Chosen by the Northern Grand Duke

Chapter 34: The Catalyst (1)

Recently, my sleep had increased a little.

It was truly just a little, but it was more of an ordeal than I had expected.

This body, born with heavenly power, was fine even after staying up for days and nights on end, so I couldn't just sleep when I wanted to.

When I lay down wanting to fall asleep, the time I spent staring blankly at the ceiling was longer.

In any case, my sleep did increase a little.

But I couldn't dream. Drot. My last dream had stopped there.

“This is driving me mad.”

I wasn't usually one to dream.

It was just that recently had been special. Why?

“Do I need to be tired?”

No way. I could count on one hand the number of times I'd been tired in my life. That was the kind of body I had.

Unless it was the day I faced the tattered magical beast, I had never felt tired on any other day.

But I didn't only dream on the day I faced the tattered magical beast.

Fatigue and dreams were unrelated.

What should I do to dream?

Actually, it wasn't that I had no inkling.

“……Harad?”

I started to dream often after meeting Harad.

And Harad appeared in all of those dreams.

“That’s possible.”

The first human of his type I had ever seen.

A mage, on top of that.

Every single thing I experienced with Harad was new.

To the point that it would be strange if it didn't appear in my dreams.

My encounter with Kubel and Shura was also an unfamiliar and special experience.

A mage father and an ordinary daughter. Not a common sight, was it?

So it was plausible for them to appear in my dreams too.

Since Harad was the reason I met them, that too was not strange.

“Drot.”

But that damn Drot was the problem.

Drot, where Shura died. Drot, where Kubel wanted to move. Of all things, the place names matched.

“That was just a nonsensical dream?”

They say dreams are manifestations of the subconscious.

If it were some great territory in Serzila or the Empire, maybe, but Drot was a place name I had heard for the first time in my life.

The subconscious had manifested something that I didn't know.

I also suspected it might be magic, but there was no possibility of that.

Magic is vague, but that vagueness is tied to the Origin. Harad’s sun and dreams are unrelated.

It meant there was nothing else to go on.

“This is frustrating.”

I would know if it was a coincidence or not if I could just dream, but I wasn't dreaming.

Still, I couldn't just sleep all day long.

Not only was my body not capable of it, but I was also a busy person.

Having changed into martial attire, Elaine headed straight for the training grounds.

It was an endlessly familiar training ground, yet for some reason, it felt even more familiar. It must have been because I had seen it in my dreams.

There was one person in the training grounds.

It was Mores Palaz. Elaine’s swordsmanship master and one of Serzila’s Swordmasters.

“My apologies. I’m late.”

Elaine greeted him with a smile.

“……What’s the occasion, sire.”

“I know, right? I overslept for the first time in a while.”

Mores’s expression was somehow subtle.

Elaine thought it was because of his tardiness.

“I meant, what’s the occasion for you to show up at all, sire.”

It wasn't.

“It’s been ten days.”

“Hm?”

“I mean that it has been ten days since you, the Grand heir, have shown your face to me.”

“……Has it been that long already?”

Elaine’s expression became sour.

Ten days. Come to think of it, that was how long it had been since Kubel entered the fortress.

“What have you been doing all this time, sire?”

“I had some things to take care of.”

Over the past ten days, I had weeded out the remnants threatening Shura through Arika and had grown closer to Shura.

In other words, it was a busy and rewarding time.

“It does not seem like it was your duties as the Grand heir.”

“……”

Elaine could not refute it.

The past ten days had been personal time.

“I acknowledge the talent you were born with, sire. You have already realized everything, and I have nothing more to teach you.”

“……”

“Therefore, I understand you disappearing in the middle of a lesson.”

Mores was serious.

Even if he had nothing left to teach, he was clearly Elaine’s master.

“However, Grand heir. Did you know this? This is the first time you have been absent. For ten days at that.”

He was right.

I had often been late or run away in the middle, but I had never been absent.

“Have you not become complacent lately, sire?”

……Me?

* * *

Ten days.

The news that a new mage had entered the Inner Fortress had already spread far and wide.

The ripple effect was not as large as expected, because the one who brought Kubel in was none other than Harad.

“Is that mage strong too?”

“Wouldn’t he be? He’s as big as Commander Toremot of the 1st Knights.”

It was because Harad had already earned the recognition of the 1st Knights.

A skilled man who had defeated three knights single-handedly.

‘Not a mage, but a skilled man.’

Harad recalled the maids’ chatter he had overheard while on a walk and let out a dry laugh.

It was just like the North. Indeed, Serzila was civilized. There was likely no other place on the continent where mages were as recognized as this.

Of course, it was only possible with the backing of Grand Duke Aratus’s endorsement.

That endorsement itself was something unheard of on the continent.

‘My standing is still weak, though.’

The name of the 1st Knights only worked on the servants.

I had to earn recognition separately from the other knights. Just as I did with the 1st Knights.

It wasn't a very difficult task.

Grand Duke Aratus would be giving me a new mission soon enough.

That mission would serve as a catalyst to earn the recognition of the other knight orders.

