From a Broken Engagement to the Northern Grand Duke's Son-in-Law

The days after the funeral passed in a blur of grief. Only when the sharpest edges of sorrow had dulled could we begin to process Meryl’s final words.

A new war.

We now understood what she had meant.

Duke Artezia had plunged the continent into the worst kind of conflict imaginable. A civil war, raging even as the Demonkin still clawed at our borders.

The Empire now faced enemies on two fronts.

“A messenger from Diva, my lord. They plead for aid.”

“A letter from His Highness the First Prince in the capital. He summons you at once.”

Reports flooded the North.

In the few days it had taken us to bury our dead, the war had escalated with breathtaking speed. The Demonkin front still raged, and now intelligence suggested new Twelve Nobles had emerged.

For an Empire already bleeding, the news was catastrophic.

“…Has the Grand Duke said anything?”

Lea’s voice was low. “No. Father hasn’t left his room since… that day.”

Ever since Meryl’s assault, the Grand Duke had sealed himself away. The official reason was to recover from his injuries, but every soldier, every soul in the duchy, knew the truth.

He was broken.

“My sister’s betrayal… I think it shattered him.”

He had just buried one daughter with his own hands… only to learn the other was the reason why.

Lea sighed, the words hanging unspoken between us.

I watched her, noting the shadows that clung to her own face. And why wouldn’t they? Her own sister had tried to burn their home to the ground. How could anyone walk away from that unscathed?

“So, Louis,” she asked, her voice quiet. “What will you do? Will you go?”

“I have to,” I said. “The war isn’t over.”

“…Is that so?” Lea murmured, her expression wistful, as if she wished I would stay.

To be honest, a part of me wanted to. For a fleeting moment, I’d even considered it.

Setting aside my vengeance against the Artezia bastards and simply… living.

But this war had taught me a bitter lesson. Even if I abandoned my revenge, even if I stayed to protect the North and the family I’d found here… they would never stop.

The war would come for us regardless, and others would lose the people they loved, just as I had.

I hoped no one else would have to suffer that pain.

“Tell Lancelot and Roxen to prepare.”

Lea’s eyes widened slightly. Lancelot and Roxen were not members of the Special Taskforce.

She understood the implication immediately.

“…Does that mean I’m not to follow?”

“Your father is in no condition to lead. The North needs a commander. That has to be you, Lea.”

“But Roxha is here.”

“The two of you will lead together. Lady Roxha is skilled, but she lacks the experience to command an army alone. You will need each other.”

Lea, the Grand Duke, Mihaila. They were more than enough to defend the North. If I took them with me… I might lose someone again.

I refuse to go through that again.

I took a deep breath and gathered my bow and arrows.

“One hour. Tell them to be equipped and assembled. I need to prepare as well.”

As I turned to leave, her hand shot out and grabbed mine.

“…I’m going with you.”

“You can’t. The North’s forces are stretched too thin. You, of all people, must remain.”

“That’s just an excuse.”

“It’s the plain truth.”

“Louis!” Lea cried, her voice cracking. “Are you trying to go off and die alone again?”

“…What?” My heart dropped. Die again? Did she know something?

But her next words clarified. It seemed she knew nothing of my regression.

“…Last time, you tried to handle everything yourself and nearly died for it.”

Ah. She meant that battle.

“I’m so tired of losing people,” she whispered, her voice trembling on the verge of tears. “Please… let me go with you.”

I looked at her, my resolve softening, and let out a quiet sigh.

“If you leave, the North could fall.”

“…What?”

“I’ll be blunt. The Grand Duke can’t fight. Lady Roxha is capable, but she’s not yet a general.”

Lea bit her lip. She knew it was true.

My words weren’t an excuse; they were a fact.

“And I can’t afford to take any more soldiers from here. Not even my master. The North is too vulnerable. As you said, I’m not shouldering this burden alone anymore… which is precisely why I need you here, holding the line.”

“…”

“And more than that…” I hesitated, the words feeling heavy and unfamiliar. “This place… it’s precious to me, too.” Newest update provıded by NoveI★Fire.net

I rubbed the back of my neck, the gesture feeling clumsy.

“Lea, I cherish this place as much as you do. The people of the North, House Praha, even Hans, lying wounded in his bed. They’re all connections I can’t bear to lose.”

And so…

“I need you to protect it. I don’t want to lose anything else I hold dear. Can I ask that of you?”

My voice was calm, but the admission felt monumental.

This place had become precious to me. It was the truth I’d come to understand after awakening my Mindscape, after seeing both the future and the present.

I had lived for revenge, but I had also learned to love this life. Every person I had met was a bond, a reason to preserve the now.

