A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles

“…”

“…”

While Hugo and Tristan were speaking outside, Lucian was facing Denis, who had come to visit him.

Denis had followed Lucian the moment he left the banquet hall, but now that they were finally face to face, he could only stare at Lucian’s face, unable to open his mouth.

The silence dragged on for quite some time, until a voice tinged with irritation escaped Lucian’s lips.

“How long do you plan on holding me here? If you have nothing to say, it’d be better if you left.”

“D-Duke…”

“Do you think that by repeating ‘Duke’ a hundred or a thousand times, I’ll read your mind?”

The tone had completely abandoned formality and turned shamelessly brusque.

Denis tightly shut his eyes.

If he said the wrong thing and struck a nerve with Lucian, even the continuity of the imperial family could be called into question.

Realizing he had no room left to retreat, Denis dropped to his knees.

Thud.

“Duke, please, I beg you to forgive the First Prince’s mistake!”

“Ha.”

He wasn’t asking for understanding, but forgiveness for a mistake.

For a plea coming from a sovereign to a vassal, it was a wording that verged not just on humiliation but disgrace.

Of course, Denis wasn’t the First Prince himself, only his subordinate, but precisely because of that, the gesture carried even more weight.

The virtue of a loyal retainer is to protect their lord’s honor even at the cost of their own life.

However, Denis was lowering the First Prince’s honor just to beg for Lucian’s mercy.

Not out of personal interest, but out of fear for what might happen to the First Prince if he didn’t.

“Mistake and forgiveness don’t seem like words that should lightly come from the mouth of a mere vassal, much less when it isn’t the First Prince himself.”

“How could we possibly cover the sky with the palm of our hand? The First Prince betrayed the Duke’s trust. If that’s not a mistake, the entire world will mock us.”

“That’s true.”

Lucian, who only intended to probe a little, nodded without thinking.

To brand Lucian as a traitor—someone he needed to make into an ally in order to reclaim the throne—and to do so while setting aside resentment… he should at least know on whom his life depended.

At that level, it was no longer just a lack of political sense; he could even be considered the strongest candidate for most inept tyrant in the entire Empire.

Seeing Lucian accept it so easily, Denis grew impatient and opened his mouth.

“But—!”

“The imperial family will continue.”

Lucian raised a hand and stopped Denis just as he was about to jump up in joy.

Hearing those words at last from Lucian’s own mouth—what he most wanted to hear—Denis’s eyes widened.

“I-is it true?”

“Even if the First Prince turned his back on me, I am still a subject of the Empire. Besides, I am indebted to the late Emperor. How could I personally sever the imperial bloodline?”

“Duke!”

“But.”

Lucian gripped Denis’s shoulder tightly just as he was about to burst with joy.

At that “but,” Denis froze completely. Soon after, a low voice reached his ear.

“I need someone to restrain the First Prince from within.”

“Restrain him… you say?”

“Even putting the imperial family aside, the First Prince causes too many incidents. In the worst-case scenario, he might force me to do something I don’t want to.”

At that cold warning, Denis swallowed hard, unable to argue.

Knowing the First Prince’s personality, it wouldn’t be surprising if he learned absolutely nothing from what happened today.

“Stay by his side and watch over him. Keep him from doing anything unnecessary. And ensure that the imperial family may endure forever.”

Denis’s pupils trembled. Obeying one’s lord’s will is the duty of a vassal.

But if he continued blindly following the First Prince’s orders, the imperial family might truly be extinguished.

Just as Lucian said, if he wanted to preserve the imperial line, he had to ensure the First Prince’s safety first—even if that meant disobeying his orders.

“…I will keep that in mind.”

After a long hesitation, Denis finally nodded at Lucian’s whisper. Seeing this, Lucian smiled and patted his shoulder.

“You really are a true loyalist of this Empire.”

***

Soon after, Denis left the office, and almost as if on cue, Tristan entered.

Lucian cast him a sideways glance and spoke in a detached tone.

“What brings you here?”

“Well…”

“It’s not a real question. Brother, you wouldn’t have a reason to come looking for me. You already heard everything important from Hugo, didn’t you?”

“Your Highness.”

“That’s enough.”

Before Tristan could say another word, Lucian struck the desk with a sharp thunk and interrupted him.

“I’ll ask just one thing. Do you want to become the head of the Grand Ducal House of Valdeck?”

“…Yes.”

Despite how humiliating the question was, Tristan had no choice but to answer that way. If he said no, Lucian would throw him out without hesitation.

“Then gather the troops stationed outside the city immediately and check what supplies are urgently needed. Report everything to me. I’ll prepare a proper location for the barracks, and from now on, you’ll remain there.”

“Excuse me, but I don’t have that kind of money…”

“Of course, I’ll cover all the costs.”

“All of them?”

“What would I gain from squeezing a penniless brother? I’ve no choice but to take it on myself.”

At those unexpected words, Tristan blinked in astonishment.

It pained him to admit it, but with the restoration of the Northern Kingdom, his value had plummeted.

Lucian, if he wished, could govern the ducal house directly.

