Chosen by the Northern Grand Duke

Chapter 54: Elaine's Shield (1)

‘I didn’t expect this.’

When Elaine appeared.

Cassion had sent back his manifested Origin. He had pretended to have fought only with his sword.

Then he had called out to Elaine with a very desperate tone.

Saying that Harad was seeking asylum.

That act was flawless.

It must have been thanks to his experience as a spy. He might have been consumed by the concept.

Then, Elaine should have chosen Cassion.

Separate from Cassion’s intense appeal, it was an extremely natural judgment.

But Elaine had chosen Harad, who was in pain and couldn't even speak.

‘Because of the dream? She probably still thinks it’s a nonsensical dream.’

Of course, Elaine was changing.

But this choice was beyond what I had anticipated.

There was little hesitation in the act of swinging her sword at Cassion. It was instantaneous.

Even if Ellen had come as expected, she wouldn't have been able to make such a quick decision.

That alone was surprising, but Elaine hadn't killed Cassion either.

Cassion is not just a mage.

He was a mage from the Otherworld. And a spy at that.

It was a decision the Elaine of not long ago could not have imagined.

Choosing Harad, and sparing Cassion.

‘It’s probably not because she wants to beat me once.’

I looked at the triumphant Elaine and shook my head.

Elaine is not as stupid as I thought.

‘Well, whatever.’

I did not delve deeper.

In any case, it was a good sign for me.

Because in the end, it meant Elaine was changing.

‘Though one variable has been added…… well, it depends on how I use it.’

The fact that Cassion had lived was unsettling, but in fact, it wasn't a problem for me to decide.

Ellen kills Cassion.

Actually, that is my wish.

In the end, the regression belongs to Elaine.

Elaine was more important to me than that damn Cassion.

‘It must have been a stimulus.’

The stimulus through Cassion would return to Elaine as a dream.

That dream would become a catalyst for another stimulus.

I was in a position where I had to lead that virtuous cycle.

Cassion was shedding tears.

It was a rather moving moment. Elaine also seemed to feel a little bit like that.

It meant that the person named Cassion had truly become a member of Serzila.

I was also slightly excited.

I had captured a mage from the Otherworld a few times in my past life, but Cassion was the first mage from the Otherworld who had decided to become a double agent.

“I have a lot of questions.”

Cassion and Elaine’s faces contorted.

Their expressions were as if to say, ‘do you really have to spoil the moment now?’

“Go ahead, ask anything. That will be the start.”

Cassion soon relaxed his expression.

Harad’s influence was significant in this outcome. He was jealous of Harad, but it was difficult to be jealous.

“But I don’t think I’ll be of much help.”

The double agent Cassion said in an unconfident tone.

I thought he was being modest.

“There are seven Towers in the Otherworld. Among them, the Red Tower has no master. Do the other Towers all have one?”

“They do.”

“I know there are seven 6th Ranks.”

“Is that so?”

Cassion asked back.

“This is no time for jokes.”

“I really don’t know.”

Cassion said with the confident face of a knight.

He really didn't seem to know.

“I know there is no 6th Rank in the Moon Tower. What is the Rank of the strongest mage? Is there a moon, perhaps?”

“I don’t know.”

“……”

I was at a loss for words.

I asked a few more questions after that, but the answers that came back were all unsatisfactory.

“The Magic Towers move independently. Well, the mages of the Otherworld do call the masters of their towers kings.”

Among them were things I didn't know, but most of them were things I already knew.

“Again. Is there nothing more? Is that it?”

“Nothing comes to mind right now. I’ll let you know if I think of anything later.”

I found those words hard to understand.

“Do you have to try to remember it?”

If it were anything else, maybe, but is it possible to be stuck when explaining one’s own hometown?

I could talk about Iagar for a long time.

“What do you expect from an insect.”

There was a thorn in his voice.

Separate from his emotions, he really didn't seem to know.

A Gu Poison is a tool.

A tool does not know its master’s intentions.

“I probably know more about Serzila than the Moon Tower or the Otherworld.”

“A boast.”

“That’s right.”

“……”

I was being sarcastic, but Cassion was proud.

“Tell me more about your mission.”

“I was a seed. The position I was supposed to be planted in was not the 2nd Knights Commander.”

Indeed, monitoring their movements was not Cassion’s only job.

Even if he was an insect, Cassion was a 5th Rank.

“I know that a 5th Rank is rare even in the Otherworld.”

“That’s right.”

