Surviving as the Fallen Northern Grand Duke

Chapter 5: The Ruler of the North

"T-This... What on earth is going on here...?"

Victor, the Knight Commander, unconsciously let out a groan.

And why wouldn’t he?

When faced with an utterly shocking scene, people tended to freeze.

Yes, even through the eyes of a veteran knight, the sight before him was more than enough to be overwhelming.

The grand hall was drenched in blood, and on the floor lay the bodies of more than a dozen enemies.

And amid those hacked corpses...

"Your Grace!"

The Northern Grand Duke, Johan Kraubitz, was gasping for breath.

Tatadadat!

The moment Victor’s eyes landed on Johan, he snapped back to his senses.

There was no time to be distracted by this unbelievable sight.

The one he served was right there, bleeding.

So he rushed forward and supported his lord.

"My lord, are you alright? My lord!"

As he drew closer, Victor saw Johan covered in sword wounds, slumped on the floor. If not for the pillar behind him, he might have collapsed already.

Seeing the severity of the injuries, Victor immediately attempted to lift Johan onto his back. But then—

"What’s the situation?"

A question came from the lips of a man who should have already collapsed.

The Northern Grand Duke, Johan Kraubitz, despite being stabbed multiple times, had a faint smile on his lips.

As if mocking death itself.

Victor shuddered at the sight but did not delay in answering his lord’s question.

"The ones who came through the back mountain have been taken care of. And the ones in front of the castle walls should be nearly dealt with as well."

"...I see."

Hearing this, Johan's smile grew a little wider.

Unable to hold it in any longer, Victor shouted.

"My lord, there is no time for this. You must receive treatment immediately—"

"It’s fine. No need to rush."

"...What?"

The Northern Grand Duke, his smile now gone, spoke in a cold voice. His expression, devoid of laughter, oddly resembled that of the Emperor.

"The battle outside is still ongoing. If the soldiers see me being carried away, they will waver. I will go out once the battle is over."

"...Understood."

Ah.

Victor let out a deep exclamation in his heart.

'Just who is this man...'

Where did the limits of this man’s resolve lie?

It was baffling.

Only seventeen years old.

A young man who lost his parents early and was forced into the position of Northern Grand Duke.

Furthermore, the world believed him to be a mere half-baked knight incapable of using mana.

And yet—

At his feet lay the corpses of numerous knights, and he had survived an ambush by Expert-ranked warriors.

On top of that, despite bleeding from sword wounds, he was prioritizing the battlefield over his own condition.

It was only natural that a thought began to take root in Victor’s mind.

'...He is a ruler. This man—'

Yes, this man was undoubtedly born to be a king.

Victor struggled to suppress the chills running down his spine.

After years of roaming the continent as a knight, here and now, he truly understood what the power of noble blood meant.

Perhaps the so-called "loyalty" that monarchs so desperately sought—he was beginning to feel it towards this young man, who had never once demanded it.

How had he managed to defeat three Sword Experts? When had he grown this strong? How could he display such overwhelming might without using mana?

Victor had too many questions, but he held his tongue.

A knight's duty was to serve his lord first and foremost.

Johan, still bleeding, spoke to Victor in a hushed tone.

"Keep it a secret."

"Pardon?"

"What happened in this hall—keep it a secret. I still need to live as a half-baked knight."

"..."

Heh.

Johan smirked and continued.

"It’d be a real pain if I became too damn popular."

"...Understood."

And so, the ruler of the North endured the bleeding until the battle was over.

Meanwhile—

Tremble.

Hiding behind a pillar in the grand hall, Erina Trotsky quietly slipped away, her arms slightly shaking.

'...Help? Help who?'

When the knights had stormed the Grand Duke’s castle, causing a commotion, Erina had grabbed a measly dagger and cautiously come here.

-'I can’t just run away alone.'

-'I should help. That’s what people do.'

-'That Northern Grand Duke, they say he’s bad at fighting anyway.'

So, if that wild-boar-of-a-man had been in danger, she had planned to lend her tiny blade.

But—

In just the span of a few minutes—

She realized that the rumors about the "half-baked cripple" weren’t quite accurate.

Because, like Victor, she too had witnessed the ruler of the North.

* * *

The remaining enemies were routed.

As with most sieges, once the enemy commander was lost, there was no real way to chase down those who fled.

We had sealed ourselves within the fortress to defend, but those bastards only needed to climb down the walls and disappear.

Moreover, the ones camped outside the Grand Duke’s castle never intended to capture it in the first place—it seemed their goal was merely to serve as a distraction.

Tsk.

‘I have no idea who’s pulling the strings behind them.’

Even in the novel, this part remained a mystery, so Johan had no way of discovering the true mastermind behind them.

