Former Fake Becomes Grand Duke of the North

Everyone stared at me for several long seconds after I finished speaking. While I was the illegitimate son of Grand Duke Kaltbrand and Knight Commander Bardin, I was a Guld according to the laws of the Reichwald Empire. This meant that I technically wasn’t qualified to be the heir to House Kaltbrand. While I was sure there were ways to circumvent this, it was a weakness that our enemies could exploit.

I never thought that being adopted by House Guld would come back to hinder me like this. To be fair, when it happened, I had no idea that I was the lost son of House Kaltbrand. If I had to go through it all again, even knowing what I do now, I still would’ve gone through with it. The years I spent with House Guld were among the best of my life, and I cherished every moment.

“That shouldn’t matter, should it?” Mom asked, frowning. “House Guld may have adopted you, but you are a Kaltbrand by birth.”

“If the Emperor hadn’t approved of my adoption into House Guld, I would agree with you.” I said. “However, as it is, our enemies may make the argument that making me the heir to House Kaltbrand is an insult to the throne.” I snorted. “They may even go so far as to claim that House Kaltbrand is outright defying the Emperor.”

Mom looked at Dad, who wore a strange expression on his face.

“Is there a way around this?” she asked.

“I’m not sure.” He said. “This is an unprecedented situation.”

I grimaced.

“And the only way to resolve an unprecedented situation, especially one that involves two ducal families, is to take it before the Emperor and have him make a ruling.”

Everyone’s expressions fell at that. No one wanted the Emperor involved in House Kaltbrand’s succession. The Pact gave House Kaltbrand a lot of autonomy and privileges, which was one of the reasons why they were the second most powerful family in the Reichwald Empire.

No monarch wanted a powerful vassal, one that could threaten their rule. House Kaltbrand’s loyalty to the throne was absolute, thanks to the Pact. However, that loyalty was for the throne itself, not any individual emperor. Over the centuries, several of the previous emperors have tried to knock House Kaltbrand down a peg or two. This situation would give the current emperor the perfect excuse to try.

“I don’t know if Uncle Dirk and Cousin Leopold would go so far.” Lina said. “While this is speculation on my part, the whole reason why they’re interfering with House Kaltbrand’s succession in the first place is because of the imperial succession. Among the candidates for the throne, Cousin Leopold’s faction is the weakest. He needs support from House Kaltbrand, or another ducal family. Without it, he will never become emperor. If Uncle Dirk and Cousin Leopold take this matter before the Emperor, they lose control of the situation. House Kaltbrand may end up supporting one of my other cousins.”

While she pretended otherwise, I knew that the imperial succession was a complicated subject for Lina. Her cousins were all fighting each other to become the next ruler of the Reichwald Empire. While they never accepted me as a Guld, they treated Lina like family. In the end, only one would win. The others would either die, leave the Reichwald Empire, or marry into another family and forfeit their status as a member of the imperial family.

“Your Grace has been neutral so far,” Lina continued, nodding at Dad, “But the Emperor may not give you a choice in the matter.”

Dad snorted at that.

“The Reichwalds have tried to put us under their thumb for centuries.” He said. “They haven’t succeeded so far, they won’t succeed now.”

“Even if the Emperor threatens to prevent Wulfram from becoming your heir?” Lina asked.

Dad bared his teeth in a smile.

“We have our ways.” He said. “If the Emperor tries to force my hand, I’ll show my displeasure one way or another.”

A shiver ran down my spine when I heard that.

“Are you going to repeat the Year of Betrayal?” I asked.

The atmosphere in the room chilled when I said that. Lina and Mika looked at me in confusion, while Mom, Dad, and Count Wirner wore grim expressions.

“You know about that?” Dad asked.

I nodded.

“I’m surprised.” He said. “It’s a topic that not many know about, even within the Barrens. How did you find out about it?”

“I came across it by chance while researching Aura Masters of the past.” I said. “Since House Kaltbrand has produced several Aura Masters over the centuries, I ended up learning a lot about its history, even parts that the rest of the world has forgotten.”

“What’s the Year of Betrayal?” Mika asked.

I glanced at Dad, asking for his permission, and he nodded.

