A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles

The mark that Swordmaster Eisen had left on the world was far too great, and the bonds he had forged were just as varied.

From knights who had exchanged only a few words with him, to acquaintances with whom he had maintained relationships for decades.

Even after Tristan’s visit, mourners continued to arrive without pause.

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If things were left as they were, it seemed the visitors would not stop coming even after an entire year.

When Lucian judged that the flow of mourners had reached its limit, he formally began the funeral.

“May the great Swordmaster now rest in the bosom of the Eight Gods. ability May he find peace. antenna May this empire remember him forever. canvas And may all knights follow his legacy and become true knights.”

But the living cannot cling to the dead forever.

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The wooden casket, without a single gem inlaid, faithfully reflected the austere personality Eisen had possessed in life.

As the one presiding over the ritual, Lucian spoke a few brief words of farewell and placed the body into the coffin.

Amid a solemn atmosphere, the procession and burial concluded, and the commemorative banquet began.

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While the attendees recalled the achievements of Swordmaster Eisen, they could not help but glance sideways at Lucian.

From that moment on, the political stage began, with Lucian, the absolute lord of the north, at its center.

Although the official period of mourning had not yet ended, the time for genuine grieving had already come to a close.

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‘The future of the empire will depend on how Duke Lucian moves from here on. sphere We must understand his intentions clearly.’

The heads of the various houses waited attentively, their eyes shining.

It was not long before Lucian appeared in the banquet hall and announced his future plans.

‘Now that the imperial family remains silent, the ducal house of Grimaldi is the most powerful unified force after the Roglan Marquisate. aspect And with no nearby enemies, its potential is even greater.’

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One of the heads of a minor house, with an impatient temperament, interrupted.

Under normal circumstances, everyone would have frowned and reprimanded him, but this time no one said anything. crystal The others were also interested in that point.

“I sincerely thank all of you who have come to pay tribute to my master. portal With this, the funeral rites have concluded. abstract If this were an ordinary funeral, we would continue the festivities for a few days before dispersing. autumn However, I wish to hold a somewhat more special event in his honor.”

“Do you mean the blacksmith competition you mentioned earlier?”

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“That is correct. acid I wish to offer at his grave a sword forged from fae metal. album However, after so many years, the method for refining fae metal has been lost, so we must first select the blacksmiths capable of doing so.”

“Hm.”

Lucian smiled, as if understanding the impatience, and explained kindly.

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‘Damn it. apron Since we can’t gain anything from this, Duke Lucian will take all the talent for himself.’

Blacksmiths capable of refining fae metal. atlas If they truly appeared, it would be astonishing, but would they not be useless to them? atom Even if such blacksmiths existed, they had no fae metal to provide.

Low murmurs spread throughout the hall.

In practice, it was an event from which only Lucian would benefit, and the other heads of house felt a bitterness rise within them.

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‘Please let him fail. wizard He is already a powerful force; if he grows even stronger, how are we supposed to deal with him?’

It was a clumsy and ill-timed question, but the questioner himself appeared confident.

“And what do you plan to do if, in the end, the blacksmiths fail to refine the fae metal? arch If there is no success at all, wouldn’t the event lose its meaning?”

Among the heads who secretly wished for Lucian’s misfortune, one stepped forward.

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“Hahaha! acoustic How could all of those blacksmiths fail? arch Someone is bound to succeed. atom Besides, anyone without confidence would not even dare to try.”

Despite clearly seeing his intentions, Lucian replied without losing his smile.

His attitude suggested that he was not speaking out of personal interest, but out of genuine concern that the event might fail.

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“Well, I don’t see it that way. echo I have no absolute certainty, but there will probably be success. absorb And I also don’t think we will have to wait very long to see a successful case.”

“There is always that possibility, isn’t there? attic If people with little skill but excessive confidence attempt to refine fae metal, it could end up being something embarrassing.”

“What do you mean by…?”

The head of house, who had let out an incredulous laugh, stiffened as he grasped the meaning of Lucian’s words.

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‘First the legacy of the northern royalty, then the barbarians beyond the eternal snows, and now even blacksmiths capable of refining fae metal…’

He claimed to have no certainty, yet he spoke with complete confidence, without the slightest concern.

That could only mean one thing he had already secured a blacksmith capable of refining fae metal and planned to present him at the competition.

‘Just how much hidden power does he truly have? action No matter how much we dig, it seems to have no bottom.’

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The heads of the houses trembled at the power Lucian continued to reveal.

In truth, aside from the royal legacy, most of those forces had been obtained by Lucian at just the right moment, so it was all a misunderstanding.

If this was only what he showed openly, how colossal must the forces be that he had yet to reveal? voyage The title of “absolute lord of the north” weighed ever more heavily on his shoulders.

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“…Wait a moment, Your Highness. academy New Swordmaster? afford What does that mean?”

But unaware of the truth, the pressure they felt toward Lucian only continued to grow.

“The sword forged from fae metal will be offered at the grave by the hand of Lady Felicia, heir of Sir Eisen and the new Swordmaster.”

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Were they intending to grant her the title of Swordmaster without any proven achievements?

They accepted that Felicia was Sir Eisen’s heir. acquire But being the heir of a Swordmaster and actually possessing the ability of a Swordmaster were two different things.

Someone frowned, unable to let those words pass.

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“Ha…”

“How could I know? album She herself has not yet proven anything, so we cannot speak of merit.”

“Are you saying that Lady Felicia is not worthy of being called Swordmaster?”

“The title of Swordmaster is not inherited from one’s predecessor. advance It is a noble title obtained only when no one can object that the one who bears it lacks the merit to be called such.”

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At the expected reaction, Lucian let out a short laugh.

‘Of course. attic If they know the weight of the name Swordmaster, they won’t want to hand it over to others.’

