"Haha, to think things would work out this smoothly."
The Emperor of the Empire, Karl, let out a low chuckle inside his tent.
On the palm of his hand, a red stone—one that had been exchanging messages with Glen just moments ago—rolled gently.
"Either way, that's one burden off my shoulders. Their vigilance was so tight that I was worried about how I'd ever slip a leash around their neck."
The Emperor had his eye on Lucian.
Despite his young age, the boy possessed a calculating mind and sharp instincts, along with abilities more than sufficient to one day be called a hero.
If nurtured properly, he could become one of the Empire's pillars—someone who would aid the First Prince in pacifying an age of chaos.
There was only one concern: an ambition befitting that level of talent.
'As long as the Empire stands, he'll remain loyal. But once it falls, he's not the type to sacrifice himself to revive it.'
Not someone who would pursue his ambitions by turning himself into a traitor—
but the kind of man who, once all restraints were gone, would climb upward without hesitation.
That was exactly how Lucian appeared in the Emperor's eyes.
Precisely because of that, Lucian could not be left as a mere bystander.
If someone of his caliber were freed of all constraints, there was no telling how high he might rise.
And the most troubling issue of all was his bloodline.
'Valdeck… one of the very few families, aside from the imperial house itself, that possesses the right of succession to the throne.'
"I don't harbor even a fingernail's worth of suspicion that a loyal subject like Grand Duke Sigmund would ever covet the throne.
But what if, in a time when the master of the Empire has vanished, a talent like Lucian were to assert his right to the next succession?
Many nobles would no doubt object—but for an age of chaos, wouldn't it be a relatively peaceful смена of the imperial line, replaced by another bloodline of the royal family?
It was a future that would never come to pass, yet even imagining it sent a chill down the spine.
"But now, there's no need to worry about that."
Though the throne of the Northern King had been relinquished, Lucian was thereby distanced from Valdeck.
While he was laying down a power base in the North, he would have no room to concern himself with Valdeck, and he would be pushed aside from the position of next family head as well.
Naturally, the grand ducal seat would pass to another of Sigmund's children—an ideal outcome from the Emperor's perspective.
"Cough!"
Just as the Emperor was stretching himself in satisfaction, a sudden fit of coughing made him cover his mouth.
He coughed softly for quite some time before it finally subsided.
When he lowered his hand, his palm was smeared with fresh red blood.
"This wretched illness won't even grant me a moment to enjoy myself."
Though he told himself it was a divine warning not to grow complacent and botch what remained, the thought still left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Letting out a sigh, the Emperor rose and began to reorganize his plans once more.
'The possibility of an alliance between the North and Valdeck is gone. I've turned the once-distant North into an ally, and I've saddled the man who will become the North's champion with an enormous debt. I've bound Bernhardt's hands and feet as well—so that leaves only Sigmund.'
At the thought of Sigmund, the Emperor felt a dull ache throb in his head.
He was a friend he trusted more than anyone else, yet that closeness made it all the harder to lay bare his own shame.
Still, if he continued to hide the imperial family's secrets, Sigmund would never support the First Prince.
"Is the chamberlain outside?"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Summon Grand Duke Sigmund. I have something urgent to discuss with him."
Having steeled his resolve, the Emperor issued the order to the chamberlain standing outside the tent.
He had not even the slightest worry about failing to suppress Krepfeld's rebellion—but war was still war.
Even if only for the remotest possibility, there were things that needed to be said before it began.
—
"Hm?"
After sending the chamberlain away, the Emperor lifted his head at a sound like thin paper brushing past.
For a moment, he thought someone had entered the tent, but there was no one around.
Deciding he must have been overly sensitive, the Emperor gave a soft chuckle and lay back down—
utterly unaware that, of the two pairs of eyes lurking beneath his shadow, one pair had vanished.
***
Once the Emperor's approval was given, everything moved swiftly from there.
Lucian wasted no time laying out his demands to Glen when the latter came to see him.
"At the very least, I'll need a thousand elite troops and the Imperial Knight Order. A term of about two years should be just right."
"That's the minimum? Then how much are you considering as the maximum?"
"If possible, I'd like support of over five thousand elite troops and two knight orders."
"And the monthly pay and supplies for them would be…?"
"Obviously, the imperial family will have to cover that. Unless taxes start coming in later, I'm completely broke right now."
Faced with Lucian's brazen confidence, Glen was left speechless.
He simply could not understand how someone could demand a force of that magnitude with such absolute self-assurance.
"Your Highness, forgive my impertinence, but may I offer a word of advice—not as an imperial inspector, but as a comrade-in-arms?"
"Advice from a comrade is always welcome. Please, go ahead."
With Lucian's permission, Glen dipped his head slightly and spoke his true thoughts.
"I can submit what Your Highness is requesting to His Majesty. But are you truly certain this is all right?"
"What do you mean?"
"Maintaining an army costs an enormous sum. And if we're talking about elite troops and elite knight orders, that amount multiplies several dozen times over. I'm not particularly gifted with numbers, but for the forces Your Highness is requesting, the cost would be something like this."
Glen picked up an unused document from beside the table and scribbled a rough figure in the corner.
Even calculating only the bare minimum and excluding miscellaneous additional expenses, the sum was astronomical.
"Of course, the imperial family's resources are effectively limitless, and it is possible to grant everything Your Highness asks for. But that doesn't mean the cost simply disappears. What I wish to say is…"
"Are you asking whether I have the means to repay it? Since I'm borrowing troops, all of this will become a debt I owe His Majesty."
"If I've offended Your Highness, I can only apologize."
Even as he said that, Glen showed no sign of backing down.
This time, he was determined to see for himself what lay behind the other man's confidence.
