Duke Pendragon

"Feed this to her."

Raven took something out of his pockets and threw it.

"This is…?"

Lucas' eyes grew bigger after he picked up a small glass bottle the size of his thumb.

"It is a mana potion mixed with a little bit of an elixir. It should work fine to treat her injuries for now."

"Ah!"

Although they didn't know what an elixir was, the expressions of Lucas and Otto filled with surprise when they saw the mana potion. Such objects were extremely rare, and only high-ranking wizards known as masters or high-ranking elven priests were capable of crafting potions. Lucas quickly uncapped the potion and poured its contents into Fiona's mouth.

"Ah…"

After a while, Fiona opened her eyes with a moan.

"Brother Lucas, father… What happened to me?"

Fiona looked up at the two people and spoke in a child-like tone. It appeared her body was healed, but she was still slightly confused.

"F, Fiona!"

Otto's eyes glimmered with tears as he looked down at his daughter with relief. Soon, he raised his head and met Raven's gaze.

Although both of them were fathers, one attempted to kidnap the other's child, while the other saved the first's child. Otto's teary eyes were colored with shame as he dropped his head. He couldn't even say thank you.

What could he possibly say?

The debt he owed the Pendragon family was not something that could be paid by words. Nevertheless, Otto slowly raised his head. Although his eyes were still filled with tears, he spoke with a determined expression.

"I will pay back the debts owed to Your Majesty Pendragon and the royal family of Pendragon with my life…"

"Father."

Lucas called out in a firm voice while embracing Fiona.

"Apologize."

Otto was slightly taken aback. The expression of his eldest son was as stiff as his voice.

"You must apologize to His Majesty Pendragon. Admit your wrongs and thank him. He will never forgive you, but you must beg for forgiveness."

"You… I, I…"

Otto stuttered after hearing Lucas' firm advice. All kinds of thoughts were swirling inside his head. However, Lucas did not stop.

"Your status as a margrave? Your pride? Forget about all of that. Are those things more important to you than the safety of the land? Do you value yourself and our family above Mirin? A lord cannot exist without the land and its people. So kneel before His Majesty Pendragon and beg for forgiveness. That is what you must do right now as Mirin's Margrave."

"…..!"

Otto's shoulders quivered at Lucas' harsh words.

Was it because he was furious?

No.

The son spoke his words with a dry attitude. Otto could not feel any anger in Lucas' voice, although Otto kicked out his eldest son and successor. Lucas' dignified appearance was reflective of a loyal knight faithfully pointing out deeds to be done.

That was why…

That was why Otto was even more shocked.

'This boy… Was he always such a tremendous knight?'

He was blinded by ambition. He had been unable to recognize his child's true self. Perhaps it was just as they said – the beacon did not shine on its own base. He had been blind because Lucas was always by his side.

Perhaps that was why his daughter was looking up at her brother with a surprised expression. She was truly seeing her brother for the first time.

"Huh, Haha…!"

He couldn't help but laugh.

It was a bitter laugh of self-mockery and shame.

"….."

Otto slowly lifted himself up.

The worried father could no longer be seen, and in his place was the iron-blooded ruler of the vast land of Mirin. The margrave walked towards the king responsible for his crushing defeat.

Thud.

He knelt to his knees.

"I, lord of Mirin, confess and apologize to the descendant of the great dragon, the Founding King of Pendragon. I attempted to kidnap the blood of Pendragon, and I dared to test Your Majesty to satisfy my own greed. Do not forgive me, but please forgive Mirin. The sin is with me, not Mirin!"

Boom! Boom!

Although he had been blinded by greed and ambition, Otto was a knight who devoted his entire life to the barren, northeast land and to his compatriots. He bashed his head against the floor repeatedly after speaking.

"Father…"

"Your Excellency…!"

Both of his children and the knights of Mirin choked up with tears. However, there was nothing they could do. The eyes of all the people in the hall became focused on the man standing in front of the margrave.

"I accept the confession and apology of Mirin's Margrave."

"Ah!"

A short exclamation.

However, Raven wasn't finished yet. He continued with a cold, hard expression.

"In the capacity of a special envoy delegated full authority by His Majesty the Emperor, I dismiss the current Margrave of Mirin and order him to be placed on house order on the highest spire of Valeran Castle. No visits shall be allowed during the restriction except for his immediate family, until his funeral is held. Moreover, as of this time, the eldest son will succeed his position as the Margrave of Mirin…"

Raven's gaze shifted towards Lucas, who stood behind Otto.

"All military activities with the exception of Fort Efork's defense will be banned for the next ten years. If this is to be violated, I will personally take the lives of all those belonging to the Mirin family in the name of the Pendragon Kingdom and the Aragon Empire."

"…..!"

It was a harsh punishment. However, all the people of Mirin in the hall were deeply moved and felt a sense of incredible shock.

The King of Pendragon wasn't intending to kill anyone from the Mirin family.

This was grace.

Thud!

Lucas bowed deeply after falling on one knee.

"The great, magnificent grace of Your Majesty the King and His Majesty the Emperor! On behalf of all our family and our ancestors, I will forever be grateful! Praise to be Your Majesty! Praise to be the royal family of Aragon!"

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Lucas bashed the end of his blade into the floor.

"Praise to be Pendragon! Praise to be Aragon!"

