“Duke Altia, we’ll be arriving at the Palatio marquis’s estate soon.”

“Got it.”

At the secretary’s notice, Duke Altia turned her gaze to the outside of the carriage.

The full view of the marquis’s estate coming into sight.

Compared to when she’d stopped by briefly for work a few years ago, it had developed on a completely different level—

and Duke Altia let out an exclamation without realizing it.

Even so, a thought rose in her mind: ‘Of course.’

Who was the Palatio marquis?

The head of Kalpa, the single largest faction in Asteria.

On top of that, the countless nicknames and rumors he possessed were so tremendous they were enough to fade even the title “head of Kalpa.”

And his achievements were countless as well.

Feats no mere human could possibly pile up.

And he didn’t have just one or two of those, but several?

If it was the territory of someone like that, it naturally ought to be splendid.

From that perspective.

The marquis’s territory almost felt like it was showing the Palatio marquis’s frugality.

Even if it was a massive territory that drew everyone’s admiration, in front of the feats the Palatio marquis had built, it would still be lacking.

“......”

Altia let out a breath with an excited expression.

For about the next three weeks.

She would be spending busy days in all sorts of ways.

Because of the reason she had come over to the Palatio marquis’s estate this time.

The vote to choose the marquis’s partner.

And participating as a candidate in it.

‘It’s going to be an extremely hard fight, but I have to do my best.’

After passing through the estate’s main gate and looking over the inside of the territory, Duke Altia made a small vow in her heart.

On the way here, she had already gathered the rough information.

Starting with what kind of people had run as candidates for the marquis’s partner—and what sort of relationship those candidates had with the marquis.

Of course, it wasn’t going to be an easy fight.

Duke Altia of Asteria—also called Kalpa’s right-hand—held a social standing that wouldn’t lose to anyone.

However, the other candidates were the same.

Of course, for some of them, even when she gathered information, nothing much came out—but that didn’t mean she could let her guard down.

In the first place, if someone had formed ties with the Palatio marquis, there was no way they were a “normal person” in a good sense.

Still, even so.

Paradoxically, it wasn’t an unfavorable fight.

In the end, the key to this fight was the vote.

To put it simply—

winning votes from the territory residents would decide victory or defeat in this fight, and there was no room for the candidates’ relationship with the Palatio marquis to intervene there.

Meaning, even if Duke Altia wasn’t in as deep a relationship with the marquis as they were, she could start on the same line.

More than anything, Altia had confidence in her own way.

She had been running Kalpa, Asteria’s largest faction, up to now.

Of course, it had been convenient in many ways thanks to leaning on the Palatio marquis’s stature but in any case, the point was this.

She had operated Kalpa as the biggest faction without any problems, all the way until now.

In other words, she was used to fights like this to a certain extent.

So.

“Did you finish all the preparations I told you to do?”

“Yes, everything is complete.”

Confidence rose across Duke Altia’s face.

While recalling one by one the things she had to do during her stay at the marquis’s estate, she hardened her resolve.

And.

Even through that night, Duke Altia’s confidence didn’t drop.

...Yes, until the next day came.

“...So, what is that supposed to be?”

Duke Altia stared at the ones who kept pouring in through the marquis’s estate’s north gate.

Clergy dressed in pure-white holy robes, entering reverently, one after another.

“They say it’s a pilgrimage group from Rosario. Th-this time, the marquis’s estate newly built a church, so—”

“I know.”

Duke Altia answered blankly.

It wasn’t that she didn’t know.

She’d already finished her advance investigation, so she knew at least that a pilgrimage group would come using the church as an excuse.

...Even so, Duke Altia couldn’t help being shocked.

Just the number of pilgrims she could see—

“...How many do you think that is?”

“If we’re unlucky, it looks like it could easily go over a thousand.”

“Th-that— does that make sense?”

It wasn’t a scale you could call “coming because a church was built,” not at all.

“......”

Duke Altia’s head started spinning.

Of course, even if the pilgrimage group’s headcount easily exceeded a thousand—

even if all of them participated in the vote—

when she thought of the number of residents in the marquis’s territory, it wasn’t an overwhelming scale.

But what if Cardinal Yutia pulled those pilgrims into this fight in earnest?

In many ways, the odds were high that it would turn into a fight that wasn’t easy.

No, it wasn’t just that.

An overwhelmingly unfavorable fight.

That enormous struggle would be waiting for Duke Altia.

“......”

Duke Altia sighed while gripping her forehead, but her resolve didn’t break.

Even though the situation had clearly gotten worse, in a certain sense, it could even be an opportunity.

In a competition where only one winner survives, if someone who is overwhelmingly close to victory appears, the other competitors start banding together to drag that one person down.

So Duke Altia tore down the plan she had already set up, and made a new plan.

The next day.

“...What is that?”

“They look like fighters.”

“...I know that. I don’t know how they got here from Karmakses so fast. But what I’m curious about is... were there that many members in the Guild of Golden Flash...?”

Duke Altia saw another massive crowd.

Just like the pilgrims she’d seen yesterday, a tremendous number of fighters poured in.

“...I also don’t really—”

Even the secretary couldn’t answer.

Duke Altia let out a sigh and steadied herself.

It’s still, it’s still okay— she told herself.

And then the next day after that.

