Chapter 36

“Hmm.”

In the lord’s office, Grand Duke Sigmund carefully reviewed the report in front of him.

Lucian and Tristan, who had recently returned, stood before him, waiting for him to speak.

After a moment, the grand duke placed the report on the desk with a light tap and turned his gaze to Tristan.

“Tristan.”

“Yes, Father.”

“You’ve always been quick to make decisions. When something needed cutting off, you never hesitated and acted decisively. But sometimes, determination turns into rashness.”

“…”

“I’ve always been concerned about your tendency to decide too quickly. You often choose not the best option, but the least bad one. And the least bad decision is not the same as the best one.”

Tristan’s face, slightly bowed, was now shadowed.

It was practically a direct critique of how he had handled the situation this time.

The grand duke watched him and added a few more words.

“I won’t say that sacrificing a few for the sake of the whole is wrong. But sacrifice isn’t always the answer. Sometimes, set the scales of your heart aside and reflect. Not everything can be measured with a scale.”

“I will take it deeply to heart.”

“And now, Lucian.”

As he finished, the grand duke’s gaze turned to Lucian.

At the same time, his stern expression softened a little.

“This time, you did a good job. You protected the territory, protected the people, and still didn’t cause any loss to the count’s house. I couldn’t ask for more.”

“You’re very generous. I used quite a bit of the family’s resources, so at the very least, I had to get these results.”

“What do a few gold coins matter? You’ve gained benefits several times greater than what you spent. At least for me, who supported you, there’s nothing to regret. Just that…”

The grand duke’s satisfied smile turned slightly bitter, as if there was a single dark spot in an almost perfect result.

“The fact that, even knowing about the mage, you didn’t try to conceal it a bit does bother me. Though I suppose you’re not well aware of the imperial family’s aversion to mages.”

Lucian was startled.

At first, he thought it was just Tristan overreacting, but for even the grand duke to say something like that…

‘Just how much does the imperial family hate black mages?’

Lucian knew that the imperial family didn’t look kindly on mages.

After the beginning of the era of chaos, mages began appearing one after another, and the imperial family responded with genuine rejection.

However, magic was too useful a power, and the imperial authority was no longer what it once was.

In the end, even though they hated them, the imperial family had no choice but to reluctantly acknowledge the existence of mages.

‘Even considering the chaos of the time, the acceptance process was too smooth. I thought they simply disliked them to some extent, but it seems much deeper than that?’

For Lucian, who had never seen a real mage before the chaos, it was hard to understand.

The only clear takeaway was that the imperial aversion to mages far exceeded what he had imagined.

From now on, it seemed necessary to keep that in mind—at least to some extent.

“In any case, since the outcome was good, it would be ridiculous to reproach you for something that didn’t even happen. I won’t say more. I only advise that, even if you don’t go to your brother’s extremes, try to hide mage-related matters a bit more.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Good. You both must be tired. Go and rest well. I’ll handle the rest.”

“Yes, Father.”

The two brothers bowed their heads and left the grand duke’s office.

As soon as the door closed, they looked at each other.

On one face was a deep smile; on the other, a bitter sense of defeat.

Soon after, both turned their backs at the same time and walked in opposite directions.

No words were needed.

To anyone watching, the victor and the defeated were clearly defined.

***

Edwin let out a sigh as he looked at the secret message in his hand.

He had expected good news, but the contents he received were the complete opposite.

‘What will His Excellency say…?’

Grand Duke Sigmund was already quite burdened lately by a series of problems.

If he now confirmed the contents of this message, the accumulated irritation might explode all at once.

“Grand Duke, it’s Edwin.”

“Come in.”

The voice that came from the office was unusually cheerful.

Though he found it strange, Edwin opened the door and entered.

It wasn’t an illusion—a deep smile was indeed on the grand duke’s lips.

“Has something good happened?”

“Read it.”

Sigmund handed him a document.

Edwin scanned the contents quickly and opened his eyes wide.

“The third young master really achieved such merits?”

“Impressive, isn’t it? I always thought he had a silver tongue, but I never imagined he would handle all the negotiations so well.”

“Even more impressive is the battle at the city of Grebe. Though it was a minor engagement, the direction of the combat was flawless.”

“I didn’t know he had that kind of talent either. Seems innate. Of course, he’s still a rough gem and needs experience, but even so, it’s remarkable.”

At the praise for Lucian, Edwin nodded.

It wasn’t just because he was his son.

Achieving such a smooth command on a first military outing indicated something far beyond mere talent.

“On the other hand, for the eldest son, it must have been a considerable blow. According to this report, he nearly made a grave mistake.”

“Actually, that’s a good thing. To be honest, Tristan had been overly confident lately.”

He had already accumulated plenty of merits, enjoyed a good reputation, and compared to the second son who lacked support and the third who still had no proven capabilities, the evaluations around him were favorable.

Moreover, almost none of his previous decisions had been serious mistakes, so he was rarely reprimanded.

As a result, he had grown increasingly authoritarian.

Maybe it wasn’t a problem now, but in the long run, it could become a fatal weakness.

