Chapter 2: The Only One

“—Then, how was the situation between Charule and Elandia?”

Gaius took a bottle of liquor from the cabinet, and filled two glasses with it.

The respondent, who sat on the office chair, complained.

“Your Highness, is that how you greet someone who’s just returned from a long trip?”

The stubbly, middle-aged man who chided haughtily was Giuliano Annelie. He was the head of a mercenary guild, commonly known as Giuliano of a Thousand Manslayer.

Despite managing an entire mercenary build where only rowdy men gather, his frame was unexpectedly small and lean. Though, he became outrageously strong if given a sword. However, if judged solely upon his gentle features—which left only a subtle impression, he could pass as a jewelry store owner.

Hence why, he was adept at espionage, which in turn made him a very useful individual.

“For a covert investigation, it’s considered short.”

When his protests were brushed off, Giuliano got pouty and whined.

“Even if the incubation period is short, the travel time is still the same!”

Gaius nodded and handed Giuliano a glass of amber-colored, distilled liquor.

In the case of Giuliano, he could be won over with expensive liquor.

As expected, Giuliano shifted his attitude, and received the glass while licking his tongue.

“—I’ve been waiting!”

Gaius raised his glass, and after Giuliano followed suit, he gleefully downed it.

“Gah—! Tasty! There’s nothing like drinking after work!”

“That goes without saying.”

When his empty glass was refilled, Giuliano laughed dubiously.

“Hehehe…”

Even if he was in an awful mood, a glass of liquor would uplift him in no time.

The guy himself was pretty simple—he liked alcohol, women, and money.

Among the mercenaries, there were quite a few who shared that mindset, and Gaius personally preferred those people.

After all, they were convenient as a pawn.

As long as their desires were satisfied, they’d work well.

Otherwise, it’d result in the large-scale revolt by mercenaries 13 years ago. The rebellion occurred because his father—the Duke of Valentia at the time—didn’t give a suitable reward for their work.

If they’re paid fairly, no one in this country can compete with their usefulness…

Gaius thought of his late father and sneered—

—That man was not only a failure as a father, but also as a ruler.

Not only did he bow to his own wife, he also failed to seize the hearts and minds of his people. If anything, he only caused more chaos.

The Valentia of that time was a dormant country.

Since most of the funding came from agriculture, the economy never progressed outside the country. Even the existence of a small iron mine was rendered useless due to Valentia’s underdeveloped mining technology. As a result, their mine wasn’t as profitable as the iron mines in other countries.

Then, why would a mercenary guild thrive in a small, poor country like Valentia?

Located at the westernmost end of the continent, the country would often suffer from pirate invasions from the West Atlantic Ocean. As a poor country, the military force was nothing to be boasted about. Thus, in order to defend against pirate invasions, the country borrowed the strength of the mercenaries.

And the same happened at every invasion. For a country to continuously utilize the mercenaries despite their lack of financial resources, the end result should be pretty self-explanatory.

Furthermore, as a ruler, his father committed a fatal mistake.

He considered the people as the expendable human resources of the country, and took them for granted.

What he didn’t know was that if the people were exhausted, so was the country—

—and if the anger of the people were to boil, it’d spell doom for the country.

Once those people became convinced that their ruler was unfit to be one, said ruler could be replaced immediately.

Not only was their ruler penniless, he also didn’t care about rewarding the mercenary—

—as such, what kind of retaliation would he get?

The answer should be obvious.

As a result, his father incited a large-scale rebellion—namely, the Irmani Rebellion—from the mercenary guild. Lacking the military power to quell the rebellion, Valentia thus asked for the Eastern Great Power—the Holy Kingdom of Charule—to lend their aid. In exchange for that, the country had to concede what meager financial resource they had—the iron mine.

All in all, it was an awful deal that was akin to putting the cart before the horse.

…Although, as a result, I was able to meet Louisa.

Louisa.

Gaius’ beloved wife—

—half of his soul, half of himself.

She was the only color in Gaius’ dull world.

She was his reason to live.

Even after twelve years of separation, Gaius only lived to reclaim her.

“Like usual, the East is on edge because of the dispute between Charule and Elandia.”

At last, Giuliano cut to the case, perhaps under the influence of alcohol.

