Former Fake Becomes Grand Duke of the North

After being called forward as a witness, Baron Kirch looked around at the crowd surrounding him and swallowed. It was clear that he was nervous and felt uncomfortable. I felt sorry for the poor man. He found himself in this situation because of Dad’s orders. I made a mental note to tell Dad to reward Baron Kirch for this. Or maybe compensate would be a more accurate term.

“Go on, Baron Kirch.” Lord Klemens said.

His tone sounded encouraging on the surface, but it contained a hint of threat underneath.

“Yes, Baron,” Countess Steuben said, “Do go on. Leave nothing out.”

Unlike her son, the Countess didn’t bother with pretending to be nice. Baron Kirch looked like he wanted the floor to swallow him. Maybe I should ask Dad to increase the reward.

“Sev-Several weeks ago,” Baron Kirch began, stammering a little, “His Grace called myself and the other seni-senior servants to Grand Sage Arend’s tower. He wanted us to witness a lineage test between himself and…” He gestured to me. “…Lord Wulfe. The te-test showed that the two were father and son.”

This confused the crowd of nobles. They glanced at Lord Klemens, looking at him as if he were crazy. He accused Dad of deceiving everyone, yet the very witness he called forth said otherwise.

“However, when His Grace brought everyone to his study,” Baron Kirch said, growing more reassured the longer he spoke, “He explained that the lineage test had been false.”

This caught everyone’s attention, and they all stared at Dad in shock. He crossed his arms and remained silent.

“His Grace told the other senior servants and I that he planned on presenting Lord Wulfe as his son and heir,” Baron Kirch continued, “When in fact, Lord Wulfe was a mercenary that His Grace had hired. I voiced my misgivings, but His Grace ignored them. However, I could no longer remain silent. As loyal as I am to His Grace, I am loyal to House Kaltbrand as a whole more. I couldn’t stand by and let an imposter masquerade as His Grace’s heir.”

A moment of silence followed when Baron Kirch finished speaking, before the crowd of nobles exploded with anger. A flurry of insults, shouts, and accusations filled the air. More than one shouted the words “fake” and “imposter”. A few remained silent, including House Gerhard and my other supporters. However, even they seemed shocked and disturbed by Baron Kirch’s words. Lady Adelheid was the exception. She wore an amused expression.

To my surprise, House Arbeit remained silent as well, though the same couldn’t be said about their followers. I glanced at Count Arbeit, who wore a look of dawning horror on his face. He glanced at House Steuben, and the horror morphed into pity. Had he figured out the truth? It seemed so. Count Arbeit said something to one of his people, who went to the others.

After letting the crowd vent their anger some more, I released my pressure. The power of an Aura Master filled the ballroom. The crowd of nobles fell silent, unable to withstand my pressure. Once everyone quieted down, I turned to face Lord Klemens once more.

“That’s better than relying only on rumors, Lord Klemens.” I said, breaking the silence. “However, you turned against House Kaltbrand based on the word of a single man?”

“Baron Kirch is not just anyone.” Lord Klemens said. “He is a senior servant of House Kaltbrand. His word on the matter carries more weight.” He wore a thoughtful expression on his face. “However, you are right. A single witness’ statement is not enough. We need more conclusive proof. We need another lineage test, one performed by a neutral party beyond His Grace’s influence.” He gestured to the cloaked figures that stood behind House Steuben. “To that end, my family and I invited just such a party. May I present to you, Prince Leopold Reichwald.”

Several of the cloaked figures stepped forward and revealed their faces. Leopold stood in the front. Behind him stood members of the Imperial Guard, the order of knights which served House Reichwald. A single cloaked figure remained hidden in the back.

The crowd of nobles were shocked when they realized that a prince of the Reichwald Empire was in attendance. However, they recovered from their shock soon enough and bowed to Leopold. I bowed as well. Even though he was here as my enemy, Leopold was still a member of the imperial family. To insult and disrespect him was to insult and disrespect House Reichwald.

“Cousin,” Lina called out after everyone stood up from their bows, “What are you doing here?”

Leopold gave her a sad smile, as if he didn’t want to be here but felt compelled to do so. He put on such a convincing performance, that if I hadn’t known the truth, I would have believed it.

“Hello, Lina.” Leopold said. “When House Steuben reached out to me and told me what happened, I felt honor bound as a member of the imperial family to investigate. The succession of House Kaltbrand is a serious matter, and could have repercussions for the rest of the Reichwald Empire.”

