Chapter 120
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 120
“Well, it’s not as if he’s helping me out of pure altruism. He likely approached me with his own agenda in mind.”
But what of it?
To begin with, the lord-vassal relationship was a far more pragmatic bond than most realized. The very foundation of feudalism was built on a knight pledging his life in loyalty in exchange for a lord promising proper treatment and advancement.
If even a standard lord-vassal relationship was based on mutual benefit, there was no reason a mage shouldn't seek the same. To Lucian, this was nothing new.
“As long as it’s mutually beneficial, I don’t care what his ulterior motives are; we can still sail in the same boat. If he has his own goals, let him pursue them. It’s enough for me if I gain something in the process.”
“But what if that mage intends to betray Your Grace? What if he plans to use his lord as a sacrificial lamb just to achieve his own ends?”
“Do I really need to say it?”
Instead of answering, Lucian gave a cold smile and lightly tapped the sword hanging at his waist. It was a gesture far more potent than a hundred words of explanation, and Raymond gave a wry smile in response.
“I suppose I was worrying over nothing. Your Grace is hardly the type to let such a devious person have their way.”
“As long as you understand. By the way, where is Felicia? I wanted to give her the Nectar, but I haven't seen her anywhere.”
“She is meditating on the north wall. She mentioned that she has learned much recently and needs time to process it all.”
“Ah, then going there now would only be a disturbance.”
Felicia had received all the secret techniques from the Sword Saint. Her current meditation was likely the process of fully internalizing those teachings into her body. If he interrupted her just to hand over some Nectar, he might inadvertently stunt years of potential growth.
“It can’t be helped. For now, take the Nectar yourself, then come to my office with Hugo. I’m going to go call Colin.”
“Is this a formal summons? Should I call the others as well?”
“No, I have something to relay specifically to you three this time, so come quietly. This matter requires a certain level of secrecy.”
Having said his piece, Lucian placed a forefinger to his lips and walked away. Raymond watched his retreating back with a look of bewilderment before letting out a short chuckle. He had suddenly remembered how Lucian used to keep everything a secret when they first met.
‘But so much has changed since then.’
Once merely the Third Young Master of Valdek, Lucian was now a Margrave and a Duke, firmly established as the Conqueror of the North. Simultaneously, he had recruited the genius alchemist Ian and kept the future Sword Saint, Felicia, as his closest confidante.
On top of that, he had secured the vast legacy of the Northern Royal Family and even obtained the legal right from the Emperor to unshackle the mages. If he could gain an army that swore loyalty only to him in this situation, he would truly be unstoppable.
‘Perhaps this will be the last journey I take with my lord as just a small group.’
The higher one’s position and the greater one’s power, the heavier one’s seat became. From now on, every time Lucian moved, entire armies would stir. The days of wandering about with only a few close aides would soon be over. Raymond, too, would be required to act as a commander rather than just a single knight.
“In that case, I’ll have to carve the final exploits of Raymond the Black Lion into my lord’s memory.”
Muttering briefly to himself, Raymond downed the Nectar in his hand in a single gulp. Immediately after, his eyes snapped open as a refreshing sensation surged through his entire body.
‘Finally.’
Having come to the office at Lucian’s summons, Helen gripped her sleeves tightly, her expression flushed with excitement. After waiting and waiting, Lucian had finally decided to venture beyond the snowfields. Helen, who had been inwardly anxious about when they would depart, wanted to shout for joy.
‘Calm down, calm down. This is where the real work begins.’
Placing a hand on her chest, Helen forced her racing heart to steady. Indeed, it was far too early to celebrate. If she failed to see this through properly, she would lose all the trust she had built up in an instant. Since she had stepped forward with such confidence, she had to deliver a proper army into Lucian’s hands no matter what.
‘To do that, first...’
Click.
“Hm? You’re already here? I only just called for you.”
Startled while organizing her thoughts, Helen jumped to her feet at the sound of Lucian’s voice from the door. Turning her head, she saw not only Lucian but also her senior, Colin, entering the office.
“I greet Your Grace.”
“Right, take a seat. As you requested, I’ve called Colin and my inner circle, but the others might take a little while as they each had business to attend to.”
“Pardon? Helen called for me? What is the meaning of this?”
Colin, who had been brought along suddenly, looked at Helen and Lucian with a bewildered expression. It truly seemed as if he had heard nothing from his fellow disciple. Lucian gave a slight nod as if telling her to explain, and Helen smiled at her senior.
“Please, calm down. Actually...”
As Helen’s explanation continued, Colin’s eyes grew wider and wider. Barbarian tribes beyond the snowfields, people who could be used as an immediate army, the true King of the North. As soon as Helen finished her explanation and closed her mouth, a roar erupted from Colin.
“What do you think you’re doing?! Tribes beyond the snowfields? Barbarians to be used as an army? I have never heard of this!”
“That is because I never told you.”
“I mean, why did you decide all of this on your own, in secret?! Why didn't you give me even a hint?!”
“Master told me not to tell you in advance.”
“...What?”
“He said you’ve suffered for so long that you’d be craving comfort. He said you’d surely try to talk your lord out of it and suggest an easier path, so I should just leave you be.”
At the mention of their Master, Colin stood there with his mouth agape, looking dazed. His previous anger had vanished, replaced by a look of profound embarrassment. Leaving her stunned senior aside, Helen looked back at Lucian.
“Your Grace, may I ask if the people gathering now are the ones I mentioned?”
“Yes. An elite few to head beyond the snowfields. You said six was the ideal number to travel the snowfields safely, so I’ve prepared exactly that many.”
“Excluding myself, my senior, and Your Grace, that leaves three. Are they Sir Hugo, Sir Raymond, and Sir Felicia?”
“Why? Is there a problem?”