“About three hundred years ago,” I began, “The emperor at the time, Emperor Theodoric, came into conflict with the head of House Kaltbrand at the time, Grand Duke Meinrad. It escalated to the point where Emperor Theodoric decided to forgo the Pact. He took one of Grand Duke Meinrad’s children hostage and embargoed the Barrens. It was the closest that House Kaltbrand and House Reichwald have ever come to going to war with each other. Emperor Theodoric expected Grand Duke Meinrad to surrender or raise his sword against the throne. Either one would have benefited him. However, Grand Duke Meinrad did neither. Instead, he did nothing. He didn’t surrender, he didn’t raise his sword against the throne…” I paused. “…and he no longer blocked the demonic beasts from reaching the rest of the Reichwald Empire.”

Lina sucked in a breath and Mika’s jaw dropped. Most of the Reichwald Empire underestimated just how much of a threat the demonic beasts were. Even I didn’t know until I arrived at the Barrens and started working as a mercenary. Lina and Mika no doubt witnessed this for themselves, during their journey here, but the rest of the Reichwald Empire remained ignorant.

“That would lead to a disaster of unprecedented proportions.” Lina said.

“It did.” I said, nodding. “Hundreds of thousands died that year, as demonic beasts swarmed all over the Reichwald Empire. They even reached the Mistwood to the south. Entire cities were massacred. People begged Grand Duke Meinrad for help, but he turned them away. He said that if House Reichwald refused to honor the Pact, why should House Kaltbrand? This resulted in the entire empire turning against Emperor Theodoric. They revolted, forced him to abdicate, and put his teenage son on the throne. Afterwards, the new emperor released Grand Duke Meinrad’s child and lifted the embargo. Then, and only then, did House Kaltbrand help deal with the demonic beasts rampaging through the Reichwald Empire.”

Silence filled the room as I finished telling everyone about the Year of Betrayal.

“How did we not hear about this until now?” Mika demanded, breaking the silence. “This wasn’t part of any of my history lessons.”

“House Reichwald considers the Year of Betrayal their greatest shame.” Dad said. “They’ve done everything in their power to erase it from the pages of history. It took them centuries, but they succeeded in the end. However, in doing so, they’ve opened up the possibility of history repeating itself, since many of their own scions don’t know about the Year of Betrayal.”

“You wouldn’t go that far, would you, Your Grace?” Lina asked with a perturbed expression on her face.

Dad gave her a level look.

“The Pact goes both ways.” He said. “We enjoy a great deal because of the Pact, but we pay for it with the blood of our people. If House Reichwald oversteps their bounds and refuses to honor the Pact, we will do the same.”

If that ever happened, hundreds of thousands of people would die. My mind flashed back to the battle at Jagged Tooth Pass. If we had failed back then, thousands of demonic beasts would have flooded into the Crownlands, spreading death and corruption wherever they went. However, that was a dream compared to the nightmare that would follow if House Kaltbrand and its vassals stopped defending the north. I couldn’t let that happen.

“In that case,” I said, “The best way to prevent another Year of Betrayal is to ensure that House Reichwald doesn’t get an opportunity to break the Pact. We can’t give the Emperor an opportunity to interfere with House Kaltbrand’s succession.”

Everyone looked at me and nodded.

“From what I can tell,” Count Wirner said, “The heart of the issue is that Wulfe is legally a Guld, not a Kaltbrand. The solution is simple then: House Guld needs to remove Wulfe from their family register.”

That was the simplest solution. However, a part of me rebelled against the very idea. Despite my… issues regarding House Guld, I still considered them my family. Having them remove me from their family register felt like severing the thread that connected me to the rest of them. Still, if it was necessary for me to inherit House Kaltbrand, perhaps that was the best course of action.

“What?” Mika said, standing up. “No! I refuse. We already lost Wulfram once. I don’t want us to lose him again!”

“Mika,” I said in a soothing tone, “This is just to untangle the legal situation regarding which family I belong to. You wouldn’t really be losing me.”

Mika glared at me, her eyes gleaming with tears.

“You already abandoned us once.” She said. “How do we know you wouldn’t abandon us again after Father removes you from the family register?”

