Very little about the alchemist Haide was known to the public.
At most, only his birthplace, appearance, and age were widely circulated.
For the developer of Nektar, it was an oddly small amount of information.
The reason that was all anyone could dig up, despite countless people trying to pry into his past, was simple.
'Aside from developing Nektar, he truly had no achievements worth mentioning.'
Born a minor noble from a fallen house, he had entered the path of alchemy through a chance connection.
After that, he repeated countless attempts and failures using imperial subsidies, until he happened—by sheer luck—to succeed in developing Nektar.
For a brief time, he enjoyed tremendous glory, only to die young for reasons unknown.
There were suspicious aspects to his death, but aside from that, he had been an utterly ordinary alchemist.
'At a glance, he does look just like the public assessment…'
"Why aren't you answering? If someone gives their name, you should introduce yourself as well."
Haide snapped irritably at Lucian, clearly displeased by the way Lucian was sizing him up.
Only then did Lucian realize his lapse and put his smile back on.
"My apologies. I'm Lucian Valdeck."
"…Valdeck? You don't mean that Valdeck, do you?"
"I don't know which Valdeck you're thinking of, but we do use a lion as our coat of arms."
Haide's face, which had been puffed up with irritation, went pale.
He quickly straightened his slouched posture and bent deeply at the waist.
"I have been rude to a scion of House Valdeck! I—I mean…!"
"Please, calm yourself. I have no intention of making an issue out of what just happened."
"Th-thank you very much!"
"If you're grateful, then sit and talk with me for a moment."
"Talk, you say…?"
"Well, about alchemy—and things like the recent atmosphere in the capital."
Lucian took control of the conversation with as natural a demeanor as possible.
Fortunately, his counterpart was the type who crumbled easily before power and status.
If he pressed on like this, extracting information wouldn't be difficult.
"I'll answer anything! Please, just ask!"
Thinking this was a chance to recover lost points, Haide nodded vigorously.
After a brief moment of thought, Lucian decided to start with what he was most curious about.
"What has the atmosphere been like in the Alchemists' Guild lately?"
"Pardon? The guild's atmosphere? It's the same as always."
"Are you sure there haven't been any changes? No new formulas discovered, or perhaps new properties found in medicinal herbs?"
"Hm…"
Even though Lucian spoke as directly as possible, Haide's response didn't change.
If anything, after thinking even longer, he shook his head as if he truly had no idea.
"There's been nothing like that. New attempts are constantly being made, but it's failure after failure. If there had been a successful case, it would have reached my ears long ago."
"I see."
Lucian nodded calmly, but inwardly he was quite taken aback.
In his previous life, the Alchemists' Guild would begin sweeping up moonlight grass in about three months.
And yet, there were still no successful cases at all?
"Then how about the atmosphere in the capital lately? Are people uneasy because of the war?"
"Well… I was in another city until recently. At least when I left, nothing out of the ordinary was happening."
With little to be gained, Lucian steered the questions in another direction.
These weren't so much about gathering information as they were about assessing Haide himself—
how much interest he took in the Empire's current affairs, and how he thought things might develop going forward.
They were small, casual questions, but a person's values usually revealed themselves in such moments.
'When judging a person, understanding their values is the most important thing.'
If the man before him truly was the developer of Nektar, then he was a talent Lucian would have to recruit someday.
Even if only to make an offer of appointment later, Lucian wanted to learn what the man desired.
***
After questioning him at length, Lucian found it hard to hide his disappointment.
'Every single answer is just "I don't know."'
Most of Haide's replies were either "I don't know" or "I'm not interested."
Calling it a scholar's characteristic indifference to politics might sound charitable, but this didn't seem to be that.
If it were truly a scholar's detachment, he would at least have a firm grasp of matters related to his own field of study.
However, Haide quite literally had no interest at all in how the world was turning.
'This isn't detachment—he's just an idle complacent who lives without thinking. Is it that as long as imperial funding keeps coming, nothing else matters to him?'