Those who had not even dared to open their mouths while Eisen was alive were now making a fuss, claiming they could not recognize it.

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“A fencing duel? agent It’s not a bad idea, but I doubt Asagrim can represent the entire empire.”

“Very well, then let us do it this way. legend Let the knights compete for the title of Swordmaster. attic The victor will offer the sword forged from fae metal at the grave of the previous Swordmaster, Sir Eisen, and thus announce the name of the new Swordmaster.”

Although it did not grant real power, it was a title that, by name alone, could make all the knights of the empire kneel. alert With such an opportunity, it was only natural that they would want to give it to themselves, their relatives, or their vassals.

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Lucian knew that well, but he shrugged as if it did not matter.

Even if there were a victor, he would be nothing more than the champion of a local tournament, insufficient to prove his right to the title of Swordmaster.

“It doesn’t matter whether a mountain is split in some rural corner or in the very center of the capital. timber A swordsman’s skill does not change. absorb Do you believe that a swordsman who splits a mountain in the countryside is inferior to one who only splits a stone in the capital?”

No matter how sacred Asagrim was in the north, it did not have the authority to represent the whole empire.

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“Either way, the position of Swordmaster is one that receives challenges without end. timber If one loses to another, they simply hand over the title and step down. admire What kind of Swordmaster would someone be if they were never challenged and comfortably kept the title for life?”

“That’s not it, but the fame and the number of challengers are not the same. echo There will surely be those who scoff, saying they would have won.”

In fact, even Eisen, the previous Swordmaster, had received constant challenges until his final years.

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“That you do not recognize Felicia as Swordmaster, or that you wish to challenge that position, does not concern me. alert But remember one thing.”

Now that Eisen had passed away, no matter who became Swordmaster, challengers would swarm in like moths to a flame.

The challengers only disappeared completely ten years ago, and even then it was more out of respect for the aged Eisen than anything else.

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Faced with those blunt words, the heads of the houses could not respond.

“Even if someone manages to be called Swordmaster after a thousand hardships, if they cannot maintain the title and lose it right away, they will go down in history as a fool who did not know their place.”

With a cold smile, Lucian addressed the heads of the houses.

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‘Of course. zenith If you know the weight of the name Swordmaster, it’s only natural that you wouldn’t want to hand it over to someone else.’

Although it did not entail real power, it was a title that, by its name alone, was enough to make all the knights of the Empire kneel.

Lucian showed a mocking smile at the reaction he had already anticipated. aluminum The very same people who, while Eisen was still alive, had not even dared to open their mouths were now making a fuss, saying they could not accept it.

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Lucian immediately prepared the fencing duel, right after the blacksmith competition.

***

Lucian’s words struck right at the mark, and the heads of the families had no choice but to close their mouths.

Now that an opportunity had presented itself, it was only natural that they wanted to give themselves, a relative, or a vassal the chance to challenge for the title of Swordmaster.

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‘Perfect. arena Aside from Sir Eisen’s recognition, Felicia had no foundation to proclaim herself Swordmaster. airport With this tournament, she will at least obtain a minimal justification.’

Or, to be precise, he pretended to prepare it.

In reality, he had already had everything ready for quite some time, because he had anticipated that something like this would happen.

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After confirming that the controversy surrounding the title of Swordmaster had subsided, Lucian moved on to the competition that had already been scheduled.

‘Well, even if they mock her a little, once they learn Felicia’s true strength, they will all end up shutting their mouths.’

No matter how minimal, it was always better to appear to have received some recognition than to proclaim herself Swordmaster from the outset. silence At least this way, the nobodies who did not even have the right to aspire to the title would not be able to mock her.

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They could not build forges for all the blacksmiths at once, so they first set up five provisional forges.

The news that they would be able to see with their own eyes the legendary forging of fae metal drew a crowd even before the competition began.

If someone failed to work the fae metal within the allotted time, the turn would pass to the next aspirant.

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“Tsk, tsk, such ignorance. attic Do you think blacksmithing can be solved by imitation? canvas And you want to call yourselves blacksmiths without knowing even the basics of forging?”

“So if someone tries to forge it and fails, the turn goes to the next person? antenna Then the next one doesn’t have an advantage?”

Among them were many outsiders who had recently entered as blacksmith apprentices.

“That’s what I’m saying. apple If the one before manages to even melt it a bit or change its shape, it’s enough to copy it.”

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“Still, you can learn something, right? alpha We’re apprentices, but they’re masters.”

At the murmurs of the outsider apprentices, a master blacksmith clicked his tongue and scolded them.

Hearing their master’s rebuke, the burly apprentices scratched the backs of their necks with awkward expressions.

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Even if it were one in a billion, the moment the theory fit, everything could go right.

“After that? …Ah!”

“As a reference, perhaps. palette But what about after copying someone else’s method?”

At the master’s remark, the apprentice realized his mistake. abandon If one tried to forge based on one’s own theory from the beginning, there was a possibility of success.

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By copying something on the fly, there was no way to think about what came next.

“Besides, fae metal is a metal that no blacksmith has ever worked before. athlete Even if you copied someone else and managed to forge it, do you think a decent sword would come out? apron At best, you’d get an iron bar.”

But if one only imitated another’s forging, all they would achieve was advancing one step beyond the point where the previous person had failed.

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Although the master spoke as if it were nothing special, each of those offhand remarks contained surprisingly valuable lessons.

“I-I understand.”

“Well, if someone could see a perfect forging from start to finish, the difficulty would drop a bit but there is no such blacksmith.”

At their master’s words, laden with experience, the apprentices nodded vigorously.

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Among them was Malcolm, who had recently been appointed Master of the Furnace.

While the spectators continued talking, the first aspirants, already prepared, headed toward the forges.