"Excellent. You've already said almost everything I intended to say myself."
"You flatter me."
"Still, there are a few points that fall short, so I'll add a few words. You may not need them, but the others certainly do."
At the pointed remark, the two brothers' faces flushed red with humiliation.
Wasn't he essentially saying that what required no explanation for Lucian had to be spelled out for them step by step?
On top of that, their evaluation as candidates for head of the family would surely have taken a hit because of this incident, making it feel not just painful but downright lacerating.
Regardless of how the two felt, Grand Duke Sigmund continued his explanation calmly.
"In fact, it seems Tristan has already hired mercenaries. The problem is that he can't control the ones he's hired."
"He can't control them? Even though eldest brother went there personally?"
"Yes. It seems the mercenaries want to bargain with us. They know very well that manpower is scarce right now."
In short, since House Valdeck was the one in need, they were demanding more money.
It was a perfectly natural stance for mercenaries to take, but the issue lay in the bargaining itself.
Without a knack for negotiation, even an agreement that could have been reached might easily fall apart.
"Unfortunately, Tristan… has absolutely no talent in that regard."
"That's true."
Lucian nodded without realizing it.
The Tristan Lucian had known in his previous life was a rigid principlist to the core.
If one were to be precise, he was the type of person who found the very words bargaining or negotiation distasteful.
Unlike Jordi, he always paid the agreed-upon reward without fail, but unless additional merit had clearly been earned, he would never give a single coin more.
This reminds me of that temporary assignment patrolling the outskirts of Kelheim. Nothing ever happened, so he could've reduced the shifts and given us some rest—but he absolutely never let manpower sit idle.
That was Tristan: strict even about the briefest moments of rest.
When it came to hiring mercenaries, which required spending vast sums of the family's money, he would be even more uncompromising.
Most likely, they were still locked in a standoff right now, unable to find common ground.
"That's why I want to dispatch one of you. Ideally, I'd like you to reach a settlement and take command of the mercenaries."
With the task laid bare, the grand duke looked at the three brothers.
However, Jordi and Joshua avoided his gaze just as before.
To be honest, even with the full context revealed, nothing had improved.
No—if anything, it sounded even less appealing than before.
Wasn't he essentially saying they might have to throw themselves into battle while leading unreliable mercenaries?
I'd be uneasy even with elite troops guarding me, and now I'm supposed to march around with men I don't even know the origins of.
And no matter how well I do, I'll still just be Tristan's subordinate. No matter how I think about it, this is a bad deal.
Jordi and Joshua clamped their mouths shut and lowered their heads.
Unless they were directly named, they had no intention of volunteering.
As the silence dragged on and disappointment crept into Grand Duke Sigmund's eyes—
"I'll go."
"—!"
The words rang out clearly, breaking the stillness.
Lucian's unexpected answer left the three of them staring blankly.
Even the grand duke seemed not to have anticipated that Lucian would volunteer.
"Are you sure about this? You've never once left Kelheim, and you have no experience leading troops."
"You could say this is a chance to experience both at once. It's something I'd have to face eventually anyway. As for the funds to deal with the mercenaries…"
"I'll provide more than enough support. You won't find yourself lacking, so rest easy. Just be mindful that there is a limit."
"I'll keep that in mind."
That response was more than sufficient.
In any case, there was no way Lucian would ever need to spend up to the limit the grand duke was referring to.
Negotiating with mercenaries, huh? That's easy enough.
The corner of Lucian's lips curled upward.
It was time to return to his area of expertise, for the first time in a long while.
***
No sooner had he returned after the meal than Lucian began preparing to depart.
There was nothing more to be gained by staying, so it was better to get ready as early as possible.
All the more so since this wasn't a journey that could be completed in just a day or two.
I've wandered all over the place during my mercenary days, but even for me, traveling this far in one go is a first.
Because the grand ducal house ruled such vast lands, the distance to the border region at its far edge was considerable.
Fortunately, a major river ran through the middle, allowing for comfortable travel by waterway.
Had he gone purely by land, the hardship of the journey would have easily doubled.
"Hans, I'm leaving the house in your care. Be on guard—Jordi or Joshua might try something strange while I'm away."
"Don't worry. Maybe in the past, but now they won't dare lay a hand on your residence so carelessly."
Hans spoke with confidence, glancing toward the servants who had once been under Hugo's command.
