A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles

‘But one thing is one thing, and another is another.’

Joshua was no longer the naive fourth young master of the past, but the head of a family bearing the full weight of responsibility.

No matter how much pity he felt, he could not tear out the pillars of his own house just to help a brother.

Even less so if that brother could become a threat to his family.

“I sincerely regret the misfortune you’ve suffered, brother. If I could help you, I would gladly do so. But the truth is that I have no leeway at all.”

“I don’t know whether you’re saying that from the heart or just making excuses. From my point of view, this is a prosperous and peaceful territory.”

“And why don’t you mention that the military power of that peaceful territory is pitiful?”

At Joshua’s remark, Tristan fell silent.

As he said, the military strength of the territory Joshua governed was extremely weak.

No matter how elite his troops were, the five hundred soldiers Tristan had brought were enough to apply pressure.

“The reason this land looks rich is that, until now, almost nothing has been invested in armaments. While the Empire was at peace, that was acceptable. But that abundance is over.”

“Are you planning to expand the army?”

“Not out of ambition. To survive. Don’t we live in a world where, if you show weakness, you’re devoured in an instant?”

With the arrival of chaos, Joshua no longer had any alternatives.

In fact, hastily trying to organize a standing army now was already too late.

The neighboring territories had been reinforcing their forces for quite some time and had become far more powerful than before.

“I thought this would all be nothing more than a temporary confusion, that peace would soon return, and I avoided reality until it reached this point. Now I can’t put it off any longer.”

The price of reacting late had been far too high.

While he hesitated, the costs required to create an army had skyrocketed.

An army had always been a bottomless pit for money, but current expenses were beyond comparison with the past.

“Just to gather a minimal force capable of defending the territory, I’d have to sell off the luxuries in my own house. With a situation like that, how do you expect me to help you?”

“If you want, I can protect your territory in your place.”

“Ha.”

Joshua let out a hollow laugh at Tristan’s proposal.

He didn’t know whether Tristan was speaking seriously or shamelessly scheming.

“Brother, I’m not an idiot. Where have you ever seen someone so stupid as to bring foreign troops into the heart of their own home?”

Entrusting defense against external enemies to others was equivalent to offering up one’s own throat.

Even if it were genuine goodwill, it was already suspicious.

And to leave the defense in the hands of Tristan, who urgently needed a base of his own?

It would practically be serving the territory to him on a platter.

“If you truly want this territory, then kill me right here and take it. As long as I’m alive, I will never hand my land over to others.”

“…It was just a proposal. Don’t react so extremely.”

Faced with Joshua’s gaze, prepared to die if necessary, Tristan averted his eyes.

The truth was that, if he followed his desires, he could overthrow Joshua and seize the territory without much difficulty.

His soldiers were already inside the fortress.

But doing so as a guest would completely destroy his reputation and make him an object of universal contempt.

It would give the other barons a pretext for war and, moreover, he would lose his legitimacy as an heir of Valdeck.

Seeing Tristan remain motionless for a long time, trapped between impossible choices, Joshua frowned.

“To be honest, I don’t understand why you came to ask me for help in the first place. Don’t you have a brother in the north with far greater resources than mine?”

“Lucian.”

Tristan’s eyebrows trembled.

A useless man who, after losing his mother, had spent an entire year locked in his room begging for his father’s attention.

However, during that seclusion he had completely changed and emerged as a strong candidate for heir.

That the third son, whom he had never paid attention to, had become a dangerous rival didn’t bother him that much.

Even Tristan had to admit that Lucian’s achievements back then had been extraordinary.

But now, when support was more necessary than ever, those memories only made him hesitate.

‘The third’s true talent isn’t just recognizing valuable people or making bold decisions. It’s his ability to design the board he wants and draw up a grand plan that always ends up benefiting him.’

Looking back, Lucian had always obtained favorable results for himself.

Even actions that seemed foolish in the short term ended up being judged as wise decisions over time.

And every time, Tristan could do nothing but be surprised and admire him.

Thinking about it now, that wasn’t a good sign.

It meant that he had never managed to surpass Lucian, not even once.

‘If only I had managed to decipher even one of his plans, I wouldn’t be so uneasy. But until the very end, I was never able to catch up to him.’

Even if they met now, it would probably be no different.

Whatever Lucian’s plan might be, Tristan wouldn’t be able to grasp his true intentions.

Worse still, he could end up asking for help only to be dragged into Lucian’s schemes.

That was why he had tried to avoid it at all costs.

‘But there’s no alternative anymore.’

If things continued like this, he wouldn’t even be able to maintain the army he had left.

Before losing everything, he had no choice but to go ask Lucian for help.

Going directly might look like a plea, but just now a suitable pretext to visit the north had arisen.

“Now that I think about it, Sir Eisen was recently received into the bosom of the Eight Gods. As his disciple in the sword, I must go pay my respects. And while I’m at it, seeing the third’s face wouldn’t be bad either.”

“That’s exactly what I was saying. I’m far too busy to go, so please convey my greetings to Brother Lucian.”

Noticing that Tristan seemed ready to leave, Joshua spoke with evident relief.

For him, his older brother leaving as soon as possible was the best outcome he could hope for.