Her words stunned me and I couldn’t respond right away. Mika took that opportunity to flee the dining room. When I came back to my senses, I stood up to chase after her, but Lina stopped me by putting a hand on my shoulder.

“I’ll go talk with her.” She said, standing up. “However, she does have a point. When you ran away, you tore a hole in the heart of House Guld. Convincing Father and Mother to remove you from the family register will be no easy feat.” She glanced at Count Wirner. “Even assuming that course of action is the solution you think it is.”

With that, Lina left the dining room. I watched her go, feeling torn and conflicted.

“I think we should take a break here.” Dad said. “It’s clear that we won’t find an easy solution to this problem. I believe taking more time to think about it is a good idea.”

Mom and Count Wirner both glanced at me, before nodding in agreement.

“Wulfe, shall we take a walk together?” Dad asked. “I wish to speak with you in private.”

I shook my head.

“I want to be alone right now.” I said.

I stood up and headed towards the door. Dad called after me.

“Wulfe!”

I ignored him and left the dining room.

When I first left the dining room, I thought about heading towards the western gardens. However, I decided against it. I didn’t want anyone to come looking for me. My mind was a mess, and I needed time alone to sort through it all. So, I headed towards the one place in Kaltbrand Castle where no one would look for me: the northern gardens.

The place looked the same as when I last saw it, the scorched and ruined remnants of a once beautiful garden. The faint smell of soot filled the air. However, the frozen flames also remained, which caught me off guard. I expected them to have melted by now. Instead, they looked the same as when Dad first froze them. This just illustrated to me just how powerful the coldfire wielded by House Kaltbrand really was.

Thankfully, the area was empty, which was what I wanted in the first place. I navigated around the frozen flames to reach the center of the gardens. The temperature around me dropped as soon as I crossed the threshold. Another reminder of the coldfire’s power. Here in this place, it felt closer to winter than spring.

After I reached the center of the northern gardens, I closed my eyes and just stood there. The solitude and quiet of the northern garden helped me gain a measure of peace, something I needed. Today had been a tiring one, for many reasons, and I still had the banquet tonight to get through. Just thinking about it left me feeling exhausted.

I thought back to the meeting in the dining room and clenched my fists. Mika’s outburst at the end left a crack in my heart.

No. It would be more accurate to say that my little sister’s outburst revealed a crack that was already there. On one side was the part of my heart that belonged to House Guld, and on the other side was the part of my heart that belonged to House Kaltbrand. The two sides were in conflict with one another, and I didn’t know how to reconcile them.

When I first learned that I was the real heir to House Kaltbrand, I wanted to have it all. I wanted to have both my birth family and my adopted family as part of my life. At the time, it seemed possible. Yet, after reuniting with Lina and Mika, I wasn’t so sure anymore. It didn’t help that Lina threatened Dad and got into an argument with Mom as soon as she met them. Mika was terrified of Dad and… Well, I wasn’t sure what she thought of Mom. At least she got along with Count Wirner, which was better than nothing.

How would the rest of House Guld get along with my birth family? Would they be any better? Somehow, I doubted it. Despair filled me at the thought that maybe I would have to choose between House Kaltbrand and House Guld. In order to become the heir of House Kaltbrand, or at least prevent House Reichwald from meddling in our affairs, I needed Father to remove me from House Guld’s family register. Yet, in doing so, I might lose my adopted family forever.

Despite what Lina and Mika told me earlier, a big part of me still believed that House Guld just viewed me as a substitute for Emmerich Guld. Now that he had returned, they no longer needed me. It was irrational, but fear itself was not rational.

What if I brought my fears to life by asking Duke and Duchess Guld to remove me from House Guld’s family register? They might realize that they don’t need me after all and cut me out of their lives. Worst of all, what if they forbade Lina from marrying me? She said that they gave us their blessing already, but the situation had changed since then.

My hands started shaking. I grabbed my left arm with my right hand to try and stop it, but that didn’t work. Instead, the shaking just grew worse.

I didn’t want to lose my families. Why did I have to choose between them? Why couldn’t I have both? Was that too much to ask for?

