Former Fake Becomes Grand Duke of the North

It took a little while, but I managed to say my farewells to my adopted family, before leaving House Guld townhouse. By the time I returned to Kaltbrand Manor after leaving House Guld townhouse, it was almost midnight. Despite this, most of the servants were still awake. It seemed that they had stayed up to wait for my return. Baron Kurz, in particular, had worried about me. After reassuring the servants that I was all right and that my meeting with the Emperor had gone well, I sent them off to bed.

I met with Maria for a bit, who updated me on Elmer’s progress. The man had settled in just fine, though most of the servants of Kaltbrand Manor remained wary of him. He was both a stranger as well as someone from another noble family. Despite this, none of them had any complaints about him. Elmer was diligent, hardworking, and modest. A part of me feared that he would try to throw his weight around, but it turned out that my fears were unfounded.

Even Maria was surprised by how well Elmer fit in with everyone. That didn’t mean she trusted him, but she had nothing bad to say about him. Not yet, at least. She would continue to keep an eye on him.

In addition to that, I asked Maria to make contact with the Blue Shadows stationed within Haven. The more I knew about the situation here, the better. Lina said she would share what she knew with me, but I didn’t want to rely on her for everything. Besides, perhaps the Blue Shadows knew something that she didn’t.

After talking with Maria, I headed to my rooms. However, I felt restless and unable to sleep, so I took a walk around the grounds instead. The gardens were nonexistent, but the night sky remained as beautiful as ever. It was quiet and peaceful, which was what I needed at the moment.

My mind churned with worry as I stared up at the stars. Many obstacles barred the path ahead and I wondered how we were going to deal with them all. The imperial succession, the Tower of Magic trying to kidnap Father, Leopold. For a moment, I worried that I wouldn’t have the strength to overcome the challenges that we faced. Would I be able to protect my loved ones?

The sound of footsteps pulled me out of my thoughts and I tensed. I turned towards the source and saw Elmer walking towards me. He now wore the uniform of a House Kaltbrand servant.

“Elmer,” I called out, “What are you doing here?”

He took a moment before answering.

“I noticed that you were still awake, Lord Wulfe,” he said, “And I thought you could use the company. You looked lonely.”

Had I? Or was Elmer just using that as an excuse to come out here? I didn’t know.

“I was just thinking.” I said, turning away from him to look up at the night sky again. However, I kept my other senses trained on him, just in case he tried something.

Elmer walked up until he stood just a few feet away from me.

“If I may be so bold, Lord Wulfe,” he said, “What were you thinking about? If something is troubling you, sharing it with someone else might help.”

I looked back at Elmer and studied him for several moments. The darkness obscured his face, making it difficult to make out his features. Ironically enough, this made it easier to see the similarities between him and the other members of House Guld. He had used magic to disguise his appearance, but the shadows hid the changes brought about by his disguise. His outline reminded me of both Father and Mother.

“I’m worried about the future.” I said, looking back up at the stars. “There are many troubles plaguing both House Kaltbrand and House Guld. I fear that I don’t have the strength to face them all.”

Elmer pondered this for a moment.

“In that case,” he said, “Why not ask for help? You may be the heir to House Kaltbrand, but that doesn’t mean you have to do everything yourself. I’m sure you have people you can rely on.”

His words reminded me of what Father said earlier, right after the Tower of Magic tried to kidnap him, and I chuckled.

“Father said something similar to me earlier today,” I said.

Elmer didn’t respond right away.

“By ‘Father’, you mean Duke Guld?” he asked.

“Yes. Duke Guld is Father, and Grand Duke Kaltbrand is Dad.” I grinned at him. “A bit confusing, I know.”

“So, you still consider yourself a member of House Guld even though you are the heir to House Kaltbrand.”

I nodded.

“Yes.” I said. “I am a child of both. A Kaltbrand by blood and a Guld by upbringing. I am who I am today because of Father and Mother. If they hadn’t adopted me, then I would have grown up to become someone else.”

“What about the rest of House Guld? What are your thoughts on them?”

I shrugged.

“I consider them family too of course. Sieg is my brother and Mika is my little sister.” I paused. “As for Lina… Well, she’s the love of my life. I know there will be those who object to our relationship, even though not once have we considered each other siblings.”

“And Lord Emmerich Guld?”

I raised an eyebrow at Elmer. I suspected that this had been his objective all along.

“I’m not sure.” I admitted. “A part of me resents him. If he hadn’t come back, if he had just stayed away, then I wouldn’t have left Guld Manor and hurt my loved ones.” I sighed. “However, I know it’s unfair and unjust of me to lay the blame on him when I’m the one who made the decision to run away. Besides, I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for him to find out that his family had adopted another son about a month after his supposed death.” I let out a bitter laugh. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he harbored some resentment towards me as well.”

Silence fell over us as I studied Elmer and awaited his response.

“In his position, I would have.” He began, breaking the silence. “At least, in the beginning. I would have felt that my family replaced me with someone else. However, my resentment would fade over time. After all, you and I are two very different people. This would help me realize that our family’s love for you doesn’t diminish their love for me.” He paused. “Presuming I was Lord Emmerich of course.”

