Chapter 92
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 92
After inspecting the secret underground space, the two men voiced the exact same sentiment.
“With enough time, this treasure could turn the Empire upside down! It puts most relic storehouses to shame!”
“But you must be cautious, My Lord. If you reveal this prematurely, it will be snatched away before you can even put it to proper use.”
“Exactly.”
Lucian nodded at Hugo and Raymond’s words.
If he could establish a solid foundation and create an environment where this technology could be used freely, becoming the new master of the Empire would not be a mere dream.
The problem was that the difficulty of creating such an environment was incredibly high.
“Even if I manage to find the mages needed to decipher the technology, the eyes of the Imperial Family are a headache. We have to wait until their interest in us has waned at the very least.”
“That will be impossible for at least a few years. Public attention will be fixed on you, My Lord, if only because of the issue of the imperial succession.”
“Likely so.”
Lucian replied, but he smiled bitterly to himself.
In truth, he didn't need to wait that long.
In his past life, the Emperor had taken to his sickbed not long after laying waste to Krepelt.
The frustration of losing the First Prince surely played a part, but more than that, his health had likely been poor to begin with.
‘Seeing how he’s overextending himself to turn me into a supporting force, he’ll probably be bedridden soon this time as well.’
Once the Emperor fell ill, chaos would ensue. That would be the moment these legacies would finally see the light of day.
However, no matter how loyal his retainers were, he couldn't reveal that he knew the future, so he simply nodded and moved on.
“Regardless, to utilize this legacy, I must first solidify my own foundation. Whether it’s debt or something else, I can pay it all back later. What matters now is a source of revenue.”
“Even if the Imperial Family is generous with loans, there’s a limit to them.”
“We can make up for any shortfall by squeezing the House of Calix. The amount we take will depend on how they choose to act.”
To be honest, Lucian wanted the House of Calix to come at him in an open fight.
That way, he could crush them thoroughly and scrape every last grain from their storehouses.
‘They shouldn't expect their own storehouse to remain intact after laying hands on someone else's property.’
Fortunately, preparations to plunder the House of Calix were proceeding steadily.
His support base had exploded thanks to the revival of the Grimaldi family and the reclamation of Asagrim.
Added to that were the powers granted to him as a Margrave and the gift Thorkel had given him.
But the most significant contribution would be the reinforcements the Imperial Family was sending.
‘Two thousand elite soldiers and the Blue Rose Knight Order, one of the orders directly under the Imperial Family.’
He was only borrowing them, but they were a force he could wield to his heart's content while they were in his service.
His heart hammered at the thought of the largest force he had ever commanded arriving soon.
How would it feel to command such an army alone?
‘I’ll find out soon enough.’
Lucian took one last look around his ancestors' legacy and turned his back on the basement.
The time to become the monarch he had dreamed of was drawing near.
“Sir Glen. I believe it is about time you handed over the forces you promised.”
The next day, Lucian visited Glen and got straight to the point.
Now that a place for the troops to stay had been prepared, there was nothing holding him back.
“As a matter of fact, I contacted His Majesty the Emperor yesterday. He said preparations are complete and he will send them whenever you are ready. However...”
As Glen hesitated, Lucian’s gaze sharpened.
Surely he wasn't going back on his word now?
“Is there a problem?”
“There is no problem. It’s just that His Majesty has made one more proposal.”
“A new proposal?”
“He thought you might be worried about a lack of manpower, so he suggested sending a few experienced attendants and servants along with them... Ahem, cough!”
Glen trailed off and looked away.
Lucian chuckled at the man’s obvious attempt to hide his embarrassment.
‘So, they plan to slip spies in among the servants.’
In truth, it would be foolish not to include spies when such an opportunity arose.
No matter how much of an ally someone was, one could never truly know their inner thoughts unless they were their own successor. It was standard practice to slip in spies under the pretext of preparing for any eventuality.
‘There will obviously be spies among the soldiers too, but soldiers and servants have different levels of access.’
Unless they were the absolute elite raised by the family itself, soldiers generally only moved through public areas.
