Chapter 178
Chapter 178: How to Receive a Countship
“Did you say you’re going to bestow a countship?”
“What do you mean by that...?”
At Emperor Leorine’s words, Cobalt and Malion asked back with confused expressions.
Hardin let out a small chuckle and answered in their place.
“You wanted to give us the countship but couldn’t. Isn’t that right, Your Majesty?”
Leorine gave a slight nod, then stroked his beard as he continued.
“That’s correct. You’ve already proven yourselves worthy of a countship. I said you lacked the honor befitting a count, but as you yourselves pointed out, it’s not as though the other count families possess some overwhelming honor either.”
Cobalt’s brow furrowed.
That strange feeling he had earlier in the audience chamber—
If what the emperor said was true, then that uneasy feeling had indeed been real.
As if needing to confirm it, Cobalt spoke again.
“...Then may I ask the reason why we weren’t granted a countship?”
Leorine met Cobalt’s gaze and answered in a firm tone.
“You already know, don’t you?”
“……”
A moment of silence.
Everyone gathered in the annex wore bitter, sorrowful expressions.
‘So it really was because of the pressure from the Seven Great Houses…’
What they had all vaguely suspected had now been confirmed without doubt.
Cobalt swallowed hard, and Malion clenched his fists with a look of frustration.
All that time they had spent struggling to earn a countship now felt utterly foolish.
Just then, Hardin bit down lightly on his lip and asked,
“Then… may I ask why you summoned us? It wasn’t just to comfort us, was it?”
“Hardin!”
Cobalt tried to stop Hardin, sensing a confrontational tone in his voice, but Leorine simply nodded and spoke.
“There is a way for you to receive a countship.”
“What?”
“What is it?”
Cobalt and Malion’s eyes widened, and Leorine continued.
“It’s simple. If someone questions your honor, then all you have to do is seize an overwhelming honor that surpasses any criticism, isn’t that so?”
“Are you saying... Your Majesty knows of such a way?”
“Yes. Though I must warn you, it will be a painful and difficult path.”
Leorine’s face lost all traces of amusement as he spoke in a chilling tone.
Hardin, unshaken, answered without hesitation.
“If we feared such things, we wouldn’t have come this far.”
“You’re quite the bold one. Medeia was exactly right about you.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”
Another brief silence followed.
Then Leorine clasped his hands together and said,
“Well, I believe that’s all I needed to say. You’ll hear the details from others.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Cobalt, Hardin, and Malion.
The three of us nodded nearly in unison.
And just then, Leorine slightly curled his lips into a smile as he spoke again.
“Since fate has brought us together like this, it’d be a shame to part ways without a proper send-off. Why don’t we talk a bit about my daughter?”
“Pardon? By daughter, you mean...?”
When I cautiously asked, Leorine responded in a much lighter tone.
“Not long ago, during the war with the Count of Tread, Medeia suddenly showed up at Daphne... or am I mistaken?”
“That’s true, but...”
At that moment, Hardin jumped in and answered cheerfully.
“Yes, that’s right. We never even requested reinforcements, but she came personally and was a tremendous help.”
“Hahaha! That’s Medeia for you. That girl is just as stubborn as ever.”
“She’s strong-willed. And… quite ambitious.”
When Hardin said that in a meaningful tone, Leorine asked in return,
“She’s overflowing with ambition, is that what you think?”
“Yes. The Princess Medeia I know can’t be explained any other way.”
Malion, who had been quietly watching, adjusted his glasses and looked on with concern.
‘Can he really say something like that…?’
To say someone is “overflowing with ambition” in front of the Emperor—it felt a bit… no, very irreverent.
But—
‘Why does His Majesty look… pleased?’
On Emperor Leorine’s face, there was a faint smile.
A look that seemed mixed with excitement and anticipation.
With a small grin, Hardin spoke again.
“Shall I tell you more about what happened between us? There are quite a few interesting stories.”
“Hahaha, is that so? Then please do. I quite enjoy hearing about my children. Medeia isn’t one to talk much about herself.”
“Then… I’ll start with what happened at Ruslan Fortress.”
A mischievous smile crept across Hardin’s face.
---
The next morning.
A forest trail a few hours by horseback from Pavillonia.
A large man clad in a black robe led the group, with members of the Daphne house following behind.
The one guiding them at the front was the same man from the night before...
—
— “Follow that man. Then you’ll find out what you must do to earn a countship.”
— “Yes, Your Majesty!”
—
He was someone Emperor Leorine had personally assigned to them, and apparently, he was to guide them to ‘that task’—the way for the Daphne Viscounty to obtain honor.
Hardin narrowed his eyes and stared at the man in the robe.
‘That guy’s a knight.’
As he focused his senses with precision, he could feel a faint flow of mana leaking out.
It seemed the man was deliberately suppressing and limiting his own mana, as if trying to hide his identity.
Judging by how none of the others had noticed the guide was even a mana user, he was clearly doing a good job of concealing it.
But for Hardin, this much was enough.
‘This guy… is pretty strong.’
He could tell—the man was a formidable warrior and an expert with the sword.
At that moment, Cobalt, following behind, awkwardly called out to their guide.
“Um, may I ask where we’re headed right now?”