‘Like the shadow of the Wall.’

Even if it wasn't that kind of mission, it didn't matter.

What Harad needed was a justification.

As long as a reason to interact with the knight orders arose, I could earn their recognition at any time.

‘It’s peaceful. Is he giving me a break? Or time for Shura to adapt?’

Either way, it was undoubtedly the Grand Duke's consideration.

Indifference could be a form of consideration at times.

Thanks to that, my daily life was monotonous.

It was also because Ellen did not covet the Second Stage Boundary.

Despite wanting to go, she was holding herself back with the thought, ‘I am the Grand heir.’

Because if a disaster were to occur, Serzila would lose its heir.

‘She does think before she acts.’

Harad was touched, even while thinking it was unexpected.

In front of Harad, Kubel was scrunching up his face like a man taking a dump.

“How is it. What do you see? In your mind’s eye, I mean.”

“Smoke……? There’s smoke, and its size is about as big as the first floor here.”

Harad gave his sun as an example.

His sun was about the size of the Grand heir’s mansion.

“Size is an indicator of mana quantity. It doesn’t have much meaning in understanding the Origin.”

Mana is nourishment. Even if one consumes a lot of mana, the Origin merely grows; the concept of the Origin itself does not change.

Fire, no matter how much it grows, cannot become the sun.

“What’s important is the Origin itself. Tell me about the smoke’s density or form.”

Kubel haltingly explained his Origin.

Ellen was eating the lunch Kubel had prepared next to Harad. For some reason, her expression was vacant.

“Is something wrong?”

“……No.”

“Your face says otherwise.”

It wasn't just her expression; her food intake was also poor.

Ellen was picking at her food, unlike her usual self.

“Speak freely. I might be able to help, you know.”

“……”

Ellen hesitated for a moment before opening her mouth.

“Perhaps I……”

It was then. Someone knocked on the door.

Ellen hid herself at an angle where she couldn't be seen. Harad, who had been teaching Kubel, opened the door.

“So you were here, Harad.”

The voice coming from beyond the door was deep.

It was a familiar voice. Ellen knew the voices of all the Serzila knights.

“It’s been a while, Tursten. Is your body alright?”

It was Tursten of the 1st Knights.

Tursten, who had been half-crippled by Harad.

“Thanks to you, my ribs have gotten thicker. My skin’s gotten tougher too.”

“There’s no way that’s true.”

“It’s true. Feel it.”

“I’m good.”

Tursten laughed heartily. Not a trace of resentment from his defeat could be seen.

It was one of the admirable points of the North.

“What’s the occasion today? Gullen came yesterday.”

Like this, the 1st Knights had started to visit Harad from time to time.

That too was a newly added part of his daily routine.

Tursten took something out from within his thick coat.

“A rock?”

“It’s no ordinary rock.”

The rock was star-shaped.

“It does look valuable.”

“Right? I picked it up in front of the Wall, and it looked like magic, so I brought it. Is it magic?”

“It’s just trash. You can take it back.”

“I see.”

Tursten, convinced, immediately threw the rock into the yard.

It was the same yard where Gullen had thrown an oddly shaped tree branch two days ago.

Those were the reasons the 1st Knights often came to visit.

When the 1st Knights found something strange or unusual, they would first bring it to Harad.

The 1st Knights had acknowledged not only Harad’s martial prowess but also his knowledge as a mage.

“Is that all you came for?”

“That’s it. Come to the garrison soon. The Commander wants you to accompany him on a boundary scouting mission.”

“I’ll head up when I have time.”

Tursten left without a single glance back.

Having closed the door, Harad sat down again next to Ellen.

“Sorry about that. Go on.”

“It’s fine. I’m going to go see Shura.”

No sooner had Harad sat down than Ellen left the annex.

Harad pointed at her retreating back and looked at Kubel.

“You, did you do something wrong in the meantime?”

“……Isn’t there a higher probability that you are the cause, Harad?”

“Me?”

* * *

It had been three days since Shura started going outside the Inner Fortress.

It was at the point when all the remnants of the Liberation Tower’s Rebellion faction identified by Arika had been dealt with, and at that time, Ellen had introduced Shura to the alley children.

“Shura is the prettiest.”

“That’s what I said.”

“Shura says she doesn’t like you.”

As Ellen had expected, the children took a liking to Shura.

Shura became the most popular kid in the alley in just one day, but I heard separately that there were no boys she liked.

The children were holding thin twigs and pretending to be knights. Shura was the princess.

If one looked closely around the princess, one could see several stiff-moving young men; they were the soldiers of the 3rd Squad of the guard.

Ellen watched Shura, who was fitting in well, and the soldiers escorting her for a moment before moving on.

The place she headed to was an Intelligence Bureau safe house, and Arika opened the door as if she had been waiting.

“Welcome, Ellen.”

“You’re working hard.”

Arika had been dispatched to the western part of the Empire three years ago and had returned this time because of Ellen’s summons.

“Not at all.”

Arika was the same as she was three years ago.

She was stiff, and her visible loyalty was still enough to be thankful for. Sometimes it was even burdensome.

