The Duke's Hearing (Part 2)
The geniuses known as mages, who failed to surpass the 7th Circle wall, had been stagnant for decades.
Just like knights who, after reaching the pinnacle of Aura Expert, could not take that single step to Aura Master and often collapsed.
Because of this, the title of Grand Mage and Aura Master was something bestowed by the heavens.
Any kingdom would use even a dukedom and its territory to lure them.
“Your Highness, Luke Win Lheinhatz, Second Prince of the Lheinhatz Kingdom, greets you.”
The average age for a knight to achieve Aura Master was fifty.
In that sense, the Second Prince who had become an Aura Master at the young age of thirty-three was a genius among geniuses when it came to the sword.
‘Of course, not on the level of the true genius Olivia Riberdale, Duchess of the Lucias Kingdom, who became a Grand Mage at twenty-three.’
Anyhow, Luke, the Second Prince, was a member of royalty who had proven his own ability rather than simply by bloodline.
Thanks to that, he was a figure of tremendous popularity among young nobles and knights.
The line of succession to the throne was second.
The first in line was the Crown Prince, born to the queen.
Since Luke was born to a concubine, he had been pushed behind in the succession line regardless of his abilities.
But while he was officially second in line, his power was not lacking compared to the Crown Prince’s.
No, thanks to the support of the knights, one could even say he held a slight edge over the Crown Prince.
“You noticed immediately. As expected, you are a Grand Mage.”
“Indeed, you possess an extraordinary aura. However, I recognized Your Highness from the broadcast many times. If one does not know the Second Prince in this country, must they not be a spy?”
Excluding the old king, I had to face those vying for the Crown Prince’s position and the throne.
Naturally, my actions had to remain cautious.
I and Baron Walker lowered our heads in greeting.
Arsia beside me did the same, sensing the mood.
“Raise your head.”
Was my reply satisfactory?
Good to say, it was a bold and, to put it bluntly, unnecessarily loud voice that echoed through the Auditor General’s office.
Upon the prince’s permission, I raised my head and, finally, could thoroughly examine the information with Mankyung.
[Luke Win Lheinhatz, Prince / Aura Master]
Species: Human
Age: 35
Affiliation: Second Prince of the Lheinhatz Royal Family / Commander of the Second Royal Knights
Talent: Aura (Top), Physical (High), Learning (Mid), Intelligence (Mid), Command (Mid), Administration (Mid)
Characteristics: Enhanced Strength, Arrogant Leader
Relationship: Interested / Hostile Faction
Status: Observing / Intrigued
Not a bad set of stats.
As expected for an Aura Master, the abilities were impressive.
Yet I was puzzled to see that Luke, despite having only one top-tier talent while Walker possessed three high-tier ones, was not at the level of his reputation.
After all, I had thought of him as a genius among geniuses.
But if he could become an Aura Master at this level, he could elevate every aspiring mage and knight at the Academy to Aura Master and Grand Mage.
‘Ah, perhaps….’
But soon I immediately identified the difference between everyone at the Academy and the Second Prince.
Simply put, the environment.
Luke was not only royalty but also from the Anheim Dukedom, a noble house that dominated the Lheinhatz Kingdom.
Since childhood, he had grown eating rare medicines and pills under the guidance of an Aura Master, so one could not compare him to ordinary knights.
“Are you gauging my level? Despite the polite tone, you are quite arrogant.”
“There is no such thing. How could I commit treason against Your Highness?”
Was royal bloodline really that much of a privilege?
Despite reading my thoughts, Luke did not pursue it further since I accepted it calmly.
“Hahaha! You have quite the talent for hiding your expressions. Do you have aptitude for politics as well?”
But his sudden laugh left me unsure whether to laugh along or observe.
I simply lowered my head again, saying I was sorry.
“I plan to conduct this investigation myself. Is that acceptable?”
“If it is the decision of the Auditor General, I will naturally obey.”
My gaze turned to the Auditor General, Duke Hamilton.
He nodded and replied.
“No problems. This time, the investigation will be led by His Highness the Prince.”
“Understood.”
Luke’s eyes narrowed slightly at my exchange with Duke Hamilton.
[Status: Observing / Displeased]
‘Huh?’
Seeing his status change, I was puzzled for a moment, but soon understood the situation and sighed inwardly.
‘So he had to get an additional confirmation from the Auditor General, and that’s why he’s displeased?’
It was only natural from my perspective.
I had to confirm that this investigation was official.
Otherwise, they would always have a pretext to summon us again whenever it suited their taste.
The characteristic ‘Arrogant Leader’ attached to him was now clearly reflected in his personality.
‘The size of a bear is not enough to make him petty.’
Since there was no use in blushing in front of Luke, I lowered my head again to appease his mood.
“I apologize for my rudeness. Somehow I ended up confirming Your Highness’s words again. I am still young and lacking in many ways.”
“What, do I have to apologize for everything?”
“Thank you for saying so.”
By mentioning his age, I made him seem reasonable.
After all, no one knew that my growth environment was abnormal.
“Then, let’s begin.”
The subsequent investigation was nothing special.
After all, our side had an extremely strong position.