His Majesty seemed pleased at the thought of saddling him with debt—but that only holds true if Lord Lucian actually has the ability to repay it. Not just for His Majesty's sake, but for Lord Lucian's as well, we must prevent him from taking on excessive debt…
This was no debt between commoners, but an obligation between the Emperor and a man destined to become a great lord.
If the debt grew too large—beyond any capacity to repay—there was no telling how the other party might respond.
For the sake of Lucian's honor, Glen felt compelled to propose a reasonable limit.
"A valid concern. But I'm not doing this without a plan."
Lucian said so with a confident grin, brushing aside Glen's worries.
"I'm not trying to take His Majesty's support and then wipe my mouth clean, nor am I recklessly charging ahead without understanding how much money this entails.
I have a plan to repay the debt—so I'm only borrowing within what I can reasonably handle."
"T-That's… really true?"
"Of course. Though I suppose coming from a mere fledgling like me, it may be hard for you to believe, Sir Glen."
"No, that's not what I meant…!"
"I'm not angry. I only regret that my own lack of ability failed to earn your trust. Sir Glen was simply worrying out of pure concern."
At Lucian's wry smile, Glen found himself at a loss for words.
The way he spoke so naturally made it seem as though he truly did have something in mind.
Right—what kind of person is Lord Lucian? Even after falling out of favor with the First Prince, wasn't he the one who endured the disgrace of disobeying orders just to save His Highness?
A hero like that wouldn't possibly pile up debt thoughtlessly.
Glen suddenly felt ashamed of himself for having doubted Lucian in the first place.
"I can only apologize for speaking out of turn without understanding Your Highness's true intentions."
"It's all right. Please, raise your head."
Lucian smiled gently, offering reassurance.
There was no lie in what he had said. Since the Emperor had done things for him, as long as the Empire did not fall, he did intend to repay the debt—eventually.
But no matter what the Emperor gives me, if he can't later demand repayment with confidence, then debt or no debt, it's all meaningless.
A creditor's power is only formidable when they can wield the debt as a weapon.
If the situation is such that the creditor desperately needs the debtor's help, then it stops being a demand and becomes a plea.
And Lucian was confident that, regardless of any debt, he could force the Emperor to be the one making requests.
An age of chaos is approaching. Soon, every single noble truly loyal to the imperial family will become precious. In that situation, will they really be able to act forcefully toward a great noble—one who is not only the ruler of the North but also armed with the legacy of a former royal house?
He did not even need to hope for power on the level of the imperial family.
Even having strength on the level of the Crimson Wing Knight Order alone would make it impossible for the imperial family to treat him lightly.
—
In the end, the Emperor's decided support amounted to two thousand elite troops and the Blue Rose Knight Order.
It wasn't insufficient—but it was an awkwardly middling force, one that would make it difficult to sweep away the surrounding threats in a single stroke.
Looking at the ambiguous numbers, Lucian was able to roughly grasp the Emperor's intentions.
'If you want more than this, then come and ask again.'
Even after handing over a force that could hardly be called small, making another request would signal just how desperate the situation was.
It would be a way to probe Lucian's true intentions while tightening the leash around his neck even further.
But Lucian didn't feel the need to do that.
'More would always be better—but this isn't so little that it's worth begging for more. It's more than enough to buy me time to build my own army.'
He also didn't want to plant unnecessary misconceptions in the Emperor's mind.
If the Emperor became convinced that he held a clear advantage, he might start making excessive demands before Lucian was fully prepared.
Five thousand had been a test shot from the start—at the very least, Lucian needed to give the impression that even this much posed no real problem.
"You said the troops would be sent all at once using magical artifacts. However, Your Highness must first prepare a place suitable for stationing them…"
"So you're saying I should contact you once I arrive in Asagrim. Understood."
Finding the suggestion perfectly reasonable, Lucian accepted it without protest and headed for Asagrim with his companions.
As for Grimaldi's estate, he hired someone else to manage it temporarily.
Since the estate had effectively served its purpose, it was a courtesy to his maternal grandfather.
'Its symbolic value has all but vanished because of Asagrim, but if I leave it completely unattended, it'll draw too much unwanted attention.'
Lucian glanced back at the estate as it disappeared beyond the horizon, then asked Glen,
"Come to think of it, how is Asagrim being run these days? I've heard that even though it's a territory without a lord, travelers are still allowed to enter."
"I'm afraid that's a difficult question to answer, since I've never actually visited Asagrim myself…"
"I know a bit about it. I've been there once before."
As Glen wore an awkward expression, Raymond stepped in.
Having traveled around the North in the past, it seemed he had visited Asagrim as well.
"In truth, while there's no permanent population, the transient population is enormous. Some travelers even set up camps around Asagrim and stay for months at a time."
"In weather this cold? Why would they?"
"Because Asagrim is regarded as a holy land of the North. During the War of Unification, it surrendered without fighting, so everything remained intact—the ancient heritage is preserved exactly as it was."
"Even for land revered as sacred, that's quite a level of devotion."
"Honestly, I can understand how they feel. Asagrim's White Palace rivals the Imperial Palace—no matter how much you look at it, you never grow tired of it. It may lack in sheer scale and grandeur, but in beauty it's actually superior—"
"Ahem! Ahem!"
Glen interrupted Raymond with an exaggerated cough.
Saying that another noble's residence surpassed the Imperial Palace—even if it were true—could easily be taken as irreverent.
Left with no choice, Lucian's party avoided the topic of Asagrim and continued their journey in silence.
Several days later, as they finally neared their destination, Asagrim shimmered at the edge of their vision.
'It looks exactly like Tibrone, the imperial capital?'
Lucian's eyes widened as he took in Asagrim's walls—so strikingly similar to the white ramparts of Tibrone.
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