“Seeing how angry you are, I understand how foolish I’ve been. I’ll engrave your advice in my heart, so I never forget it.”
“…Is that all?”
“Yes. So now you may rejoice.”
“What?”
At Lucian’s unexpected words, the grand duke furrowed his brow.
Rejoice, all of a sudden?
“I’ve heard that a father scolds and reprimands his son’s foolish actions because there is love. Until now, I felt hurt because you never once showed even a shred of anger toward me, but I see now that I was wrong.”
“…”
“So then, isn’t now the time to rejoice? I’m a son who returned from the dead. You got angry at me—so don’t hold back anymore; at the very least, you could take my hand. We’re family, what would be so wrong with even shedding a tear?”
At such bold words, the grand duke looked at Lucian in astonishment.
Even the head butler Edwin, who had remained silent until now, opened his mouth wide.
Though Lucian had spoken courteously, the real meaning was clear.
After leaving him abandoned for so long, was a rebuke the only thing he had for his son, who had barely returned alive?
And at the same time, if all he could do was rebuke him, then he had no right to call himself a father.
‘Please let this work.’
Lucian kept his face as calm as possible while swallowing hard.
He had dared to slap the grand duke—the feared head of the family—with words.
With any other noble, such remarks would have been enough to send him to a monastery without hesitation.
But the Sigmund Valdeck he knew would react differently.
He always said he preferred a wild dog that bites over a rat that merely watches the wind.
“Haha.”
After twenty seconds that felt like two hours of silence, what came from the grand duke’s mouth wasn’t a roar, but a disbelieving laugh.
He seemed stunned—but more than that, intrigued by how unexpected it all was.
‘It worked!’
Realizing his gamble had paid off, a sigh of relief escaped inside him.
The grand duke studied Lucian’s face from every angle and muttered.
“So you’re even capable of saying something like that.”
“People change. And if someone comes back alive after standing at death’s door and doesn’t change, then he couldn’t be called human.”
“Then, are you also planning to stop hiding in your room like a rat?”
“After over a year of confinement, I’m sick of it. I think it’s about time I let it go. More than that, right now…”
Lucian paused and rolled up his sleeve.
The arm was so thin and fleshless, it looked no different from that of an invalid.
“My first goal is to regain weight. With a body like this, I couldn’t even lift a sword.”
“A sword? You, a sword?”
“I don’t know if I’ll ever wield a sword in my life, but someone who can’t even take care of his own body—what else could he do? A man should at least be able to protect himself.”
“Ahem.”
The grand duke leaned slightly back and cleared his throat.
The corners of his eyes raised in the slightest frown.
At a glance, it seemed like a displeased expression, but Lucian knew better.
That was the face he made when he was trying hard not to smile.
“You talk quite prettily.”
“I’m just speaking what I truly feel.”
“Whether it’s sincerity or mere bluster will be revealed later. Go.”
“Yes.”
Lucian bowed deeply and left the office.
After walking a few steps away, the long-held sigh of relief finally burst out.
‘More or less, I made it through.’
He had managed to change the pitiful image of the half-abandoned son.
Today, he had shown a different side, so at least the intent to discard him must have subsided.
But that was only a temporary fix.
If he didn’t show long-term results, he’d just be seen as someone who talked a good game.
Before that happened, he’d have to present a convincing achievement to the grand duke.
‘Well, it won’t be that hard.’
He had survived as a mercenary in a chaotic time full of death and slaughter.
Earning a few merits as a noble young master was nothing in comparison.
Lucian returned to his room, hiding a slight smile on his lips, thinking about how he would boldly declare his ambitions in this new life.
***
“Hmm…”
Grand Duke Sigmund stroked his beard again and again in silence.
Even though it had just happened, he still couldn’t fully believe it.
He never imagined that that useless son would show up so boldly.
“Did you see that?”
“What do you mean?”
“That guy, looking me straight in the eyes while he talked.”
“Yes. He didn’t hesitate even for a moment.”
Just a year ago, he was a boy whose eyes would dart around like he was swimming in them.
He couldn’t even hold eye contact; he would only mumble with resentment.
And if anyone raised their voice, instead of responding, he whimpered like a wounded stray dog.
A worthless brat, full of complaints, unable to even defend his own stance.
And now he said he’d offer his neck and declared his goals with such firmness?
“I thought the only thing he inherited from his mother was her face.”
“The third young master is also Your Excellency’s son. That blood can’t just vanish.”
“Don’t jump to conclusions. He might’ve just talked pretty.”
“Before, he couldn’t even do that. Something in his heart has certainly changed.”
An uncontainable smile crept onto the grand duke’s lips.
Even if he had been half-abandoned, he was still a Valdeck seed.
As a father, how could he not be glad to see his son grow?
Even more so, when it was the son of the woman he had once loved again.
“Even so, it’s too soon to trust him completely. There’s still a chance it’s all just words.”
“Do you plan to test him?”
“It’s not exactly a test. Just give him a generous allowance. The same one he received before he locked himself away.”
Since Lucian had fallen from grace with the grand duke, the family’s support had been practically cut off.
Excluding food expenses and servant wages, he hadn’t had a single coin for personal use.
This meant resuming that support.
On the surface, it looked like a reward, but to Edwin’s eyes, it was one of the hardest trials.
It was like telling someone who was just beginning to step outside to manage a large sum of money.