Thus, this grueling bandit raid event concluded with the following rumor spreading across the land:

‘Elite soldiers disguised as bandits attacked the Northern Grand Duke Johan Kraubitz’s stronghold.’

And once this rumor swept through the empire, another subtle whisper began circulating as well.

‘Under the command of Northern Grand Duke Johan Kraubitz, the Axen army secured victory.

Thus, Johan Kraubitz’s abilities as a commander have been verified through this battle.’

Reactions to this rumor varied throughout the empire.

Among the other duchies, there was growing concern that the declining Duchy of Axen might be regaining its former influence.

Meanwhile, within Axen itself, voices of support for the young Northern Grand Duke grew louder.

“I thought he was just a naive brat…”

“Didn’t His Grace hold off elite troops with just a small force?”

“Then what happens to those who were planning to leave Axen?”

“My family was about to leave Axen… but now we might have to reconsider.”

Since the disappearance of the former Grand Duke and Duchess, the Duchy of Axen had been in decline.

In medieval settings like this, a ruler’s competence was often directly linked to the safety of their people.

If a ruler seemed unreliable, citizens would naturally begin to leave.

And hardly anyone expected a mere seventeen-year-old Northern Grand Duke to provide ‘absolute protection.’

But after repelling this bandit attack,

People started to trust—‘Maybe that man can at least protect Axen’s lands.’

Seven years after the disappearance of the former Grand Duke and Duchess, some speculated that Johan Kraubitz, now just coming of age,

Might finally be stepping onto the grand stage.

And as these subtle changes took place,

The Northern Grand Duke responsible for them was…

‘At least I can breathe now.’

Finally enjoying some rest within his fortress.

On a peaceful afternoon, I lay on my bed, organizing my thoughts.

‘I’ve completed one of the two early-game events, so I can relax for a moment.

Thanks to the bandit raid event, I managed to keep my left eye intact, so there shouldn’t be any immediate threats to my safety.’

However,

‘The real challenge is the second event.’

I knew it.

The upcoming second event was the one that absolutely had to succeed.

Why?

Because if I recalled the early chapters of The Fallen Northern Grand Duke, this event was crucial not only to Johan Kraubitz but to the very foundation of the novel’s world itself.

This second event…

‘Might be the only key to returning to my original world.’

Yes, this could be the event that ends my transmigrated life entirely.

If my memory served me right, Johan Kraubitz had once described that object as follows:

‘It possesses the power to cross between worlds.’

Thus, if I wanted to return to my beloved Seoul, I had to focus all my efforts on this second event.

For now, I decided to lie low and wait for the right moment.

From what I remembered, the second event was supposed to take place shortly after Erina Trotsky started living in the Grand Duke’s castle.

That meant the time was drawing near.

So, I needed to rest, eat well, and build up my strength in preparation.

Clatter.

“Ugh…”

But the meal brought up to my chambers was far from appealing.

Swoosh.

I picked up my fork and knife again, inspecting the dishes laid out before me.

A filet mignon, a glass of wine, and some fragrant cheese.

The finest foods available within the Duchy of Axen had been prepared for the Grand Duke’s meal.

And yet…

“This is way too greasy…”

Not only was every dish dripping with fat, but there wasn’t even a single vegetable dish to balance it out.

“Tsk.”

This was one of Axen’s shortcomings.

The Duchy of Axen wasn’t exactly poor, but due to its extreme cold climate, fresh vegetables were difficult to obtain.

Moreover, since people needed high-calorie meals to survive the frigid winters, their entire cuisine had developed around rich, fatty foods.

Thud.

I pushed the greasy meal aside and slowly walked toward the window.

Then, I flung the window wide open.

Whooosh!

A fierce, freezing wind slammed into my face.

The temperature must have been close to minus thirty degrees Celsius.

Perhaps this brutal wind was what had prevented Erina Trotsky from escaping.

‘Heh.’

I took a deep breath, feeling grateful for the cold that had kept my mana-defibrillator from running away.

But then—

“Wait, that land over there…”

My eyes landed on a vast stretch of barren land within the Grand Duke’s territory.

A rough and desolate wasteland.

Then, I shifted my gaze further, toward the distant Misty Mountains.

Crackle!

A sudden spark of inspiration shot through my mind.

At that moment, I realized there was something I needed to do before the second event took place.

Ding!

Johan Kraubitz cheerfully rang a bell.

Immediately, his butler, Noich, hurried into the room.

“My lord, what is it?”

“Noich.”

“Yes?”

Noich flinched.

The wild-boar-of-a-man was speaking with an expression full of desire.

Johan casually draped a cloak over his shoulders and gave an order.

“Assemble the knights. We’re going somewhere.”

“But my lord, you’re still injured—where are you planning to go…?”

“Why,”

Grin.

“To get some kimchi.”