The Northern Grand Duke’s Crazy Son-in-Law

3. Sudden

“Nice to meet you. I am Daniel, the lord of Garseton Castle.”

Daniel was a very thin man. Gilbert was not short, but Daniel was a head taller than Gilbert.

“Gloomy.”

Galahad clicked his tongue and held Daniel’s hand.

“I am Galahad Ambertan.”

“·······Ambertan, then-. Oh, you are the son of Count Ambertan.”

Daniel’s complexion changed in an instant. As Daniel smiled, sharp yellow fangs were revealed.

‘He knows Count Ambertan.’

It was unexpected. If he was a central aristocrat, he would have known Count Ambertan, but this was the northern frontier.

Ambertan was a great aristocrat, but not enough to be famous here.

There were two possibilities. This aristocrat named Daniel was an ambitious aristocrat who wanted to advance to the center, or-

‘He has investigated Count Ambertan separately.’

Warm heat spread from the large fireplace behind Daniel. The shadows on Daniel’s face deepened and then faded.

“Why is the son of Count Ambertan with His Highness the Grand Duke?”

Daniel narrowed his eyes and trailed off.

“I was invited.”

“Invited?”

Instead of answering, Galahad pointed to Gilbert who was a little further away. Gilbert just nodded. It was a cheeky attitude, but Daniel didn’t seem to mind.

“Ah, I see. Have you eaten?”

When Galahad shook his head, Daniel revealed his yellow fangs again.

“Let’s eat together. It should be ready by now.”

***

‘It’s really northern food.’

Galahad muttered softly, stabbing the dripping meat with a fork.

He wondered if Gilbert had ordered it to be undercooked on purpose to make him suffer, but the meat here was also bloody. Rather, Gilbert’s meat was more well-cooked.

“Don’t you drink?”

“I’m abstaining.”

When Galahad shook his head, Daniel giggled. It was a strangely unpleasant smile.

Then, a maid served roasted vegetables on Galahad’s plate. Galahad frowned at the maid who was staring at him. Even if he were another aristocrat, the maid would have slapped him, but she slowly bowed her head.

“Aren’t you going to eat?”

“I’m fine. I ate earlier.”

Gilbert shook his head at Galahad’s question. The strange sound Gilbert had made before coming here was combined with the disgusting feeling.

“Are you a wizard by any chance?”

Then, Daniel asked an unexpected question. The dining table went silent in an instant. The maids who had been moving stopped in their tracks.

“I see you’ve investigated Ambertan.”

Galahad stared at Daniel. His twinkling eyes looked exactly like those of someone looking at delicious food.

“I’ve heard rumors that Ambertan’s third son is an excellent wizard.”

Daniel said while cutting meat with a knife. Red blood splattered slightly. Now that I looked closely, he was eating raw meat.

It was closer to a soliloquy than a question. Suddenly, Gilbert’s words, “In the North, they don’t distinguish between demons and wizards,” came to mind.

“If you’re a wizard?”

Galahad lowered his hand under the table. He slowly moved his mana. He was prepared to put a hole in his head at any moment. In this era where magic was hated, it was a basic courtesy for wizards.

“Ah! My daughter likes magic very much. She even took the academy exam, but she failed. She was so disappointed.”

Warmth appeared on Daniel’s face. Daniel chattered noisily, unlike before. Pieces of meat flew out of his mouth. Galahad frowned.

“Would it be okay if I called my daughter? I’m sure she’d be delighted to meet a wizard.”

Did he misunderstand? Galahad kept the mana in his hand.

“Call Emma! Hurry!”

Daniel shouted without waiting for Galahad’s answer. A maid rushed over at Daniel’s command.

Daniel’s daughter, Emma, who appeared shortly after, was quite a beauty.

The only thing she resembled Daniel was her tall height. She was as tall as Daniel, but unlike Daniel, her face was full of life and her eyes were large. She was a rare beauty.

“I see your wife is a beauty.”

“Yes? Oh, she was. Not anymore, though. Come say hello. He is a wizard, Galahad, who came from the capital.”

