Chapter 50

“C-Count Dominic!”

“His Excellency was beheaded!”

Panic erupted from the reserve unit upon witnessing Dominic’s decapitation.

An army that loses its commander immediately descends into chaos. Dominic, now dead, ended up receiving the exact strategy he had intended to use.

“Wipe them all out!”

“Waaah!”

At Lucian’s shout, the thousand elites crushed the reserve forces in a single blow.

They were few to begin with, and with their morale shattered, they were swept away in an instant.

After eliminating the reserves, Lucian immediately threw the head to his aide Gerard and ordered.

“Sir Gerard! Tie this head to a spear and display it for all to see!”

“Yes, young master!”

Gerard gave the order instantly and mounted the head high on a spear.

The Krephelt army, which had been pushing against the allied forces, froze upon seeing Dominic’s severed head displayed.

“T-The Count’s head…!”

They had already been losing morale at the sight of enemy reinforcements.

With the brutal death of their commander added to the mix, their fighting spirit vanished, and fear took over.

As the Krephelt troops wavered, the Valdeck army charged directly into their flank.

“Die, you filthy rats!”

“R-Run! If you want to live, run!”

“Idiots! Don’t turn your backs!”

Lesser commanders tried to regroup the soldiers, but it was useless.

Having broken the Great Agreement, they knew that if they lost the war, they would have to pay the full price.

As defeat became more evident, fear of future retaliation consumed the soldiers.

“Damn it! Don’t break formation! If you retreat one more step, I’ll—!”

“Ugh!”

“Kugh!”

“If you don’t want to retreat, then I’ll cut you down myself.”

Lucian charged at the field commanders trying to contain the chaos and decapitated them one by one.

Every time someone tried to issue orders, Lucian would rush to that spot, and little by little, all commanding voices disappeared.

It wasn’t long before the Krephelt army completely collapsed, and the allied and Valdeck forces, riding a wave of high morale, pursued them mercilessly.

“Leave no one alive! We don’t need prisoners!”

“Justice for those bastards who broke the agreement!”

“I’m Hugo! Etch it into your heads!”

As if releasing all their pent-up frustration, the allied army unilaterally massacred Krephelt’s troops.

Once victory was secured and everyone began to breathe easier, Cedric rushed to the First Prince, Claude.

***

“Eh… Ce-Cedric? Why are you…?”

Cedric dismounted in front of a still-dazed Claude, knelt down, and shouted.

“I made it in time, thank goodness! I came to rescue you with young master Lucian! Forgive your younger brother for not arriving sooner!”

“…!?”

At Cedric’s words, the expressions of the other feudal lords turned ambiguous.

If he had truly retreated all the way to the Horsen River, it wouldn’t have been possible to return so quickly.

It was clear he had followed the allied army from a short distance.

The problem was that this act, in itself, went against the order of the commander-in-chief, Claude.

“Did His Highness the Second Prince ask young master Lucian to remain nearby?”

“Isn’t that, in practice, disobeying an order?”

“In any case, the result was extremely helpful. It should be considered a wise decision.”

“That’s not something that can be so easily overlooked. His Highness the Second Prince…”

The murmurs of the feudal lords stopped abruptly.

They couldn’t dare mention the most sensitive topic—succession to the throne.

Sensing the reactions around him, Second Prince Cedric kept his head lowered and let a faint smile cross his face.

‘Yes, it was an inexcusable act of disobedience. And it also damaged my brother’s authority. But who could blame me now?’

Had Cedric obediently followed the order, Claude would have died or been captured right there.

He had practically prevented a catastrophe, so it was difficult to openly call it disobedience.

Moreover, everyone had witnessed with their own eyes Cedric moving against Claude’s command.

‘They must’ve also realized that I’m not entirely disinterested in the throne. Now they’ll be busy calculating which side benefits them more.’

As long as Claude’s authority remained and the Emperor supported him, showing ability was dangerous in itself.

With the Emperor’s nature, if Cedric even showed the slightest ambition for the throne, he would’ve been sent far away, to some border region.

But with this incident, Claude had blatantly demonstrated his incompetence before the entire Empire.

For the nobles, it was inevitable to begin considering Cedric as a possible replacement for Claude.

