Chapter 20 - {The Grand Duke and the Loyal Subject} 2
{The Grand Duke and the Loyal Subject} 2
Translator : Elizabeth
Kalian, who finished his recollection, slowly opened his eyes.
His face reflected in the window had become much stronger than 3 years ago.
Now his age was also 22.
Since that day, he had changed.
The reckless vigor turned into cold reason, and he became a leader who valued responsibility over arbitrary decisions.
People praised him for becoming mature.
But Kalian knew.
It wasn't maturity, but merely layering on the armor called guilt.
"Hart…."
Kalian left the office and headed to the annex.
It was a sickroom exclusively for Hart, where the entry of outsiders was strictly controlled.
Magic devices were humming, operating life-support magic.
And on the bed, Hart lay, stopped in his appearance from 3 years ago.
Only his skin turned ashen gray, but his face was peaceful as if sleeping.
But he does not wake up.
Even the Archmage of the Magic Tower hired with expensive money shook his head.
["The body is alive, but the soul is bound by a curse. To break this curse… there is no other way but to push out the curse by injecting immense vitality close to a miracle of God."]
Holding onto that single word, he came this far.
Ancient demonic beast Mammoth Prime.
If it's the primordial vitality the bastard possesses, perhaps a miracle could be created.
Since the Fist Emperor brought the bastard alive, hope began to show now.
"Wait just a little longer, Hart. I will definitely wake you up."
Kalian held Hart's cold hand.
His hand was bony and dry.
Every time he held that hand, it felt like a heavy lump of lead was placed on Kalian's chest.
'This is all I can do for you.'
Debt.
It was the driving force keeping Kalian alive, and the poison eating him away.
He owed a debt to Hart. A debt called life.
So he swore.
Until you wake up, I will protect your honor and your position.
Even if I don't love you, I will take care of the family and household you had to protect in your stead.
"……."
Kalian's gaze turned to the empty chair next to Hart's bed.
The person who should originally be in that spot.
Hart's wife, Frederica.
'Sister….'
Kalian's brow furrowed.
He knew.
How much Frederica hated this marriage.
A political marriage forcibly arranged by their father to keep her in check.
To her, Hart wasn't a husband, but a shackle holding her ankle.
'You were too cruel.'
But Hart was different.
He was silent.
Even at Frederica's attitude of despising him, he didn't get angry and respected the rights she should enjoy as the eldest daughter of the Grand Duchy.
He always silently fulfilled his duty as a knight behind her back.
["Your Highness. The Young Lady… will still need time. It is my fault for lacking."]
Hart used to say that and smile bitterly.
Such a man collapsed.
And trying to save his lord, him, at that.
But Frederica's reaction was firm.
Frederica's gaze looking at the vegetative Hart was cold.
["I acknowledge his loyalty. But that doesn't become a reason for me to give up my everything and live a submissive life."
"Sister!"
"Kalian. That man was anxious wanting to embrace me. Yet he acted nice, gauging my mood and saying he would ask for permission. If he tried to embrace me, I would have killed him with my own hands."
"Sister! You are going too far!"
"No, Kalian. He doesn't love me. He just worshipped the fact that he possessed me, the eldest daughter of the Grand Duchy. If he loved me, he would have considered my ambition and despair."]
At that time, Frederica asserted coldly.
["The world is survival of the fittest, Kalian. The weak just die, and cannot resent anyone. That was the old rule of the North. You are too soft."
"Sister!"
"I, too, failed to suppress Father and take the Grand Duchy back then. If it weren't for just that, Kalian. I would have dragged you down and taken the seat of the Grand Duke."
"Then do so even now."]
At those words, Frederica smiled and said.
["Oh my! Kalian, are you serious? Father said that even if I prove ability superior to yours, the material to become the Head of Winter must not be a woman. And even after you became a Sword Master, he threw me as a prize to that loyal dog lying in that sickroom. My skill became a tool to protect the family, and my body was a reward to soothe a loyal subject."]
Frederica, saying so, looked at Kalian with burning eyes.
Deep anger, hatred, and despair filled her pupils.
["So, Kalian. Please keep it well. The seat of the Winter Grand Duke I wanted to take so much. Don't say things like handing it over to others simply. Because that is truly the worst insult to me."]
Frederica continued to advise, staring at Kalian's hardened face.