In contrast, attendants and servants could check everything from under the bed to the inside of the toilet. Naturally, they would learn a great deal about the lord’s private life.
‘It’s essentially asking me to leave my back exposed.’
“Your Grace, please do not misunderstand. His Majesty suggested this out of pure goodwill. If you are truly uncomfortable, you may refuse.”
Glen watched Lucian’s reaction, breaking into a cold sweat.
Even he must have thought the Emperor’s request was too blatant.
However, Lucian smiled nonchalantly and spoke.
“I will gladly accept the favor.”
“Yes, then it can’t be helped... Wait, what did you say?”
“I was actually worried about how to find capable attendants and servants. I am only too happy that His Majesty is solving that problem for me.”
“Yo-Your Grace.”
“Once the servants arrive, I’ll have to have them fix my bed immediately. I’ve been sleeping in an unmaintained bed lately, and my back has been feeling quite stiff.”
Glen’s eyes trembled at the lighthearted joke.
Entrusting them with his bed meant giving them access to where he was most vulnerable. It was a demonstration of absolute trust, a sign that he had nothing to hide.
Glen reflexively grabbed Lucian’s hand.
“Your Grace is truly someone sent by the Eight Gods. You won't find ten loyal subjects like yourself in the entire Empire.”
“Now, now, what is this? Flattering me won't get you anything.”
“I mean it sincerely. I swear I will convey your loyalty to His Majesty, so please wait.”
The firm grip on his hand suggested a resolute determination that such a request would never be made again.
Lucian put on an embarrassed expression while struggling to suppress his laughter.
In reality, he had accepted the servants not because of trust, but because he knew that spies and the like would soon be useless.
‘It’s true that I need many servants right now. If I tried to recruit them, applicants would flock like clouds, but who knows how many of Calix’s spies would be mixed in?’
Since he couldn't distinguish every spy, he had to choose between the Imperial Family’s spies and Calix’s spies.
In that case, it was better to use the Imperial spies, who might gather information but would never aim for his life. Besides, only a tiny fraction would be spies; the majority would be highly trained, high-quality labor.
‘The most important thing is the Emperor’s remaining lifespan. It seems they communicate information only through magical artifacts without any relay points. Will the spies still be effective after the Emperor dies?’
Magical artifacts that only those of the direct imperial bloodline could use.
He was almost eager to see how well that First Prince would handle the spies—and how he would act toward the most powerful person among his supporters.
Having reached an agreement, Glen immediately went outside to use the magical artifact.
However, after several attempts, he approached Lucian with a troubled face.
“Your Grace, I’m sorry, but I think we need to move a bit further away from the White Castle.”
“Can it not be used inside?”
“No. Seeing as other magical artifacts work fine, it seems only magic that opens space has been restricted.”
“Oho.”
Lucian’s eyes sparkled at this unexpected information.
It meant he didn't have to worry about internal intrusion via magical artifacts.
“Then it can't be helped. We’ll have to head outside the walls on horseback.”
“I am sorry for the trouble.”
With Glen’s apology, Lucian’s group headed outside the castle walls on horseback.
The pilgrims followed at a distance, wondering what was happening.
After stopping several times to check the artifact, Glen finally confirmed it was working once they were quite far away.
“The Master of the Blue Path calls upon thee, come! By the covenant, I summon thee, come! The Dragon's Blood calls upon thee, come!”
The same incantation the Emperor had used before flowed from Glen’s mouth.
After a short wait, the result was the same as before.
Flash!
“Gasp!”
“What is that?!”
The screams of the shocked pilgrims, seeing the circle open in midair, reached Lucian’s group.
A moment later, a force began to pour out from within the circle.
Knights with the blue rose emblem on their left breast were at the front, followed by two thousand elite soldiers with an extraordinary aura.
Finally, about a hundred attendants and servants in neat attire emerged, leading carriages filled with all sorts of supplies.
“M-My goodness!”
“People came out!”
Despite the pilgrims' chatter, the soldiers didn't even blink.
While Lucian was admiring their perfect discipline, a knight dismounted and approached him.
