The Northern Grand Duke’s Crazy Son-in-Law Chapter 14

14. Healing Hands

“They all have the same impression.”

Galahad clicked his tongue slightly and looked at his captains.

As befitting the title of captain, there was no one he could ignore. It seemed like everyone had their hands full.

Due to the nature of his job, whenever Galahad met someone, he could sense their level. Of course, he couldn’t know their exact skill level, but he had a subtle sense of it.

All the captains here were skilled.

especially-.

“What’s that guy’s name?”

“I am Liam, the captain of the 2nd battalion. He is of excellent character, and is followed by many after Lady Adrianna.”

Gilbert answered very softly. Liam. Galahad muttered the name softly.

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

“What do you see?”

“It just feels that way.”

“······.”

“You look like you don’t believe me. Feelings are a kind of information sent by the subconscious.”

Galahad memorized the captains’ faces, their features, their weapons, and so on. It didn’t take long.

Among them, there was one who was glaring at Galahad.

“What is that pig-like man?”

“······I am the captain of the 6th battalion, Chartien. I am the last man to be promoted to captain.”

At that time, 2nd Battalion Captain Liam ended the meeting.

“I’ll stop here. I know you all are busy, but thank you for coming to the meeting.”

The man who said he was the captain of the 6th battalion suddenly stood up from his seat.

“There’s a pig coming. I think he smelled my candy. This is going to be a disaster.”

Gilbutton turned his head to the side. The corners of his mouth rose slightly.

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

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

I extended my hand in greeting, but the guy snorted and ignored me.

Galahad turned his hand to Gilverton. Gilverton took his hand with a trembling face.

“In the Empire, even if you are in charge of a unit of only five people, you are called a captain.”

“That’s right. In the North, how many people are called captains?”

Galahad turned his head slightly. It was behind the pig man.

“stupid······.”

“If you are in charge of a unit, then you are a captain.”

The answer came from behind the pig, Adriana said in a dry voice.

‘Are you in line?’

It seemed like he was waiting for the conversation to end. There was even another man behind Adrianna.

The pig man who found Adrianna made a strange sound, saying, “Whoa?”

“Are you done talking?”

“Yeah! It’s over!”

The pig man jumped to the side in surprise.

Adrianna, who had expressed her gratitude, looked at Galahad.

“Do you have a moment?”

***

‘It’s difficult.’

Galahad muttered quietly as he looked at the expressionless Adrianna.

With his perfect appearance and expressionless face, I couldn’t see what he was thinking at all. I had no idea what he was thinking.

“Why did you come to the front line? If it is because of the Great Commandment, I will contact you separately.”

The voice was quite dry. It seemed like the voice of a person with no emotions at all.

“It’s because of you.”

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

“At that time, I only listened to your story, but I couldn’t express my opinion.”

“Oh, I see.”

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

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

“Yes, I am truly sorry.”

Adrianna bowed her head. Her voluminous crown caught my eye for a moment.

Adrianna raised her head only after Galahad coughed softly.

“I understand that you have no choice. I am not refusing your request to maintain our relationship.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Galahad paused for a moment. Adrianna waited quietly, her posture intact.

“I hope you will grant me a favor, just as I granted you a favor.”

Adrianna nodded quickly. She was surprisingly quick to understand.

“It is a reasonable request. I will do whatever I can to help.”

The answer I wanted came quickly.

Galahad stared at Adrianna for a moment. She was beautiful. Galahad quickly suppressed his admiration. She was a dangerous woman in many ways.

All Galahad needed was one thing.

“Will you give me a hand when I want it?”

“······yes?”

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

It was embarrassing.

All it took was a slight raise of an eyebrow, but it was quite a statement for Adrianna, who had no change in expression at all.

“Lend me a hand whenever I need to.”

Galahad desperately suppressed his feelings and spoke as calmly as possible.

Unlike before, the answer did not come right away.

Adrianna hesitated for a moment before opening her mouth.

“······It will be painful.”

“I know, I can bear it.”

The answer was full of sincerity.

Adrianna’s eyebrows rose slightly.

The already large eyes grew even bigger. I didn’t know a person’s eyes could be that big. I exclaimed in a small exclamation.

“···You might die.”

The pain from last time was too intense to say, “Surely I won’t die if I hold your hand?”

but-.

“It’s worth it.”

Adrianna’s eyebrows lowered again at Galahad’s serious answer.

Blue eyes like the blue sky blinked slowly.

He seemed to be wondering if what he had just heard was true.

“I’m serious.”

Since it was true, there was no need to act it out. The sincerity filled it up on its own.

Adrianna’s eyebrows moved up and down ever so slightly, as if she was pondering something.