“…You’ll know when we arrive.”
But the man only gave the same cold response in a frosty voice.
‘What on earth are we doing?’
‘He could at least tell us where we’re going…’
Perhaps it was because of this vague situation, but everyone’s faces were filled with restless curiosity and frustration.
Malion asked Hardin,
“Do you have any idea where we might be going, Brother?”
“No clue.”
Hardin shrugged as he replied.
Of course—
‘Still… it doesn’t seem like we’re headed anywhere pleasant.’
He had a rough sense of the kind of place it might be.
As they continued, the forest grew darker, and a reddish energy began to seep from the earth around them.
Then, all at once, the forest vanished.
Beyond that point, a large canyon shrouded in thick fog came into view.
A deep gorge filled with dense mist—like a scene out of a ghost story, where spirits might suddenly come pouring out.
Everyone’s expressions tightened with tension, and the guide spoke.
“We’re nearly there.”
He immediately turned his horse toward the mouth of the canyon.
Before long, through the fog, a small fortress slowly came into sight.
And then—
“Halt! Stop right there!”
“State your identity!”
A few knights stationed at the front of the fortress aimed their spears and swords forward, sharp gazes flashing.
‘What is this place?’
Everyone instinctively froze in place, startled.
Clack!
The guide dismounted, drew something from inside his robes, and held it out.
“I am Lucilis von Digdarion, Deputy Commander of the Imperial Knights.”
The moment he said those words, the soldiers' faces went pale with shock.
‘The Imperial Knights… Deputy Commander?’
‘Lucilis?’
The people of Daphne, watching from behind, also stared with their mouths agape.
They had thought he was just an ordinary guide.
Now to hear that the man standing before them was from the Imperial Knights—let alone their Deputy Commander—was a complete shock.
Manton, who had remained silent until now, muttered in disbelief.
“That man is… Lord Lucilis?”
“Is he that impressive? I’ve never heard of him.”
Jerry, seated right behind him with his arms resting lazily on his hips, asked with a disinterested expression.
Manton responded with a look that screamed disappointment.
“You don’t know Lord Lucilis? He’s a high-ranking knight who always reaches the top brackets in the Dawn of Knights tournament.”
“Told you, I’ve never heard of him.”
“He’s one of the top hundred strongest in the entire Empire, at the very least.”
To think they were seeing such a towering figure with their own eyes.
Everyone stared at him blankly, stunned.
Of course, in Hardin’s case…
‘Only within the top hundred? Doesn’t that make him kind of weak?’
Because my standard for strength was a bit different from most, I actually found myself a little disappointed.
Just then, the fortress knights pointed toward the rear and asked,
“May we ask who those people behind you are?”
“They are guests summoned by His Majesty the Emperor. Stand aside—we have business ahead.”
“…You may pass.”
At Lucilis’s command, the knights quickly cleared the way.
And just like that—almost laughably easily—we passed through the fortress and entered deeper into the canyon.
Step, step.
Lucilis parted the fog and led the way forward.
“I can’t see a thing up ahead.”
“It’s hard to breathe, somehow.”
The expressions of the Daphne group twisted in discomfort as they followed behind him.
With each breath, it felt like something was blocking their lungs—an eerie, tingling sensation.
‘That scent… Black Lotus.’
I instantly recognized the sweet scent lingering in the air.
“Stay close. This place is dangerous. Don’t fall behind.”
How long had we been walking behind Lucilis?
— Kiiiiiiiiieek!
Suddenly, a piercing screech rang out right beside us, loud enough to split our ears.
“What the—!?”
Everyone instinctively reached for the swords at their waists, dropping into combat stance.
— Kiiieek!
Whoosh!
Out from the fog, a black shadow lunged violently.
Its target… was Jerry.
“W-What the hell…?”
Jerry’s eyes flew open in shock.
Because of the thing charging at him.
Its entire body was shrouded in darkness, its flesh rotted and infested with writhing maggots… a grotesque monster.
It extended a long, red forelimb straight toward him.
Jerry had seen countless monsters in his dungeon delving days, but this was something entirely new. He couldn’t help but panic.
“Eeeek!”
As Jerry hastily reached for the dagger at his waist to throw—
Slaaash!
The creature’s neck was sliced clean through in mid-air, spraying green blood.
Thud!
Its corpse crumpled lifelessly to the ground.
“…Hahhh.”
That… was close.
Just as Jerry exhaled and tried to steady his breathing,
Hardin turned his head toward Lucilis, who had swung his sword, and asked,
“Hey, Deputy Commander. What is this place? What kind of place spawns monsters like that?”
“Monsters?”
“Then what would you call that…?”
“Come on, it’s obvious just looking at it. That thing was clearly a monster.”
Lucilis casually wiped the blood off his blade and replied with a pointed look in his eye.
“Lord Hardin, you seem to be quite knowledgeable about the demonkind.”
“Don’t dodge the question. Just tell us already. This isn’t the time to act relaxed.”
“Whew… very well.”
Lucilis nodded and looked Hardin straight in the eye as he spoke.
“This place is known as the Canyon of Veritarune.”
“Verita…rune?”
Why was that name coming up here?
In an instant, my brow furrowed in alarm.