Indeed, with those men around, most petty schemes wouldn't work.
Hugo had handpicked them carefully from among his subordinates, choosing only those he could truly trust.
"Hugo is coming with me. It may vary depending on the situation, but this mission is strictly as eldest brother's support. There might not even be a chance to earn merit."
"Even so, it's better than just sitting around doing nothing. And besides, if I'm not at your side, who's going to attend to you, young master?"
At Hugo's easygoing remark, Lucian gave a small chuckle and nodded in agreement.
"That's true enough. All right, then—let's just pack the essentials and head out. Father will be providing most of what we need anyway."
After finishing their preparations quickly and stepping outside the castle gates with Hugo, a set of familiar faces came out to greet Lucian.
They were the five Black Lions who had accompanied him during the surprise raid on the marquis's son.
"It's been a while, Third Young Master. You still look well—glad to see it."
"I'm glad to see you too, but… don't tell me you're my escort for this journey?"
"Yes. To be honest, aren't we the only small elite unit capable of handling the escort of someone like the Third Young Master?"
Lucian found himself unable to refute that.
Indeed, if one needed to move with a small, elite force while perfectly protecting someone of his stature—a prime candidate to be the next head of House Valdeck—the Black Lions were the only realistic choice.
From a common-sense standpoint, it was the ideal selection.
Still, back then they felt like some legendary secret organization. Seeing them so often lately, they're starting to lose that air of mystery.
"Since we'll be accompanying the Third Young Master for some time, it would be good to have names to distinguish us. Please call me Raymond."
The man who seemed to be the leader among the Black Lions bowed and offered his name.
The other four followed in turn, introducing themselves as Martin, Vincent, Jude, and Widrow.
One thing, however, about what Raymond had said before giving his name bothered Lucian slightly.
If he was simply stating his name, there was no need to phrase it as "a name to distinguish us."
"Is that your real name?"
"It's one of three names we rotate through. We usually use it when on escort duty."
At the frank admission that it was a false name, Lucian clicked his tongue.
Come to think of it, they had given only their names and not their surnames.
From the look of it, they were all aliases, swapped out depending on the situation.
They say they even handle dirty work like assassinations and covert schemes… guess that part's true.
After all, when doing things that couldn't be done in the open, they couldn't very well reveal their real names.
Lucian chose not to pry further.
They would have their own circumstances—and those circumstances were probably secrets known only to the head of the family.
Once the formal introductions were over, Raymond brought up something he had clearly prepared in advance.
"Given the nature of the situation, we plan to travel as quickly as possible. Do you know how to ride a horse? Maintaining speed over long periods takes a fair bit of skill."
"Well, I suppose I can learn while we're at it."
He said it lightly, but in truth, Lucian was fairly confident in his riding.
Even as a mercenary in his previous life, he had ridden often for one reason or another.
His horsemanship might not match that of a knight on the battlefield, but when it came to simple riding, it was more than sufficient.
Just as Lucian grabbed the reins of the military horse Raymond handed him—
"Um, young master."
"What is it?"
"I've… never ridden a horse before."
At Hugo's troubled expression, Lucian pressed a hand to his forehead.
***
In a way, it was only natural.
From the purchase price to the upkeep, horses were anything but cheap.
For someone like Hugo, who had grown up as a thug in the criminal underworld, it was only to be expected that he'd never ridden one before.
But slowing down out of consideration for Hugo wasn't an option either.
Even Lucian, the Third Young Master, was in a hurry—so all the more so for Hugo, who was merely a servant.
"It can't be helped. I'll teach him as we go."
"Will there even be time for that? If you're going to teach him properly, a single day won't be enough."
"You're supposed to learn things like this in the field. It'll be more painful than learning at a leisurely pace, but that's something he'll have to endure."
Saying that, Raymond lifted Hugo up onto the horse.
And with that, three days of hell began for Hugo.
"Hey—wait! My backside is going to split open!"
"Grip the horse with your legs! You keep losing strength and bouncing like a pestle!"
"If I do that, the horse goes crazy!"
"Not too tight—just enough so you don't wobble! Straighten your back, shift your weight to the inside of your hips! Don't just stand stiff—move with the horse's motion!"
"Just a bit slower…!"
"No time for that! Fall behind and we'll leave you—keep up on your own!"
"Guaaah!"
Fortunately, Hugo's body was far sturdier than that of an average person thanks to his training in sword forms.
