The Northern Grand Duke’s Crazy Son-in-Law Chapter 2

2. Leather notebook

‘Just one bag is all you need.’

Galahad clicked his tongue slightly, shaking the leather bag in his hand.

I was proud of living a pretty hard life, but in the end, all I had was this leather bag. I returned my uniform, and was wearing the shabby shirt and pants I had come wearing.

‘I’m the first one to come out alive.’

There was a famous story in the intelligence agency. It was a legend that if you wanted to leave the intelligence agency, you had to give up your life. In fact, once you were in the intelligence agency, you couldn’t move to another department.

The intelligence agency was obsessed with security to the point of obsession. If it weren’t for political reasons, Galahad would have tried to erase his memories by hitting him in the head with a hammer.

‘I said I would come pick you up.’

Galahad put a tobacco stick in his mouth.

At that moment, a carriage approached noisily. The shiny horse’s trotting was startling to the passersby. Some people watched as if they were seeing something new.

‘In this day and age, a carriage-.’

Galahad frowned.

As magic science developed, magic wagons equipped with magic circles and mana storage became popular instead of horses. They were popular because they were similar in price to horses or cheaper, and easy to maintain. In fact, carriages were gradually disappearing from the capital.

‘The carriage sent by the Grand Duke.’

To think that I have to go that far by carriage-. Galahad clicked his tongue and headed towards the carriage. A man with slitted eyes was sitting in the carriage.

Thick iron armor, a long sword at his waist, a dagger on his inner thigh, and a helmet at his side – he was a typical knight.

“Are you Galahad Ambertan?”

“Yes. Is this the carriage sent by His Highness the Grand Duke?”

“Yes, you can call me Gilbutton. I will guide you.”

The man opened the door roughly. The interior was even worse than the exterior. The chairs, covered with scraps of cloth, looked more uncomfortable than those at a bar, and there were stains on the walls.

‘It won’t be easy.’

The fact that they sent such a shabby carriage and only one person meant that Galahad was not welcomed there either.

“It’s made of horse leather, so it’ll be softer than you think.”

The man who introduced himself as Gilbutton spoke with a smile in his voice.

Knowing that complaining wouldn’t change anything, Galahad nodded and climbed into the carriage.

Bam, the carriage door slammed shut. Before Galahad could even sit down, the carriage started moving.

“It’s so soft. It feels like someone is kicking my butt.”

As I grumbled softly, laughter was heard from outside the carriage.

Your ears are sharp. Galahad muttered softly as he searched through his inner pocket.

I took out a small leather notebook from my inner pocket. It looked like a shabby notebook on the outside, but when I poured mana into it, it opened automatically.

It was filled with a variety of fonts, from crooked letters to neat letters.

The sentence written at the very top is-.

[I was possessed by a novel.]

It was written in crooked Korean.

It was clearly a sentence written by Galahad, but it was so long ago that my memory was hazy.

At first, I thought I had been reincarnated with my memories of my past life. When I recalled my memories of my past life, Galahad was just beginning to walk.

It was only after hearing the familiar names of the demons that I realized I had been possessed by a novel.

Galahad hurriedly recalled the contents of the novel and organized them in his memory. That was this leather notebook.

It was quite some time later when I realized it was a spell.

My memory of the novel wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t a novel I had read very carefully in the first place, and who reads a novel while memorizing its contents?

But I still remembered the thick stems. For example-.

[The world is destroyed by the king of the demon tribe.]

The novel had a sad ending. No, it’s not enough to say it had a sad ending. It was a shitty ending.

[Important Characters: Blonde Sword Master, some kind of great wizard, Fairy Mother, Axe-wielding Barbarian, Half-Demon······.]

It was written roughly as I remembered it. The ending was certain, but I couldn’t be sure about the rest of the content.

Below that was an explanation in the imperial language.

[The Grand Mage is most likely the Twilight Tower Lord. His location is unknown. The blond sword master is most likely the eldest daughter of the Northern Grand Duke, the fairy mother is likely in the Fairy Forest, and the axe-wielding barbarian is unknown.]

This was information that Galahad had obtained while working at the intelligence agency.

Galahad’s goal was a warm and comfortable old age. For that, the ending of the Demon King had to be prevented at all costs.

Originally, the Information Bureau was supposed to prepare for the Demon King. The Information Bureau was a powerful organization that could be called the organization that moved the continent.

‘But he is the pillar of the Northern Sword Master···.’

