The Northern Grand Duke
The next day, I finished my preparations and was about to head north.
Then a servant approached me.
“General Berhardt.”
“What is it?”
“His Highness the Crown Prince is looking for you.”
I had expected this.
He wouldn't just let me leave for the north like this.
“Where is he?”
“In his office.”
I followed the servant to the office.
When the door opened, I saw the Crown Prince sitting at his desk. Perlin Claire wasn't there this time.
Well, after the commotion yesterday, she wouldn't have the guts to stand before me.
“You're here.”
The Crown Prince spoke first.
His voice was gentle, but his eyes were anything but.
I offered a light salute.
“You summoned me, Your Highness.”
“I hear you're heading straight to the north.”
“Yes.”
“Were you planning not to report it?”
I answered calmly.
“If you hadn't summoned me, I intended to inform you before departure.”
The Crown Prince's gaze darkened.
“So you make the decision first, and report it now.”
“I handled the urgent matter first.”
“The order doesn't sit well with me.”
“Our enemies don't wait for orders.”
The air in the office grew cold.
The Crown Prince tapped the desk with his fingertips.
“Stopping the reinforcements' return should have been enough. Why must you personally go to the north?”
“Halting the return is merely emergency treatment.”
“…….”
“It doesn't seem like stopping one return of reinforcements will end the matter.”
The Crown Prince's lips tightened.
“You keep repeating the same words.”
“What do you mean?”
“That the war isn't over yet.”
Instead of answering, I looked straight at the Crown Prince. He didn't avoid my gaze.
“The victory in the north is already confirmed by the entire empire.”
“Victory and the end of war are different.”
“I'm not unaware of that.”
Yes, he knows. Then why does he keep acting as if the war is over?
“Now the empire must regain stability. If you keep repeating that it's not over, it will only cause unnecessary unrest.”
“Stability… you say.”
“You know it too. Now is the time to celebrate the victory and solidify order.”
Those words were meaningful.
Because it felt like there was an intention behind creating this atmosphere as if the war had ended.
Could it be.
I voiced the intention I had guessed.
“You're trying to polish the victory and claim it as your achievement, Your Highness.”
The Crown Prince's expression hardened.
I was right.
“Are you doubting the imperial family's judgment now?”
“No.”
I didn't back down.
“It's not the imperial family's judgment I'm doubting, but those who try to package a blood-soaked battlefield as an achievement.”
A short silence fell.
I looked straight at the Crown Prince and asked.
“Your Highness.”
“What is it?”
“Whose idea is this?”
The Crown Prince's eyebrows moved slightly.
“Is it your idea, Your Highness?”
“…….”
“Or did someone advise you from the side?”
I sighed and added.
“Perhaps Perlin Claire?”
“Watch your words, Arsens.”
“I am watching them.”
I continued calmly.
“While the north is still bleeding, talk of claiming victory as an achievement comes up.”
“…….”
“I'm just curious whether that idea came from Your Highness's head or someone else's.”
The Crown Prince's expression worsened further.
“Does it bother you that much that I'm going to the north?”
“…….”
“Does the fact that the empire's Marshal is going north seem like it will tarnish Your Highness's achievements?”
The Crown Prince was silent for a while. His face was suppressing anger.
After a short silence, the Crown Prince spoke.
“Fine. Go.”
“Understood.”
“Keep your entourage to a minimum.”
“I already planned to.”
“Report directly to me immediately upon arrival in the north.”
“Understood.”
“Refrain from large-scale troop movements.”
I nodded briefly.
“I accept.”
This was enough. I offered a light salute. And added.
“Your Highness. Victory is a fine decoration for the succession to the throne.”
“…….”
“But if you still intend to hang a bleeding battlefield as decoration, someday that blood will splatter all the way to the capital.”
Without listening further, I walked out.
As I came out into the corridor, my adjutant, who had been waiting outside the door, immediately looked up.
“Let's go.”
“His Highness the Crown Prince…”
“I've kept the formalities. That's enough. Now it's time to head north.”
Of course, the capital was still unstable.
I didn't know what kind of trouble the Crown Prince and Perlin Claire might cause. However, if I tried to correct the two of them head-on now, unnecessary commotion would arise.
The nobles would move, rumors would spread, and only pointless chaos and damage would grow.
On the other hand, in the north, I could see the real problems directly.
