A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles

It wasn’t just any matter; if it went wrong, it could completely ruin the future. atomic Seeing things that way, the duke clicked his tongue and said:

“The fact that none of you want to carry that burden proves why the third deserves that reward. arena A burden that no one is willing to bear is a hundred times heavier than one someone accepts to carry in place of others.”

The adamantium sword and the magic armor were, without a doubt, treasures.

However, they were also ambiguous treasures, as they weren’t worth plunging into a political dispute just to obtain them.

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Faced with the duke’s stern reprimand, the three brothers couldn’t find any words to refute and lowered their heads at the same time.

Two days later, an official envoy finally arrived from the imperial court to request troops from the duke.

After that, there was no further talk about what Lucian had received.

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“To suppress the heartless forces of Krephelt, reinforcements are requested from the head of House Valdeck, Sigmund Valdeck.”

Since everything had already been arranged beforehand via a secret missive, this was merely a formality to maintain appearances.

“I will comply with His Majesty’s order.”

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It wasn’t a huge number, but considering they were all veterans of the standing army, it was an elite force more than sufficient.

‘Also, when forming an allied army, it’s not always wise to send too many troops.’

The number of troops sent by the Valdeck family totaled one thousand.

Lucian assembled the army, long prepared, in front of the fortress’s outer gate.

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‘And yet we must still show power fitting of the family’s prestige. artist Politics really is a headache.’

From the perspective of the imperial court, that would go from reassuring to uncomfortable. agent The right amount had to be sent so that the court could still hold the reins of the allied force.

Sending a large number of soldiers on top of that? antique Setting aside supply problems, it would give them too much weight within the allied army.

The Valdeck family already wielded great authority.

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Once the preparations for departure were complete, a middle-aged knight approached Lucian and bowed his head.

If he ever wanted to become a ruler, this type of political consideration would be essential too.

Lucian gave a bitter smile as he etched the duke’s teachings into his mind.

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Lucian, who could easily imagine how he felt, let out a slight chuckle.

The conversation was polite, but despite his respectful tone, Gerard’s expression wasn’t exactly cheerful.

“Pleased to meet you, third young master. meadow My name is Gerard Luden. afford From now on, I will serve by your side as an advisor. athlete If you have any doubts about the army, don’t hesitate to ask me.”

“Looks like I’ll have to rely on you quite a bit. echo I’ll be counting on your help from now on, Sir Gerard.”

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And if it ended at being ignored, that would still be fortunate.

Since the duke himself had granted full authority to Lucian, if he wanted to, he could even remove Gerard from the advisor position.

‘With all the authority in my hands, he must feel like he’s sitting on pins and needles. apron After all, if I wanted to ignore him and proceed on my own, I could.’

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Rather than restrain Lucian’s potential excesses, Gerard had to worry about not displeasing him, so it was natural he felt uneasy.

If the duke had truly intended to impose an advisor, he would have sent someone with greater prestige.

‘Well, I don’t plan to worry about his feelings anyway.’

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The duke’s intention was clear: take the advice as reference and act by your own judgment.

With a well-known name, even Lucian wouldn’t be able to act lightly.

However, the appointed advisor was a knight with plenty of experience, but hardly known.

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After exchanging a superficial greeting, he kept Gerard by his side as an advisor.

‘It’s a shame he’s not even aware of that.’

As long as their opinions didn’t clash, there was no need to ruin the relationship.

Since knowing wouldn’t do him any good, Lucian decided not to explain anything.

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“Hahaha, it’s been a while since we’ve seen each other, and you greet me with such coldness? attic Even if I don’t look it, we’re comrades who fought shoulder to shoulder, aren’t we?”

“Don’t wink at me. acquire A man your age doing that gives me chills.”

“By the way— I don’t understand what you’re doing here again.”

At Lucian’s words, Raymond scratched the back of his head with an awkward expression.

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“Escort, with the number of troops we have?”

“Age doesn’t matter. acid So, what’s going on this time?”

“Believe it or not, I’m only thirty-five.”

“Naturally, I came as the third young master’s escort.”

