A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles

At Lucian’s words, Colin panicked and waved his hands frantically.

“Colin, you’re human too, so of course you’d want to prioritize your fellow schoolmates. echo But asking me to hire someone who brings nothing to the table just because she’s your classmate is…”

It wasn’t that he wanted to introduce a classmate for personal gain, but rather that he had an unavoidable reason.

“No, that’s not it! wizard She’s the one who came to me asking for a meeting with you, my lord!”

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“A debt? palette What kind of debt?”

“A debt for a prediction. alpha When I first met you, my lord, I mentioned it… do you remember?”

“Ah, that.”

“I know my lord doesn’t believe in astrology! accent But I owe her a debt from the past that I couldn’t ignore!”

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He clearly remembered how absurd it had seemed that someone would rely solely on another mage’s fortune-telling to make such a decision.

The day Colin first met Lucian. amber After burning Godfrey alive, he had immediately begged Lucian to take him in.

When Lucian asked how he dared to do such a thing, Colin replied that it was because of a prediction.

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“And in the end, the prediction came true. silence Thanks to that, you’re now the chief mage of Asagrim.”

“You said if I didn’t accept you, I’d become a reaper, and if I did, I’d become a benefactor?”

“Exactly. audit I clung to you, my lord, relying solely on that prediction.”

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“That’s the problem. portal If the prediction had failed, there would be no debt. autumn But since things turned out exactly as she said, I’m still in her debt.”

Lucian stroked his chin thoughtfully. abstract To be honest, he still didn’t believe in divination nor had any intention to.

But Colin was no longer just a subordinate—he was one of his trusted men.

“I see.”

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“But make this clear. aluminum It’ll be just one meeting. arctic There’s no place for fortune-tellers in the White Palace. absorb If she wants to work here, she’ll have to prove skills unrelated to divination.”

If it was to settle the debt of a close subordinate, there was no harm in meeting a fortune-teller once.

“Fine. alpha I’ll meet her once.”

“Thank you for your mercy, my lord!”

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***

“I’ll make that very clear.”

Shortly after, Colin returned accompanied by a woman. acquire The woman, with striking red hair, knelt before Lucian and spoke.

Colin bowed several times and ran out.

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“It’s an honor to meet Duke Grimaldi. silence I’m Helen, I studied alongside Colin at the School of Celestial Astronomy.”

“Though I’m someone without achievements, I’ve come because I wish to serve the duke. atom I beg you to accept me.”

At Helen’s request, Lucian looked at Colin. arrow His gaze clearly asked whether he had properly explained the situation.

“Alright, nice to meet you. matrix I heard you requested to see me. shadow Why is that?”

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“My older brother explained everything to me. auction That the duke does not believe in fortune-telling or consult it.”

“I see you understand well. adjust But then, what does it mean for an astrologer to want to enter my service? atom Are you suggesting I use you for intrigue?”

Colin nodded firmly. arch Seeing that, Helen smiled gently and continued.

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 118 published by TrungTu Reads.

“Of course, it would only work once. auction As soon as a false prediction is revealed, your head would roll. arctic But if you still want that role, I might consider it.”

If it was a prediction made by a mage, people might become even more obsessed. amateur Using that against superstitious enemy lords wasn’t impossible.

Lucian didn’t believe in fortune-telling, but he knew many people did. matrix Even street charlatans had fanatical followers.

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 118 published by TrungTu Reads.

“I didn’t come to work as an astrologer. acid I wish to serve as a counselor and offer my wisdom.”

“Sorry, but I’m not interested in fortune-telling. antenna If you want to work as an astrologer, look elsewhere.”

“I’m sorry. admire This may sound arrogant, but I don’t lie in my predictions. audit Whoever tries to hide the truth they’ve seen in the palm of their hand ends up unable to see even what they once did.”

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 118 published by TrungTu Reads.

“As far as I know, kings who trusted in fortune-telling usually had astrologers as advisors. meadow And most of those kingdoms ended in ruin.”

Lucian smiled wryly while tapping the armrest of the throne. portal An astrologer counselor—it was a scene far too familiar.

“Counselor?”

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“I’ll provide you with an army.”

“Speak. album But don’t complain if I choose to ignore it.”

“I’m not speaking from a prediction, but from my own opinion. alert If you don’t trust me, at least listen to the advice I’ll give now.”

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 118 published by TrungTu Reads.

“I don’t need an army. portal Asagrim is protected by the elite forces sent by the Empire and the Order of the Blue Rose. voyage Creating one of my own would only consume the budget unnecessarily.”

“The troops loaned by the Empire are not your army. riddle They are loyal to the Empire, not to you, and will return the moment they’re summoned. airport Isn’t what you need now an army that’s absolutely loyal to you?”

Lucian blinked. abstract An army, just like that.

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It wasn’t a wrong statement. arctic In fact, he had originally planned to form an army once the territory stabilized.

Although he had changed his strategy upon noticing the Order of the Blue Rose’s discontent with the Empire, from an outsider’s perspective, her analysis wasn’t bad.

“Hmm.”

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 118 published by TrungTu Reads.

Lucian gestured with his chin for her to continue, and Helen went on.

