Chapter 40
Chapter 40
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 40
Chapter Title: The Grand Duke's Banquet
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The servant guided the three of them down to the audience chamber on the lower floor.
"Come on in!"
As soon as they descended, a stout man draped in an extravagantly ornate robe sprang to his feet and shouted.
Robert Akita,
Grand Duke Robert of Akten was old and frail, and no one remained by his side.
His talented eldest daughter, who had been his heir, had fallen on the battlefield, and after that, the whereabouts of his two remaining sons had been unknown for years.
Rumor had it that they had a fierce argument with their father over their sister's death and abandoned the family.
Thus, all that stayed by the old lord's side were sycophants eager to extract something from him.
"We are grateful for your kindness."
But such matters were of no concern to Lennox Carlyle. He hadn't come here for the lord of Akten.
"Kindness, what kindness!"
Even to Lennox's soulless pleasantry, Grand Duke Robert of Akten beamed endlessly and welcomed him.
"Stay as long as you like—no need to feel burdened."
Robert gave a subtle glance to the servants standing by, then led Lennox's group out again.
"Now, this way. I've prepared seats for you."
The duke seemed eager to show off his guests to the attendants following behind.
Robert led their group to the lower floor.
The lower level, draped in red curtains and lavishly decorated, served as a small banquet hall, where several guests had already arrived.
As they entered, the people in the banquet hall rose from their seats all at once, the sound of chairs scraping against the floor filling the air.
The atmosphere was tense and chaotic, with everyone appearing somewhat on edge.
Hardin, whose expressions rarely changed, showed no reaction, but Jude blew a low whistle while glancing at his lord.
The Grand Duke of Akten's intentions were obvious.
He clearly wanted to boast about his connection to the northern duke in front of his vassals.
'That's probably all he has to brag about.'
Jude wore a pitying expression for a moment, but as far as he knew, his lord, Duke Carlyle, despised being used in such ways.
However, contrary to Jude's expectations, Lennox quietly took the seat next to the Grand Duke without a word, as offered.
Hardin and Jude, looking somewhat disappointed, had no choice but to sit as well. Jude quietly pouted.
At the lord's command, the musicians began to play, and glasses were filled.
After some idle chatter, Robert patted Duke Carlyle's shoulder familiarly, as if he were the father himself.
"Your late father and I were very close. So feel free to think of me as a father figure."
Lennox knew that if his father were alive, he would never associate with someone like Robert Akita. But he saw no need to point that out.
"Ahem."
A middle-aged man among those seated in the banquet hall cleared his throat awkwardly, eyeing the lord.
"Ah, forgive my manners. Right, I have someone to introduce."
No sooner had he spoken than the man who had cleared his throat approached and introduced himself.
"It's an honor to meet you, Your Highness.
I'm Viscount Kaiman."
Kaiman was an ambitious man.
So ambitious, in fact, that he flattered the old, cunning Grand Duke of Akten while biding his time.
He captured rare magical beasts and sold them in the arenas, kidnapped subhumans and auctioned them off, and a hefty portion of the profits from the Red Wheel Guild flowed straight to Robert Akita.
Slavery was illegal under imperial law, but the empire's laws held little sway in the east.
The nominal ruler of the east, the Grand Duke of Akten, turned a blind eye to all these crimes in exchange for gold.
But Kaiman had gone to such lengths to curry favor with the Grand Duke in hopes of using him to connect with other nobles.
And his expectations were rewarded—on a scale far grander than he had imagined.
'Duke Carlyle, of all people.'
When Robert Akita casually dropped the name of the northern millennium house, Kaiman couldn't believe it.
It was too astonishing. He wouldn't have been this shocked even if the emperor himself had arrived.
But after a few rounds of drinks and as the alcohol took hold, Viscount Kainan's tension eased, and his mind grew lax.
'Rumors are just that—unreliable.'
Kaiman eyed Lennox at the head table with a relaxed gaze.
'That green little brat.
So arrogant.'
If Kaiman had married early, the boy would be about his son's age.
The moment he laid eyes on Duke Carlyle for the first time, Viscount Kaiman couldn't help but be surprised.
...That was the Duke Carlyle?
He was certainly a strikingly handsome man, hard to forget once seen.
When he heard tales of the legendary feats achieved before turning thirty, Viscount Kaiman had naturally imagined a giant over two meters tall.
Even allowing for exaggeration, he had somewhat admired him as a fellow warrior.