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Lucian, who had been interrogating him, ended up bursting into laughter at the shameless response.

“Even so, it’s always better to have at least one personal bodyguard, just in case. arctic The truth is, I wanted to come with my team, but they said that would be excessive, so I came alone. airport After all this time, aren’t you happy to see me?”

He had suspected it might be surveillance, but it seemed Raymond had really volunteered purely out of goodwill.

“Pff!”

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“Unless it’s something shady, I’m always Raymond.”

“Perfect. absorb I was worried we’d get confused if the roles changed.”

“Well, having a competent knight by my side isn’t bad. academy By the way, are you still Raymond here too?”

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Lucian went to find Hugo one last time, whom he had appointed as decurion.

Though Raymond didn’t reach that level, he was far more reliable than others for handling important matters.

A knight who merely follows orders is not the same as one you can entrust your back to.

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“That’s normal. abstract They’re veteran soldiers who’ve participated in multiple suppression campaigns. amber For elite troops who’ve crossed the line between life and death, you probably seem like a rookie.”

“How’s the decurion position? adjust Can you handle it?”

“Somehow, I managed to get them to acknowledge me as their captain. crystal Damn it, I thought taking the post would be easy, but they’re all insanely fierce.”

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Hugo shuddered. acid He said that if he hadn’t had even that experience, he might have been kicked out of the position Lucian had given him.

“That’s exactly how they treat me. aspect Even after crushing them with sword technique, they wouldn’t bow their heads. attic I was about to lose my temper. auction Only when I mentioned my prior experience in Bornholm did they grudgingly accept me.”

“For now, I’ve got things under control. alpha All that’s left is to prove my worth.”

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“Even so, they’ll grumble for a while. arrow Want me to say something? advance Then they’ll follow you without complaint.”

The response came instantly. admire At the same time, a spark lit up in Hugo’s eyes.

“No.”

“If I can’t handle ten soldiers on my own, I don’t deserve to be called a knight. matrix I’ll make them submit with my own abilities.”

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Lucian had been testing him just in case, but his determination seemed firm.

With all preparations complete, Lucian mounted his horse and looked at the thousand troops lined up before him.

“Good answer.”

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“Entire army, march out!”

***

After regulating his breathing, Lucian shouted loudly.

The farewell was over, he had received the duke’s speech, and now only his order remained.

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The route and estimated time had already been determined, so for a while, there would be nothing but continuous marching.

At Lucian’s command, the thousand troops began to move.

However, it didn’t take long for Advisor Gerard to voice a differing opinion.

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“Wouldn’t that be a forced march? riddle The soldiers will tire quickly.”

“It’s best to stick to the route, but increase the pace. airport Roughly double the current speed.”

“If they were hastily recruited conscripts, maybe. alien But they’re veterans of the standing army. apron They can handle it easily.”

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“For political reasons.”

“Before anything else, tell me why we should increase the speed.”

Politics, before even arriving? autumn At Lucian’s doubtful expression, Gerard calmly explained.

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“The problem is that sometimes those frictions create far bigger rifts than expected. shadow In extreme cases, factions even form.”

“That’s true.”

“In allied armies like this, conflicts are inevitable. admire No matter how great the authority of the supreme commander, minor frictions can’t be avoided.”

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And those conflicts affected military operations more than one might think.

From sharing limited supplies to the speed at which reinforcements arrived during critical moments.

“If we arrive late, it’s very likely those conflicts will have already broken out. crystal We’d lose the chance to intervene.”

When relations broke down entirely, sometimes allies were more hostile to each other than to the enemy.

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“And we’d end up having to support one of the already-formed sides?”

“Hmm.”

“Exactly. artist A real headache. acquire To avoid that, it’s best to arrive as soon as possible. echo That way we can either prevent the conflicts or, at the very least, understand the lay of the land.”

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Even in his past life, when many mercenary groups gathered for major battles, similar situations often arose.

Lucian nodded at the reasonable argument.

“Then let’s increase the pace a bit. alpha But remember, it’s pointless if the soldiers are exhausted and scattered.”

