Surviving as the Fallen Northern Grand Duke

Chapter 11: End Point

The essence of the Northern Continent, which I had to face directly, far exceeded my imagination.

Glowing with a blue and white light, it floated before my eyes as if it had no weight at all…

Fwoooosh!

It looked as if it were engulfed in blue flames, burning fiercely.

It was undoubtedly a solid of the coldest form, yet at the same time, it was an intense fire that seemed capable of incinerating everything in existence.

"Hoooooh."

A gasp of admiration escaped through my teeth.

Legendary items usually had to have this kind of presence.

As I gazed at its clear and pure form, countless thoughts flashed through my mind.

Johan Kraubitz, as widely known, tried to devour its energy.

As he brought the essence of the Northern Continent close to his face, it fiercely charged toward his body.

That object, akin to the mysterious abilities of the Giant King…

The essence of the Northern Continent held the power to transcend worlds,

and Johan immediately tried to use it.

However, he was bound by the "immortality restriction" and could not wield it.

Embracing his shattered Mana Heart, Johan Kraubitz howled like a beast.

Yes, that was exactly how it was described in the novel.

Johan, who had killed the Chimera with his own hands, suffered immensely and ultimately despaired when he failed to repair his Mana Heart. However,

‘Johan. I am not like you. I…’

I am going to use this right now and return to reality.

I must return to my homeland where I was born and raised.

Whoosh!

I turned my body and looked at the knights. Then, I shouted into the snow-filled air.

"Loyal knights of the Duchy of Axen, hear me!"

"Yes!"

A reply as sharp as frost came back.

The precious knights I had nurtured for over a decade.

It was time to bid them my final farewell.

"I believe you all remember what I have emphasized. The matter of what will become of the Duchy of Axen if I were to disappear."

"……"

"If I am gone, the Duchy of Axen will enthrone my distant relative, Siegfried Kraubitz, as king and Grand Duke. And you shall transfer your loyalty from me to him."

"M-My lord…"

"Do not regret it. Do not grieve. Simply remember that we lived together in the same time, in the same place. In the end, life is nothing but a collection of such memories."

Damn.

That was way too cool for a farewell speech.

Perhaps the saying is true—circumstances shape a person. After living here for twelve years, Kim Si-hyuk had become an insanely charismatic man.

Now then,

Whoosh!

With my back turned to my knights, I looked back and flashed them a grin.

And then…

Smirk.

"Farewell."

That one phrase shattered the knights’ tear ducts.

Thunk.

I took the essence of the Northern Continent into my hands.

The moment I did—

Vrooooooooom!

Fwaaaaaaah!

The blue flames began to seep into my entire body at an insane speed.

Crackle. Sizzle.

And soon, I could feel it.

My body was gradually resonating with "another world."

I had no idea how to describe it, but I instinctively realized that my body had become as light as air, connecting me to the real-world Seoul.

‘So this is how it works.’

It was certain.

Just a little more, and in the blink of an eye, I would arrive in Seoul.

It made sense, too—this sensation was strikingly similar to when I was first struck by the transmigration beam.

The blue flames covering my body grew even stronger.

They expanded and expanded until, finally—

Fwaaaaaaaaah!

They fiercely engulfed the entire sky…

Fizzle. Pfft.

"Huh?"

And then, all of a sudden, they shrank down to the size of a pea and extinguished.

In the next moment, I came face-to-face with something I had forgotten for a very long time.

Ding-dong!

[Ah, ah… You see this, right?]

"Status window?"

The very same damn status window that had appeared just once when I first transmigrated, only to disappear without a trace.

[Ah, I definitely said back then that I wouldn’t show up again… but here I am, showing up again like a fool.]

"What the hell… No, that's not the point right now. What's going on?"

I held up the essence of the Northern Continent, which had shrunk to the size of a pea and was now glowing like a matchstick.

At that, the status window hurriedly responded. Somehow, its tone even seemed to carry a hint of laughter.

[Ah, that’s not how you use it~]

[You see, if you just absorb it and go poof! like that, it won’t work.]

"What do you mean? Isn’t the method just absorbing it and transferring to another dimension?"

[Eh… Well, technically, yes. That’s correct. But…]

But?

[You… need to charge it first.]

"What?"

[If its charge is empty, the effect isn’t exactly great. You end up, well, stopping in the middle of teleportation like just now.]

[So, in short, what you're holding is in an uncharged state.]

"Why are you telling me that now?"

[Did you ask?]

"……."

Hoo. Hoo.

Right now, I wasn't suffering from Mana Heart angina but from hyperventilation.

The disappointment of failing to use the essence of the Northern Continent, the urge to kill that bastard Taechang, and the embarrassment of bidding farewell to the knights were all mixed together….

It made me contemplate whether I should just destroy this entire otherworld.

Anyway, since I still needed to use this essence of the Northern Continent, I asked again.

"Then how long does it take to charge?"

[About five years?]

[Ah, of course, if you achieve merits or accomplish something special, the time might decrease a little.]

"……."

While I was at a loss for words, the status window prepared to say goodbye.

[Then, I'll be disappearing now. Ah, but…….]

Fwaaah!

[I'll finish the settlement before I go.]

At that moment, the tone of the status window became somewhat formal.

