Chosen by the Northern Grand Duke

Chapter 20: Acknowledgment

Not a seasoned 4th Rank.

If so, the projection would’ve been faster.

But Ios’ drawing wasn’t complete—it was drawn into the world.

‘Not ink, a drawing.’

A strange taste lingered in my mouth.

Not my mouth—my sun felt it.

The sun wanted more.

‘This is how addiction happens.’

I slightly understood mages obsessed with hunting Origins.

Eating hearts daily would erode reason.

Especially if eaten directly.

‘Does reaching 6th Rank overcome it?’

A rumor said 6th Rank freed you from addiction or seizures.

Not baseless.

6th Rank subdued the Origin.

I couldn’t fully believe it.

In my previous life, I was 5th Rank. I met 6th Rank Otherworld mages but didn’t have deep talks.

‘Should’ve asked.’

As a returnee, I might have to rely on rumors.

The more hearts eaten, the faster growth. That’d change the future.

The drawing’s taste faded.

I felt awake.

“You okay?”

I checked Gullen first.

He was a mess. His leather armor burned off, leaving him naked, body covered in burns except his face.

“Sorry. My Origin doesn’t distinguish friend from foe.”

Gullen’s quick distancing and knighthood kept it to burns.

If he were a mage, my sun would’ve consumed him.

Origins were much like beasts.

They prioritized magic.

“…It’s fine.”

Gullen answered dazedly, staggering to throw himself into the snow. Smart first aid.

While Gullen cooled his burns, I fetched a coat from the carriage.

“Wear this.”

The coat I threw fell short, hitting the ground.

My trembling hand betrayed me.

“Hit by him?”

“By my Origin.”

My body creaked.

Worse inside, like my organs were twisted. Wounds from my sun crossing my window.

Bigger than expected.

Still just 3rd Rank. Without prior forging, my vessel might’ve shattered.

‘Projection saved me. Full manifestation would’ve killed me.’

Past life experience could fake rank, but only up to early 4th Rank.

Beyond, it needed solidity. Origins weren’t handled by tricks.

“Let’s rest.”

I collapsed in place.

“You too.”

“I’m fine.”

Gullen stood at a distance, hand on his sword, looking like a guard.

“Know the Otherworld well?”

He asked suddenly.

“Not really. Got caught because of it.”

“Seemed like you knew plenty.”

“Compared to you knights, sure.”

How do I know?

Gullen didn’t ask that cliché.

He was that kind of man. For those he trusted, reasons were trivial.

“Who infiltrated safely?”

“Would you believe me?”

“…”

Not that much trust.

“Understandable. I wouldn’t either.”

“I’ll half-believe.”

“Thanks, but that’s not enough. Hesitation ruins things.”

He could’ve lied and said he believed.

Gullen didn’t. Then or now.

“Save that half-belief for something else. ‘I’ll handle the infiltrator.’”

Gullen was silent.

I knew that silence was agreement.

“What was it like? 4th Rank.”

“That…”

“The Otherworld calls it projection. Only a shadow of the Origin appears. In truth, part of it manifests.”

“…”

Gullen frowned, struggling to grasp.

“If he was 5th Rank?”

“Only they’d know. We just guess.”

“Arbitrary.”

“That’s why magic’s profound.”

Gullen looked at me.

“What about you?”

“You saw.”

I pointed to the sky.

Dawn broke through the blizzard.

“A sun will rise, smaller than that.”

Sun.

Absurd, but Gullen couldn’t argue.

He’d thought the same as Ios earlier.

Its trace lingered.

This was the North, yet the area resembled a parched desert city.

Lingering heat kept snow and wind at bay, the ground cracked.

“If he was 5th Rank, we’d be dead. You, me.”

If Ios was 5th Rank, I’d have died to the sun he manifested, not his drawing.

Gullen swallowed hard.

No rivalry, just fear, though he hated admitting it.

“Damn.”

He punched his face.

Blood stuck to his crumpled cheek. He kept hitting until it was gone.

I didn’t stop him.

Some time passed. Gullen stopped.

“I’ll be honest.”

His swollen face spoke.

“The painter wasn’t scary. You were.”

He accepted reality.

Admitted his inadequacy.

“Yes. I acknowledge you more.”

“Didn’t you already?”

“More, more. Damn, a lot.”

I chuckled at his crude words.

***

I stood suddenly.

My trembling knees steadied.

“Feeling alive now.”

Magic, if you called it that.

The sun gave vitality, vague but acting as recovery now.

As I rose, Gullen lowered his hand from his sword. He’d been guarding.

“Earlier, you called me by name.”

Gullen tilted his head, then exclaimed softly. When Ios projected, he thought I’d die.

“If it bothered you, I apologize. It was urgent.”

“No, it’s fine. Call me by name from now on.”

Gullen looked uneasy.

“We’re not that close.”

“It’s hard for me to bear.”

Gullen’s ‘you’ and Ellen’s ‘you’ were worlds apart.