“...Elves?”

“...They’re elves.”

“All that... is all of that elves?”

“Yes, they’re elves.”

And then again, the next day.

“What is that again—”

“...After urgently obtaining information from the information guild, it seems they’re the forces of one of the four great powers, the White Ghost Gang.”

“...That’s really a lot.”

“It is....”

She stared blankly at the central plaza.

The center of the Palatio marquis’s estate, the place where a gigantic statue stood.

There, the pilgrims, the fighters, and the White Ghost Gang’s forces—all of them were staring at each other and waging a war of nerves.

“...Should I go home.”

Watching with her own two eyes as the Palatio marquis’s estate turned into an inhuman hellscape in only a few days, Duke Altia murmured without realizing it.

...It was finally a voice fallen into despair.

####

“Your Highness, we’ll be arriving soon.”

“...Is that so.”

Caliban’s First Prince Tolenis listened to the knight commander and recalled the order from his father, the king, Palmarian.

‘Go to Divine Land and come back after listening to the Palatio marquis’s intentions.’

His father had been deadly serious.

Tolenis frowned at Divine Land, visible far off in the distance.

“......”

Divine Land’s outward appearance didn’t look strange.

It was simply a camp so huge it was unbelievable.

However, it only looked that way on the surface.

If you thought about it just a little, you could find the strange points without much difficulty.

Even though they had settled here, they kept this land only in the form of a ‘camp’?

Tolenis could infer without difficulty what that meant.

“...Tsk.”

Tolenis wasn’t the only one who reached that thought.

After getting down from the carriage and turning his gaze, he could see people who had arrived here before him.

All of them were staring at Divine Land with hardened expressions.

Tolenis took each of them in ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) with his eyes.

‘Ashtalon and Colony sent their first princes, Raksas sent a princess, and Asteria is... the king’s chief steward.’

In Asteria’s case, considering that Kritenia Siyan had no children, he thought it was a representative he could fully understand—only for a moment.

“Welcome. That person is waiting.”

Because of the knight who appeared among them, the representatives of each kingdom couldn’t help stiffening their faces.

The knight bowed his head politely and offered courtesy.

But he didn’t show any more courtesy than that.

The courtesy Allied Kingdoms’ knights should show to every king without exception—this knight of Divine Land didn’t show it.

The princes moved while keeping their faces stiff, following the knight.

And along with that, Tolenis naturally started receiving the gazes of the soldiers and knights.

It was the same for the other royals.

And their expressions hardened even further.

Because it wasn’t hard to grasp the emotion contained in the soldiers’ and knights’ gazes.

No, it would have been strange not to feel it.

Soldiers who had been training just a moment ago.

But now, all of them had stopped and were staring at them.

Even the knights training them were the same.

...As if probing an enemy.

Walking after the young knight under those unpleasant gazes, they realized one fact.

Maybe, this place was already enemy territory.

After moving for a while more under those heavy gazes, they arrived at the place where the largest tent was set up.

“He is waiting.”

With the knight’s guidance, they carefully stepped into the tent.

And soon, there—

“All of you have come.”

they could see the Palatio marquis.

The marquis, with that characteristic emotionless expression, greeting the princes and the princess.

####

Alon sat in the reception room and swept his gaze over the princes’ and the princess’s expressions.

The ones glaring at him with visibly tense faces.

‘...The atmosphere is bad.’

Realizing it while looking at them, Alon let out a sigh in his heart.

To be honest, he still didn’t understand why the kings had accepted his invitation.

But now that things had turned out like this, it would be ridiculous for him to openly ask, ‘Why did you accept my invitation, anyway?’

“Hmhm-”

Alon decided to make one thing clear first.

“First, I’ll tell you this: I have no intention of invading other kingdoms or waging war. I’d like you to keep that in mind.”

It might be a little out of the blue.

But Alon thought these words were absolutely necessary.

He was going to declare first that he wouldn’t do what the kings were wary of, and lower the heavy atmosphere at least a little.

In fact, it wasn’t that Alon’s words had no effect—the tense air eased slightly.

More precisely, it would be accurate to say they were looking at Alon with a feeling of slight uncertainty.

‘Should I toss out a joke here, even.’

Alon thought for a moment.

Since he truly had no intention of starting a war, he had an obligation to end this invitation on a good note.

Around the time he was thinking that—

“May I ask one thing.”

“Go ahead.”

Someone opened at the perfect timing.

It was Tolenis.

“I heard you were granted territory, but may I ask why you’re operating it in this form?”

“That’s—”

Alon debated how to answer, then decided to say it as it was.

In a way, it was also Divine Land’s weakness.

And he judged that by revealing a weakness, he might earn trust.

So.

“It’s a financial problem. I originally meant to start small, but somehow unfortunate things piled up and the number of people increased. It’s a very troublesome situation.”

“I see—”

“Yes, that’s right.”

He answered as sincerely as he could, and looked at those gathered.

“I’m doing my best to operate it without sponsorship.”

With an expressionless face, even letting out a light laugh—

but then.

Despite Alon’s effort to ease the mood by revealing a weakness, the atmosphere in the reception room turned into a funeral even more than before, and Alon, watching the room, quietly swallowed the hahaha sound he’d been making with a blank face.

...A heavy silence began.