The Northern Duke's Grip
“Then I’ll start from the beginning.”
The Grand Marshal slid the topmost document across the desk toward me.
“Right after the victory declaration, the Northern Duke announced he would temporarily consolidate all reports and administrative procedures from across the North under the Grand Duke’s castle, citing the need to manage postwar affairs.”
I scanned the document. On the surface, it sounded reasonable. Even logical in the immediate aftermath of war.
Reina pulled out the next set of papers.
“At the time, four distinct forces were operating on the northern front.”
Her finger tapped the page.
“The Imperial regular army. Her Majesty’s personal knight order and a portion of her direct legions. The Grand Duke’s own forces. And the knights and soldiers conscripted from the surrounding territories.”
“……”
“On paper, they all fell under the command of the Northern Army Headquarters.”
After a brief silence, she moved to the next document.
“The regular army, the Imperial Guard, and the direct legions were officially under Imperial command. The conscripted forces were different. Even though they were listed under headquarters on paper, in practice they answered first to their own lords.”
“And those lords?”
“They followed the Northern Duke.”
The Grand Marshal pushed another document forward.
“At first it was simple cooperation. The Grand Duke’s household merely organized local troops to match the pace of the Northern Army. But before long, the chain of command reversed.”
“How so?”
“The conscripted soldiers responded to their lords’ names before headquarters orders, and those lords in turn prioritized the Duke’s commands.”
I stared silently at the papers.
The Northern Army had never truly been a single force. It was several factions forcibly bound together on one front, and the Northern Duke had slipped his hand into the cracks between them.
Reina continued.
“He also seized control of the supply lines.”
“Even the regular army’s share?”
“Not all of it, but he dominated most of the routes. Wagons traveling between the gate cities, warehouses, and encampments couldn’t move without the Grand Duke’s castle’s approval.”
Next document.
“Her Majesty’s personal knights and direct legions maintained their own independent system to the very end. However, since their encampments and supply routes were all under the Duke’s jurisdiction, they had no choice.”
I let out a short laugh.
He had grabbed them by the throat before they could even draw their swords.
“Reports were the same. Anything that reached headquarters first had to pass through the Grand Duke’s castle for review.”
“From the start?”
“At first it was only some. Soon it became everything.”
“Troop movements?”
“Delayed without the castle’s approval.”
“Communications?”
The Grand Marshal’s hand finally stopped on the last document.
“The communications office was also taken over by the Duke.”
The air in the room grew heavy.
“Some of the signal officers assigned to headquarters were pushed out. Those who remained are under constant surveillance. Every report leaving the North for the capital now passes through the Grand Duke’s castle first.”
Impressive. Thorough.
At this point, one commander drawing his sword wouldn’t be enough to fix anything.
I pulled the map closer.
“What about the officers? Did none of them resist?”
Reina answered.
“They split. Some stayed loyal to headquarters, others sided with the Duke. Most of the officers were veterans who had endured the northern front for years, so many leaned toward the Northern Duke.”
“There were fence-sitters too.”
“Yes.”
She added the next line without a trace of emotion.
“Some pretended to follow headquarters while reporting to the castle. Others pretended to follow the Duke while watching headquarters.”
I exhaled slowly.
Now I understood why the Grand Marshal had been stripped of authority so completely. The moment he drew his sword, the Northern Army would have split in two. So he hesitated, and the chance slipped away.
Reina kept reporting.
“We tried to summon loyal officers separately to reorganize the troops. That same evening, knights from the Grand Duke’s household entered headquarters.”
“Under the pretext of protection, I assume. In reality, it was surveillance and control.”
I didn’t lift my eyes from the documents.
The reason they hadn’t killed the Grand Marshal was obvious. As long as Reina remained alive, headquarters could still pretend to function normally. Killing her would have revealed that the Duke’s household had already crossed the line. So they kept her breathing.
Instead, they left her as an empty shell—her seal and name reduced to mere formalities.