What the problem was, who was stirring the pot, what was truly needed now.
After all, since the cause of the empire's downfall was the demon invasion, the most important thing was the north.
#
The north wasn't a nearby land.
Even riding a magically enhanced warhorse at full speed, it would take three days.
It was a distance that could barely be covered by changing horses midway and minimizing rest as much as possible.
“The Northern Duke's domain…”
In Arsens's memories, the north had stopped a few years ago.
Because Arsens, injured in the war, had to stay in the capital for rehabilitation.
Even after that, he had to organize the army in the capital, sort out internal affairs, and waste time between the nobles and the imperial family.
I didn't know how much the north had changed during that time.
We rode without rest. The attendants looked a bit tired, but it couldn't be helped.
On the third day of riding like that, the gateway city leading into the Northern Duke's domain came into view.
High watchtowers, thick gates, long stretching walls. Fitting for a checkpoint where supplies and people heading to the north passed through, it was large in scale.
The soldiers standing in front of the gate saw us and their expressions hardened for a moment.
One of them hurriedly stepped forward and bowed.
“G-General Berhardt.”
I looked down at him without dismounting.
“The inspection has become strict.”
“……Yes.”
“Whose orders?”
“His Grace the Grand Duke's command.”
I looked at the soldier for a moment.
“Has the passage procedure changed too?”
“Yes. It's become more complicated recently.”
Something felt off.
“Pass through.”
“Yes, General.”
Inside the gateway city, everything was well organized.
The market was running, and carriages came and went. On the surface, it was just an ordinary northern checkpoint city.
However, a subtly tense atmosphere lingered.
Soldiers of the Grand Duke's house stood at every checkpoint, and residents lowered their gazes at the mere sight of the Grand Duke's seal.
My adjutant spoke quietly.
“The atmosphere is stricter than I thought.”
There were soldiers posted in front of the grain warehouses, and the Grand Duke's seal hung on the passages where supply wagons entered and exited.
The same was true in front of the stables. The Grand Duke's forces caught the eye before the Northern Army.
I called over a nearby administrator.
As soon as he confirmed my insignia, he bowed deeply.
“Who's compiling the recent reports from the outskirts?”
“The Grand Duke's castle is managing them collectively.”
“What about the Northern Army headquarters?”
“They are cooperating under His Grace the Grand Duke's orders.”
“Supplies too?”
“……Yes.”
As we went deeper inside, the roads widened and the number of soldiers increased. And most of them were not Northern Army soldiers but the Grand Duke's men.
As the sun was setting, the Northern Grand Duke's castle finally came into view.
High walls. Thick outer gates. The Grand Duke's flag with two crossed axes.
As we approached the castle, the gates were already open.
I hadn't sent word. I hadn't announced my arrival time. Yet knights were lined up on both sides.
When my warhorse stopped in front of the gate, a middle-aged knight stepped forward.
His posture was impeccable, and his expression was respectful.
He bowed to me.
“General Berhardt.”
I didn't answer. The knight glanced at my face for a moment before speaking.
“His Grace the Grand Duke is waiting for you.”
Good. I came to see that bastard too.
I needed to ask him directly to his face why the north was in this state and what exactly he was plotting.
“Guide me.”
The middle-aged knight turned around with his head bowed.
Inside the castle, it was excessively well-organized.
The soldiers were silent, and the servants didn't raise their eyes. Every time we passed through a corridor, the Grand Duke's emblem caught my eye.
It felt more like a polished center of power than a castle in the north enduring war.
The door to the innermost hall opened.
It was spacious inside. The ceiling was high, and the walls were adorned with records of northern wars and hunting paintings.
A long carpet was laid in the center, and at its end stood a man.
Pale skin contrasting with deep black hair. Neatly combed hair. And a refined smile.
Edrian Winterfell, the Northern Grand Duke.
The moment I saw his face, I stopped in my tracks.
It was a slightly different face from the Grand Duke in Arsens's memories. That wasn't the face of a man who roamed battlefields.
Could it be.
All the suspicious circumstances seemed to tie back to this one man.
Yes, this bastard was the cause.
The Grand Duke slowly opened his mouth.
“General Berhardt—”
“Edrian Winterfell.”
I cut him off first. At the same time, the air in the hall froze.
The knights standing beside him swallowed their breaths.
I looked straight at him and took a step forward.
“You're planning to abandon the empire, aren't you?”