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“Everything has been good, Your Highness. Thanks to you, I have been very comfortable.”

“Oh, well, I am glad to hear that…”

Ian stepped back while coughing awkwardly. All gazes were focused on him.

“I am relieved to see that you can afford to look after Lady Pendragon, Prince.”

The empress stepped up with a smile.

“By the way, I am sure both of you know that the atmosphere in the Royal Batallium is quite unusual, right?”

“Yes.”

Raven nodded, and the smile disappeared from the empress’ face as she continued with a sigh.

“Anyways, we will talk about this later. You must be tired from coming such a long way, so it might be good for you to take a rest.”

“All right. Thank you for your consideration.”

“There is no need to mention it. Princess, lady, please let them have the room.”

As the mistress of the imperial castle, the empress was truly wise. She was naturally stepping to the side after reminding Ian and Raven of the situation.

“Yes…”

Ingrid and Irene stepped away with the empress, looking as if they were slightly disappointed. Soon, only Raven and Ian were left in the room.

“If the empress is saying such things, it must mean that things are pretty bad…”

“I see.”

Ian spoke in a grim voice, and Raven nodded in response.

“We will need to have an audience with His Majesty the Emperor. I am sure he already knows of our presence, so he should be calling for us soon, right?”

“Yes. He must have already finished questioning Arigo Aragngis, so he will want to confirm certain facts with us as well.”

“Well, it won’t mean much since Duke Arangis died, but he is the only witness at the moment…”

Raven smacked his lips with disappointment.

Arigo was strangely ignorant about the Nameless Necromancer. He only knew of the Nameless Necromancer as a simple sorcerer hired by his family. In addition, he had been ignorant of the fact that Biskra had been transformed into a Bone Dragon by the Nameless Necromancer.

He had believed that the situation would have turned for the better if Biskra stepped up to rescue the Arangis Fleet, that the dragon would have rescued them from the brink of defeat after the arrival of Ian and the Imperial Fleet.

“Why did Duke Arangis not tell his successor about the Nameless Necromancer?”

Ian expressed his curiosity, and Raven answered after a moment of thought.

“I think it was because he wanted to take full responsibility without involving anyone else in case something happened.”

“Hmm. Well, he did say he would take responsibility for everything when he was speaking to you and me…:”

Ian nodded.

Starting a rebellion was one of the worst crimes. It would incriminate not only the person responsible for the action, but also the family as well. It was even possible for an entire family to be exterminated as a punishment.

But a duchy was different.

The Aragon Empire was a lineage-centered domain. As such, a duchy wasn’t isolated in terms of lineage. A duchy had blood relations to numerous high-ranking nobles, and even the royal family. Therefore, if a duke and his successor were to be held responsible for a rebellion, the responsible individuals would be incarcerated, and the territory and the properties of the family would be seized, and they would be relegated to a regular noble family.

Naturally, it was a huge punishment for a duchy, and they would suffer as such. But compared to having entire families disappear for committing such a crime, it was a much lighter punishment.

It was clear that Duke Arangis withheld information about the Nameless Necromancer from Arigo. Since the Nameless Necromancer could be considered one of the masterminds of the rebellion, keeping Arigo in the dark could possibly save his life, even if he was exiled instead.

“Your Highness, Lord Granite is here.”

A voice called out, and Ian turned his head towards the door with a welcoming look.

“Have him come in.”

Soon, Count Jean Granite of the Royal Knights entered through the door.

“I greet Your Highness the Prince and Your Excellency the Duke.”

As a royal knight, Jean Granite was allowed his weapons within the imperial castle. He bowed in a knightly manner with his hand resting on the pommel of his sword.

“Long time no see. Now, this way…”

Jean Granite was one of the few reliable, trustworthy figures in the imperial castle. Ian greeted him warmly without hiding his welcome.

Raven trusted the knight as well, and he extended his greetings.

“Thank you for taking good care of my sister and Lady Mandy, Lord Granite.”

“I only fulfilled my duties. And… I have well received the letter that Your Excellency and Your Highness sent.”

Count Granite’s eyes glowed coldly.

“For now, just as both of you requested, the truth about the death of Duke Arangis is only known to me and His Majesty the Emperor. Thanks to this, the middle officials of the imperial castle are continuing to argue.”

“Well, I apologize for that. But has it not made it clearer?”

“Yes, I guess that could be the silver lining. But that is only beneficial for Your Highness Ian. It has nothing to do with the imperial throne.”

“…..”

When Count Granite replied in a low voice, Ian shut his mouth. Then he raised his eyes and met Count Granite’s gaze.

“Hoho… As I expected… You have not changed a bit, sir.”

Eventually, Ian shrugged with a bitter smile. This was exactly why he had trust in Count Jean Granite. As the head of the Royal Knights, his mission was to protect and defend the imperial throne of Aragon and the imperial castle.