["The seat of the Winter Grand Duke must not be swayed by any emotion. Pursue only the profit and practicality of the family and the North. Even if the price is anything. It must absolutely not collapse, and cannot collapse."]
With those words, Frederica went out at that time.
His sister Frederica's worldview was always firm.
But Kalian couldn't agree with her opinion.
No, in the North, perhaps her words were right.
'Sister said the weak cannot choose anything. She said choice is only the right of the strong.'
But he wanted to protect honor and pride as well.
The honor of those loyal to him was the same.
Then at least, while he is lying in a sickbed, his honor had to be protected.
That was the duty of a survivor, and the responsibility as the current Winter Grand Duke.
But today, Kalian saw.
'Sister.'
The moment the treasure warehouse door opened.
The two walking out from within.
Disheveled attire, flushed faces, and mixed scents.
The appearance of his sister walking out draped in Kang Jin-ho's coat was, to anyone looking, that of a woman who had finished an affair.
'Fist Emperor Jin.'
Kalian's eyes sank coldly.
He acknowledges Kang Jin-ho's skill.
It is also true that he gave hope to save Hart by capturing Mammoth Prime alive.
That merit is large enough that even a blank check is insufficient.
But merit and this are separate.
'You crossed the line.'
Hart is wandering between life and death even now.
He took the curse instead of him and has been suffering on a cold bed for 3 years.
But his wife mixed bodies with a strange man in a sealed room.
And in the treasure warehouse, the heart of the family Hart dedicated his whole life to serving faithfully.
Grind—
This wasn't simple adultery.
It was an insult to a loyal subject, and an act of smearing the face of a dying hero.
'I… cannot tolerate it.'
Kalian put down Hart's hand carefully.
His fist was clenched tightly enough to turn white.
["Ahaha! Do you expect me to be sad about the state Hart is in? Me, who was deprived of every opportunity and forcibly became a trophy?"]
Frederica said.
That it was an 'unwanted marriage.'
That she hates her situation.
That Hart's hypocrisy is suffocatingly disgusting.
'Right, I understand Sister's feelings too.'
Kalian knew.
There were those who said even now that Frederica should have become the Head, not him.
She had a cold side to the point of being ruthless.
But at the same time, she was practical and rational.
'They might not be wrong.'
Their words might not be wrong either.
So he could understand Frederica's situation.
Loveless marriage, deprivation of opportunity, outstanding ability and ambition.
They would have their own circumstances and rationalizations.
But to Kalian, there was something more important than that.
Courtesy and faith toward the subordinate who sacrificed his life for him.
"It is my sin."
Kalian muttered in a low voice.
Making his sister like that was the karma of his father and family, and making Hart like that was his own karma.
Everything originated from his inadequacy.
Therefore, correcting it was also his share.
He, as the Grand Duke, had to take responsibility for the family's karma as well.
'I cannot just let it pass.'
If he condoned this fact, with what face would he see Hart when he woke up?
While you sacrificed your life to save me, I watched your wife rolling with another man and pretended not to see.
Could he say that?
'No, I can't do that.'
That was abandoning the pride of the North.
'I will get an apology.'
Resolute will dwelled in Kalian's eyes.
The opponent is the Fist Emperor.
A monster who blows away city walls and treats ancient demonic beasts like toys.
In terms of martial power, he was no match.
No, even if he mobilized all the forces of the Winter Grand Duchy, he would definitely be defeated and there was no chance of winning.
'I must get an apology no matter what.'
But this wasn't a problem of martial power.
This was a problem of principle.
'No matter how strong power you possess, you have no right to destroy someone else's family and trample on the honor of a loyal subject.'
He will stand before Kang Jin-ho as the Head of the Winter Grand Duchy and as Hart's lord.
And demand a rightful apology.
Even if the price becomes his humiliation, he will endure it.
"Wait for me, Hart."
After placing his hand on Hart's forehead for a moment, Kalian left the sickroom with his cape fluttering.
There was no hesitation in his steps walking down the corridor.
The place his steps headed was the VIP room.
The place where that arrogant and shameless Married Woman Hunter, who would be resting in a warm bed by now, was located.
'Today, I will clearly teach you what the rules of the North are.'
Kalian's blue eyes held a sharp chill.
He will show the spirit of the North that does not break even if he dies.