"Hmm."
In the Lord's Hall office, Grand Duke Sigmund carefully read through the report before him.
Lucian and Tristan, who had returned not long ago, stood waiting in front of him until the grand duke finally opened his mouth.
After a moment, the grand duke set the report down with a soft thud and turned his gaze toward Tristan.
"Tristan."
"Yes, Father."
"You've always been quick to decide. When something needed to be cut off, you never hesitated and severed it cleanly, like a blade. But at times, decisiveness can turn into rashness."
"I've always worried about how excessively fast your decisions are. You sometimes choose not the best option, but the lesser evil. And the lesser evil is not necessarily the best choice."
A shadow fell across Tristan's face as he slightly bowed his head.
In effect, the words were little different from pointing out that this matter had been handled poorly.
Looking at Tristan with his head lowered, the grand duke added a few more words.
"I won't say that sacrificing the few for the sake of the many is wrong. However, sacrifice alone is not the answer. At times, set aside the scales of the heart and think. Not everything can be weighed on a balance."
"I will take it deeply to heart."
"And Lucian."
Having finished speaking, the grand duke's gaze shifted once more to Lucian.
At the same time, his stern expression softened, if only slightly.
"You handled this matter well. You protected the territory and safeguarded the people, and in the process you caused no losses at all to the count's household. There's little more I could ask for."
"You flatter me. I spent a great deal of the family's wealth—this level of result is only to be expected."
"Are a few gold coins really worth mentioning? Compared to what you paid, you gained several times that in return. At least from my perspective, as the one who supported you, there's nothing to regret. Still…"
The corners of the grand duke's mouth, which had been smiling with satisfaction, turned slightly bitter.
As though everything had been perfect, save for a single blemish.
"That you made no effort to conceal the existence of the mage, even knowing about it, troubles me a little. Then again, you might not know just how deeply the imperial family despises mages."
Lucian flinched.
At first, he had thought it was merely Tristan being oversensitive, but to hear even the grand duke say such a thing—
Just how much does the imperial family hate mages?
Lucian knew that the imperial family disliked mages.
After the age of chaos began, mages had started to appear in the world one by one, and the imperial family reacted violently to their existence.
However, magic was far too useful a power, and the imperial family's own strength was no longer what it once had been.
In the end, though they hated mages, the imperial family had no choice but to acknowledge their existence—gritting their teeth as they did so.
Even accounting for the chaos of the times, the process of acceptance was far too smooth. I thought it was just a moderate level of dislike… but is it worse than that?
For Lucian, who had never properly seen a mage before the age of chaos, it was hard to understand.
The only thing he could be certain of was that the imperial family's hatred of mages far exceeded his expectations.
It seemed necessary to take that into consideration, at least to some extent, from now on.
"Well, the outcome was good, and it would be foolish to reprimand you over something that never actually happened, so I won't say much more. Still, even if not to the extent of your older brother, it would be better for you to make some effort to conceal matters concerning mages."
"I'll keep it in mind."
"Good. You must both be tired, so return and get some proper rest. I'll take care of what remains."
"Yes, Father."
The two brothers bowed their heads and then left the grand duke's office.
The moment the door closed, they looked at each other's faces.
On one face was a deep smile; on the other, a bitter sense of defeat.
After a brief moment, the brothers turned their backs at the same time and departed in different directions.
There was no need to exchange words.
To anyone watching, the victor and the loser were perfectly clear.
***
Edwin let out a sigh as he looked down at the sealed letter in his hand.
He had thought it would bring good news, but the contents that had come back were the exact opposite.
What will His Grace say about this…
Grand Duke Sigmund had already been plagued by one misfortune after another lately.
If he were to read the contents of this letter as well, the irritation that had piled up might just explode.
"Your Grace, it's Edwin."
"Come in."
The voice from inside the office was unusually bright.
Though he felt something was off, Edwin opened the door and stepped inside.
It wasn't his imagination—the grand duke's lips were curved in a broad smile as he looked at him.
"Has something good happened?"
"Have a look."
Grand Duke Sigmund handed a single sheet of documents to Edwin.
Edwin skimmed through the contents quickly, then his eyes widened.
"Did the third young master truly achieve accomplishments like these?"
"Impressive, isn't he? I always thought he had a silver tongue, but I never imagined he'd handle every negotiation this well."
"Even more impressive is the battle at the city of Greve. It may have been only a minor engagement, but isn't his command on the battlefield flawless?"
"I only just learned myself that he had such talent. It seems he was born with it. Of course, he's still an unpolished gem and needs experience, but even so, it's remarkable in its own right."
At the praise directed toward Lucian, Edwin nodded.
This wasn't simply a case of a father overvaluing his son.
To command a battle so smoothly on one's very first deployment meant there was something there that went beyond mere talent.
"On the other hand, the first young master must be in quite a shock. From this report, it seems he nearly made a serious mistake."
"That's for the best. To be honest, Tristan's confidence had grown excessive lately."
He had already accumulated a considerable number of achievements, and compared to the second son—who lacked popular support—and the third—whose abilities had yet to be proven—his reputation among those around him was favorable.
On top of that, none of his usual decisions had turned out disastrously wrong, so he'd rarely been reprimanded, which in turn had bred a growing sense of arrogance.
It might be fine for now, but it was something that could become a fatal weakness in the future.
"Thanks to the third, he's been given a chance to reflect on himself. Whether he faces his mistake and corrects it, or ignores it and pretends nothing happened—that's up to him."
