Surviving as the Fallen Northern Grand Duke

Chapter 13: Establishing the Academy (2)

Hans, the old man, was visiting the greenhouse of the Duchy of Axen and chatting with the farmer Jimmy.

"They’re growing incredibly fast. I never expected them to grow even better than in summer."

Hans looked at the vegetables, which were already nearing harvest, with a face full of amazement.

Jimmy responded with a smile.

"Exactly. Who would’ve thought we’d see a bountiful harvest in Axen? The greenhouse and compost have helped tremendously."

As Jimmy looked at the vegetables that would soon feed the entire domain, he said with satisfaction,

"Oh, looks like she's passing by."

He pointed at Erina Trotsky, who was crossing the outer area of the greenhouse.

Hans nodded knowingly and said,

"Right. She came here to marry our Grand Duke. But now... I heard she’s playing a huge role in building the Axen Academy."

"Yes, that’s correct. I heard she’s incredibly capable. She personally planned everything, called in workers, and manages them herself. People say she’s so sharp and efficient that they can’t help but be impressed."

"Well, of course. If she’s going to marry our Grand Duke, that level of competence is expected."

Hans seemed completely smitten.

Although their young lord had no blood ties to him, he thought of Grand Duke Johan Kraubitz as a proud son.

Jimmy spoke to Hans in a conspiratorial tone.

"And did you hear?"

"Hear what?"

Lowering his voice, he continued,

"When the Grand Duke left the territory to recruit students for the academy, people who saw him said his face had changed drastically."

"Huh?! What do you mean?"

"Our Grand Duke is outstanding in many ways, but let’s be honest, his looks weren’t his strong suit. But this time, they say he’s become quite handsome."

"How is that possible? Could someone have swapped out our Grand Duke?"

Hans was utterly shocked.

He had never heard of someone’s face changing overnight, so his reaction was understandable.

And then—

Heh.

Erina Trotsky, who was walking past the greenhouse and overhearing their loud conversation, smiled.

‘It really is strange.’

Ever since she set foot in the Duchy of Axen, everything happening here had been so bizarre that it made her laugh.

Not only did various incidents occur, but in this place where she had been practically sold off due to her impoverished family...

‘Now I’m the Academy’s Secretary-General.’

If she had remained in the Count’s family, she would never have had such an opportunity.

This was a significant event for her because, at the time, it was rare for noble ladies in the Empire to hold important positions.

According to conventional wisdom, a noble lady’s best career was marrying into a good family.

Even those with academic ambitions found their paths into public office severely limited.

‘When I first arrived, I thought I’d simply become the Grand Duchess and live as the lady of the house…’

Who would have thought she’d enter society in such an unexpected way? Even if Count Trotsky had been wealthy enough to support her, this would have been impossible.

‘That Wildhog is more unconventional than I expected.’

To view people without bias and utilize their abilities—such qualities were rare in rulers of this era.

Yet, he did so effortlessly.

No wonder he kept producing results.

Moreover…

"These days, he doesn’t even seem like a Wildhog anymore…"

Without realizing it, she murmured as she neared the academy construction site.

"Did he always look like that? He’s actually… kind of handsome now."

As she recalled Johan’s recently sharpened features—

“Arrest Erina Trotsky immediately!”

—the day the monstrous hand appeared flashed in her mind.

He had told her she could leave, yet the moment he returned, he hurriedly ordered her arrest like a complete psycho.

"...That son of a bitch."

The workers at the academy construction site were left facing a grim-faced, foul-mouthed project manager whose presence alone was enough to establish dominance.

Whooooooosh!

Having left Axen several hours ago, Johan was now facing razor-sharp winds blowing from the front.

The chill was so intense that even his Axen-born body struggled to endure it.

"...Should I just turn back?"

With his nose turning red, he seriously reconsidered why he was putting himself through such hardship.

"Am I overdoing this? Can’t I just send out recruitment notices across the continent? Do I really need to go scouting for talent in person?"

Yes.

As much as he wanted to find an excuse to return home, the more he thought about it, the more he realized how crucial it was to personally recruit talent.

‘If I only bring in noble sons, I won’t find the best talent.’

Ugh.

Talent didn’t appear based on status, so he had no choice but to search for hidden gems himself.

After all, what did the novel’s beginning say?

When ‘he’ unveiled his greatest weapon, Krisha, on the battlefield…

All spears and shields became useless.

That terrifying monster swept across the continent, wielding an incredible weapon.

If that was the case, then he, too, had to carefully select and train new soldiers over time just to have a fighting chance.

Thus—

For about two weeks, he traveled across the continent, scouting talents.

He sought out those living in areas where his recruitment notices might not reach, conversed with them, tested them, and carefully assessed their potential.

And to bring these hidden gems to Axen Academy—

“I will take good care of your child.”

“We will fully support your relocation to Axen.”

“Please have them read the admission guidelines while waiting for enrollment.”