Jean Granite would cooperate with Ian because the prince was the most likely candidate to become the next crown prince. However, he would turn in an instant if Ian was unrighteous and had other intentions.

“I remained silent thus far because I decided it was most appropriate to follow the words of the two of you. But His Majesty the Emperor is already exhausted from the requests for audience and appeals that come up every single day. So now… you two will have to find a way to put an end to this situation.”

Count Granite’s attitude was stark.

Although he was talking to a prince and a duke, as the guardian of the imperial throne, he only took orders from the current emperor. As such, Raven and Ian were grateful that he even followed their words.

“Of course, we will. Now, then…”

Ian nodded while turning his head.

“From now on, this is your stage, Duke Pendragon.”

Count Granite’s eyes also came to rest on Raven.

It was then...

“Your Highness Ian! Your Excellency Granite!”

A royal guard shouted in a loud voice from outside the door. Ian responded with a frown, taken aback by the unexpected situation.

“What is it? If it is not urgent, then…”

“It is urgent!”

“Hmm? Come in.”

With Ian’s permission, the royal guard quickly entered the room and fell on one knee.

“The army of the Great Territory of Alice left their fortress and are headed south!”

“What!?”

Ian sprang up from his seat. Raven also narrowed his eyes at the unexpected story.

“Their current location is the Great Territory of Seyrod! Their final destination is believed to be the Pendragon Duchy!”

“…..!”

Ian and Count Granite immediately turned towards Raven.

Although his eyes quivered, it was brief.

“There are many knights in the Pendragon Duchy. They are like dragons and tigers. If it is them, they will hold out until I finish my work in the imperial castle.”

Raven spoke calmly while recalling the faces of his knights, including Isla, Killian, and Vincent. They were as good knights as he believed, or even more than that.

***

“…..!”

The palace of Conrad Castle fell into silence. The nobles were shocked speechless as they recalled what they had just heard.

Count Louvre of the Great Territory of Alice had brought all his men and mercenaries, and he was just around the corner of the duchy after passing through the Great Territory of Seyrod?

“M, my lady…”

Everyone’s gazes shifted towards Elena at someone’s words. With the absence of the duke, she was the one responsible for making decisions. Although she was as shocked by the nobles gathered in the palace, Elena quickly regained her composure and spoke in a determined voice.

“Since the High Lord of Alice led his army to our duchy, there is only one action we can take. Sir Killian.”

“Yes, my duchess!”

 Killian stepped up and knelt on one knee as if he had been waiting.

“I delegate all military lights to you as the head knight of the Pendragon Duchy. If a single soldier of Alice’s high lord so much as take a single step into the duchy, do not forgive them. And Sir Vincent.”

“Please give me your orders.”

Vincent stepped up and knelt beside Killian.

“As the duchy’s advisor, assist Sir Killian while observing the situation in the Great Territory of Seyrod and of the other nobles. His Excellency Seyrod would not have opened the way for Alice to attack us without reason.”

“I will fulfil your orders.”

Vincent bowed.

“Sirs, control the residents and reassure them. Until the duke returns, we must all fulfil our duties and responsibilities in our respective positions.”

Elena had always been kind and soft, but her voice was now stern and powerful. As the mistress of the Pendragon Duchy, she overcame numerous storms. Her experiences were now revealing their value.

“As the duchess wishes!”

Everyone in the palace bowed their heads. The Pendragon Duchy was facing its biggest crisis in nearly a decade.

***

“Is something going on?”

Serin asked after seeing the people of the castle moving around busily.

“Ah, Lady Reiner.”

A royal guard bowed before continuing.

“The High Lord of Alice arrived in front of the duchy with his army. It is the first military provocation by another territory… But there is no need to worry too much. As always, the foolish do not know or underestimate the power of us Pendragon…”

The royal guard spoke in a lengthy manner, attempting to reassure the lady who would soon become Isla’s wife.

“I see. I hope everything works out well.”

“What? Ah, yes…”

The guard was rather startled by her response. Any ordinary girl would have been frightened, but she was answering casually as if it were none of her business.

“Then…”

Serin silently bowed the soldier, then returned to her residence with her maids.

“Call Sir Plain. All of you can leave now.”

“Yes, my lady…”

The maids left the room with their heads lowered. For some reason, Serin’s voice felt cold to them. Soon, Gus Plain, the 7th regiment knight who accompanied her to the duchy, entered her residence by himself.

All too naturally, he knelt on one knee and bowed his head after arriving in front of her.

“It’s time.”

Even though it was mid-summer, an even colder voice flowed from her lips along with white precipitation.

“Everything as the Queen’s will.”

He responded in a voice that was all too similar to a crow’s, a voice of the dead. His words flowed like the funeral song of the dead.