The Northern Grand Duke’s Crazy Son-in-Law

14. The Healer

“They all have the same impression.”

Galahad clicked his tongue lightly and scanned the leaders.

As befitting the title of leader, there were no easy ones. They all seemed to have a trick up their sleeves.

Due to the nature of his job, Galahad could roughly sense someone’s level when he faced them. Of course, he could not know their exact abilities, but he had that subtle sense.

The leaders here were all skilled.

Especially-.

“What is that guy’s name?”

“He is Liam, the leader of the 2nd Battalion. Due to his great character, he is followed by many, second only to Lady Adrianna.”

Gilbert answered very quietly. Liam-. Galahad muttered the name quietly.

“He doesn’t seem to have a good character.”

“What do you see?”

“It’s just a feeling.”

“······.”

“You don’t trust your instincts. Instincts are a kind of information sent by the subconscious.”

Galahad memorized the leaders’ faces, characteristics, and even their weapons. It did not take long.

Among them, there was one who glared at Galahad.

“Who is that pig-like man?”

“·······He is Chartien, the leader of the 6th Battalion. He is the man who became a leader the latest.”

At that moment, Liam, the leader of the 2nd Battalion, ended the meeting.

“This is it for today. Thank you all for attending the meeting when you are all busy.”

The man who was the leader of the 6th Battalion jumped up from his seat.

“The pig-like man is approaching. It seems he has caught the scent of my candy. This is serious.”

Gilbert turned his head to the side. The corners of his mouth were slightly raised.

The pig-like man looked down at Galahad with a crooked gaze.

“Nice to meet you, Galahad, leader of the Special Forces.”

He reached out his hand in greeting, but the man ignored it and snorted.

Galahad quickly turned his hand to Gilbert. Gilbert took his hand with a trembling face.

“In the Empire, even those in charge of a mere five-man unit are called leaders.”

“Is that so? How many people are called leaders in the North?”

To him, Galahad turned his head slightly. It was the back of the pig-like man.

“You fool······.”

“If you’re going to take charge of the unit, you have to be the captain.”

The reply came from behind the pig. It was Adrianna, speaking in a dry voice.

‘Are you in line?’

She seemed to be waiting for the conversation to end. There was even another man behind Adrianna.

The pig-like man who discovered Adrianna made a strange sound, ‘Hmph?’

“Is the conversation over?”

“Yes! It’s over!”

The pig-like man was startled and stepped aside.

Adrianna, who expressed her gratitude, stared at Galahad.

“Do you have a moment?”

***

‘This is difficult.’

Galahad muttered softly, looking at the expressionless Adrianna.

Her perfect appearance and blank expression made her intentions completely invisible. He had no idea what she was thinking.

“Why did you come to the front lines? If it’s because of His Majesty the Grand Duke, I’ll contact him separately.”

Her voice was quite dry. She seemed like a person with no emotions at all.

“It’s because of you.”

Adrianna’s lips, which were about to say something, stopped abruptly.

“At that time, I only heard your story, but I didn’t say what I thought.”

“Ah, I see.”

Adrianna nodded. Adrianna straightened her back and stared at Galahad.

“···As you said, it’s true that I was dragged all the way to the North because of you.”

“Yes, I’m really sorry.”

Adrianna bowed her head. Her rich hair caught his attention for a moment.

Adrianna raised her head only after Galahad gave a small cough.

“I understand that you couldn’t help it. I won’t refuse your request to maintain our relationship.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Galahad paused for a moment. Adrianna waited quietly in an upright position.

“As I accepted your request, I’d like you to accept my request as well.”

Adrianna nodded quickly. She understood surprisingly fast.

“It’s a reasonable request. I will help you with anything I can do.”

The desired answer came quickly.

Galahad stared at Adrianna for a moment. She’s beautiful. Galahad hurriedly suppressed his exclamation. She was a dangerous woman in many ways.

Galahad needed one thing.

“Can you help me when I need it?”

