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

4. Coat as a Gift

“It’s for my daughter, so please understand! A wizard’s fundamentals, you know!”

Daniel’s mouth hung agape. A dagger-like fang protruded between his lips. His bloodshot eyes and stringy skin made it clear that he was not human.

“You’re talking about a wizard’s basic qualities? I’m sorry, but I only have one heart, so it’s a bit difficult to give it away.”

“Are you not a wizard!?”

He calmly explained his reason for refusing, but Daniel seemed unable to comprehend.

Clicking his tongue, he manipulated his mana. Sparks crackled intensely at his fingertips. He rapidly generated sparks between his fingers.

The sparks, small at first, grew in size as they passed through his fingers. He brought his hand, now engulfed in the enlarged sparks, to Daniel’s abdomen.

“Kyaah!”

Daniel screamed and writhed. His few remaining hairs stood on end. A burnt smell filled the air.

It was only for a moment. He charged again as if he had never been hurt.

The magic he had cast hastily was weak, but it wasn’t so weak as to leave him unscathed.

Galahad examined the monster’s wound. Even a knight would have received a stylish lightning tattoo if hit directly, but the monster had only been charred black.

‘Demon?’

It was a well-known fact that demons were largely unaffected by magic. After all, the roots of magic lay in demons.

“You have also taken a liking to my daughter, have you not? You must give her your heart for the sake of love, like a true man!”

“When did I ever take a liking to her? I just felt sorry for her because she was so clumsy but hardworking, so I taught her magic. And to be honest, Emma is just like you, so I dislike her.”

“What?! Who are you calling clumsy?! Don’t try to fool me! I saw everything you did when you were peeping!”

Daniel shouted, baring his long fangs. Galahad was taken aback. After all—.

“Emma looks just like you, which makes her ugly! That’s why I mistook her for you.”

“How dare you insult my daughter! I can’t stand it! As a token of apology, you shall offer me your heart!”

“Why is it my fault that Emma is ugly? It’s your fault.”

He explained calmly, but the dim-witted demon refused to listen.

Galahad scattered his mana into the air. Clack— Daniel’s fangs were blocked in midair. His bloodshot eyes rolled around. He looked terrifyingly hideous.

“In truth, I am destined to become the Archduke’s son-in-law. You should beg for my forgiveness, even now.”

“Son-in-law? The Archduke despises wizards! And even if you were to go to the Archduke, you would only die in agony anyway, so you should obediently become nourishment for our lovely daughter! It’s more constructive that way!”

Daniel screamed and moved his hands. He seemed to have found a gap in the magic, and his claws tore through it. His long claws aimed for Galahad’s shoulder.

He could block it, but if he did, he would be put on the defensive. Having made his calculations, Galahad fell backward and swung his mana.

A sharp pain emanated from his shoulder. For a moment, his mind wavered, but the magic remained undisturbed. A long, fierce flame erupted from Galahad’s hand.

“Kyaaak! You’re shooting fire at someone! You crazy wizard!”

“Didn’t you stab me first with your nails! It hurt me too!”

“Aaagh! Damn it!”

Daniel, engulfed in flames, jumped up.

The pain in his shoulder momentarily blurred his vision, but the magic shot straight at Daniel.

A long line was drawn across Daniel’s chest. His pink dress tore apart, revealing abundant chest hair.

Daniel’s eyes rolled back as he raised both hands. His pitch-black nails grew longer.

Galahad quickly conjured a solid shell around him. It shattered easily upon contact with Daniel’s nails. Were the nails infused with mana? Galahad rolled to the side, curiosity piqued.

A burning pain shot through his waist. Daniel’s nails had grazed Galahad’s waist.

Fire erupted from Galahad’s hand once more. Daniel let out a long scream. A disgusting, burning smell wafted in the air.

Galahad suddenly thought of Gilbert. He had told him to guard carefully, yet he still hadn’t appeared.

“Gilbert! A crazy lord is trying to attack me in a skirt! Your master’s husband’s chastity is in danger!”

“Kukukuku… Are you calling for a knight? He’s probably late by now. I gave him some very strong wine.”

Daniel replied, caring his half-burnt face. As he scratched his face with his nails, it returned to its unblemished state.

‘They say he’s a good fighter. Has he already been defeated?’

It seemed unlikely that a knight of the Grand Duke would be defeated, but whether they were a knight or an emperor, they would die all the same if a sword pierced their neck.

He couldn’t be sure.

In any case, Gilbert’s help was far away. It seemed he would have to solve this himself.

After all, keeping an incompetent by your side would only lead to unnecessary suffering.

Galahad clicked his tongue and began to mobilize his mana in earnest. Mana swirled around his fingers. He didn’t need an incantation, as he had memorized all the formulas and chants.

With a wave of his hand, a tall wall of fire rose up.

“You coward, using magic! Let’s fight fair and square, wizard!”

He was a fellow with high mana resistance. The flames wouldn’t hold out for long.