All the knights present in the hall also followed suit and kneeled toward the great king while shouting in a desperate voice, smashing their weapons on the floor.

***

"You know this isn't forgiveness, right?"

"I do. Mirin… will surely decline."

Otto bowed his head while answering in a gloomy voice. He looked as if he had aged several years in only a moment.

"No, not necessarily."

Raven spoke indifferently, and Otto raised his head. Otto's gaze naturally headed towards where Raven was looking towards.

"You were blinded by greed and thrust yourself and your land into certain doom, but your son will be different."

"….."

Otto's eyes quivered as he looked at Lucas, who was helping Fiona sit on a chair.

"What Mirin needs now is a leader like your son. Although he isn't overwhelmingly capable, he is firm and loyal. He is a person who is not swept away by his emotions. A person who values their land above himself and his family. That is the kind of man your son is."

"Keugh…"

Otto once again clenched his eyes closed while groaning. A wave of shame and reproach washed over him.

He was the only one who did not know. He always considered his eldest son an incompetent successor and shunned him, but his son was much more capable than himself…

"I thank you once again for not taking away my pathetic life, Your Majesty. But why…"

Otto could not continue. He could not bring himself to ask. Raven responded in a bitter voice.

"Seven years ago, I would have killed you without a second thought. However, I became a father as well."

"Ah…"

"At the least, I could not bring myself to kill a father in front of his child. Perhaps I am not qualified to be a warrior, but… Phew, I do not know."

Even Raven couldn't tell whether he made the right decision or not. However, he had no regrets. It didn't matter if others called him weak or soft. It couldn't be helped if he were to be called a hypocrite for showing grace after taking countless lives in innumerable battlefields in the past.

Ever since he was reborn as Alan Pendragon, he was always changing.

"However, I have no intentions of forgiving the Shadow Brotherhood and the one who instigated you. So speak. Who is it that stands behind you?"

Raven's expression chilled once again as he asked, and Otto replied with a sigh.

"Count Jamie Roxan, the High Lord of Roxan."

"…..!"

Raven was surprised to hear the unexpected name. However, he soon regained his composure and asked.

"The High Lord of Roxan doesn't share a close relationship with Mirin, correct? So why did he approach you?"

"Phew! I don't know if Your Majesty knows, but the land of Mirin has always faced difficulty with procuring enough food even before I became the margrave. This is because we only have a limited amount of fertile land and a window to farm, even though our territory is quite large. As such, meat and oil have been Mirin's staple food for many years."

Raven already knew. That was why the people of Mirin possessed better physique and strength compared to people from other areas.

"But three years ago, about half of our livestock died from an unknown disease. Fortunately, humans were unaffected by the disease, but it caused the meat to rot extremely quickly, so we had to burn most of it."

"Hmm. That must have cost a shortage of food."

"Yes. We could not eat dried meat, milk, or even goat milk."

"Why didn't you request for support from the empire?"

"We did. However, it wasn't enough to feed all of the people. But then…"

"The High Lord of Roxan stepped up?"

"Yes…"

Raven had already predicted the answer, and Otto nodded in response.

"He sent us 500 carts of wheat and barley, as well as 2,000 livestock for less than half of the actual price. Thanks to him, we were able to extinguish the immediate crisis."

"Hmm…"

Such a feat was more than possible for Roxan, since they were the richest territory in the Aragon Empire. It was likely that the High Lord of Roxan approached Margrave Mirin afterwards.

"I was jealous. I was jealous of Roxan's rich land and wealth… Our land is barren and unsuitable for farming. If we had rich, fertile land instead, then we wouldn't have to watch children starve to death a few months after their birth…"

Otto's eyes filled with bitterness as he recalled the results of the terrible famine.

"And that was why Jamie Roxan pretended to empathize with you. Then he encouraged something."

"Yes, he asked me to cause an incident that would attract the eyes and ears of the imperial castle – something that would occur as far away from Mirin and Roxan as possible. The imperial army would have difficulty mobilizing. He told me to take advantage of it to invade the Lloyd territory, which is located on the southern border of our territory. Although it's quite small, only 30% of Mirin, it possesses a different climate and rich, fertile farmland."

"Hmm. So Mirin will use its military power to take over, and Roxan would have your back?"

"Yes…"

Otto nodded helplessly. He no longer had the energy to be surprised by Raven's great insight.

"So that's why you kidnapped my son and my sister. The Pendragon family is the in-laws of the current empress and shares blood with the imperial family. Obviously, the emperor would have been eager to find out the truth, and until then, the imperial army wouldn't have acted."

"Yes. Above all else, Roxan's High Lord spoke with certainty, and I believed in the reliability of the Shadow Brotherhood. The only person to be worried about was the Knight King of Valvas, and I believed that Number 1 could have tied his feet. Such was why I went ahead with the plan. And…"

Otto suddenly trailed off with a dark expression. Raven continued in his stead with a cold voice.

"The plan was successful in the beginning. But there was an unexpected variable, right? Me."

It was true.

Raven's appearance was a huge, overwhelming variable. Rather, it wasn't enough to call him a variable, but a tumultuous storm that could completely jeopardize the plan.

The return of Alan Pendragon and Soldrake was the beginning of the destruction of Otto and Mirin.

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