“‘You’ isn’t odd, but from you, it’s creepy.”

Didn’t bother me at first, but now it grated.

“Or that way?”

“Cut the crap.”

“If you won’t use my name, call me Lord Harad.”

“No, Harad.”

Now my ears felt clean.

I turned suddenly.

Opposite the garrison, toward the domain, two figures approached fast.

Gullen, seeing them, lowered his hand from his sword.

“The 1st and 2nd Knights’ commanders.”

He used honorifics only for the 2nd.

“Be careful. Commander Cassion hates mages.”

Cassion’s mage hatred was infamous.

He killed mages on sight. Other knights did too, but Cassion was extreme, killing even suspects, like the Church.

“Not a Northerner.”

“Immigrant.”

Cassion, losing his family to mages, swore vengeance in Serzila.

Understandable. Mages evoked the Otherworld.

“Gullen!”

A figure shot forward, stopping before us.

1st Knights’ Commander Toremot, one of Serzila’s five superhumans.

He inspected Gullen’s mess—especially his face—and drew an axe at me.

“Mage, your doing?”

His killing intent was overwhelming. My skin prickled. The Aura on his axe moved like a living thing.

Proof of a superhuman.

A Swordmaster’s Aura had unique traits.

“Gullen did his face.”

“Nonsense.”

“Can’t deny the body injuries, but excessive.”

Too much for concern over a subordinate.

“Separate personal and official matters.”

Toremot’s anger stemmed from fatherly love.

Gullen was his only son.

“Right, Father.”

“Gullen?”

Gullen agreed, and Toremot slung his massive axe. His eyes still glared, demanding explanation.

“The graffiti you reported was magic. The 1st Knights guard the wall, and I killed the mage who carved it.”

I summarized briefly, knight-like.

“You’ll need to write a report.”

Toremot turned to Gullen.

He didn’t trust my words, absent from the duel.

“Report?”

Maybe denying reality.

Toremot demanded Gullen explain.

“A sun’s shadow rose.”

Gullen’s explanation was abrupt, lacking finesse.

To me, at least. Toremot nodded constantly.

‘Father and son, perfectly aligned.’

Gullen’s brief words sufficed. Toremot scanned the scene, convinced. The site was evidence.

“Remarkable.”

Toremot acknowledged faster than the 1st Knights.

His gaze was warmer, partly because his son was a witness, but the 4th Rank’s weight helped.

“Without Gullen, I wouldn’t have believed a mage could overcome rank.”

“Lucky. Oh, not a sun, a fist-fire. Origins are vague; Gullen misunderstood.”

“I see.”

Toremot accepted.

“You believe that, 1st Commander?”

2nd Commander Cassion didn’t.

“2nd Commander, Knight Gullen witnessed it.”

Toremot trusted Gullen implicitly.

Not just as his son. The 1st Knights were tight-knit.

“Rank is absolute for mages.”

“He said luck.”

Cassion glared at me.

He had from the start. Unlike Toremot, his killing intent still threatened.

“Understand, Mage Harad. He’s got bad feelings about mages. Makes him picky.”

“I get it. Typical mage, right?”

“You’ve got Northern guts!”

Toremot, pleased, slapped my shoulder. My bones rattled, vision shaking. Cassion’s glare followed.

***

“If you’ve time, scout the Border a bit. I doubt the mage came alone.”

I said casually.

A guess, but likely. A 4th Rank was valuable.

Another mage was probably stationed to check Ios’ infiltration.

“I’ll check. Shame I can’t go.”

Toremot was one of Serzila’s five superhumans.

But he couldn’t enter the Border.

The Emperor’s strict order during Aratus’ sabbatical.

Northern Swordmasters couldn’t leave the domain.

“You might not know, but Swordmasters can’t enter the Border.”

Toremot seemed regretful.

“No sneaking?”

“Not me.”

This decree was the only thing making Serzila’s simple knights cautious.

If caught, it’d harm Serzila.

That possibility made Swordmasters careful.

There were exceptions.

“Hey, Cassion.”

Toremot teased.

Bigger than Gullen, it looked like bullying. Cassion was lean like me.

“…Fine, I’ll go.”

“Thanks.”

“2nd Commander’s not a Swordmaster?”

I feigned ignorance.

“No, he’s like me.”

“Must have a way to sneak.”

“Only he can. Thanks to his Aura’s trait.”

Toremot slapped Cassion’s shoulder proudly. His body swayed, his gaze fixed on me.

‘Follow?’

Greed.

Even with my sun’s vitality, my body craved rest.

‘Greedy even in good condition.’

I gave up without regret.

“Good luck.”

“Not coming?”

Gullen asked, assuming I’d return to the garrison.

“Need rest. Body’s not great.”

The 1st Knights’ acknowledgment would grow, maybe tighten.

It’d happen without me.

“If I find something, I’ll share.”

Toremot’s voice came from behind.