Chapter 118

Chapter 118
Chapter 118

“Colin, you are a person of flesh and blood, so it is only natural that you would want to support your former classmates. However, pushing me to employ someone incompetent simply because of your past association is…”

“Wait, that isn’t it at all! I didn’t summon her here; she sought me out herself, demanding a meeting with Your Grace!”

Colin gestured wildly in response to Lucian’s skepticism. He clarified that this wasn’t an attempt to land a friend a job through nepotism, but rather a situation he couldn’t avoid.

“I am well aware that Your Grace places no stock in the stars! It’s just that I am bound by a debt to her that I cannot simply overlook!”

“A debt? What sort of obligation are we talking about?”

“A debt tied to a prophecy. Do you recall what I mentioned when we first crossed paths?”

“Ah, that business.”

Lucian thought back to his initial encounter with Colin. After he had executed Godfrey by fire, Colin had suddenly pleaded for a place at Lucian’s side. When Lucian questioned the man’s audacity, the justification had been a spiritual reading.

Lucian still had a clear memory of his own bewilderment, stunned that Colin had traveled such a distance based entirely on the predictions of a fellow sorcerer.

“If I remember correctly, you claimed that if I turned you away, I would become a harbinger of death, but if I accepted you, I would become a savior?”

“Precisely. I staked everything on Your Grace because of that one vision.”

“And as it happened, it was accurate. By sticking to me then, you’ve risen to the position of Chief Mage of Asagrim.”

“That is exactly the issue. Had the vision been false, there would be no debt to speak of, but everything occurred just as she foresaw. Consequently, I still owe her for that guidance.”

“I suppose there is logic in that.”

Lucian rubbed his jaw, contemplating the matter. Truthfully, he remained a skeptic regarding seers and had no desire for a reading of his own. Nevertheless, Colin was no longer a mere subordinate; he was a trusted member of the inner circle. If it meant clearing a debt for a key lieutenant, granting an audience to one mystic wasn’t an impossible request.

“Very well. I shall grant her an interview.”

“I am deeply grateful for Your Grace’s compassion!”

“But understand this: it is only an interview. The White Palace has no vacancy for a mere stargazer. If she truly desires a position here, she must demonstrate capabilities that go beyond reading fates.”

“I will ensure she is fully aware of those terms.”

Colin offered several deep bows before hurrying out of the room.

Not long after, Colin returned accompanied by a woman. The newcomer, sporting vivid crimson hair, dropped to one knee before Lucian.

“I offer my greetings to His Grace, Duke Grimaldi. I am Helen, a former student of the Celestial School alongside my senior, Colin.”

“Yes, a pleasure. I understand you pressed Colin for this meeting. What is your purpose?”

“I have come to offer my services to Your Grace, humble as my talents may be. Please, allow me to enter your employ.”

Upon hearing Helen’s request for work, Lucian shot a look at Colin. His eyes silently asked if the conditions had been properly explained, and Colin responded with a firm nod.

Observing this, Helen gave a faint smile and spoke up.

“My senior was very thorough. He informed me that Your Grace possesses neither faith in nor a need for prophecies.”

“You are well-briefed. In that case, what use does an astrologer have for me? Are you suggesting I employ you for political deceptions?”

Lucian personally found such things baseless, but he knew the world was filled with those who didn’t. Many people placed their total confidence even in the frauds working street corners. If common folk were that susceptible, many lords would lose their composure over a mage’s prediction. If he utilized her against a competing noble who was prone to superstition, she might have value.

“The moment a fraudulent vision is found out, your life will be forfeit, so it would be a temporary role at best. But if that is the path you seek, I can make arrangements.”

“Please excuse me. This may come across as bold, but I do not trade in falsehoods. One who masks the truth they have perceived with their own hand will eventually be blinded by that very hand.”

“I apologize, but divination holds no interest for me. If you wish to practice as a seer, you should look elsewhere.”

“I did not travel here to find work as a seer. I wish to provide my intellect to Your Grace as a counselor.”

“A counselor?”

Lucian gave a short laugh, drumming his fingers on the arm of his throne. A mystic advisor—wasn’t that a tired old story?

“According to history, rulers who leaned on omens often kept astrologers as advisors. And the realms those rulers governed typically collapsed into ruin.”

“This is not counsel derived from a vision, but advice based on my own objective analysis. If you find me doubtful, then please, simply listen to this single suggestion I provide now.”

“Go ahead and speak. But do not be offended if I choose to ignore it after you’ve gone to the effort of presenting it.”

“I will furnish Your Grace with a military force.”

Lucian blinked, caught off guard by the abrupt, seemingly random claim. She spoke of giving advice, and now she was promising an army?

“I have no requirement for an army. The veteran units sent by the Imperial Family and the Blue Rose Knight Order are already securing Asagrim. Organizing a new force here would simply be a drain on the treasury.”

“The soldiers provided by the Imperial Family are not truly Your Grace’s men. Their primary allegiance is to the throne, not to you. They are essentially visitors who will depart the second the Imperial Family commands them. Is what Your Grace requires not a force that gives you their total devotion?”

“Hmm.”

She wasn’t mistaken. That was, in fact, why he had planned to build a military once the region was more stable. Though he had moved toward winning the hearts of the Blue Rose Knight Order after seeing their friction with the Crown, her perception was sharp for an outsider.