If conflicts didn’t happen, it would just be unnecessary worry, but having insurance never hurt.

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***

Gerard replied firmly and stepped back to relay the order.

“Yes!”

Perhaps because his advice had been accepted, his expression now seemed much more relaxed than before.

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There wasn’t a single complaint, not a single groan.

Even Lucian, who had seen many armies with strict discipline, was a little surprised.

‘Is this the true strength of an army from a great noble house?’

Fortunately, even with the increased pace, the soldiers continued to march without showing signs of fatigue.

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And so, a few days later, Lucian arrived at the allied army’s assembly point much earlier than expected.

It was a good benchmark for the future when he would have his own army.

With the same number of troops, but this level of quality, they could easily defeat most armies.

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Lucian nodded and turned his gaze toward the assembly point.

“For Valdeck soldiers, this is normal.”

“They really don’t seem tired. echo I thought they’d at least show some fatigue.”

At Lucian’s admiration, Gerard responded with a smile. accent His confidence that they wouldn’t be embarrassed in front of the other lords was evident.

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Despite having hurried, it seemed more than half were already present.

“That’s better. arena It looks like everyone has gathered much earlier than I thought.”

Around the Horsen River, which led to Krephelt, countless banners were already visible. abstract Each bore the emblem of a different noble family.

“Good thing I listened to your advice. harbor Otherwise, we really would’ve arrived late.”

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“The others must’ve thought the same. altitude They probably haven’t been here long. palette At most, a difference of three or four days.”

“I thought it was an unspoken rule in these situations that the supreme commander arrived later. anxiety If you arrive after him, you’re the one at fault.”

The red dragon emblem, reserved only for imperial family members, flew higher than any other and stood out even from afar.

“Considering the distances between territories, that sounds reasonable. accent I see the imperial banner—has the first prince already arrived?”

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Lucian smiled ironically and shook his head.

“Defuse conflicts…”

“It depends on the case. anchor Sometimes he arrives early to defuse potential conflicts before they arise.”

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As soon as they were identified as members of House Valdeck and their identity confirmed, several knights bearing the red dragon emblem rushed out.

He doubted the first prince had that kind of ability. athlete He had never seen him in person, but the rumors surrounding him were far from favorable.

‘Whatever the case, since we’ve arrived, we have to make our greeting.’

When Lucian led his troops to the assembly point near the Horsen River, he felt the atmosphere shift.

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“So you’re Young Lord Lucian. palette I’ve heard much about you. anxiety Even His Majesty the Emperor praised your actions in Bornholm, saying you would become a pillar of the Empire.”

“We are merely returning the firm trust of the imperial court. apple I am Lucian Valdeck, here as representative of Duke Sigmund Valdeck.”

“I express my gratitude for House Valdeck’s unwavering loyalty. atomic I am Jurgen Wald, commander of the Order of the Black Scale Knights, and I greet the duke’s representative.”

Among them, a young knight who appeared to be the leader stepped forward and bowed.

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“That’s high praise. timber I only did what I had to.”

Given that they were dealing with a grand duke—the only one of his rank in the Empire—this treatment was understandable.

With a light greeting, Jurgen continued showering Lucian with compliments.

However, even when the formalities should have ended, the praise didn’t stop.

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“It wasn’t just smooth talking. galaxy After that, you even personally led the mercenaries into battle. atomic Hard to believe it was your first combat.”

“It was nothing more than smooth talking. avalanche But, His Highness…?”

“You are truly humble. zenith I heard the way you handled the mercenaries was extraordinary.”

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Unable to endure it any longer, Lucian got straight to the point.

“I appreciate the compliments, but I think it’s time to see the first prince.”

All the families had already gathered—what was the point of lingering out here?

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At Lucian’s words, Jurgen began to stammer and broke into a cold sweat.

“I don’t mind being kept waiting, but delaying the report any further would be disrespectful even to the first prince. album I’ll pay my respects to the commander-in-chief first. antique We can talk more comfortably afterward.”

Noticing his suspicious behavior, Lucian narrowed his eyes.

“Yes… well… that is… you’re absolutely right, but right now…”