“Excellent. You practically said everything I was going to say.”
“That’s an excessive compliment.”
“There are just a few points missing, so I’ll add a few words. Even if you don’t need them, the others will.”
At those meaningful words, the two brothers’ faces turned red with embarrassment.
Basically, it meant that they needed everything spelled out, while Lucian didn’t even need an explanation.
With this, their evaluations as candidates for the head of the family must have dropped even further, so not only was their pride burning, but it felt like it was being carved out with a knife.
Without paying that any mind, Grand Duke Sigmund continued explaining calmly.
“In reality, Tristan has already hired mercenaries. The problem is, he can’t control them.”
“He can’t control them? Even with the eldest brother there in person?”
“That’s right. It seems those mercenaries want to negotiate with us. They know that right now we need them.”
In short, since the Valdeck family was the one in need, they wanted more money.
A natural attitude for mercenaries, but the issue was the negotiation itself.
If one lacks talent in that area, even a possible deal can fall apart.
“Unfortunately, Tristan has no talent for that sort of thing.”
‘That’s true.’
Lucian nodded without realizing it.
The Tristan he had known in his past life was a rigid defender of principles.
Rather than negotiate, he even despised the very concept of trade.
Unlike Jordi, he always fulfilled the promised reward exactly, but never gave anything extra unless there was an additional merit.
‘Reminds me of when we temporarily patrolled around Kelheim. Nothing happened, so he could’ve at least given us more rotating breaks, but he never left anyone idle.’
Tristan was that strict even about something as simple as rest time.
When it came to spending large sums on mercenaries, even more so.
Most likely, both sides were now at a stalemate, unable to find common ground.
“That’s why I want to send one of you. If possible, I’d like you to reach an agreement and also lead the mercenaries.”
“…”
The grand duke looked at the three of them along with the task at hand.
However, Jordi and Joshua avoided his gaze as before.
Even now that they knew the full background, nothing made it more appealing.
Quite the opposite, it made them want to go even less.
If things went wrong, they might have to dive into battle leading mercenaries who couldn’t be fully trusted.
‘Even with elite troops as escorts, it would still be unsettling, and on top of that, you’d be dragging along shady types.’
‘And even if you did a good job, you’d still be nothing more than Tristan’s assistant. When you think about it, it makes no sense.’
Jordi and Joshua clenched their mouths shut and lowered their heads.
They had no intention of volunteering unless directly appointed.
In the silence that followed, just as Grand Duke Sigmund showed a disappointed expression—
“I’ll go.”
“…!?”
At Lucian’s unexpected reply, all three were stunned.
Even the grand duke seemed surprised that Lucian volunteered.
“Are you sure? You haven’t left Kelheim even once until now, and you have no experience leading troops.”
“I’ll take this as an opportunity to gain experience in both. I’d have to do it someday anyway. However, the money to pay the mercenaries…”
“I’ll provide it without fail. You’ll have enough, so don’t worry. That said, there is a limit, keep that in mind.”
“I’ll keep it in mind.”
That answer was more than enough. After all, there was no way he’d even need to use up to the limit the grand duke mentioned.
‘Negotiating with mercenaries—this is simple.’
The corners of Lucian’s lips curved upward. After a long time, he was returning to his area of expertise.
***
As soon as he returned from the meal, Lucian began preparing to depart.
Since there was nothing more to be done by staying, it was better to head out as early as possible.
Even more so, considering it wasn’t a one- or two-day trip.
‘I wandered through many places in my days as a mercenary, but going this far all at once is a first for me too.’
The grand duchy’s territory was vast, so the distance to the border, located at its edge, was also considerable.
Fortunately, there was a large river along the way that made traveling by water easy.
If they had to go solely by land, the wear and tear would have been at least double.
“Hans, I leave the house in your care. It’s possible Jordi or Joshua might try something foolish while I’m gone, so stay alert.”
“Don’t worry. Maybe before, but now they wouldn’t dare touch the young master’s estate so lightly.”
Hans replied confidently as he glanced at the servants from Hugo’s subordinate group.
With those guys around, cheap tricks wouldn’t work.
After all, Hugo had chosen only the most trustworthy ones.
“Hugo will come with me. Depending on the situation, but this mission is essentially just to support the eldest brother. There might not even be a chance to earn merits.”
“Still, it’s better than sitting around doing nothing. Besides, if I’m not around, who else will look after the young master?”
At Hugo’s lighthearted words, Lucian let out a small laugh and nodded.
“That’s true as well. Then let’s pack only what we need and head out. My father will provide most of what we need.”
After quickly getting ready and heading out with Hugo through the castle gates, a few familiar faces came to greet Lucian.
It was the five Black Lions who had accompanied him before on the assault against the marquis’ son.
“It’s been a while, third young master. I’m glad to see you’re still in good health.”
“I’m glad to see you all as well, but don’t tell me you’re going to be my escort on this trip?”
“Yes. Honestly speaking, we’re the only elite squad small enough and capable enough to handle the protection of the third young master.”
At the Black Lion’s words, Lucian had no retort.
Indeed, if the mission was to move as a small unit and perfectly guard someone who was practically a candidate for the next head of the Valdeck family, there was no group more suitable than the Black Lions.
It was a decision that made perfect sense.
‘Although they used to have that aura of a legendary secret organization. But now that I see them so often, they’re starting to lose their mystique.’
“Since we’ll be accompanying the third young master for a while, we’ll need names to tell each other apart. Call me Raymond.”
The one who seemed to be the leader of the Black Lions bowed his head as he said his name.
Then, the other four introduced themselves as well—Martin, Vincent, Jude, and Wyld.
