'The Duke was a selfish man.'
'He's so scared for his life that he didn't even dare to touch the drug mafia.'
'He had the power to save everyone but he let us rot!'
'He has the gall to speak of Duchy's revival.'
When Varian wanted to visit the Duke, he already grasped the immensely negative public opinion.
It wasn't just bad, it was downright malicious.
'He should just drop dead.'
'If I was the Duke, I would've…'
'If I had powers like the Duke, I…'
'If I was also a rank 5, then I…'
But after meeting the man himself, a trace of respect rose from the bottom of his heart.
"It's been very tough, right?" Varian sighed. "It's been more than a century."
"It was very hard, but I got used to it. A Duke can't show his weakness, young fellow." Cassius chuckled and said in a casual tone.
Then he drank another glass of wine and slammed it on the table, just hard enough that it wouldn't crack.
Then he mixed a drug…a very powerful painkiller apparently, into a new wine bottle and started drinking again.
Varian's expression grew complicated as he watched this. What was Duke doing for most of his leisure time? Why did he almost never appear in public or make some big events?
Cassius noticed Varian's expression and said with a teasing smile. "Now that you know it's useless, don't tell me you're regretting wasting the request I gave you. I'm telling you in advance, no refunds."
Varian chuckled at the light-hearted joke and grinned. "I haven't conceded defeat yet."
Cassius placed his elbow on the armrest and rested his chin on his palm. With an expression of interest found in a kid watching a popular movie, he said. "The very fact that you still think you have a chance is interesting. If nothing, your confidence alone will take you to places, young man."
"It has brought me here, that's for sure," Varian said and stretched out his palm.
A glittering crystalline powder floated above it. In an instant, the plants growing in the pots and the flowers in the vases shook and began to grow. The pots exploded and the vases cracked.
"That's quite a bit of life force." The Duke crossed his arms and nodded. "But life force alone can't solve."
"The special mix of the herbs that went into it can," Varian said confidently and gave the powder to the Duke.
The Duke inspected the powder for one last time.
But unlike before, Varian didn't grow irritated at his behavior. Rather, he empathized with the Duke's actions.
He was scared that he'd die. Yes. His fear was to the point of paranoia. Also yes. But was he a scum who only cared for his life above everything else?
'He doesn't look like that kind of person.' Varian could see it in the man's eyes. He valued something greater than even his life.
"If this works, let's just say it does…" Cassius' hands were trembling and his lips were shivering.
"It won't solve your problem, but extend your time," Varian said before he could go off into imagination.
"Even that is an unimaginable result for me." The Duke's eyes dimmed visibly but he still looked ecstatic.
With Varian's signal, he took the first dose of the medicine and sat still for a few moments.
Then, he grabbed his heart and gasped as if he was just out of war. "I…I...I am…"
Two rank 3 auras locked onto Varian and were on the verge of acting against him.
"I am so refreshed!" The Duke finally exhaled and jumped onto his feet. Patting his chest, arms, and knees, he said with a nostalgic expression. "It's been years…decades since I could feel so light."
Then regardless of Varian's presence, he began to do some push-ups, squats, and other exercises.
Every time he finished a rep, he'd laugh and go for the next. It wasn't that he couldn't do these exercises with his power before. It was just how his body responded to any physical activity.
If Varian had to draw an analogy, until now, the Duke was surrounded by hot needles all over his body. Even if he made a movement as small as clapping, his palms would sting and a searing pain would reach his brain.
But now…
Looking at the old man's happy smile, Varian was conflicted on the inside. 'You'll keep taking a dose three times a day for the next three days. It'll make you well for three days, but on the fourth day, it'll weaken you and make you a lamb ready for slaughter.'
Cassius patted Varian's shoulder appreciatively and said they'd have a deep talk after the marriage.
'There'll be nothing remaining after the marriage though.' Varian couldn't say those words to the man.
The Duke chatted him with enthusiastically. He spoke of his childhood when he was very reckless. Of his youth when he was very overbearing. Apparently, he participated in the war 500 years ago and made some minor achievements. But for his age and rank, it was shocking.
Varian listened to the story carefully, asking some small questions from time to time.
"…And sometime after the war, I ascended the throne." Cassius looked out of the window and into the space beyond the vast sky.
"Was there an intense fight for it?"
Cassius' eyes shook for a moment and he shrugged. "It's messy. It's one of the things I do regret a lot. Maybe I should've done it differently."
"Hm." Varian nodded. 'Would my children also fight for the throne?'
"And after I took the throne, I tried everything I could. Went to distant lands to bring back resources. Made friends with enemies, and strengthened old alliances. Opened up new trade routes.
But when you're very weak, there are no enemies and allies. When you're poor and deprived, no one wanted to trade with us."
Varian sighed softly.
People couldn't even revive their own glory from their past. For some, it was their brilliance in middle or high school. For others, it was their top performance in college. For most, it was a certain point in their career when everything was going well and then. Then, it doesn't.
If reviving a single individual's glory was so hard that few ever achieve and surpass it, then what about reviving an entire Duchy?
"And in one of those adventures, I got injured by a nasty fellow." Cassius smiled, but his eyes weren't smiling.
"…"
"Anyways, that's my little boring life story." The Duke laughed and ended the conversation.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