It was common knowledge that those three were Lucian’s closest aides. As retainers to accompany Lucian to a dangerous location, there were no better candidates. However, despite her visible tension, Helen spoke in a firm tone.
“Sir Hugo is fine. However, I believe it would be best to replace Sir Raymond and Sir Felicia with others.”
“You! What are you...!”
Colin, who had been half-dazed, shouted in horror. To suggest overturning a decision made by the sovereign before even becoming a formal retainer was bad enough, but to suggest removing his closest aides from his side? She didn't have enough heads to lose for such insolence. Yet, Lucian looked at Helen with interest.
“Your reasons?”
“For Sir Raymond, it is his mana. For Sir Felicia, it is her gender.”
“I didn't expect you to take issue with gender.”
“Mages and knights are held to different expectations, so the problems they face are different as well.”
“Fine, explain Raymond first. What do you mean his mana is the problem?”
“Exactly what I said. Sir Raymond lacks a sufficient absolute quantity of mana.”
Beyond the snowfields lay the Eternal Frozen Land. Since it was frozen all year round, surviving in that cold was no ordinary feat. Naturally, a warrior of the barbarian tribes had to possess a massive amount of mana. Without constantly reinforcing their body with mana, they would soon collapse and die of exhaustion.
“The techniques of the barbarian tribes are poor. Therefore, they do not compete over the excellence of technique. They only compete in terms of raw power.”
“Aha. So no matter how good your technique is, if you lack mana, you’re treated as a weakling? They value raw strength over skill with a blade.”
“Precisely. Sir Raymond is undoubtedly an excellent knight, and his swordsmanship has reached a significant level, but since his mana capacity is insufficient...”
“Your Grace. Sir Hugo and Sir Raymond have arrived.”
As if cutting off Helen’s words, the voice of a guard came from outside. When Lucian granted permission to enter, the office door opened. Helen instinctively turned toward the door, and her eyes widened in shock.
‘What? His mana capacity has surged!’
Hugo was the same as before. He possessed a massive amount of mana that an ordinary knight might not be able to accumulate even after decades of effort. What had changed was Raymond’s mana, which until yesterday had been merely at a respectable level. She had definitely checked multiple times, yet in a single day, it had increased to a level comparable to Hugo’s. It was enough to make her faint from shock.
“Were you in the middle of a meeting?”
“Not so much a meeting as Helen wanting to change the policy we recently decided on. Specifically, she wanted to exclude Raymond and Felicia.”
“....”
Raymond looked at Helen with an ambiguous gaze. It wasn't so much a look of resentment as it was the look one gives a child who doesn't know their place. Under that gaze, Helen’s face turned beet red, but she bowed her head in apology.
“I am sorry. I spoke out of turn.”
“You argued so firmly, yet you back down the moment he arrives?”
“It’s not that. My suggestion to replace Sir Raymond was strictly because of his mana capacity. But seeing him now...”
“His mana is comparable to Hugo’s, isn't it?”
Seeing Lucian burst into laughter, Helen felt a chill run down her spine. She realized that the reason Raymond’s mana had exploded in a single day was because Lucian had done something.
‘What on earth did he do? Did he have an elixir prepared in advance? Or else...’
Helen forced herself to shake off the spiraling thoughts. Idle speculation was of no help. What was certain was that even in these difficult times with limited external contact, Lucian had the luxury of obtaining an elixir to give to his retainer. That alone made it difficult for Helen to fathom the true extent of Lucian’s capabilities.
“Well, I’m glad you’ve changed your mind. Now, explain why Felicia should be excluded.”
At Lucian’s words, delivered with a faint smile, Helen swallowed hard and lowered her head.
“Sir Felicia is undoubtedly a knight who is hard to find a match for. But as I said before, the problem is her gender. Just because Sir Felicia is a woman, the barbarian tribes will find fault with everything and refuse to acknowledge her.”
“Do they treat women that poorly? In my experience, those living in harsh regions tend to value the strength of women just as much, and thus women tend to have a strong voice.”
“If anything, it is the opposite. Because the land is so dangerous, they cannot fathom a woman engaging in life-threatening work. To them, a woman can be a prophet, an advisor, or a shaman, but she is a creature that cannot be a warrior.”
It was a land where the corpses of those frozen to death in blizzards formed hills. Naturally, they were sensitive to population numbers, and women who could bear children were treated with even greater care. Even if many men died, as long as the survivors took multiple wives, they could somehow increase their numbers. To put it another way, the roles of men and women were even more strictly divided there than in this place, where female knights were regarded as figures from fairy tales.
“Since I am a mage, they will not find me strange. But if she claims to be a warrior in a woman’s body, it will be seen as a direct denial of their common sense and traditions.”
“Then we can just take this opportunity to completely change their common sense. If they are crushed head-on, they’ll change their minds.”
“It is a prejudice that has lasted over a thousand years; winning a few times will be far from enough. It would require a shock on the level of the heavens and earth being swapped. Perhaps if it were Sir Eisen, but with Sir Felicia’s current skills...”
“Your Grace. Sir Felicia has arrived.”
Once again, as if on cue, the guard’s voice rang out. The door opened quietly as soon as Lucian gave his permission. Helen turned her head, resolved not to back down this time.
And in that moment, she was lost for words.
‘...What is this?’
She knew Felicia was strong. Excluding the Sword Saint Eisen, Felicia was the strongest knight Helen had ever seen. But the Felicia reflected in Helen’s eyes now was different from before. If her previous strength was something that could be measured by human standards, the current Felicia’s depth was impossible to fathom.
Entering the room, Felicia bowed deeply to Lucian, then turned a cold gaze toward Helen.
“Is my skill truly so deficient?”
At that ice-cold voice, Helen could say nothing and only lowered her head.