‘You express your emotions with your eyebrows.’

Galahad waited without urging.

After a moment, Adrianna nodded slowly.

“Okay, if you need to-.”

“I need it now.”

Galahad quickly extended his hand. He had been holding back from extending it for a long time. He wanted to study its properties as soon as possible.

Adrianna’s eyebrows rose again, as if she hadn’t expected it to be said right away.

“Didn’t you promise?”

“Let’s speak decisively,” Adrianna exhaled softly.

Adrianna cautiously extended her hand. If anything, it seemed that Adrianna was more cautious than Galahad.

Galahad quickly grabbed her hand. He felt a tiny bit of warmth, and then a terrible pain shot up from his fingertips.

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

Galahad, who had easily passed the intelligence agency’s torture training, groaned in pain.

Adrianna tried to pull her hand away.

“Still!”

“······ah.”

Adrianna’s eyes widened at Galahad’s shout. Galahad paid no attention and focused on his senses.

Where does mana disappear to? Does mana disappear by burning? If so, what is the principle?

Galahad, who had been muttering, tilted his head.

Adrianna carefully observed the unconscious Galahad.

The blood vessels in his eyes were burst, blood was flowing from the corner of his mouth, and his body was shaking in pain.

The face was smiling as if it was truly satisfied.

Adrianna hid her frozen hands behind her back in a hurry as Gilbutton, who had come in late, grabbed her so tightly.

“What did this man do?”

“······no.”

“But why is your face-.”

“Nothing happened.”

“Oh, yes. I understand.”

Gilbert, slightly startled, took Galahad with him.

***

“I opened my heavy eyelids and saw an ugly face. Um, I felt bad.”

“······You spoke outside.”

“I’m joking. You’re not that bad looking either.”

Galahad shook his numb hands and stood up. A groan escaped his lips.

‘I just can’t get used to the pain of mana burning.’

Even though I passed the intelligence agency’s torture training with perfect scores, I couldn’t bear the pain of my mana burning.

Since it was only the first time I had experienced it, all I could do was not scream.

‘I faint every time I hold your hand. If others heard that, they’d laugh.’

Galahad muttered, shaking his numb hands.

I felt like I had the hang of it, but I couldn’t.

The very concept of burning mana was too unfamiliar. It was also difficult to fully concentrate because it was accompanied by extreme pain.

“I guess I’ll have to try it ten more times to get the feel of it.”

“And then you die.”

“Everyone dies when the time comes. The question is whether that death is worth it or not.”

“Is it worth it?”

“What could be more valuable than this?”

“······.”

Gilbutton looked tired.

Galahad clicked his tongue and checked his physical condition.

‘But it’s better than last time?’

Last time, I had so much mana that I could barely move my fingers. But now, I still had some mana, albeit weak.

Galahad snapped his fingers. A fire burst out above him, the same size as usual.

At that moment, Galahad felt a very slight sense of alienation.

It was so subtle that it was hard to notice, but Galahad, who usually managed his mana with great sensitivity, was able to notice it.

‘Compression speed increased slightly.’

If mana is a hose, then the finger pressing it is the power of mana control.

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

Although it was subtle, the strength in my fingers holding the hose increased.

‘Is it because I emptied and filled it?’

When dealing with the Demon Tribe, the thing I felt most keenly was the need for mana concentration.

The increased mana control meant that the compression could be done faster.

The cause was clearly Adrianna.

A woman who increases your mana control every time you hold her hand, and allows you to research new properties of mana.

‘She’s a beauty in every way.’

Could there be another woman so lovely? 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, a tired look on his face, and a nervous look.

“This is the 5th Battalion Captain Mark.”

“Nice to meet you. My name is Galahad, the captain of the special forces.”

“When you have time after this investigation is over, please stop by the 5th Battalion.”

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

Then he whispered in a small voice.

“I’m interested in magic.”

It was nothing special, but considering that he was the commander of the Northern Front, it was quite a shocking statement.

“I’ll tell you more about it later.”

Mark stood up, saying he had something to do. It seemed like he had really only come to say hello. He was a very practical man.

“Markra, what kind of person are you?”

“As the captain of the 5th Battalion, he is known for his unwavering commitment to the means and methods. He was even 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 didn’t seem to like Mark. In fact, Gilbert was far from being practical.

“Please eat.”

Tom opened the door and said, his face somewhat haggard.

“I don’t want to eat the food Gwen makes.”

“How old are you to be complaining about cooking?”

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

Galahad clicked his tongue and got up from his seat. But he couldn’t not eat what was served.

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

Galahad sighed softly and sat down. Tom served him some stew. He made up his mind and took a big bite.