"D-did I say something wrong?"
Haide flinched and asked cautiously as the conversation continued.
Only then did Lucian realize that he had been frowning.
"No. I was simply getting a bit thirsty while talking."
He brushed it off, but his tone had already shifted into a more distant, formal register.
His assessment of Haide had dropped several notches.
"Then let's return to alchemy, our main topic. From the sound of things, you've been making potions yourself—have you had any results?"
"Ah, of course! This is confidential, but recently I changed the ingredients in some potions and found a few unusual reactions."
Once the topic turned to alchemical research, Haide began excitedly talking about his discoveries.
It seemed he was trying to recover from the drop in Lucian's evaluation earlier.
Instead, as Haide continued, that evaluation only sank further.
'It's all just rehashing existing potion effects—and he didn't even set up a single hypothesis before starting. He calls it experimentation, but all he's doing is mixing things at random and watching what happens.'
Lucian didn't know much about alchemy, but he did know that new formulas required long, methodical research.
Yet this man wasn't even attempting new formulas—he was simply recycling effects that already existed.
It was possible he was deliberately hiding something, but given how loose his tongue was, that seemed unlikely.
"Let me ask you one thing. What do you think about moonlight grass?"
Lucian asked, staking his last shred of hope on the question.
Caught off guard, Haide tilted his head, then answered Lucian honestly, without concealment.
"It's just a medicinal herb that's good for the body. Some people occasionally talk about using it in alchemy, but it's laughable. There's no greater waste of time than reusing materials that have already been fully researched."
****
"A pathetic man."
Back in his room, Lucian let out his irritation without realizing it.
The developer of Nektar, Haide Fobor—what a joke.
"Research is nothing but a formality to keep imperial funding coming in. Even if they stumble on something new, they have no intention of properly studying it—just mix random things together, and if something good comes out by chance, it's a jackpot? Are people like that really called scholars these days?"
"Isn't that just an average alchemist?" Raymond replied. "Not really something to be disappointed over."
At Raymond's words, Lucian gave a bitter smile.
True—he was an average alchemist of this era.
If not for the weight of that name in his previous life, Lucian wouldn't have been so let down.
'Then if it's not him, who is it? No—why was that man known as the developer of Nektar in the first place?'
If things followed the same course as in his past life, then in three months the Alchemists' Guild would begin sweeping up moonlight grass across the entire Empire.
Which meant they should already have results substantial enough to show others.
Yet Haide showed not the slightest sign of such research.
'If he started researching now, there's no way he'd have results worth showing in just three months. Which means he must have stolen someone else's research.'
The problem was that Haide seemed fairly satisfied with his current life.
To steal research of that caliber from another alchemist would require staking his life on it.
And even if he succeeded, the alchemist whose work was stolen would never stay silent.
But would that ambitionless man really risk his life to steal someone else's research?
'Well, I can find that out from here on.'
Fortunately, there was still plenty of time to find the true developer.
And the method itself wasn't difficult either.
The next morning, Lucian left the inn early with Raymond and headed toward their destination.
They were already close enough that they should arrive within the day.
"Come to think of it, Third Young Master, this is your first time visiting the capital, isn't it?"
"That's right. It's my first time."
Even in his previous life, Lucian had never visited the imperial capital.
By the time he had the leisure to do so, the age of chaos had already begun, and the entire capital had become dangerously unstable.
Even if he had gone then, it would have been half in ruins after multiple sieges.
"Honestly, I'm a little excited. They call it the jewel of the Empire. Is it more magnificent than Kelheim?"
"It's less that it's more magnificent, and more that it's more beautiful. Ah—there it is."
Raymond pointed toward the distant walls visible on the horizon.
At first, they appeared faint and pale, but as they drew closer, their true form gradually revealed itself.
'White…?'
The pure white walls gleamed brilliantly as they reflected the sunlight.
At the same time, the various reliefs carved into the stone formed different images depending on the angle of the light.
