About the alchemist Haide, what was publicly known was almost nothing.
At most, his place of birth, his appearance, and his age. For being the developer of the Nectar, it was an oddly scarce amount of information.
Although countless people launched investigations into his past, that was all they found.
‘Because, aside from the development of the Nectar, he had nothing that could be called an achievement.’
He came from a fallen family and was a low-ranking noble who, due to a series of coincidences, ended up entering the path of alchemy.
Then, with the support funds from the Empire, he repeated countless developments and failures until, purely by chance, he managed to create the Nectar.
Thanks to that, he enjoyed immense glory for a short period, but died young for unknown reasons.
Although there were some suspicious aspects to his death, aside from that, it could be said he was a fairly ordinary alchemist.
‘At first glance, he seems exactly like the general assessment…’
“Why aren’t you answering? If someone says their name, the least you can do is introduce yourself too.”
Haide snapped with obvious irritation upon noticing Lucian’s scrutinizing gaze.
Lucian realized his lapse late and smiled again.
“Apologies. I’m Lucian Valdeck.”
“…Valdeck? That Valdeck?”
“I don’t know which Valdeck you mean, but we use a lion as our emblem.”
Haide’s face, which had been tense, immediately turned pale.
He straightened up hastily and bowed deeply.
“I’ve been rude to a young man of the Valdeck family! I… that is…”
“Calm down. I don’t intend to scold you for what just happened.”
“Th-thank you!”
“If you’re grateful, how about we have a little chat?”
“A chat…?”
“About alchemy and, while we’re at it, about the recent atmosphere in the capital.”
Lucian took control of the conversation as naturally as possible.
Fortunately, his conversation partner seemed weak in the face of power and status. If he kept pressing, it wouldn’t be hard to extract information.
“I’ll answer anything! Just ask, please!”
Thinking it was a chance to regain lost points, Haide nodded repeatedly.
After thinking for a moment, Lucian decided to start with what interested him most.
“How’s the atmosphere lately in the alchemists’ guild?”
“Huh? The guild’s atmosphere? Same as always.”
“Are you sure there haven’t been any changes? No new production methods, or discoveries of different effects in herbs?”
“Umm…”
Although Lucian was as direct as possible, Haide’s reaction didn’t change.
In fact, after thinking for a long moment, he shook his head as if he truly didn’t know anything.
“There’s none of that. People keep trying new things, but it’s all failures, one after another. If there had been any success, I would’ve heard about it by now.”
“I see.”
Lucian nodded calmly, but inside he was quite puzzled.
In his past life, the alchemists’ guild began hoarding moonlight herb within about three months.
And now he said there hadn’t been any success yet?
“Then, how’s the recent atmosphere in the capital? Aren’t people uneasy because of the war?”
“Well… I was in another city until recently. At least when I left, nothing special had happened.”
Having gained little, Lucian changed the direction of his questions.
More than concrete information, he now wanted to understand what kind of person Haide was—how much he cared about the Empire’s current situation and how he thought things would develop.
They were small questions, but a person’s values are often revealed in such details.
‘To understand someone, the first step is to know how they think.’
If the Haide in front of him was truly the developer of the Nectar, sooner or later he would have to recruit him as a talent.
***
After a good while of questioning, Lucian couldn’t hide his disappointment.
‘What’s with this guy? All his answers are “I don’t know.”’
Most of what came out of Haide’s mouth was “I don’t know” or “I’m not interested.”
It could be called the typical political indifference of a scholar, but it didn’t quite seem like that. A true scholar, at the very least, would have a clear grasp of everything related to their field of study.
However, Haide didn’t seem the least bit interested in how the world worked.
‘This isn’t academic detachment—it’s simple complacency. As long as the Empire’s money keeps coming in, he doesn’t care about anything else.’
“D-did I say something wrong?”
Haide asked nervously.
Lucian then realized he was frowning.
“No, no. It’s just that my throat got dry.”
He said it offhandedly, but his tone had already shifted to a distant, formal manner.
His assessment of Haide had dropped several levels.
“Let’s return to the main topic, then—alchemy. I heard you personally made that potion. Did it have good results?”
“Ah, of course! This is confidential, but I recently changed some ingredients in a few potions and found several interesting reactions.”
As the topic shifted to alchemical research, Haide began to speak enthusiastically about his discoveries.
He seemed eager to recover his lost image, but as he continued explaining, Lucian’s evaluation dropped even further.
‘It’s all recycling of already known effects. He didn’t even form a hypothesis before starting. Calling it an experiment is a stretch—he’s just mixing things randomly and watching what happens.’
Lucian didn’t know much about alchemy, but he did understand that developing a new method required prolonged research.
This man wasn’t even searching for anything new—he was just repeating already-known effects.
He might have been hiding something, but with how loose his tongue was, it didn’t seem likely.
“One last question, if I may. What do you think of the moonlight herb?”
With a small sliver of hope, Lucian asked the question. Haide tilted his head, surprised, but answered with complete honesty.
“It’s just a medicinal herb that’s good for the body. Sometimes people try to use it in alchemy, but it’s nonsense. There’s no bigger waste of time than reusing an ingredient that’s already been thoroughly studied.”
***
“A pathetic guy.”
Back in his room, Lucian let out the complaint without realizing it.
The supposed developer of the Nectar, Haide Forbor, was utter garbage.
“Research just as a formality to collect imperial subsidies, and if something good comes out by pure chance from randomly mixing things, then they say it was a stroke of genius. That’s what they call a scholar now?”
“He’s just an average alchemist. No need to be so disappointed.”
At Raymond’s words, Lucian gave a bitter smile.