Lucian tilted his head, prompting her to continue, and Helen proceeded.

“Doubtless, Your Grace is already aware of this and has prepared accordingly. However, regardless of the strategy, forging an elite fighting force takes years.”

“That is a given. You aren’t implying we should recruit mercenaries from abroad to cut corners, are you?”

Lucian’s expression turned frosty. The reason he preferred to develop his own elites, despite the time required, was clear. In the transition from a disorganized group to an elite unit, the soldiers would develop a bond with the lord who provided for them. Conversely, those who were already skilled knew their worth and would expect high pay and status. To the men he trained, the growth itself was a reason for loyalty, but for outsiders, that link was missing. This was why Lucian treated the Blue Rose Knight Order and the Imperial units with such high regard.

“That is true. The current political state is far too volatile to wait for a disorganized mob to become elites.”

Even as the mood in the room sharpened, Helen didn’t flinch as she agreed. Just as a frustrated Lucian prepared to dismiss her, she added more.

“Past the northern wastes, in the Frozen Land—a realm of frost that only a handful can now reach—those who share your bloodline still survive.”

“…What?”

Lucian asked, his voice flat with shock at the bizarre claim. Simultaneously, his last talk with Norbeck came back to him.

—Before our people made their home in Asagrim, back when they were nomadic tribes. There were thirty-five clans in the wastes much further north than these lands.

A hidden history unknown to most in the North. The actual origins of the Northern Royalty. And they were still out there?

While Lucian sat there in a daze, Helen’s words reached him again.

“Bring the clans beyond the wastes under your banner and become the rightful King of the North.”

Lucian decided to put Helen’s idea on the back burner for now. The pressing concern was the integration of the settlers, not the recruitment of a new military. Helen, to her credit, accepted his decision.

“I am content to wait, but I have no desire to be a burden on your resources. If there is any leftover task, please allow me to handle it.”

“Are you capable of assisting Colin with magical research?”

“I apologize, but I don’t believe that would be effective. Though we share a background, the disciplines my senior and I mastered are of a completely different sort.”

“I was told you were from the same academy. Are the differences truly that vast?”

“It is comparable to the gap between a soldier wielding a blade and one managing a ballista. Both are part of the conflict, but their training is distinct.”

Put in those terms, he couldn’t argue, but there wasn’t much else for a mage to do. He had already rejected divination, and her slight frame didn’t suggest she was suited for manual labor. The only remaining option was the administrative management of the land.

“Do you have any experience with civil administration?”

“Very little, but I am confident that my fundamental education matches that of any government worker.”

“In that case, take the minor filings and categorize them by department. That should be manageable for someone with basic literacy.”

He gave the order, though his expectations were low. Managing a territory often turned into a chaotic mess regardless of how well things were labeled. It wasn’t a lack of skill among the workers, but rather that one job often bled into the responsibilities of another department. While technically a breach of protocol, it was often more practical to fix minor problems immediately and apologize later.

‘Realistically, making them coordinate every tiny detail is a waste of energy. Once one project gets stuck, everything else grinds to a halt.’

Lucian understood this, but since the needs of the people outweighed the tidiness of the files, he permitted a certain level of chaos. It was better to act fast, even if it was messy, than to have a backlog that confused the settlers. To put it simply, if the filing system failed, it would stall everything, and the blame would land squarely on the coordinator.

‘If you truly want to be a counselor, you should be able to handle at least this much.’

Providing shocking information was one thing; her actual utility was another. If she couldn’t show real skill, there was no reason to grant her a position of influence.

A few days later, when Lucian went to observe the administrative staff, he was greeted by a wave of appreciation.

“The number of pointless filings has plummeted! There used to be so many nonsensical requests that just weeding them out took all day!”

“I reviewed the rejected papers just to be sure, and she had sorted the vital ones perfectly.”

“A remarkably skilled individual has joined our ranks. I would love to groom her as my successor; could you please place her in my department?”

“…I will take it under consideration.”

Lucian offered a non-committal reply and pulled Colin to one side.

“Does a sorcerer’s training include a grasp of civil management? Can you perform administrative tasks like that?”

“How could that be?! I am the one who is most shocked! I never suspected Helen had such a gift!”

“I thought you shared a school?”

“We were in the same school, but our curriculum was entirely different! My mentor warned me that if a student who hasn’t even reached their peak tries to master both, they will spread themselves too thin and fail at everything, so I never even tried to look at what she was studying!”

In essence, even her own senior, Colin, was in the dark about the extent of her training.

After a month had passed, Lucian called for Helen once more. If she were just a smooth-talking seer chasing a title, that would be one thing, but since she had proven herself to be a legitimate talent, her words deserved a deeper look.

“I have a question. From what I know, the route through the northern wastes is so brutal that it is impossible to navigate without loss of life.”

“It is exactly as you describe. Because the temperature has dropped even further, now only a select few sorcerers can even manage to forge a path and travel back and forth for a short time.”

“Then how am I meant to cross those wastes? Even if I make it across, it means nothing if those clans cannot follow me back to Asagrim.”

Responding to Lucian’s inquiry, Helen smiled and answered.

“The solution is straightforward. You simply need to secure the Dragon’s Heart.”