Rather than a fortress wall, it felt like beholding a single, massive work of art.
Seeing Lucian stare in awe, Raymond broke into a grin.
"The white walls of Tibrone, the imperial capital. Beautiful, aren't they?"
Lucian couldn't deny it and nodded.
The closer they drew to the walls, the wider Lucian's eyes grew.
It wasn't just that the beauty of the walls became more striking up close—there were no seams to be seen at all.
The slope was so perfectly smooth that it felt as if any ladder placed against it would simply slide right off.
'Is it really possible to assault a fortress like this? How on earth did they ever breach it?'
"I've heard that those patterns aren't mere decoration, but magic circles. Supposedly, when enemies approach, the magic activates and repels them."
Raymond whispered into Lucian's ear as he stood there staring at the walls.
Even at a glance it looked impregnable, and the addition of magic made Lucian let out a hollow laugh.
"Is that actually true?"
"It's just a rumor. To be honest, I didn't believe it before either—but given how often His Majesty has openly used magic…"
Raymond trailed off.
In the past, it might have been something to laugh off, but now it was hard not to wonder.
While the two chatted idly, they continued toward the gate.
"What's with this line?"
Lucian flinched when he saw the long line of people stretching ahead.
With such a massive gate, how could a line possibly be this long?
Raymond, however, laughed as if it were a familiar sight.
"As you'd expect of the capital, Tibrone is thorough about identity checks. Still, it should thin out soon. The guards aren't that inflexible."
According to Raymond, frequent visitors to the capital—peddlers or craftsmen—were inspected more loosely.
With such a massive flow of people, strictly following protocol for everyone would take far too long.
"If you wish, we could reveal the Third Young Master's identity and ask to be let in first."
"No. Let's wait for now. If everyone's lining up and the two of us cut ahead, we might draw unnecessary attention."
If this were an official family affair, that would have been the obvious choice.
But this trip to the capital was a personal visit.
Lucian didn't want to draw eyes to himself and risk having his identity exposed.
Even if he had to reveal his status to the guards, at least it wouldn't attract public attention—things could pass quietly enough.
Having decided, Lucian took his place with Raymond at the end of the long line.
And then three hours passed.
"…It hasn't shortened at all."
"That's strange. Why is it taking so long?"
At Lucian's sharp look, Raymond averted his gaze and muttered.
After three hours, the line had only shortened by a tiny amount; most of it remained as it was.
At this rate, they wouldn't make it inside before the gates closed.
"Looks like you gentlemen are visiting for the first time since the war. Identity checks have been strict for quite a while now because of a recent rebellion."
A merchant who had overheard them stepped closer and explained the situation.
He seemed to think Lucian and Raymond were just a master and servant from the countryside, visiting the capital after a long time.
"These days, getting in takes ages because they check everything. With a line this long, you won't make it in today."
"What? Then why are you standing in line?"
"Even if we don't get in today, if we keep our place and continue tomorrow, we'll get in eventually. These days, when the gates close, people just sleep on the spot and enter the next day."
When the merchant even showed them the sleeping bags he'd brought, the two were left speechless.
Sleep on bare ground and then line up again?
"If you don't mind, would you like to buy one of the sleeping bags I brought? I happened to bring two extra."
"Well, that's…"
Sensing a sales opportunity, the merchant pulled two sleeping bags from his mule's load.
When Lucian failed to respond to the unexpected situation, the merchant misunderstood and hurriedly added an explanation.
"Don't worry about someone cutting in while you sleep. These days, those knights patrol day and night. If anyone's caught cutting in line, they're sent straight to the very back."
The merchant pointed behind Lucian and Raymond.
When they turned their heads, they really did see several knights patrolling the line with hawk-like eyes.
At that moment, the knight standing at the front met Lucian's gaze.
After blinking once in disbelief, his eyes widened in shock as he shouted,
"Duke Lucian!? Why are you here?!"
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