Yet before his eyes stood a young man not yet thirty, with the kind of looks that would make court ladies swoon.
His balanced posture and tall, stately build were undoubtedly the result of years of sword training.
But the impact of that impeccably refined face, stark as if drawn in black and white, overshadowed everything else.
And those red eyes were somehow eerie.
'Hmph. His Grace the noble duke, eh.'
The unexpectedly aristocratic appearance irked him for no reason.
Moreover, there was one decisive factor that provoked Kaiman the most.
No sword.
A knight's sword, which should be cherished like one's life.
Only the two knights who appeared to be the duke's escorts were armed.
Though Kaiman posed as a viscount, like many of the east's numerous upstart nobles, he had bought his title with money after rolling in the back alleys.
The east operated more on guild and underworld power than imperial law, and surviving such harsh environs gave Kaiman a strong sense of pride in himself.
He envied nobles above all else, yet hated them too.
Even the Grand Duke of Akten before him was a case in point.
A century ago, House Akita might have ruled the east, but now, in their impoverishment, they sold knighthoods to anyone with a chest of gold.
Viscount Kaiman exploited the old, frail Grand Duke Robert Akita to the fullest while subtly looking down on him.
Even blue-blooded nobles were the same in the face of power and money.
So weren't those who built their positions from nothing, through their own strength alone, superior?
The young upstart was no different.
Just another finely raised young master, full of superficial flair, shunning the sword under the excuse that it was too heavy.
As the alcohol kicked in, once that thought surfaced, it snowballed.
Viscount Kaiman began to find everything about the young Duke Carlyle—who was surely younger than him—thoroughly displeasing.
A pretty face passed off as nobility, benefiting from lucky bloodline.
No doubt he had seized the merits of his inferiors through his status.
Without ever getting his hands dirty with blood.
But in the next moment, as Lennox Carlyle's gaze briefly brushed past him, Viscount Kaiman flinched and quickly composed his expression.
At that point, the appropriately tipsy Grand Duke of Akten spoke up.
"By the way, Kaiman, I hear your guild members are searching for someone in Akten lately?"
"Ah, yes. It's nothing for Your Grace to worry about.
Ha ha."
Mentioning the search for the mysterious spirit user would inevitably lead to the story of the werewolf he had illegally captured.
Wanting to leave a good impression before the duke, Viscount Kaiman brushed it off suggestively.
But the booze-addled Grand Duke of Akten lacked any tact.
"What's the matter? I can help however I can—just tell me!"
Robert Akita seemed eager to flaunt his authority before the young northern duke.
"Ah, it's nothing serious."
Viscount Kaiman bowed with a servile smile and reluctantly spilled.
"Some wench showed up and caused trouble while transporting the merchant caravan's goods."
The Grand Duke of Akten clicked his tongue in mock pity.
"Tch. Quite the bold wench. So, did you catch her?"
"Not yet, but no need to worry. Where could a thing like that run to? She'll pay dearly for touching Your Grace's merchandise."
Pleased by Kainan's flattery, Robert boasted needlessly.
"No, no! That makes it all the more something I can't ignore! Your business is my business, after all."
"Your Grace needn't concern himself greatly. She's so distinctive that catching her is only a matter of time."
"A matter of time?"
"Ah, well..."
Kaiman hesitated for a moment.
But confirming all eyes—save for the arrogant duke's—were on him, his mood lifted, and he finally spoke.
"She's a rare one with wicked talents, so we'll find her soon enough."
"Wicked talents? What do you mean?"
"Well... she's a spirit user who commands butterfly beasts."
"!"
At those words, not only the other guests in the banquet hall, but even Jude—who had been bored to death—and the silently seated Hardin snapped their heads up.
Emboldened by the stirred reactions, Kaiman puffed up with arrogance.
"I'm not sure if Your Grace knows, but spirit users aren't that rare a sight in our east."
In truth, Kaiman had only met two in his life. But that hardly mattered now.
Baron Hilben, seizing the opportunity, quickly chimed in.
"I remember her features clearly, so there'll be no trouble finding her, Grand Duke."
"Ahem."
"Indeed, vast as the east may be, it's still within my palm!"
Robert Akita lifted his glass, clearly satisfied with the situation.
"A spirit user, you say?"
In that instant, the air turned icy.
Duke Carlyle, who had guarded his seat with a bored expression throughout the banquet, finally showed interest.
Forgotten Juliet