And it had all started here. In the Duchy of Praha.

“…Why do you cherish it so much?”

“This is the house I intend to marry into,” I said, deciding to just push through the awkwardness. “Isn’t that reason enough?”

Lea’s eyes went wide. A wave of self-consciousness washed over me, and I quickly turned to go.

“…Wait for me. I’ll be back soon.”

The last three words, I kept for myself. A promise to be fulfilled when I returned.

I love you.

* * *

Hours later, Louis rode out of the North with the Divine Archer and the members of the Special Taskforce. It was a hero’s departure, but no one cheered.

The survivors simply closed their eyes and offered a silent prayer to the Goddess.

Lea was no different. She stood frozen, her gaze fixed on the empty space where Louis Berg’s back had disappeared from view.

Her fiancé had never truly shown her his heart. They would laugh and talk, but she had always sensed a deep, inexplicable anger coiled within him. He never directed it at her, but she felt its presence.

When you love someone, you learn to see the burdens they carry.

It was why he kept his distance, she thought. Despite his affection, he held himself back, as if separated from her by the guilt of some unforgivable sin.

Anger and guilt. She had desperately wanted to understand their source but had no way to ask. So she had given up, contenting herself with his smiles while pretending not to see the shadows behind them.

But just now… the emotion he had shown her was different.

Affection. Clear and true. The emotion she had yearned for had finally broken through the walls of his anger and guilt, leaving them as little more than faint echoes.

“…Louis.”

Lea whispered his name one last time. She wished she could have gone with him, but his reasoning had left her no room to argue. All she could do now was trust him and wait.

And, as he had asked, protect the North.

“…May the Goddess’s blessing be with you.”

She offered a prayer toward the path he had taken, a prayer that his road would not be paved with thorns.

* * *

“So, where are we headed?”

“First, to the capital. We must meet with His Highness the First Prince. Even in wartime, a royal summons cannot be ignored.”

“Unbelievable,” Lancelot grumbled from atop his horse. “They don’t send a single soldier while the North is burning, but the moment they need us, they call. The nerve.”

He was right. The First Prince had no right to demand troops from us.

Even with the capital half-destroyed, I had killed the Marquis of Envy. The Imperial Army should have been more than capable of handling the remaining Demonkin. They had likely retaken the city days ago.

The only reason for their silence was a desire to preserve their own strength.

I clicked my tongue, seeing through the prince’s calculations all too clearly, but I couldn’t say that aloud.

I tried to put a better spin on it.

“He must have been occupied. The capital itself surely suffered immense damage.”

“Ha! I’ll believe that if it was worse than what the North went through,” Lancelot scoffed. “How many of the Twelve Nobles did we face? Who’s holding back the entire Demonic Realm? How could they just ignore us?”

As he fumed, Roxen chimed in. “He has a point, my liege. No contact for weeks, but the moment Duke Artezia raises an army, they summon us. It is a bad look.”

“That’s what I’m saying! If they had any decency, they’d at least apologize!”

“If they’re going to disrespect our lord, maybe we should raise our own army.”

“Ooh, I like that! You should just become emperor, Captain. I’ll be your chancellor.”

The two of them snickered, lost in their mutinous fantasy. Cursing the emperor in private was one thing, but if the First Prince heard them, it would be an execution on the spot.

“…You madmen,” the Divine Archer muttered, shaking his head with a disbelieving laugh. “Like master, like men. The sheer audacity.”

Ignoring him, Lancelot and Roxen continued to vent as we rode toward the capital.

Just then…

“Hey, halt!”

A group of men blocked the road ahead. I felt a strange flicker of déjà vu.

“What is it?” I asked, my voice low.

The men grinned, pointing their swords at us. “Toll road. Wanna pass, gotta pay. Simple, aye?”

Ah. So that was it. Just like that time with the marquis’s knights.

What had happened then? I hadn’t had to do a thing… right. Assassins from Death Veil had appeared and slit their throats.

Death Veil wasn’t likely to show up and help me now. Looked like I’d have to handle this myself.

What a pain.

I sighed and reached for an arrow.

Or rather, I started to.

Shnk.

“You’re in the way.”

Before my fingers could even brush the string, a shadow detached itself from the trees. There was a flicker of steel, too fast to follow.

Thud.

The bodies collapsed in a heap, blood pooling beneath them.

A boy stood over the fresh corpses, wiping his blade clean on a dead man’s tunic.

His expression was a familiar, unnerving blank.

“Young Master,” he said. “It’s been a while.”

Kai. Veilmaster of Death Veil.

My soldier had come home.