It turned into the kind of rigid, proper speech typical of real status windows.

[Johan Kraubitz, Kim Si-hyuk of reality.]

[As a reward for defeating the gigantic monster, the Silver Chimera, the essence of the Northern Continent is granted.]

[The effect of using the essence of the Northern Continent is activated.]

[Due to using an uncharged essence, the effects of dimensional travel are restricted.]

"……"

[Congratulations.]

[As a result of partial dimensional travel……]

[The synchronization of certain body parts that previously failed to synchronize is now complete.]

[Cooldown for the essence of the Northern Continent: 5 years.]

Fwaaah!

For a moment, I felt like my face was turning into gas and floating away.

Strangely enough, I could feel that only the outer layer of my face was shifting dimensions, while my brain and organs remained unaffected.

And after a short while, when that intense light faded….

Saaaah.

I just stood there silently.

"L-Lord… your face…"

"Is this what you meant when you said you would disappear?"

"Your face has changed. It looks… more defined somehow…"

The knights were startled upon seeing me turn around.

'Five years, huh….'

Aside from the shitty feeling, it wasn’t too bad. If I waited patiently, I could eventually return to reality.

However,

Throb.

The wound on my chest, still bleeding, ached sharply.

'But at this rate, I might die before that happens.'

There was no telling when my damaged Mana Heart would take my life.

Before I stormed out of the ducal castle, Erina Trotsky had run up to me with a worried expression.

So I told her, ‘You can go home now.’

Shit.

As soon as I return to the ducal castle, I need to capture her again immediately.

If my life were a novel, this would be a major setting change happening right at the beginning.

If the title was something like "The Northern Grand Duke's Face is Wrecked," it would have to be changed immediately.

Thud.

I lost all strength and collapsed into the snow.

Well, actually, I still had some energy left, but I just felt like doing this.

So I let everything go and buried myself in the soft snowfield.

The beautiful night sky over the northern Duchy of Axen was particularly bright with stars.

With a complicated feeling, I muttered to myself.

"Hah… fuck."

"…It shouldn’t have been written like that."

An empty space.

A place somewhat dark yet somewhat comforting….

…It shouldn’t have been written like that….

…Shouldn’t have been….

…Shouldn’t have….

The words spoken echoed throughout.

The silence was so profound that even the smallest sound felt like it would reverberate forever.

Hoo.

A quiet sigh escaped.

And then,

"This isn’t easy."

A voice filled with deep regret emerged.

"It would have been better if it ended this time."

A voice of someone who had failed to accomplish something, eyes filled with a hint of sorrow….

Had always been there, watching.

"Then, I'll take my leave."

Noich, the butler, who had brought a doctor to examine my condition, quietly withdrew.

With deeply worried eyes, he exited the bedroom.

Well, that was understandable.

His master had taken the knight order out in the middle of the night to fight a massive beast and returned utterly battered.

Even the face I had seen all my life had completely changed, so they must be worried and also quite confused.

That’s why they look so concerned.

Thud.

Noich, who had stepped out of the bedroom, stretched his stiff body before crawling back into his own chamber.

“……Ugh, I’m exhausted from early morning.”

Did he get some kind of cosmetic magic?

He came back with his face completely changed again.

I tossed and turned, thinking about the worried estate residents and servants.

I was quite tired from last night’s battle, but it seemed I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep easily.

“……Hoo.”

This is a mess.

I never considered staying here after this second event.

The Northern Grand Duke returned with nothing but a uselessly changed face, and the Mana Heart was still a disaster.

On top of that…….

“Now that I think about it, this place is a complete wreck.”

Last time, we were attacked by knights disguised as bandits, and now some damn demonic beast has awakened and caused havoc.

Since I had only been thinking about returning after this event, I hadn’t been too concerned about it, but looking at it now, there’s no land more wretched than this.

“Ah, I still have to be here for another five years.”

If threats keep appearing like this, I might not even survive those five years.

Tsk.

It wasn’t just food shortages; this land was absurdly dangerous.

Yeah, at this rate, it’s so dangerous that even lasting another year would be a struggle.

By the latter half of the novel, even more dangers will surely arrive.

So, it would be great to have stronger knights, mages, and elite soldiers to protect this land.

But there’s nowhere to find that many talents, nor enough money to recruit them.

Fixing the damn nature of this estate wouldn’t be possible with just a few pennies.

“What should I do? Once the heroine appears, things will only get worse. Am I just supposed to endure for five years like this?”

That’s not an option.

The anxiety alone might kill me.

Then instead…….

“Should I just raise them myself?”

Crackle!

At that moment, was it the genius mind of the Northern Grand Duke Johan, or the quick-witted adaptability of Kim Si-hyuk that came up with this brilliant idea?

I came up with the incredibly admirable and great idea of ‘raising talents’ myself.

Faced with this remarkable idea, my entire body shuddered just as I was about to lie down.

And then,

Jingle! Jingle! Jingle!

I rang the bell loudly to summon the butler, Noich. I heard the sound of him rushing over.

“W-What is it?”

Unable to suppress my excitement, I gave the command in a voice trembling with exhilaration.

“Call the architects and the financial officers. Right now, I…….”

Right now?

“I need to establish an academy.”