Chapter 55

“Engrave this well. A victory is not the triumph of an individual, but the triumph of the army. To disregard the victory itself also means disregarding the valor and merits of the soldiers who fought together.”

“…I’m sorry. I was thinking shallowly.”

At the cold voice of Duke Sigmund, Jordi bowed his head deeply.

It wasn’t just a scolding; he was being called out on his attitude as someone who should be above others, and that hurt even more.

“But what the second said also makes sense. No matter how much merit the third may have earned, it’s also problematic for him to be considered a hero in this way.”

When Jordi was crushed, this time it was Tristan who stepped forward.

Putting aside the competition for the next head of the house, in Tristan’s eyes—a man of principle—Lucian’s actions weren’t pleasant at all.

“If he starts publicizing his merits through this kind of maneuver, how do you think the third will act from now on? He might repeat the same thing two, three times, without informing Father.”

“Hmm.”

“The bigger problem is the emperor’s sincerity. Why do you think His Majesty avoided the reward ceremony and disbanded the allied force as it was? Wasn’t it to avoid a scandal involving the first prince?”

Lucian’s merits and the first prince’s incompetence were inseparable.

In essence, the cause had been that the first prince completely ignored the solutions Lucian had proposed.

In other words, the more Lucian stood out, the more the first prince’s faults were exposed.

“And yet, the third spread rumors to highlight his own achievements. Do you think he did this because he failed to grasp the emperor’s intent? It’s obvious he knew—and ignored it anyway.”

“Fuuu.”

At Tristan’s pointed remarks, Duke Sigmund let out a deep sigh.

Then, after a moment, he spoke with a bitter expression.

“That’s true as well. But I can’t say the third made a completely wrong decision.”

“Huh?”

“As you said, His Majesty surely wanted to conceal the scandal of the first prince. But that also meant demanding the sacrifice of our soldiers. Because their merits would have to be covered up too.”

“That’s…”

“It can’t be denied that this war was a defeat, but the proud soldiers of House Valdeck undoubtedly performed great feats. Even so, if the third hadn’t spread the rumors, they would have been treated as mere losers.”

Since the allied force had been defeated, those who were part of it couldn’t avoid the label of being defeated.

Of course, if the details were known as they were now, it would be a different story, but if it had been hidden and left unsaid, all people would have heard was, “They lost in the end, didn’t they?” And of course, the soldiers who had finally achieved merit would have been internally devastated by being lumped together with the defeated.

“The third may have done this to publicize his own achievements, but as a result, thanks to that, the soldiers will also be treated according to their deeds. Even if it was a unilateral decision, in that particular point, it’s hard to blame him.”

“T-then… you’re not going to hold my brother accountable?”

Joshua looked at the duke with a worried expression.

If even a clear overstep was being overlooked, the position of head of the house would practically be decided. But fortunately, Duke Sigmund shook his head.

“No, it’s not that. If the third were the head of the house, it wouldn’t be a problem, but doing something like this while leaving me out of it definitely crossed the line a little. Even if I praise him in front of others, I’ll have to call him in and give him a proper reprimand.”

Even after hearing the duke’s answer, the expressions of the three brothers did not ease.

If the mistake wasn’t officially acknowledged, no matter how harsh the reprimand, in the end it would just be a private matter between father and son.

Lucian’s position wouldn’t just remain untouchable—it would undoubtedly grow even stronger.

‘The third doesn’t know how to stop and just keeps advancing. Barely a year ago, he wasn’t even considered a competitor, let alone an obstacle.’

‘Now, even if the three of us join forces, we can barely hold him by the ankle? Damn it, how did it come to this?’

The three brothers lamented the current situation while, deep down, their competitive spirits flared.

No matter how outstanding Lucian was, he had only been showing his capabilities for a little over a year.

There was still plenty of room for the brothers, who had been in the race for the headship much longer, to catch up.

‘For now, we wait for the right moment. If the opportunity is used well, the board can be flipped as many times as necessary.’

The brothers shared that same thought—but all of them overlooked one fact.

That this opportunity, in other words, was no more than a gamble that required risking their own lives.

That unless they were the first to throw themselves into danger, they wouldn’t even have the chance to seize it.

***

Three days later, when Lucian considered that the rumors had spread enough, he entered Kelheim with full dignity.

The citizens, who already knew about the soldiers’ actions, looked at them as if they were a victorious army and murmured among themselves.

“They say that while the allied army collapsed, only our soldiers truly shined?”

“That they appeared at the last moment and even rescued the first prince, right?”

“Wow, even I feel proud. In the end, they really are sons of the lion.”

“Sons of the lion” was an expression the soldiers often used to praise themselves for belonging to House Valdeck. But that day, the citizens also called them that without hesitation.

Upon hearing the praise coming from all sides, the soldiers puffed out their chests and marched proudly.

Grand Duke Sigmund came out to welcome them and generously praised the knights and soldiers.

“If it weren’t for you, the allied army wouldn’t have even managed to retreat. As lord of Valdeck, I feel truly proud. I’ll have alcohol and meat brought out, so eat and drink as much as you like.”

“Waaaa! Long live the Grand Duke!”

Even the Grand Duke—whom some suspected might scold them instead of rewarding them for the allied army’s defeat—acknowledged their merits, and the soldiers burst into cheers.

However, while the duke praised everyone, he welcomed Lucian with a serious face, without a single word of praise.

“Come in. I have something to say to you.”

“Grand Duke, regarding this matter, actually…”

“Silence. I’ll hear that later.”

Gerard hurriedly tried to defend Lucian, but the duke cut him off coldly.

