Chosen by the Northern Grand Duke

Chapter 46. The 2nd Knights (3)

“There's a house called Severan. A knightly house that was close to Iagar.”

Harad made a rough excuse.

It wasn't entirely untrue.

Severan was a truly renowned knightly house, and they were close to Iagar.

Of course, he didn't know if they were still close, or if they pushed their knights this hard.

“You weren't like this with the 1st Knights.”

“Because they didn't need it.”

There was no reason to push them back then.

“There are many knights who are ignorant of mages. The 1st Knights were like that too. But it's still okay for them. They'll learn through me from now on.”

Except for the 1st Knights Commander Toremot, it's okay if the other knights still lack a sense of caution.

It's because they don't encounter mages from the Otherworld that often. He just had to teach them from now on.

Harad would be joining the 1st Knights' scouting missions often from now on.

“The 2nd Knights can do that too.”

“It's already too late for them.”

Harad pointed to the knights lying in their sickbeds.

“You said it yourself. They are the knight order that has killed the most mages.”

And yet, the 2nd Knights were ignorant of mages.

“It means they've gotten used to mages. And yet they're ignorant.”

The faces of the knights, which had brightened up thinking it was a compliment, crumpled as if they had bitten into something foul.

“They were misunderstanding mages. It means something like today could happen at any time.”

If he had left them as they were, the 2nd Knights would have died someday. For underestimating a mage.

Of course, that didn't happen in his past life.

But Harad didn't think this life would follow the past life exactly.

He was hoping for it, and in reality, the future was changing.

“This is about finding the mastermind who sent a mage as an assassin. It's a task that cannot be done with ignorance of mages.”

“But that task has been postponed, hasn't it?”

“It's better than dying.”

In the changing and to-be-changed future, what are the ways to increase the survival rate of Serzila's knights?

“You all need to learn about mages again.”

That's the only way, Harad is sure.

“I'm not saying you have to learn everything. What I want is an objective perspective.”

Harad said to the knights lying in their sickbeds.

They all had faces that didn't understand.

“Are you talking about the 4th Rank?”

Horn was not.

The 2nd Knights Commander was the smartest knight among the knight commanders.

As befitting the Deputy Commander who assists such a Cassion, Horn was surprisingly quick-witted.

“You're the smartest one here.”

“I know.”

Horn nodded his head with a look that said, ‘of course’.

“It's not just the 4th Rank. It just stands out more.”

Horn listened attentively. The other knights did too.

At some point, they had leaned their upper bodies against the wall and were looking at Harad.

As befitting the knight order that had killed the most mages, they were interested in mages.

“The boundary is a land where a knight must consume Aura, and a mage must consume mana.”

“But mages have the advantage, don't they.”

The one who interrupted was none other than Ellen.

Harad's eyes widened as he looked at her.

“Who told you such bullshit?”

“It's not bullshit, it's common sense.”

The knights nodded their heads.

Harad listened quietly for the time being.

“It's the boundary, a land that was once the Otherworld's. The reason the boundary became strange is because the residual mana of the Otherworld underwent alteration upon alteration.”

So far, that's correct.

“In the end, its essence is mana. Mages are bound to have the advantage. You're like that too.”

“Good heavens.”

At the ensuing conclusion, Harad sighed.

Mages also consume mana in the boundary.

But the amount consumed would be less than that of a knight.

That's what Ellen was thinking.

“You seem to be greatly mistaken.”

This wasn't the first time Ellen had said something nonsensical.

When they encountered the tattered magical beast, Ellen had said that magical beasts were the minions of the Otherworld.

“I thought something was strange.”

It was Harad's mistake.

He had overlooked it as extremely basic common sense.

The Elaine of this period was dumber than he thought.

“You sit down over there too.”

Harad pointed to the floor next to the sickbed.

Ellen stood there blankly, as if she thought it was a joke, but when Harad kept staring at her with a firm gaze, she sat down with a thud, a foul look on her face.