“How are things with the Liberation Tower?”

“There is no additional information acquired. However, there seem to be no recent intruders.”

Arika spat out the words as if she had been waiting.

“We are currently investigating the territory for anyone who may have infiltrated beforehand. As for the Rebellion faction’s intentions, we have put in a request to our agents spread across the continent.”

The former would take time, and as for the latter, one shouldn't hold high hopes. Arika added as much.

The Liberation Tower was a clandestine group that had survived by evading the eyes of the Empire and the Church.

“What about Iagar?”

“……It seems it will be delayed.”

Arika said with a shameful expression.

“The Church has planted its flag in Iagar.”

It meant the Church had occupied Iagar.

This was because Iagar had been attacked by a mage and turned to ashes by magic.

“The information we can obtain is limited.”

“I need all of it. Please.”

Ellen wanted to know everything about Harad, down to the most trivial details.

Only then did she think she could try to trust him as the Grand heir.

“What about the Tunnel-Digger?”

The mage who takes on outside jobs to dig tunnels connected to the boundary.

“……Not yet.”

Arika’s face, for once, wavered.

Ellen noticed that she had something she wanted to say.

“It’s okay to say it.”

“With all due respect…… I am suspicious of the existence of a mage called the Tunnel-Digger.”

There’s a mage digging tunnels beneath Serzila?

Arika found it hard to believe. Even though she knew of the tunnels’ existence.

“Then who do you think dug those tunnels?”

“That is……”

Arika could not answer.

It’s because she is ignorant of magic, Ellen thought.

She too had been like that before meeting Harad.

“The Tunnel-Digger definitely exists. We have to find that mage.”

The source of the Tunnel-Digger was Harad, but Ellen was convinced it was true.

The tunnel is an escape route for mages.

Who else but a mage could do such a thing?

“……Yes.”

At Ellen’s convinced tone, Arika nodded her head.

It was done reluctantly, Ellen noticed as well.

“Do you not trust me?”

“I do trust you. However, I heard the source of the information is that mage.”

She was referring to Harad.

Arika called Harad ‘that mage’.

“I wonder if you haven’t been bewitched by that mage…… My apologies. That was a slip of the tongue.”

“……”

* * *

Complacent? Bewitched?

‘Me?’

I let out a dry laugh.

Hanging out with Harad is nothing more than a deviation.

Harad is a truly stimulating plaything.

If not for him, I would not have experienced the tunnels and the boundary beyond them.

I wouldn’t have known the lovely Shura, nor would I have known that Kubel’s cooking was so damn delicious.

Everything I did with Harad was a stimulus for Ellen.

Stimulating experiences I probably would never have had if I had only lived as Elaine.

That's all. I, Elaine, am always distinguishing between them.

I have never brought Ellen’s affairs to Elaine.

Nor have I ever been negligent in my duties as the Grand heir.

My innate physique made it possible.

The reason my time as Ellen increased was not because I had become negligent in the duties bestowed upon me since birth. It was because I had reduced my sleep.

‘Training?’

That damn training is of no help whatsoever.

The reason I even showed my face at such times was out of respect for Mores Palaz, who called himself my master.

It was a cold thing to say, but there was nothing more to learn.

Excluding Aura, my swordsmanship surpasses Mores Palaz’s.

What I needed was real combat.

Real combat that Serzila did not provide.

That real combat, Harad provided.

So how could there be a reason to go to training?

‘…….’

The investigation of the Rebellion faction is for Shura’s safety.

The re-investigation of Harad is in order to trust him as the Grand heir.

Even though the Grand Duke chose him, Harad was a mage. How could I trust such a mage at once?

Trust requires time.

The information on Iagar is merely one of the processes included in that time.

The Tunnel-Digger?

That bastard is a pest that must be identified.

I can’t just stand by and watch a mage dig up Serzila’s underground as he pleases, can I? That was also my duty as Elaine.

“What in the world is the problem.”

There was a fitting reason for everything.

I did not understand what Mores and Arika were saying.

No, actually, I do know.

They aren't pointing out the reasons, but the change.

They are pointing out that my respect has disappeared, and that I have taken an interest in a mage who should be ostracized.

Asking if that is right.

I couldn't even understand that.

How is yearning for the next stage becoming complacent?

Respect for Mores Palaz eats away at me.

Crawling through tunnels instead of showing my face at fruitless training is the path to growth.

Harad? He was a being permitted by His Grace the Grand Duke in the first place. Even Kubel and Shura were provided an annex in the Inner Fortress.

……I’m saying I will try to accept what you have accepted, so how is that being bewitched?

The 1st Knights are already acting as if they depend on Harad.

“What do you want me to do.”

Elaine kept smoking cigarettes.

Every time she took out a new one, Kubel came to mind, and every time she lit it, Harad came to mind.

“Grand heir.”

It was then.

Someone knocked on the door.

“It is the 2nd Knights Commander.”

The 2nd Knights Commander, Cassion.

“I have something to tell you about the mage.”

……Why is everyone so desperate to pick me apart.