Chosen by the Northern Grand Duke

Chapter 47: The 2nd Knights (4)

Sometimes.

There are times when you close your eyes, and feel the world before you brighten.

From that point on, thought was possible.

It felt like waking from sleep, but the reality was the opposite. It was the moment of entering a dream.

-Congratulations.

The one who spoke with a smile was Elaine.

The expressive and vibrant Grand Heir Elaine.

-To reach the 4th Rank in just three years of dedication. You truly are a genius.

The Elaine in the dream seemed to have a low standard for geniuses.

A 4th Rank was a level even the real Harad could reach.

Though he was a 3rd Rank, what he did surpassed other 4th Rank mages.

-I know.

-That’s why it’s even more of a shame. If you had a master, it would have been much easier.

The Harad in the dream seemed to have reached the 4th Rank through self-study.

Ellen was not particularly surprised.

The real Harad had said the same.

And yet, his progress was much faster than in the dream.

-Would you like to seek asylum?

-Are you insane?

That suggestion sounded insane even to Ellen.

-Who said you had to leave for good? Go for a while, learn everything you need to, and then come back.

However, Elaine was serious.

-If I go, I’ll live there, why would I come back.

-You have me.

Soon, Elaine grinned.

It was a smile that was confident Harad would return.

No, it was a confidence that Harad would not accept that suggestion in the first place.

-You need to be at least a 5th Rank to become my right hand.

Harad did not answer.

Elaine knew that silence was an affirmation.

Even Ellen, who was dreaming, knew their relationship was that close.

-Answer.

-A man who hasn’t even become a Swordmaster.

-I will be soon.

-Tell me when you do.

-You insolent brat.

Elaine smacked Harad on the back of the head.

Flames shot up, but Elaine's hand broke through them. Harad's head was slammed into the training ground.

-Fuck.

-Temper your temper a bit too. Get up quickly. I have something to tell you.

The risen Harad glared at Elaine as if to kill her.

Elaine was completely unconcerned.

-We found a 4th Rank mage in the boundary this time. He used a strange magic. He called that magic a projection.

-A projection?

As if he had never been angry, Harad listened intently.

-Yes, a projection. I couldn't hear more. But I saw all of the magic. It was different from ordinary magic. What should I say, it was strange. If ordinary magic is like swinging a sword, a projection felt like seeing the sword itself.

It's a really nonsensical dream, Ellen thought.

It was because the Harad in the dream didn't seem to know about projections.

-No. I don’t think it was the sword. It didn’t feel that grand. Hmm…… what should I say…… incomplete?

-Sticking out?

-Oh? Was it?

Elaine seemed unsure.

It was because she was not a mage.

The mage Harad seemed to be different.

His lips twitched. It seemed like he was mumbling, or chanting a spell.

How much time had passed?

Harad, who had been mumbling for a while, shot up.

-Where are you going?

-I’m going to the 2nd Knights’ garrison.

To Ellen, it was an out-of-the-blue answer.

-Hmm? Ah. The tunnel? That was six years ago.

-I still see it in my dreams.

-You said mages don’t dream.

-Is that what’s important?

The gaze of the Harad in the dream was as hot as fire.

Ellen realized what they were talking about.

Harad was going to get revenge on the 2nd Knights who had forcibly shoved him into the tunnel.

-I told you to temper your temper.

-Are you going to stop me?

-Why would I?

Elaine grinned.

Saying it would be fun, she trotted after Harad.

A dream is a dream, Ellen felt once again.

Just a moment ago it was a training ground, but now a garrison was spread out before her eyes.

It was the 2nd Knights’ garrison.

-Hey, Square.

Harad said.

Square was the nickname of the 2nd Deputy Commander, Horn.

Ellen had heard of it too.

They said his build was so stocky that he looked like a square from behind.

-I won’t kill you, Harad.

-But I will?

The Harad in the dream was the complete opposite of the real Harad. He was very fiery.

He was like that when Elaine was the Grand Heir, but not when she was the Grand Duke.

Of course, both were dreams.

-I’ll kill you all.

It was when Harad was growling at the 2nd Knights.

Elaine approached a certain knight.

Surprisingly, it was Mores Palaz.

Elaine's swordsmanship master, who had retired after stepping down from the position of 1st Knights Commander 10 years ago.

-My apologies, 2nd Knights Commander.

Elaine called Mores the 2nd Knights Commander.

-It’s alright, Grand Heir. Isn’t Harad’s challenge a common occurrence?

Mores did not deny it.

On the left breast of his leather clothes, below the Serzila crest, a mace was engraved. It was the symbol of the 2nd Knights.

-I heard everyone except the knight commanders has already been defeated.

-It was beneficial.

Thanks to Harad's existence, the Otherworld also learned that there were restrictions in the boundary, Elaine said.

-It's more surprising that the 2nd Knights' turn has only just come.

-He said he was saving it for last. That he would crush them all when he was most confident.

-Is that today?

-It seems so, but the circumstances are a little different. As you know, that is revenge…… oh dear.

Suddenly, a jet-black sun appeared above the garrison.