“Mages are advantageous in the boundary. That's not because mages are like that, but because I am.”

Ellen opened her mouth to speak.

Harad raised his palm to stop her.

“The boundary is a land that is more impartial than anyone, and to anyone. It is by no means friendly to mages. If anything, it ostracizes them.”

Though it has undergone alteration upon alteration, its essence is mana.

“Of course, you're right. But your conclusion is wrong. Mana is assertive. It doesn't allow intrusion.”

Harad thought the reason was because of its origin.

“Mana originates from different Origins, and…… ah, I'll skip this.”

Harad was being considerate of the 2nd Knights and Ellen's level of knowledge.

If he delved deeper, they would give up learning.

“Do you know why there is such a large margin of error for knights? It’s the Ranks.”

Harad asked like a teacher.

Then a knight raised his hand.

“Knight Difren. Speak.”

Difren's eyes widened at the fact that Harad knew his name. He said.

“Because the Ranks are of the Otherworld.”

“Correct. It's because the Ranks are a system that does not take Aura into account. But the margin of error also occurs for other reasons. Why?”

This time, no one raised their hand.

It wasn't out of defiance. The 2nd Knights, excluding Cassion, had already acknowledged Harad's ability.

It meant they genuinely didn't know, so they couldn't raise their hands.

“Serzila evaluates a 5th Rank as a Swordmaster. A 4th Rank is grouped in the same category as a knight commander who is not a Swordmaster.”

That category is not absolute.

There are precedents of a mere member killing a 4th Rank mage, and a past 5th Knights Commander being killed by a 3rd Rank mage.

“Horn, you alone killed two 4th Ranks. Even though you're a Deputy Commander. Why do you think that is?”

“……You said they were half-baked 4th Ranks.”

“That could be. Not all 4th Ranks are capable of projection.”

But it might not be.

That was what was important.

“Serzila's range of activity is the First Stage Boundary. And even then, it’s a very small part of it. A part close to Serzila.”

The mages from the Otherworld encountered on the scouting routes or discovered at the Wall mean that they have passed through the Second Stage Boundary and crossed the second Wall.

“So what?”

Ellen tilted her head.

“Still don't get it? The boundary is a land more impartial than anyone.”

Then Horn's eyes widened.

He understood faster than Ellen.

“Unless they are special like me or have an Origin that is advantageous in the boundary, the situation of the mages from the Otherworld is not much different from yours.”

Just as knights consume Aura.

Mages from the Otherworld also have their mana gnawed away by the boundary.

“You have been killing such mages.”

Weakened mages.

“……”

Harad's last words hung in the sickroom for a long time.

Weakened mages.

Those words were a scratch on the pride of the 2nd Knights, no, the entire Serzila knight orders.

The reputation of the 2nd Knights for having killed the most mages from the Otherworld might have been a half-truth.

“……”

Horn and the other knights could not say a word.

The shock seemed to be greater than their anger.

The fact that they had taken for granted for a long time, their strength and victory, might have been due to the opponent's weakened state, was not an easy truth to accept.

Some knights stared blankly into the air, while others bit their lips with hardened expressions.

The same went for Ellen.

Her face was hot.

She thought it was a relief that she was Ellen right now.

If she had been Elaine, she wouldn't have been able to lift her head.

It was a shameful thing.

Even if the knights didn't know, she should have known.

“It’s okay. A collateral branch might not know.”

Harad, without knowing any better, dug into Ellen's sore spot again.

“I might have said something I shouldn't have. The Grand Heir probably knows.”

“……”

“I should have kept my mouth shut. The Grand Heir would have explained it well.”

Harad grinned.

Ellen was angry at that face.

“……”

Even more so at herself for being unable to refute.

* * *

They say a knight shouldn't be fixed but added to…… but in Harad's opinion, the 2nd Knights were an exception.

To be honest, Harad thought that at least the 2nd Knights would know.

It wasn't even surprising knowledge.

