Chapter 181
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 181
Despite Claude’s sudden change in attitude, Lucian wasn’t surprised in the least.
Instead, with a stoic expression, he simply placed his hands on the kneeling Claude’s shoulders as if to help him up.
“For the First Prince to kneel before a mere Duke and even use formal honorifics… This is a joke I find quite difficult to handle. Please, stand up.”
“I-It is no joke. You have already practically received the Kingship, so how could I dare treat you lightly? By protocol, a King and a Prince are of equal rank, so I am merely according you the proper etiquette starting now.”
“There is no need for that. Your Highness the First Prince is already fulfilling his role sufficiently just by existing. Oh, by the way, I recently heard from Dennis that I should find a Princess Consort for you…”
“Please! Please, don’t do that!”
As the topic shifted to a Princess Consort, Claude grabbed Lucian’s feet in a panic.
However, Lucian frowned and brushed Claude’s hands away as if they were a nuisance.
“Don’t do what? Your Highness is at an age where you should have taken a consort long ago. You’ve already passed the marriageable age; do you intend to keep delaying it?”
“Just a little longer! Just give me a little more time!”
“I cannot. As the legitimate successor, Your Highness has a duty to produce an heir. This is unavoidable, so you might as well give up.”
“Ugh, h-huhu! Great King! Please, give me just one more chance!”
Tears and snot streamed down Claude’s terrified face.
When Lucian tried to pull his foot away, Claude crawled forward and clung to Lucian’s thigh.
“E-Even if I were to make a child right now, how much help would that infant be to the Great King? Forget speaking—they won’t even be potty-trained for years! Use me instead!”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“I will write any Imperial Decree you want in my own hand! No, I’ll personally perform your coronation! Yes, wouldn’t it look much better if the legitimate successor of the Empire personally placed the crown on your head?!”
Lucian stared down at the desperately pleading Claude.
He was so consumed by fear that the vibrations of his trembling were transmitted directly through Lucian’s thigh.
Eventually, Lucian let out a sigh and spoke.
“Rest assured, I have no intention of killing Your Highness. You may never step foot on bare earth again for the rest of your life, but you will be able to live in comfort.”
“…!”
“Your Highness has betrayed my trust several times. For me, it seems better to keep you locked up like this rather than setting you free.”
“No, no! That’s not it! Please believe me! Trust me just one more time!”
“I have trusted you enough, and I have been betrayed enough.”
“I will abdicate!”
Lucian, who had been trying to push Claude away, paused.
Noticing the reaction, Claude cried out through his tears and snot.
“Once I ascend to the throne, I will abdicate to you! There’s no need to use a newborn baby! Does a child ever grow up exactly as their parents wish? Once they start thinking for themselves, they’re bound to have other ideas!”
Lucian found himself nodding at Claude’s words.
He was likely just spitting out whatever came to mind, but the First Prince himself was the perfect example of that logic.
Despite how hard the Late Emperor had tried to raise him properly, he had turned into this piece of trash.
‘Well, it’s the same for anyone else. Even if you raise them from infancy in a controlled environment, you can’t control a person’s thoughts.’
Humans naturally hit a rebellious phase even when raised in abundance.
No matter how much one tried to mold them, they could veer off in the opposite direction in an instant.
Perhaps the First Prince’s son would harbor different intentions the moment he realized his birthright.
He might decide that ‘disposing of the rebel Lucian and reclaiming his rightful rights’ was his life’s mission.
Rather than carrying such an element of instability, it might be better to use the First Prince, who knew the reality of the situation and groveled so pathetically.
“What do you want in exchange?”
When Lucian asked after a moment of thought, Claude answered instantly.
“Please do not let any noblewomen into my bedroom.”
It was a declaration that he would never produce an heir as long as he lived.
It might look ridiculous to others, but Claude was truly desperate.
The moment an heir was born, he would lose his advantage as the ‘only alternative.’
Lucian, as well as the other lords, would naturally focus more on the heir’s growth than on Claude.
In the worst-case scenario, he might suddenly ‘die of illness’ the moment the child was deemed old enough.
At Claude’s request, Lucian gave a thin smirk.
“Do you even have a way to distinguish who is a noblewoman?”
“…!”
“Daughters of fallen families often lack refinement. Conversely, a thoroughly trained high-class prostitute can have more grace than a lady living in the countryside.”
In other words, if Lucian intended to deceive him, Claude had no way of knowing.
Just before the terrified Claude could say anything else, Lucian whispered.
“So, do not feel relieved. Don’t think that I can’t do anything to you because there is no other alternative, or that it’s time to return to a proper lord-vassal relationship… The moment you think such things, an heir to Your Highness might just pop up out of nowhere.”
“Y-Yes! I will keep that in mind! I will never forget it!”
Despite the words being nothing short of a threat, Claude had no choice but to nod vigorously.
If it was Lucian, he truly could turn that plan into reality at any moment.
Lucian smiled with satisfaction at Claude’s submissive response.
“Good. Then I shall ask one favor of Your Highness.”
“W-What favor is it?”
“It’s nothing much.”
Lucian shrugged at the frightened Claude.
“Please write some invitations to be sent to the lords.”