Elaine instinctively knew that it was Harad's magic, a projection.

-He’s a madman.

Elaine was impressed.

Ellen was not.

She was not surprised that the Harad in the dream had manifested a projection as soon as he learned of the concept, nor that the 2nd Knights were being defeated by that projection.

-Are you not going to stop him?

-Stop what, it's what they deserve. Let's talk about you. How is being the 2nd Knights Commander?

-It’s been six years already.

-I’m sorry. For making you reverse your retirement.

-What can I do. If I’m to blame someone, I should blame the dead Cassion.

It was because of Elaine and Mores's conversation.

-Actually, I still don't believe it. That Cassion…….

This…… that word dragged on.

It was a sensation that seemed to last forever, and Ellen instinctively knew she was waking up from the dream.

She could see the ceiling.

Ellen shot up.

“What a nonsensical dream……”

While clutching Serzila's family heirloom, Patern.

* * *

‘She has a pushover streak.’

To think she would carelessly bet a family heirloom of Serzila, no matter how competitive she was.

‘To think it was Patern.’

He thought it was just a famous sword, but on closer inspection, it was a family heirloom sword of Serzila.

Harad had realized that fact five days ago.

When Ellen, who had proposed the bet, had tried to hide the sword with a look of regret.

He wasn't particularly moved. Harad had little interest in swords. That was Elaine's hobby.

‘I’ll use it if I get it, though.’

He had no intention of backing out of the bet either.

Patern looked like an ordinary sword on the outside.

It was just that it was sturdier than the other two family heirloom swords.

That sturdiness was an immense advantage for Elaine.

There were not many swords that could handle Elaine's unique heavenly power and Aura.

It wasn't a problem for the current Elaine to worry about.

She wasn't at that level yet.

‘I can just use it for a while and return it.’

He could return it around the time she becomes a Swordmaster.

“What are you thinking about?”

“I was thinking about myself holding that sword.”

“……”

“Don’t worry too much. I’ll just use it for a few years and return it.”

“Anyone would think you’ve already won.”

Five days had passed.

It was the 2nd Knights' recovery time, and it was also Harad's recovery time.

As long as Harad was still a 3rd Rank, the aftereffects of a projection were inevitable.

“Any harvest?”

For the past five days, Harad had only rested.

It seemed Ellen had not. Harad was seeing her for the first time in five days.

“I had the Grand Heir walk around. For five days.”

She said she had walked around the fief without rest for the past five days.

Harad let out a dry laugh at Ellen's words.

“The Grand Heir is under confinement, His Grace the Grand Duke is surprisingly lenient.”

“……I guess so.”

Ellen answered like someone who had been caught.

‘She must have sneaked out.’

It probably wasn't just because of the bet.

Elaine's trust in her knights, especially the knight commanders, is beyond imagination.

“There were no attacks, I see.”

“It’s probably because the investigation has started.”

“It hasn’t started yet.”

“The order was given.”

Ellen argued that it was because Grand Duke Aratus's order to uncover the mastermind had been given.

“Is there anyone other than me and the 2nd Knights who knows about that order? Ah. You too.”

“……”

“Amazing, to think you were the mastermind.”

“Stop talking nonsense.”

Ellen must have known while she was speaking that her argument had a weak basis.

The current lengthening silence was proof of that.

“Coincidentally, the 2nd Knights Commander has yet to return.”

As soon as the order was given.

Or as soon as Cassion left on his mission, the attacks stopped.

“What a great coincidence.”

“……That doesn’t prove that it’s Lord Cassion. Maybe a knight, but.”

Harad’s eyes lit up at Ellen's softly added words.

‘Suddenly, a knight is on the list of suspects.’

The mastermind couldn't be a knight.

If he had to assume a maybe, a very very maybe, there was a small possibility.

That was Ellen's argument five days ago, when she had accompanied Harad to the 2nd Knights.

But today, the possibility of the mastermind being a knight had arisen in Ellen's argument.

In just five days.

‘She dreamed.’

She had had a dream, Harad sensed instinctively.

‘The rabbit did not become a dream.’

It must be because it was an existence he had not experienced in his past life.

But it must have been a stimulus.

The rabbit was a disaster that could not be otherwise.

‘Stimuli accumulate.’

Even if it is weak for now, if it accumulates, it acts as a dream.

Since she hadn't dreamed for a while, she must have dreamed this time.

‘She doesn’t trust me as much as a knight…… I guess not.’

Judging by her expression, it seemed more like self-defense.

She seemed to think that a knight being a mage was a lesser evil than a knight commander being a mage.

Of course, even that was a reward.

“If Lord Cassion is a mage, why would the 2nd Knights be the knight order that killed the most mages?”

“You just provided the basis for that.”

“What?”

“You don’t suspect him in the slightest, thanks to Cassion killing many mages.”

“……”

Harad was convinced that the mastermind was Cassion.

“What if you’re wrong?”

“Then I’ll seek asylum, in the Otherworld.”

Ellen’s gaze became incredibly murderous.