It was something one could figure out with a little thought.

Of course, the problem was that all the people in Serzila who could think like that had gone to the Intelligence Bureau, and that Intelligence Bureau was on the continent, not in the North.

‘He really didn't tell them.’

Not the 2nd Knights Commander Cassion.

That bastard, he knows. Cassion was more knowledgeable about mages than anyone.

That's why the 2nd Knights became the knight order that killed the most mages.

And yet, Cassion did not share his knowledge with the 2nd Knights.

That bothered him.

To be precise, all the circumstances surrounding Cassion made Harad feel ambiguous.

“Where is the 2nd Knights Commander out to?”

“The 5th Knights. There was a report from the 5th Knights Commander that they had found a suspicious trace during scouting.”

The 5th Knights Commander was not a Swordmaster.

“The 2nd Knights Commander went to check that trace instead.”

It was a job that only the 2nd Knights Commander Cassion could do.

Cassion was the only Swordmaster who could secretly enter and exit the boundary.

“If something suspicious is found in the boundary, it's always the 2nd Knights Commander's share.”

Harad thought of the rabbit.

For instance, if that rabbit had been found on a scouting route, Cassion would have been dispatched there.

“Does he go alone?”

“Yes. Because it could be dangerous for the knights.”

“Were there any results?”

“They're included in the number of mages the 2nd Knights have killed.”

It meant that he often brought back the severed heads of mages whenever he was dispatched.

“The reason only the 2nd Knights Commander is dispatched is not just because he's the only Swordmaster who can enter and exit the boundary.”

Cassion was an outsider with a learned air about him.

He had lost his family to a mage and had come to Serzila for revenge on mages.

As such, he knew a lot about mages.

“There's probably no knight who knows mages better than Cassion.”

“But no one has learned from him.”

“What?”

“There were no knights in the 2nd Knights who knew mages well.”

Cassion did not pass on his knowledge to the 2nd Knights.

“Are the 2nd Knights not very close-knit?”

“……There's no way.”

“Then why didn't he teach them? Even though he knows mages well. Even though he has already lost something precious once.”

Only then did Ellen's face harden.

“Has the loyal subject Cassion's knowledge ever been passed on to Serzila?”

“You, are you suspecting the 2nd Knights Commander?”

They spoke almost at the same time.

But Harad was just a little faster.

“I asked first.”

“……”

Ellen bit her lip hard.

She did so for a long while before opening her mouth.

“There is.”

“That's a lie.”

“……”

Harad had set out to uncover the mastermind behind the assassination attempts on Elaine, while Ellen had set out to prove that the mastermind was not a knight.

But Harad was already suspecting someone before the investigation even began.

The commander of the 2nd Knights, with whom he was supposed to cooperate.

“The 2nd Knights Commander is not that kind of person.”

“That could be. Even the loyal subject Cassion might not know everything.”

Harad said sarcastically.

“Then I'll ask. Has what he knows ever been passed on?”

“……”

Ellen kept her mouth shut.

Harad added to the silent Ellen.

“You can get angry, and you can ignore me. But don't lose your conviction. If you do that, I won't get angry, whatever you do.”

Conviction.

Ellen realized that the conviction Harad was talking about was not a simple self-assertion.

The conviction Harad spoke of had to have a proper basis.

If she simply insisted, Harad would get angry, Ellen sensed instinctively.

So her mouth did not open easily.

For some reason, she didn't want to see Harad angry. At least not at her.

‘Me?’

It was when Ellen let out a dry laugh.

“I'll speak first. I can distinguish mages. And I've seen Cassion.”

“……”

“The Cassion I saw is indeed a mage.”

Harad was convinced.

* * *

That was Harad's conviction.

There was always a proper basis for his words.

Ellen trusts such a Harad.

Because Harad had never been wrong so far.

She didn't know about in Iagar, but here in Serzila, Harad had always picked the right answers.

Among them were right answers for Serzila, and she even owed her life to him.