After all, he was just a typical alchemist of this era. If it weren’t for the fame he had in Lucian’s past life, he wouldn’t have been disappointed at all.
‘Then, if it’s not him who the hell is the real one? No—wait. Why did that guy end up being known as the developer of the Nectar?’
If everything continued as in his previous life, in about three months the alchemists’ guild would begin sweeping up all the moonlight herb in the empire.
In other words, by this point, there should already be a result worth presenting to the world.
But there wasn’t a trace of such a result in Haide.
‘If he started researching now, there’s no way he could produce anything presentable in such a short time. So that means he stole someone else’s work.’
The problem was, Haide seemed quite content with his current life.
Stealing someone else’s research achievement meant risking your life.
Even if he pulled it off, the robbed alchemist wouldn’t stay quiet.
Would someone so lacking in ambition really risk their life for that?
‘Well, I’ll find out from now on.’
Fortunately, there was still plenty of time to find the real developer.
The next morning, Lucian left the inn early with Raymond, heading toward their destination.
They were already quite close, so it looked like they could reach it in a single day.
“Now that I think about it, isn’t this your first time coming to the capital, Third Young Master?”
“Yes. It’s the first.”
Not even in his past life had he visited the capital of the empire.
When he finally had the opportunity to do so, the age of chaos had already begun, and the entire capital had become extremely dangerous.
Even if he had gone, after several siege battles, the place would’ve already been half in ruins.
“To be honest, I’m a little excited. They say it’s the jewel of the empire. Is it grander than Kelheim?”
“Rather than grander, I’d say it’s more beautiful. Ah, there it is.”
Raymond pointed to the walls visible in the distance.
At first, they looked whitish, but as they approached, their shape became clearer.
‘White?’
The pure white walls reflected the sunlight with a blinding brilliance.
At the same time, the numerous carvings etched into them formed different figures depending on the angle of the light.
More than a defensive wall, it looked like a massive work of art.
Seeing Lucian’s astonished expression, Raymond smiled.
“The White Wall of Tibron, the capital of the empire. Isn’t it beautiful?”
Lucian couldn’t deny it and nodded.
***
The closer they got, the wider Lucian’s eyes opened.
Not only because the wall looked even more impressive up close, but also because there were no joints between the stones.
The surface was so smooth that it seemed a ladder would simply slip off if you tried to lean one against it.
‘Is it even possible to conquer a fortress like this? How on earth did they take it?’
“They say those carvings aren’t just decorations, but magic circles. That if an enemy gets close, the magic activates and repels them.”
Raymond whispered the information into Lucian’s ear as he stared at the wall, stunned.
It already looked like an impregnable fortress, and on top of that, it had built-in magic. Lucian let out a disbelieving laugh.
“Is that true?”
“Just rumors. To be honest, I didn’t believe them either… but after seeing His Majesty use magic so openly in front of everyone…”
Raymond trailed off.
Before, it might’ve been something to laugh at, but now it was hard not to think twice.
As they chatted about trivial things and approached the gate, Lucian suddenly stopped in his tracks.
“What’s that line?”
He was startled to see a long line of people.
With such a massive gate, was there really a need to wait that long?
But Raymond smiled like it was completely normal.
“After all, Tibron is the capital, so they put a lot of effort into identity verification. Still, the line should move quickly. The guards aren’t usually that strict.”
According to Raymond, merchants and craftsmen who frequently visited the capital usually passed inspections fairly easily.
With so much traffic, if the rules were enforced to the letter, everything would slow down too much.
“If you’d like, I could reveal your identity and request that we be allowed in first.”
“No. Let’s wait for now. If everyone else is lining up and we cut ahead, we might draw too much attention.”
If it were an official act on behalf of the family, there’d be no doubt.
But this trip was a personal visit by Lucian. He didn’t want to attract unnecessary stares or reveal his identity.
Even if he had to eventually identify himself to the guards, at least he wouldn’t draw everyone’s eyes.
With that settled, Lucian stood alongside Raymond at the end of the line.
And three hours passed.
“…It hasn’t moved at all.”
“That’s strange. Why’s it taking so long?”
Under Lucian’s sharp gaze, Raymond subtly turned his head and muttered.
After three hours, the line had barely moved; most people were still waiting. At that rate, they wouldn’t even make it inside before the gates closed.
“Looks like it’s your first time coming since the war.”
A merchant who had overheard their conversation approached to explain the situation.
It seemed he took them for a provincial master and servant visiting the capital after a long time.
“Since the recent rebellion, inspections have gotten very strict. Now it takes forever to get in. With a line like this, you won’t get in today.”
“What? Then why are you still in line?”
“Even if I don’t get in today, if I stay in line until tomorrow, I’ll eventually make it. Lately, when the gates close, people just sleep right here and continue the next day.”
The merchant even showed them the sleeping bags he had brought. Seeing them, both were speechless.
Sleep outside on the ground and then go back to lining up?
“If you want, I can sell you one of the sleeping bags I brought. I happen to have two extras.”
“Huh… that…”
Sensing a business opportunity, the merchant pulled out two sleeping bags from his mule’s luggage. When he didn’t get an immediate answer, he figured they were hesitating and added.
“Don’t worry about anyone cutting in while you sleep. These days, the knights patrol day and night. If they catch someone skipping the line, they send them straight to the back.”
The merchant pointed behind them.
Turning around, Lucian and Raymond saw several knights indeed patrolling the line with hawk-like eyes.
At that moment, one of the knights near the front locked eyes with Lucian.
He blinked once—then suddenly his eyes widened in horror.
“Duke Lucian?! What are you doing here?!”
____
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