“They told me you called for me.”
“Yes.”
When Lucian entered the office, the duke pushed aside the pile of documents. Then he remained silent for a moment before speaking with an ambiguous expression.
“You’ve stirred up quite a commotion lately. Everyone won’t stop talking about you and Jordi.”
It was hard to tell whether those words were reproach or admiration. Lucian bowed his head and responded formally.
“It wasn’t anything worth such attention. I merely punished a few servants who didn’t even know who their true master was.”
“And in doing so, you ended up disgracing your brother. He’ll never forget that. Do you think you can bear that?”
“There’s nothing to bear or not.”
“What did you say?”
“I merely set the hierarchy straight and restored the rules. If one doesn’t even dare to do something so basic for fear of the consequences, then how can they carry the Valdeck name with pride? I simply made a decision I’m not ashamed of in front of the Valdeck name.”
“…Ahem.”
The duke’s lips trembled slightly. He seemed to be barely holding back a smile trying to escape.
After a moment, he regained his neutral expression and, as if reflecting, rubbed his chin.
“But Jordi will probably keep picking fights with you. He’s seen you as a thorn in his side for a long time.”
“…”
“If it weren’t for his complex about his maternal family, he could’ve climbed much higher than he has now. But he’s trapped in foolish things, and his vision has narrowed.”
Upon hearing that, Lucian’s eyes lit up. The information he had researched after reincarnating rushed back into his mind.
‘Now that I think about it, my maternal family was the northern ducal house of Grimaldi.’
Though it was a ducal house, it had long fallen into decline and barely retained its name.
They had neither power nor wealth, and their bloodline was so thin that the number of members was minimal.
To make matters worse, the last head of the house—Lucian’s maternal grandfather—had died leaving only a daughter and no adopted heirs, so the line was completely extinguished.
Still, despite the fall of the bloodline, the name Grimaldi remained well-known.
Unlike many houses that had sprung up like mushrooms after the empire’s founding, the Grimaldis had been a royal house of the north from long before.
During the unification war, they surrendered and were demoted to dukes, but in terms of family history alone, their lineage was even older than that of the imperial family.
Thanks to that, even with their diminished power, the Grimaldi house still received relatively respectful treatment from other noble families.
In an aristocratic society where history equaled authority, the mere weight of the past held great value.
Moreover, the fact that they were weak and posed no threat, along with the prestige one could gain from arranged marriages, also played a part.
‘On the other hand, Jordi’s maternal family—the baronial house of Hexen—is nothing but a merchant lineage. Their history barely spans three generations.’
That alone was enough for many to look down on them, and the way they obtained their title didn’t help either.
During the war against the rebels, they had financed enormous military expenses in exchange for the title of baron.
No matter how much money it was, in the end, it was still just money. They hadn’t earned military merits everyone could recognize.
Who would truly respect a title bought with gold?
Especially when, until recently, they had been mere merchants groveling before other nobles.
‘Three generations may be enough to stabilize a status, but not to erase the stigma of being a merchant.’
A bitter smile appeared on Lucian’s lips. No wonder Jordi hounded him with such aggression—that was the reason.
Even though they shared the duke’s blood, the judgment upon his maternal family still followed him like a shadow.
Maybe he didn’t show it, but for Jordi, it had to be a serious complex.
And on top of that, the “half-useless” Lucian had a maternal line so clean it almost gleamed.
To Jordi, it must’ve been maddening. Like watching the treasure he so desperately desired held by a nobody who didn’t even know its worth.
‘Well, that doesn’t mean I have to let him step all over me.’
Maybe it was a “justifiable” reason for him, but from Lucian’s perspective, he hadn’t done anything to deserve such sudden resentment.
He had no reason to endure it—in fact, he had every reason to return it with interest.
Clicking his tongue briefly, the duke sighed and finally got to the main point.
“If Jordi keeps provoking you, it’s your right to respond. But if the conflict escalates too far and ends up harming the family…”
“I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“Listen until the end. If that were to happen, regardless of who is right, I’ll side with Jordi.”
“…?”
Lucian was taken aback. Seeing his expression, the duke smiled coldly.
“Why are you so surprised? Though Jordi is impulsive and rarely thinks twice, he still puts in effort for the family in many ways. Unlike you, who spent an entire year doing absolutely nothing.”
“…”
“As the head of the family, it’s only natural to lean more toward someone who contributes something, even if it’s little, than toward someone who contributes nothing. Don’t take it personally.”
It was a surprisingly biased statement coming from Duke Sigmund.
Lucian slightly furrowed his brows, and catching the hidden meaning behind those words, he replied.
“If I’m not mistaken, that sounds like if I were to become more useful to the family, then you’d side with me.”
“You understood correctly. If you want this father to stand by your side, strengthen your power and contribute to the family. If you keep hiding in your corner, I won’t be able to protect you anymore.”
Lucian swallowed a bitter laugh.
‘Trying to provoke me to finally make a move?’
Saying he would unconditionally side with Jordi was likely only half true.
As long as Lucian didn’t return to being a useless recluse, even if problems arose, the duke would try to handle them as impartially as possible.
Still, he had said that on purpose to stir him into action. A warning—and at the same time, an invitation to finally prove his worth.
