Surviving as the Fallen Northern Grand Duke

Chapter 37: The Victor

What led the Golden Stag to this place?

Yes, what was it thinking when it left the Spring Hunting Grounds and arrived here?

That was no ordinary beast.

The Golden Stag was created by the Magic Tower using sacred high magic, formed with an incomparably beautiful appearance and the concentration of noble thoughts.

Thus, it could no longer be called a mere beast. It could only be described as a noble spirit.

And that noble spirit could instinctively sense the scent of "other thoughts."

A few hours ago, the mystical creature, newly released into the hunting grounds, sensed an "alien presence" far beyond the forest.

A presence that was both explosively fierce yet gentle, infinitely radiant yet carrying a deep abyss.

A presence that was painfully lonely yet breathtakingly beautiful—a presence belonging to only one person.

The mystical creature trembled at that realization.

And then,

Step.

The noble spirit began moving toward it.

Perhaps drawn toward the one and only soul that was not bound by the laws and order of this world, the Golden Stag continued forward.

Breaking past the boundaries of the hunting grounds, it walked calmly toward the outer forest of the imperial palace.

At some point, it caught the scent of blood brought by the fallen god and its servants, but even then, the Golden Stag pressed on.

And when that sun-like presence leaped out of the palace window and landed in the forest...

The Golden Stag finally faced that ancient existence.

—Hwaeeeeeek!

As the dagger thrown by that person touched its body, it dissipated into golden light, and the Golden Stag took in the sight of the alien figure.

Meanwhile, Johan Kraubitz, who had orchestrated all this, was stunned.

“……”

Was that it?

The true identity of the Golden Stag?

It was unexpectedly anticlimactic and a little underwhelming.

“All that effort just to catch that thing…?”

Yet, while he had been too busy dealing with Escal Demaris' rebellion, the creature had simply walked right up to him.

And to top it off, it had been effortlessly caught by a dagger he threw without much thought.

The supposed victor of the hunt felt neither joy nor a sense of triumph—just bewilderment.

“Light! A golden radiance has appeared in the sky!”

“Where? Where do you see it? Ah, over there! Then that means…!”

“The victor! The victor of the Spring Festival has been crowned!”

Unlike Johan’s composed reaction, the citizens of the empire erupted into chaos.

“The light is shining from that direction! The golden glow is rising over there!”

And with that, they began running toward the location of the victor.

In truth, the Spring Hunt had always been conducted within a controlled hunting ground.

Because of that, ordinary citizens had only ever seen the victors return triumphantly with the Golden Stag.

But this time, the victor had emerged outside the hunting grounds.

“If we miss this, we may never get to witness a victory scene in our lifetime!”

“Damn right!”

People started gathering en masse, hoping to catch a glimpse of the fading light of the Golden Stag.

Both commoners and nobles alike rushed toward the imperial palace, located on higher ground.

“...Damn it. This is a mess.”

From Johan Kraubitz’s perspective, it looked as if a revolution had broken out to overthrow the emperor’s rule.

If His Imperial Majesty saw a crowd surging toward his palace like this, he would probably be quite shocked.

Sigh.

Watching the people ascending toward the highlands, Johan let out a quiet sigh.

And then—

Thud.

He collapsed onto the ground.

He had no strength left.

In truth, he had already been completely drained when he rode his horse back to the palace after the battle in the forest.

Even back then, his whole body had been trembling so much that he felt like he was about to die.

“I can’t just leave things as they are…”

If Johan abandoned everything now, this fragile world might collapse at any moment.

“…This is fucked.”

At this rate, he couldn’t even play the role of a transmigrator properly.

Having to prevent the apocalypse felt like being forced to bear the entire burden alone.

He lay there, indifferent to the approaching crowd.

“The Northern Grand Duke! Johan Kraubitz of the Duchy of Axen has captured the Golden Stag!”

“Axen! Axen! Axen!”

“Congratulations, Your Grace!”