No matter how much the Emperor tried to push him aside, he would undoubtedly face fierce opposition.

‘In reality, it wasn’t me, but Lucian who acted directly—but there’s no need to correct that misunderstanding. Those details weren’t part of our deal.’

While Lucian was accumulating martial fame, Cedric was planning to present himself as the wise one who had foreseen everything and prepared in advance.

Without telling a single lie, simply guiding others into a misunderstanding through the atmosphere would be enough to prevent even Lucian from protesting.

Just as Cedric, having finished his calculations, was about to recreate the mood that would fuel that misunderstanding—

“So all of this was part of the First Prince’s arrangements. Truly a brilliant mind.”

The marquis exclaimed admiringly, loud enough for everyone to hear. At those unexpected words, the nobles blinked in confusion.

“What’s he talking about all of a sudden? Isn’t the First Prince right here?”

“Think carefully. Do you really believe the Second Prince, loyal as he is, would disobey orders on his own? This was clearly done under a secret order from the First Prince.”

“…!”

“From the moment he sent the Second Prince to the rear, it must have all been an act. They coordinated their words to avoid suspicion from enemy spies. Isn’t that right?”

With blood dripping from one ear and red eyes, the marquis smiled smugly.

At Bernhardt’s hateful smile, Cedric unknowingly clenched his teeth.

‘That crazy old man! Is he trying to give all the credit to my brother or force me to openly confess disobedience?’

It was hard for Claude’s faction to casually bring up disobedience, but it was also difficult for Cedric to openly admit his own wrongdoing.

There’s a difference between taking responsibility while earning merit and willingly admitting fault, giving the other party justification for punishment.

Marquis Bernhardt had cleverly exploited that point, shifting the focus from Claude to Cedric.

‘Sorry, Second Prince, but I can’t let you take the glory. No matter how foolish the First Prince is, it’s still better than letting you rise to the throne.’

Their sharp gazes clashed in the air like sparks flying.

Claude, who had barely regained his composure, understood the situation belatedly and began nodding frantically.

“Y-Yes, just as the marquis says! Cedric, you did really well!”

‘Damn it…!’

Cedric seethed inside.

Normally, Claude couldn’t even dress himself properly, yet in moments like these, he had an incredibly quick instinct.

“Even if it was my order, to act with such speed! Truly timely!”

“…It was nothing.”

Cedric replied while suppressing his emotions and raised his head slightly.

In Claude’s eyes, which were still trembling, there was now a clear wariness.

Unlike before, it was obvious he had sensed Cedric’s ambition.

‘Damn it… I underestimated that old vulture.’

Just as he was about to sigh over how the marquis had flipped the situation in a single blow—

“It’s our victory! Buuuuu!”

“Waaaaaa!”

The horns and cheers echoed from the direction where the Kreppelt soldiers were being chased.

***

Chuak.

Lucian wiped the blood from his sword and looked at the fleeing soldiers in the distance.

There were fewer than a hundred, but having let them escape, they would surely report the defeat to the main army.

“What a shame. We should’ve wiped them all out.”

“You’ve earned more than enough merit already, Third Young Master!”

Aide Gerard’s eyes widened at Lucian’s regretful tone.

“You beheaded the enemy commander, rescued the First Prince, rallied near-defeated troops, and left the enemy unable to recover. On top of that, you took down over seven knights. What more merit could you possibly need?”

“The problem isn’t merit—it’s those who escaped. Once Kreppelt hears of this, they’ll come after us with everything before we can retreat. It would’ve been better to cut off the information entirely.”

“…No…”

Gerard stopped short of asking if Lucian wasn’t being too much of a perfectionist.

Lucian wasn’t obsessed—he merely expressed a passing regret.

It wasn’t greed, but the awareness that he could have done more.

‘So this is what it feels like to have a different standard… The Third Young Master sees it as natural to operate on a much higher level than I do.’

Leaving Gerard behind with a bitter smile, Lucian turned his horse’s reins.

The battle was over, and it was time to report to the commander-in-chief, Claude.

However, before Lucian could dismount and kneel, Claude spoke first.

“Excellent work, Lucian! Just as I ordered, you were watching the enemy closely from the rear.”

“…?”

What was he talking about? Lucian blinked and looked around.