“Since the two sly countries were allied, I thought that it’s a sign of a natural disaster. But their alliance collapsed in no time at all, the merchants could only laugh. In the past, an acquaintance of mine—who set up a store in Charule—was thinking of opening a branch in Elandia. Now, he’s grateful he didn’t.”

In that continent, many countries had repeatedly risen and fallen. As of the present, the three major powers were the Holy Kingdom of Charule, the Kingdom of Elandia in the West, and the Adriace Republic in the South.

Among them, Adriace built an era of unprecedented prosperity since Lorenzo Agnadello—famous as a bank tycoon—became a head of state.

Having no interest in the prosperity of Adriace, the anti-Adriace alliance was formed between Charule and Elandia as recently as two years ago.

However, since they weren’t exactly on good terms since the start, it soon fell apart.

Thus, Charule decided to start an alliance with Adriace.

…There should be a limit to one’s indecisiveness.

Upon grasping that information, Gaius dispatched Giuliano to perform an on-site investigation in all three countries.

“Does that mean that the distribution of goods is also restricted at the checkpoint?”

“Exactly. Without a Valentia pass, I wouldn’t have been allowed in, either.”

The Duchy of Valentia, located at the westernmost end of the continent, was regarded as a weak country without much importance. At the same time, since it wasn’t viewed as dangerous, he must’ve granted easy access.

“Just because I came from the countryside, they looked down on me. If they knew what I was doing at Marantz, I wonder what kind of expression they’d make?”

At Giuliano’s throaty laughter, Gaius merely shrugged his shoulders.

“They’re narrow-minded, old people. Since power struggles are the only thing that caught their interest, I doubt they’d even recognize a small island floating in the distant ocean.”

“No way…”

Giuliano laughed once again, before lifting an eyebrow and looking up.

“Still, to think that cute boy would play with such a brazen princess…”

At his earnest tone, Gaius raised his eyebrows.

He looked at the bottle of liquor that Giuliano had snatched from him, only to discover more than half of its contents was missing.

Apparently, Giuliano had gotten quite drunk.

Gaius was only 11-years-old when he first met that guy.

In that state, Giuliano’d usually reminisce about the old days.

“When I was imprisoned in the castle, you came to me. At that time, you were still young. And then, you said. ‘I’m going to become the lord, so I need your help.’ I thought you were joking, but look at you, now—you truly became a Lord.”

Twelve years ago, Giuliano was captured as the ringleader of the Irmani Rebellion, and was slated for execution. However, he was acquitted on the condition that he became Gaius’ companion.

“Did you not believe me?”

In response to Gaius’ utter disbelief, Giuliano laughed.

“Gahaha! Well, of course! I mean, it was the words of a 10-years-old kid! But hey, when you told me to lick your feet in exchange for getting me out of there, I still did it, didn’t I?”

“Hmm…”

Gaius also looked back on those days.

He never expected that Giuliano would truly become his companion.

All he wanted was to exact revenge on his father.

If the rebel ringleader had escaped, his father would surely be very upset.

Regardless, that man was the very definition of incompetence. Even if he were to find out that Giuliano had escaped, he probably wouldn’t make it public. Instead, he’d keep it a secret and announce to the public that the execution went as scheduled. Moreover, it was unlikely for him to go after a fugitive.

—And that was exactly how it went.

For that man to let those who rose against him escape without any legitimate reasons, what a negligence unbefitting of a ruler.

Once again, he had proven himself to be an incompetent lord.

It was also around that time when Gaius decided that usurping him wouldn’t be such a difficult task.

In a way, Giuliano played a part in solidifying Gaius’ plan to assume the throne from his father.

When Gaius released Giuliano, he thought that’d be it. But before they knew it, they had been friends for more than a decade.

“I was surprised to learn that after escaping, you went back to the castle town.”

“At the time, even I myself thought that I had made a massive blunder.”

Replying to Gaius, Giuliano laughed, “Kukuku!” before sipping his glass.

“But still, you have good eyes. Those gleaming, silver eyes—akin to a wolf—they belong to no child, I tell you. When I saw them, I had a hunch that you’re going to achieve something great.”

As he thrusted his gnarled finger towards Gaius, Giuliano solemnly spoke like a prophet.