Lina scoffed, letting everyone know what she thought of his statement.

“Grand Duke Kaltbrand,” Leopold said, nodding to Dad, “It is good to see you again. I wish we could have met under better circumstances.”

Dad bared his teeth at Leopold in a smile.

“Don’t worry, Your Highness,” he said, “You’ll have plenty of opportunities to see me in the near future.”

Leopold gave him a wary look at that, as if unsure of Dad’s intentions, but didn’t delve further into the topic. Instead, he turned towards Mom.

“Knight Commander Bardin,” he said, smiling, “It is an honor to meet you. I have heard stories of your deeds and exploits ever since I was a child.” He glanced at me. “Something that a childhood friend of mine and I share.”

Mom let out a derisive snort and refused to respond. When Leopold realized this, his smile stiffened. I resisted the urge to laugh. While I considered Leopold as a rival, I knew that his admiration for Mom was genuine. Like me, she inspired him to pick up the sword. In fact, that was one of the reasons why we ended up becoming rivals.

Leopold turned towards me, and the smile melted away from his face. The two of us stared at one another for several seconds, not saying a word. I felt a multitude of emotions at seeing Leopold again after all these years. Anger that he and his father interfered with House Kaltbrand’s succession, sad that we reunited as enemies, and happy. Despite everything, I once considered Leopold a rival and a friend.

“Wulfram,” he said, “It has been a while.”

“Indeed, Your Highness.” I said.

The crowd of nobles looked between the two of us in surprise. I guess that none of them expected that Leopold and I would know each other. Lord Klemens and House Steuben in particular seemed shocked. For the first time since this farce began, they started to look worried.

“I’m sorry that it has come to this,” Leopold said, letting out a regretful sigh. He seemed to mean it, “However, the law is the law.” His expression hardened. “Falsifying a lineage test is a serious crime. Lying to a member of the imperial family is an even graver one. Out of consideration for His Grace, and our past friendship, I will give you one chance to admit the truth. If you do, you will be shown clemency. Otherwise, we will have to go through with the lineage test and everything that follows.”

I mimicked Dad and bared my teeth at him in a smile.

“I admit to nothing.” I said. “I am the son of His Grace, Grand Duke Kaltbrand, and Knight Commander Bardin. Go ahead. Perform the lineage test.”

Leopold narrowed his eyes at me. I could almost see the thoughts buzzing around in his head as he tried to figure out what I was up to. However, with everyone watching us, he couldn’t delay things for long.

“Very well,” he said, before turning to face the single cloaked figure who kept their face hidden, “Please come forward, High Priest Nicholas.”

My eyes widened at that. High Priest Nicholas was famous throughout the Reichwald Empire. Just as the priests and priestesses of the Church of Light and Darkness aided the Coldsteel Knights in hunting down demonic beasts, they also helped in hunting criminals and other evil doers throughout the entire Reichwald Empire.

High Priest Nicholas had spent his entire life rooting out evil and corruption. His strict adherence to the law was legendary. However, he was also a just man. He protected the innocent as much as he punished the wicked. If High Priest Nicholas performed a lineage test, no one would question the results. Leopold couldn’t have picked a more perfect person… to prove my innocence.

High Priest Nicholas was also famous for his ill-tempered personality.

“Finally,” the remaining cloaked figure said, irritated, “I thought I would fall asleep with all the talking you people like to do.”

The cloaked figure stepped forward and revealed his face. High Priest Nicholas was an old man, one either in his late sixties or early seventies. He had light-tanned skin, short white hair, and amber eyes. A short beard covered his wrinkled face. The High Priest stood stooped over. Despite this, his eyes remained sharp and full of vitality. He wore the garb of a high priest of the God of Darkness.

“I should have known it was you, boy.” High Priest Nicholas growled, pointing at Dad. “You always caused me nothing but trouble.”

I blinked in surprise. I couldn’t believe that anyone would call Dad, a man well into his forties, a boy. Then again, considering High Priest Nicholas’ age, Dad was a boy.

“It’s good to see you too, old man.” Dad said, grinning.

The sight of Dad’s grin seemed to irritate High Priest Nicholas further.

“Why did you have to go and do something foolish like this?” He asked. “Hmm? Well, speak up, boy!”

Dad’s grin faded away.

“It was necessary.” He said in a serious voice.

High Priest Nicholas let out a derisive snort, though I noticed a glint of disappointment in his eyes. After studying Dad for a few more moments, he turned his attention to me.