Two months after Eisen’s funeral, Lucian sent out invitations to the Northern lords once again.
This time, it wasn’t for a funeral, but an invitation to attend his coronation.
The lords, who had only recently returned from Asagrim and were now forced to prepare for another trip, scowled.
Even if it was Lucian, what kind of runaround was this?
However, their displeasure turned into shock the moment they saw the invitations.
“The First Prince’s own handwriting? You’re saying the First Prince himself wrote all these invitations, not the Duke?”
“He didn’t even fill them with ritualistic greetings; he wrote every single sentence with care. One would think these were letters sent to a close friend.”
Usually, invitations sent to a large number of people have the same content with only the names changed, except for a few key figures.
However, the invitations sent by the First Prince were all different for each individual.
The circumstances of each family’s territory, their family composition, recent hot topics, and so on.
They were filled with details that could only be known by investigating each house individually.
The lords were left speechless by the sincerity of writing different content for everyone, from Counts down to Barons.
“There’s no way the First Prince wrote these invitations of his own will. Is it pressure from the Duke?”
“No, he suffered that humiliation at the farewell banquet just the other day, and he’s already surrendered?”
While the Northern lords were flabbergasted, they were inwardly impressed by Lucian’s resourcefulness.
Whatever the means, there was a world of difference between keeping the First Prince in a back room to use as a rubber stamp and bringing him out in front to say exactly what was needed.
Before the eyes of the Northern lords who had hurried back to Asagrim, Lucian held his coronation.
Since the formal coronation was planned for after the capital was reclaimed, the ceremony itself was nothing grand.
It was so modest it could almost be called meager, but what mattered wasn’t the splendor, but the person placing the crown.
“I, Claude Fin Bay Astria, the legitimate successor of the Empire and the First Prince, acting on behalf of the Late Emperor, hereby bestow the Kingship upon Duke Lucian.”
“I humbly accept.”
Lucian accepted the crown from Claude and ascended the Jade Throne.
Mixed emotions rippled through the crowd at the declaration of the Northern Kingdom’s complete revival.
It was certainly a joyous occasion that the North’s old glory had returned, but it also meant they now had a new master over their heads.
Then, Claude, standing beside Lucian, spoke again.
“Furthermore, I, Claude, shall make Asagrim my residence until Tivron is reclaimed, and as the representative of the Late Emperor, I shall carry out all affairs of the Empire! Any merit assessment performed by my mouth shall be applied immediately, and if it is difficult to carry out right now, it shall be done as soon as resources allow!”
“…!”
The eyes of the Northern lords widened.
According to those words, it meant they could be granted new titles or territories even in these troubled times.
Not an empty promise of rewards once the Empire was pacified someday, but rewards given on the spot.
If they played their cards right, it would be possible to grow their families even larger in the midst of this chaos.
At the opportunity that had rolled right in front of them, the Northern lords, without exception, let out cheers this time.
“Long live the Northern Kingdom! Long live His Highness the First Prince!”
“To the eternal Kingdom! To the immortal Empire!”
Lucian wore a deep smile at the cheers pouring in from all sides.
He had secured legitimacy, seized control of the North, and provided motivation to the nobles under his command.
Now, only one thing remained.
‘Shall we start moving?’
It was time to use the power he had cultivated to advance beyond the North.
Asagrim’s potential was infinitely high.
Even if he stayed holed up without going outside the North and focused only on internal affairs, its growth would be enormous.
However, in Lucian’s view, it was better to strike out now rather than spend time on preparation.
‘Me spending time on preparation means giving the opponent time as well. As long as the enemy isn’t a motionless wooden doll, perfect preparation is nothing but an illusion.’
What mattered wasn’t how perfectly one prepared, but how wide the gap between the opponent and oneself had become.
Even if my preparation is a bit lacking, if the opponent isn’t prepared at all, I can land the most powerful blow.
To Lucian, now was exactly that time.
‘First, I need to strike out quickly and establish a base outside the North. So that the others, feeling a sense of crisis, won’t even dare to think about isolating the Northern Kingdom.’
Although he had weakened the North’s unique, unnatural cold using an artifact not long ago, the food situation was still not good.
Just because the cold had weakened didn’t mean the long-neglected agriculture would develop instantly.
Until the North became self-sufficient, they would still have to bring in most of the food they consumed from the outside.
He had to secure an external base in advance to prevent other factions from arbitrarily blocking trade in an emergency.
‘Well, since it’s far away, it’ll be vulnerable to external attacks for a while… but I can leave that part to Tristan. The base to be established outside will also serve as a bridgehead to advance toward the Grand Ducal House of Valdek.’
Losing the bridgehead to Valdek would mean the time for Tristan to reclaim Valdek would also be pushed back.
Tristan himself would know this fact, so if he were stationed at the external base, he would defend it with his life.
Lucian could simply dump the cost in blood onto Tristan and then leisurely appear to take over the stabilized base.
Having decided on his policy, Lucian was about to summon his retainers.
However, a guest from outside the North arrived faster than Lucian could branch out.
“…What? An envoy has come from the House of Marquis Roglan?”
Lucian blinked at the unexpected visit from the outside.
Why on earth did those guys come all the way to the distant North?