Emma held both sides of her skirt and bowed her head. It was an awkward, capital-style etiquette. Her gaze as she looked at Galahad was quite persistent.

‘It must be tiring to be popular.’

Emma sat right next to Galahad. A sweet scent wafted through the pungent smell.

“Did you really graduate as the youngest top student in the academy?”

Emma asked with sparkling eyes. Galahad smiled wryly and nodded.

“Wow! It was true! A friend of mine who entered the academy told me! That there was someone named Galahad!”

“My, what a chatterbox. As soon as I heard your last name, I knew right away. It’s amazing that you graduated as the youngest top student from the academy, which is hard to even enter.”

‘They didn’t investigate Ambertan.’

What they investigated wasn’t Ambertan, but Galahad. Wasn’t it a similar feeling to the parents of the eldest son?

“I worked hard.”

“No, graduating as the youngest top student in the academy is an unprecedented achievement. A genius among geniuses!”

Emma bumped her shoulder and laughed cheerfully. Galahad scratched the side of his neck with his finger.

It was true that he was talented. However, being able to graduate as the top student in the academy wasn’t simply a matter of talent.

It was a truly awful experience to exist in the body of a child with the mind of an adult. Galahad chose to read books rather than run around with children.

Galahad had been reading magic books like he was studying for a civil service exam since he was three years old.

The reason he graduated from the academy as the youngest top student was because he started studying magic at the youngest age.

To begin with, the amount of studying these guys did, who even took naps, couldn’t compare to the amount Galahad studied.

However, there was no need to bother explaining that.

“Can you watch my magic?”

Emma asked cautiously. Galahad nodded. He had to earn his keep.

Emma began to chant a boisterous spell. She even spread her arms out to the left and right. If someone saw her, they’d think she was casting some kind of great magic. Galahad desperately forced his furrowed brows to relax.

“Show me! Your anger-!”

‘Why is the incantation in reverse order?’

At that moment, Emma stretched out her hands with a ‘hup!’ A weak fire flared in the palm of Emma’s hand. It was not strong enough to light a cigarette.

Should I praise her courage for thinking of going to the academy with that skill? Galard pondered seriously.

“It’s gotten bigger! At this rate, it’ll catch on fire next time!”

Contrary to Galard’s thoughts, Daniel clapped his hands and cheered.

Galard shook his head. There was no chance that Emma would enter the academy. It was weaker than the magic Galard had displayed when he was three years old.

However, there was no need to say it out loud.

“Relax your palm a little more and put more strength into your mana.”

“Relax my palm? But how do I put more strength into my mana?”

“Do you need strength in your palm to move mana?”

“······Huh?”

What a blockhead. Galard tried to suppress his irritation.

“Mana moves with will, not with muscles. Many people make the mistake of thinking that they’re using muscles, but then they can’t move mana with their will. Separate the two.”

Galard explained as kindly as he could. He had said it more than a hundred times, so it came out smoothly. There were many blockheads among magicians. It was a rare world where people understood magic as a technique.

“······I see?”

Emma’s eyes narrowed. She didn’t seem to understand.

Yeah, if you could understand it all at once, you would have figured it out on your own. It’s not a sin to be stupid.

Galard sighed softly and held out his hand. Emma’s eyes widened.

“Let me see your hand.”

“Yes? Oh, yes.”

Emma’s hands were cold, as if she had Raynaud’s disease. Galard poured mana through his hand.

Normally, it was dangerous to put mana into someone else, but not for Galard. He had done it hundreds of times already.

‘She has quite a lot of mana.’

Galard was genuinely impressed. Compared to her lousy skills, she had quite a lot of mana. Did Daniel feed her something good?

“My teachings are expensive, so concentrate.”

“Yes!”

“Don’t open your mouth and concentrate on the mana.”

Emma kept her mouth shut and just moved her neck. Galard touched Emma’s mana and guided the flow. Considering her stupidity, he repeated it about five times.

“······Ah!!”

Emma let out an excited cry. Emma’s hand clenched and then opened.

