Chapter 57
Chapter 57
Translator: Penny
Chapter 57
Part 3
Belmond safely returned to the Klaisen Fief.
Upon arrival, he immediately sought out his grandfather, heading straight to his study.
"Oh, my dear grandson! Did you enjoy your travels?"
"Grandfather! Belmond Ulman de Klaisen, the rightful heir to the Klaisen Family, has returned safely."
"Hahaha! You've finally grown into a man's face, haven't you?"
Praman, Belmond's grandfather, stroked his neatly trimmed mustache with a satisfied smile.
Having lost his parents at a young age, Belmond had grown up frail and timid, perhaps due to the trauma.
No, perhaps it was my fault...
Praman often blamed himself, wondering if his overprotective nature after losing his own child had contributed to Belmond's soft-heartedness.
I should have raised him more boldly, Praman thought.
In the end, Praman decided to send his grandson out into the world, even if it was belatedly. He believed that traveling, meeting diverse people, and gaining experience would toughen him up.
"Tell me, Belmond, what happened to you, my dear grandson?"
"Yes, Grandfather! I have so much to tell you!"
Belmond began recounting his journey from the moment he left the fief and entered the Kingdom of Astraria.
Praman listened with a smile at first, but his expression hardened when Belmond described encountering bandits, losing his luggage, and his vassals abandoning him, never to return.
"...Then, some thugs kidnapped me, imprisoning and assaulting me."
"What?! What's this?! Look at these bastards—I'd chew them up and spit them out! They dare kidnap a Duke of the Kazandor Empire?! I'll storm the Kingdom myself and wipe out every last one of those bandit scum!"
Praman, who had been listening quietly, finally exploded.
The thought of nearly losing Belmond, his only blood relative, had ignited an endless rage within him.
"Majordomo! Inform His Majesty the Emperor immediately! I will personally lead an assault on the Kingdom—"
"G-Grandfather, calm down! There's still more to the story!"
Belmond barely managed to restrain his grandfather, who was about to leap to his feet.
"Hmph... It seems I made a mistake sending you out so lightly. From now on, I'll have you accompanied by either the family's knight order or the White Brigade."
"One of the people I met this time was as strong as the White Brigade."
"You mean one of the Kingdom's Five Golden Lions?"
"No, it was Count Agron."
Belmond began recounting his story from the moment he was imprisoned. He meticulously described how Agron had appeared, defeated the kidnappers, and rescued him.
"Oh, what a truly gracious young man. House Veilain, you say? Isn't that the Count from the region bordering the Empire?"
"That's right. He said he's the New Lord there. His parents died in an accident, and he inherited the fief not long ago."
Praman felt a deep sense of kinship with Agron, sensing similarities between them.
"So, what happened?"
"Agron happened to be on his way to Count Kopellus's banquet, so we decided to travel together."
Belmond briefly explained the events of the first day's banquet, then began chattering about the hunting competition held on the second day.
"Hunting, eh? Belmond, you've always had a knack for hunting since you were a child. Count Kopellus must have organized a fine competition."
Praman had no doubt his grandson would have won the hunting competition.
While Belmond wasn't particularly skilled in swordsmanship or hand-to-hand combat, he had been hunting with his grandfather since childhood and had always excelled at it.
"I thought I would win too. I bagged a stag this time, and it was at least 2.5 meters tall."
"That's incredible! It must be one of the best catches you've ever made. But judging by your tone, you didn't win."
Belmond nodded.
Yet his expression showed no trace of disappointment, as if he hadn't lost at all. Instead, he seemed faintly excited.
"While I was discussing my catch with Prince Lawrence—"
Belmond described the scene in vivid detail: a boar the size of a house flying through the sky, assassins ambushing them, and a colossal Serpent Demonic Beast, dozens of meters long, rising up to battle the Guard Knight.
Unlike the feverishly animated Belmond, Praman's expression grew increasingly strange as he listened.
"Um... what's wrong, Grandfather?"
Praman finally let out a sigh.
After stroking his chin for a long moment, he finally asked a question that had been weighing on his mind:
"Is... all of this actually true? Not something you made up?"
He simply couldn't believe it.
Could so many extraordinary events really have occurred during a single hunting competition?
He suspected Belmond had fabricated the entire story to reassure his grandfather.
His first journey couldn't have been easy.
Perhaps he was embellishing the truth to cover up his mistakes.
"Is there something you're hiding from your old grandfather? If you've made a mistake, I'll turn a blind eye. Just tell me the truth."
"I swear it's true, Grandfather. If you find it hard to believe, contact Count Agron of Veilain. Or ask Count Kopellus, who hosted the banquet."
Praman swallowed his sigh at Belmond's words.
How long could such a lie possibly last?
A single inquiry would reveal the entire truth, from beginning to end.
"Very well, I'll believe you. It's just so absurd."
"I wouldn't have believed it myself if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. The real story starts now."
"From now...?"
Belmond vividly described Agron's dramatic entrance at the critical moment, blocking the Serpent Demonic Beast with one hand and unleashing a powerful punch.
When Belmond described Agron strangling the Demonic Beast to death, Praman could no longer contain himself and abruptly stood up.
"G-Grandfather?"
"Even the most absurd stories have their limits! I need to verify this first before hearing any more. How could anyone strangle a Demonic Beast over 40 meters long with their bare hands?!"
He summoned the Majordomo and ordered him to contact Count Kopellus immediately.
Praman suspected his beloved grandson had encountered some strange wandering musician during his travels.
"B-But it's true..." Belmond stared blankly at his grandfather's retreating figure, utterly bewildered.
Upon returning to the mansion, Agron immediately began catching up on his backlog of work.
