Of course, this couldn’t be all of her talent.
Felicia didn’t just have exceptional eyesight; from her sense for regulating force to her ability to teach others, everything about her was that of a genius.
But having a way of seeing the world different from everyone else meant starting with an overwhelming advantage.
‘At the very least, against knights of my same level, I could take them down even if they came as a group.’
Fuuuuung.
Just as Lucian, excited, clenched both fists tightly, the violent surge of mana began to calm little by little.
It seemed the effect of the nectar was finally wearing off.
“Are you alright?”
Puagh!
“Cough! Young master, you mustn’t speak now!”
Oh dear. Lucian closed his mouth immediately upon seeing how the mana reacted even to a few words and struck Raymond.
Luckily, it was Raymond who took the hit; if it had been Ian, he would’ve fainted on the spot.
Pssshhhh.
After a few minutes, with a sound like a fire being extinguished, the mana completely faded.
Lucian feared for a moment that the new vision he had gained would disappear along with the mana, but thankfully it didn’t.
‘When I return, I’ll have to start sword training immediately.’
After checking several times that no residual mana remained, Lucian spoke again.
“I was worried the mana might’ve hit you, but you seem fine. As expected of the Black Lion.”
“That’s what I should be saying! What the hell was that just now? Where did all that mana come from?”
“What else would it be? This medicine amplified my mana. The effect is excessive—that’s the problem—but it’s definitely a good medicine.”
“That wasn’t just excessive! That mana wasn’t something a human could withstand! Anyone would’ve exploded and died on the spot…!”
Raymond trailed off and looked at Lucian with strange eyes.
Come to think of it, that density would’ve been impossible to endure for an ordinary human. So how?
“My constitution is a bit special. Unless it’s poison, I won’t die just because there’s too much of something.”
“What are you saying? Hiding something from us again?”
“I’ll explain it later. For now, I think we should take care of that boy first.”
Following Lucian’s gaze, Raymond turned his head. At the edge of his vision, Ian lay on the floor, hidden behind a fallen bookshelf.
“Ah… uh… ugh…”
Even though the mana had already dissipated, Ian kept muttering incoherently, unable to regain his clarity.
He seemed to have suffered a temporary shock from the sudden pressure and his frail body.
“If he dies, then we’ve got a problem. He’s a genius capable of turning the world upside down.”
Not even Lucian’s joke could make Raymond laugh.
After all, what Ian had achieved made even calling him a genius of the age seem insufficient.
‘It’s an absurd mana amplification effect. If consumed as is, the body would explode—but if it’s diluted to a level a human can handle…’
Even being conservative, the effect would be equivalent to several decades of circulation.
And with such purity, the amount that could be diluted would be enormous.
A product that, if it could be manufactured stably even once every few years, would completely change the balance of power on the continent.
Just imagining its impact was enough to make Raymond’s back drip with cold sweat.
“Raymond.”
Lost in thought, Raymond flinched at the voice beside him.
From Lucian’s lips came a voice so serious it was impossible to imagine in his usual tone.
“Who is your lord?”
“……”
At that question, heavy with meaning, Raymond closed his eyes.
Strictly speaking, his current lord was Grand Duke Sigmund.
As a knight, he should report everything he had seen today.
However, as he felt doubt growing in his chest, he asked himself.
‘Is that really the right thing to do?’
Regardless of his loyalty to the grand duke, this truth was too heavy.
He doubted even the grand duke himself could handle it without being crushed under its weight.
Moreover, the Valdeck ducal family was in the midst of a succession struggle.
There was no room to meddle lightly in something that, if mishandled, could turn the entire continent upside down.
‘If I tell the grand duke, he’ll definitely investigate the production method thoroughly and then bury it. With the internal competition so intense, he’s not someone who’d want more worries. If this elixir were ever used, it would be after the next head of the family is decided.’
Considering even the stable manufacture of the medicine, only the next head of the family could truly use it.
