Chapter 27

Chapter 27

On a chilly afternoon in the Agnus Duchy, two men sat in the office, on the opposite sides of a wooden table, staring at each other. The older of the two was, of course, Duke Agnus, lord of the duchy and commander of legions. The other was Joshua, a young boy with flushed ears. The thick soundproofing allowed no sounds inside to interrupt their terse silence.

“I received some reports...” The Duke heaved a sigh and drummed his fingers against the table. “...that said you requested a sparring session...no, more of a showcase with the soldiers. And, hahhh, some lives have been lost.”

The Duke's voice was monotone.

Any ordinary person would have found it mentally taxing to just look at the Duke right now. Behind his mild tone and stoic expression, he could be hiding blistering rage without anyone the wiser. But that was not the case for Joshua, since he had interacted with the Duke in his previous life.

‘The Duke must be uncomfortable with a child wielding such power.’ Joshua didn’t miss the disappointment in the Duke’s eyes; he knew he had to reply, and fast.

“Yes. But my actions were fair and just. They were executed for slandering the nobility.” Joshua answered with a relaxed expression.

“Slander?” Duke Agnus’s frown creased his forehead.

“That soldier disrespected my mother. According to military law, a soldier who insults the nobility should be immediately executed.”

Duke Agnus kept his intense gaze on Joshua. He knew that, of course. There had been hundreds of people there. Each and every detail then had spread out, and they had unerringly reached his ears. But when he had found out, the first thing he had felt was anger.

He felt that Joshua had not done anything wrong. If he had been in the same situation, he would have cut the soldier’s head off with a single strike.

‘But what a pity...’

In Duke Agnus’s opinion, Joshua had mishandled the issue. According to a soldier’s personal experience and perspective, Joshua’s actions—namely, a summary execution—could be considered a fair and just punishment. However, considering Joshua’s age, the soldiers would only most likely think of it as a child’s tantrum.

Most of all, the Duke was unhappy that Joshua hadn’t brought up the incident to him at all.

“Do you think it was just a child’s tantrum?”

Duke Agnus’ eyes widened in surprise at Joshua’s sudden question as though the child had read his most secret thoughts.

Joshua didn’t miss the Duke’s surprise. He had no intention of throwing away the favor he’d accumulated.

“The main reason was that he insulted my mother... but that wasn’t the only reason.”

“There were others?”

Joshua answered with a nod.

“If that was the only reason, there would've been no reason to do it in front of all the other centurions.”

Duke Agnus had the same thoughts. This was also the decisive factor that he felt Joshua was just throwing a child’s tantrum: what was the reason that Joshua needed to display such an act before the soldiers?

To resolve the curiosity brewing inside Duke Agnus, Joshua continued, “I have two reasons.”

“Two reasons?”

“One is to make the soldiers treat my mother properly,” Joshua continued as he observed the Duke’s expressions.

“Second...” Joshua savored the words on the tip of his tongue. He’d been looking forward to this moment for quite a while now. “...to stabilize my position in the Duchy.”

Duke Agnus’ eyes widened in surprise.

“The soldiers know me as a dung shoveler. After all those years, they’d struggle to respect me no matter what skills I had.”

“That...”

“That is to say, the only way to make them respect me was to make them fear me. Through the display of absolute power. That was the most effective way.”

Duke Agnus gaped at him.

“I do not intend to sit still and make concessions because of my origins. I was also born from the Grand Duke’s bloodline.”

‘The Agnus bloodline begets great ambition and skill to match.’?Truly, these were the qualities of monarchs and conquerors. His eyes were never wrong.

Duke Agnus couldn’t control his twitching lips anymore, and a chuckle rolled from his lips. When he’d returned to his hometown, exhausted from his stagnant life, he’d had no idea that such a great gift was waiting for him.

‘How delightful.’

Duke Agnus stared at Joshua for a moment before he moved on to the main topic at hand. n0Velusb.c0m

“They say the Imperial family will send someone in tomorrow. To evaluate your mana, of course.”

“I heard.”

Duke Agnus paused to examine Joshua. The boy was like a deep ocean, quiet but dangerous. Joshua was clearly his kid, but he had no idea what went on in the child’s head.

“I don’t know if it’s just my bias speaking, but... you seem to have changed.”

‘Have I changed, really?’ Joshua kept his expression politely blank.

As a child, he could count with a single hand the number of interactions they had. Because of those limited interactions, the relationship between the high and the low was more distant than any other family.

Of course, at this point, neither of them would say that out loud.

“They say humans are adaptable creatures.” Joshua’s voice was practically a whisper. “In any environment, a creature will adapt eventually. Else, the environment or a predator higher up the chain will kill it.”

“That is true—”

“And!” Joshua pursed his lips. “Doubly so for me.”

Had there ever been an Agnus with such a desperate heart? Duke Agnus was astonished. Could their environment really change a person like this?

In the end, the tense silence was broken by Duke Agnus’s laughter.

“It really is amusing. Let us see if you become the apex predator in this ‘environment’.”

Duke Agnus leaned forward.

“I received a message from the Imperial family not long ago. It seems this mana evaluation expedition is quite unusual... possibly because of you.” Duke Agnus thrust his finger at Joshua. “The Imperial family is probably trembling in excitement, perhaps because it was a nine-year-old...”

“They are planning to take me for the Imperial family...”

“Yes,” Duke Agnus’s smile deepened. “You may have attracted that level of curiosity.”

The Duke picked a piece of paper off the table. It was embossed with the seal of a roaring golden dragon—a missive directly from the Imperial family.

“It says that the entirety of the 9th Battalion of the Imperial Knights will be dispatched on this expedition. All of them, including the battalion commander.”

In general, only two or three Imperial knights were dispatched to a noble’s request. Depending on the talent and influence of the family, the numbers of the expeditionary force increased, but there had never been a case where an entire battalion was dispatched like this. Moreover, every single one in the party could use mana. Not only were they the most outstanding talents from the Imperial family, but to gather such manpower just to test a potential star out was a blow to these people’s pride.

.

Even when Babel von Agnus, the “treasure of the Empire”, was tested to qualify as a C-Class Knight, only a platoon of ten had been dispatched. Even for the test to qualify as a B-Class Knight, one just had to show their powers before a member of the Imperial family.

“No matter how talented you are, doesn’t the size of the dispatch make you curious? The Emperor could just call you directly to Arcadia. Besides that, it’s also led by the 9th battalion commander himself. Valmont, that...friend.”

Joshua’s face flickered with suspicion. Despite commanding the entire host of Imperial Knights in his previous life, the name “Valmont” wasn’t familiar to him.

‘He might be using a pseudonym. If not, he disappeared before I had a chance to meet him... such as in the civil war.’

Just as Joshua was in his thoughts, Duke Agnus continued.

“And the Imperial Chief Mage will be accompanying them as well.”

Joshua froze.

‘The Imperial Chief Mage...?’

If his memory could be trusted, there was only one person who could hold the position at this point in time.

Not realizing the strange change in Joshua, Duke Agnus continued, “I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of him, but he’s greatly favored by His Majesty the Emperor. His name is—”

“Evergrant,” Joshua muttered softly, interrupting Duke Agnus.

“Evergrant con Aswald.” Joshua’s voice hissed like a winter storm.