And yet, he was willing to entrust troops to Tristan—even covering the maintenance costs himself.

When the simplest solution would have been to cut off all his limbs and leave him as a mere puppet.

‘The fact that he’s giving me my own forces means he wants me to take real control of the family later. In other words, Lucian has no genuine interest in the position of head of the family.’

For Tristan, this made no sense. He had heard the explanation before—that Lucian would assume the position only once because giving it up meant losing all inherent rights.

But if being the family head was the pinnacle of those rights, what could he possibly desire beyond that to go through all this?

“Duke.”

“Is there something else?”

“If your goal isn’t the position of head of the family… then what is it you truly seek, Your Highness?”

Unable to contain his curiosity, Tristan asked the question directly.

Lucian watched him for a moment, then smiled mockingly.

“The Grand Ducal House of Valdeck is a family of long-standing tradition. It stood beside His Majesty Wilhelm, the founding Emperor, laying the foundations of this Empire.”

“Yes, that is correct.”

“Because of that relationship, there were even several marriages with the imperial family. However slight, imperial blood runs through your veins.”

“That…”

Tristan’s eyes trembled violently as he tried to nod. He had finally understood what Lucian wanted.

“Y-Your Highness…”

Seeing Tristan speechless from the shock, Lucian smiled and said.

“If one is born a man, he must dream big. Don’t you think so?”

***

— The Northern Kingdom Has Been Resurrected —

After Sir Eisen’s funeral, news that leaked from the north shook the entire continent.

To be precise, the Northern Kingdom had not yet been officially resurrected.

It had only received the “permission” of the First Prince; its restoration had not yet been formally proclaimed.

The internal structure still had to be organized, the relationship between sovereign and vassals clarified, and a coronation held before it could truly be called a kingdom.

But to the other ambitious factions, such formalities were irrelevant.

With the First Prince’s backing in hand and no internal opposition, the kingdom’s resurrection was merely a matter of time.

“Building a new kingdom within the Empire?! Does that even make sense?!”

“In an Empire that hasn’t granted a royal title in a thousand years, to dare proclaim oneself king!”

“This is blatant rebellion! We must form a coalition immediately and crush him!”

The lords, terrified by the formation of such an unexpected and colossal force, raised their voices.

But no matter how loud their protests, they did nothing to change the course of events.

There were many reasons, but the main one was that forming a coalition was impossible.

‘We know we have to stop him. But when each faction supports a different collateral prince, how can we unite under the pretext of rebellion?’

‘If each of us considers everyone except our own candidate a rebel, are we now going to join forces just because a new rebel appeared?’

‘Should we meet and sign a treaty temporarily redefining who counts as a rebel? We’d be the laughingstock of the world.’

Had they all served the same lord, the excuse of “for the greater good” might have worked.

But these ambitious figures had long been promoting various collateral princes as the true heirs.

By invoking the next sovereign, they had no choice but to label each other rebels.

In that context, pointing at Lucian and saying, “That one is more of a rebel than you—let’s unite,” was pure comedy.

The only faction with any real possibility was that of the First Prince, the most legitimate heir… but that First Prince was now in Lucian’s hands.

Rather than forming a coalition, the factions that had declared support for the First Prince now had to worry about when Lucian would give an order in his name—and they would be forced to betray each other.

“With the First Prince’s permission granted, there’s no reason to delay. Begin preparations for the coronation at once.”

While the other forces were consumed by anxiety, Lucian moved swiftly.

Although interference was unlikely, there was always a chance that, in a panic, someone might charge north under the excuse of madness.

‘Even if I could crush them easily, it’s best to avoid visible opposition before the coronation.’

In truth, the greatest source of instability was not outside—but within.

‘The First Prince, Claude.’

He had now become little more than a seal used to create legitimacy, but he was someone who had already once escaped from the center of Tibron using a magical artifact.

If Lucian became complacent, Claude could slip away like an eel and cause a massive headache.

Just in case, Lucian ordered Marius, Colin, and Helen to keep close watch over the First Prince.

“If you detect any mana fluctuations, subdue him immediately. If the situation requires it, I authorize moderate use of force.”

“Of course. If anything seems suspicious, we’ll act without hesitation.”

Marius and his two disciples responded with gleaming eyes.

Even though Claude’s escape would be their responsibility, they showed no sign of concern.

They actually seemed eager for an escape attempt, toying with their staffs.

Feeling a strange unease, Lucian quickly added.

“Don’t forget the condition—only if the situation requires it. If you can subdue him without violence, don’t hit him.”

“We’ll keep that in mind. Though please understand that as mages, our physical strength is limited. In an emergency, we’ll have no choice but to resort to magic.”

“That, of course, I understand.”

“And in urgent situations, it’s normal to make small errors in power control.”

Lucian had the feeling that such an “error” was guaranteed to happen. While he hesitated about whether he could really trust them with the task, Marius smiled and added.

“Don’t worry. We bear no grudge whatsoever for the witch hunts the imperial family carried out over the last three hundred years.”

“…..”