Kwang-!!
Kwang-!!
'This place…'
Rimbel, who had left the Roverium Kingdom and decided not to return to the North, but instead joined Ferzen's unit to handle the messy administrative work on his behalf, swallowed hard.
The sight of Brutein, which he had only heard about, was much grander than he had imagined.
The clanging of iron that resonated throughout the city, along with the rising heat that enveloped it, sounded like a proclamation that this place was truly the heart of the Ernes Empire.
"Rimbel."
"Ah… Yes!"
"Let's go."
"I understand!"
Rimbel hurriedly followed Ferzen, who, unlike him, didn't even bother to look around, probably because he was used to the spectacle, and moved ahead as soon as he called him.
The deeper they ventured, the clearer the landscape of Brutein became, making Rimbel realize just how small the North was. Clearly, this was the case.
'How could he even say that his domain was the – Brutein of the North!'
Now, as he recalled that phrase, which the former Count Aslan, who was now the loser in the North, used to utter with pride, Rimbel couldn't help but smirk.
Look at this. Doesn't it really mean that Count Aslan's arrogance was like a fox trying to mimic a lion?
But on the other hand, Rimbel also felt ashamed for not being more perceptive in believing Count Aslan's words.
Step-!!
About ten minutes later, they arrived at a massive mansion located in the center of Brutein.
Arriving at his home, Ferzen walked right through the front door without hesitation and entered the mansion.
He could see the butler, Chris, coming out with a few maids from a distance.
His bald head, which didn't require any more work to be symmetrical, provided Ferzen with a sense of consistent comfort.
"Welcome back, Young Master."
"… Nice to see you."
"Your wives who had arrived earlier are doing well. Would you like me to take you to them?"
"No, I need to see my brother first."
After all, there was something he needed his brother's permission for before the war began.
Ferzen entrusted his non-commissioned officer, Rimbel, to Chris, and quietly made his way to his brother's office.
Knock-!! Knock-!!
Right after he knocked on the door, he could hear Jeremiah's voice inviting him inside.
Then, Ferzen opened the door and faced his older brother – at least for today, as the head of the Brutein family.
"You came earlier than I thought."
"I pushed the people below me a little too much. So, I had some leeway."
"Haha."
He could even joke around with him now?
Jeremiah stood up from the chair with a smile on his lips.
However, in contradiction to his actions, Ferzen knelt down in his place and bowed his head.
"..."
Since Ferzen's action didn't seem like an attempt to widen the distance between them, Jeremiah kept the disappointment rising in his heart from showing on his face and calmly waited for his brother's next words.
"Your Excellency Marquis Jeremiah."
"What do you need, Count Louerg?"
"Please… Please allow me to raise the ancestors of Brutein who are sleeping their eternal sleep."
Brutein's mansion has existed alongside the history engraved by the passing of time.
Over the years, various repair works have been carried out around the mansion, but there was a place inside the mansion that has remained untouched by anyone.
It was a tomb located deep underground; a place where all the past patriarchs of Brutein were buried.
Ferzen, as Brutein's legitimate son and an Apollyon-class warlock about to go to war, was now asking Jeremiah, the head of the Brutein family, for the right to control the remains of their ancestors.
Something similar had happened in the past, but unlike then, there was a high probability that the bodies would be completely destroyed the moment they entered the battlefield.
It could also be said that Ferzen had a stake in this war, to put it bluntly…
It was as if he was seeking the assistance of his ancestors to clean up the mess he had created.
Therefore, Ferzen asking for permission from Jeremiah was not just Ferzen, the younger brother, but Ferzen, the legitimate son of Brutein.
Would it be possible to grant him the right to control the remains of their ancestors?
"..."
Jeremiah also sensed Fersen's intentions and remained silent for a considerable time.
However, this didn't imply a rejection of the request. In fact, the answer he would give had already been predetermined.
On the contrary, Jeremiah's silence was more about him acknowledging that he had no hesitation in providing that answer.
'If a descendant has strayed from the right path, it is our duty to guide them… Isn't that what our forebears would expect?'
Jeremiah's true intention was to increase Ferzen's chances of survival even if by just a fraction.
However, as the head of the Brutein family, he needed a justification that would not undermine his current position.
Jeremiah, concealing his thoughts with the excuse he had devised, finally broke the protracted silence.