“······Yes?”

For the first time, an expression appeared on Adrianna’s face, which had been expressionless the whole time.

It was wilderment.

Her eyebrows lifted slightly, which was a considerable expression for Adrianna, whose face was otherwise devoid of any change.

“Lend me your hand when I ask for it.”

Suppressing his feelings desperately, Galahad spoke as indifferently as he could.

Unlike before, the reply didn’t come right away.

After a brief hesitation, Adrianna opened her mouth.

“······It will be painful.”

“I know. I can endure it.”

His reply was filled with sincerity.

Adrianna’s eyebrows rose slightly higher.

Her already large eyes grew even bigger. He marveled at how a person’s eyes could grow so wide.

“···You could die.”

The pain from last time was too intense to say something like, ‘You won’t die just by holding hands.’

However-.

“It’s worth it.”

At Galahad’s earnest reply, Adrianna’s eyebrows lowered again.

Her blue eyes, like the clear sky, blinked slowly.

She seemed to be contemplating whether what she had just heard was real.

“I’m serious.”

Since it was the truth, there was no need for him to pretend. His sincerity filled his words naturally.

Adrianna’s eyebrows moved up and down ever so slightly. She seemed to be contemplating.

‘So she expresses her emotions with her eyebrows.’

Galahad waited without urging her.

After a while, Adrianna nodded her head slowly.

“I understand. If it’s necessary—.”

“I need it now.”

Galahad held out his hand without hesitation. He had been holding back, wanting to reach out sooner. He wanted to study its nature as soon as possible.

Perhaps she hadn’t expected him to reach out right away, as Adrianna’s eyebrows rose again.

“Didn’t we make a promise?”

As he spoke resolutely, Adrianna let out a small sigh.

Adrianna cautiously reached out her hand. It seemed that Adrianna was being more cautious than Galahad.

Galahad quickly took her hand. He felt a very slight warmth, and then a terrible pain shot up from his fingertips.

It felt like every blood vessel was burning – a pain that was truly hard to describe.

Galahad, who had easily passed the Intelligence Agency’s torture training, let out a groan of pain without realizing it.

Adrianna tried to pull her hand away.

“Hold still!”

“······Ah.”

Adrianna’s eyes widened at Galahad’s shout. Galahad ignored it and focused on the sensation.

Where is the mana disappearing to? Is the mana burning and disappearing? If so, by what principle-.

Galahad’s head, which had been muttering, snapped back.

Adrianna carefully observed Galahad, who had fainted.

There were threads of bloodshot in his eyes, and blood flowed from the corner of his mouth. His body trembled in pain, but…

His face wore a satisfied smile.

When Gilbert came in late, Adriana quickly hid her hand which he had grabbed too tightly, behind her back.

“Did this human do something?”

“······No.”

“Then why is your face-.”

“It’s nothing.”

“Oh, yes. I understand.”

Gilbert, who was slightly startled, took care of Galahad.

***

“When I opened my heavy eyelids, I saw an ugly face. I didn’t feel good.”

“······You said it out loud.”

“Just kidding. You’re not bad-looking either.”

Galahad raised his body, shaking his numb hand. A groan escaped his mouth.

‘It’s hard to get used to the pain of mana being burned.’

He had passed the information agency’s torture training with flying colors, but he couldn’t overcome the pain of mana being burned.

The fact that he had experienced it once was all that kept him from screaming.

‘I faint every time I hold someone’s hand. People would laugh if they heard that.’

Galahad muttered, shaking his numb hand.

He felt like he was about to get it, but he didn’t.

After all, the concept of burning mana itself was too unfamiliar. It was hard to concentrate fully because of the extreme pain that came with it.

“You have to hold it at least ten more times to get the hang of it.”

“I’ll die if I do that.”

“Everyone dies when their time comes. The question is whether that death is worthwhile or not.”

“Is that worthwhile?”

“What could be more worthwhile than this?”

“······.”