Galahad smiled bitterly. It was hard to see it as a good move, but it wasn’t the worst move either.

The blond sword master was the hero with the most weight, and it was an area where the front line against the demons was.

They say that if you want to catch a tiger, you have to go to the tiger’s den.

Galahad reread the worn notebook over and over again, recalling his memories.

***

The carriage stopped after the sun had set.

“Please get off.”

Gilbutton pointed behind him. It was right next to an empty road.

“Are you going to sleep out?”

Galahad squinted his eyes. Galahad was a scion of the count’s family.

There are villages and castles every day, so I don’t understand why they insist on sleeping out there.

“You were told to avoid contact with the Empire as much as possible.”

“Is this His Majesty’s will?”

“I follow Adrianna.”

Adrianna was the name of the woman Galahad was to marry.

“Yes, you should listen to your wife carefully.”

Suddenly, a murderous sound came from the corner of Gilbutton’s mouth.

‘You don’t like me.’

In a way, it was an obvious statement.

Galahad was the third son of an earl and the most hated wizard of them all. They could not have been happy about the situation where the eldest daughter of the Grand Duke married such a man.

There must have been countless conflicts of interest and conflicts of interest underneath. The result was the Archduke’s defeat.

“We are not married yet.”

Gilbutton smiled, showing his molars. A murderous look poked his back.

‘This might be dangerous.’

Galahad smiled bitterly, biting into the tobacco stick.

Gilbert cleaned up the place without saying a word. His hand movements were unusual, as if he was used to sleeping rough. Galahad watched quietly.

The firewood was gathered and quickly lit. Then a pot was placed on top and meat was thrown in. And there was stew too.

‘I don’t want to eat.’

Galahad clicked his tongue slightly. He already knew that the hygiene standards of these people were crap, but even so, turning over meat with hands that had been digging in the dirt and touching firewood-. It was the worst.

“Please eat. It’s northern cuisine.”

Gilbutton held out a piece of meat. It was a large piece of meat that had not been cut, and only the surface was grilled. It was undercooked, so red blood dripped down. It wasn’t just rare, it was super rare.

Is this even cooking? It was ridiculous, but unfortunately, it was not a situation where I could complain about the side dishes.

“Thank you.”

Galahad tore the meat with his mouth. The sour blood, full of the stench of blood, filled his mouth. He chewed it thoroughly and swallowed it.

Gilverton also tore at the meat, wondering if it was simply roasted to be eaten. He even drank the flowing blood as if it were a drink. Looking at that savage meal, his reluctance to go north grew even stronger.

The meal continued quietly. Gilbutton, who had finished eating, handed over a bottle of liquor.

“I don’t drink.”

Galahad shook his head slightly. Alcohol was taboo for wizards, as it slowed their minds and made their hands heavy.

“As expected, you are a wizard.”

Gilbert emphasized ‘wizard’. It wasn’t a good pronunciation.

“Yes, he is a very good wizard.”

Galahad answered without avoiding his eyes and looking directly into Gilverton’s eyes. Gilverton’s brow furrowed slightly.

“You have to be careful in the North. The ignorant northerners don’t know the difference between wizards and demons.”

This was just a threat. Galahad felt childish.

“Surely the Grand Duke cannot protect even one son-in-law in his own territory?”

This time Gilbutton snickered. He was more patient than I thought.

“I heard that hunting wizards is a trend in the empire these days. Wizard hearts are very expensive.”

Gilbutton grinned as if he had never said that. It was true. In fact, there have been quite a few records of wizards being hunted recently.

“Don’t worry about that. This is a valuable item. It’s been twenty years since His Majesty the Emperor and the Grand Duke met. It was so bad that there were even rumors of a rebellion. What if I, the witness of the meeting, do something wrong?”

This time, Galahad chuckled. Gilverton, unlike before, was not smiling.

“I’m a pretty important person. You don’t know me well.”

Galahad didn’t know the details. Maybe he was simply cut off, but there was no need to tell him.

“If you’ve eaten, move again.”

Gilbert said, rising from his seat.

“Are you planning on staying up all night and moving around?”

“Yes, he is a very important person.”

“Are you okay?”

“I’m a knight, so I don’t have to sleep for a few days. Are you okay, sir? The carriage must be shaking a lot.”

Gilbert asked, narrowing his eyes.

‘You’re upset.’

Galahad nodded, clicking his tongue slightly.