"I grant your request."
"..."
The silence had felt like an eternity to Ferzen, so a sigh of relief naturally escaped his lips the moment he heard Jeremiah's response. With sweat-soaked hands, Ferzen rose from his seat and bowed deeply to his brother.
"Thank you very much."
After Ferzen left the office, Jeremiah settled back into his seat, picking up the documents before him.
In the room where he had no one to speak with, silence filled the void. Yet, the reverberating symphony of iron continued.
"..."
He was the head of the Brutein family. Still, he didn't find satisfaction in the resounding clang of iron in Brutein.
But it was unstoppable.
After all, there was no conductor orchestrating this new act.
* * * * *
Before entering the tombs of his ancestors, Ferzen stopped by the bathroom and thoroughly washed himself.
After changing into fresh clothes, he descended to the basement of the mansion alone.
For the Brutein family, apart from taxes, the maintenance of the family tomb was one of the most significant annual expenses.
They had a long-term contract with underworld monsters to guard the tomb.
Step-!!
Standing before a door deep underground, Ferzen pricked both his fingers, letting a few drops of his blood fall.
The tombs of the Brutein ancestors were accessible only to those bearing the Brutein blood.
While there were other reasons for this restriction, this was one of the reasons why Brutein carefully considered who they would marry.
Even if they were from a collateral line, strong Brutein blood allowed entry, but it still required permission from the current family head, which Ferzen had sought from Jeremiah.
Woong-!!
As Ferzen satisfied all the conditions, a path leading to the resting place of the past patriarchs opened for the current descendants.
He took a deep breath and entered.
The underground cemetery, carefully maintained throughout the ages, showed signs of the passage of time it has experienced but didn't appear neglected.
Step-!!
As he neared the center of the underground tomb, the light from the luminous stones softly illuminated his path.
When Ferzen entered the tomb, he felt a heavy weight as he bowed deeply before the rows of tombstones before him.
The bodies of his ancestors rested in the tomb, each in their own coffin, but no earth covered them.
It was Brutein's expression of loyalty.
Even in death and burial, they continued to serve their family and Empire, transcending mortality.
Therefore, unlike last time, Ferzen couldn't stand with his back straight. The Brutein blood coursing through his veins seemed to harshly reprimand him, questioning why he stood here.
And at this moment, Ferzen couldn't suppress that overwhelming self-awareness.
Because it was the unvarnished truth that allowed no room for excuses. He had brought them to this point not to atone for his sins but to save his own life.
As a result, he had tarnished the family name and plunged the Empire into the depths of war.
Ultimately, he had come to his ancestors to find a solution. Nevertheless, he needed the power of his ancestors and couldn't turn back.
That's why he uncharacteristically knelt and bowed his head. Those familiar with Ferzen would be wide-eyed to see him in this state for the first time.
But he felt no shame in his current behavior. It came naturally to him as he opened his mouth.
"The karma I've accrued to survive this wretched life… I can no longer bear it alone."
He spoke in the flowery language of the nobility.
But the meaning of his words... Was like a child running to their mother for comfort, even though what he needed from her was assistance in a war.
Bowing his head added an even heavier burden to Ferzen's already heavy load.
"I know it's shameless, but… Please awaken from your eternal slumber and stand as a pillar to support the Empire along with your poor descendants."
Seeking permission from the deceased was a futile act.
As a warlock, Ferzen knew this better than anyone.
Yet, he continued as if asking for their blessing while carefully radiating his magic power.
In the end, the coffins of his ancestors in the underground tombs of Brutein's mansion opened, and one by one, the ancestors awakened, their original appearances intact.
With a combination of a diary recording the entire lives of the ancestors and Ferzen's natural warlock talents, the only thing impossible for the corpses was speech.
Their mannerisms and habits from their lifetime were projected, creating a scene as if the past coexists with the present.
Soon, the twelve past heads of the family buried in the underground crypt gazed down at Ferzen, who was still bowing his head.
Then, all of them walked past him and began to exit the tomb.
Reacting to the situation based on their memories from their lifetime, they seemed to guide Ferzen, ignoring his shortcomings.
Even if a calamity caused by an ugly descendant's greed befell the Empire, the pillars supporting the Empire would do their duty without distraction.
As he slowly rose to his feet and followed the twelve ancestors who led the way, Ferzen had a thought.