I pressed my finger down on each document spread across the desk.
“Let me summarize.”
Both Reina and Raylin turned their gazes toward me.
“The Northern Duke has seized the army’s reporting system.”
“……”
“He has taken control of supplies and troop movements.”
“……”
“He has pulled the conscripted forces under his command and brought the surrounding lords to his side.”
“……”
“He left the Grand Marshal alive but turned headquarters into a hollow shell.”
“……”
“And he has taken hold of every channel leading to the capital.”
I raised my head.
“This isn’t simple overreach. It’s a seizure of command authority.”
The room fell silent.
“And the reason for seizing that authority is obvious, isn’t it?”
I paused for a moment before continuing.
“Either he wants to become emperor himself, or he wants to tear the North away from the Empire entirely.”
If that was the case, then what needed to be done was clear. Strike before the board was fully set.
“I will report directly to His Highness the Crown Prince.”
Reina reacted immediately.
“In person?”
“Yes. No one else will act as intermediary.”
“The communications office is already under the Duke’s control.”
“I know.”
“There will be knights stationed outside the door as well.”
“All the better.”
I rose slowly from my seat.
“It means there’s no room left for excuses.”
The adjutant asked.
“Will you force your way through?”
“Yes.”
I walked toward the door.
“If they’re blocking the path to the capital, I’ll tear it open.”
Reina watched me in silence. Then she gathered several documents from the desk and slid them toward her adjutant.
“Evidence of the Northern Duke’s treason.”
“Good.”
Now this felt like a proper headquarters again.
“Reina, Grand Marshal.”
“Yes.”
“Can you survive on your own? While I dismantle this, threats may come your way.”
“…I am still a soldier. I can protect myself.”
“Then compile the list of officers who collaborated with the Duke.”
“……”
“Separate those who must die from those who can be spared.”
The Grand Marshal bowed her head.
“Understood.”
When I opened the door, the two knights from the Duke’s household standing outside looked up at the same time.
Both saw the dried blood still clinging to the tip of my sword. And the expression on my face as I stepped out.
“Move.”
One of them spoke in a stiff voice.
“By order of His Grace the Duke, access to key facilities within headquarters is currently—”
I didn’t let him finish. I swung the scabbard and struck him across the jaw. With a dull thud, the knight flew sideways and crashed into the wall.
The second knight tried to draw his sword.
I grabbed his wrist and twisted it.
Crack.
Before he could scream, I drove my knee into his solar plexus. His plate armor crumpled inward as he was sent flying.
“If you’re going to stop me, stake your life on it.”
I brushed my hands off and headed for the communications office.
Before long, a wide corridor appeared.
“This way, General.”
I stopped where the adjutant pointed.
Four more knights from the Duke’s household stood before a thick iron door. These men looked different from the rabble I had cut down earlier—proper guardians of a critical facility.
When I took a step forward, they moved to block me.
“This area is restricted.”
“It wasn’t always.”
“Without His Grace’s permission—”
“You’re invoking the Duke’s permission inside a military communications room?”
I let out a short laugh.
“The moment you said that, I could already treat you as traitors.”
They drew their swords in unison.
I didn’t hesitate. I drew up my aura.
A deep blue light flashed in my eyes. A surge of exhilaration flooded through me.
Suppressing that rush, I cast a spell.
[Body Reinforcement. Overlap]
When I operated aura and magic simultaneously, my heart raced and the world slowed. The strain of controlling the two forces made the energy around my sword unstable, but in exchange, my physical abilities surged to their limit.
Boom!
The moment I kicked off the ground, a thunderous sound echoed. I shot past the knights in a blur and swung my sword.
They tried to block, but it was impossible.
Clang-clang-clang!
The rough aura shattered their blades. Shock filled their eyes.
Even so, they twisted desperately to dodge the strike. But my sword was faster.
Slash.
The upper and lower halves of all four knights separated cleanly. Blood stained the floor red.