In other words, the moment this information was delivered, one of the grand duke’s sons would obtain a power capable of ruling the world.
At that thought, Raymond’s heart went cold.
‘It’s terrifying.’
The firstborn, Tristan, was a conservative aristocrat through and through; the second, Jordi, a selfish man who discarded even those who had been loyal to him; the fourth, Joshua, had never shown anything in particular, and no matter how you looked at him, he was merely mediocre.
If any of them obtained a power capable of changing the continent, would the world really become a better place?
‘If anything, I can only imagine a worse future.’
With a bitter smile, Raymond raised his head again and looked at Lucian—the third son of the Valdeck family, still bearing countless secrets.
If the future had to be entrusted to the next generation, was there anyone more suitable than Lucian?
‘Now that I think about it, it was the young master who brought both the boy and the information about the medicine.’
Suddenly, Raymond felt a clarity awaken within.
If the power had already fallen into the right hands, there was nothing more for him to doubt.
Having made his decision, Raymond knelt on one knee before Lucian.
“Leph Norse, who swore loyalty to the blood of the lion, wishes to serve a new lord, following the flow of that blood.”
The words, spoken with his true name, were an ancient oath.
Speaking a long-forgotten ritual, Leph bowed his head deeply.
“Young lion, I offer you my sword. Use it as you will.”
At Leph’s oath, Lucian smiled gently and placed his hand on his shoulder.
“From today, your sword shall reside always in my sheath, and together we shall tread any battlefield.”
Lucian responded with an ancient pact as well and helped Leph to his feet.
At that moment, the ambiguous relationship between the subordinate of his father and the son of the lord transformed into a true bond between lord and vassal.
***
Through the oath, his real name had been revealed, but Raymond still preferred to be called by that name instead of his true one.
The reason was simple—he had been known as Raymond for too long, and besides, he didn’t have fond memories of the time he lived using his real name.
“So there’s no need for you to call me by my real name. You can keep calling me Raymond, like before. After all, that’s how everyone knows me.”
“That’s true. Changing names now would just feel strange.”
As long as one made their origins clear, a name was still something that could vary depending on the circumstances.
In the case of nobles, it was even common to receive a new name from their lord or the emperor. If he preferred it, there was no problem in continuing to call him the same.
“By the way, that boy hasn’t woken up. It doesn’t seem like he took a particularly strong hit.”
“He was a boy who spent all his time researching locked up in his room. It’s normal for him to have little resistance. He doesn’t seem injured, so once he wakes up…”
— Ian! Get out here, you damn brat! How dare you dip your hand into your master’s purse?
Lucian and Raymond, who were sipping their now-cold tea, blinked at the shout from outside.
Although the tone was much more vulgar than before, the voice sounded familiar.
A moment later, a shadow fell across the door, and it was kicked open violently.
Bang!
“Come out right now! Today I’m going to tear off your leg—!”
Screaming at the top of his lungs, Haide froze the moment he locked eyes with Lucian.
Lucian shrugged and set his cup down on the table.
“Well, we meet again. Have you been well?”
“W-what…? Why is Duke Lucian here?”
“I was looking for someone to talk to about the moonlight grass, and I ended up coming here. It’s the place with the highest purchase volume.”
“Moonlight grass?”
Haide’s face hardened again, as if he had suddenly remembered what his money had been spent on.
“That ungrateful wretch Ian…!”
“Calm down. What happened to get you so riled up?”
“It’s a personal matter, no need for you to get involved. If you’re that curious, I’ll explain it later.”
“I’d like to hear it now.”
Clack!
Lucian set the cup down forcefully.
Haide flinched, as if only just now remembering who was in front of him.
After hesitating for a moment, Haide spoke cautiously, watching Lucian’s expression.
“It’s because of that boy, my disciple. His name is Ian. He was an orphan, so I took him in myself, gave him shelter, food, and taught him alchemy.”
“Ah. Now that you mention it, when we came earlier, a boy answered the door.”