However, that was enough.

Galahad’s black pupils sank deeply. His mind raced.

The mana moved in sync with his movements, and he recalled the answers to the chants. The magic calculations followed in sequence.

“For our genius magician daughter, Emma!”

The flames parted, and a golden-brown roasted Daniel emerged.

“I’ll say it again, Emma has no talent. She’s actually quite foolish.”

Galahad calmly explained, flicking his finger toward the man’s thigh.

A sharp ice arrow pierced his thigh. Simultaneously, he released the mana he had been compressing.

The size of the ice arrow embedded in his thigh swelled up in an instant. It was an excellent combination spell that would have impressed other magicians, but due to his mana resistance, it failed to tear through his skin.

“The fool is you! You’re a magician who goes to the Grand Duke!”

Daniel, seeing him, grinned and lunged. He seemed to think he had won.

How foolish.

The ice arrow had thrown off his center of gravity. The nails he had aimed at Galahad swiped past at an angle. A lock of Galahad’s hair was cut off and floated in the air.

Sparks flew from Galahad’s palm.

“It’s useless! You filth of the Demon Realm- Eugh, gah!”

Daniel let out a low scream, but his gaze remained fixed on Galahad. Just as he had said, he paused for only a moment.

However, that was enough. Galahad placed his hand near the man’s heart.

“You imbecile······.”

Daniel couldn’t finish his words.

Daniel’s bloodshot eyes opened wide. His mouth gaped, but all that escaped were ragged breaths.

“The mana of the mazoku is truly in their blood.”

Galahad marveled as he manipulated mana. The mana flowed over his hand, which was placed on Daniel’s heart.

He could sense Daniel’s mana completely. Unlike humans, his mana was spread throughout his body.

It was a bit cruder than human mana. It felt unprocessed – closer to the source of mana, but its nature was similar.

“Mana flows from areas of low concentration to areas of high concentration. That is the law of mana. That’s why mazoku devour weaker mazoku or mages.”

It was a bit of a gamble. If Daniel’s mana concentration was higher, Galahad would be the one in danger.

However, that was unlikely.

Daniel’s anger flared at Galahad’s calm explanation, but he couldn’t resist.

Daniel’s blood moved according to Galahad’s will. Like a well-trained dog.

It was incomprehensible. A human manipulating the mana of a mazoku? Mages were nothing more than the filth and sewage of mazoku. How dare he-.

Daniel looked up and froze. The eyes of Galahad, looking down at him, were calm.

They were the eyes of an observer, devoid of emotion, like when he held Emma’s hand and guided her mana.

“Oh ho- So that’s how it moves.”

Daniel’s blood moved erratically. It was excruciatingly painful, but Daniel couldn’t even scream.

“Can I use it? Oh, it seems I can. Though the taste is quite unpleasant.”

Daniel’s forearm burst open with a spray of sparks. Sparks erupted instead of blood. A quiet exclamation of admiration escaped his lips.

“Bear with me for a moment. I think I’ll get the hang of it after a few more tries. Please.”

Daniel’s breath grew ragged. Then, he vomited fire.

“Does it hurt? Why does it hurt when your mana exists as blood?”

Galahad asked Daniel. His forearm was torn open and he was vomiting fire, and he asked if it hurt? What kind of question was that?

Just then, violent sparks erupted from Daniel’s opposite shoulder. A searing pain, as if his bones were being scraped, shot through Daniel.

“Just a moment. Hang on a little longer. You can do it. Exert yourself.”

Daniel wanted to collapse, but Galahad’s hand, which was holding his shoulder, wouldn’t let go.

“Did you feed another mage’s heart to Emma? Did you feed it to her raw? Or did you cook it?”

Ah-. Daniel’s left leg froze. Grotesque vines erupted from his right leg. Tiny flames flickered in Daniel’s eyes.

He couldn’t feel any more pain.

“Oh, he’s dead.”

Galahad clicked his tongue as he looked at the fallen Daniel.

‘A mazoku, huh? They are certainly interesting.’

He had gotten too excited and failed to control himself. For a mazoku to die so easily – they were even more pathetic than the rumors suggested.

He lit a cigarette to soothe his disappointment. The refreshing lemon scent masked the smell of burnt flesh.

‘How many hearts did he feed her?’

Galahad recalled Emma’s mana. It seemed she had eaten at least four, maybe even five.

‘She ate quite a few.’

In any case, these creatures were desperate because they couldn’t devour mages.

Thinking belatedly of Gilbert, Galahad muttered a curse and headed for the door.

“It would be annoying if you were to die.”

If Gilbert were to die, who would guide them? While grumbling, he headed towards the door and noticed a familiar coat lying next to it.

It was the expensive-looking coat that Yeongju had been wearing.

“Looks like I don’t need to buy a coat.”

Galahad glanced at Daniel and slipped into the coat. It was quite warm. This was satisfactory.