If he lost his head and spent it recklessly, or wasted it on nonsense, even the last shred of hope would vanish.
“Understood. But there’s a small problem.”
“A problem?”
“Part of the funds assigned to the third young master are being diverted elsewhere.”
The grand duke’s eyebrows twitched.
That wasn’t an order he had given.
Which meant someone had been secretly embezzling family money.
“Who would dare?”
“It appears to be the work of the second young master.”
“What? The second?”
“For him, that amount is mere pocket change. It’s likely just harassment toward the third.”
“Harassment? More like pure pettiness. That damned inferiority complex of his.”
The grand duke clicked his tongue briefly as he thought about his second son.
He wasn’t incapable, but he had always been narrow-minded—that was his major flaw.
He knew there were bad feelings toward the third due to their maternal sides, but he didn’t imagine it would go this far.
“Should we take action?”
“Leave it.”
The grand duke shook his head as if there was nothing to consider.
“This sort of petty matter should be dealt with by the third himself. If he can’t even handle that, then his depth will be obvious.”
“Isn’t that a bit harsh? He has no faction, not even a single man he can trust.”
“That’s the consequence of his own actions. Who else can he blame? It’s the price of living without ever coming to his senses.”
If he had properly managed those around him, they wouldn’t have even gotten close enough to sink their fangs into him.
It was all the result of having completely abandoned external affairs for a year—so he also had to deal with the consequences on his own.
“Perfect timing. Let’s see how the third handles this.”
If he couldn’t even manage this and came back to whine in front of him, his expectations would vanish completely.
But if—going beyond all expectation—he resolved it flawlessly…
‘Then reinstating him as a candidate for succession wouldn’t be impossible either.’
With that thought concluded, Grand Duke Sigmund reached again for the stack of documents he had set aside.
Just from having the third son on his mind, he was already wasting too much time, and he still had a mountain of work to get through.
***
After returning so gallantly, Lucian ended up spending the entire day bedridden.
He had moved his body after a long period of inactivity, with his stamina at rock bottom—and on top of that, had faced the aura of the grand duke head-on.
‘This really is an absurdly weak body.’
With stamina like this, what could he even do moving forward?
He had planned to do it anyway, but now physical strengthening had become urgent.
Fortunately, the necessary support for preparations arrived without delay the very next day.
“Y– Young master… what did you do yesterday? Did you use magic or something?”
“What are you going on about now? If I knew how to use magic, do you think I’d be here groaning?”
“I say that because His Excellency reinstated the support he’d cut off for a year, and he did it in just one day.”
So that was what was happening—the grand duke had started giving him his allowance again.
And what was so extraordinary about a noble young master receiving his money again?
Lucian chuckled under his breath, but when he took the documents and saw the figure, his smile vanished immediately.
“This is the third son’s allowance—not my allowance?”
“Yes.”
“They gave me a whole year’s worth at once?”
“Not at all. That’s just one month’s share.”
“I used to get this much?”
“This much? The other young masters receive far more than this.”
“This is insane!”
He was left speechless by how absurd it was.
He knew that House Valdeck, being a grand duchy and the family of the emperor’s right-hand man, had to be rich.
But to give this kind of amount as a mere monthly allowance to a third son?
With this money, he could hire a massive mercenary company for half a month—and still have plenty left over.
‘It’s not like having a lot of money is bad… but it’s still depressing.’
So this was what it really meant to be a great noble?
While feeling a mixture of bitterness and satisfaction over the colossal sum—
‘Wait this amount, couldn’t I not only strengthen my body, but even remake my constitution?’
Suddenly, his eyes flew wide open.
An innate constitution can’t be changed at the root.
That’s why, those with true talent are even born with a body that suits it.
It’s an old theory from a thousand years ago, but even now it’s considered a solid truth—constitution is everything for a warrior.
However, that theory would be completely overturned six years later.
‘When the Alchemist Guild developed Nectar.’
Nectar—the drink of the gods.
Because of such a grandiose name, it was initially met with criticism for its pretentiousness.
But once its effects became known, all the complaints and ridicule vanished.
Because the effects of Nectar were just as extraordinary as its name.
An elixir capable of turning even the most talentless person into someone with potential.
If a medicine like that wasn’t called Nectar, then what should it be called?
With the invention of Nectar, the Alchemist Guild, which had been in decline, shot straight to the center of the Empire.
Their power became so great that even the emperor had to tread carefully, using Nectar reserve quotas as a political weapon.
Truly absolute power.
‘Even if it only lasted three springtimes.’
It wasn’t long before the chaos era began—and the Alchemist Guild paid the price for its arrogance.
In a world ruled by power versus power, the guild was destroyed, the alchemists slaughtered, and most of the Nectar production process was lost.
All that remained were incomplete fragments of the formula, missing crucial points.
Most people considered those fragments useless and discarded them.
After all, once a medicine is mixed improperly, it becomes poison.
Trying to recreate an elixir based on an incomplete recipe was sheer folly.
But, as always, some people died chasing those foolish dreams—and a few lucky ones managed to recreate Nectar, even if imperfectly.
And Lucian, in his past life, had belonged to that second group.
“Hans, get ready. We’re going out.”
“But you’re not fully recovered yet! Where are we going?”
“To the herb shop.”
“What? The herb shop?”
Hans stared at Lucian with a dumbfounded expression.
A noble young master going to a humble herb shop? For what?
____
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