“So,” he said, eyeing me up and down, “You’re the Guld boy I’ve heard so much about, the one who ran away.”

This surprised the crowd of nobles that surrounded us. They started whispering to each other, their confusion evident. Meanwhile, I just stared at High Priest Nicholas with wide eyes.

“You know about me?” I asked.

“Of course I do, you idiot.” High Priest Nicholas said, gesturing to Leopold. “This one told me about you.” He glanced at Mom and Dad. “It seems that one ducal family wasn’t enough. You had to get yourself another one.”

I couldn’t retort to that. While his understanding of the situation was no doubt skewed and flawed, he wasn’t wrong. I wanted both House Kaltbrand and House Guld in my life.

“Eh, I don’t care.” High Priest Nicholas said. “Let’s get this over with. I hate the Barrens. The cold makes my bones ache. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner I can leave.” He gestured to Dad and I. “Come here you two and give me your hands.”

Dad and I stepped forward and reached for High Priest Nicholas. He pulled out a dagger from his garb. Mom tensed when she saw the dagger and took a step forward.

“Settle down, girl.” High Priest Nicholas said, glancing at her. “If I wanted to hurt them, I wouldn’t bother using this.”

Mom still looked unhappy, but stepped back. High Priest Nicholas nicked our hands with the dagger to draw blood, before putting it away. He then raised his own hands and shadows emerged from the depths of his sleeves. The shadows slithered through the air towards us and gathered two drops of blood: one from me and one from Dad. The shadows then formed a sphere, mixing the two drops of blood together. Somehow, we could see the blood through the shadows. I wasn’t sure how. It should have been impossible, but it clearly wasn’t.

“Oh, Sovereign of Darkness and Lord of Shadow,” High Priest Nicholas prayed, clasping his hands together, “Reveal the truth to us. Are these two father and son?”

For a moment, nothing happened. Despite knowing the truth, I felt a little nervous and apprehensive. What if High Priest Nicholas falsified the results of the lineage test? I doubted it, considering his reputation, but I couldn’t get rid of the thought.

However, the blood reacted a moment later. It turned darker and darker, until it became indistinguishable from the shadows. High Priest Nicholas stared at the blood-turned-shadows for a moment, before throwing a glare in Leopold’s direction.

“What kind of game are you playing, brat?” He yelled. “I came all the way north to this cold, forsaken land because you claimed that Kaltbrand falsified a lineage test.” He jerked a thumb towards the blood-turned-shadows. “How do you explain this?”

Leopold blinked the High Priest in surprise.

“High Priest Nicholas,” he said, “Do you mean to say that the lineage test wasn’t falsified?”

“Yes!” the High Priest said. “The two are father and son.” He made a disgusted sound. “Next time, make sure you know what you’re talking about before you drag other people into your nonsense. I expected better of an imperial prince.”

Leopold’s eyes widened, before he looked at me. I grinned at him.

“I told you,” I said, “I am the son of Grand Duke Kaltbrand and Knight Commander Bardin.”

The crowd of nobles that surrounded us fell silent. House Gerhard and my other supporters looked vindicated, while Count Arbeit sighed with relief. Meanwhile, the nobles that supported House Steuben started to edge away from them.

“No!” Lord Klemens shouted. “I refuse to believe it!” He pointed a finger at me. “There is no way that a filthy bastard-“

Countess Steuben, his mother, grabbed him by the back of his neck and forced him to bow to Dad.

“We beg you to forgive us, Your Grace.” She pleaded. “We have committed a grave sin. Please, show us mercy!”

Huh. I hadn’t expected her to give up like that. Still, considering the circumstances, it wasn’t like she had any other options. It was either surrender and beg for mercy, or suffer House Kaltbrand’s wrath.

“Mother, what are you doing?” Lord Klemens asked, escaping from his mother’s grasp. “With His Highness’ sup-“

Countess Steuben reached over and grabbed him by the ear.

“Shut up, you idiot!” She hissed. “We lost.” She glanced at Dad. “We fell into the Grand Duke’s trap.”

Lord Klemens, who had been trying to escape his mother’s grip on his ear, froze.

“If you want something to blame,” Dad said, “Blame your own greed. You shouldn’t have coveted what didn’t belong to you. All I did was give you enough rope to hang yourself with. You’re the ones who wrapped it around your necks.” He paused. “Though, I can’t take all of the credit. Wulfe was the one who came up with the idea in the first place.”

