Chapter 159

Harald had prepared wine and glasses and was waiting in the reception room.

After a short while, someone with their hood pulled deeply down entered the room in silence.

Soon, the visitor revealed his face and slightly inclined his head toward Harald.

“It’s been a long time. Do you remember me?”

“Of course. It feels like yesterday when you were celebrating your coming-of-age ceremony, and now you are already a respectable head of a family, Baron Lesta.”

“I’m glad to see that Baron Harald is as healthy as ever.”

Since they had already met before through Torkel, the conversation between them flowed naturally.

However, the cordial atmosphere did not last long. As soon as the greetings ended, Harald adopted a serious expression and asked,

“But tell me, what brings you here at such a late hour? As the head of a house, you could have come openly as a guest during the day.”

“I would have liked that as well, but given the nature of the matter, I could not present myself so openly.”

“Is it something so serious that it must be concealed even from the duke?”

“Rather than concealing it, I would say that it is not necessary to reveal it and disturb him with it.”

With a bitter smile, Lesta took a seat and raised his glass.

“Before we begin, I’d like to moisten my throat a little.”

“Go ahead. The wine was intended precisely to entertain the guest.”

Both raised their glasses and drained them in one gulp.

The burning sensation as it passed down his throat and the intense aroma of the liquor made Lesta let out an exclamation of admiration.

“It’s an excellent wine.”

“It’s one of my treasured reserves. Has your throat loosened up a bit now?”

“Completely.”

Lesta set the glass down on the table with a light clink and erased the smile from his face.

What he was about to say was not something pleasant even for himself.

“Lately, the behavior of some lords has been strange.”

“Strange? What do you mean?”

“Many are showing concern over the steps the duke is taking. To be precise, they fear falling under his direct dominion.”

The north was one of the regions least affected by the silence of the imperial family.

If one were to be precise, it could even be said that it had welcomed that silence.

The only institution capable of officially interfering in the affairs of the lords had been paralyzed.

Amid the chaos, they believed they could continue living in relative peace in the north until the situation calmed down.

But when Lucian proclaimed the liberation of the first prince and let his ambition show, unease began to arise everywhere.

“As you well know, Baron Harald, in chaotic times lords inevitably become warlords. And to increase their power, they begin to devour those around them.”

“Do they fear that the duke will start wars against other houses to strengthen his power?”

“Even if he does not annihilate them and merely subjugates them, that is hardly reassuring either. In the end, they would go from being independent forces to vassals under his direct control.”

“That sounds rather sudden. The duke has not yet initiated any military action, has he?”

“That is true, but it is not an entirely unfounded assumption either. Once he has proclaimed the liberation of the first prince, the expansion of forces for war becomes an inevitable path.”

In turbulent times, if one did not expand one’s power by absorbing the weaker, sooner or later one would be devoured by someone stronger. Even without ambition, to survive it was necessary to grow stronger.

“Even lords who previously supported His Excellency have changed their minds now that the imperial family is silent. They say they no longer need his help.”

“To my ears, that sounds like they want a royal house that raises its voice against the imperial family, but not one that interferes directly in their affairs.”

“Exactly. They believe that if they remain calm in the north, sooner or later an emperor will be appointed and peace will return. It’s a naive idea.”

Lesta clicked his tongue in disdain. If things could be resolved so easily, it would not be called an era of chaos.

Anyone aspiring to the throne would not be satisfied with taking only the capital.

The north had always been a region difficult to control even when the imperial family was at the height of its power; for any ambitious person, it was a thorn in the side.

“I understand that there are unsettling discussions among the lords. So what is it you intend? That I ask the duke to reassure the others?”

“No. Just the opposite. We want to gather people like us and promote the restoration of the Kingdom of the North. Not a symbolic restoration, but an official one.”

“…!?”

Harald opened his eyes wide at the unexpected proposal.

Officially restoring the Kingdom of the North meant turning the lords of the north into direct vassals of the royal house.

Right after speaking of unrest, that would only fan the flames even further.

“What intention lies behind this?”

“There are no ulterior motives. If the duke were to learn of the current atmosphere in the north, what do you think he would do?”

“Well…”

Harald recalled the actions Lucian had taken so far, while at the same time assessing Asagrim’s military power.

No matter how he thought about it, it did not seem that Lucian would be troubled just because a few lords started stirring.

Although it might be different if the entire north turned against him, the reality was that there were still ardent supporters like Harald and Lesta.

If he made even a modest effort, it would not be difficult for him to subdue the rebellious lords and make everyone kneel.

“…It doesn’t seem like it would be a major problem. In fact, it almost feels as though His Excellency would use this as an excuse to completely pacify the north.”

“That is precisely the problem.”

“What do you mean?”

“If the north is completely pacified, our usefulness will disappear. In particular, Torkel and I handled the cleaning of areas that the duke’s hand and eyes could not reach, but that work is about to vanish entirely.”

Harald wanted to reply that this was an exaggeration, but he could not.