Even so, it was not a belief to the extent of taking risks.

Even if the Grand Duke allowed it, in the end, Harad was a mage.

Though the time they spent together was deep, compared to the knights, that depth was shallow. The length was also ridiculously short.

The essence of her belief in Harad stemmed from things like curiosity and interest, not sticky things like love or loyal friendship.

A thin single rope.

Ellen could express her relationship with Harad with those words.

A relationship that would end if they fell once.

If Harad made a mistake, or if he harmed Serzila, Ellen was confident she would cut off her relationship with him without hesitation.

And now was the time to cut that relationship, Ellen sensed instinctively.

The mastermind could be a knight.

Of course not, but she had made that much of a resolution when they met again.

But suspecting the 2nd Knights Commander was crossing the line.

Moreover, it was a conviction, not a suspicion.

According to Ellen's personality, it was a conviction that should have immediately severed their ties.

So, this was the moment.

The time to cut ties.

But…….

‘Why me?’

What's holding me back?

That thought came to her when her eyes met Harad's.

That annoying face, which didn't have a single doubt that he was right.

Come to think of it, Harad always had that face.

At least to Ellen, he was always annoying.

The owner of the Flower Hall's underbelly was indeed a mage, and the tunnel proved the arrogance of the Intelligence Bureau.

The tattered magical beast was truly stronger than Ellen, and Kubel was indeed an unjustly accused mage.

The 1st Knights welcomed the deviation from the scouting route, and his criticism of the 2nd Knights was also correct.

The same goes for the advice he gives as if tossing it out.

It scratched all of Ellen's itchy spots.

It resembled a master teaching his disciple, Ellen admits quietly.

As such, Harad had never once picked the wrong answer.

“No.”

But this time, it would be different.

No, it had to be different, Ellen's stubbornness grew.

She wanted to press down on that high nose.

She wanted to prove that he was not always right, that this time, he was wrong.

“This time, you’re wrong.”

She had a basis for it.

It was the difference in trust that Harad had once spoken of.

The trust that time builds.

“Lord Cassion has been loyal to Serzila as a knight for 14 years. You are……”

“A hostage.”

Harad did not get angry.

“I understand. Knights and time. That is your conviction.”

There was no change in his expression.

For some reason, Ellen disliked that even more.

The saying that if you don't have expectations, you won't be disappointed, came to mind.

“Then trust your judgment. Just as I trust my judgment.”

“……I was going to do that without you telling me.”

Her purpose had changed.

Now, Ellen would move to prove that the mastermind was not the 2nd Knights Commander.

“I will move with the conviction that Lord Cassion is not the one.”

“Do so.”

Harad answered nonchalantly.

Ellen found that even more infuriating.

Her competitive spirit grew stronger.

“Aren't you leaving this time?”

Ten days ago, she had left the place.

It was because she felt she couldn't stand it if she stayed any longer.

“Why should I leave, I'm right.”

Today was different.

It was hard to bear, but she didn't feel like her fists would fly.

“Should we make a bet?”

On the contrary, she was tempted.

Imagining that nonchalant face contorting was already satisfying.

“If I’m right, you become my lighter.”

Ellen mimed smoking a cigarette.

“You have to come running and light my fire whenever I call. How about it?”

“Do so.”

Harad answered nonchalantly as well.

As if there was no way in hell he would be wrong.

“If I’m right, you give me that sword.”

Harad pointed to Ellen's sword.

“……”

Ellen flinched as if touched.

“Scared?”

“I’m not scared.”

Ellen drew her sword, scabbard and all, and showed it to Harad.

“Let's do it.”

Ellen believed in her judgment.

In other words, in Cassion.

“If you win, this sword is yours.”

A family heirloom of Serzila, one of the three.

To the extent of betting this Patern.

“For the record, I don’t like to go back on my word.”

Harad smiled deeply.

As if he had recognized the true value of Patern.

“Me too.”

Of course, Ellen was confident she would win.