Chosen by the Northern Grand Duke

Chapter 31: Arika

Kubel’s cooking was extraordinary.

When I praised his touch, Elaine thought I meant his fists.

“Insane.”

Looking back, it was absurd.

How could that timid man hit customers?

“Is this really what you made?”

“Yes, yes…”

The touch I mentioned back then was his culinary skill.

Elaine had to marvel for a while after tasting Kubel’s food. She stopped after sampling everything like that.

“If it doesn’t suit your taste, perhaps at another tavern…”

“Bring more.”

“What?”

“Bring as much as you can make. I’ll pay whatever for the food.”

Knights generally eat a lot.

Elaine ate far more.

I had heard in my previous life that divine power made it inevitable.

Kubel hurried to the kitchen.

Each time he returned, his hands held new steaming plates.

Elaine accepted them silently, shoving them into her mouth before speaking.

“…It’s really extraordinary.”

Her words didn’t falter even with her mouth full.

Exclamations came naturally with each spoonful of stew, each bite of meat. Even the alcohol tasted exceptional.

Elaine’s hands were as fast as when she swung her sword.

In the end, mana appeared in the kitchen. Peeking in, smoke from searing meat shook the pan, and ingredients went into the pot.

The smoke seemed insufficient, supplemented by mana instead of cigarettes.

Kubel, who once ran a tavern, seemed to have his own philosophy.

“Tasty?”

What stopped Elaine’s hands wasn’t her stomach but Shura. Elaine froze with the knife in hand.

“You’re asking me?”

“I know.”

That’s why she was surprised.

Shura had never spoken to Elaine before.

“Tas, tasty. Incredibly.”

Elaine stammered uncharacteristically.

Though they’d only met yesterday, Elaine liked Shura. In the North, children were rare and precious.

And that child had finally opened her heart.

“Your dad’s a genius. I’m jealous, Shura.”

Elaine slowly set down the knife and met Shura’s eyes.

Shura sat opposite Elaine, next to me.

I was in a shirt, clothes Elaine had gotten right after our return.

For Shura’s safety, as an excuse.

In the North, anyone wandering in short sleeves was either mad or a mage.

“Shura, what do you like?”

Elaine asked cautiously.

Shura hesitated for a while, choosing her words. An unchildlike hesitation.

‘She’s reading the room.’

I clicked my tongue at Shura’s hand tugging my sleeve.

It was because of Kubel. Her father being a mage made Shura mature. That’s why she hadn’t spoken to Elaine before.

‘She already distinguishes people. Those who like her father… or those she’d report.’

The guards were people to report to.

I wasn’t, and Elaine had just become not one. So she tried speaking. But she didn’t fully trust yet.

Reading cues was a talent, if you will.

But not a talent suited for a child.

“Kubel doesn’t smoke in front of us.”

I said, stroking Shura’s hand on my sleeve.

“Shura, your dad won’t leave you alone.”

“…Yes.”

“So it’s okay to trust that friend too.”

“Yes.”

Shura released my sleeve.

With a determined face, she stood and moved to Elaine’s side. Then, to the wide-eyed Elaine, she softly spoke.

“I like eggs.”

“…Huh?”

“Yolk and white separate.”

Shura’s words were slow. She was tense.

Elaine looked pleased. Grinning widely, which eased Shura’s tension.

By then, Elaine had set aside the utensils and held Shura on her lap, embracing her with both arms.

This gave Kubel some breathing room.

“Sit here, you must be hungry.”

I pointed to the seat next to me for Kubel, who stood with his hands on his hips from the kitchen.

Kubel nodded several times and cautiously sat, his eyes fixed on Shura.

“You’re a genius.”

Elaine, treating Shura gently, caught herself.

“It’s really delicious. No wonder you ran a tavern.”

“…It used to be terrible.”

Kubel shrank his broad shoulders, shyly scratching his head. He kept glancing at Shura.

Elaine wasn’t oblivious.

She understood the meaning of that gaze.

His skill wasn’t talent but effort.

Not a genius, but someone who had to become good.

Kubel was a father before he was a mage.

“Can I come every day?”

“Yes!”

Elaine stroked Shura fondly before turning her gaze to me.

“Let’s eat here from now on?”

“Good heavens, is that alright?”

Tears welled in Kubel’s eyes.

Elaine deliberately avoided that gaze.

“…I’ll trust you.”

* * *

Elaine’s steps were light.

Anyone could tell she was thoroughly drunk, but she was more intoxicated by Shura than the alcohol.

“She’s really cute, isn’t she?”

“She is.”

“Her maturity breaks my heart, but that’s cute too.”

“Indeed.”

“You don’t like kids?”

When my response wasn’t enthusiastic, Elaine glared.

“I like them. Just no intention to get close.”

“Why?”

Even without Shura, Elaine was drunk.