“Do you understand now?”

“Yes! So that’s what you meant by moving with will, not muscles! Ah!”

Emma jumped up and down with joy. The fire in Emma’s palm remained.

I guess she didn’t understand. Suppressing the urge to smack her head, he took Emma’s hand again.

After repeating it about ten more times, Emma’s fire grew bigger. Now she could light a cigarette. Galard clicked his tongue softly.

“Thank you so much, Galard!”

“It’s nothing. Imparting knowledge is a basic quality of a magician.”

Galard shook his head at the outpouring of gratitude.

In reality, it wasn’t much of a lesson, and exploring someone else’s mana was something that helped Galard as well.

‘Compared to her stupid head, she has more mana than I thought. Is it innate?’

“Or did you take some sort of supplement?” Galahad muttered with narrowed eyes.

“Please go and rest. I will prepare a comfortable night for you.”

“Yes! Go and rest! You must!”

Daniel, who had become strangely calm, and Emma, whose face was flushed, spoke in turn.

Galahad stared at Gilbert. Gilbert still felt like he was taking a step back, as if he had nothing to do with him.

It could be dangerous, but he was curious. Curiosity was a basic requirement for a wizard.

“Then I will not refuse.”

Galahad nodded with a smile.

“······Adultery is punishable by death in the North.”

Gilbert, who had approached quietly, whispered. His expression was very serious.

“Didn’t I say I’m not married yet?”

Gilbert chuckled at Galahad’s reply.

***

The room was quite nice considering it was in the North. There was a bed, a simple bathtub, and even a fireplace. Of course, it was smaller and dirtier than the shabby inns in the capital.

‘Because it’s the North.’

Galahad washed his body lightly with magic and sat on the bed.

‘Candles in this day and age-.’

As he lit the candle, the orange light flickered precariously, illuminating the room.

Galahad circulated his mana out of habit. Then he set up a simple alarm magic set. It was a basic requirement for a wizard.

Plus, Gilbert’s creepy words-.

‘The North.’

Galahad closed his eyes, only leaning back. Galahad, a wizard, was fine with a light sleep.

How much time had passed? The alarm magic rang. Galahad slowly opened his eyes.

The long candle was revealing the floor. The windows were closed, so the only light came from the precarious fire in the fireplace that looked like it was about to go out.

Thud, the faint sound of the fireplace grated on his ears.

Galahad circulated his mana to wake himself up. As he exhaled, his muscles, which had been frozen in the cold, relaxed. His mind, which had been sinking, stood up straight.

Creak-. The door opened slowly. A familiar, full skirt came into view.

‘Emma.’

Galahad frowned. To open the door to an outsider’s room at night-.

Emma was certainly a beauty. She lacked a chest, but instead had slender legs.

However, Galahad was on his way to marry the eldest daughter of the Grand Duke. Galahad wasn’t stupid enough to make a mistake because of his lust.

“I purely taught you magic, I had no other intentions. I apologize if you misunderstood.”

Galahad refused as politely as possible.

Perhaps his refusal was weak, as Emma approached quickly. The room was dark, so he couldn’t see her face.

‘This popular bastard.’

As Galahad sighed, Emma stood by the bedside. Emma had something in her hand. Was she using a tool? Even more disgusting-.

Then, Emma jumped up. Because of that, Emma’s skirt fluttered like wings.

How reckless-. Galahad couldn’t help but instinctively block his moving gaze.

Thud. A ferocious beast that shouldn’t have existed under the skirt greeted him forcefully.

‘···Thud?’

Galahad, who had experienced a wide range of situations and rarely panicked, was momentarily dazed by the unexpected turn of events.

As the skirt fell, Emma’s face came into view.

A bushy beard and sharp eyes—

It wasn’t Emma, but Daniel.

Wearing Emma’s clothes.

“The heart of a wizard is so exquisite! Become the nourishment for our daughter! We shall repay this favor tenfold!”

Daniel, his fangs elongated, lunged at Galahad.

Clang!

“You’re really going too far.”

Galahad’s eyes narrowed.