Surviving as the Fallen Northern Grand Duke

Chapter 25: The Imperial Capital (1)

“Haha, so Your Grace has finally been invited to the capital.”

“At this rate, shouldn’t we all go together?”

“Why would you go? We need to guard this place while His Grace is away.”

“Bring back some cake!”

What a mess.

Ugh.

I was sitting in the reception room, clutching my head.

It was only natural—when the imperial envoy delivered the emperor’s decree, these bloodsuckers all listened in together.

‘I knew they’d make a fuss. These guys, they always get excited whenever something happens…’

Day after day, they gathered in the reception room of the ducal castle and made a racket like this.

Then again, I was the one who had introduced a council system to the Duchy of Axen in the name of "collective intelligence," so I had no one to blame but myself.

But still,

“Krisia, why aren’t you in your dormitory? What are you doing here?”

It was one thing for the senior members to be here, but why was she here?

Krisia had enrolled in the Axen Academy a while ago and had her own room there.

Yet, I heard that she had been holed up here since yesterday.

On top of that, she was even butting into adult conversations.

Krisia pouted.

“Well… I heard from the dormitory kids that in normal schools, students go home on weekends. There aren’t any classes on weekends anyway. But… I don’t have a home to go back to…”

“This is your home?”

She nodded.

Seeing her nod, Erina chimed in.

“Are you really going to be that cold to a ten-year-old? Just let her come and rest on weekends. Her room is still here anyway.”

“…I’m not ten. I’m eleven…”

“…Sorry.”

Ugh.

She’s the same kid who stabbed someone in the back of the head to get revenge on her family’s murderer, and now she’s acting all innocent?

If it weren’t for those sparkling eyes, I would’ve kicked her out immediately.

Swoosh.

That cunning little brat read my expression and sneakily grabbed a snack from the table.

As a bonus, she crumbled bits of it all over the freshly cleaned carpet.

Anyway, I needed to come up with a proper response to the emperor’s summons. So—

“Well, as you all know, I’ll be heading to the capital since His Majesty has summoned me. In the meantime, you all need to take good care of the territory.”

“…”

“Now that I think about it, there’s no need to bother with carriages or any formalities. It’s not like I have to show my face in imperial society. So, I’ll just take a sturdy warhorse and go alone.”

From what I heard, I already had a reputation across the empire as "the ruthless Northern Grand Duke, Johan."

There was no need to suddenly start worrying about appearances.

That’s why I made that decision, but—

“Ehh?! What are you saying, Your Grace?”

“If you go like that, we’ll all be criticized.”

“It’s about time you started managing your image!”

The council members’ opposition was stronger than I expected.

Especially Noich, the old butler who had served the previous Grand Duke for many years, frowned and openly expressed his discontent.

“How do you think I would feel if the man I’ve dedicated my life to is accused of lacking proper etiquette? Please reconsider.”

His face even turned red.

Since there weren’t any automated defibrillators in this world, I figured I needed to calm him down a little.

Then Noich added something else.

“Moreover, Your Grace must bring Lady Erina Trotsky with you this time.”

“Why?”

“Come now, Your Grace. Think about it. His Majesty personally chose Lady Trotsky to be your consort. But instead, you’ve just been using her as the academy’s secretary general…”

“And what happens if I ignore that?”

“Obviously, His Majesty would think, ‘Ah, so he’s defying my will.’”

Hiss.

Now that I thought about it, he had a point. But still—

“But Erina is basically just an old friend now. How are we supposed to act like a couple? Just thinking about it…”

“Ehh?! That’s true.”

“You shouldn’t do that with family.”

“Ugh.”

Everyone seemed to agree on that.

Even between married couples, family was family—there were certain lines that shouldn’t be crossed.

It reminded me of my older brothers back in Seoul, who used to drag me to PC cafés every weekend to avoid their "mandatory defensive battles."

As I was struggling with my reluctance, Erina leaned in and whispered to me.

“What are you spacing out for? Get a grip.”

“What?”

“We’re inside a novel right now. Haven’t you read romance fantasy stories before? If you want to survive, you have to act. Just pretend we’re preparing for the wedding and come back. It’s not like the emperor is going to come all the way to this frozen land to check.”

Seeing Erina whispering to me, Krum suddenly shouted.

“Oh! Look at them! Why are they acting so close? Could it be… are they actually a real couple? Hahahah—ugh. Ughhh!”

Good thing Mangala was in the same age group as Krum.

Every time this bastard ran his mouth, Mangala could beat him up for me.