“Haa…”
I reined in my aura and mana, then flicked the blood from my blade.
The adjutant approached the door and checked its condition.
“General. There’s a locking spell on the door.”
“I know.”
I placed my hand on the door and poured strength into my fingertips.
Crunch.
Metal groaned as the entire door warped inward.
Once more.
Crack.
The iron door was ripped clean off its hinges, opening the passage.
The signal officer inside recoiled in terror.
In the center of the room, a long-range communication artifact glowed blue.
The officer trembled violently. The screams and tearing metal from outside had already told him everything he needed to know.
The adjutant stepped forward first, raising her sword.
“Try anything and I’ll cut you down.”
I looked down at the long-range communication artifact in the center of the room.
Three blue mana stones formed a circle, with a routing spell array glowing faintly beneath them.
A military communicator that connected directly from the North to the capital.
I turned to the signal officer.
“Open the direct line to His Highness the Crown Prince.”
One of the officers swallowed hard.
“Th-that’s…”
“Why?”
“It requires the proper registration procedure.”
“What procedure?”
“Review and approval from the Grand Duke’s castle—”
I grabbed the man by the collar and hauled him up.
“Listen carefully.”
His feet left the floor. Only a strangled sound escaped his throat.
“What I’m about to report to the capital is that the Northern Duke is planning treason.”
“……”
“And you want me to get the Duke’s approval first?”
I pulled him closer.
“That makes you either an idiot or an accomplice.”
Tears welled in the officer’s eyes. I finally let go. He collapsed to the floor, coughing violently.
“I’ll say it again.”
I tapped the communication artifact with my finger.
“Open the direct line to His Highness the Crown Prince.”
“……”
“Now.”
Silence stretched. Fear was plain on his face.
I understood. If he obeyed, he would fall out of favor with the Duke’s household. If he refused, his head would leave his shoulders right now. Both were terrible choices. But the Duke was far away, and I was right here.
Finally, the signal officer’s hand moved.
His palm settled over the spell array. Light seeped into the three blue mana stones one after another.
One. Two. Three.
Beams of light connected, and the entire communications room resonated.
I stood before the artifact.
The blue light rippled like water before taking on a human shape. Moments later, Crown Prince Leon’s face appeared. Perlin Claire stood beside him.
I didn’t like the sight, but that wasn’t important right now.
The Crown Prince’s gaze went straight to the twisted iron door.
A brief silence followed before he spoke first.
“…Lord Arsens?”
“Your Highness.”
I offered a brief salute. The Crown Prince’s expression gradually hardened.
“What is the meaning of this?”
“A report.”
“A report?”
“Yes. An urgent one.”
The Crown Prince narrowed his eyes.
“Why does the communications room look like that?”
“The Duke’s household had taken control of it.”
“……”
“I reopened it.”
I continued the report without pause.
“Immediately after the victory declaration, Northern Duke Edrian Winterfell began consolidating all reports, supplies, troop movements, and communications across the North under the Grand Duke’s castle.”
“……”
“Northern Army Headquarters has been reduced to a shell, and the Grand Marshal is under surveillance.”
“The Grand Marshal?”
“Yes.”
“Are you certain?”
“I confirmed it myself.”
Raylin immediately handed me several documents. I held them up in front of the communication artifact.
“These are the troop movement approval ledgers, the communications office access logs, and the supply control documents bearing the Grand Duke’s castle’s review seal.”
“……”
“When you add the records of how the conscripted forces from surrounding territories were used, there’s only one conclusion.”
The Crown Prince stared at my face in silence. I spoke calmly.
“The Northern Duke has seized command of the army.”
“……”
“He has brought the surrounding lords under his control and is turning the North into a separate domain rather than Imperial territory.”
I drove the final nail in.
“This is clear treason. Therefore—”
The communications room fell silent.
I broke the quiet with a low voice.
“I request the authority to execute summary judgment over the northern lords.”