“A hunch…?”

At the unreliable statement, Giuliano proudly stuck out his chin.

“Yep, and my hunch is correct.”

Then, he continued.

“Since the rebel army was suppressed, the guild had to be disbanded. Because of that, I had nothing to do. Hence, I thought it’d be fun to check up on you.”

When spoken to in such a patronizing tone, Gaius couldn’t help but smile bitterly. Talking to that man made him feel like a child. Considering their ages, they could definitely pass as parent and child. He didn’t recall ever having such an obnoxious father, though.

Gaius sighed and stole Giuliano’s glass from him.

“Hey, what are you doing—!”

“That’s all for today. If you want to taste something better than this, then you’ll have to work a bit harder.”

Upon hearing Gaius’ decisive tone, Giuliano smiled wryly.

“What a slave-driving lord you’re. Still, we’re mercenaries. As long as we get the goods, we’ll work properly. In fact, the weird one here’s you.”

Giuliano tapped Gaius’ chest with his finger.

“I don’t believe your goal’s end with becoming the lord. Do you want to dominate the whole continent?”

Giuliano’s eyes narrowed like that of a bird of prey.

Gaius stared back into such eyes, and smiled faintly.

“I never wanted it in the first place.”

Be it in the present and in the past, he only ever desired for one thing—

—Louisa.

Gaius’ eyes fluttered close as the image of his dear wife revived in his mind.

Then, he shrugged.

“But I will, if I deem it as necessary.”

In order to get her, he wouldn’t hesitate to conquer the entire continent.

If necessary, he’d slay even God himself.

***

Gaius Julius Caesar Cattanei’s life was one that was doomed from the very beginning.

Despite being fathered by a lord, his mother was a mistress, and the child of a mistress wasn’t recognized as an heir. In fact, Gaius only discovered that he was a prince when his father adopted him at the age of seven.

Since his earliest memory, he’d been living with his mother in a shabby mansion, located at the outskirts of the castle town. At first, he thought that he was fatherless. Later, Gaius heard that as soon as his mother got pregnant, his father lost interest in her and never came back.

At the age of sixteen, Gaius’ father began to pursue his mother, a certain baron’s daughter. Then, not only was he already married at the time, he also used his position to coerce her family. In the end, succumbing to his threats, the baron was forced to hand his daughter.

Thus, Gaius’ mother became his father’s mistress.

Afterwards, she had to give birth to a child of the man she despised, and was poisoned by his jealous, legitimate wife.

It’s as if he purposefully made her his mistress in order for her to die.

—I’ll kill them one day.

Be it that man, or that woman—

After losing his mother, Gaius was taken into the castle against his will. Following that, was the relentless abuse from his stepmother.

She, who’d blow her top over the most trivial matter, would often whip Gaius. More often than not, Gaius’d be forced to skip a meal. Once, in the middle of winter, he had cold water poured over his head, and was flung into a barn. Even though he was dying from a fever, no doctor was called. In the end, he was only able to survive because he was born with a resilient body.

In that castle, no one was on his side.

His father was indifferent, while the servants were at the mercy of his stepmother. At that time, Gaius only had a dog as a friend—Hoover. His mother had given the pet to Gaius, who had no siblings.

“This is our new family member.”

Shortly after giving Gaius a puppy on his seventh birthday, his mother was murdered.

It was as if she had bequeathed Hoover to him.

Hoover was the only one Gaius could open up to in that castle. In such a way, Gaius protected himself by not trusting anyone around him and rejecting them.

However, an exception appeared when he was 10-years-old.

It was Louisa.

He remembered being furious when his father told him of the marriage of convenience. He wondered why he had to marry at his age—or for his father’s sake, at that.

The moment he beheld Louisa, her loveliness dazed him. With her bright, petite, face—along with her golden hair, beaming like the sun—she looked as adorable as a finely-crafted porcelain doll.

When her violet eyes landed on him, his heart pounded like never before.

…Although, that was it.

Regardless of everything, she was still someone his father forced him to marry. As such, to Gaius, she was nothing but an enemy. To avoid being closer than necessary, he veered away from her.

About a month later, he witnessed Louisa crying secretly at the corner of a deserted garden.