"If it's the first young master, I'm sure he'll confront his mistake. He may have gone a bit astray recently, but he's a sharp man."
"I hope so. By the way, what brings you here?"
Edwin hesitated for a moment.
The news he was about to deliver could easily plunge the grand duke's rare good mood straight into the abyss.
"…It's a sealed letter from His Imperial Majesty."
"From His Majesty?"
"This isn't good news. You'd best see it for yourself."
Edwin held out the sealed letter, its seal already broken.
He had checked the emperor's missive in advance—
an act of audacity no other retainer would ever dare, but one that was permitted in Edwin's case alone.
Grand Duke Sigmund accepted the letter without comment and unfolded it.
"…Damn it all."
Moments later, his face twisted sharply as he spat out a curse.
The letter clenched in his hand was crumpled mercilessly.
"Bernhardt—that bastard is lucky. A rebellion is imminent, and he's forgiven simply by footing the entire bill for the military costs of suppression? What a cheap price."
"It isn't light, Your Grace. Krepfeld, which has risen in rebellion this time, possesses exceptional national strength even among the vassal states. The expense will be enough to bend his back, and his external influence will drop sharply as well."
"But his political authority won't be damaged in the slightest. He'll still strut around the court with his head held high, saying whatever he pleases. I never thought His Majesty would accept a deal like this."
Grand Duke Sigmund pressed his fingers to his brow and collapsed back into his chair.
He understood that with a rebellion breaking out, support was urgently needed.
But at times, shouldn't there be things that must be cut away, even at the cost of enormous losses?
He had served the emperor with loyalty for many years, yet moments like this left even the grand duke feeling stifled.
"He's not the type to act like this over money alone. Has the succession issue become entangled as well? It seems His Majesty is still fixated on the first prince."
"He has always said that, for the sake of imperial authority, the principle of primogeniture must be upheld. He was likely hoping for the marquis's support."
"Primogeniture, primogeniture…"
A bitter smile formed at the corner of the grand duke's mouth.
Lately, he couldn't help but wonder whether the emperor truly was pushing primogeniture for the sake of imperial authority.
By now, countless incidents should have proven that the first prince was unfit to be emperor.
And yet, to cling so stubbornly to primogeniture even so—it was nothing short of absurd.
"Is it that he still can't forget the late former empress?"
"To call it romantic would be a stretch, given how heavy the burden she bore was—but perhaps he's forgotten even that by now."
There was a time when the emperor had been sharp-minded and capable of sound judgment.
His one flaw had been an extreme aversion to bloodshed.
As a result, the Empire had missed several chances to rise again.
This might well have been the last of those opportunities.
And yet he's let even this slip by. Will another chance ever come while I'm still alive?
A sigh escaped Grand Duke Sigmund's lips.
As the silence dragged on, the hesitant Edwin finally spoke in a heavy voice.
"Your Grace, I apologize for saying this, but there is one more thing."
"What now?"
"It's not from the letter itself, but from the courier who delivered it. His Highness the First Prince will be taking part in the suppression of this rebellion. And if possible, he wishes that one of the young masters accompany him on the campaign…"
God above.
At the command he least wanted to hear, the grand duke finally covered his face with his hands.
***
When Lucian returned to the family after completing his task, his standing was utterly different from before.
It had already been rising sharply, but now he possessed an authority so solid that no one could shake it.
The servants, who had already been cautious around him, bent their backs even lower, and the knights began actively striving to earn Lucian's favor.
As a bonus, the authority of Hans and Hugo under his command rose along with him.
"The ones who used to look down on me can't even meet my eyes now. It feels like all that pent-up resentment I've been carrying just drained away. Hahaha!"
"It can't be all good things, though. Aren't people trying to curry favor with you?"
"Of course they are, but I've turned every last one of them down. If you go around eating what others hand you so freely, you're bound to get sick, aren't you?"
"That's a good attitude."
Contrary to expectations, Hans handled the situation well without being consumed by power.
Partly it was his nature—he knew how to be content with what he had—and partly because his work had exposed him to plenty of the ugly sides of internal politics.
For Lucian, who had been worried about possible corruption, it was a relief.
If he keeps growing like this, I'll be able to keep him as a close aide even later on.
Even if they didn't measure up to Grand Duke Sigmund or Chief Steward Edwin, having a trustworthy inner circle was crucial.
A ruler needed not only knights and administrators, but also a steward who could take care of the myriad small issues within.
Hugo, unlike Hans, paid little attention to the change in how he was treated and instead focused on reviving his battlefield instincts through training.
"Someday, the day will come when I fight alongside you, young master, so I don't want to lose this edge. The only regret is that the sword style I've learned is third-rate…"
"It can't be helped. The Lion Sword is something you can only learn after becoming a knight. For now, you'll have to make do with what you have."
Unlike the Lion Heart Sword, which only the direct line could learn, the Lion Sword was open to other knights as well.
However, no matter how loyal one was, it could not be taught unless one had formally become a knight, so Lucian still couldn't teach it to Hugo.
Lucian found that a bit regrettable too, but if things went as planned, Hugo would soon have a chance to rise to knighthood.
For now, honing the sword techniques he already possessed took priority.
And the same goes for me.
After making the rounds of the estate, Lucian went straight to find Sword Saint Eisen.
With a battlefield fast approaching, he desperately needed further instruction in the Lion Heart Sword.
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