I scoffed.

“You know,” I said, “There isn’t any reason to keep up this charade. I saw through you the moment you stepped into my study.”

Elmer snorted.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Lord Wulfe.” He said. “I am a servant of House Guld sent here to serve you. Nothing more, nothing less.”

I shook my head, before looking back up at the stars.

“That’s too bad.” I said. “A part of me looked forward to meeting with Emmerich Guld. I wanted to see if the two of us could come to see each other as family. We are brothers, after all.” I let out a dramatic sigh. “However, it seems that I’ll have to wait until he returns from his sabbatical in the Mistwood.”

“I don’t think you have anything to worry about in that regard, Lord Wulfe. I’m sure that if Lord Emmerich were here, he would feel the same way.”

I almost retorted that, but held my peace. If he wanted to maintain this act of his, I wasn’t going to gainsay him. He would approach me as his true self in his own time. However, I planned on teasing him in the meantime.

“It’s rather convenient that Emmerich Guld decided to take a sabbatical now of all times, considering what’s going on.” I said, giving Elmer a sideways glance.

“What do you mean?” He asked.

“Oh, it’s just that the Tower of Magic is trying to kidnap Father.”

A beat of silence followed my words.

“What?!” Elmer exclaimed. “When? Why?”

I frowned at him.

“Did you not know?” I asked.

Elmer stiffened at that, before letting out a nervous chuckle.

“Well,” he said, “I’ve been rather busy, so I haven’t kept up with the latest news.”

I gave him a mystified look.

“You were too busy to hear that the Tower of Magic is trying to kidnap Father?” I asked.

“Yes.” Elmer said in a defensive tone. “It was important work.”

I remembered Mother’s words from earlier, about how Emmerich Guld spent most of his time in his laboratory studying and researching magic.

“I see.” I said. “Well, the Tower of Magic is trying to kidnap Father because the negotiations over the sale of magic tools in the Riverlands isn’t going well.”

“That doesn’t make sense.” Elmer said, sounding doubtful. “There is no way that Tower Master Katarina would risk making an enemy of House Guld over such a trivial matter.”

I nodded.

“Father agrees.” I said. “He believes that there is a deeper purpose behind their actions. He suspects that they support Prince Jeremias Reichwald and they want to force House Guld to support him as well, but he doesn’t know for sure.” I shrugged. “If Emmerich Guld were here, perhaps he would be able to intervene or at least provide insight into the matter, since he is also a member of the Tower of Magic.”

Elmer mulled over my words before replying. I waited instead of rushing him.

“Do you know of the relationship between the Tower of Magic and House Galdur?” He asked.

I blinked at him in surprise.

“What does that have to do with anything?” I asked.

“In general, the Tower of Magic distances itself in politics.” Elmer explained. “All they care about is researching and studying magic.” He gestured to me. “There are exceptions of course. Sometimes they get involved in politics to achieve a specific objective. After they complete said objective, they distance themselves once more. Another possibility is money. Magical research is expensive. There are times when the Tower of Magic needs to mingle with nobles in order to gain more funds.”

I frowned.

“So, you’re saying that the Tower of Magic wants to kidnap Father either to achieve a specific goal or because they need money?” I asked.

Maybe it really was about the sale of magic tools if that was the case.

“It’s possible, yes.” Elmer said. “However, there is a third possibility: House Galdur. Whenever House Galdur makes a move, the Tower of Magic always responds.”

“Ah, so that’s why you asked that question earlier.” I shook my head. “I’ll admit, I don’t know much about the relationship between the Tower of Magic and House Galdur.”

“To put it simply, the two are rivals.” Elmer said. “They each consider themselves the premier experts on magic, while considering the other as pretenders and frauds. If one moves, the other will move to oppose them. They’ve been like that ever since the Mistwood became part of the Reichwald Empire.”

If I remembered right, similar to how House Kaltbrand played a key role in conquering the Riverlands, the Tower of Magic played a significant part in subjugating the Mistwood.

“Wait a moment.” I said, frowning. “Isn’t Tower Master Katarina from House Galdur?”

Elmer snorted.

“You think that makes a difference?” He asked. “If anything, that makes things worse. Several members of House Galdur became masters of the Tower of Magic over the centuries as a way to rebel against their family.” He paused. “Think of it as someone marrying into a rival family in order to escape their own, if that makes it easier to understand.”

Hmm, that made a certain amount of sense.

“So, you think that the Tower of Magic is trying to kidnap Father because it would hinder House Galdur in some way?” I asked.

Elmer nodded.

“It’s a possibility.” He said. “Like the Tower of Magic, House Galdur stays out of politics for the most part. They only involve themselves when they want to achieve a specific goal. If you want to figure out what the Tower of Magic wants, look into House Galdur. That should give you a clue.”

I smirked.

“I find it amusing that the Tower of Magic and House Galdur are so similar, and yet so opposed to one another.”

Elmer chuckled.

