“What do we do?”
Hugo stepped forward and asked Lucian on behalf of everyone.
Getting involved in other people’s business usually meant shouldering unnecessary problems.
However, if handled well, it could also become an opportunity to gain allies in the north.
“We’ll go take a look.”
After a brief moment of thought, Lucian headed toward the direction of the clashing weapons.
In any case, they were already approaching. If they stayed still, they would end up getting involved without understanding anything.
It was better to take the initiative and assess the situation.
Clang, clang, crunch.
“It’s over there.”
Lucian’s group climbed a hill and looked down.
There, about thirty people were fighting. More precisely, all of them were attacking a single man.
“You bastards, disgrace of the north! Do you know nothing of a warrior’s honor?”
Crunch.
“Gah…!”
The old man with completely white hair roared as he crushed a charging soldier with his axe.
Though he kept growling, his muscular body swept through enemies with absurd strength.
“Damn old man. So much talk about warriors, and he trained like a monster.”
Unlike the burly elder, the man commanding the many soldiers had the bearing of a refined noble.
He wore an elegant outfit, fit for the capital, and white gloves more suited to a ballroom than a battlefield.
“You bastard! Hiding behind your soldiers—what kind of cowardice is that? Is this how I raised you? If you want your father’s head, come get it yourself!”
“Still clinging to those outdated ideals? If it were a ploy to lure me in, I could understand it, but saying it seriously just makes it pathetic.”
“You… ngh!”
Slash.
Just as the old man was about to shout again, a soldier’s spear grazed his arm. Seeing blood gush from that steel-like body, the soldier cried out in excitement.
“I-I pierced him! I…!”
“How dare you interrupt an old man when he’s speaking!”
Whoosh.
The axe came down like lightning and severed the soldier’s head in a single blow.
It was so fast that the man didn’t even realize he had died; his face still bore a smile.
Seeing the head roll on the ground, the noble clicked his tongue.
“What a shame. That’s no way to earn gold coins. He only needed to strike and retreat.”
“How dare you say such—ugh!”
The old man, trying to shout again, staggered in dizziness. Looking closely, his body was covered in multiple small wounds.
Seeing him on the verge of collapse, the middle-aged noble laughed.
“No matter how much of a warrior he is, age catches up. Still, you’ve held out quite well for your age, father.”
“Let me ask you something… Do you really believe that bastard, that snake, can restore the north’s former glory?”
Perhaps sensing death was near, the old man set his anger aside and asked with genuine curiosity.
The noble shook his head, laughing even harder.
“And what does that matter? The glory of the north isn’t my concern.”
“What… then…?”
“What matters is that Count Calix’s house is trying to reorganize the north, and there are more people than you think willing to support them. If the north is going to change, isn’t it better to side with them early and gather the scraps?”
“To the very end…!”
A trickle of blood fell from the old man’s mouth as he clenched his teeth.
He looked more devastated by the denial of tradition than by his own son’s betrayal.
“I’m tired of sermons. Just go quietly, like the warrior you so admire.”
With that mocking remark, the noble gestured.
Three knights, who had been conserving their strength until then, stepped forward.
Their mounts stomped the ground, ready to charge.
“That won’t be possible.”
“…?”
Lucian’s voice rang out from the top of the hill.
At the sudden intrusion, the noble frowned.
“And who are you to meddle in my family’s affairs?”
“And who are you to meddle in mine?”
“…?”
The noble blinked, confused. They were the ones intervening, and now he was being accused?
“What nonsense are you spouting? Think you’re funny?”
“Not at all. I’m serious. Why are you mentioning the house of Count Calix? They’re using the name Grimaldi without my permission.”
“…!?”
The noble’s face stiffened. A stranger was speaking of the Grimaldi name as if it were his own.
“Who the hell are you?”
In response to the confused question, Lucian gave a faint smile.
“My name is Lucian Valdeck. Third son of House Valdeck and maternal grandson of the last head of House Grimaldi.”
***
“…”
“…”
When Lucian revealed his identity, not only the noble, but even the knights fell silent all at once.
Especially the knights, who looked even more confused than the noble himself, kept glancing at each other again and again.
“…Are you really of Grimaldi blood?”
“You’ve already heard someone else’s name, so now it seems like it’s your turn to say yours.”
“Ahem, my apologies. I am Torik Osgor, current head of Baron Osgor’s family.”
“What nonsense are you spouting? When did I hand over the position of family head to you?”
At the old man’s retort, Torik frowned. He threw him a look that clearly meant “shut your mouth,” but the elder snorted with disdain and shouted at Lucian.
“I’m Harald Osgor, current head of House Osgor! Are you truly the grandson of Duke Klaus?!”
Klaus Grimaldi. Hearing the name of his maternal grandfather come from the old man’s mouth, Lucian nodded.
“I swear it by the eight gods of the sky. I am his blood grandson.”
“Why have you come to the north now? I’ve never seen you before in my life!”
Covered in wounds, Harald asked with a fierce gaze.
It seemed like he was blaming him for showing up out of nowhere after never setting foot in the north his whole life.
Lucian met his gaze and answered firmly.