She didn’t bother to shake off her intoxication.

She’d done the same in her previous life.

Drinking to get drunk, so why sober up?

-Why burn away good liquor!

-You don’t?

-No. Just sober up. You get annoying when drunk.

Despite that, she never let me get drunk.

I didn’t entirely dislike it.

“Why no intention to get close?”

“A habit, one every mage has. The Church doesn’t just kill mages.”

Demons beget demons, and friends of demons are demons.

If Kubel is caught, his daughter Shura dies too.

If there are friends, they die too.

“That’s why Kubel quit the tavern, not just because of too many customers.”

“…”

“He’s a good man, foolishly so.”

But even such a Kubel couldn’t cut off his daughter.

“It’s greed, really. To truly care for Shura, Kubel should’ve abandoned her.”

That would give both a better chance to live.

“Shura knows it too. That’s why she doesn’t leave the house.”

Shura is smart.

She understands a mage’s plight. She didn’t even hint at Kubel’s secret to the guards.

She’d do the same anywhere.

But Shura doesn’t go outside. She doesn’t get close to anyone. Because someday, someone might die because of her.

“We should introduce her to friends.”

“Haven’t you been listening?”

“I heard you. But that’s the continent’s story. This is Serzila.”

Elaine said casually.

“In this land, no one can kill a child without Serzila’s permission.”

Not a statement a rookie Intelligence Bureau agent should make.

I didn’t bother pointing it out.

“Shura won’t die. Nor will her friends.”

“And Kubel?”

“For now, well, he should live, at least until Shura grows up.”

Come to think of it, Elaine’s steps were always light.

I watched her back and laughed silently. There was reward in regression every day.

Perhaps that’s why our steps together stretched longer.

Normally, we’d have parted right after leaving the tavern.

“By the way, do you have friends to introduce to Shura?”

“Of course. Didn’t I tell you? I’m the boss of this alley.”

Elaine pointed to an alley on the left, giggling.

Apparently, in that state, she got along with kids too. A side I hadn’t known in my previous life.

“You’re quite diligent.”

Playing the Grand Heir while making time for fun. Probably sleeping less. Her divine power made such escapades possible.

The street was filled with noise. The scent of fruit-mixed alcohol and acrid smells hung low.

“Cold?”

“Chilled?”

Less-drunk revelers warmed each other with their fists.

Northerners share fists instead of words.

It warms the body.

Elaine laughed again, watching them warm up. This was the land she loved.

How long did we walk? Elaine stopped.

In front of a simple white house. A building I remembered. One of the Intelligence Bureau’s safehouses.

“Is this your house?”

“Yes, yes. You should head back too.”

Elaine seemed flustered.

She hadn’t meant to reveal it, but ended up here together? No.

“You don’t live alone, do you?”

There was someone inside.

I pretended not to know and asked.

“An enemy? If so, I’ll help.”

“…My superior.”

The agent who interrogated the 3rd Squad leader and gathered intel on the tunnel.

I had a guess who it was.

“I should greet them. Thanks to them, we found the tunnel.”

“No need. I’ll handle it, so go.”

That’s when it happened. The door opened abruptly.

Amusingly, the motion was precise.

The door opened at a perfect right angle, and the woman who stepped out moved stiffly. A soldier’s demeanor, rare in the North.

“You’re late, Elaine.”

“…”

This wasn’t planned.

Proof was Elaine’s intoxication vanishing.

The woman didn’t care.

Or so it seemed. She turned her gaze to me.

“I’m Arika.”

“Harad. Nice to meet you.”

I extended my hand toward Arika.

“Not nice, mage.”

I let out a hollow laugh.

Come to think of it, it was like this in my previous life too.

The future Intelligence Bureau chief never liked me.

* * *

Serzila’s Intelligence Bureau.

Unlike the Empire’s, there are no weaklings there.

Even desk agents are as tough as knights.

But they’re far from the North’s image. They handle information.

The strong and northern go to the knights; the strong and smart go to the Intelligence Bureau.

Arika was an elite of that bureau.

Destined to sit at its top.

I remember, Arika was rigid like an imperial soldier. She pursued perfection in everything.

A boon for an ideal Serzila, but unfortunately, Elaine was more like a theatrical actor.

-Arika has arrived.

-Yes.

-Greet her. Handle it too.

-The Intelligence chief doesn’t like me.

-So what?

Elaine outwardly welcomed her but inwardly recoiled.

Not that she truly disliked Arika.

It was the common dynamic of a superior hating work and a subordinate pushing it.

Of course, outwardly, Elaine was a diligent, exemplary ruler.

Hypocrisy is a form of goodness; an outwardly great ruler attracts great subordinates.

Arika was an excellent Intelligence chief.

A loyal servant who’d do anything for Serzila.

That’s why she clashed with me often.