“Thanks to the third, he’s gotten a chance to look at himself. Whether he faces his mistakes and corrects them, or chooses to ignore and pretend they don’t exist, will be up to him.”

“I’m sure the firstborn will face his own errors. Even if he’s strayed a bit lately, he’s an intelligent person.”

“I hope so. By the way, what brings you here?”

Edwin hesitated for a moment. The news he was about to deliver could crush the grand duke’s good mood in an instant.

“…It’s a secret message from His Majesty the Emperor.”

“From the Emperor?”

“It’s not favorable content. It’s best if you see it for yourself.”

Edwin handed over the message, already unsealed. Reading an imperial letter in advance was unthinkable for any other vassal, but Edwin was permitted to do so.

Sigmund took the message and opened it casually.

“…Damn it.”

Shortly after, he furrowed his face deeply and cursed. The message crumpled mercilessly in his hand.

“Bernhardt, that bastard, really has luck. They forgive him just for covering all military expenses to suppress an imminent rebellion? What a cheap price.”

“That’s no small matter. Kreppelt, which has risen up this time, holds outstanding national power even among the vassal states. He’ll have to fork out a sum that’ll leave him bent over, and his external influence will drop considerably.”

“But his political authority won’t suffer any damage. He’ll still strut around court with his head held high, saying whatever he wants. I never imagined His Majesty would accept a deal like that.”

Sigmund rubbed his forehead and dropped heavily into his chair.

He understood that, in the face of a rebellion, urgent support was needed.

But even so, there were things that had to be cut at the root, even at great cost.

Though he had served the emperor loyally for years, in moments like this, the grand duke felt deep frustration.

“Could it be that the succession issue is now part of all this? He still seems obsessed with the first prince.”

“He’s always said that, for the authority of the imperial family, the principle of primogeniture must be respected. He probably expected the marquis’s support.”

“Primogeniture, primogeniture…”

A bitter smile formed on the grand duke’s lips.

Lately, he even doubted whether that principle was truly being pushed for the sake of imperial authority.

Too many incidents had already shown that the first prince was unfit to be emperor. And yet, insisting like this was absurd.

“Could it be he still can’t forget the late empress?”

“…”

“Calling it romantic would be excessive, considering the burden she carried. But maybe now even that’s been forgotten.”

In the past, the emperor had been a sharp person, able to discern what was right.

His only flaw was his extreme aversion to bloodshed.

As a result, the empire had missed several chances to rise again.

This might have been the last.

And yet, he let it slip away.

‘Will there even be another chance while I’m still alive?’

A sigh escaped Sigmund’s lips. After a brief silence, Edwin spoke cautiously.

“Your Excellency, I regret to say this, but there’s more.”

“What else now?”

“It’s not in the written message, but what the messenger conveyed. He said His Highness the first prince will personally participate in suppressing this rebellion. And that, if possible, they wish for one of the young masters to march with him…”

Dear god.

Faced with the secret order he least wanted to hear, the grand duke ended up covering his face with both hands.

***

After completing the mission and returning to the family, Lucian’s position had completely changed compared to the past.

He had already been rising rapidly for some time, but now he had gained such solid authority that no one could shake it.

The servants, already cautious in their behavior, bowed even more deeply, and the knights began seriously working to gain Lucian’s favor.

As an added effect, the authority of Hans and Hugo, who were under his command, also rose.

“The guys who used to look down on me now don’t even dare make eye contact. I feel like everything I’ve built up until now just popped like a balloon. Hahaha.”

“Not everything will be good. Aren’t you getting requests or under-the-table favors?”

“Of course I am, but I’m turning them all down. If you start accepting what others offer lightly, sooner or later it leads to trouble, right?”

“Good attitude.”

To Lucian’s surprise, Hans didn’t let power get to his head and handled the situation well.

He was someone naturally content with what he had, and he had already seen plenty of the dirty side of politics through his work.

For Lucian, who had been worried about potential corruption, it was a relief.

‘If he keeps growing like this, I can use him as a close collaborator even in the future.’

Even if not at the level of Grand Duke Sigmund or Steward Edwin, having absolutely trustworthy allies was essential.

A ruler didn’t only need knights and administrators, but also a steward capable of handling the small internal issues.

Hugo, unlike Hans, didn’t pay much attention to the change in how people treated him—instead, he focused on training to regain his battlefield instincts.

“One day I’ll fight by your side, young master, so I don’t want to lose this feeling. The only thing I regret is that the sword style I learned is third-rate…”

“There’s no other choice. The Lion Sword can only be learned after becoming a knight. For now, you’ll just have to use what you have.”

Unlike the Lionheart Sword, which only direct bloodline members could learn, the Lion Sword was open to other knights.

Still, no matter how loyal one might be, if they weren’t a knight, they couldn’t learn it—so for now, Lucian couldn’t teach it to Hugo.

Lucian found that a bit unfortunate as well, but if everything went as planned, it wouldn’t be long before the opportunity to knight Hugo presented itself.

For now, the priority was refining the sword style he already had.

‘And that applies to me as well.’

After walking through the family residence, Lucian immediately went to find Swordmaster Eisen.

To step onto the battlefield that loomed ahead, he urgently needed training in the Lionheart Sword.