No matter how close his relationship with Lucian was, as a head of a family there were limits.

Once Lucian’s power extended throughout the north, it was obvious that he would prefer to send his own vassals rather than entrust those tasks to others.

“Even if we have gained enough trust under the duke’s command, it is still too early. I still need opportunities to accumulate merit.”

“And that is why you want to actively promote the restoration of the Kingdom of the North? As a warning to unstable elements not to even dream of challenging His Excellency, and at the same time to shift public opinion?”

“If it conflicts with the duke’s plans, there is no need to truly restore it. What matters is demonstrating that we have the ability to suppress minor disturbances and help ensure that His Excellency does not have to be distracted by unnecessary matters.”

The proposal was not bad, and Harald’s ears perked up.

It was a somewhat pragmatic approach, but in essence it meant dealing with problematic elements on their own so that Lucian would not have to worry about the north.

‘How pathetic I am. I trusted His Excellency so much that, instead of supporting him, I ended up depending on him.’

It would not be bad if Lucian pacified the north, but ideally it would be better if it did not have to come to that thanks to proper management beforehand.

With his decision made, Harald nodded and said,

“Very well. Then what exactly am I supposed to do?”

“To begin with…”

Smiling, Lesta explained his plan to him. That night, the two talked until dawn broke.

***

“This smells bad.”

On the way to Asagrim, Malcolm frowned as he looked at the ground.

He had stumbled upon the corpses of an entire family, crudely covered with dirt.

At the sight of the bloodstained bodies, Malcolm’s son recoiled in horror.

“D-did they run into bandits?”

“So it seems. They even took their clothes.”

“But this place isn’t that far from lands ruled by a lord…”

“It looks like the guard has stopped patrolling.”

“Huh? Why?”

At his son’s question, Malcolm left the sentence hanging in the air.

In truth, he had a rough idea of the answer.

With so many resources being consumed by preparations for war, they had probably cut back even on expenses meant to maintain order.

Even so, one never knew into whose ears a careless word might fall.

And being so close to lands governed by a lord, any remark could turn into a dangerous criticism.

“Let’s keep moving.”

“Will it be all right? Maybe it would be better to hire mercenaries…”

“There’s no money. With security this bad, they’re surely charging more too.”

“Ugh…”

At the word “money,” Malcolm’s son let out a groan.

The travel expenses were already being eaten up quickly by absurdly high prices.

If the cost of hiring mercenaries had risen as well, even the next day’s food would be in danger.

“There’s no choice. At least give me the hammer.”

“Are you planning to use it as a weapon?”

“Better that than nothing.”

“No. Actually, it would be better to have nothing.”

Malcolm and his son froze when they heard the voice coming from behind them.

Turning around, they saw several fierce-looking bandits sneering at them.

It seemed they had been hiding in some nearby shelter, lying in wait for travelers, and had just appeared.

“Today’s a day of rich harvest. Having prey come one after another in less than an hour doesn’t happen every day.”

“…We don’t have any money. Even if you search us, you won’t get anything, so let us go.”

“It doesn’t matter. If there’s nothing, there’s nothing, and you can still be satisfied. They say you shouldn’t disdain even a single coin, right?”

Seeing the murderous gleam in the bandits’ eyes, Malcolm frowned.

These were not men driven to crime by necessity, but genuine degenerates who enjoyed seeing blood.

Even if a beggar with not a single coin passed by, they would be capable of killing him just for fun.

“F-father.”

“Take the hammer.”

“I told you it’s better to have nothing. If you resist, the knife ends up going into strange places. Judging by how you look, old man, you don’t have much life left. Do you really want to complicate things?”

The bandits advanced toward Malcolm and his son with disgusting smiles, as if enjoying cornering prey that had already been caught.

As both tightened their grip on the hammer and the tongs, it happened.

“Don’t worry. You’ll die quickly.”

Slash!

Along with the cold voice, a flash of a sword shone, and at the same time the head of the bandit on the far right went flying through the air.

The others blinked in shock at the sudden death of their companion.

“W-what…?”

Slash!

While they still did not understand what was happening, the dazzling flashes of the sword did not stop.

Each time the light flashed, a bandit lost his head and fell to the ground.
By the time they finally reacted, most of them were already dead, and only three remained.

“What the hell…?”

Slice!

Before they could scream, the heads of the remaining three flew off at the same time.

Seeing the bandits annihilated in an instant, without even being able to let out a final cry, Malcolm and his son were completely petrified.

A moment later, the earlier voice rang in their ears again.

“Are you hurt?”

“…!?”

Startled, both turned around. In front of them stood a swordsman dressed in plain clothes.

At first glance, he could be mistaken for a wandering mercenary, but Malcolm immediately understood what kind of man stood before him.

‘A knight.’

And not one of those pampered youths from wealthy families, but a true knight who had passed through countless fields of death.

Such a dense smell of blood could only come from someone who had cut down far too many people.

Seeing Malcolm so tense, Vincent, a knight who had once belonged to the Black Lions, let out a laugh.