“Thanks for the gift. I’ll use it well.”

Galahad thanked Daniel and opened the door.

“You woke up early.”

Gilbert was calmly cleaning his sword, but the corridor looked different from before.

It was smeared with red here and there, and fragments were scattered about. It looked as if it could pass for hell.

At that moment, something next to Gilbert collapsed. Upon closer inspection, it was Emma.

“Didn’t I tell you? It’s a dangerous place.”

“This is dangerous-. Yeongju came wearing Emma’s skirt.”

“Oh, does it suit me?”

“You look better in it than Emma. Yeongju must have been a demon. Not a real demon, though.”

“Aha, he must have been a bad guy.”

Gilbert smiled ambiguously. He seemed to be trying to control his expression, but it looked quite good.

‘It wasn’t certainty, but suspicion.’

Perhaps it was a place that the Grand Duke had been keeping an eye on.

Of all the castles, it had to be this one-.

‘I’m unlucky. I’m unlucky.’

Galahad grumbled as he buttoned up the coat. It was fortunate that he had gotten a good coat.

“It seems that demons are common in the North. For a demon to be a lord.”

“Would it be only in the North?”

Galahad let out a cough-like laugh.

At that moment, the sun could be seen rising beyond the window. There was no sign of life in the bare trees and the monotonous brown land.

It wasn’t for nothing that the North was given the nickname, ‘cursed land’.

Beyond that, carriages with familiar crests could be seen. They were the Grand Duke’s crests.

“Did the Grand Duke come to meet us in person?”

“How could that be?”

Soldiers jumped down from the carriage in a hurry. Among them was a handsome man who looked like a noble.

The handsome man bowed his head as he looked at Gilbert. Gilbert nodded.

‘Did I do the Grand Duke’s work for him?’

Did I earn some points?

Galahad, who had been grumbling, met eyes with Emma. Emma couldn’t even open her eyes as if she were feeling wronged. Galahad clicked his tongue and lowered her eyelids. It wasn’t for Emma’s sake.

“Hey, do you know that?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Emma doesn’t look like Daniel at all.”

“······Yes?”

At that moment, soldiers rushed into the inner castle.

“It’s nothing. Go, you have a long way to go.”

Galahad chuckled as he watched Gilbert’s face turn dumb.

***

How many days had it been since they boarded the carriage?

Galahad’s mind was focused on the demons.

‘His whole body was mana. As if mana was their blood.’

Since Galahad’s mana was used as a medium, he could cast magic using the demons’ blood.

‘This is new information.’

There was little research on demons, and it was hard to find.

Researching demons, who had nearly destroyed the empire in the past, was strictly prohibited by imperial law.

Moreover, the current wizards were trying to erase the records of demons being the origin of magic. The Magic Tower also forbade the study of demons.

Furthermore, the Church was firmly opposed to it, so wizards tried to distance themselves from demons in any way possible.

However, there was neither the Magic Tower nor the Empire in the north. There was a Church, but its authority was weak.

He would be able to freely research the demons that he had always been curious about.

At that moment, the carriage came to a halt with a loud thud.

‘We’ve arrived.’

The door was roughly opened. Something covered in white fur thrust its face inside.

‘A snowman?’

At that moment, the fur moved and snowflakes fell profusely.

“Are you Garakhad!!?”

The man shouted in broken Imperial.

“Not Garakhad, it’s Galahad.”

“Yes! Garakhad! Get out!”

The man gestured. The man’s fur hat fluttered violently. As he grabbed his bag and got out of the carriage, a cold wind blew through his coat.

The wind was so cold that it felt like he was being stabbed with a real knife. The outside world was a world of pure white. He could only see white everywhere he looked.

Galahad circulated his mana and opened his coat.

“That’s a nice coat!”

“Yes? A friend gave it to me as a present.”

“What?!”

“A friend! Gave it to me! As a present!”

“What a good friend!!”

The wind was so loud that he couldn’t hear anything if he spoke normally. The man’s voice wasn’t unnecessarily loud.

“Congratulations on arriving at the northern wall!”

The man shouted. Galahad wondered what he meant.

What did he mean by arriving when there was nothing there?

The man laughed out loud and pointed behind him.

Something was dimly visible through the swirling snowstorm. Galahad narrowed his eyes at it.

What he had thought was a snow-capped mountain was actually a huge wall when he looked closely. It was so tall that it seemed to reach the sky, which was why he had thought it was a snow-capped mountain.

The huge wall stretched out as far as the eye could see.

It was as if it was dividing the world.

“This is the Northern Wall.”

Gilbert, who had changed into a fluffy coat, said out of the blue.

His ambiguous smile was a bit annoying, so I threw a lighthearted joke at him.

“Finally, I’ll be able to see my wife.”

Gilbert’s face hardened at once.

As expected, he was the type to enjoy teasing.

‘The most beautiful woman on the continent.’

Even Galahad, being a man, couldn’t help but have some expectations.