A part of me wondered if it would have been better to remain an orphan, to have never been adopted in the first place. That way, I wouldn’t have known what it felt like to have a loving family, thus I wouldn’t fear losing them. I couldn’t miss what I never experienced.

That way of thinking was cowardice, and didn’t reflect my real desires, but it tempted me all the same.

The sound of footsteps caught my attention and I held my breath for a brief moment, hoping that whoever it was wouldn’t find me, when I was at my most vulnerable. However, despite my wishes, the footsteps drew closer instead of further away. I decided to ignore them and just stared up at the sky above.

The footsteps drew closer and closer, before stopping a dozen or so feet away from me. Whoever it was didn’t say anything for several moments.

“Wulfe.”

Dad.

“So, this was where you were.” He said, in a jovial tone. “I looked for you in the western gardens. When I saw that you weren’t there, I thought about where I would go if I wanted to be left alone and didn’t want anyone to find me. This was the first place that came to mind.”

I sighed. Was I that predictable? Still, I owed Dad an apology. I felt guilty for the way I ignored him earlier. He didn’t deserve it. I turned to face him. When our eyes met, he looked shocked.

“You’re crying.” He said. “I’ve never seen that before.”

Was I? I reached up to touch my cheeks and realized that he was right. Huh. I hadn’t noticed.

“I…” I started to say before trailing off.

I didn’t know what to say. At first, I intended to apologize to him but the words remained stuck in my throat. So, I just stood there and said nothing at all.

The shock faded away from Dad’s face and he studied me for several moments, before nodding. He walked up to me and pulled me into an embrace. I didn’t return it, but I didn’t reject it either.

“Since you were an adult and an Aura Master when we first met,” Dad said, “I thought that I would never get the opportunity to comfort you like this. I was wrong. Sometimes, even adults need comfort and reassurance from their parents.”

As soon as I heard that, a dam inside me broke. I clutched Dad’s shoulders, grasping onto him as if he were the only thing keeping me tethered to this world, and sobbed into his shoulder. This went on for a while.

After what felt like hours, my tears dried up and I stopped crying. My head felt clearer than before. In fact, so much so that I felt embarrassed about my emotional outburst. My cheeks burned.

“Oh gods,” I said, pulling away from Dad, “I apologize for the unseemly display you just witnessed.”

Dad snorted.

“You don’t have to apologize.” He said. “I wasn’t there for you when you were a child, so I appreciate that I can be here for you now.”

Despite his words, I still felt mortified. I pulled a handkerchief out of my pocket and used it to wipe my face. My eyes felt sore and swollen. I must have looked like a mess. Anyone who saw me would know that I had bawled my eyes out like a child.

“Do you feel better now?” Dad asked.

“No.” I said, scowling. “I’m an Aura Master for goodness’ sake! I should have better control over my emotions than this.”

“Aura Masters are still human.” Dad pointed out. “We feel things the same as everyone else. Joy, sorrow, anger. Don’t be ashamed of that.”

I kept scowling.

“I’m sorry for my outburst earlier, in the dining room.” I said. “I shouldn’t have ignored you. It’s just…”

I trailed off, unsure of how to articulate my thoughts.

“You feel torn between your birth family and your adopted family.” Dad said, finishing the sentence for me.

I sighed.

“Yes.” I said. “It feels like I’ll lose the piece of me that is a Guld if they remove me from their family register. That doesn’t make sense, I know. The family register is just a document with words.”

“Words have power.” Dad pointed out. “Never underestimate them. A family’s register determines who belongs to that family, and who does not. It’s symbolic, yes, but that doesn’t diminish its importance.”

“Yet, if House Guld doesn’t remove me from their family register, that will give the Emperor the opening he needs to meddle in our affairs.”

I grimaced. If that happened, another Year of Betrayal might occur. I would do just about anything to prevent that from happening, even if it meant giving up House Guld.

“What if you didn’t have to give up on House Guld, as you fear?” Dad asked.

I frowned at him.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“There is a way for you to become the heir to House Kaltbrand, beyond a shadow of a doubt, and still remain in House Guld’s family register, if you so wish.” Dad's expression turned serious. “However, this method comes with considerable risk.”

I stared at him with wide eyes.

“What are you talking about?”

“You must inherit the coldfire.”