“I think they oppose one another because they’re so similar to each other.” He shook his head. “Magicians are a rather prideful bunch.”

I raised an eyebrow at that.

“Do you include Emmerich Guld in that assessment?” I asked.

Elmer scoffed.

“Of course.” He said.

At least he was self aware about it.

“Well, this has been a rather enlightening conversation.” I said. “However, it’s getting late and I need to go to bed. I have a busy day ahead of me tomorrow.” I grimaced. “I am going to formally ask for Lina’s hand in marriage. Father and Sieg plan on making things… difficult for me.”

Elmer burst out into laughter.

“I would say good luck, but I don’t think you need it.”

I grinned at him, before heading towards my rooms. My heart felt lighter. All of the obstacles in my path no longer seemed so daunting. Perhaps it was because of my conversation with “Elmer”. While I still harbored some resentment towards him, since a single conversation wasn’t enough to get rid of it, we took our first steps towards becoming family.

The next morning, before I left for House Guld townhouse, I read a report from the Blue Shadows stationed here in Haven. It was a proper report too, not a brief summary either. Maria delivered it to me right after breakfast. That was fast. They must have worked through the night in order to put it together. I would have to reward them for their diligence.

The report detailed the political situation here in Haven, focusing on the four candidates vying for the throne. Of the four, Prince Cornelius led the strongest faction. He was the Emperor’s eldest child and had support from the Empress’ family, House Ritter. This attracted a lot of nobles, who flocked to his banner. However, Prince Cornelius’ siblings weren’t far behind.

His younger sister, Princess Henriette, had close ties with the Church of Light and Darkness. While the church as a whole remained neutral in the fight for the throne, several high-ranking priests and priestesses supported the princess. This attracted the more pious noble families.

Princess Henriette was also popular among the commoners, due to her numerous charity projects. Some of them even started calling her an angel who had descended from the heavens. Considering how House Reichwald’s divine power came from the Goddess of Light, that wasn’t too far from the truth.

Prince Jeremias, the youngest of the three, had support from a large number of the smaller noble families. On their own, they weren’t that powerful or influential. Most were either viscounts or barons, with a few counts here and there. However, the sheer number of them made up for this. There was also the Tower of Magic to consider. While it remained neutral in public, the report mentioned that there was a strong possibility that it supported Prince Jeremias. The report even said that the tutor who taught Prince Jeremias magic was a tower magician.

Of the four, Leopold led the weakest faction. He had support from his parents and his mother’s family, as well as a few other noble houses, but that was it. According to the report, Leopold had little to no chance at winning the fight for the throne and becoming the next ruler of the Reichwald Empire. My heart clenched when I read this. In the past, losing the fight for the throne either meant death or banishment from the Reichwald Empire. A lucky few, such as Mother, managed to marry into another family within the empire and cast off the Reichwald name.

After reading the report, I better understood why Leopold and his father, Prince Dirk, did what they did. House Kaltbrand’s support would have given Leopold a fighting chance. While I still didn’t condone their actions, I sympathized with Leopold. For him, the imperial succession wasn’t just about becoming the next ruler of the Reichwald Empire. It was a fight for survival, one that he had little chance of winning.

I took a moment to consider my course of action. Who should House Kaltbrand support? While Mom and Dad had the final say in the matter, I knew they would take my opinion into consideration. At the moment, I didn’t know who I wanted to support. Regardless of who we picked, we would be making enemies of the other three. There was also Leopold’s situation to consider. Regardless of what happened, I didn’t want him to die.

I decided to hold off for now and wait. It was too early to make a decision. Instead, I continued reading the report. Other than House Ritter, who ruled the Grass Sea to the east, none of the other ducal families pledged their support to any of the candidates. I already knew House Kaltbrand and House Guld’s stance on the matter. House Galdur, on the other hand, remained a complete mystery to me.

Duchess Ingrid Galdur, the current head of House Galdur, was in Haven for the social season. However, none of her actions thus far indicated who she planned to support for the imperial succession, if she planned to support anyone at all. However, if Elmer was right and the Tower of Magic was moving to oppose House Galdur, then perhaps Duchess Galdur had allied with one of the candidates in secret. It was unlikely Prince Jeremias, since he had ties with the Tower of Magic, so it must have been one of the other ones. The question was, who?

After reading the report, I realized that I needed more information. While the report helped me gain a better understanding of the situation here in Haven, it wasn’t enough. There were too many unknown factors at play. If House Kaltbrand supported the wrong candidate, it would end up hurting us, which I wanted to avoid as much as possible.

I also didn’t want House Kaltbrand and House Guld to end up opposed to one another. While my two families could be considered allies, thanks to me and my engagement with Lina, that didn’t mean they saw eye to eye on everything. My parents, all four of them, were people with their own goals and agendas. They also had to take the welfare of their respective domains into consideration. While I could influence their decisions, that was it. In the end, they were the ones who made their own choices.

These thoughts churned in my head as I headed to House Guld townhouse in order to formally ask for Lina’s hand in marriage. If nothing else, at least dealing with Dad and Sieg would be less difficult than dealing with the imperial succession.