The Duke’s Madness

“I won. godfather So please keep your promise.”

Hollan, who had been lost, came to his senses.

Then he saw Arthur dripping blood.

Surprised, Halan hurriedly approached and asked.

“Wounded… . No, doesn’t it hurt?”

Arthur narrows his eyes.

After that, I looked at my pierced right shoulder and nodded.

“uh… . It hurts. I think my mother will be very angry if she sees it… .”

Halan’s expression grotesquely distorted at Arthur’s speechless appearance.

‘You’re worried that you’ll get scolded by Yonel when you can’t even scream?’

It was a judgment that should not be made with common sense.

Because of that, his doubts turned to certainty.

I had felt it implicitly from the first time we met, but this child’s mental world was somewhere very different from normal people.

However, I couldn’t think deeply.

It was because even now, blood was dripping from Arthur’s open wound.

Holan, who had lost his thoughts, took out a handkerchief and held it up.

“Come over here and see. Let’s see the wounds first.”

With these words, Hollan began to stop the bleeding.

Arthur’s expression did not change even though he pressed hard on the bone-visible wound.

It was the time when Haolan’s eyes were once again filled with displeasure.

Arthur’s shoulder trembled as he stopped the bleeding.

‘… Did I miss it?’

I looked again with a murmur.

However, it was not an illusion.

The area where the wooden sword was pierced was very elaborate.

The cartilage and bones of the shoulder were untouched, only the flesh.

Shocked by that, Hollan murmured.

‘What are the odds of this happening? What is the probability of getting a skin-penetrating wound without damaging the bone?’

Wounds that can only be seen as intended.

But could a 15-year-old kid intentionally hurt something like this?

It was a time when Hollan unknowingly trembled the corners of his eyes along with his thoughts.

Arthur opens his mouth again.

“I… . godfather? You must keep your promise.”

“… What promise do you mean?”

“It’s my secret. We won in Dalian, so you have to keep it a secret.”

Hollan’s trembling eyes calmed down.

In the meantime, Arthur, who had no hesitation in the sparring with Elin, looked at Halan with a trembling look.

Hollan muttered, dumbfounded at the sight.

“… I’m going crazy.”

“yes?”

“no. first… okay. don’t keep the secret Never tell your mother about this, including today.”

Arthur smiled brightly.

“Thank you, godfather!”

“What is gratitude… In that sense, what do you want?”

Arthur tilts his head at the question.

“You want it? What do you mean?”

“Didn’t I promise you before? If you win in Dalian, I will grant you one wish as far as I can. Could it be that you forgot?”

Arthur narrowed his eyes and replied.

“uh… no. I haven’t forgotten.”

not to forget

I forgot.

With the murmur, Hollan somehow found himself getting used to Arthur’s way of speaking.

At the time when he was contemplating whether to be happy with it or accept it disapprovingly, Arthur got lucky.

“If possible, how far?”

“The Northern Commander of the Empire, and the Marquess of the Leverkusen family. And Hollan Leverkusen, who bore the name of Sword Master. As far as this name can be heard.”

“oh… . It’s amazing.”

“It is also a great opportunity.”

Arthur nodded.

“Can I ask you one last question?”

“However much.”

“Are you really my godfather?”

“… ? What do you mean?”

“It is literally. Are you really my godfather?”

The question made Hallan’s heart skip a beat.

“… .”

He avoided Arthur’s gaze without giving any answer.

However, Arthur’s gaze didn’t seem to fall, and in the end, Hollan with a white flag answered.

“I have no qualifications.”

“okay.”

“But it’s enough to grant your wish.”

“is it so? but… . How can you trust an unqualified godfather? I want to ask you something very important from now on.”

Hollan raises his head again.

And answer in a firm tone.

“Will a knight’s oath be enough?”

“… yes?”

“Only His Majesty the Supreme Emperor can change my oath. Don’t promise me on that oath. Do you have enough faith in this?”

Arthur groaned.

‘The knight’s oath… . It’s been a while since I’ve heard.’

When knights made a promise, it was a word that was mentioned, but in the old days, it was said that this oath was mentioned, and if it was not kept, it was even killed.

Of course, it wasn’t to that extent now, but the man in front of me was a sword master.

His oath, which is the goal and milestone of all knights, will have a different weight.

Arthur, who was troubled by that, nodded his head.

This was the best answer I could hear in the current situation.

“Okay, godfather. Then can I tell you my wish?”

Hollan crosses his arms.

At that silent permission, Arthur slowly opens his mouth to explain.

Hollan, who listened closely to the story, exclaimed in surprise.

“what? You want me to punish the family traitors?”

* * *

Yonel thought while stroking the picture she and her husband had taken.

It was 10 years spent in the name of the owner as the owner of an unwanted duchy.

‘It was an unfortunate time… . It’s like hell.’

She didn’t like power.

He didn’t like money either.

In that sense, the position of owner of the one and only duchy in the empire was the most useless for her.

However, I couldn’t give up.

The will of a man who loved more than anyone else in the world.

For Arthur and Irene, who inherit the lineage of the man they love.

However, the society of the aristocrats, where all sorts of strife and schemes came and went, was not easy.