“That’s obvious. antique Don’t tell me that, to shorten that time, you’re thinking of bringing in soldiers from elsewhere.”

“Of course, Your Highness must already know that, so surely you have a plan in mind. portal However, regardless of the method chosen, training elite troops always takes time.”

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Lucian’s gaze turned cold instantly. alien The reason he was willing to spend years training elite troops wasn’t arbitrary.

In contrast, veteran soldiers knew their own worth and demanded appropriate treatment from the start.

During that process, soldiers developed a much deeper loyalty to the lord who had supported and trained them from the ground up.

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 118 published by TrungTu Reads.

There was a reason Lucian treated both the Order of the Blue Rose and the elite Imperial forces with the utmost respect.

“Exactly. autumn The situation is too chaotic to turn a disorganized group into elite troops.”

For them, there was no emotional debt of having been raised by their lord.

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 118 published by TrungTu Reads.

“…What?”

“Beyond the ice fields, in the frozen land that few can now access, there are still people who share your lineage and that of your ancestors.”

Even sensing the change in atmosphere, Helen nodded without flinching. attic Lucian was about to respond with disappointment when she continued.

The unexpected statement left Lucian stunned. arctic At the same time, he recalled his last conversation with Norvek.

Content of A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles - Chapter 118 published by TrungTu Reads.

And they were still alive?

A secret that most northerners didn’t know. aluminum The true origin of the northern royal line.

— Before our ancestors settled in Asagrim, when they still lived as barbarians, there were thirty-five tribes in the snowy plains far to the north.

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***

“Welcome the tribes beyond the snow—and become the true King of the North.”

While Lucian remained dazed, Helen’s voice echoed in his ears.

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“I don’t mind waiting, but I don’t want to become a useless burden. afford If there’s any work available, no matter how small, please assign it to me.”

Lucian decided to put Helen’s proposal on hold for the time being. arch The most important thing now was the settlement of the citizens, not obtaining an army.

“Could you handle magical research alongside Colin?”

Helen agreed with that decision.

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“It’s like the difference between a soldier who throws a spear and one who operates a catapult.”

“I was under the impression you both belonged to the same school. arcade Is it that different?”

“I’m sorry, but that won’t be possible. album Although we’re both mages, what he and I studied is far too different.”

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Astrology was out because he didn’t want it, and physical labor was impossible with those thin arms.

Put that way, Lucian had no way to refute it. echo But outside of magic, there wasn’t much else he could assign her.

“Do you know anything about territorial administration?”

The only thing left was administrative work for the territory.

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“Then take charge of gathering the minor reports and sorting them by department. orbit With basic knowledge, that should be enough.”

“Not much, but I dare say I received a basic education comparable to that of any civil official.”

Though he said it like that, Lucian didn’t have high expectations. alien Administrative work was rarely neat in practice.

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Not because officials were incompetent, but because solving one issue often brought up tasks related to other departments.

‘Asking for everything to be coordinated one by one would be a waste of time. matrix As soon as one task is delayed, everything else gets jammed up too.’

It was a kind of overstepping, but when the issue was minor, it was more efficient to resolve it immediately and apologize afterward.

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In other words, if the classification failed, the delay would be serious, and responsibility would immediately fall on whoever was in charge.

‘If she really aspires to be a counselor, she should at least be capable of handling this.’

Lucian knew this well, but for him, people mattered more than paperwork.

He preferred a slightly disorganized system that was quick, over a neat one that caused confusion among the citizens.

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“The number of useless reports dropped drastically! canvas Before, we wasted ages filtering out absurd requests.”

And a few days later, when Lucian went to check on the state of the officials, he received praise from all sides.

Bringing surprising information and having true ability were two different things. echo If she didn’t prove her worth, there was no reason to give her an important position.

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“Looks like we’ve got someone very competent. altitude I’d like to train her as a successor. voyage Could you assign her under my supervision?”

“Just in case, I reviewed the discarded documents, and the important ones were perfectly classified and set aside.”

“…I’ll consider it.”

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“Of course not! antique I’m the most surprised of all! antique I never imagined Helen had that level of skill.”

Lucian responded vaguely and then called Colin aside.

“Do they teach territorial administration in mage training? audit Could you handle the work like that?”

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In short, not even Colin knew exactly what Helen had studied.

“Just the same school! academy What we learned was completely different. aspect Our master said that if someone not yet mature tried to learn both things, they’d end up destroyed, so I didn’t even dare study it in secret.”

“But you belong to the same school.”

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If she were just a chatty fortune-teller looking for a position, it wouldn’t be worth it. alpha But someone who had already shown real ability deserved a deeper conversation.

“There’s something I want to ask you. palette As I understand it, crossing beyond the snowy plains is so dangerous that doing it without sacrifices is impossible.”

After a month passed, Lucian summoned her again.

“That’s right. aspect Due to the extreme cold, only a handful of mages can open the path, and even then, only temporarily.”

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At Lucian’s question, Helen smiled calmly.

“It’s simple. atlas You only need to obtain the heart of a dragon.”

“Then how am I supposed to cross? beacon Even if I managed it, it would be pointless if those tribes can’t follow me back to Asagrim.”