Homecoming (3)
Homecoming (3)
"No. I have no intention of doing that. I'm not interested."
The Duke's question caught me off guard for a moment, but I answered before long.
If I had heard this in the past, I might have rubbed my hands together and begged, insisting I had never even dreamed of such a thing.
But things were different now.
Though it would cause an immense uproar and stir up a massive storm, if I truly wanted the position of Duke, the challenge itself seemed entirely within reach.
With the artifacts and abilities I possessed—which the Duke knew nothing about—the odds of success would be even higher.
The Duke had likely brought it up because he, too, saw that potential.
Or perhaps he was trying to nip it in the bud.
Either way, I could speak honestly now.
I did not want the position of Duke.
I had no intention of enduring the trials required to claim the dukedom, nor did I want to watch my mother suffer through them all.
Besides, after spending time in the capital, the position of Duke no longer seemed all that grand.
It was, of course, a magnificent position that, if played right, could even elevate the territory to a duchy. But watching the two princes vie for the next crown had made me realize that the title itself wasn't what truly mattered.
If I built up my own strength, I wouldn't have to cling to a mere position.
Even now, the only reason the Duke was saying such things was that my strength had reached this level.
Barely a year had passed since I entered the Academy. There was no telling what might happen over the remaining two years.
Given the current state of affairs, the Kingdom might well be torn to shreds by a civil war before long, and this was no time to fight with my family just to covet a single ducal seat.
I'd already had more than enough experience with being killed by my family in my childhood.
At my answer, the Duke stared at me for a long time. I didn't look away, either.
"Very well. I'll take you at your word for now. But do you plan to hide your strength from others as well?"
"I have no desire to stir up unnecessary trouble. My original plan was simply to enjoy my vacation quietly before returning."
"And yet, a fellow with such intentions caused quite an uproar in the capital..."
Well, those were things I'd had no choice but to do in order to survive.
Honestly, if I'd simply ignored it, nothing would have happened, but at the time, ignoring it wasn't an option.
More than that, I found this very moment fascinating.
This was the first time I'd crossed swords with the Duke and had a conversation like this with him.
"Since you have no such ambitions, you should help with Simon's wedding as well."
I had intended to help if there was work to be done. But the kind of help the Duke had in mind didn't seem that simple.
"The Chief Butler will fill you in on the rest."
With that, the Duke turned and headed back to the mansion ahead of me.
As expected, the Duke hadn't changed at all.
It was simply that my own standing had risen that much.
For now, this brief conversation was all we had, but someday, the time would come when we could speak as equals, whether in strength or status.
With that thought, I watched the Duke's retreating figure.
That night.
The Chief Butler visited the Duke's office.
As always, he had come to report the day's affairs at the mansion before the Duke finished his work.
Today, however, the Chief Butler also had something he needed to hear from the Duke.
When he entered the office, he found the Duke sitting behind his desk, as usual.
But the documents that usually piled high on the desk had been pushed aside. In their place sat a half-filled wine glass.
Judging by the glass, the Duke hadn't touched it yet.
Though the Chief Butler was puzzled by this unusual sight, he had a duty to perform first.
He bowed to the Duke and began his report.
"The wedding preparations are proceeding smoothly. All the invitations have been delivered, and we've received confirmations of attendance from most of the guests. The other ongoing plans are also progressing without a hitch. First..."
A lengthy report on the most important matter, the wedding, followed, along with updates on other minor affairs. Finally, he reported on the two young lords who had arrived that day.
"...Lastly, Young Lord Manuel also seems to be doing well. The Duchess is pleased, and he appears to be getting along with the servants he hasn't seen in a long time. It seems he's learned a great deal and grown considerably over the past year."
The Chief Butler was pleased as well, especially since there had been more praise for Manuel than he had expected.
The problem lay with the other young lord.
"As for Young Lord Alex..."
Before continuing his report, he looked at the Duke. From the Duke's expression, it seemed this report would be redundant.
Instead, he asked the Duke directly.
"Now that you've seen him yourself, how would you rate Young Lord Alex's skill?"
The Chief Butler was the only one who knew that Alex and the Duke had sparred that day.
There was good reason for that: the Duke shared almost everything with the Chief Butler.