“I’ve come to reclaim the name of Grimaldi, which was originally mine, and to punish the thief who used it as he pleased.”
“And a man who’s not from the north has the right to meddle in northern affairs?”
“Wherever I’m from, I’m still his grandson. What more right do I need to take back what’s mine?”
“And what if all the northerners don’t recognize your right?”
Harald’s muscles tensed, as if he might hurl his axe at any moment. But Lucian didn’t even blink and responded with a cold smile.
“Then I’ll just have to ask all the northerners what right they have to interfere in the affairs of someone else’s family.”
“Hahahah!”
Despite how arrogant the response was, Harald burst into laughter.
Blood still flowed from his poorly clotted wounds, but the laughter didn’t stop.
“Heh… you really are his grandson. This brings back memories of the old days.”
“Are the questions over?”
“Yes. Welcome to the north, heir of the Grimaldis. And…”
Harald spun his axe once and fixed his gaze on Torik.
“Could you lend us a hand? I’m ashamed to say I ended up like this because my own son stabbed me in the back.”
At Harald’s request for help, Torik shouted urgently.
“You don’t need to get involved! This is a family matter, so just pretend you didn’t see anything and leave!”
“And what if I don’t want to?”
“What?!”
“That conversation earlier was pretty interesting. What was it again? Something about benefiting from the new order in the north being reorganized by House Calix?”
Damn it! With his face twisting in fury, Torik quickly scanned Lucian’s group.
Then, as if nothing had happened, he relaxed his expression and curved his lips into a smirk.
“You really think you can fight me with such a pathetic force? Ridiculous.”
“And what do you think my force is?”
“A washed-up knight, a mercenary pretending to be a knight, and ten nobodies. Ah, should I count the young master who knows nothing of the world too?”
“Oh?”
Lucian slightly curled the corner of his mouth at Torik’s mocking tone. So that’s what he saw.
“Raymond, Felicia. Clear the path. Hugo, lead the ten and cover the rear to prevent them from surrounding those two.”
“Yes, my lord.”
As soon as the command was given, Raymond and Felicia moved to the front, and Hugo with the ten spread out on either side.
Seeing mere soldiers move with such coordination made Torik flinch, though he forced a smile.
“Looks like you trained them well. But even if they’re elite, with just ten men…”
“Advance.”
Lucian gave the order quietly, ignoring Torik.
At the same time, the Black Lion and the future Swordmaster unsheathed their swords and descended the hill.
***
“…”
Torik blinked in a daze. He didn’t understand what had just happened.
The soldiers blocking the charge had fallen like straw dolls, and before he realized it, cold steel was already pressed against his neck.
“If you move, you’ll die.”
Hearing Felicia’s voice, Torik swallowed hard.
As his Adam’s apple shifted, the blade seemed to press deeper into his skin.
“Tell your soldiers to drop their weapons.”
“That…”
“Do you want to die?”
“Drop your weapons! Everyone, drop your weapons!”
Feeling the blade pierce his neck, Torik shouted in terror. The remaining soldiers obeyed immediately and threw their weapons to the ground.
Once disarmed, Torik looked at Felicia with trembling eyes.
“W-what do you plan to do with me?”
“That depends on my lord’s will.”
“I can pay ransom, ransom! So please…”
“Shut up.”
At Felicia’s voice, laced with killing intent, Torik had no choice but to close his mouth.
After nervously scanning his surroundings, his eyes eventually landed on the three knights who were now corpses.
‘When…?’
He had clearly seen one of them fall. The man who looked like a washed-up knight had defeated his own in just three exchanges.
The problem was the other two.
‘I didn’t even see the movement.’
In the instant the swordswoman flicked her sword, the two knights had already fallen from their horses.
Only upon seeing the blood soak the ground did Torik realize their throats had been cut.
Realizing who the real monster was, a cold sweat ran down his forehead.
‘W-what did I just say…?’
“Tsk.”
With a click of the tongue, two shadows loomed over him. Lucian and Harald, who had been watching from behind, now stood before him.
“You talk about trends and majorities, but you can’t even smell the blood right in front of you. Is that the politics you were speaking of?”
“….”
Utterly ashamed, Torik trembled and lowered his head, unable to say a word. Seeing that, Harald didn’t add anything else and only sighed.
“What do you wish to do?”
This time, Lucian asked Harald in a respectful tone. It was consideration for an elder and respect for a titled noble.
Unlike during the previous rebellion, he now held no official position; he was simply the third son.
Harald noticed the deference and softened his tone.
“Just in case, do you have rope?”
“Yes. It’s easy to fall in the snow in the north, so we brought plenty.”
“Tie them all up. I want to take them as prisoners.”
“Are you sure?”
At Lucian’s question, Harald smiled bitterly.
“He’s a wretch who even committed unforgivable treason, but he’s still my son. I don’t want to cut off his head here.”
“As you wish.”
Lucian gave the order to the ten to tie up the disarmed soldiers. Ten men capturing more than double their number was a truly strange sight.
While silently watching the prisoners being bound, Harald turned to Lucian and said.
“You said you were Duke Klaus’s grandson. Let’s talk.”
____
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