‘—-Father, Mother, Louisa can no longer afford to laugh. I know it’s selfish of me, but I can’t stand it anymore. I’m sorry, I’m sorry… I don’t like this place. Everyone is scary. No one spoke to me—not even Gerda. I thought that she had started to like me, but she went away, and I haven’t seen her lately… Father, it’s as if I’ve become invisible to everyone here.”

She muttered as she cried, her hands folded as if offering prayer to God. Gaius was surprised when he saw such a figure. After all, when he spotted Louisa in the castle, she was never without a smile. Not only that, she’d also energetically spoke to the adults around her.

For those adults to ignore her despite her best efforts…

As for Gerda, she must’ve been the maid tasked to accompany the princess.

She’s neglected by even her own maid?

From the beginning, his stepmother objected to the notion of him marrying into a country of great power, Charule. If it had been her legitimate son, she probably wouldn’t have complained. However, that son of hers had already been married. While his father agreed solely for political reasons, it was unlikely for his stepmother to allow Gaius to marry a higher-ranking lady than her son’s wife.

—Nevertheless, he never thought that the princess would also fall victim to her wickedness.

If Charule were to discover her uncouthness, she wouldn’t go unpunished.

Regardless, the servants of the castle were under her heel.

Her oppressive atmosphere might’ve influenced even the princess’ own maid.

—Or, did my stepmother arrange for that maid?

Unless she stood at the top, she’d never be satisfied—such was the kind of woman she was. Therefore, it sounded like something she’d do.

Moreover, it wasn’t uncommon for a maid who was sent to accompany a bride to neglect her mistress as soon as they stepped into the distant, foreign land. Even worse was the one who forgot her own position, and regarded herself as the mistress.

If such was the kind of maid that accompanied her, it wouldn’t be surprising for her to be coaxed by his stepmother, and dismissed the princess.

Above all, Gaius was astounded by her imperial pride.

Despite being married into a foreign country with no one to rely on, and was subjected to such callous treatment, the girl always maintained a smile on her face.

That girl, who was four years younger than him, always endured her tears by smiling.

When it dawned upon him, the thought pierced his heart.

After all, he wasn’t exempted from those who had treated her poorly.

—Then, am I not the same as that man?

Despite the fact that his father arranged for him to marry her, he thus ignored her.

In a way, he was the same as his father, who left his mother to die.

Ashamed of himself, Gaius reluctantly revealed himself to her.

When she saw him, she grew frightened for a moment. Discovering that even to her, he was considered an enemy repulsed him once again.

Rather than frightening her any further, should he just leave? But he wanted to do something for her—for this little wife of his. Then, he found himself caressing her head as if she was Hoover.

Louisa’s eyes went wide as she looked up at Gaius.

In the next second, she laughed, and Gaius saw a flower in full bloom.

As she smiled, tears ran down her cheeks, besotting Gaius’ heart.

—I have to protect her.

From that day onward, Louisa became his wife.

—Someone he had to protect.

—Someone he had to cherish.

—Someone important…

Gaius treasured her.

No one cared about her, except for Gaius.

But that’s fine.

Gaius was the only one who cared about her, and accepted all of her.

People often said that a lover was half of the soul—and they were right.

To Gaius, Louisa was half of his soul. He’d be saddened if she was sad, and would otherwise be delighted when she smiled.

The world of the two was beautiful.

Gaius’ once gray world shone brilliantly with Louisa in it.

However, those glorious days came crashing down in the hands of his incompetent father.

After the Irmani Rebellion had been quelled, the reinforcements sent by Charule were set to return, and so was Louisa.

When said fact was revealed to Gaius, he adamantly refused.

‘Louisa is my wife! I won’t allow her to go back to Charule!’

But his father dismissed it with a sneer. Then, came another revelation—

‘—From the start, this is just a White Marriage.’

A marriage that was based on the premise that it’d become null and void.

‘As if I care—!’ Cried Gaius.

After all, the marriage itself was decided between his father and the emperor of Charule, and had nothing to do with Louisa. But of course, Gaius’ argument was treated as nothing but a quibble. Regardless of what he said, or how he went berserk, Louisa was still returned home.

…It’s because I’m powerless.