When preparing for the suffering that will follow-.

“······It’s delicious?”

Galahad’s eyes widened at the completely unexpected taste.

“Oh, does it suit your taste? That’s good.”

“Tom, did you do it?”

“Yes, Senior Gwen’s condition is not good-.”

“That’s fortunate.”

Galahad turned his head and immediately noticed that Gwen was in bad condition.

Gwen’s hair stood on end, as if she had been struck by lightning.

The picture was roughly drawn. He must have written it once because he had been suffering alone and could not stand it any longer. He may not have even realized it.

‘Did you see the punishment and do it?’

Galahad was purely amazed.

The spell of Heavenly Punishment was much more difficult to cast than other spells. The key was to throw a circle and gather surrounding mana.

Judging from the extent of the stretch, it doesn’t seem to be a divine punishment, but rather a basic concept.

‘You’re a genius.’

Just by seeing it once… he was able to use magic without even realizing it.

I wanted to shove magic into that adorable head right away, but I held back desperately.

If you pull the fishing rod hastily, the fish will run away.

I had to wait until the needle was fully inserted into the mouth.

“Now that I think about it, the house is clean. It used to be like an animal cage.”

“······It wasn’t that bad.”

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

“lol-.”

It was obvious flattery, but Gwen quickly smiled. She had the expression of a puppy eating grass.

“Damian, would you like some more?”

“huh.”

Tom filled Damien’s bowl with stew. It felt quite natural.

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

Gwen began to cough violently. Tom patted her on the back. Galahad waited for Gwen to stop coughing before continuing.

“The mission is to investigate the strange behavior of the monsters that attacked the 4th Battalion. It’s not particularly dangerous, but you should still be careful. This is the front line.”

Gwen’s coughing grew louder. Damian threw up his hand.

“Damian, tell me.”

“Do I have to go?”

Damien asked with a look of amusement when she asked him to have just one bowl of stew. Gwen nodded eagerly.

Galahad smiled bitterly and shook his head.

“If you don’t walk, you’ll get buried in the snow.”

Damien buried his face in the bowl.

Gwen raised her hand.

“Wouldn’t it be better to stay home and not get buried?”

Gwen’s face as she answered was as confident as a puppy that had bitten a bone.

“Then the house will be buried in snow.”

Gwen tilted her head at Galahad’s answer.

“Even in the north, it wouldn’t snow that much, right?”

Galahad coughed slightly at Gwen’s question.

“I made it too difficult for you. I didn’t take you into consideration. I’m sorry.”

“Uh······, yes! It’s okay! That could be possible! It hasn’t been long since you came to the North!”

Gwen accepted the apology briskly.

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

***

“Is it really okay for us to do this on our own? Shouldn’t we get more support from above?”

Carl frowned at the worried voice he heard from the side.

I was already nervous because it was an important time, but I was getting irritated when he kept making ominous noises.

“Shut up, Bern. I already received a ground puppy from my master, and you want me to ask for another one? Why don’t you just ask me to rip your head off?”

“but······.”

“What the hell are you worried about? Have you forgotten how much effort we put into this? We were running around the front lines and making a fuss! What the hell!”

Karl couldn’t hold back and started cursing. Bern cringed.

I couldn’t understand why they were making such weak sounds. To make them let their guard down, they moved like the most underestimated puppies.

Even the two wizards didn’t use magic. It was just to make it look like a strange phenomenon caused by a monster.

I dug a tunnel there and retreated. They’ve probably forgotten about it by now.

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

You will never realize that it was one step back to take ten steps forward.

“Have you forgotten who is behind us?”

The sword pointed slightly to the back. The cave, where nothing could be seen, was particularly dark. The eerie feeling made the sword tremble slightly.

“Even if we send them, it’ll probably be just a search party. Do you really think a captain would come all the way here just for a ground puppy? And even if they do come, they won’t be able to find us if there’s no skilled wizard. What’s the problem? How can there be wizards in this f*cking North?”

Bern shut his mouth tightly at Karl’s odd question.

“There’s no way we can fail unless a captain joins hands with a wizard. Get to work. There’s not much time left.”

Bern nodded at Carl’s sharp gaze.

Hey, that couldn’t be happening.

To begin with, the North was a place where wizards were rare.

Why would a skilled wizard be in the North?

You run errands for nobles in the central region.

‘It was a needless worry.’

Bern chuckled and adjusted his grip on his cane.

“Once we’re done with this, let’s go back to the Magic Tower with the magic stones we’ve collected and live a luxurious life!”

The two smiled brightly, picturing a happy future.

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Fantasy, Fusion,