He confided in him about things he couldn't tell the Commander of the Knights or even his wife.
This was partly due to a loyalty passed down from the previous Duke, and partly because of a contract made at the temple when the Duke was young.
The Chief Butler had never once disappointed the Duke.
That was true of every matter, but the information network the Chief Butler had established in the capital was especially valuable.
Thanks to that network, they had heard about Alex's exploits during his time there.
Had they not known about Alex, the Duke would never have gone out to greet him that day, let alone sparred with him.
"If I hadn't received that information, I would have remained ignorant of Alex's true strength. If not now, even I might have found it difficult to gauge..."
"Could he truly be at that level?"
At the Duke's words, the Chief Butler, who knew the Duke's strength better than anyone, looked incredulous.
What kind of man was the Duke?
Though he didn't flaunt his power, he was one of the strongest ability users in the entire kingdom.
With the princes currently squandering the abilities inherited from their ancestors, the Duke was, in truth, one of the five individuals closest to the First King.
"In a few years, even I won't be able to fathom his strength. By the time he turns twenty, he'll likely surpass me."
The Chief Butler was utterly dumbfounded by the Duke's words.
Though he had gathered reports on what Young Lord Alex had done in the capital, he had never imagined his strength would be of this caliber.
And the Duke's words carried a terrifying implication.
To say Alex could surpass the Duke meant that, by the age of twenty, no one in the Duke's household would be able to match Young Lord Alex.
Not Manuel, and not Simon.
Even though Young Lord Alex was an illegitimate son, if things came to that, it would be impossible to guarantee the future of the Duke's household.
'That is precisely why it's a problem. Because he's illegitimate.'
If he were merely an ordinary third son, they could simply replace the heir.
His older brothers might resent it, but if the gap in strength were vast, that wouldn't matter. Among nobles, strength was paramount.
Though a disgruntled former heir might sometimes stage a rebellion, if the difference in power were clear, it was obvious whom the rest of the family would support.
But Young Lord Alex was illegitimate.
No matter how outstanding his skills were, many in the family valued bloodline above all else.
Besides, the Gracia Dukedom had split from the royal family only two generations ago.
The Gracia Dukedom still held succession rights to the throne.
Therefore, the majority of the family elders would never accept a family head born to a commoner woman.
The more formidable Young Lord Alex became, the more the family would inevitably split in half.
In the end, it would lead to a civil war—the absolute worst-case scenario for the family.
The Chief Butler cautiously raised the most extreme option.
"Suppressing him by force..."
"It's too late for that. He's already crossed that threshold. If he decided to flee, even I wouldn't be able to stop him."
At the Duke's words, the Chief Butler's expression darkened.
They could easily see it by looking at what had happened at the Marquis's estate.
If they made a reckless move and failed, they had already seen more than enough of what a disgruntled illegitimate son could do.
The events at the Marquis's estate had shown them all too clearly what happened when an illegitimate son took action.
The heir had died by the illegitimate son's sword, and hadn't it been said that the second son had lost an arm?
Because of that, Young Lord Simon's marriage had almost fallen through. There was no way they hadn't heard about it.
That didn't mean Young Lord Alex would do something like that, but it was clear enough how dangerous a resentful illegitimate son could be.
"Then, what do you intend to..."
"That's why I asked him directly. Whether he wanted my position."
Such bluntness was typical of the Duke.
The issue was Young Lord Alex's response.
"What was Young Lord Alex's answer?"
"He said he didn't want it. He said he wasn't interested."
It was a relief. The Chief Butler let out a silent sigh of relief.
The question, however, was whether they could continue to believe those words.
"That is fortunate. If those words are indeed true."
"Well, who can say? Even if it's true now, there's no telling how he might feel in the future."
Thinking back, Young Lord Alex was someone whose life had been threatened since childhood simply because he was illegitimate.
There was no way he harbored no resentment.
Though he had grown up far more splendidly than expected, there was no telling what he kept hidden deep in his heart.
Yet—
The Duke raised his wine glass and spoke.
"His lack of interest is probably genuine."
He stared intently at the red wine in his glass.
"If I hadn't been the heir, I wouldn't have wanted to be bound to this position of Duke, either."