Faced with a reaction he had already anticipated, Lucian nodded slightly and followed the duke.

Shortly after, after clearing people away from the area, the duke entered his office, closed the door, and shouted.

“What were you thinking? Do you think that if you had come back quietly, I wouldn’t have recognized your merits? To go so far as to resort to these schemes just to flaunt your fame?”

Lucian immediately bowed his head, but at the same time, he had to suppress the corners of his lips from curling upward.

The voice was loud, but it didn’t carry genuine anger. For someone like Lucian, who had dealt with all kinds of nobles during his mercenary days, it wasn’t hard to tell.

‘It seems father doesn’t disagree with my judgment after all.’

Deep down, what he was being scolded for was handling such an important family matter on his own, despite not yet being head of the house.

On that point, Lucian also felt some remorse, so he accepted his fault sincerely.

“I’m sorry. I should have informed you first, but I thought if our return was delayed further by the time it would take to send and receive messengers, others might find it suspicious, so I acted on my own.”

“It’s not just that. Do you truly not understand the meaning behind His Majesty omitting the distribution of merits? If you wanted to consider the imperial family, you should have concealed this matter as much as possible.”

“But if I had done that, the soldiers who risked their lives wouldn’t have received proper treatment. I wanted to restore a reputation worthy of their performance. Even if there were no material rewards, at least I didn’t want them to be treated like losers.”

“Ahem, still so smooth with your words.”

The duke cleared his throat several times with an uncomfortable expression and let the matter drop.

The fact that he didn’t press further revealed his true intent.

“We’ll discuss that later. Leaving aside the rumors, how did the war actually unfold? I want to hear it directly from you.”

After finishing the formal scolding, the eyes of Grand Duke Sigmund gleamed.

Lucian straightened his posture and began to explain.

“The allied army didn’t get off to a good start. As soon as we gathered at the Horsen River, they handed out masks without explanation.”

***

“…And so, His Majesty returned with the two princes, and the allied army was disbanded on the spot.”

“Wow…”

As soon as Lucian finished his account, the duke raised his head and let out a long sigh. A complex emotion radiated from him, difficult to describe with a single word.

“It’s unbelievable. The first prince really is… truly… huff.”

As he rubbed his aching forehead, the duke swallowed the rest of his sentence.

It seemed he was restraining himself, reminding himself that, no matter what, he couldn’t insult a prince.

After calming down a bit, he looked at Lucian with an approving expression.

“When I first heard the rumors, I thought your feats were exaggerated. But it turns out the truth is even greater.”

“You flatter me too much. It was a gamble that could’ve cost us a charge of insubordination, but it ended well.”

“I don’t believe the outcome justifies the process. Without a doubt, your actions were overstepping and could’ve been seen as disloyal. But…”

The duke paused and looked at the open palm of his hand. Cold sweat had gathered there.

“Still, even I feel that, for what you achieved, I could bend my usual principles. The first prince’s safety was a matter of utmost importance. In the worst-case scenario, the empire could have collapsed.”

Lucian silently agreed with those words. After all, in his past life, the empire had fallen precisely because the first prince died during the suppression of a rebellion.

‘The emperor lost his mind over his beloved son’s death and razed Krephelt until not a single blade of grass was left.’

He’d only heard it as a rumor, but they said the hidden power of the imperial family, unleashed completely, had been terrifying.

The emperor marched to the capital with only the elite imperial troops, without support from other lords, and executed King Erich.

The world was stunned by that absurd power, but the real problem came afterward, when the emperor, exhausted after crushing the rebellion, fell ill.

The imperial family, having just demonstrated its authority, plunged into chaos and had to watch helplessly as forces arose everywhere.

‘Curious people said one reason was that the imperial family had used up all its power during the Krephelt rebellion, but…’

Before, Lucian had believed that explanation, but now he was beginning to doubt it.

The emperor had used magic without hesitation in front of the allied army to pressure the lords.

If it were a power that ran out so easily, he would’ve saved it as a last resort, not used it openly as a deterrent.

‘Maybe they had no choice but to reveal it due to the empire’s worsening condition. Still, I didn’t feel they were cornered. With that kind of leeway, just eliminating Krephelt shouldn’t have drained them. So why didn’t they use it again afterward?’

One question led to another, but Lucian decided to stop his train of thought.

Without knowing the truth, it was all just speculation. Better to withhold judgment than reach wrong conclusions by repeating assumptions.

“By the way, I had never seen His Majesty use magic, and I’ve served him for so long.”

The duke’s voice pulled Lucian out of his thoughts. Surprised, he looked up.

“Not even you knew, father?”

“I knew something. In his youth, His Majesty hinted at it once. But everything I heard was secondhand, and even then, barely scratched the surface. Since it’s the imperial family’s hidden power, it wouldn’t be easy for the emperor to reveal it lightly.”

And yet, he used it in front of everyone. That was practically proof that even the emperor felt a sense of crisis about the current situation.

“Chaotic times are coming.”

From behind, Grand Duke Sigmund murmured with a voice full of concern.

After saying that, he fell silent for a long while, as if deep in thought.

Lucian waited quietly, and several minutes later the duke spoke again.

“Lucian.”

“Yes, father.”

“As head of House Valdeck, I not only have the duty to seat an outstanding son as heir, but also to ensure a stable succession. If the process is unstable, there’s no point in choosing an heir, because he’ll soon be replaced.”

“You’re right. No matter how valuable a treasure is, if one can’t protect it, it’s useless.”

“That’s why.”

The duke turned around again and looked Lucian straight in the eye.

“From now on, you’ll form your own faction within the family.”

“…!”