Chapter 146

“Ehem… ahem. Please review the details yourself. I did the best I could in my own way, but there are surely many points where I was clumsy.”

Seeing Hans clear his throat as if trying to shake off a chill, Lucian smiled wryly.

“There’s no need to be so humble. For your first time taking on the position of territory administrator, it was quite a clean job. I’m very satisfied.”

“Thank you.”

“From now on, you just need to maintain this level, so keep honing your instincts. I may soon have to entrust you with the position of regent again.”

“…Huh?”

Hans, who had just let out a sigh of relief, opened his eyes wide at Lucian’s words.

He had gone through all kinds of hardships, so much so that he never wanted to take on that position a second time, and now he was being told he might be entrusted with it again later?

Just as Hans was about to protest, Lucian voiced a doubt.

“By the way, I don’t see Lord Eisen. Felicia has also returned after a long time, so I thought he would come out to receive us. Is he resting in the castle?”

“…”

At those words, Hans shut his mouth, his face turning pale. Sensing something amiss, Lucian turned his head and examined his expression.

“What is it? Did something really happen?”

“The truth is… his health isn’t very good.”

“What do you mean by that?”

Before Hans could finish, Felicia cut in with a sharp voice.

“My father was in good health up until the moment I left Asagrim. How is it possible that he worsened in such a short time? What exactly happened?”

“A-ah, nothing happened! He just lost a bit of energy!”

Although Hans answered urgently in response to her interrogative tone, Felicia continued to stare at him sternly.

Under her gaze, which demanded a more detailed explanation, Hans let out a deep sigh.

“Miss Felicia, I understand your concern, but truly nothing happened. Who would dare harm the Swordmaster? Setting aside intent, there’s no one with the ability to do so.”

“Then my father’s declining health means…”

“Consider his age. It wouldn’t be strange for his health to suffer due to old age. It may be irreverent to say so, but I’ve never seen anyone older than him.”

In other words, due purely to age, it wouldn’t be strange if he were to die at any moment.

Finding no way to refute that, Felicia withdrew with a gloomy expression. Just as Hans said, Eisen’s life expectancy was already brushing against the human limit.

However, Lucian felt confused by Hans’s response.

‘What’s going on? Eisen should still have about five years left to live.’

In his past life, Swordmaster Eisen died five years later. According to rumors, even the day before his death he was still practicing swordsmanship with full vitality.

And now he was so weakened that he hadn’t even come out to receive his beloved Felicia.

“Did nothing really happen? Didn’t you notice any signs of illness or anything out of the ordinary?”

“It’s definitely not an illness, but… if I had to say something strange, I’d say he seemed to have lost the will to live.”

“Lost the will to live?”

“He used to say things like he had already accomplished everything and had no regrets left. We even found a half-written will.”

At Hans’s answer, Lucian let out a hollow laugh.

At last, he understood why Eisen, who in his past life had lived five more years, had lost his vitality.

***

Lucian returned to the White Castle and the first thing he did was look for Eisen.

Eisen, lying back in bed, showed an expression of embarrassment upon receiving Lucian’s visit.

“Your Highness, congratulations on returning after accomplishing such a great feat. I beg your pardon for this discourtesy, receiving you while bedridden and unable even to go out and welcome you.”

“Forgive what? Don’t try to get up for no reason, just rest.”

Lucian gently pressed Eisen down as he tried to force himself to sit up. Even though he barely used any strength, Eisen’s weakened body could not resist and sank back into the bed.

Seeing that state, Felicia fell to her knees, her eyes filled with tears.

“Father.”

“This girl… His Highness is watching.”

Though he scolded her verbally, his eyes were full of affection. Faced with that loving gaze, Lucian sighed inwardly.

‘In the end, the cause was me.’

More precisely, the problem was that, unlike in his past life, Eisen no longer had any attachment to life.

In his previous life, Swordmaster Eisen had lamented throughout his existence that he had failed to leave behind a suitable successor.

It was natural that he could not let go of that regret even at the moment of death.

However, in this life, by presenting Felicia to him, Lucian had completely eliminated all of those regrets.

On top of that, he had lost his lord, Grand Duke Sigmund, and Lucian himself had already become independent to the point of no longer needing the Swordmaster’s help.

‘Didn’t he already find a reason to keep living? To think that, once his attachment to life disappeared, death would come sooner…’

For Eisen, the present was several times better than his past life.

Living only five more years while carrying lifelong resentment was nothing but suffering.

Even so, Lucian could not shake the feeling that he had caused Eisen to die earlier than he was meant to.

Eisen, seeing the shadow that fell over Lucian’s face, seemed to misunderstand something and formed a faint smile.

“Your Highness, don’t grieve so much. Aging is something inevitable for humans. Rather, isn’t it a miracle that I’ve lived until today without suffering a single serious illness?”

“Lord Eisen.”

“If you’re truly worried about this old man, then tell me what happened beyond the tundra. I think I’ll regain some strength by listening to the adventures of Your Highness and Felicia.”

“Gladly.”

Lucian sat down beside Eisen and calmly began to recount what had happened beyond the tundra—the extreme cold that even northerners found terrifying, those who proclaimed themselves descendants of the dragon, and Marius’s prophecy.