Because of that, as the years passed, the authority of the ducal family fell to the ground, and now it was described as a setting sun.

‘… For the sake of the future, Arthur and Irene, the duchy should not be tilted any longer. To pass on the family to these children someday.’

So Yonel did his best to become a nobleman.

It was not an easy road, but I did not give up.

I was humiliated, but I passed it on with a smile.

and today.

The fruits of that effort have been revealed, albeit slightly.

The long-standing tradition of the duke’s family, the hunting competition, was completed with great success.

‘First shot, of course… . The process after that was quite smooth. Without any accidents.’

Along with the thought, Yonel burst into a smirk.

Today’s banquet wouldn’t change the duke’s perception, but at least it would have shown that they were healthy.

‘You can’t be full on the first step… . We have to change in this way in the future.’

It was when she laid her tired body on the bed with a murmur.

The next day, I hear a shocking story from Holland Leverkusen, who came to my office.

“Gyeol, Sir? What do you mean?”

Yonel trembles and asks a question.

“Now these people… . Are you saying they are all spies or traitors?”

Hallan nodded earnestly.

“I don’t know everything… . Some have questionable origins. Might be worth investigating.”

Yonel looks away again.

At the end of that gaze, there was a document that Halan had handed over.

In the documents, the names of those who can be called loyalists of the duchy, their birthplaces, and the families they belonged to before.

Miscellaneous other situations were written tightly.

While checking the information, Yonel muttered quietly.

“Dormund… I can’t believe there are so many people in my family… .”

“In any family, there are always spies. But this time there are a little more of them.”

Halan, who muttered this in a choked voice, gave advice.

“Don’t cut them off right now, take your time and send them out one by one. There are accurate evidence and circumstances, so just don’t give them a hole to escape.”

“… .”

“I know it’s hard, but it’s a road to go through, Yonel. Leo Bayern… . To protect the family he left behind.”

Yonel’s eyes redden at the name of her husband.

If it hadn’t been for Halan, it was so red that I would have burst into tears all at once.

Because of that, I knew that Yonel himself was an idiot.

The fact that there were many spies in the family meant that the authority of the head of the household had fallen to the ground.

‘but… . just one day… just one day… I wish I had noticed this later… .’

It was just last night.

It was the day I decided to move forward again as the head of the duchy.

But the very next day, when I heard this news, I couldn’t help but feel like my heart was breaking down.

That’s when I couldn’t answer anything.

Looking at Yonel like that, Halan suddenly declared.

“If you don’t mind the hard road, I want to go with you.”

“… !”

“Your Excellency Confucius. no Yonel. I’m sorry I didn’t pay attention until now. Because of the long conflict with the northern barbarians, I couldn’t take care of my friend’s family.”

Yonel opens his mouth in response.

I couldn’t even hide the tears in my eyes.

“that is… . Really, brother?”

“What are you going to do by lying in a place like this? I may not give full support right now, but at least I will help catch the rats that have taken root in the family.”

“… But then.”

Yonel hesitates to answer.

“I am afraid that the long tradition of the Leverkusen family may be broken. Leverkusen defending the North… I know you don’t get involved in politics under any circumstances.”

At the answer, Hollan’s gaze sank low.

At the same time, a scene flashes through my mind.

Imperial Academy.

A close friend walking in the academy’s garden and his girlfriend, Jonel Bavaria.

Halan muttered as he recalled those vague memories.

‘right. If I move in the current situation, I will break the old family tradition.’

However, I couldn’t wait to see the family of a close friend ruined in this way.

So, Hollan accepted Arthur’s request and came to this place.

He was on the verge of uncovering the tails of the spies who had infiltrated the duchy, and all that remained was the number and exact list.

However, Arthur scratched the itchy part exactly.

‘The names of the spies I couldn’t find… . That’s what I told you.’

Because of that, there was no reason to hesitate.

Identity and evidence of spies.

Because both of them are within reach.

That’s why I came here today, and that determination was very firm.

but.

‘… Arthur. It bothers me how the child knows this and what the true identity of that swordsmanship is.’

With a murmur, Halan’s gaze sank low.

However, he soon came to his senses and pushed the name Arthur Bayern into a corner of his head.

It was more important than Arthur Bayern to convince Yonel now.

Only then will he be able to uncover the secrets of Arthur Bayern.

After clearing his mind, Halan slowly opened his mouth to explain.

“Tradition is important. But more important than that is loyalty and oath. I promised Leo Bavaria, the father of the children, that I would be the godfather of Arthur Bavaria and Irene Bavaria.”

Hollan smiles softly.

“But they had no idea that I was their godfather. So, belatedly, I’m trying to be a godfather. To avoid being scolded by my friend whom I met again later.”

At the explanation, Yonel finally bursts into tears.

Halan silently handed over the handkerchief.

“Go, thank you. Oh my, Holland… .”

“Thank you… So, Yonel.”

“yes… Please speak.”

“Can you do me a small favor?”

Yonel stopped crying and answered.

“Tell me anything. I will do everything I can to give you what I can.”

Hollan’s eyes light up in response.

“Then I will speak without hesitation.”

Hollan proposes in a serious voice.

“Arthur Bayern. I’m thinking of taking him and raising him, what do you think?”