The gathering spectators quickly surrounded Johan.

And then—

Swoosh!

A few nobles approached and lifted Johan up.

Duke Duran from the central noble faction, Baron Goldman, and other nobles from the northern regions of the continent.

“Your Grace, you must stay standing even if it’s difficult.”

“If you collapse now, it’ll ruin the scene.”

“Just endure a little longer.”

They supported Johan and helped him stand, then raised his arm and waved it toward the crowd.

“Hey, let go of me.”

Johan scowled at the bizarre puppet show they were putting on with his body.

Shake.

Shake.

Ignoring the tired tiger’s sharp gaze, the retainers of the Northern Grand Duke put on a grand performance for the imperial citizens.

“Axen! Axen! Axen!”

“You’re not even from Axen. Why are you doing this?”

“You don’t get it. My hometown was originally Axen. That’s why I use the Axen dialect, my friend.”

“Your Grace! You look stunning! When will you visit our ‘Blue Pony Inn’? The best beer awaits you!”

“Who the hell is advertising right now?”

A festival was now taking place in the forest on the outskirts of the Imperial Palace in Prohatska City.

Countless crowds stood before the gathered nobles.

And at the center of it all, the Grand Duke of the Northern Duchy of Axen was waving his hand.

Heh.

The Emperor stood by the palace window, watching Johan’s figure.

Then, he muttered softly.

“……He is different.”

Yes, certainly.

“As if he was not born in this place, he is different.”

The Emperor stared for a long time at the man standing tallest above all, and suddenly recalled the ancient stories passed down from the previous Emperor.

“A Master…….”

In the present Empire, there was no officially recognized Sword Master.

The Emperor set his eyes on the one closest to that title.

The Empire was thrown into an uproar.

First, they were shocked that Escal Demaris, the Grand Duke of Southern Provin, known as one of the wealthiest lords, had committed treason.

Then, they were shocked again that the one who suppressed the rebellion was a mere seventeen-year-old knight, Johan Kraubitz.

“I heard that Escal Demaris displayed overwhelming strength. Even the priests were powerless against him.”

“Yet the Northern Grand Duke, wielding only a longsword, blocked everything, didn’t he?”

The surprises did not end there.

Due to the chaos caused by the southern army’s rampage, the spring hunt had been presumed ruined.

However, after subduing the rebellion, he even emerged as the ‘winner’ of the spring hunt outside the Imperial Palace.

“And that winner is none other than Johan Kraubitz.”

“I hear he can control both sacred beasts and monsters alike.”

“Is that why he captured the golden stag so effortlessly?”

“Of course! According to rumors, not only golden stags but also the hearts of young ladies are easily captured by him.”

“Really? That’s the first I’ve heard of such rumors. From what I know, he’s better at capturing the hearts of men…….”

Yes, once again, the name making waves as the champion was Johan Kraubitz.

The man known for his significant contributions in subduing the rebellion was now making a name for himself as the victor of the spring festival.

Thus, the only name echoing throughout the Empire was Johan, Johan, and Johan again.

With events unfolding this way, the shock to the Empire’s noble society was immense.

First of all,

“The South has now lost its central figure, so a period of strife will begin. There will be chaos as factions vie for control over the South.”

“A period of strife? What’s that?”

“Johan used that term before. It sounded cool, so I remembered it.”

Indeed, as that nobleman said, the South would descend into conflict and decline for the time being.

Moreover, the province of Provin, which led the rebellion, would likely be placed under direct Imperial control, with an administrator dispatched by the Emperor.

At this moment, Duke Duran spoke up. He had somehow taken a seat close to Johan, sticking to him like glue.

“The Empire’s East and West will also grow quite busy. They now realize that territorial struggles will no longer be easy battles. And the central nobles and the Papacy will be in an absolute frenzy.”

“The Papacy too? It’s obvious that the central nobles will be busy picking sides, but…… why would the Papacy be involved?”