In fact, the carriage seats were hard and shook violently. It was not a good situation to sleep in.

It was clear that they had some petty intention to cause Galahad trouble.

However, Galahad was a wizard. Wizards of this era were more supportive than combative.

It was quite easy to turn a rocking carriage into a very soft and quiet bed.

Galahad slept soundly for the first time in a long while, snoring.

***

smart.

Galahad opened his eyes to the alarm magic. He felt refreshed, as if he had slept so soundly.

Galahad cleared the place and opened the door.

Gilbert, who had become more gaunt than before, squinted his eyes.

“I guess you slept well?”

“I slept very well. Are you okay? Your complexion doesn’t look so good.”

“······It’s okay. It’s common to not be able to sleep for several days on the battlefield.”

“I see. I’m fine, so keep working hard.”

Gilbert’s face became even more distorted. He was a man with a penchant for teasing.

“On the way, stop by a castle or a village.”

“···Are you a surname?”

“I think I need to buy a coat.”

Galahad said, rubbing his right arm with goosebumps.

“Do wizards feel the cold too?”

Gilbert asked back, as if he was really curious. Galahad frowned at him. What do you think of wizards?

“Of course he would ride since he’s a human.”

Of course, it was possible to maintain body temperature using magic. However, magic that affected the wizard’s body was more difficult than cutting a bed or blocking sound.

“Isn’t there a Garseton Castle along the way? I heard they have nice coats there. Let’s stop by.”

“Are you talking about Garceton?”

It was a strangely uneasy question, but Gilverton was originally an uneasy man. Galahad nodded.

“All right.”

One corner of Gilbutton’s mouth went up.

As expected, he was a very creepy guy.

***

‘It’s cold.’

Galahad grumbled, shaking his head. The center was always warm, but here it was goosebump-inducingly cold. He had to use his mana to keep warm.

Even though I didn’t even put the cigarette in my mouth, my breath came out. Just warming my body was enough to drain my mana.

There was no stone pavement, so mud covered the bottom of his shoes. Was it mud? Galahad sniffed. There was a foul smell. Mud. Galahad quickly put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it. The fragrant lemon scent overpowered the other smells.

“It gets colder as you go up.”

Gilbert spoke sharply, his eyes hollow. Gilbert was wearing a fur coat that looked like animal skin, which he had taken out from somewhere.

“Wasn’t there anything like enduring the cold on the front lines with your bare body?”

Gilverton squinted at Galahad’s question. Upon closer inspection, he saw that it was a smile.

“Yes, soldiers dress warmly too.”

“What a pity,” Galahad grumbled softly.

At that moment, a fat man came running. He had so much flesh on him that he swayed as he ran. He was wearing high heels that were out of style.

“Oh my! If you were here, why didn’t you come to the inner castle instead of the outer castle?”

The fat man said, wiping the sweat from his forehead. Galahad glanced at Gilverton. Gilverton avoided his gaze as if it was none of his business.

“Do you know who I am?”

“Are you not His Highness’s guest?”

Galahad looked at Gilverton. Gilverton shrugged and answered, ‘I am not.’

‘There was talk of the Grand Duke coming to visit.’

Gilbert was rather opposed to the visit to the castle. The visit the man spoke of was not Galahad’s.

“Come in! The lord is waiting!”

“Do you have a soft bed?”

The fat man tilted his head and nodded at Galahad’s question.

“Yes, we have a warm bath too!”

“Well-cooked meat too?”

“Of course! Our chef is the best in the neighborhood!”

“Good.”

As Galahad nodded, the excited pig man took the lead, shaking his rump.

“Be careful. There have been quite a few disappearances around Castle Garseton. I’ve heard that there are wizards among them. It’s a very dangerous place for wizards.”

Gilbutton, who was sitting next to me, spoke with a voice mixed with laughter.

“Why are you talking about that now? You should have said it a long time ago.”

“Didn’t you ask?”

“but.”

Gilverton smiled faintly at Galahad’s soft grumbling.

“Then would you like to go somewhere else right now?”

“Are you good at fighting?”

Gilbert’s eyebrows furrowed at the unexpected question.

“It’s pretty good.”

“Then take good care of it. I am an important person.”

Galahad walked along, chewing the tobacco in his mouth.

‘Is it reckless, bold, or do you know?’

Gilbutton muttered softly and gestured somewhere.

It was an unusually dark night.

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Fantasy, Fusion,