‘If he’s acting in a way that’s not like him, it means the structure of the succession battle is starting to take shape.’
Everything pointed to the duke wanting Lucian to finally seize his last opportunity.
Even with talent, if he missed the moment, he wouldn’t be able to participate in the succession competition.
“Now go. And don’t forget—if you keep your claws hidden too long, they might rust before you ever get to use them.”
Seeing that Lucian seemed to understand the message, the duke ended the audience. However, Lucian didn’t leave and spoke again.
“And what if I’ve already obtained a merit great enough to help the family?”
“What?”
At those unexpected words, the duke frowned. Lucian had barely gone out once in the last week, and now he was talking about achievements?
“Don’t boast out of mere impatience. Achievements aren’t accumulated so easily. If you’re going to say a street rumor is a merit…”
“I’ve discovered traces of the Marquis Roglan’s house intervening in our territory. They were planning to spread drugs through the underworld.”
“…What?”
“I’ve already gathered the evidence. Would you like to verify it?”
***
Lucian immediately called for Hugo and ordered him to bring the evidence they had already prepared in advance.
Since he had been the one to carry out the plan, there was plenty of information.
Where the factory had been set up, how they secured the distribution routes, when sales would begin, and how they would avoid raids.
At first, the duke had shown skepticism, but faced with the overwhelming amount of evidence, he had no choice but to open his eyes wide.
“Bernhardt! That bastard dares to do something like this in my own backyard!”
Bang!
Saying the name of the current marquis, Sigmund slammed the table with a brutal fist.
His fury was so great that even the lapis lazuli table—famous for being as tough as steel—cracked.
After venting his anger for a while, the duke finally collapsed heavily into his chair, barely containing his rage.
“Damn it! If it were up to me, I’d go inform His Majesty right now and drag that disgrace to the Empire before the court…!”
“That will be difficult. He carried out all the operations under the name of the merchant houses under his control. As soon as you present this evidence, he’ll cut ties with them without hesitation.”
“That’s exactly what I’m saying! Damn cunning fox!”
The marquis may have crossed the line, but he wasn’t stupid enough to use his own name directly.
With this evidence, anyone would know he was behind it, but it would still only count as suspicion.
It wasn’t enough yet to crush the marquisate’s power and drag him before a tribunal.
“…Even so, with this amount of evidence, to prove his innocence, he’ll have no choice but to sacrifice his subordinate merchant houses. You’ve done a good job.”
Though the duke offered words of praise, his face remained tense.
He seemed to think that compared to what the marquis had done, the punishment still fell short.
Noticing his mood, Lucian spoke.
“Are you really satisfied with just that?”
“How could I be? But once he detects our movements, he’ll eliminate even the remaining evidence. It’s unfortunate, but we’ll have to settle for this and resolve it quickly.”
“Then we just need to ensure he doesn’t detect us. Even if he is a marquis, how would he notice if the Valdeck family doesn’t move directly?”
“What are you saying?”
“Recently, the one who executed the plan has joined our side. Rather than surrendering, it’s more accurate to say he stopped being a mere mercenary and clearly chose who to swear loyalty to.”
“…!”
“No matter how suspicious someone may be, they would never doubt the one who carried out the plan. At least, not in something as serious as drug trafficking. No one would imagine he’d switch sides over that.”
Because even if he did betray, no one would treat him well.
A simple commoner from the underworld, and involved in drug sales at that.
Even if they squeezed him for information and discarded him afterward, no one would bat an eye.
In fact, it would look suspicious if a noble offered him a proper reward.
In that context, for the marquis, betrayal would seem like sheer stupidity. And Hugo was not someone who did stupid things—so suspicion was unlikely.
And even if he were to become suspicious, by the time he realized it, everything would already have been taken from him.
“So you don’t need to act, Father. If the traitor wreaks havoc from the inside, it will be an unexpected hemorrhage for the marquis. And if it goes well, we might not only destroy his merchant houses, but even obtain definitive proof that he was directly involved.”
At Lucian’s explanation, the duke fell silent.
He seemed to be weighing whether such a plan was truly feasible.
After a long pause, he finally spoke gravely.
“Is he someone who can be trusted? I don’t know his background, but he’s someone who even tried to deal in drugs.”
“I don’t trust the man himself—but I trust the dream he has.”
“Dream?”
“He wants to become a knight and earn fame. He said he wants to engrave his name in history.”
“What an out-of-place dream. A thug from the back alleys…”
“But it’s also a dream every man desperately yearns for.”
Lucian knew this well, because he had once dreamed the same thing himself.
Hugo would not betray him.
A lord who openly promises a title of knighthood is not someone you come across twice in a lifetime.
As long as he doesn’t lose that dream, he’ll protect Lucian—even at the cost of his life.
“And if you’re wrong about him, and everything is ruined because of you?”
The duke’s sharp gaze pierced directly into him.
Lucian didn’t look away and responded instantly.
“I’ll offer my neck.”
“Hmpf.”
After hearing his reply, a smile finally appeared on the duke’s lips.
After thinking for a few moments, he turned away and spoke.
“When your body has recovered, report to the training field.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll teach you the Lionheart Sword. From now on, you are also one of the candidates to be the next head of the family.”
“…!”
____
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