[No title provided]
“Your Grace. Are you truly alright leaving them in the castle like that?”
Drben, the knight captain, asked the Grand Duke, who stood beside him gazing silently at the pristine white expanse beyond the border.
“I understand the abilities he demonstrated in the duel with you, Your Grace… but isn’t it still too risky to entrust our household to him based solely on his word?”
“…Drben. How many years has it been since you swore to protect our Grand Duchy?”
“Why do you ask so suddenly…?”
Drben blinked at the seemingly unrelated question, but quickly collected himself upon seeing the Grand Duke’s unwavering demeanor and responded.
“It’s been roughly thirty years since my formal knighting, Your Grace. If we count back to when you picked me up from the back alleys, it’s about forty.”
“Indeed, Drben. You’ve been my steadfast companion all these years. I know you’d lay down your life for the people of our Grand Duchy without hesitation.”
Drben’s expression softened slightly at the word companion. Ignoring it, the Grand Duke continued.
“But you weren’t always like that. I took you in on a mere whim back then, and all you wanted at first was a life where you could eat and survive without too much hassle, right?”
“Ahem… The past is the past, Your Grace.”
“I know. The past is the past. However…”
The Grand Duke trailed off, his mind drifting to the bold young man who had spoken so frankly before him moments ago.
“That man met our Prazia just a few weeks ago. And it’s not as if he’s formed some deep bond with her in that time.”
The Grand Duke had felt a twinge of jealousy seeing them together, but he’d seen through it early on. Prazia was the one chasing after him; Mars was just an innocent victim putting up with her advances. To his battle-hungry daughter, who always sought foes stronger than herself, he must have seemed like a refreshing rain in a drought.
Yet infuriatingly, this Mars fellow had only tried to brush off his pursuing daughter like she was a nuisance.
“Even with all those other girls swarming him, he didn’t seem to care… Maybe he’s just a dense idiot.”
“Your Grace?”
“Anyway, the guy’s weird. He doesn’t even like her—treats her like a bother—yet he steps up boldly for her sake, even when his life’s on the line.”
Whether it stemmed from heroic arrogance or pure naivety, one thing was clear: the sincerity in his eyes, genuinely wishing for the Grand Duchy’s safety. A madness called justice that pierced through human selfishness. The Grand Duke found that madness deeply appealing.
“He’s the man that damn Helios acknowledged. Lacks experience, but his skills are the real deal.”
“If that is your command, Your Grace…”
“Yes. And more importantly…”
As the Grand Duke’s words faded, Drben followed his gaze.
……Thud.
……Rumble.
……Boom—
“They’re coming…”
A tremor reached even the top of the massive walls. The sight of the once-snowy plains turning black was nothing short of spectacular.
“Monsters, dark wizards, and who-knows-what else… They’ve brought quite the horde.”
“Your Grace, word from the Empire’s reinforcements: the mobile unit has already departed. With several Masters among them, if we can just hold out—”
“Is that it?”
“Pardon?”
Ignoring news of the Empire’s aid, the Grand Duke spoke softly, his eyes fixed on a massive figure at the rear of the enemy forces. The hulking man exuded a ferocious aura as he lumbered forward.
“D-dragon… Hehehe… Gonna eat ya… Hehehehe!!!”
A chill laced the Grand Duke’s words as he stared down the clearly unnatural brute.
“That’s the bastard who tried to kidnap our Prazia?”
“…Yes. Hard to judge by appearances alone, but based on the reports, it matches.”
“I see…”
With that, the Grand Duke hefted his favored weapon—a colossal axe—propped nearby.
“Drben. I command you.”
Clank—
“I’ll finish that scum with my own hands. So… capture him alive and drag him before me, by any means necessary.”
“Understood, Your Grace. Your will be done.”
“All forces—advance!”
* * *
“We came for field training, and now this is what happens…?”
The students had panicked upon hearing that the Heaven God Cult’s legion was marching on the Grand Duchy. Thanks to the princess’s intervention and my persuasion, they’d managed to steady themselves, but for academy kids who’d never seen real war, even guarding the Grand Duke’s kin inside the castle felt unnerving.
“His Majesty has been informed and is dispatching reinforcements. But since it’s another nation, the procedures are complicated… He said he’ll expedite it given the urgency, but it might not be immediate.”
The Emperor had caught wind of the situation from Lillia’s intel and promised some of his elite forces soon. But this wasn’t a simple ambush or duel—it was a full-scale war with an army. They couldn’t mobilize lightly. Still, with each one rivaling a Master in strength, once they arrived, they’d end this quickly.
Our job: protect the Auros bloodline until then and hold the line.
“Ma’am, Viscount Olbert’s family…”
“They’re en route now, they say…”
On top of that, emergency missives had gone out to all Auros collaterals—anyone with the bloodline—to converge on the Grand Castle immediately. They were trickling in, gathering here as a temporary shelter to assess the situation.
This left us swamped, tasked with escorting all these nobles.
“I’ve made sure the nobles don’t step outside the castle. They move in groups of at least three, with two escorts minimum wherever they go.”
“Thanks, Polo.”
The nobles, initially flustered, had complied once they learned it was the Grand Duke’s direct order—and that Polo (son of a current Aura Lord) and other Empire notables were here. They sensed this was no small matter. Most were probably just scared of the Grand Duke, though.
“Still, there aren’t as many as I expected.”
“The Auros blood makes marriage tricky, so the family’s always been skeptical about it. Plus, ancestors with strong bloodlines struggled to have kids, so they had few children. Collaterals are fewer than other noble houses.”
Typical nobles had dozens of collaterals; the Auroses barely more than two hands’ worth. A few more incoming, but protecting them wasn’t as impossible as I’d feared.
As I discussed rations, bedding, and plans with Ludmilla, a haggard-looking servant approached her.
“Ma’am. Nicholas, the sub-viscount, has arrived…”
“Haa… Fine. Let him in.”
The name alone made her sigh heavily and wave him through.
Soon, soldiers at the outpost opened the temporary shelter’s doors. A pudgy, yellow-haired man with a frail, lifeless look stormed in, yelling.
His racket drew glares from nobles and escorting students alike, who scowled in annoyance.
“O-open up quick!! A-are you ignoring me?!”
“No, Lord Nicholas. It’s an emergency—we’re just being cautious—”
“C-can’t you tell!? Get outta my way!”
His deep dark circles made him look less like a druggie and more like someone chronically ill. Reeking of recent drugs or booze, he staggered inside, eyes twitching nonstop as he scanned the shelter like a meerkat.
“Welcome, Nicholas. Sorry to summon you so urgently.”
“M-ma’am… H-hello…”
Ludmilla straightened stiffly, greeting him with a frosty face. Nicholas dropped his gaze and mumbled a reply. He didn’t look remotely normal.
“Nicholas…”
“You know him?”
Prazia had sidled up to me unnoticed, frowning openly at him—the first time I’d seen such blatant disgust from her.
“Yeah. Deadbeat. Thug. Trash.”
“Huh… Straightforward summary.”
Three words painted a clear picture. His arrival in this crisis rubbed me wrong, but griping now wouldn’t help, so I let it slide.
“…!”
“?”
Turning at a prickling stare, I found Nicholas—the collateral—glaring daggers at me.
What the hell?
I’d never met the guy, and I wasn’t the type to make enemies randomly. His blatant hostility grated.
I watched his stumbling back until he vanished under the servant’s guidance, eyes narrowed in suspicion.