To Serzila, I was a ticking bomb.

Arika hated that Elaine embraced that bomb.

-Harad. That bomb of yours gives His Grace headaches every time.

-I told her to stop.

-I mean get lost.

-To the Otherworld?

-…

-Joking. You’re always so serious.

But she never truly hated me.

At least, I didn’t. The regressed me vividly remembered Arika’s end.

‘This is when we got close. No, even before.’

I nodded, looking at Arika.

From her actions, it seemed Arika knew Elaine’s true identity.

“Come in, Arika.”

“I’m fine, Elaine.”

But Arika wasn’t the type to read her superior’s cues.

Elaine, outwardly her subordinate, couldn’t say more.

“Thanks to you, we found the tunnel.”

“Not for you.”

Arika disliked mages.

A mage like me hanging out with Elaine must’ve been unbearable.

‘Consistent as ever.’

It was like this in my previous life.

Though, unlike then, the Arika before me genuinely disliked me.

‘That’s why she told me to leave.’

A good sign.

It meant she didn’t want me to be scorned.

Elaine sent me a glance.

Her hand made a circular gesture, likely referring to the tunnel.

‘The tunnel’s use is a secret.’

A wise move.

With Arika’s personality, she’d report it straight to the Grand Duke.

“You don’t like me.”

“Correct.”

“Then why come out?”

“The more I dislike, the closer I keep.”

A bug under the bed is scarier than one in sight.

That nuance was welcome, so I laughed like old times.

Arika showed no expression.

“Be cautious, mage. I’ll be watching you.”

Another reward of regression.

The future had changed again. At this time, Arika wasn’t active in the North.

“No. The one watching me is this friend.”

I placed a hand on Elaine’s shoulder.

Arika’s eyebrow twitched.

‘As expected.’

Returning to Serzila, Arika’s mission seemed to have shifted to aiding Elaine.

“Who you should watch is Kubel.”

“…I don’t take orders from you.”

“Even if this friend asks?”

I patted Elaine’s shoulder.

“…She’s right, Arika. Shura needs protection.”

Her tone was pleading, but Elaine’s gaze was fierce.

Arika had ignored Elaine’s wishes, opened the door, and was checking me.

“I’ll consider it, Elaine.”

Arika replied, polite yet not quite.

“Do you know something?”

“Nothing.”

Arika answered instantly.

“It looks like you do.”

That’s when it happened.

Suddenly, Arika grabbed my collar.

“I said nothing.”

“Arika!”

Elaine, startled, started to approach, but I raised a hand to stop her.

“I’m fine.”

I gently removed Arika’s hand and bid Elaine farewell.

“Then rest, Elaine. I’ll be going.”

“…See you tomorrow, Harad.”

Perhaps out of guilt, Elaine’s tone was soft.

Arika’s eyebrow twitched at Elaine’s demeanor.

I walked toward the Inner Fortress, touching the collar Arika had grabbed.

A small piece of paper was tucked inside.

* * *

When I knocked, sounds came from the second floor.

The window opened first. Soon, Kubel opened the door, looking flustered.

“Did you forget something?”

“No. Can I stay the night?”

Kubel flung the door wide and climbed the stairs briskly.

Closing the door and following, I saw Kubel spreading a blanket.

Right next to Shura, who was fast asleep.

“You don’t ask why? No suspicions?”

“I thought if it’s you, Harad, there’s no problem.”

“Because I’m a mage too?”

“…”

Kubel gave a wry smile instead of answering.

That was answer enough.

Not all mages are allies.

“Don’t call me Harad-nim. Elaine might not mind, but it’s awkward for me.”

“Got it, Harad.”

As I lay down, Kubel took the opposite side of Shura. He pulled out a cigarette from the drawer by the bed and placed it nearby.

“Just sleep.”

“But…”

“It’s fine. I came just in case.”

“…Thank you.”

“No need.”

The bed shook periodically.

Shura didn’t wake, remarkably.

Despite his size, Kubel shed many tears.

His tossing stopped after a while.

His snoring, fitting his bulk, was tremendous. Shura was used to it, but it was a shock to me.

Thanks to it, my tired body couldn’t sleep.

I stayed awake all night.

Until the birds sang at dawn, and the light through the window turned red.

And until someone sneaked into the first floor, drew something, channeled mana, and triggered an explosion.

…As expected.

“Arika, you’re the most consistent. Then and now.”

I reread the note Arika had slipped into my collar.

‘Three suspects, found in the plaza.’

‘High chance they’re mages.’

‘Liberation Tower?’

The note was small.

It held only the essentials.

‘If you die, die alone.’

‘If you live, stay away from Elaine.’

Arika didn’t want Kubel’s death either.

She disliked mages but didn’t hate them.

“That’s why I can’t hate you.”

And so, I had no choice but to feel the same.