If he walked the same path as his ancestors, he wondered what kind of life awaited him at the end.
* * * * *
Rimbel, the non-commissioned officer who had been accompanying Ferzen, took a break after being shown to his quarters by Chris.
However, he couldn't bear the tranquility, so he opened the mansion door and stepped into the garden.
The ceaseless clang of metal and the scorching heat, which even the cool autumn wind couldn't dispel, unequivocally signaled the onset of war.
Initially, he had a room to rest in peace. However, the disquiet that stemmed from this contradiction was making him uneasy.
Ironically, he felt that he'd be more at ease if he had work to bury himself in. The brief respite he had been granted only seemed to exacerbate his discomfort.
"Sigh..."
As Rimbel wandered through the garden, he inadvertently spotted an elderly man clad in a uniform bearing the symbol of the Brutein family.
He recognized the uniform as one that only the head of the Brutein family was permitted to wear.
'Surely...'
The current head of the family was His Excellency, Marquis Jeremiah.
So, why was someone else wearing that uniform?
It was a puzzling prospect for Rimbel to wrap his head around. However, his confusion deepened further when something even more bewildering occurred.
"Huh..."
More individuals, each wearing the uniform reserved for the head of the Brutein family, began emerging from the underground.
Rimbel blinked his blue eyes dozens, if not hundreds, of times at the sight.
"Oh..."
It was then that he remembered.
In Brutein, there was a tomb used to house the bodies of the gifted previous generations of family heads for their descendants and the Empire.
A corpse possessing talent in magical power was highly sought after, particularly if it remained undamaged.
If someone possessed the means to steal, they would certainly choose to head to Brutein's tomb rather than the Imperial Palace's treasure trove.
Before long, a total of 12 former heads of the family stood in a row, from left to right. Meanwhile, the man Rimbel had pledged his loyalty to, Ferzen, emerged from among them.
Seeing this, Rimbel experienced an indescribable thrill.
'Father...'
Being loyal to this man didn't seem like a bad choice at all.
Rimbel clenched his fists as he thought of his father, currently in the North.
Even though the clang of iron was a reminder of the impending war, it was now infusing him with a surge of energy for some inexplicable reason.
Anyone who was watching this scene would undoubtedly feel the same.
The pillar that supported the Ernes Empire and its symbol, the Imperial Family.
The allegiance of the Bruteins was not merely something that was engraved in history.
At the Empire's most dangerous moment, it was about to repeat its history once again.
It was said that the Brutein never turned their backs on the Empire. Their past would transcend time and seek to open the future of the Empire ahead of the present.
'...'
If it was like this.
How could the Imperial Family not favor Brutein?
Just by becoming his limbs and being by his side, Rimbel could feel his loyalty rise in an instant.
So, how would the Imperial Family that was the subject of their unchanging loyalty, feel?
He did not know. But at least at this moment.
Just like how the nobles of the Elmark Empire saw Empress Gremory.
In Rimbel's mind, he could not picture their side becoming the losing side in the war.
A world that looked forward to those who had not yet been born.
A world that devalued those who were still living.
And,
A world that praised those who have already died.
Rimbel was certainly living in such a world, but it no longer feels absurd.
Who would dare call them dead!
"Rimbel."
"Ye-yes—!"
"What are you doing there?"
As Ferzen, who adjusted his sleeves while being surrounded by the previous heads of the Brutein, asked with his usual imposing dignity, Rimbel hastily wiped his eyes.
He was neither overly happy nor overly sad.
But, why did his eyes still shed tears?
"I-It's nothing–"
Rimbel answered in a loud, dignified voice while he adjusted his posture.
Certainly, there would be no one in this world who could block the path that was traversed by Brutein's past heads.
Step-!!
Yes, right now.
Rimbel thought so.
However, contrary to his expectations, there was someone who dared to stand in their way.
"Count."
It was a beautiful noble lady who looked very classy with a girl as white as a rabbit behind her.
"I think you have something to talk about with me."
Laura de Charles Rosenberg, and...
Her mother had arrived in Brutein before Ferzen.
Certainly, she felt intimidated by the Brutein's past heads...
However, parents' care for their children was the greatest law in the world.
"..."
At that moment, Laura who stood behind her hesitated as she looked at Ferzen and her mother.
She just hugged the rabbit doll in her arms tightly.