Surviving as the Fallen Northern Grand Duke

Chapter 27: The Empire's Capital (3)

"Ah, we need to be thoroughly prepared for this."

Erina Trotsky, that damn woman, had been nagging me since morning.

I was about to take a spoonful of the soft pudding served for brunch when…

"No, you keep talking about this at the dining table. Don’t you know even a dog isn’t bothered while eating? Just because you're a Korean who transmigrated to another world, do you have to act like a romance novel heroine?"

Unable to bear it any longer, I told her to stop.

Then,

Saaaah—

Erina Trotsky spoke in a cold voice.

"Come on, we should help each other out as fellow Koreans."

"What?"

"Look, you might not care whether you win or lose against the Crown Prince in the tournament, but if you lose, I’m going to end up in that idiot’s arms, no questions asked."

"……."

"Don't you know the rules here? Everyone trembles at the words of the imperial family. So if the Crown Prince wins the bet and gains legitimacy, I’ll have no choice but to marry that bastard."

To be honest, she wasn’t entirely wrong.

"Imagine getting married here and then returning to reality. What kind of disaster would that be for me?"

Of course, whether she endured a marriage or a noblewoman’s life here, no one would know about it once she returned to reality…

'But that's not how people’s hearts work.'

No matter how much this was another world, marriage was still marriage.

And the relationships we formed here would remain in our memories for a lifetime.

'In that regard, we seem to share the same thoughts.'

At this moment, I realized that Erina and I shared an important value.

Namely…

'Not living recklessly in another world,' and 'Maintaining our humanity here as well.'

Think about it.

Some people might transmigrate and decide to live however they want.

They could indulge themselves, abuse their power, and live like complete scoundrels.

If they saw this world as nothing more than fictional, it would certainly be possible to live with utterly shattered morality.

However,

I shook my head.

I had no intention of living like that.

Not because I possessed some grand moral compass.

I just didn’t want to live with unpleasant memories.

That was also why I wasn’t interested in romance or marriage here.

To avoid forming relationships I couldn’t take responsibility for.

Anyway…

I took a deep breath.

Listening to Erina Trotsky made me feel a little guilty. After all…

"Are you seriously selling me off just to get some support for the territory?"

Just as she said, I had already accepted the Crown Prince’s bet.

"No, just win. Then our territory will receive support from the imperial family. You can just repay the favor later."

"You sound just like those gamblers heading to Kangwon Land. ‘Win and pay back’? Are you serious…?"

"……."

Anyway, since things had come to this, I could no longer ignore Erina’s request.

Thus, we began preparing for the upcoming Spring Festival.

The first step was visiting the best forge in Prohatska City.

According to the baron, a friend of the late Grand Duke, the ‘Spring Festival’ consisted of two major events.

"The Spring Festival is, how should I say it… a massive gathering where most of the central nobles participate."

"It features various events for the noble society, such as large-scale jousting tournaments and sports. But above all, the highlight is…"

"The ‘Spring Hunt.’"

"As the name suggests, participants engage in a hunt to capture a target. The target is a golden deer released by the Magic Tower. And to participate in the Spring Hunt, one must first pass the preliminaries."

"The preliminaries are one-on-one duels. So basically…"

"In short, the Spring Festival revolves around the preliminaries and the Spring Hunt."

When I was a kid, the late Grand Duke never took me to the Spring Festival.

He was too worried that his frail son might get sick.

And after that, when the Grand Duke and Duchess went missing, the young Grand Duke of northern Axen was thoroughly ignored by noble society until he recently started making a name for himself.

So,

'In a way, this is like Northern Grand Duke Johan Kraubitz’s debutante.'

Yes, the Spring Festival was the occasion where the much-rumored Northern Grand Duke would reveal himself to the central nobles.

Of course, when I was younger, I often played with noble children, but that was over ten years ago.

And back then, it was just childish street games that adults didn’t care about.

Anyway, Crown Prince Arthur Pontiac had challenged me to a duel precisely for this Spring Hunt.

And,

"By the way, what’s the special reward for winning the Spring Hunt? Everyone seems obsessed with it."

"Grand Duke, you don’t know? The winner of the Spring Hunt gets the chance to receive an oracle from the Main Temple alone."

"An oracle?"

"Yes, an oracle. The winner is granted a private audience with the continent’s main gods at the temple and can ask them a question. And the gods will provide an answer."

"They’ll answer anything?"

"Yes, as long as it falls within the gods’ authority, they will truly answer 'anything.'"

Hearing that, I was already getting interested in this ‘oracle.’

‘So if I win the Spring Hunt, I’ll receive imperial support for my territory and also get to ask the gods anything I want.’

I took a deep breath.

It was an incredibly tempting offer.

So we headed out to the bustling streets of Prohatska City at midday.

Of course,

"Grand Duke, you sure have a lot of ideas…"

To move around freely, we disguised ourselves in commoner’s clothing.

Of course, my pockets were full of gold coins.

And then,

We stopped by the blacksmith and were immediately caught up in trouble while sweeping up hunting gear.

"Hey there, tall guy. How about letting us go first?"

"Get in line, dumbass. Can't you see everyone else is waiting?"

"What? Do you even know who we serve, you little—"

I was waiting my turn to pick out a hunting bow when a bunch of lunatics tried to cut in line right before me.

Judging by their outfits, they looked like servants from some wealthy noble family.

To maintain order in society, I lightly shoved the servants' chests and said,

"I don’t care who you serve. Go fetch your mother instead. I need a parent-teacher conference with her."

"…You little brat, running your mouth like that!"

Sching!