“Why don’t you just die?”

“His Grace the Grand Duke wouldn’t allow it.”

“……”

“I’ll seek asylum, so kill me on the way. In the boundary. That will be allowed.”

Grand Duke Aratus wants Harad.

But he wouldn't mind if Harad died in the boundary.

Such a promise was in place.

It was the condition for Harad to use the tunnel.

“What’s the difference?”

“There is one.”

It was a promise Ellen did not know.

“Did you check on the 2nd Knights while you were walking around?”

“It was the Grand Heir who was walking around.”

“You wouldn’t have just stood still, would you.”

“……They said they’ve mostly recovered.”

Harad drank the tea Arika had made in one go.

Arika’s eyes, which had been glaring from the corner, widened.

The tea served to Harad was several times hotter than Ellen’s, but Harad seemed unfazed.

“Next time, just make it cold.”

Arika cursed with her eyes.

If Ellen hadn't been there, she looked as if she would have drawn her sword.

Separate from her revealed emotions, her face looked extremely tired. It was a sign of overwork.

‘At this rate, she’ll die earlier than in my past life.’

Harad clicked his tongue with a pitying face and left the Intelligence Bureau safe house.

“I’ll be back, Arika.”

Ellen followed after Harad.

“Is there no hierarchy in the Intelligence Bureau?”

“What?”

“It’s the first time I’ve seen someone call their senior by name.”

“It’s because we’re close.”

Ellen retorted shamelessly.

“I see.”

Harad did not ask further.

He had no intention of interrogating or suspecting Ellen in the slightest.

The longer that escapade identity was maintained, the more beneficial it was for Harad.

Nevertheless, the reason he asked the question was because it was a normal reaction.

Sometimes, he had to be like this. If he didn't ask anything, it would seem suspicious.

‘Keeping up appearances is harder than I thought.’

How far had they walked, a slanted building came into view.

It was the knight order's common building that Harad had destroyed, and people were gathered there. Judging by their attire, they were laborers.

“They didn’t bill you for the repairs.”

“Thank you.”

“You’ll have to pay with your body.”

Ellen emphasized that Serzila's tax money had been used.

“You, you have that kind of taste?”

“Wow. Crazy.”

Ellen was genuinely disgusted.

“It’s a joke.”

“What kind of joke would a forty-year-old make.”

Ellen was sharp at times.

Even more so when it came to fighting. The Elaine of his past life was a beast.

Harad first headed for the dormitory that had been turned into a sickroom. The dormitory was empty, but he could hear shouts from afar.

Thinking, ‘no way,’ he went and saw the knights were in the training ground.

They were sweating on the ground, which was a mixture of the vanished wall, the cooled remains of the training ground, and tangled earth.

Bandages stained with blood and pus flew in the northern wind.

‘Are they strong, or just stupid.’

Harad let out a dry laugh.

He was once again reminded of how bold a bunch the Serzila knights were.

Looking beside him, Ellen was watching them with a proud face.

“Harad.”

Then someone shouted.

It was Horn, and at his shout, the knights stopped moving at the same time.

It was a similar scene to when Harad had visited this place five days ago.

But the knights' faces were quite different.

There was not a single person who was hostile. Everyone acknowledged Harad.

Cassion’s knight order, which loathes mages.

That worry of Ellen's was rendered meaningless.

‘Knights are knights, after all.’

They say water mixed with ink turns black, but the water of Serzila was a little different.

It was already muddy water.

Muddy water that doesn't mix easily, no matter what you mix in.

Muddy water that you shouldn't think of changing its color, but just sprinkle something in with a feeling of giving up.

But just as rustic water.

“We’re ready.”

“Doesn’t look like it.”

Horn, who approached and spoke, looked like a mess.

His bandages had all come undone from training, and blood and pus were trickling down the skin of his entire body.

“It’s just my skin.”

“That looks like the problem.”

“It only looks like this, it’s gotten tougher. Thanks to your fire.”

“……There’s no way.”

“It’s true.”

Horn was adamant.

“Feel it.”

“No.”

“If you’re not going to feel it, then include me too.”

He must be thinking that as the Deputy Commander, he couldn't be left out when his juniors were stepping up.

“Fine. But re-bandage yourself.”

“Understood. What should we do?”

The knights perked up their ears.

“We’re going to do something very important. Something that will contribute to the great Serzila.”

Gulp.

Someone swallowed. It was excitement.

“Isn’t it about finding the mastermind who tried to assassinate the Grand Heir?”

Horn, the second smartest in the 2nd Knights, pointed out.

“That’s it.”

“We’re ready.”

“Do more.”

Harad said, firmly grasping Horn’s hand, which was stained with blood and pus.

His face was utterly serious.

“If you fail, it’s the end. The honor of the 2nd Knights Commander is in your hands.”

At the words that their superior’s honor was at stake, the knights became determined.

“……”

Ellen was dumbfounded.

“Let’s go.”

Then Horn shouted.

“Let’s go!”

The knights repeated in chorus.

“……”

For the first time in her life.

Ellen thought the knights were pathetic.