After thinking for a moment, Tristan nodded and headed for the exit.

“Thank you for the hospitality. I’ll be leaving.”

“I won’t see you off. Have a safe journey.”

With the dry sound of the door closing, Joshua let out a deep sigh.

He was exhausted after facing an older brother who, at any moment, could lose his reason and try to seize his territory.

The visit had been like a bolt from the blue, but thanks to it Joshua had learned a crucial lesson.

“…I must not skimp on money when creating a standing army.”

In chaotic times, lacking power was a sin in itself.

And no one could stop the strong from doing whatever they wanted to the weak.

***

“Are you the blacksmith called Malcolm? The one who claims to be able to work fairy metal?”

“Y-yes, Your Excellency!”

Malcolm immediately prostrated himself, his face completely pale.

He had never imagined that in less than a day he would end up having an audience with the duke.

The mere fact of standing before a noble of such high rank—someone he never thought he would exchange words with in his entire life—made his body tremble.

Before him stood an absolute ruler, someone capable of razing a city with a single gesture.

Even Malcolm, who had endured all kinds of trials throughout his life, could not help but tense up in front of the king of the north.

“How curious. I thought all forging techniques for ancient metals had been lost. How did you learn that method?”

“Because my ancestors left the forging method written down in books, I was at least able to review it.”

“Books? Then you’ve never forged it with your own hands?”

“That’s correct.”

“Hm.”

Hearing Lucian’s thoughtful tone, Malcolm swallowed.

He had been honest out of fear of the consequences of lying, but if the duke was disappointed here, everything would be over.

If he was not an experienced blacksmith in ancient metals, they could simply take the method from him and cast him aside.

“I’ve prepared a forge inside the inner castle. How about trying to refine the fairy metal there? I’ll warn you now—it doesn’t matter if you fail.”

“Eh…? Y-yes!”

The duke’s tone was surprisingly light.

For a moment, Malcolm was stunned by that calmness, but he quickly came to his senses and replied.

Satisfied with the answer, the young duke smiled and stood up.

“Good. Then let’s begin right away. I’ll guide you myself.”

Malcolm stared blankly at the duke’s retreating back, then followed him as if bewitched.

Several knights, lined up on both sides, escorted them closely.

Before long, upon reaching a corner of the inner castle, an absolutely perfect forge appeared before Malcolm’s eyes.

Hammers, an anvil, tongs, a furnace—everything was of the highest quality imaginable.

Even a clumsy apprentice could forge something decent by striking iron in a place like this.

“What do you think? I did the best I could. I don’t know if it’s really suitable, since I know nothing about blacksmithing.”

“…It’s a forge far too good for someone like me.”

Malcolm replied with complete sincerity and slowly stepped inside.

The furnace was already lit, as if prepared in advance, at an ideal temperature.

He took a deep breath and picked up the violet-colored ingot before him.

‘Fairy metal.’

One of those metals that, in the past, had tormented him so much with hope and despair at the same time.

Holding in his hands that hope which had once been shattered, he felt a knot tighten in his chest.

Forcefully suppressing his emotions, Malcolm firmly closed his eyes and placed the fairy metal into the furnace.

Whoosh!

The metal heated instantly, turning red.

At a glance it looked no different from an ordinary iron ingot when heated, but Malcolm did not take his eyes off it for even a second.

When the color of the metal began to turn white, he pulled it out with the tongs and plunged it into water.

Hiss!

“W-what the hell is he doing!?”

“He hasn’t even forged it and he’s already quenching it!”

Seeing Malcolm’s action, several knights behind the duke shouted in horror.

Quenching in water was only done after the forging process, after hammering the metal.

But Malcolm had heated the ingot and, without striking it even once, cooled it directly in water.

It was a process that completely defied all known common sense.

Ignoring the exclamations around him, Malcolm pulled the metal out of the water.

As soon as he confirmed that its color had changed slightly, he swung the hammer without hesitation.

Clang!

“How absurd. If you’re going to forge it, you should heat it again.”

“What does he intend to achieve by striking metal that’s already cold?”

Not only would he fail to obtain the desired shape, he would only end up breaking it.

And just as they said, after only a few blows, cracks began to appear all over the fairy metal.

“Tsk, tsk… I knew it would end up like this.”

“He’s going to waste such a valuable metal.”

Despite the metal looking as if it were about to fall apart, Malcolm showed not the slightest trace of panic.

On the contrary, he kept hammering relentlessly, as if he wanted it to break apart completely.

After about ten minutes of hammering, the knights finally noticed something strange.

“…Why isn’t it breaking?”

No matter how much he struck it, the metal only cracked, but did not crumble.

It was as if something were holding it together, preventing the cracks from fully separating.

After hammering for a while longer, Malcolm once again placed the now crack-covered metal into the furnace.

Fwooom!

“Hup!”

The instant the furnace swallowed the cracked metal, a burst of flames shot skyward.

It didn’t look like mineral was burning, but rather as if someone had thrown an entire bucket of oil into the fire.

The flames, burning fiercely, began to change from red to a deep blue.

“Ah…”

Seeing that color, like the sky just before dawn, a tear rolled down Malcolm’s cheek.

Everything before him matched exactly what was written in the books inherited from his ancestors.