From a Broken Engagement to the Northern Grand Duke's Son-in-Law Chapter 75 : King of the Elders (2)

Clang!

The iron gate swung open with tallic finality.

The Elders didn’t wait for ceremony or invitation—they burst forth like water through a broken dam, their dignity abandoned in their haste to escape their stone tomb.

“Let us hurry on out then! I need a bath imdiately!”

“I’m dying for at! Had nothing but damned gruel and turnips for weeks!”

“Co, man! Stop shoving! We can walk like civilized n, can’t we?”

Their voices echoed through the corridor in a cacophony of desperate relief. I watched this undignified spectacle with distaste.

“Quiet.” The word barely escaped my lips, yet its effect was imdiate. Every voice ceased as if cut by a blade.

“Forgive us,” one Elder whispered, bowing deeply. Finally, they seed to rember who was in charge.

Convenient. These n now lived or died by my word—small wonder they’d developed such acute sensitivity to my moods. Better still, they believed to be an Aura Master, which made them even more pliable.

I saw no reason to correct their misconception.

As we moved toward the exit, the remaining prisoners erupted in protests.

“Huh! Why are you lot being released?”

“Oi, Tenth Elder! How co you get to go already!”

Bang! Bang!

Their fists struck iron bars in futile rage. Petty criminals locked away for equally petty cris, making noise that grated against my nerves.

The Tenth Elder, though… I filed away that useful information while sending a pulse of Crushing Presence toward the loudest complainers. They fell silent instantly.

“You’ve returned...? Hold on.” The senior knight’s greeting died as he spotted the procession behind . Confusion flickered across his features. “Sir, you’ve released the prisoners?”

“The Acting Head has approved it. Don’t concern yourself.”

“I an, even so...” His gaze swept over the Elders with obvious unease.

Yet seeing them follow with the obedience of trained hounds, he exhaled slowly and nodded. “Very well. I trust your judgnt, sir. Shall we proceed? We’ve been down here quite so ti.”

“Let's go.”

I nodded, handing him the torch, and we made our way through the tunnel’s oppressive darkness.

At the entrance, the knight bowed formally. “I must report this to the Acting Head, sir. I hope you understand.”

He couldn’t be blad. Lin Praha was his imdiate superior, after all.

“Of course. Don’t worry and make your report.”

I clapped his shoulder reassuringly before erging into the clean air above.

Now ca the delicate work of integrating these slly old n back into the Elder Council.

* * *

The Elder Council chamber erupted in chaos upon the Elders’ return. Predictably.

Among the senior positions, the Fifth, Ninth, and Tenth Elders all declared their intention to join my faction. I accepted each with calculated grace.

The monolithic Elder Council had fractured into three distinct factions: the established power structure led by the High Elder, a moderate faction centered around the First Elder, and my own new group.

The High Elder’s faction commanded the largest numbers, backed by traditional authority and established networks. Yet the faction that had grown to truly rival them wasn’t the First Elder’s—it was mine.

“I look forward to our partnership, Sir Louis.”

“Indeed. Let us put past grievances behind us.”

I clasped the Ninth Elder’s hand and gave a nod.

I hadn’t even realized he was here in the prison. He must’ve been too afraid I’d leave him behind to say anything.

“You have my gratitude,” he said.

I let go of the Ninth Elder’s hand, a groveling grin still plastered on his face, and turned away.

The Elder Council chamber—once enemy territory—now felt different. The Fifth Elder controlled the family’s finances, the Tenth managed daily council operations, and the Ninth oversaw knight training. All three now answered to .

Combined with my own position as Sworn Elder, I wielded genuine influence for the first ti.

“…Is it right to address him as ‘sir’, though?”

“But the rumors say he’s an Aura Master.”

“Truly? Haha… Then I should secure my place in his good graces while I can.”

Whispers bred rumors, and rumors bred opportunity. The junior Elders circled like carrion birds, desperate to attach themselves to my rising star. To them, I represented their only path to advancent.

Not that I had any intention of fulfilling such hopes.

Ignoring their grasping overtures, I turned away—only to find myself facing an unexpected visitor.

The Third Elder approached with asured steps. The Grand Duke’s sister, Lady Lea’s aunt, and forrly my enemy—she’d believed I was rely toying with her niece’s affections.

Her presence struck as a surprise.

Curiosity compelled to escort her to my private reception chamber.

“Hm. Adequately maintained,” she observed, surveying the room before settling into a chair. Her mourning dress rustled as she adjusted the dark fabric—attire she’d worn without exception since her family’s murder.