Just as Swordmasters are rare on the continent, the 5th Rank was rare in the Otherworld.

It’s just that their light had faded because there were seven 6th Ranks.

‘Are there seven even at this time? Or does the number increase later? Like Elaine becoming a monster?’

It was when my mind was about to stray.

“The Moon Tower wanted me to rise to the position of the Grand Duke’s escort. That was the order given to me.”

Reporting on Serzila’s movements was an additional order, Cassion added.

The order given to him was to monitor Grand Duke Aratus.

“If you had become an escort…… other orders would have been given.”

A backstab at an important moment. That’s what they would have wanted.

The Moon Tower was conscious of Grand Duke Aratus.

“Has it been like that for a long time?”

“I’m not sure. But I am probably the first to have infiltrated the Inner Fortress.”

It means they are conscious only of Grand Duke Aratus, not Serzila.

“What’s the reason?”

“I don’t know.”

“……”

I felt like I was being cut off in the middle of a shit.

I tried hard to ignore the sun, which was rustling around as if it just wanted to set some fire.

“Is there anything you are sure of?”

At that question, Cassion rubbed the tip of his nose with his index finger. He did so for a long while before opening his mouth.

“I infiltrated 14 years ago.”

“I know.”

“But the order was given 19 years ago. It was when I was completed as a G독. From then on, I trained to disguise my mana as Aura.”

19 years ago.

Singling out Grand Duke Aratus, not Serzila.

‘It’s the sabbatical.’

20 years ago, Grand Duke Aratus entered his sabbatical.

It was an imperial decree and a punishment.

The price for Grand Duke Aratus attacking the Imperial Palace alone.

Because of that, Serzila’s boundary was restricted.

‘Something must have happened in the boundary in the first place.’

I don't know what it was.

That incident seemed to be related to the Moon Tower.

Otherwise, there would be no reason for the Moon Tower to single out Grand Duke Aratus.

‘The Grand Duke must have attacked the Imperial Palace because of that incident.’

I made eye contact with Cassion.

He shook his head. It meant that in the end, only Grand Duke Aratus himself knew.

‘Ah, there’s Lord Mores too.’

Elaine's swordsmanship master and that retired old knight was a knight who had served Serzila since before Grand Duke Aratus became the Grand Duke.

He might know the whole story.

Of course, there was no way for me to hear it.

‘If I force it out, the Grand Duke will probably kill me.’

The sabbatical and the abolition of the freeloader system happened together.

The Grand Duke had once tested me, asking if I knew the reason.

‘I will let you live.’

When I said I didn't know, the Grand Duke had said so.

I had survived because I didn't know.

‘To the extent of killing me if I knew.’

What kind of sensitive matter could it be?

Perhaps it was the shame of that steel-like Grand Duke.

“I am curious.”

If I had one more chance to regress, I would have found out.

I licked my lips and suppressed my curiosity.

“What.”

Elaine was looking at him.

It was because I had said the last words out loud.

“I was saying that I was curious about what the Grand Heir would do.”

I answered nonchalantly.

“Me? What about?”

Elaine spoke just like Ellen.

It was proof that I had become much more comfortable.

“About Cassion.”

“Ah.”

Elaine answered immediately, as if she had something in mind.

“Cassion will continue to be the 2nd Knights Commander. He will bring back information from the Otherworld as a knight of Serzila.”

“……”

“I won’t reveal Cassion’s identity either. That way, the Moon Tower will be deceived, won’t it.”

Elaine seemed full of confidence.

It seemed she was confident she could persuade Grand Duke Aratus.

‘That Grand Duke?’

Is she going to act cute or something?

I was more curious about Grand Duke Aratus’s reaction than Ellen’s cuteness.

I couldn't easily picture that Grand Duke smiling foolishly like Kubel.

“How are you going to report to His Grace the Grand Duke?”

“What do you mean. I said I wouldn’t tell him.”

I tilted my head.

“Only the three of us know what happened today.”

“To His Grace the Grand Duke too?”

“Of course, I have to.”

“……What are you going to do if His Grace the Grand Duke already knows.”

“His Grace? There’s no way.”

Elaine waved her hand as if it was a ridiculous thing to say.

“Was that what you were worried about? You’re surprisingly timid.”

In my eyes, that face looked extremely foolish.

-Actually, my father wasn’t without problems. When I was young, I just trusted and followed him. My father was ignorant. He only knew strength.

Elaine had once said something like that.

I thought it was a joke and a resentment that could be said because they were family.