Johan asked, and Duke Duran answered as if it were the most natural thing.

“Because, in this rebellion, the divine power wielded by the priests was completely ineffective.”

“Hm…….”

“And that’s not all. Escal, who was completely unfazed by the priests’ spells, died instantly when struck by Your Grace’s sword. That means the Papacy will definitely take large-scale action. They must protect their authority.”

That was understandable.

Johan, upon hearing Duke Duran’s report, fell into thought for a moment.

Right now, he had gathered the vassals of the Northern Alliance for a meeting.

His quarters had, before he realized it, turned into a gathering place for ‘new forces.’

As he listened to Duke Duran’s report, when the topic shifted to the central nobles and the Papacy, Johan’s expression hardened slightly.

‘It seems inevitable that the Papacy will try to get their hands on me.’

Yes, those bastards would definitely try to draw Johan into their faction.

They would depict him as a holy knight who fought using divine power.

Otherwise, the embarrassing notion that ‘divine power was useless in battle’ would spread.

Thus, they would do everything they could to ensure that the hero who suppressed this rebellion was someone from the Papacy’s side.

Of course, Escal Demaris had also wielded divine power, which was why the priests’ spells were ineffective against him.

‘But the Empire must not yet learn of the Evil God’s existence. If such rumors spread, that bastard would go even deeper into hiding.’

Right now, this was a secret known only to Johan and Erina.

So from the Papacy’s perspective, such measures were necessary.

And as Johan thought about it, if he refused their invitation…….

‘They might nullify my right to meet with the c Gods.’

Yes, without a doubt, those bastards would find some excuse to interfere with his meeting with the Supreme Gods.

For example, they might declare that his capture of the golden stag was invalid because he left the spring hunting grounds.

Thus, Johan found himself pondering whether he should humor them until he secured his audience with the Chief Gods.

He had intended to discuss countermeasures for this issue…….

“Grand Duke! Grand Duke!”

Someone rushed into the hideout in a hurry, panting heavily as he handed over a letter.

“This is a personal letter from His Highness the Crown Prince.”

It seemed that Arthur Pontiac had once again sent something troublesome.

I admit defeat…….

As promised, I will support your domain.

However, this does not mean that I have given up on my love for Erina Trotsky forever.

……Omitted…….

……Therefore, I have spoken with the Papacy and arranged a schedule for your audience with the Supreme Gods.

A man who defeated me must at least be the champion of the spring hunt.>

Daring to nitpick by bringing up the rules,

I even persuaded His Majesty and decided to grant you the winner’s privilege.

So…….

Remember that you owe me a debt, and perhaps, someday, you could have a meal with Erina Trotsky…….

Having read all the necessary words, Johan didn’t even bother with the remaining eight pages.

He simply,

Ssssk. Hooah.

Calmed his breath with an expression so excited that even Duke Duran and Baron Goldman, sitting beside him, were surprised.

Thud.

He stroked the center of his chest, where his Mana Heart resided.

‘An audience with the Supremes.’

He had no idea what kind of beings the Supremes were, where they were born, or how they came to dominate this continent…….

But at least one thing was certain. If he used this opportunity—the winner’s privilege of the Spring Hunt…….

He could meet the Supremes, ‘ask questions,’ and they would really ‘answer everything.’

So this was the greatest opportunity of his one and only life.

‘Let’s do this.’

This damned otherworld that constantly hurtled toward destruction.

Kim Si-hyuk, the man who transmigrated here, had found a chance to cure Johan Kraubitz’s terminal condition.

There were now four and a half years left until the use of the Northern Continent’s essence.

No matter what, he had to survive until then.

Frrrrrrr.

Johan’s ever-weakening arm trembled slightly once again today.

As he anticipated his audience with the Lords, the dying words of Escal Demaris surfaced in his mind.

Since the man had been on the verge of death, Johan hadn’t even heard the sound.

He had only managed to make out the words by reading the movement of his lips.

That man had definitely said this.