"Are the children doing well with the street cleaning?"
"Yes, Your Excellency. According to the guards' reports, they're performing their duties diligently."
"And the orphanage construction?"
"It's in the final stages of completion."
"Is Bishop Blanc providing the funds as agreed?"
"So far, yes."
"Hmm."
Agron reviewed the reports submitted by the majordomo, collector, and secretary, occasionally asking clarifying questions.
"How's the selection process for the new Lord of Sachsen progressing?"
"We're currently narrowing down suitable candidates from the collateral branches of House Veilain. We'll be sending letters soon to summon them."
"I see. Then who's currently administering Sachsen?"
"I'm handling it," Majordomo Alfred replied swiftly.
"Understood. I'm curious if all the assets Theo and Ludicain embezzled have been recovered."
"Yes, we've thoroughly combed through their double-entry ledgers and recovered everything."
"Excellent work. What about the 'Priest'?" Agron asked Jacob, who was pouring tea nearby.
"We've been questioning him about Ink Moon and Kobuul, but it seems we've exhausted all his information."
"What's his condition?"
"If left untreated, he'll die within a month. With medical care, he might survive for another half-year."
Agron hummed thoughtfully, pausing to consider.
"Ludicain will be sold as a galley slave, along with Tank, the former Knight Commander."
"Understood."
"Theo and the Priest are to be executed as planned and their heads displayed at the city gates."
"Yes, Your Excellency."
The Priest was condemned for murdering the Count and Countess, while Theo was punished for foolishly plotting rebellion despite having his life spared once before.
Ludicain and Tank's crimes were no less severe, but considering the harsh conditions of being galley slaves, they were unlikely to survive long anyway.
"Any new assignments for the Night Alley?"
"Josef reported only a few trivial requests."
"I see. I'll take a tour of the fief for the first time in a while."
"I'll prepare immediately."
Agron set out for the city with Jacob and Wolf, accompanied by only a few swift-footed Guard Knights.
Guided by Wolf, Agron explored every corner of the city, pondering what his fiefdom's people truly needed.
"Money, most likely," Jacob replied with a neutral expression.
"When Wolf and I frequented the taverns, we met many people. They often complained that Veilain lacked job opportunities."
"Job opportunities?"
"Every city usually has a renowned specialty or dominant industry, doesn't it? Shipbuilding, metallurgy, gold mining, brewing, wheat farming—things like that. But the Veilain Fief doesn't really have anything like that..."
Jacob trailed off, glancing at Agron's reaction. He realized he might be criticizing the region too harshly, considering it was the area Agron's parents had cultivated.
"I see. A local specialty, then."
"I apologize, Sir. My remark was careless."
"Nonsense. It was necessary advice. Don't worry about it."
Agron patted Jacob on the back, reassuring him.
Before long, Agron reached a secluded part of the city. In the narrow alleys, he encountered sick people collapsed on the ground, their hollow eyes staring up at him.
"Are there no hospitals or pharmacies here?"
"There are some, Sir. Most are run by the church, I believe."
"And what are the prices like at the church-run facilities?"
"I've heard they provide treatment at low cost. However, there are few healers, so the wait times are extremely long. Those who donate generously are said to receive immediate attention."
Agron nodded slightly.
"I understand. I have a rough idea of what's needed."
After finishing his tour of the city, he returned to the mansion.
It was dinner time, and everyone had gathered in the dining hall.
"Hey, you went out to play? Why didn't you take me along?" Lawrence grumbled, looking bored to death.
"If I took you, a task that should take half a day would drag on for two days, and still not be finished."
"What? I move so fast!"
"You try to eat every street food you see and insist on visiting every dessert shop."
"Th-that's... for inspection purposes..."
"I don't conduct such inspections. Do it yourself."
Agron sat at the head of the table, waiting for the meal to be served.
At that moment, Baek Woon, seated to Agron's left, retrieved a pouch and handed it to him.
"What's this, Elder?" Agron asked.
"You fought Demonic Beasts recently, didn't you? This is a potion to prepare you for such encounters. I whipped it up quickly for you to use when needed. Make good use of it."
Baek Woon grinned, and Agron's eyes grew slightly moist.
"Elder..."
"It's nothing to get worked up about. I just made it so I wouldn't have nightmares."
"That's not it..."
"...?"
"I was thinking of making potions a specialty product of the fief."
"Potions...?"
"We need to produce a hundred of these daily from now on... You've made far too few."
"What?!"
Veins bulged on Baek Woon's hand gripping his staff.
"Please compile a list of the potion types you can create, along with the necessary ingredients, and report back to me."
"Hey, Agron! Do you think I'm some kind of alchemist? Potions don't just appear out of thin air—"
"But you said you could make them in a snap."
"That was just a figure of speech—"
"Since you claimed it wasn't difficult, I'll expect a fixed quantity daily from now on."
"Ughhhhh!"
Baek Woon leaped to his feet, pounded the floor wildly with his staff, and stormed out of the room.
"Why is the kid acting like that?"
"Hmm, he seems energized by the prospect of making potions. Giving him this task was a good move."
"You're truly our Master!"
These crazy lovebirds, Lawrence thought, shaking his head as he watched them. Only he knew the truth.
📝 Translator’s Note:
You may notice that certain lines or phrases in this novel appear both in their original Korean (or Hanja) form and in English translation.
This is intentional — these phrases are classical idioms, divine titles, or poetic expressions that carry layered meanings.
To preserve their original tone and authenticity, the raw text has been kept for reference, while the English interpretation is provided right before or after it. This helps convey both the literal and cultural nuance of the original work.
but if you guys dont want tha raw for future chapters or my future other novels u can just text me on discord and say so discord name Mr.Penny