Anyway, after gathering all these opinions, I had no choice but to reach a conclusion.

“Alright, Erina and I will go to the capital. We’ll take minimal attendants and dress appropriately. Meanwhile, you senior members take good care of Axen. If anything happens, send a messenger pigeon right away.”

“Yes! Understood.”

“Bring back some cake!”

That night, Johan had a nightmare.

No, to be more precise, he had a dream he didn’t want to have.

It was one of the dreams he had frequently since the time when the human Kim Si-hyuk first transmigrated into this world.

A dream that repeated itself endlessly.

In that dream, Johan…

Swoosh.

He saw a person sitting alone in the distance.

‘Damn it…’

How does that person never get tired?

For over ten years, that figure had appeared in his dreams, always sitting there alone.

Johan couldn’t even tell if it was a man or a woman.

And then—

Saaaah—

As always, Johan felt a dull ache in his chest as he watched that figure.

‘What is that person doing? Sitting there so lonely, clinging onto something… but what?’

Yes, just what was it that they had been holding onto for over ten years?

And when Johan continued to watch the figure for a little longer…

$#^%@%#@%^%@#@%#!

As always, his vision blurred completely, and the scene shifted.

‘It’s the same every time.’

Yes, every time, the dream randomly showed him different scenes.

They flashed by so chaotically that he could never focus properly.

Some were memories from Johan’s childhood, while others were moments from Kim Si-hyuk’s life in reality.

And then there was—

‘It’s him!’

The scene now showed a moment from the ending of the novel Fell for the Beastly Northern Grand Duke.

The scene from "that day," as revealed in the prologue.

Aaaaaaaah!

Grrrrrrr!

The world was engulfed in flames, and rivers of blood flowed across the continent.

Faith and love no longer existed in this land.

There was only betrayal and tears amidst the madness.

At that moment, he saw it—an ominous, distant figure.

‘Show me. Just a little more…’

The evil god, who caused all of this bloodshed and delighted in it alone.

That had to be him.

And then—

Fwoooosh!

As always, Johan woke up just before he could reach the figure.

Sssssss.

When he finally managed to sit up,

It was still the middle of the night.

“Ugh, just deal with it. It’s not like I’m comfortable either.”

Erina grumbled from across the carriage.

Right now, we were traveling together in a carriage to Prohatska City, the capital of the Prohatska Empire.

But—

“No, Your Grace. Of course, you must share a carriage.”

“What would people say if they heard the two of you traveled separately, like strangers?”

Because Noich had insisted like that, I was now stuck in this uncomfortable situation.

Ugh.

So, for the past few days, I just slept as much as possible.

If I stayed awake, I might end up talking to Erina Trotsky about "reality" again.

Instead of drowning in pointless nostalgia, I chose to actually sleep.

And after several days of travel…

“Prohatska City is in sight!”

We had finally arrived at Prohatska City, the empire’s oldest and largest metropolis.

Whooooosh!

Even the wind blowing at the city’s entrance carried the scent of expensive perfumes.

As we entered this vast city, home to over a million people, we couldn’t help but marvel at the empire’s grandeur.

‘Polished high-rise buildings… government offices… and a bustling merchant district…’

Before returning to reality, I was determined to bring Axen’s technology to a level similar to this.

Anyway, as soon as we arrived, we received a message from the emperor.

‘I’m to enter the palace tomorrow morning?’

Since entering the imperial palace required scheduling days in advance, we were given a residence prepared by the palace for the night.

Erina was quite pleased, saying it felt like we had an entire hotel suite to ourselves.

Of course, we two otherworlders from Seoul completely forgot about meeting the emperor and just enjoyed ourselves.

And then, the next day—

We unexpectedly met the emperor sooner than expected.

“Raise your head.”

The emperor’s solemn voice echoed.

And then—

Rumbleeeeee.

An overwhelming presence weighed down on us.

‘Damn it… I thought there’d be some formalities before I met the emperor.’

Who would’ve thought they’d take me straight to him the moment I stepped inside?

I hadn’t even prepared a proper report about Axen yet!

But then—

“Northern Grand Duke Johan Kraubitz, step forward.”

“Yes.”

It was then that I realized—

The emperor’s interest wasn’t in Axen.

It was in me, Johan Kraubitz.

And then—

Step. Step.

As I slowly approached and met the emperor’s gaze—

The supreme being of this world looked deep into my soul and asked,

“You, Johan Kraubitz…”

“…”

“Do you know the future of this world?”