However, something about what Raymond said before introducing himself caught Lucian’s attention.
Why “a name to tell us apart”? If it were simply his name, he wouldn’t have phrased it like that.
“Is that really your name?”
“It’s one of the three names we use on rotation. We mostly use them during escort missions.”
“…”
Lucian clicked his tongue at the brazenness of the confession.
Now that he thought about it, they had only given their first names—never their surnames.
It was obvious they were all aliases that changed depending on the situation.
‘So it’s true they do dirty work like assassinations and covert operations…’
It made sense. If they were doing things that couldn’t be admitted publicly, they couldn’t reveal their real names.
Lucian decided not to ask any further; they likely had their circumstances—secrets known only to the head of the family.
Once the formal introductions were over, Raymond presented the next point.
“Given the situation, we want to move as quickly as possible. Do you know how to ride, young master? To maintain speed over long distances, certain technique is required.”
“Well, I’ll take this chance to learn.”
He said it as if it were nothing, but in reality, Lucian was quite confident on horseback.
As a mercenary in his previous life, he had ridden plenty of times for various reasons.
He wasn’t a knight, but for long-distance travel, his skill was more than enough.
When he took the reins of the horse Raymond offered—
“Um, young master.”
“What is it?”
“I… I’ve never ridden a horse.”
“…”
Lucian brought a hand to his forehead at the desperate look on Hugo’s face.
***
It was normal—perfectly normal.
Owning a horse meant enormous costs, both for purchase and upkeep.
For someone like Hugo, who came from the slums, there was no way he had ever had the chance to ride one.
But they couldn’t slow down just because of him.
Lucian was in a hurry, and Hugo was just a servant. There was no choice.
“No helping it. He’ll learn on the move.”
“Will there really be time? It takes more than a day to teach properly.”
“You learn these things in the field. It’ll be painful compared to a slow lesson, but he’ll have to endure it.”
Saying that, Raymond mounted Hugo on the horse.
And so began three days of hell for him.
“W-Wait! My butt’s going to split!”
“Grip the horse with your legs! If you keep losing strength, you’ll bounce like a hammer!”
“But when I do that, the horse goes wild!”
“Don’t grip too hard, just enough to stay steady! Keep your back straight, weight through your hips! Sync your body with the horse’s movement!”
“Slower… please!”
“There’s no time! If you fall behind, we leave you!”
“Guaaack!”
Luckily, Hugo’s body was far more resilient than a common man’s thanks to his martial arts training, so he survived something that would’ve broken anyone else.
After three days, they arrived at the port, and his torment finally ended.
“From here, if we take a ship, we can go directly to the port of Bilun, right across from Bornholm. With good wind, we’ll get there in two days; without it, it could take up to four.”
“How far is it from Bilun to Bornholm on horseback?”
“Even going slowly, half a day is enough.”
“Good. That means Hugo’s butt will survive.”
Hugo couldn’t even open his mouth at the joke—he could only groan, since his rear end was practically split in two.
Feeling sorry for him, Lucian let him rest on board.
“Just in case you get seasick? If that happens on top of everything else, it’d be a problem.”
“Luckily, I’ve been on ships a few times as a kid. My father was a sailor.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“It’s not important. And it wasn’t that often. He died when the ship capsized, before I grew up.”
Even when mentioning his father’s death, Hugo remained calm.
Among sailors, that was far too common, he said.
“But I think I’ve got a handle on horseback riding now. It’ll help in the future.”
That “in the future” carried weight—it clearly referred to when he would become a knight.
And yes, a knight had to master horseback riding, so learning now was the best course.
Three days later, the ship reached Bilun in the morning.
“Perfect. If we leave as soon as we finish breakfast, we should be able to meet the first young master before sunset.”
As Raymond had said, before the sky turned red, the castle of Bornholm was already in sight.
It was still some distance away, but at that pace, they would arrive soon.
Just as everyone relaxed, knowing they were close to their destination, Raymond noticed something ahead.
“A group on horseback is approaching. There are knights of House Valdeck among them.”
“The elder brother? He’s not someone who would come to greet me.”
“He’s at the rear, yes—but it looks more like they’re chasing the ones up front.”
Lucian focused his vision with magic.
With his sight now greatly enhanced, he could clearly make out what was happening.
Six black-cloaked individuals were fleeing from the Valdeck knights.
Those hooded figures were clearly up to no good.
“I suppose we should help. Doesn’t look like they’re being chased for anything good.”
“Agreed. But we won’t be able to catch all six.”
The Black Lions were five; one would get away.
Hugo still couldn’t ride well, and Lucian was the VIP, so he couldn’t be counted on to chase.
But Lucian smiled and drew his sword.
“The one on the left is mine. The rest are yours.”
“What? Third young master!”
“Young master!?”
Ignoring Raymond and Hugo, Lucian spurred his horse forward.
Raymond panicked, but made a quick decision.
“Damn it! Go after the ones trying to scatter!”
“What about the young master’s escort…?”
“It’s too late! Just follow orders!”
Yes, it was already too late.
Lucian would reach them first no matter how fast they moved.
It was better to follow his lead.
“If you don’t want to die, get out of the way, brat!”
The hooded man drew his sword atop his horse and threatened in a rough voice.
But Lucian didn’t stop—he enhanced his body with mana and charged straight at him.
The man growled with fury, seeing Lucian wasn’t backing down.
“Damn it! You asked for it—don’t blame me!”
With clear intent to strike him down, the man swung a brutal slash just as they crossed paths.
Clang!
“Guh…!?”
The sound of metal shattering rang out, and the cloaked man’s body flew up into the sky.
____
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