He also spoke of the desperate resistance of the tribal chief who tried to eliminate him, and of the trials that arose as a result.

Eisen listened with interest and burst into laughter when he reached the part where those who had belittled Felicia changed their attitude in just one day.

“Hahaha! For those who looked down on her for being a woman to kneel in just one day! That must have been quite a spectacle!”

“Just a spectacle? Just by walking around accompanied by Felicia, they revered her as if they were receiving a goddess.”

“What a shame. If I had accompanied Your Highness, I could have seen it with my own eyes.”

After laughing heartily, Eisen smiled contentedly, though his body seemed to be running out of breath.

Noticing that, Lucian stood up, hiding the bitterness welling up inside him.

“I still have many stories to tell you, but I’ve just returned and have matters piled up. It’s better that I take my leave.”

“Well then, this old man has detained you for too long. I apologize.”

“Don’t say that. Besides, father and daughter surely have many things to talk about. I’ll leave Felicia here. She can tell you the rest.”

“I appreciate your consideration.”

Lucian responded with a smile and quietly left the room. As soon as the door closed, he wiped the smile from his face and, wearing a hardened expression, looked for Hans.

“Hans.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Just in case… does Lord Eisen know what’s going on outside?”

“He doesn’t. I thought there was no need to give bad news to someone whose health is already fragile, so I blocked the information as much as I could.”

“Well done.”

Even if he had known, Eisen would have had no way of dealing with the merchants. He was a Swordmaster, not a politician skilled in intrigue.

At most, he would have worried too much, and his health would have worsened.

In other words, without Hans’s preventive measures, Eisen’s condition might have been even worse.

“Summon those merchants.”

Lucian gave the order in an icy tone as he turned to Hans.

“It’s time they paid their overdue debts.”

***

“Th-this humble merchant has the honor of presenting himself before the duke, rightful lord of Asagrim and legitimate heir of the northern royalty!”

“We present our respects to the duke!”

The heads of each merchant guild who had been summoned knelt trembling before Lucian.

Being fully aware of their sins, their faces were all pale. Lucian looked over them and spoke in a flat voice.

“Welcome. You’ve probably heard from others why I called you here, haven’t you?”

“We heard that you would repay the debts…”

“That’s right. Every man must pay what he owes. Today, I will settle the debt I owe you.”

Upon hearing that, the guild leaders raised their heads in joy. They feared he might pretend to forget, but he was really going to pay.

However, Lucian’s words didn’t end there.

“And I will also collect here and now the debt that you owe me.”

“…”

“You pressured the person I left as my representative with ridiculous conditions. To what extent did you disdain my authority to dare such schemes?”

“Y-Your Highness.”

“If you have any reason why I shouldn’t cut off your heads right here and use them to decorate the walls, speak now.”

At the voice full of murderous intent, the guild leaders trembled even more, their faces ashen.

They had trusted Dominic’s words and had been reassured, but now it felt like their heads were about to roll.

At that moment, Dominic, the only one who still kept a calm demeanor, spoke up.

“What excuse could we possibly offer? This vile merchant offended Your Highness’s spirit in pursuit of petty profit. Even if I were to die a hundred times, I would have no complaints. However.”

“However?”

“If Your Highness would be so merciful as to spare our lives, I will devote myself entirely to serving you and seek forgiveness for our faults. I beg you to grant us your mercy.”

Lucian barely managed to hold back a laugh. Was there anything less trustworthy than a merchant’s oath of loyalty?

And if that merchant was none other than Steel Dominic, even more so.

Swallowing his laughter, Lucian feigned interest and spoke as if he knew nothing.

“And how do you intend to serve me? I’ve received oaths from knights, but never from a merchant.”

“There are many ways a merchant can prove his loyalty, but at this moment, there’s only one way to demonstrate it to Your Highness.”

“Stop making me wait and say it. My patience is not infinite.”

At Lucian’s insistence, Dominic took a deep breath and spoke.

“I will offer Your Highness a metal comparable to adamantium. In sufficient quantity to fully equip ten thousand soldiers with heavy armament.”

“…!?”

At that unexpected declaration, everyone gasped silently.

A metal with resistance comparable to adamantium? Since when had something like that been discovered? And it could be mass-produced to the point of arming ten thousand men at once?

“Are you trying to mock me? Stop spouting nonsense.”

While everyone remained stunned, Lucian’s gaze stayed cold. Dominic shivered at the harsher-than-expected reaction but continued in a calm voice.

“I know it sounds suspicious. That’s why I wish to demonstrate it directly to Your Highness.”

“You’ll say anything just to stay alive. If it turns out you’re lying, what will you do then?”

Deceiving the representative of a territory might cost a guild leader their head.

But deceiving the lord himself—and a duke at that—wouldn’t end with something so simple. At that threat, Dominic answered with a stiff face.

“I will offer my head along with everything possessed by the Dominic Guild. All will legitimately pass into the hands of Your Highness, and no one will contest your rightful claim.”

Hearing the words he wanted, Lucian nodded with a cold smile.

“Don’t forget those words.”