Gaius was but a child—a weak one.

He, who couldn’t even stand up against his father and stepmother, had no way of resisting the emperor of the powerful Charule.

Then, I’ll become stronger.

Louisa was Gaius’ wife. She was half of him.

…As if he could be separated from her.

For the time being, he had no choice but to let her go due to his own powerlessness.

But someday, he’d definitely reclaim her.

I’ll do whatever it takes to do so—even if it means resorting to unscrupulous methods!

A life in which I was doomed from the very beginning…?

I’ll overthrow such a fate!

At the end, I shall be the victor.

He’d defeat his stepmother, his father, and even Charule, just to get his wife back.

True to his vow, Gaius had been steadily preparing for that very reason.

Sparing Giuliano—the ringleader of the Irmani Rebellion—was also part of the plan.

Giuliano performed marvelously.

As the aftermath of the Irmani Rebellion, the financial situation of Valentia was at a dire strait. Gaius’ father—inherently incapable of ruling—began to heavily indulge in alcohol out of desperation. His older brother, who was supposed to aid such a ruler, cooped himself in a detached palace with his wife under the pretenses of deteriorating health. As a result, the lord of the Duchy of Valentia became absent.

In the meantime, Gaius started going in and out of the military headquarters. The reason was so that he could skip instructions on behalf of his useless father. The army of the Duchy of Valentia was not only fragile, but could also be considered as a mere decoration since they could barely protect the castle. Regardless, the open fact was that he was in charge of the national army.

Laying the groundwork, Gaius utilized Giuliano’s connections to get in touch with Philippe Rodriguez—famous for being the great pirate of the Atlantic Sea.

Hostility couldn’t quite describe the bond between the pirates and the mercenary guild. After all, without pirates, there wouldn’t be mercenaries. In spite of their rivalry, both sides had a give-and-take relationship behind the scenes.

“I’m going to organize a navy.”

Although, when he divulged his plan to Giuliano, the man burst into laughter, probably thinking it was unrealistic.

Nevertheless, Gaius was serious.

As of the present, the war on that continent was always set on the land. Perhaps, it was due to the underdeveloped shipbuilding technology, and how much it might cost. Compared to that, it’d be faster and cheaper to build a cannon.

While mass-producing something that had been developed was easy, it took a hundred times more time and money to create something new.

In light to that, Gaius proposed an unconventional way of organizing a navy out of pirates.

Since they were pirates, armed ships and troops should be a given for them. After all, the sea was their domain, while violence was their method to steal from others.

“Even among the pirates, there must be those who value righteousness. I want you to search for anyone who wants to be recognized by the people as a government army, instead of a bandit.”

In the Atlantic Ocean, there were several large-scale pirates. Then, their leader had to be someone who was capable of controlling such a large number of personnel, which could constitute an army—

—that alone made that person a genius.

On the other hand, there were also pirates who called themselves thieves. Of course, Gaius was aware that there were also those who held a certain belief, and wouldn’t rob the poor, but instead the rich and royalty.

In response, Giuliano’s eyes lit up.

“I see, how interesting.”

Although it’d be a high-stakes game, it wasn’t one without a chance of success.

Afterwards, thanks to Giuliano’s dedication and motivation, he was able to sign a contract with the great pirate—Philippe Rodriguez.

The contract itself said;

‘—Once Gaius Julius Caesar Cattanei assumed the throne as the Duke of Valentia, Philippe Rodriguez shall then be made Admiral of the Navy, and would be bestowed with the territory of Grandage.’

Grandage itself was a large port town in the Duchy of Valentia. It was a key point that served as a gateway to the Atlantic Ocean from Valentia. At the same time, the city often suffered an onslaught from the pirates. Therefore, Gaius deemed the position of governor-general of that city as sufficient to honor Philippe.

To be quite honest, Philippe was satisfied with the condition.

If there was a problem, then it was the fact that Gaius was yet a lord.

In order for Gaius to be an official lord, extensive preparation was needed.

However, the main concern lay in the fact that Gaius was an illegitimate son.

In that country, Maruelism was the state religion, and a child who was born out of wedlock was considered a ‘child of no one’, without any inheritance rights. Therefore, as an illegitimate son, Gaius didn’t have the right to succeed his father.