Because Grand Duke Aratus’s news had been cut off so futilely, despite his great power.

“His Grace the Grand Duke probably knows.”

“There’s no way.”

That wasn't it.

Elaine truly thought that Grand Duke Aratus was ignorant.

* * *

As far as I knew.

Grand Duke Aratus had never disciplined Elaine.

Overprotection was his way of showing his love for his child.

It was a way of education that could raise a ruffian, but Elaine grew up wonderfully.

To the point of admirably playing the part of a perfect Serzila.

I don’t know if the Grand Duke had wished for that much, but in any case.

That wasn't what was important.

The problem here was that Elaine would be safe.

Then who was beside her.

‘There’s only me.’

There's Cassion too, but he's no help.

On the contrary, he was a burden.

There was no way Grand Duke Aratus would let Cassion live.

The reason the Cassion of his past life had died was not because he was a spy.

Grand Duke Aratus was a doting father, but he didn't just let her have her way.

If the Grand Duke was so soft that he would grant all of Elaine’s requests, the hunting day wouldn't have even been created.

‘He would have given her the authority to enter and exit the boundary at will.’

No matter how much charm Elaine uses, Cassion will die.

It means Cassion’s life is in my hands.

And my own life was also hanging on those hands.

“You, are you alright? You don’t look so good. Do you still have aftereffects?”

“It’s because of you, Grand Heir.”

“Me? Don’t tell me the method of using the marble was wrong?”

“……”

It was obvious that the distance between us had narrowed considerably.

Elaine was worried about me.

At that sight, I couldn't even get angry.

‘Should I not have given the advice to live however she wants? That’s not it.’

It wasn't something to get angry about either.

In the first place, the reason Elaine had changed like this was because of me.

It means I have to save Cassion somehow.

Because Elaine wishes for it.

‘The regression belongs to that fool.’

So I have a responsibility to grant Elaine’s wish…….

It was with that thought that I arrived at the Inner Fortress.

The Grand Duke’s residence was wide open. The angle was much wider than when Kubel was permitted.

The Aura leaking from the main gate was also immense.

It was to the point of making me miss the Sanctuary of Fire, but surprisingly, my steps were light.

“The Aura is thick. It seems something bad happened to His Grace.”

“……”

Elaine’s Aura was protecting even me.

“You don’t have to come with me.”

“I’m worried, I can’t help it. What are you so scared of.”

Elaine still had some loyalty.

That's why she had spared Cassion too.

“Don’t worry too much. It will be fine.”

“……”

It seems it was too early to give the advice to live however she wants.

Elaine no longer seemed to care what her vassals thought.

Even Grand Duke Aratus’s.

It was a faster change than I had anticipated.

It must mean that the catalyst of Cassion was that shocking.

I decided to think that it was all for the best.

There was a way to persuade him.

This was the fourth time I had met the Grand Duke since I regressed.

Slowly, I was getting a feel for how to deal with the Grand Duke.

The office door was open.

About a third of it, and I noticed that that door was the Grand Duke's last bit of patience.

If that door were to open wide, it would mean the Grand Duke was very angry.

‘So he knew everything.’

Otherwise, there would be no reason for the door to be open.

I immediately entered the office.

Elaine followed behind me. Her footsteps were harder than before.

Though she said she would do as she pleased, it seemed she couldn't help but be nervous when actually facing the Grand Duke.

* * *

His Grace the Grand Duke probably knows.

I was worried, but Elaine thought it was a needless worry.

‘There’s no way he knows.’

There was no way His Grace could know that Cassion was a mage.

So this incident was a clear merit.

If I reported it, His Grace would commend me.

Nevertheless, the reason I had followed Harad was because his worry was excessive.

I had intended to tease him after the commendation was over.

See, didn't I tell you, a grown man is so timid…… I had a lot to say, and I really wanted to say it.

The chances to tease Harad were rare.

“You bastard.”

It was a miscalculation, Elaine realized as soon as she heard the Grand Duke's voice. It was endlessly cold.

Anyone could see that he knew.

So, this time too, Harad was right.

“How dare you……”

Then Grand Duke Aratus’s words were cut off. His eyes also widened slightly.

It wasn't because he had discovered Elaine. The Grand Duke was looking somewhere else. It was the floor. Harad was prostrate.

“Do it.”

“……?”

That Grand Duke Aratus tilted his head.

“You were going to crush me anyway, weren’t you.”

It meant he would take the beating first.

Before saying the right thing.