Even in circumstances where an ordinary person's backside would have shattered ten times over, he managed to endure.
Part of it was also thanks to Hugo's desperate efforts to learn Raymond's lessons so as not to fall behind.
Hugo's suffering finally came to an end only after they reached the midway port three days later.
"From here, if we take a ship, we can go straight to the port city of Villun, which lies just in front of Bornholm. If the wind favors us, we can make it in two days, but if it's slow, it may take as long as four."
"How long will we need to ride from Villun to Bornholm?"
"Even at an easy pace, half a day will be enough."
"That's a relief. At least Hugo's backside should survive that much."
Despite the banter between the two, Hugo couldn't even bring himself to open his mouth.
With his backside half in pieces, all he could manage were groans.
Out of consideration for Hugo, Lucian let him rest properly while they were aboard the ship.
"Just in case—do you get seasick? It'd be a headache if you did."
"Fortunately, I've been on a ship a few times in my childhood. My father was a sailor."
"That's the first I've heard of that."
"It's nothing important. And it wasn't often. Before I even grew up, the ship capsized, and he passed away."
Even as he spoke of his father's death, Hugo remained calm.
Among sailors, he said, it was such a common occurrence that it wasn't even considered a tragedy.
"Still, I think I've gotten a bit of a handle on riding now. It should come in handy later."
From the way he emphasized the word later, it seemed he was talking about when he became a knight.
After all, for a knight, horsemanship was a mandatory skill. As grueling as it had been, it was probably for the best that he learned it now.
The ship carrying Lucian's party arrived at their destination, Villun, on the morning of the third day.
"Perfect timing. If we finish breakfast and set out right away, we should be able to meet the First Young Master before evening."
Moving exactly as Raymond said, they indeed caught sight of Bornholm Castle before the sky turned red.
They were still some distance away, but at this pace, it seemed they would arrive before long.
Just as everyone was relaxing at the thought that they were nearly at their destination, a strange movement was spotted ahead.
"A group is riding toward us from the front. There are knights of House Valdeck mixed in as well."
"Is it eldest brother? He doesn't seem like the type to come out to greet us just because he spotted me."
"The First Young Master is indeed at the rear, but… it looks less like a greeting and more like they're chasing the group in front."
At Raymond's words, Lucian focused mana into his eyes.
His eyesight—now strengthened beyond all comparison to before—picked up the figures charging toward them from afar.
There were six individuals fleeing on horseback from the Valdeck knights.
All six wore black hoods to conceal their identities; at a glance, they clearly weren't people engaged in anything aboveboard.
"Looks like we should help, right? It's not like they're being chased for doing good deeds."
"Seems so. But we won't be able to catch them all."
After confirming there were six targets, Raymond frowned.
Considering that there were only five Black Lions, one would inevitably slip away.
Hugo hadn't yet mastered riding, and Lucian was the one being escorted, so he was out of the equation—or should have been.
But Lucian gave a small smirk and drew the sword at his waist.
"I'll take the one on the far left. You handle the rest."
"What? Third Young Master!"
"Y–Young Master?!"
Ignoring Raymond and Hugo as they tried to stop him, Lucian spurred his horse forward.
Caught off guard by the sudden development, Raymond froze for a moment—but he quickly grasped the situation and shouted orders.
"Damn it! Split up and catch the ones trying to scatter!"
"What about the Third Young Master's escort—!"
"Too late! Follow orders!"
Yes—too late.
In this situation, no matter how quickly the Black Lions moved, Lucian—who had already surged ahead—would collide with the enemy first.
If it was already too late to protect him, then the best course was to move exactly as Lucian had proposed.
"If you don't want to die, get out of the way, whelp!"
When Lucian blocked his escape route, the man in the black hood barked the threat in a rough voice, drawing his sword while still on horseback.
Lucian, however, didn't even blink. He spurred his horse onward, reinforcing his body with mana.
Seeing that Lucian showed no sign of backing down, the hooded man ground his teeth.
"Damn it! You brought this on yourself—don't blame me!"
The murderous intent dripping from his voice made it clear he meant to cut through Lucian in a single pass.
Judging by the ferocity of his aura, he intended to meet him head-on and overwhelm him with brute force.
And then, at the instant they collided—
KRAAANG
"Ghk—!?"
With a sound like shattering metal, the man's body was hurled up into the air.
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