Hence, he was left with a single option—

—To become a hero.

The Cattanei family descended from the illegitimate son of an ancient emperor. The progenitor of the Cattanei family—Cosimo Louis Cattanei—was the hero who reclaimed the Holy Land of Luwen from the heathen, and garnered a lot of support from the populace. Thus, despite his status as the illegitimate son, the emperor granted him the Duchy of Valentia.

Nevertheless, it was an exception amongst exceptions.

Unless he was a person with great influence, the Church of Maruel wouldn’t allow him to ascend to the throne. Conversely, with massive support, the church would have no choice but to acknowledge him.

Hence, Gaius had been preparing for many years.

This year, the opportunity finally arose.

His drunkard of a father had collapsed.

Despite still breathing, his father spent most of his days asleep, and the doctor diagnosed that it was only a matter of days. If his father were to pass away as it was, his title would be inherited to his older brother.

Gaius acted promptly.

Thus, Gaius had Philippe launch an onslaught on Valentia as he had planned.

The pirates raided the place that hadn’t yet recovered from the Irmani Rebellion. Moreover, the leader was the Great Pirate Philippe Rodriguez himself. He’d go on a rampage, while fueling the people’s distrust by boasting;

“—If the ruler couldn’t even save his own people from starvation, what’s the use of having one?”

As they were terrorized by the pirate, the people could neither rely on the elusive future lord, nor the mercenaries, who were no longer there.

However, just as the people were about to submit to the idea that the city would be taken over by pirates, Gaius would sweep in, accompanied by Giuliano and other mercenaries.

At the heroic appearance of the armed soldiers, the people saw a glimmer of hope.

Afterwards, Gaius confronted the Great Pirate Philippe, and even persuaded him to join their side. Not only did he remain unscathed in the aftermath of the battle, he also managed to recruit the Philippe Rodriquez, a renowned righteous pirate.

—Truly, the birth of a hero.

After garnering the support of the populace, Gaius went to see his father, who was in his deathbed, and made him sign a petition to the church. Of course, it was a petition for permission to make Gaius the Duke of Valentia. Rumors that Gaius had defeated the Great Pirate reached the church, and his ascension to the throne became reality.

Two days later, his father passed away—and strangely enough—his half-brother, who was frail, also passed away.

Thus, Gaius became the Duke of Valentia.

—I’m glad that I was able to make them suffer until the very end.

Upon recalling the sight of his father, who was in the throes of poison, a faint smile crept to his face.

When it comes to that man—and that man alone—I won’t be satisfied unless I kill him with my own hands.

For him to be able to make his father meet the same fate as his mother, it was pure luck. As a side note, he had also dealt with his stepmother, who was in the monastery.

While he didn’t resent his half-brother in particular, he also didn’t have any reason to let him be. After all, his half-brother was the true descendant of the former duke. As such, he’d only be a hindrance.

At the same time, his half-brother—a supposed meek and sickly man—turned out to be a deplorable and arrogant piece of trash. Apparently, not only his servants, but his own wife also suffered from verbal abuses on a daily basis. Even after he passed away, no one mourned him.

…As expected of the blood of his father and stepmother—

“—Their blood…”

Alone, Gaius threw up.

…Ironically, the former duke’s accused blood also flowed within his veins.

So what?

There was no reason to think that he’d turn out to be the same as them.

After all, human life had nothing to do with lineage.

‘For what reason do you live, and what do you wish to achieve?’

In the end, everything boiled down to just that.

However, neither his father nor brother had any of that.

Lacking both convictions and purposes in life, they lived in indolence, as they took everything for granted—

—Hence why, they accomplished nothing.

Akin to livestock.

But then, he shook his head.

Livestock was better, since it could fill a stomach. Meanwhile, his father and the others only cause an upset stomach.

As he looked back on his father, brother, stepmother, and those he had killed, Gaius squinted his eyes—

—The meaning of life, did they ever think about it?

For Gaius, living meant being with Louisa.

Therefore, he had to reclaim her. Even more so when all the requirements were met.

“Just you wait, Louisa.”

Gaius spoke to his wife, who wasn’t there, as he looked up towards the lusterless, dawn sky.

—I’ll come for you soon.