—he persuaded their parents and made all the necessary arrangements.

By the time he had gathered a decent number of students—

‘This should be enough. As for the rest…’

He could recruit the noble scions.

Surely, there were talented individuals among them as well.

Pleased with his successful recruitment, he began his return to the Duchy of Axen.

Hehehe.

A grin spread across his face.

‘Some are sons of central nobles, others come from remote herbalist tribes…’

This academy was probably the most diverse in the continent’s history.

If he framed it positively, this radical approach to education could be seen as the first step toward redistributing privilege or resolving regional conflicts.

Of course—

‘I’m just training people to protect the world for my own sake.’

Since this world needed to remain intact until he could return home, he decided to play along at the delicate intersection of self-interest and the greater good.

And just as he was following the northern coast back to Axen…

“Huh?”

As I arrived in front of a village located by the sea, I felt something strange.

‘The scent of blood?’

A faint scent of blood was drifting from somewhere in the distance.

And on top of that…

‘I smell something burning too?’

Yes, there was definitely a stench of something being burned.

‘It’s from the top of the cliff.’

I closed my eyes for a moment and focused, pinpointing the source of the smell.

Then, in an instant, I leaped up to the coastal cliff.

Tatadadadak!

The reason I ran madly toward that place was probably my intuition or instinct.

That was because—

When I reached the top of the coastal cliff, I saw a collapsing log house…

And the people gathered in front of it…

Were burning a person.

Crackle! Crackle!

The sound of flames, the acrid stench filling the air.

Something tied to a wooden pillar was burning into char.

What had once been a person was now unrecognizable.

Saaaaah.

Seeing such an absurd sight, I was at a loss for words.

Perhaps that’s why the people standing over there were just staring blankly at the burning corpses.

Or maybe they simply didn’t see me as a threat.

“What exactly is happening here?”

I couldn’t just stand there idly watching human corpses burn, so I had to ask what on earth was going on.

Then, one of the gathered people finally broke the silence and spoke.

“Go on your way. Don’t concern yourself.”

To me, those words sounded like an admission that this situation was abnormal.

So—

I subtly placed my hand on my sword hilt and asked again.

“Don’t make me repeat myself. I’m asking what exactly is happening here.”

At that, the gathered people all turned to look at me and began to speak one after another.

“Is this brat looking to die, waving a sword around?”

“Do you want to end up like these bastards?”

Among those idiots, emboldened by the power of the crowd and spouting nonsense, at least one person gave me a proper answer.

“These bastards were demons. So we burned them all to death.”

“Demons?”

“Yeah. The whole family in this house was full of demons. It was so bad that…”

Scratch.

The man scratched his head and continued.

“They brought famine to our village and cursed the land, making it impossible to live here. On top of that… when it looked like we were all going to die from starvation, we suggested marrying off their eldest daughter to a wealthy family to split the dowry, but they flatly refused.”

“…”

“The girl was pretty enough that we could have gotten a good price for her… Anyway, they were a wretched family of demons and witches.”

Naturally, I dismissed the nonsense about them bringing famine or cursing the village.

The only part that caught my attention was the latter half of the man’s words.

‘So they tried to sell off someone’s child, and when that didn’t work, they branded them as demons and killed them?’

I asked again.

“So the bodies here are the entire family?”

“Well, more or less. Ah, and this here was the pretty daughter. We tried to take her alive, but she resisted so much that we ended up killing her while restraining her. So we just burned her too.”

The man picked up a long poker and pointed to one of the charred corpses.

I caught a discrepancy in his words.

“What do you mean, ‘more or less’?”

“Ah, this family had a youngest daughter too. But she’s nowhere to be found. It would be nice to sell her off too… but she scurried off somewhere like a rat…”

Listening to their words, I fell into thought for a moment.

Should I kill these inhuman scum and rid the world of them?

Or, since the victims were already dead, should I avoid increasing the body count?

For a brief moment, I was conflicted, torn by my feeble sense of morality.

But then—

“Hey, what’s this? Is this a foot?”

A shout came from the collapsing log house in the back.

“Catch her!”

Another loud voice rang out.

Tatadadadak!

I saw something small and white dart out of the log house, running desperately.

‘A young girl?’

It was a child.

Surely, the youngest daughter of this house they had mentioned.

Thud.

The child couldn’t escape the adults.

The men stationed in front of the house managed to capture the little girl.

“So the brat was hiding all this time.”

“Damn girl, making things difficult…”

They roughly yanked the child up.

And then—

Saaaaah.

For the briefest moment, I locked eyes with the child.

Her green eyes held an incredibly complex mix of emotions.

For a child who looked no older than ten, her gaze was unbearably sorrowful and profound.

I had to act on the decision I had made before seeing those eyes.

I just hoped—

‘I hope my choice is the right one.’

I prayed that my reckless decision to intervene in this situation was the right one.