“That must’ve been him. He takes care of the house when I’m not around. But that bastard embezzled my research funds without permission…”
The sound of Haide grinding his teeth was clear. It seemed losing his spending money had really hit him hard.
“I never imagined someone so ungrateful existed. I rescued a dying orphan, fed him, gave him a bed and knowledge, and yet he dared to steal from me!”
Lucian silently scoffed.
‘You’d think he was betrayed by a beloved disciple. And yet he never even mentioned his name when it came to developing the nectar.’
Recalling how Ian had tried to perform a clinical test without hesitation, Lucian could easily deduce what had happened in his past life.
Ian probably died after experimenting on himself, falling victim to the side effects.
Haide, upon finding him dead, panicked, investigated the process, and thus discovered the existence of the nectar.
With such detailed records, reproducing the result probably hadn’t been difficult.
‘Though I doubt he reproduced it correctly. With an effect like that, even diluted it should’ve produced a considerable amount. And yet the reserves always ran out quickly.’
Since no one knew the truth, Haide could present the nectar under his own name without the slightest remorse.
But stolen achievements only grant temporary glory. They can’t hide the lack of true talent.
After the nectar, there were no improvements or new discoveries, and the truth eventually came to light.
‘He may have even been killed by the high ranks of the guild. For them, being deceived by an incompetent must’ve been humiliating.’
“The more I think about it, the angrier I get. I raised him like a son, and he dares touch his master’s money! He always seemed crooked from the start!”
Lucian clicked his tongue as he watched Haide rant.
“If it hurts you that much, I’ll pay the money your disciple embezzled.”
“The money isn’t the prob—wait, what?”
“I said I’ll pay it. In exchange, hand over your disciple.”
If Ian had had family, it would’ve been a different story.
But being a parentless orphan with no ties, a disciple was practically his master’s property.
If Haide agreed, no one had the right to object.
Surprised, Haide blinked several times.
“And what do you want him for?”
“He seems skilled with moonlight grass. I was thinking of hiring him privately. As I said, I’m quite interested in that field.”
“Hmm… Really?”
Haide’s lips curved subtly. After pretending to consider it, he stroked his chin.
“But if Ian disappears, I’ll be in trouble too. Even if he’s ungrateful, he was competent. He handled both the alchemy and the chores around the house. If he just vanishes overnight…”
“And what do you want in return?”
“Just this.”
Haide raised his hand, showing five fingers.
Lucian frowned.
“Five gold coins?”
“What are you saying? Five platinum coins.”
Lucian nearly fell backward in shock. Even Raymond, who had remained silent, wore an incredulous expression.
“Are you serious?”
“Of course. Even if he’s not an official alchemist, he’s still a guild member. You want to take talent from an institution under the direct authority of the emperor. This is cheap.”
So now he was trying to drag in the emperor. He’d calculated well—or so he thought.
Lucian smiled coldly.
“I don’t have five platinum coins. But I can give you this.”
“What’s that? If it’s not worth at least—”
Haide fell silent the moment he saw the token Lucian was holding out.
He immediately recognized the emblem of the Knights of the Black Scale—the personal guard of the First Prince.
“W-what is your relationship with the First Prince…?”
“What is my relationship?”
Lucian smiled, but his voice turned sharp.
“I am Lucian Valdeck. I led a thousand elites in the name of my father, Duke Sigmund Valdeck, during the suppression of the Krephelt rebellion. I fought alongside Marquis Bernhardt and negotiated with Duke Blasker.”
“…”
“I came to the aid of the First Prince with a thousand soldiers, fought alongside the Second Prince, and crossed swords with Jurgen. Upon my return, I had the honor of conversing with the emperor himself. Need me to go on?”
The current head of House Roglan, the leader of the Flame School, the two princes, the commander of the Knights of the Black Scale—even the emperor.
Faced with the avalanche of names, Haide’s face turned completely pale.
Lucian looked at him coldly.
“Say it again, bastard. What did you say about the emperor?”
____
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