These guys, relying on their numbers, pulled out some nasty-looking weapons.

I found the whole thing incredibly annoying, so I considered telling Erina to fight them instead…

"That's enough. Haven’t you heard? The Northern Grand Duke is here to shop."

A lazy yet rather brutal-sounding voice stopped the servants.

"G-Grand Duke."

At that, the servants instantly halted and addressed the voice’s owner as "Grand Duke."

'Grand Duke?'

Then, could it be…

Swish.

I turned to look at the owner of the voice. And then…

'No idea who this is.'

Yeah, honestly, I only knew most nobles by name. Even if I saw their faces, I wouldn’t recognize them.

Anyway, the man looked to be in his mid-thirties, and his dazed eyes made him seem like he was high on something.

"…He looks like a total junkie."

Erina must have felt the same way because she muttered it loud enough for everyone to hear.

Step.

The man slowly walked toward us, then grinned as he spoke.

"Forgive them. I am Johan Kraubitz, Grand Duke of Northern Axen. It seems my men were a bit rough."

"They weren’t just rough, they were idiots. Cutting in line and acting all high and mighty."

"…Oh, is that so?"

"Yeah. And…"

Glance.

I looked down into his eyes and asked,

"How do you know who I am?"

Right, I was dressed as a commoner and never revealed my identity.

I hadn’t even shown my face to the central noble faction yet, so how the hell did this junkie know my name?

He was beyond suspicious.

At my question, the man waved his hands in an exaggerated manner.

It felt like watching a theater actor.

"Oh dear, I forgot to introduce myself. I am the Grand Duke of Southern Provin…"

Grin.

"Escal Demaris. A pleasure to meet you, Grand Duke of Axen."

'Ah!'

That’s when I realized who he was.

Escal Demaris, the Grand Duke who ruled over the fertile southern province of Provin.

I had heard that he managed his lands by making a huge profit from grain exports…

According to Noich, he wasn’t on good terms with the previous Grand Duke.

Swish.

He extended his hand.

I grasped it lightly and shook it.

Since this was a meeting between two of the empire’s highest-ranking nobles, basic courtesy was necessary.

So, I planned to just exchange greetings and send him on his way, but…

Lean.

This guy moved in close and whispered in my ear,

"If you don’t want to die, make sure you participate in the Spring Hunt. I might even be able to fix your terminal illness."

And then, just like that, he disappeared.

Leaving behind an uneasy feeling.

To skip ahead, five days passed.

And now,

Poooooooh!

"His Majesty the Emperor arrives!"

I was finally at the tournament grounds for the Spring Festival.

And,

Huff. Huff. Huuuuuuff!

Right beside me, Erina was making a huge scene.

"Follow my lead! This is a meditation breathing technique that will boost your potential. So hurry—"

"For fuck’s sake, Erina, can you sit still for once?"

I lost my patience and shouted.

She was making me lose my mind.

‘Seriously, I said I’ll fight on my own, so why is she freaking out? Besides…’

Glance.

Looking around at the nobles gathered here, I didn’t see anyone particularly strong.

Right, soon, the preliminary duels would take place to decide who could participate in the Spring Hunt.

As I explained before, only those who won in these one-on-one preliminary duels could join the hunt…

Since the Spring Hunt's reward was an oracle, many nobles who coveted that incredible prize personally took part.

Because the winner’s reward was non-transferable, they had no choice but to enter themselves.

The oracles of the Supreme Gods were granted only twice a year—once for the rule of the empire and once for the winner of this Spring Hunt.

'So this is the only chance to receive the Supreme Gods' guidance for personal matters.'

Even the Crown Prince must win here to receive an oracle from the Supreme Gods.

And soon, the one-on-one duels with randomly assigned opponents began.

"Now, I will announce the matchups. From the western Droch County, Count Ale Droch, and from the east…"

The announcer randomly selected opponents and called their names.

As the preliminaries progressed, the excitement in the stands intensified.

"Whoaaaa!"

"Show no mercy!"

This had basically turned into a noble version of the Colosseum.

Thus, nobles from each territory were staking their pride in real sword duels.

Of course, the losers here wouldn’t be executed.

Killing participants during the festival would be absurd.

However,

'If someone dies in an "accident" during a match, no one will be held accountable.'

So, there was always a risk of a tragedy occurring.

And then,

"Now, I will announce the next match. This duel will be between Grand Duke Johan Kraubitz of Northern Axen and…"

Swish.

As soon as my name was called, I got up from my seat.

And as I headed down toward the arena…

"…Grand Duke Escal Demaris of Southern Provin…"

Huh? Escal?

"…His substitute participant, Knight Devon."

Murmur.

As soon as the announcer made that statement, the audience erupted into a commotion.

"What? A substitute participant? What does that mean?"

As such murmurs spread, the announcer continued.

"Grand Duke Escal Demaris has chosen to give up his spot in the preliminaries to Knight Devon."

What?

This was absurd.

Giving up the opportunity to enter the Spring Hunt to one of his own knights?

Glance.

I looked up at the stands. And then…

Grin.

Not only was Grand Duke Escal Demaris smiling at me, but nearly every noble in the empire was looking down at me.

As if they were spectators watching a caged animal in a zoo.

And then,

Step.

As Knight Devon walked out from the opposite side, I realized two things with absolute certainty.

"It is an honor to cross swords with you, Grand Duke. I am Devon, a knight of Provin. I have reached the rank of High Expert. I look forward to a fair duel."

First…

'This match is rigged.'

And second…

'The goal isn’t just to prevent me from joining the Spring Hunt. This is…'

An attempt on my life.