After Duke Luke left the Academy—
Calix, now half-dead, was sent back to his family estate.
“F-Father…”
“Tsk, pathetic.”
Count Bram, head of House Aster, clicked his tongue in disgust.
“Please… avenge me…”
“You’re not in your right mind. No wonder you ended up like this.”
“…”
“Just rest for now.”
The servants carried Calix off to his room.
Even seeing his son so broken didn’t stir much emotion in Bram.
Sure, losing the ability to produce an heir was no small matter. But Calix was the third son. And a thug, at that.
‘If I’d left him alone, he would’ve caused an even bigger mess eventually.’
Frankly, it was almost something to be thankful for. At least now he couldn’t spread his useless seed.
“What will you do, Father?”
Bram’s second son, Derek, asked calmly.
He already knew the whole story.
There was no denying that Calix was at fault. But they weren’t overly concerned.
They knew the prestigious House Lucid wouldn’t resort to violence so recklessly.
No—in fact—
‘This might be a good opportunity.’
Bram’s eyes gleamed.
Sure, his son was a thug, but he was still nobility. Making him infertile was crossing a major line.
If they played this right, used it as subtle blackmail…
“We could use this to forge a connection with House Lucid.”
“Please leave it to me. I’ll make sure it ends well.”
Bram Count smiled.
Unlike Calix, his first and second sons weren’t troublemakers. They had no thug-like tendencies, and both had graduated the Academy with honors.
Most importantly, they followed their father’s lead. They were the kind of sons who made a man feel full just by looking at them.
“Very well. Be careful—the North is cold.”
“Yes, sir!”
Derek took it upon himself to deliver the letter.
He traveled to Castle Orion, now established as the new center of the North.
There, Derek handed the letter directly to Duke Luke.
Its contents were simple:
Both Lowell and Calix would resign from their positions as instructors.
They’d acknowledge their wrongdoings and settle the matter amicably for the future.
In return, House Lucid would send Rodelin to serve House Aster for five years, as compensation for rendering Calix infertile.
“Our family head has no intention of turning this into a big issue. It’s a matter between the children, and should be resolved at their level.”
“I see. But that’s going to be a problem.”
“Pardon?”
“Because we do want to make it a big issue.”
“W-What are you… AAAAAAAGH!”
Duke Luke gave Derek a light pat—then had him thrown into a cell.
He then summoned Lucas.
“For the offending party to demand compensation… what a joke.”
If they’d started with an apology, maybe we would’ve considered it.
But this crossed way too many lines.
“Looks like we’ve been quiet for too long.”
The disgrace of their first defeat in 120 years, and the shame of losing imperial land to demons.
Later, when the true nature of Erosion became known and other nations’ conditions were revealed, that disgrace turned to honor. Even so, House Lucid had chosen to reflect in silence.
Because that’s what responsibility meant.
Of course, part of it was that the contract with the Legion Commander required time to think things through.
But judging by the other side’s behavior, they’d clearly been laying low for far too long.
“Perhaps it’s time we reminded the world who we are.”
“Very well. Lucas, I leave this to you.”
“I accept your command, my Lord!”
Lucas immediately set off for the Aster territory.
The domain of Count Aster was over 80% mountainous terrain. Rugged and inhospitable, it wasn’t a great place for people to live.
The neighboring lands were the same—highs and lows of mountainous land that made travel inconvenient.
Most territories in the region struggled to make ends meet. But not House Aster.
‘Because they’ve got the Golden Valley.’
A narrow strip of flat land nestled between the mountains.
Cramped, but wide enough for a cargo wagon to pass through.
House Aster made their fortune charging tolls on that path.
The alternative was to circle around the mountains—a 4-to-5-day detour. For merchants, that choice was obvious.
A path that let you go between the central south and far south in just three hours.
No wonder they called it the Golden Valley.
Thanks to that path alone, House Aster made more money than any other family in the central south.
“But the world isn’t something you can run on money alone.”
The first thing Lucas did upon arrival was spread a few rumors.
“Did you hear?”
“Hear what?”
“That the Aster family’s third son insulted House Lucid’s third child.”
“That thug finally did it, huh? Tsk.”
In Aster territory, Calix was infamous as a thug.
Even merchants passing through the Golden Valley had been harassed by him more than once.
“If the heir of a house guarding the North was insulted, shouldn’t we do something to help?”
“We’re just lowly merchants. What could we possibly do? Surely you’re not saying… we should stop using the Golden Valley?”
Avoiding it would add four to five days of travel.
For merchants, time was money. Supporting House Lucid wasn’t worth that kind of waste.
“Of course not. Continue your business as usual. Just one thing—sell all your food to us.”
“…Food?”
The merchant nodded.
In truth, this merchant had been hired by Lucas.
Wheat, rice, fruits, snacks, even medicinal herbs—
If it could be eaten or chewed, he was ordered to buy it.
“We’ll buy at 20% above market price. You save the trouble of long trips, and we get a bit of revenge. Everyone wins.”
“Well… but going against Count Bram is…”
“Think about it. This is an opportunity.”
“Opportunity?”
“Yes. Don’t you think the Golden Valley tolls… have gotten out of hand?”
The merchants’ eyes lit up.
Ever since Golden Valley became famous, Count Bram had been slowly increasing the toll.
Add to that the guards and administrators taking bribes to rearrange wagon order—
It was practically highway robbery.
“They really have been milking us…”
“All we have to do is sell food to you guys, huh? Sounds harmless enough.”
“Exactly. We sell to whoever pays better. That’s just basic business.”
The merchants began unloading their food supplies in droves.
A few days later, Count Bram received a strange report.
“There’s no food?”
As mentioned earlier, the Aster lands were surrounded by mountains.
There was no flat land for farming—which meant no way to be self-sufficient.