Gilbert made a tired expression.

Galahad clicked his tongue and checked his body’s condition.

‘But it’s better than last time, right?’

Last time, his mana was burned out so badly that he could barely move his fingers. But now, there was a faint trace of mana left.

Galahad flicked his finger. A flame rose above it, the same size as usual.

At that moment, Galahad felt a very small sense of disharmony.

It was so subtle that it was hard to notice, but Galahad, who was sensitive to mana, could tell.

‘The compression rate has increased slightly.’

If mana was a hose, the finger pressing it was mana control.

The stronger the compression, the higher the concentration of mana, and as a result, the power of the magic increased.

The strength of the finger holding the hose had increased, albeit slightly.

‘Is it because I’m emptying and filling it?’

When dealing with demons, the thing he felt most acutely was the need for mana concentration.

“Increased mana control means you can perform compression faster.”

The reason for this was obvious. It was Adrianna.

She was a woman who increased his mana control every time he held her hand, and allowed him to research new properties of mana.

“She’s a femme fatale.”

Could there be a woman more lovely than this? Galahad felt his heart pounding. Was this love?

“Ahem.”

At that moment, an awkward cough was heard. It was the man who had been behind Adrianna in the conference room earlier.

He was a man with dark circles under his eyes and a tired expression, giving the impression of a nervous person.

“I am Captain Mark of the Fifth Battalion.”

“Nice to meet you. I am Captain Galahad of the Special Forces.”

“When this investigation is over and you have time, please visit the Fifth Battalion.”

The man named Mark got straight to the point. He seemed to be a man of few words.

He then whispered in a small voice.

“I am interested in magic.”

It was nothing special, but considering that he was a captain on the northern front, it was quite a radical statement.

“I’ll tell you more about it then.”

With that, Mark stood up, saying he had work to do. It seemed like he had only come to say hello. He was a very efficient man.

“Who is Mark?”

“He is known as the captain of the Fifth Battalion who does not choose his means and methods. He was even once disciplined for trying to tame a monster. He is a man who is talked about a lot in many ways.”

Gilbert explained in a trembling voice. Gilbert seemed to dislike Mark. Then again, Gilbert was far from efficient.

“Let’s eat.”

Tom said, opening the door. Tom’s face was somewhat gaunt.

“I don’t want to eat Gwen’s cooking.”

“How old are you to complain about food?”

“Have you ever eaten Gwen’s cooking? No, you haven’t. So don’t make such reckless statements.”

Galahad clicked his tongue and got up from his seat. It wasn’t like he could not eat what had been prepared.

When he went downstairs, everyone was already sitting at the table. Damian had his face buried in a bowl, and Gwen was sitting there blankly.

Galahad sighed softly and sat down. Tom served him the stew. He steeled his resolve and took a big bite.

In preparation for the suffering to come-.

“······It’s delicious?”

Galahad’s eyes widened at the unexpected taste.

“Oh, is it to your liking? I’m glad.”

“Tom, did you make this?”

“Yes, because Senior Gwen is not feeling well.”

“That’s good.”

Galahad turned his head and immediately noticed that Gwen was not feeling well.

Gwen’s hair was all frizzy. As if she had been struck by lightning.

He had a rough idea of what had happened. She must have suffered alone and used it once because she couldn’t bear it anymore. She might not have even realized it herself.

‘Did she see the heavenly punishment and copy it?’

Galahad was genuinely impressed.

Celestial Punishment was difficult to master compared to other magic with different formulas. It was because the key was to cast a circle and gather the surrounding mana.

Judging by the extent of its reach, it wasn’t Celestial Punishment, but it seemed to be based on that basic concept.

‘Natural genius.’

To use magic with just one look… even in a state where he wasn’t aware of it.

He wanted to shove magic into that arrogant head right away, but he desperately held back.

If you pull the fishing rod too soon, the fish will get away.

He had to wait until the hook was completely in its mouth.

“Come to think of it, the house is clean. It used to be like a beast’s den.”

