. Ester Ignis. The rulers of fire themselves.
Noah’s expression was unreadable, but the air around him was suffocating. Ester, in contrast, smiled. A loving, gentle smile directed at only one person.
Lucas.
The entire training ground trembled—not from power, but from shock.
The Lady of Crimson ... smiled?
Lucas ignored their astonishment and stepped forward, bowing slightly. “I greet Lord Father. I greet Mother.”
Noah studied him. Unmoving. Unblinking.
Then, he spoke.
“Lucas...”
His voice rumbled like distant thunder.
Instinctively, Lucas answered. “Yes, Lord Father.”
Noah’s gaze remained heavy. “Your mother told me you wanted to start training.” A deep chuckle rumbled from his throat. “It seems you were quite ... willful about it.”
Ester said nothing.
“Yes, I wanted to start,” Lucas answered, his voice calm, almost indifferent.
The contrast was stark. A five-year-old boy should not be so composed.
But Lucas had never been normal.
His mother was the only one he allowed himself to act willful around. To everyone else? Cold. Detached. Silent.
“But it seems,” Noah continued, his voice darkening, “the people here are looking down on you.”
He turned his gaze on the assembled knights. “On my son.”
Chill.
Aldred, Orion, Selene—everyone—stiffened as if they were prey caught in the gaze of a flaming beast.
A heartbeat passed. Then another.
And the pressure vanished.
Noah’s smirk returned. “To not appear like a tyrant, how about a test, Lucas?”
A test.
Goddamn it. What kind of nonsense was this?
But from the look in Noah’s eyes, Lucas knew. He had no choice.
“ ... Yes, Lord Father.”
Noah grinned.
“I will apply a little of my pressure on you. Just resist it without passing out.” His voice was casual, but his next words were anything but.
“You’re five years old, after all.”
Lucas felt a cold sweat threaten to form.
Just resist Noah’s aura?
A man feared across battlefields. A man known as the Crimson Devil.
Noah turned to Aldred. “And no one will dare to doubt him after that, correct?”
Aldred swallowed thickly. “Yes, Duke. No objections will be raised.” His eyes flicked to Orion, daring him to argue.
Orion only clicked his tongue and looked away.
Noah stepped forward.
Ester’s golden eyes narrowed. “Noah. Don’t overdo it.”
Noah smiled. “I’ll only use enough to test him.”
Only enough.
Lucas exhaled slowly.
He was ready.
Or so he thought.
The world shook.
The sky darkened—not from clouds, but from something deeper. Something primal.
The air warped from sheer heat. The temperature soared.
And then—
BOOM!
A tidal wave of pure, unrelenting power exploded from Noah.
The heavens recoiled.
The sun trembled.
The wind vanished.
The fire raged.
And Lucas—
His knees hit the ground.
A vice wrapped around his body. His lungs burned, crushed under an invisible weight. His bones creaked as if about to shatter.
It was absolute.
It was suffocating.
For the first time since his rebirth—Lucas felt powerless.
His muscles trembled violently.
His spine threatened to snap.
Stay down.
That’s what his instincts told him.
That’s what his body screamed.
But—
How could he accept this?
This wasn’t just about pride.
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