“What brings you here?” I asked.

“I hear you saved the Elders.” She raised her weathered eyes to mine.

Though Elderly, sothing about her presence made feel like a rabbit before a tiger. The sensation reminded of… Yes, it felt as if I were facing my master, the Divine Archer.

Yet she wasn’t a Grand Master.

She’d only just crossed into the realm of Aura Master. Among the Elders, she was the strongest knight aside from the Head of the Elder Council. Even so, comparing her to a Grand Master was absurd.

And I wasn’t the type to make that kind of mistake. My sense for aura was practically second nature.

Which ant only one thing: there was sothing else about her. Sothing I couldn’t see yet.

I observed her with puzzled eyes… but she too was scrutinizing .

“I don’t understand subtlety,” she said, tapping her cane against the floor. “Tell . Why did you save them?”

The Third Elder’s constant mourning served a single purpose: revenge. House Artezia had orchestrated the deaths of her daughter and husband, and she’d worn nothing but black ever since.

In five years, Artezia assassins would claim her life as well.

In her, I saw my old self—a soul consud by vengeance, forged from rage and grief. Perhaps even now, I was still walking that sa dark path.

She stared at with knowing eyes, asking without words: Are you Artezia’s spy, or truly Praha’s opportunity?

I chose honesty.

“…For revenge, I suppose.”

I hated to lie, not with her. As soone who understood the weight of vengeance, she would recognize truth when she heard it. In desperate tis, one grasps at any lifeline available.

I would be her lifeline, as she might be mine.

“Revenge?” she echoed.

“Yes, madam. I intend to destroy House Artezia—tear that vile family apart root and branch. In the process, I’ll kill the High Elder as well.”

It was truth, spoken without ceremony.

She neither sneered nor showed anger. Instead, she studied with the intensity of a truth-seeker

“Is that so,” she said finally.

“…Do you believe ?”

“Not you, no. However, I judge your words to be true based on your actions.”

She gazed into the middle distance, as if seeing ghosts. “You know why I live as I do.”

I nodded silently.

A faint smile touched her lips. “Even you must find it pathetic. A woman who once commanded respect, reduced to this broken state by loss. It wouldn’t be wrong to call a fool.”

“…”

“You know, I will burn everything connected to Artezia. Even if it ans opposing the Emperor himself, I’ll set this body ablaze to destroy my enemies’ legacy.”

Her tone remained calm, but the fury beneath was oceanic in its depth.

Looking at her, I felt profound kinship. I, too, would sacrifice anything for revenge against Artezia.

“Then follow my lead,” I said.

“…What?”

“I will beco High Elder. With House Praha and Berg County at my back, I’ll wage war against Artezia.”

“…As an Elder of House Praha, I cannot simply overlook such words.”

“Yet you’ll follow regardless, I know—because it’s more efficient.”

Silence stretched between us. She searched my eyes for sothing—truth, perhaps, or the steel of genuine conviction.

“Yes,” she said eventually. “I’m an old monster who values revenge above family loyalty. But that doesn’t an I’ll abandon Praha entirely. Lin and Lea are both dear to .”

“Yes. Lea is dear to , too. She’s my fiancée, after all.”

“Then promise this: As long as your power reaches, you won’t abandon Praha. You won’t turn away from Lea and the other children.”

Protect not just Lea, but all the daughters of this House?

Once, I would have refused outright—or agreed with my lips while planning betrayal. To , House Praha had been a tool for revenge, not a ho for my heart.

Now, though?

Well… That hadn’t entirely changed. Most of the Elders and knights had shown nothing but contempt and mockery. How could I give them my loyalty?

Yet there was Lea Praha, the one lady who had claid my heart. She loved this family, this domain, the North itself. She would die to protect them if necessary.

So what choice did I have? If I wanted her to live, I’d have to protect what she cherished alongside her.

“I promise. I’ll protect them as long as my power reaches.”

Perhaps she heard sincerity in my voice, because she nodded with evident satisfaction. “That’s enough, then.”

She groaned softly, like all the elderly do, as she leveraged herself upright with her cane.

Just as she reached the door, she paused. “You said to follow your lead? So be it, then. I find myself taking a personal liking to you as well. I see no harm indeed.”

Personal liking? Sothing in her phrasing seed odd.

“…Is that so?”

“Don’t misunderstand. You simply remind of my late husband. I have no intention of making a fool of myself in my twilight years.”

She chuckled softly as she departed, leaving alone with my thoughts.

And so the Third Elder joined my faction.

It was the mont my group beca the primary power within the Elder Council.