“·······It wasn’t to that extent.”

“Oh, I cleaned it up with Senior Gwen. Senior Gwen taught me a lot…”

“Hehe-.”

It was obviously flattery, but Gwen smiled broadly. It was just like a puppy chewing on grass.

“Damian, would you like more?”

“Yeah.”

Tom filled Damian’s bowl with stew. It was quite natural.

“Listen while you eat. You’ll be going on your first mission tomorrow.”

Gwen started coughing violently. Tom patted her on the back. Galahad waited for Gwen’s coughing to subside before continuing.

“A mission to investigate the unusual behavior of the monsters that attacked the 4th Battalion. It shouldn’t be particularly dangerous. Still, it’s better to be careful. This is the front line.”

Gwen’s coughing grew louder. Damian raised his hand.

“Damian, let me speak.”

“Do I have to go?”

Damian asked, making the same expression he had when he had asked to have only one bowl of stew. Gwen nodded vigorously.

Galahad shook his head with a bitter laugh.

“Those who do not walk will be buried in the snow.”

Damian buried his face in the bowl.

Gwen raised her hand.

“Won’t you be buried in the snow if you stay home?”

Gwen’s face, as she replied, was as confident as a puppy that had caught a bone.

“Then the house will be buried in the snow.”

Gwen tilted her head at Galahad’s answer.

“Even in the North, it doesn’t snow that much, does it?”

Galahad gave a small cough at Gwen’s question.

“I guess I made it sound too difficult. I didn’t consider you. My apologies.”

“Oh… yes! It’s okay! That can happen! You haven’t been in the North for long!”

Gwen accepted the apology cheerfully.

“Anyway, everyone should go to bed early. We’re leaving for the 4th Battalion right away tomorrow. We’re going with Adrianna’s group, so we can’t be late.”

***

“Are we really doing this ourselves? Shouldn’t we get more support from above?”

Kal frowned at the worried voice next to him.

He was already on edge because it was a critical time, but his annoyance grew as he kept hearing ominous things.

“Cut it out, Bern. You’ve already received the support of the Earth dog from the master. Why do you want to ask for more? You might as well ask to get your neck wrung.”

“But…”

“What are you worried about? Have you forgotten how much effort we’ve put into this? We were forced to run around the front lines and do all that dirty work! Bloody hell!”

Karl scolded him without holding back. Bern cowered.

He couldn’t understand why he kept sounding so weak. They had only used the Earth dog that the enemy underestimated the most to make them let their guard down.

The two of them, even though they were wizards, hadn’t used any magic. They had just pretended to be some kind of weird monster phenomenon.

They had even dug a tunnel where they intended to go and then feigned a retreat. The enemy had probably forgotten about it by now.

Even if something seemed suspicious, it was impossible to search such a vast land. They had hidden it with their magic in the first place.

They would never realize that their one step back was a step forward to a ten-step advance.

“Have you forgotten who’s behind us?”

Karl pointed behind him. The cave, where nothing was visible, seemed even darker. Karl shuddered at the eerie feeling.

“They’ll only send a search party at most. Do you really think a battalion commander would come all the way out here for a single Earth dog? And even if they did, they wouldn’t be able to find us without a skilled wizard. What’s the problem? Do you think there’s a wizard in this godforsaken north?”

Bern shut his mouth at Karl’s sarcastic question.

“Unless the battalion commander teams up with a wizard, there’s no way we’ll fail. Just do your job. We don’t have much time left.”

Bern nodded at Karl’s sharp glare.

Oh, come on, that was impossible.

Wizards were rare in the north in the first place.

Why would a skilled wizard be in the north?

They’d be running errands for the nobles back in the central region.

‘It was a needless worry.’

Bern chuckled and readjusted his staff.

“Once we finish this job, we’ll take all the magic stones we’ve collected and go back to the magic tower and live in luxury!”

The two of them laughed cheerfully as they imagined their happy future.