Seeing the marquis smiling and Cedric’s twisted expression, he more or less understood the situation.

‘Ah, so that’s what this is.’

Lucian and Cedric’s actions were, without a doubt, direct disobedience.

No matter how much merit they had earned, openly saying “I disobeyed the commander’s orders and acted on my own” wasn’t easy.

So they were trying to credit everything to the First Prince. A truly cunning move.

‘Sorry, but I don’t intend to accept such an unfair deal.’

Lucian gave an ironic smile, then tilted his head with a confused expression.

“Your Highness, what do you mean? An order?”

“Of course I gave you an order! I told you to pretend to retreat and follow us while watching the enemy! That’s what I’m talking about!”

Claude raised his voice and widened his eyes deliberately.

It was a look asking him to play along, but Lucian frowned and looked at Blasker.

“Lord Blasker, what’s going on here?”

“W-What are you saying?”

“I’m certain I said I’d take full responsibility. Why are you all trying to cover for me like this?”

“No, Lucian…”

“Reward the merit, punish the crime! Merit is merit, and crime is crime. I will not avoid my responsibility! Please don’t do something like this again!”

Having said that firmly, Lucian dropped to both knees and struck the ground with his head.

Then, with a voice full of emotion, he cried out to Claude.

“Your Highness! I deeply appreciate your intent to protect me, but this is not right! I received no order and disobeyed by staying back! How could I claim otherwise?”

“…!”

“Though I was meant to remain in the rear, I couldn’t bear the worry and followed you! I didn’t even heed the Second Prince’s warnings! It was entirely my own decision, so I beg you to administer proper punishment!”

Thunk!

Lucian struck the ground with his head once more.

The nobles fell silent and exchanged glances.

Though he hadn’t said much, his words were full of detail that allowed everyone to reconstruct the entire situation.

‘Then… he didn’t follow the army on the First Prince’s order?’

‘He was supposed to retreat but disobeyed on his own?’

‘If that’s true, the Second Prince didn’t help at all.’

With Lucian confessing to disobedience, all the credit was now entirely his.

In other words, both princes had tried to steal his merit.

Cedric and Marquis Bernhardt, humiliated with just a few sentences, gave dry chuckles.

‘The marquis was no pushover, but Lucian’s on another level.’

‘What a ruthless man. He really burns everything down to the ground.’

Even though Lucian had admitted to disobedience, no one suggested punishing him.

Unlike Cedric, tied to the imperial family, Lucian was the full representative of the Valdeck duchy.

Punishing him after he had saved Claude would only provoke the wrath of Duke Sigmund—and perhaps even the Emperor.

“Grr…!”

Claude trembled, face red.

This made him look like an incompetent commander, a ruler who couldn’t recognize talent, and someone who had tried to steal another’s merit.

His rage boiled like a volcano on the verge of erupting—but the cold stares from the nobles pulled him back to reality.

‘N-No… if I lose control now, the next heir…’

If he exploded, he’d lose the last shreds of authority and prestige he had left, and might even provoke open rebellion from Cedric.

Forcing a smile, Claude personally helped Lucian to his feet.

“N-No, don’t do that. How could I punish you? If anything, I should apologize for damaging your honor with such a clumsy defense.”

“No, Your Highness! It’s all my fault for disobeying!”

“What fault is there? If anything, all I see is merit for having saved me. So rise and lend me your aid.”

Claude tried his best to sound gentle, though his voice trembled with humiliation.

Now, he had no choice but to cling desperately to the façade of a ruler protecting his loyal vassal—the image Lucian had thrown at him.

Lucian gave him a dazzling smile upon seeing his half-crying, half-smiling expression.

“If Your Highness shows such generosity, how could I not be moved? I will serve you with all my loyalty!”

“Please… do… please…”

With his head bowed, Claude praised Lucian in a resigned tone.

As he shook Claude’s hand, Lucian glanced at Marquis Bernhardt.

After locking eyes for a moment, the marquis looked away.

With all his plans ruined, his voice now carried no weight.

From now on, the allied army would have no choice but to move according to Lucian’s will.

“Your Highness, though the battle just ended and everyone must be exhausted, I request that a war council be called immediately. May I have your permission?”

“…So be it.”

Faced with a request that allowed no refusal, Claude nodded, unable to resist.