“Gareth Muller, Captain of the Blue Rose Knight Order, greets His Grace, Duke Lucian, the rightful heir of Grimaldi and Margrave of Asagrim!”
Lucian felt a thrill as he watched Gareth kneel with a thunderous shout.
As the man said, Lucian was no longer a titleless third son or someone’s proxy.
He was a proper lord—the Duke of Grimaldi and the Margrave of Asagrim.
“Rise, Sir Gareth. Thank you for coming. I shall be in your care for a while.”
“By His Majesty’s command, we are your swords from this day forward. Wield us as you please. Give the order, and we shall face even an army of a million.”
“It’s heartening to hear that. Then I shall not hesitate.”
Lucian spoke and patted Gareth’s shoulder in appreciation.
Then, he flinched as he met the man’s burning eyes.
‘I thought he was just stating his ambition, but he’s incredibly motivated. Was he marginalized among the Imperial Knight Orders?’
His eyes were smoldering as if he were so starved for achievement that he would truly dive into an army of a million.
It seemed he had been treated poorly, perhaps pushed aside by other Imperial Knight Orders.
‘He must want to perform well while under my command and return like a triumphant general.’
This was good for Lucian.
There was nothing more troublesome than borrowing someone else's army only for them to be passive in war. If he was burning with a desire for fame, he would take the initiative even without encouragement.
‘At any rate, preparations are complete.’
The army was assembled, and he had hired the servants needed for the banquet.
Now that he had supplies, all that remained was to set the date and send out the invitations.
‘Let’s see their faces.’
It was time to face the master of the light-fingered House of Calix.
—Lucian Grimaldi Valdek, Duke of Grimaldi and Margrave of Asagrim, invites you to a banquet.
The short invitation shook the North as if an earthquake had struck.
It was only recently that the bratty third son of Valdek had been making a fuss about claiming his maternal grandfather’s legacy.
But now, he was not only the Duke of Grimaldi but also the Margrave of Asagrim?
“What kind of nonsense is this? Asagrim is an Imperial territory, so what’s this about a Margrave?”
“And what about the Duke of Grimaldi? Even if he is the grandson, this is crossing the line!”
“Does he plan to make an enemy of the Imperial Family after Calix? His youthful vigor has gone too far.”
Unless the Imperial Family had gone mad, why would they hand over the position of Grimaldi family head and Asagrim at the same time?
Nine times out of ten, it was a right he was claiming on his own, unable to contain his youthful blood.
The lords who thought so were soon struck with horror by the detailed information that followed.
“They really gave him Asagrim? Along with the Grimaldi castle?”
“Impossible! Did you see a hallucination?! The Emperor would never do that unless he’s lost his mind!”
“This is practically the resurrection of the royal family! To think I would see this day in my lifetime...!”
“What happens to Calix now? Weren't they just talking about Grimaldi the other day?”
“Who cares about a mere Count’s house! Asagrim has returned to the embrace of the North!”
The fact that the Ducal House of Grimaldi had reclaimed Asagrim brought an immense shock.
Even if the Imperial Family wouldn't admit it, it was as if the Northern Royal Family had been half-resurrected.
In the midst of this unprecedented situation, the lords were confused, yet they all headed toward Asagrim.
“It’s a banquet held in Asagrim, how could I not attend!”
“It’s a place announcing the resurrection of the kingdom, so of course I must go. It’s a historic moment.”
“I need to see that brat’s face. Just what kind of magic did he pull?”
“Damn it, I sided with Calix. If I go now and beg, will he accept me?”
Their motives were diverse, but no one chose not to attend the banquet.
Everyone instinctively felt that the future of the North would be decided at this gathering.
And naturally, the House of Calix was among them.
“This is our last chance. If we don't eliminate him, we are finished!”
Before departing for Asagrim, Norbeck called his close associates and shouted fitfully.
They all had grave expressions, understanding Norbeck’s concern.
Only one person, the man at the very end, let Norbeck’s speech go in one ear and out the other as he muttered.
“The last chance, indeed.”
Whether he would become a benefactor by being held, or a grim reaper by being lost.
Colin carefully toyed with the card mentioned in his prophecy.