The nobles looked at me, many of them wearing apprehensive expressions on their faces. High Priest Nicholas looked like he swallowed a lemon.

“Like father, like son.” He muttered. “This one is a troublemaker too.”

I grinned at that, and High Priest Nicholas’ expression soured even further. Lord Klemens recovered from his shock and glared at me with such hatred in his eyes. However, right at that moment, the front entrance to the ballroom opened and a contingent of Coldsteel Knights led by Count Wirner entered the room. I wondered what happened to him. Soon after the ball began, I lost track of Count Wirner, though I had been too busy to search for him. It seemed he had been busy with his own tasks.

The moment the Coldsteel Knights appeared, the Imperial Knight who accompanied Leopold surrounded him and moved him away from House Steuben. While they didn’t draw their weapons, it was clear that they viewed the Coldsteel Knights as potential threats.

“Seize them and take them to the dungeons for now.” Dad ordered, gesturing to House Steuben and their supporters. “We’ll sort them out tomorrow.”

Count Wirner nodded, before taking House Steuben and their supporters into custody. I wondered how Dad would punish them. They challenged House Kaltbrand’s authority, and even dragged the imperial family into it. There was no way they would come out of this unscathed. However, I doubted that Dad would execute them. At worst, he would strip them of their titles and seize their property. They would fall from grace, but they would still be alive.

Countess Steuben and the rest of her family went with the Coldsteel Knights without making a fuss. House Steuben’s supporters, on the other hand, resisted. They protested, claiming they were innocent and had nothing to do with House Steuben’s actions. The Coldsteel Knights ignored them and took them into custody. Lord Klemens put up the most resistance. He struggled like a cornered animal, though it was useless. Each of the Coldsteel Knights was an Aura Expert, while he was just an Aura Warrior. Still, he didn’t give up.

“No!” He yelled. “I’m supposed to be the heir to House Kaltbrand! Not that…” He paused. “Guld! He’s a Guld! How can someone like him become the next grand duke?”

The northern nobles looked stunned, as if they hadn’t considered this.

“Stop.” I commanded, gesturing to the knights restraining Lord Klemens. “Let go of him.”

They obeyed and stepped away from Lord Klemens. He glared at me and wore a deranged smile on his face, as if he had found the weakness in my armor.

“I heard about you.” Lord Klemens said, pointing a finger at me. “You’re the adopted son of House Guld, the one they brought in after they lost Lord Emmerich Guld.” He looked towards the other northern nobles. “Is this who you want to become the next grand duke? A Guld? Will you stand by and let the Barrens become a puppet of the Riverlands?”

The northern nobles looked torn. They were a proud and independent lot. For centuries, their families had defended the rest of the Reichwald Empire from the demonic beast threat and enjoyed the privileges that came with serving House Kaltbrand. The thought of becoming subservient to House Guld of the Riverlands didn’t sit well with them. However, none dared to speak up, for fear of offending Dad.

“Your Highness,” Lord Klemens said, giving Leopold a pleading look, “Surely you can see the injustice of this. I am a true son of the north.” He gestured to me. “Meanwhile, he is a bastard who was adopted by House Guld and grew up outside of the Barrens. I should be the heir to House Kaltbrand. Not him!”

Leopold glanced at me, his eyes full of wariness, before looking back at Lord Klemens.

“Lord Klemens does have a point.” He said, pitching his voice to carry. “Legally, Wulfram is a member of House Guld. The Emperor himself approved of the adoption. On that basis alone, Wulfram is ineligible to inherit House Kaltbrand.” He frowned. “However, by blood, he is a Kaltbrand. This is an unprecedented situation, one that we may have to bring before the Emperor to resolve.”

I bared my teeth at him in a smile.

“Oh, Leopold,” I said, “That won’t be necessary.”

As soon as I finished speaking, I summoned the coldfire and coated my body with it. The temperature around me plummeted. A layer of frost formed on the ground around me. Every time I exhaled, I breathed out plumes of mist.

Everyone, with the exception of my loved ones, scrambled to get away from me. The northern nobles let out exclamations of shock, and Leopold stared at me with wide eyes. The only one who seemed unsurprised was High Priest Nicholas. I wondered if he already guessed that I had inherited the coldfire.

“I think this should resolve the question of whether or not I am a Kaltbrand, don’t you agree?” I asked, still smiling at Leopold.