With no wheat or rice coming in, the common folk began to wail in hunger.
“These lazy merchant bastards! Go tell them to bring food immediately!”
Even so, very little food made it into the territory.
The merchants were keeping quiet—for the noble cause(?) of lowering the toll fees.
And in the midst of this, an imperial inspector arrived.
“Could you show me your ledgers?”
“Pardon?”
“We’ve received a report regarding tax evasion. Word is, you’ve raised the toll fees quite a bit… but no taxes have been paid on the increased rate?”
“T-That’s…”
“There are also reports of embezzlement, extortion, and forced conscription. I’ll be staying here for a while to investigate.”
The inspector began tearing the place apart.
Somehow, wherever he went, whistleblowers kept popping up.
This too was Lucas’ handiwork.
“Extorting your own people!”
“Raise your sword for justice!”
And the incident didn’t end there.
Suddenly, not just neighboring houses but even distant noble families declared territorial disputes.
Naturally, all of them were allied with House Lucid.
No one was killed. They simply occupied the Golden Valley and the surrounding mountains, cutting off any food from entering.
With their supplies already depleted, House Aster was in hell.
“Those bastards!”
“It—It’s bandits!”
“Hand over the weeds! We need something to eat!”
And to top it all off, they even dropped nearby bandit gangs into the region.
House Aster did try to mount a defense, but it wasn’t very effective.
Food shortage, an inspector crawling around, plummeting toll revenue, bandits roaming freely—
In the end, when the territory’s people began migrating to other lands, Count Bram had no choice but to throw in the towel.
“I surrender… I surrender.”
Clutching his growling stomach, he declared his surrender.
And with that, Count Bram lost his territory.
“This is a conspiracy! I have a mountain of evidence that Duke Luke orchestrated all of this!”
His last hope was the Noble Assembly.
Count Jerke, leader of the central-south faction—of which Bram was a part—stepped forward.
“A plot to devour the territory and use it as a foothold to advance into the central region…”
“We merely took up the sword to restore our honor and save the suffering citizens of the Empire. We have no intention of keeping the land. Until a rightful owner is chosen, I’d like to entrust its management to a nearby house…”
“…Isn’t that convenient. Who is closer than Duke Luke? I, Jerke, will not let slanderers defame him!”
“…”
The other nobles gave Jerke a look of disbelief.
He was the one who owned the territory nearest to the Aster lands.
And just like that, House Aster’s territory was placed under Count Jerke’s management until a new lord was decided. Half the profits were to be paid in taxes.
In peacetime like this, opportunities to earn military merit were almost nonexistent.
Which meant no new nobles would be rising, and no existing ones would hand over such a profitable land.
At the very least, he’d control it for three years—possibly longer if luck held.
“I’ll handle the cleanup. You needn’t worry about a thing.”
Grinning from ear to ear, Count Jerke bowed to Duke Luke and departed.
Thus, House Aster vanished from imperial history.
A ridiculous ending, really.
“Wiped off the map… Big brother’s scary sometimes, honestly.”
On the surface, the incident was known as a result of Calix insulting Lowell.
Lowell had asked not to let the burden fall on Rodelin’s shoulders.
The other instructors who had fought with Lowell were all dismissed as well, each for one reason or another.
There was no longer any chance of Rodelin running into them at the Academy.
Of course, House Lucid hadn’t come away without any losses.
They were left holding a pile of bills and political debts from the houses that helped them, along with the dishonor of having crushed a noble family through sheer power.
Although, compared to House Lucid’s reputation, none of that really left a dent.
‘Still, it’s true I’ve built up some debts.’
To the blood allies, to the family, to Lucia and Lucas… and even to Father.
It had become a lifetime of debts to repay.
But it wasn’t the kind of debt that left a bad feeling. Maybe this was what family meant.
“I’ll pay it all back later… but now what should I even do?”
The truth was, Lowell had already been dismissed from her instructor position.
Lucas had acted swiftly, but it still took half a year to clean up the mess.
Being fired was inevitable. Even with her fellow trainees’ petitions and the truth about Calix coming to light, there was no reinstatement order.
They claimed she’d used excessive violence.
‘And it’s not like I can explain my unique instincts… There’s nothing I can do.’
Lowell fell into deep thought.
The elite path of an instructor was gone. So were the people who’d invited her to work with them.
“What do you mean, ‘what now’? You worked hard, so now you should take it easy and have some fun.”
At the familiar voice, she turned around.
Standing there was an old friend she hadn’t seen in a while—
Pleche, a knight of House Lucid and Lowell’s closest companion.
“What the—why are you here?”
“Right? What a coincidence.”
“Coincidence my ass… Is this some kind of mission from your house?”
“Nope. I quit.”
“What?”
“Too many people trying to climb over me—I couldn’t take it anymore. You know how it goes. If a junior gets promoted ahead of a senior, things get messy.”
“So you just quit? You won’t get treatment like that anywhere else.”
“The training’s too harsh now. You remember, right? Ever since the Legion Commander’s attack, they’ve been driving us hard… I just can’t keep up with one arm anymore.”
Pleche grumbled, complaining about how ridiculous it was to be expected to alternate arms while doing push-ups with only one arm.
‘Was our house always this stingy?’
Lowell was wondering whether she should contact someone about it, when Pleche subtly leaned in and whispered.
“Which brings me to the point… Hire me.”
“Huh?”
“Who’d take in a one-armed knight, anyway? I might as well sign up for some suicidal mission to kill the Legion Commander. Ugh… this is my fate.”
Pleche muttered as if resigned.
And Lowell instantly knew, instinctively.
“…Dad sent you, didn’t he?”
–TL Notes–
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Fleche is such a real one
I hope this isn’t death flag for Lowel to become Mad lion stage 2 though…