The Chief Butler suddenly recalled the Duke as he had been in his youth.
He hadn't always been this cold.
Back then, the Duke hadn't spent his days reviewing paperwork in an office.
He had stood drenched in sweat, holding his sword with a bright grin.
"Not that I ever regretted it or thought of turning away from my responsibilities. But if I were Alex, I would never dream of coveting the Duke's seat. Unless, of course, his anger runs far deeper than that."
The Duke recalled the child who had glared at him from beside the bed.
A young child who had held out alone against assassins until the Duke arrived. Even then, he had been no ordinary child.
Thinking about it, Alex was highly likely to harbor a great deal of anger.
But with Alex's current strength, this mansion was far too small for him.
"What do you think will happen if Alex becomes stronger than me? If everyone comes to know that?"
His illegitimacy would no longer matter.
In fact, being illegitimate might make things even better.
Without having to grant him the succession, an illegitimate son with no official standing in other families would be perfect for bolstering the household's military strength.
On the contrary, because he was illegitimate, all sorts of noble families would undoubtedly scramble to recruit him.
At the Duke's words, the Chief Butler recalled the state of the Kingdom as it drifted toward civil war.
If things remained as they were, or if a civil war broke out by then, Alex's value would skyrocket.
As long as they could avoid the succession issue, keeping him bound to the family seemed like the best possible course of action.
"Then, what do you plan to do?"
"Alex said he has no intention of flaunting his skills, but rumors are bound to spread eventually. It would be best to dilute them beforehand."
Even so, they couldn't let everything come to light.
"If he shows a brotherly side and works hard for his older brother, any negative rumors will die down."
"Then..."
"I plan to entrust him with a squad of knights for the wedding commemorative monster hunt. No matter what he does, his skills will show, and I can adjust the public announcement of the results to a suitable level."
It was no ordinary monster hunt.
Using the hunt as a pretext, the Gracia Duke's family intended to conduct a large-scale maneuver exercise.
They hadn't been sitting idle all this time. The Duke's household was thoroughly prepared.
Through this monster hunt, they intended to warn the surrounding territories that dared to test them and display the majesty of the Gracia Territory to the entire kingdom.
The Duke planned to subtly fold Alex's achievements into the results.
"But that seems like a temporary measure. In time, everyone will find out."
It was just as the Chief Butler said. This was merely a way to buy them a few months or years.
But the Duke shook his head.
"By then, it won't be a problem at all. This country won't still be in this state by then, and neither will our family."
The Duke's eyes grew deep.
As one of the Kingdom's foremost ability users and a Duke who still held succession rights to the throne, there was no way he lacked a grand plan.
Just as the Duchy King harbored ambition, the Duke, too, had set his sights on something during this time of tribulation.
The Duke swirled his glass. The red wine sloshed inside.
As he looked into the red wine, the Duke recalled the baby who had first looked up at him.
He had expected nothing from that child, yet even now, he clearly remembered those eyes.
The vulnerable child he had expected nothing from had grown up to become an unforeseen variable.
Whether this variable would become a sword in his hand or a blade that would pierce him remained to be seen.
Whichever it was, he intended to bear it.
For that was the weight of the position of Duke he held.
The Duke drained the wine in his glass in a single gulp.
A few days later.
While I was thoroughly enjoying my rest, an order came down from the Duke.
I was to take a portion of the order of knights and deal with the monsters running rampant near the southern domain border in celebration of the wedding.
It was absurd enough that I was being told to command a portion of the knights, but being given permission to cross into the neighboring domain with them was even more preposterous.
Handled poorly, it could easily provide a pretext for a territorial war.
Just as I was setting out with my squad of knights, other knights and soldiers were moving out as well.
They were heading in every direction—north, south, east, and west—and hiring several large mercenary groups.
The official pretext was to clear out the monsters and bandits causing suffering to the territory's residents in celebration of the wedding. But the permission to pursue them deep into neighboring domains practically reeked of ulterior motives.
And this was a massive mobilization.
It seemed the Duke intended to spend an entire year's worth of taxes on this celebratory wedding hunt.
I had never expected that "helping with the wedding" would take this form. The very next day, I set out from the capital alongside the knights and soldiers.