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[Translator - Pot ]
[Proofreader - Kawaii ]
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Chapter 218: The Duke's Gold for the Shadow Agent
"Father, may I ask three questions?"
"That's quite a few."
"Then should I ask just two?"
"It's fine. Ask all three."
Good. I organized my thoughts and started with the less important question first.
"As of today, I've become an agent of the Shadow Division. I'm curious about what exactly I should be doing from now on."
"What you need to do isn't much different from what you've been doing," Father said.
"After completing the tasks I mentioned earlier, you should properly go through your coming-of-age ceremony as the 4th son Allenvert, and later join the Special Operations Division to build your achievements."
However, separate from that...
"Behind the scenes, become an agent of the Shadow Division and carry out missions, and as 'Karzan,' become a powerful figure in the underworld."
Hearing my name from my previous life from Father's lips, and having it officially recognized, felt quite strange.
"As you said, it's not much different from what I've been doing so far."
"Correct. While doing so, you will work with Venion to check and sometimes overthrow both internal and external enemies who try to invade Grunewald."
What a life I'm living. A blade of the underworld becomes a noble clan's son, and now I'll be working as a spy in the shadow of a great house.
"Ask your second question," Father urged.
"This might be a somewhat blunt question—"
I paused briefly.
"Is Brother Verdzig our enemy, then?"
"Verdzig, Verdzig."
Father closed his eyes as if troubled.
"At this point, it's difficult to say Verdzig is more suited to be the successor than you."
"Because of his temperament?"
"It's not that simple," Father shook his head.
"Behind Verdzig stand the Bergen Count clan and the Agrippa Count clan. They harbor resentment toward me from the previous succession dispute, and above all, they're willing to borrow 'outside power.'"
"...So you believe the Agrippa clan will ultimately fall into Brother Verdzig's hands?"
"Though Somerset has somewhat awakened, it will be insufficient," Father declared. And his words were probably right.
'Poor fellow.'
Somerset's situation becomes more frustrating the more I think about it. This is exactly what they mean when they say someone dug their own grave.
"Father, if that's the case," I asked, "if I had still been locked away in my room waiting for death, how would you have resolved the succession then?"
This was essentially asking about the future that 'would have been' under the original circumstances.
"Our plan was this," Father answered after exchanging glances with Venion.
"If Verdzig had ultimately won, we would have eliminated the in-laws who would become his hands and feet, then assigned Venion to him as his shadow."
"...!"
I checked Venion's impassive expression. It was clearly neither a lie nor a joke.
"Then, Father, you were planning to eliminate or ruin the Bergen clan?"
Father nodded.
"Verdzig, being a 'rational' man, would have willingly sacrificed his maternal clan in exchange for becoming the head of Grunewald."
...It was cruel. But to me, his words didn't sound the least bit far-fetched.
"But then you appeared. At first, Verdzig observed you, then hindered and checked you, but now he has come to acknowledge you."
Therefore.
"Now Verdzig will actively borrow the power of his in-laws, and perhaps even 'outside powers' through them."
That would be the most advantageous strategy for Verdzig now.
"...Indeed."
I realized how Father viewed Verdzig.
"You have no reason to entrust the position of clan head to a son who could betray the clan for his own benefit."
"That's right, Allen. Karl or Ulbhild would never make such a choice."
Father closed his eyes.
"Looking back, my method of discipline may have been flawed. But it's also true that among children raised under 'the same conditions,' only Verdzig's temperament turned out so cruel."
That was Verdzig's downfall.
'In the end, he himself proved that he's not suitable to lead the clan.'
"Allen, now ask your third question."
...Actually, this was what I had wanted to ask most from the beginning.
"Seven years ago, what exactly happened between Eisenach and Grunewald?"
This wasn't an emotional question.
Rather, I wanted to understand Father's circumstances that 'forced him' to act as he did.
"...Though no one knows, at that time, I and Grunewald were in a position like standing on thin ice."
Father closed his eyes as if recalling the past.
"If I had taken even one wrong step, the ice could have broken, and we would have sunk."
The emotion in his voice was regret.
"Allen, what you truly want to know is what kind of situation that was, correct?"
"Yes."
"Back then, it was just a suspicion, but now it's a confirmed truth."
Father looked into my eyes and said:
"The one who aided 'Usurper' Grimnar Angantyr at that time was Count Agrippa."
"...!"
I felt my heart sink.
"Is that true?"
"It is true, Young Master."
Venion, who had mostly kept quiet while watching our father-son conversation, interjected.
"Originally, the Agrippa Count clan was quite close to the underworld. They hired assassins and information brokers through the underworld to help Grimnar Angantyr's usurpation."
This came from none other than Grunewald's Intelligence Director.