Naturally, Luke could not find any flaws in my claims and accepted them as they were.
“It does seem reasonable. From Lawrence Manor’s perspective, there was no other way.”
“H, but because of this, only the Raven Change Duke’s side will suffer one-sided losses…”
“Hmm, no matter how much of a surprise attack, this is clearly a territorial war. When war begins, one must remember that unexpected damage can occur. Are you saying Lawrence Baronet should have lost unilaterally?”
“I apologize. I made a mistake.”
I had been worried about the hostile faction designation between us, but he proved surprisingly fair.
At times, he drove the Auditor General staff to tears with his thorough neutrality.
After about an hour of investigation, with no more questions left, Luke assumed it was over and, tapping the table twice with his finger to gather everyone’s attention, stated his position.
“The investigation seems meaningless. There is nothing to charge us with.”
I breathed a sigh of relief inwardly.
Luke had maintained his composure until the end.
“Your Highness, Prince Lawrence deliberately killed his half-brother and the lord’s wife.”
Even Duke Hamilton, who could not bear it, added a word, but Luke remained adamant.
“Just looking at the documents here, their crimes are more than enough for execution. Is it not rather expensive for the funeral of losers who overestimated their own abilities?”
“But the Raven Change Duke is quite powerful in our camp…”
Duke Hamilton tried to say something more, but Luke whispered to him.
The problem was that I and Arsia, who were superhumans, could hear that whisper clearly.
Now it was clear that the main members of the Auditor General, including Duke Hamilton, were aligned with the Second Prince.
And the Raven Change Duke was also part of the Second Prince faction.
The reason the relationship between Luke and me was listed as hostile was due to the Raven Change Duke, not his own will.
‘My first impression was bad, but perhaps he’s not a bad person after all?’
Naturally, my reaction was inevitable.
His personality was somewhat arrogant, but not evil.
Perhaps that arrogance was only natural for a prince.
“Are you trying to force me now? Enough. The talk is over.”
“Unfortunately, I understand.”
Duke Hamilton also did not seem willing to keep arguing with the prince, so he withdrew his stance with a helpless expression.
“Since I dislike roundabout talk, let me get to the main point.”
“I am listening.”
But from the beginning, Luke had not attached much significance to the investigation.
From the sudden mention of the ‘main point’, it was clear he had come here for another purpose.
This meant that even the good image he had shown during the investigation could have been calculated behavior.
“I am competing with my brother for the throne. Currently, the power of both sides is balanced. Your appearance has caused a stir.”
The Crown Prince already had the title of heir.
But now that the Second Prince had become an Aura Master, the heir’s title had become meaningless.
The Second Prince side was advocating for a re-examination of the heir’s title, and its effect was enough to leave the king troubled.
Although the two sides were balanced, the fact that the Second Prince had risen so far despite the Crown Prince holding the legitimacy of the heir meant the tide had completely shifted.
For the time being, they were even, but the power balance was unstable and could flip at any moment.
“Especially the Raven Change Duke is one of my main forces. Yet you have not fully broken his strength.”
“I apologize.”
“Ah, I am not blaming you specifically. As I said earlier, the incident with the Raven Change Duke is entirely his fault. But if my brother approaches Prince Lawrence, a small dispute could spread into a big one. So, before my brother intervenes, I plan to reach out first.”
Even if the Raven Change Duke’s power had been halved, it would not affect the overall situation.
But the problem was my and Arsia’s sudden appearance, as if dropped from the sky.
We had not only personal abilities but also resources.
The forces we would build from now on were enough to break the balance of the two tense camps.
If we sided with the Crown Prince, Luke would be in trouble, and if we joined Luke, we would drive a stake into his rising momentum.
Especially since Arsia and I held the title of bringing the kingdom’s future alongside our respective forces, we were a win-win presence even in external propaganda.
So it was perhaps inevitable that he would make this proposal.
“I am not yet ready to enter politics. Most importantly, the title has not yet been conferred.”
“Since the title has not been conferred, it holds even greater meaning.”
“Huh?”
“If you take my hand, as a Grand Mage, I will use my power to help you obtain the title of Duke, adding the merits of the previous war.”
At Luke’s proposal, I had to open my eyes wide.
Among the five ranks—marquis, duke, count, viscount, baron—the most famous would surely be the count.
The reason was that counts were considered high nobles, along with dukes and grand lords.
There were barely over a thousand viscounts and barons combined, but only twenty-two counts.
So even obtaining just the count title would make me and Arsia a powerful figure with immense influence in the kingdom.
But among the top two ranks in the five, the duke and marquis held far more weight than the count, despite both being great nobles.
In the Lheinhatz Kingdom, there were only two ducal houses and five marquisates.
“Is that possible?”
“It would not be easy originally. But I can make it happen. The territory… yes, Marinkopf would be good.”
Marinkopf was a major city in northern and central Lheinhatz, one of the five fingers of the kingdom’s royal domain besides the capital.
Its location between Lawrence Manor and the capital made it perfect.
Thanks to that, my plan to embed the neutral gear had shaken.
Although there was nothing to be gained from the power struggle, the bait he threw was too big.