To summarize the situation with this concise statement, that man must have invested a tremendous amount of time and effort.
"However, there were two things they didn't know."
Two things? I furrowed my brow and asked:
"What's the first one?"
"They didn't expect that the Duke would abandon the 4th Duchess and Eisenach."
"...They formulated their strategy assuming that wouldn't happen."
"Correct," Venion nodded.
"What was their other misconception?"
"It's something you already know. Grimnar Angantyr abandoned Agrippa and bowed his head to the Duke."
"...!"
I turned to Father.
"Was that because you didn't take revenge for Eisenach?"
Father then said:
"That's right. Count Agrippa was waiting for me to march out in anger to attack Angantyr waiting for the moment when troops guarding Castle Grunewald would be gone."
"But because Father didn't move—"
"Instead of opposing me, Grimnar chose to submit to me, offering his daughter as a hostage to secure his position. He must have realized that was far more advantageous for his survival."
"...So Grimnar was also a man of cunning calculation."
"That's how he could become a usurper."
Just hearing these few secrets was enough to imagine how terrible the schemes from seven years ago must have been.
"In the process, Agrippa and Bergen 'lost their chance for revenge,'" said Venion.
I asked:
"Are you saying the Bergen Count clan also sided with Angantyr?"
"Yes. Of course, in a much more indirect and less blatant manner than Agrippa."
Venion replied.
"The reason they're now lying low is simple: they suspect that Your Highness knows but has shown mercy by covering it up."
"There's something I still don't understand."
Venion smiled as if he already knew what I would ask.
"You're wondering why we keep those who have rebelled twice as in-laws, aren't you?"
"Exactly."
"...Keep your enemies close. That was the advice my father gave me," Father said instead.
"For a great lord, embracing vassal families and clans is an important matter. If we were to purge them all, Grunewald would be weakened both during and after the process. That would also be the result the 'external enemy' desires."
"...So you maintain this uncomfortable coexistence?"
"That's what politics is. Keeping enemies under the same roof and checking them appropriately. While giving them 'false hope' to keep them controllable."
"...Then."
I asked something slightly different.
"Did you feel no love at all for the Second and Third Duchesses?"
Father answered curtly:
"Never. But I fulfilled my duties as a husband."
Then.
"The wife Father truly loved was..."
"Your mother."
Father's answer pierced a corner of my heart.
"Therefore, Allen, I was also a heartless husband who had to watch as my most beloved wife retreated into seclusion with a wounded heart."
While it might have been the best choice as the Duke of Grunewald.
As a man named Georg, his heart must have been torn to shreds by that decision.
"You must not have weaknesses. Human emotions become targets for enemies to attack. That's why I abandoned myself as a father and husband, and made thoroughly political choices."
"Looking back, the result was correct."
Father nodded.
"As I've said before, I would make the same judgment even if I went back in time. However, the fact that I had to remove my beloved Lusatia from the equation is a pain I don't think I could ever get used to, even if it happened a hundred times."
The head butler, who had been silent until now, spoke:
"Over the years, Your Highness has sent hundreds of letters to the 4th Duchess, and the 4th Duchess hasn't opened a single one."
"..."
"But she didn't tear them up or throw them away either. Perhaps by now, she may be taking out those stored letters and reading them."
Recalling my meeting with Mother, I murmured:
"Truly intense love and hate."
"To Lusatia, and to you, I only feel apologetic as a human being," Father said.
"And though it's shameless, I feel immensely grateful to you. If it weren't for you, Lusatia would never have found her light again."
Looking at Father's face, I joked:
"...When are you going to visit her? If you're scared to go alone, shall I go with you?"
Father laughed softly.
"This father cannot show his son an undignified appearance."
It was a rare joke from Father.
"...Father."
After today, I felt I understood Father more deeply.
"Speak, Allen."
"I was your most pleasant miscalculation, wasn't I?"
Father gave a faint smile.
"Allen."
"Yes."
"Now you need to properly build your own forces. Create a personal guard, recruit talented people, and strengthen the Bisakino Brotherhood further."
"A personal guard?"
Father nodded and turned to the head butler.
"Head Butler."
"Yes."
He brought something as if it had been pre-arranged.
"Open it."
I was greatly surprised when I opened the box.
"Father, this is...?"
"It's the Duke's gold for the Shadow Agent. Use it as you see fit."
"No..."
I could only stupidly gape.
"You're giving me whole gold bars."
Inside the box were large gold bars, surrounded by valuable gems and elixirs.
"Father..."
As I looked at him with a moved expression, Father joked.
"It would be troublesome to assign work without providing compensation."
See, my father is such a thoughtful man.
"You're absolutely right."
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[Translator - Pot ]
[Proofreader - Kawaii ]
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