The Shining Star Above The Heaven-Chapter 526: Grand Duke Flamecrest’s Suspicion

A month ago, Aldrery received a summons from the imperial palace, which puzzled him at the time, as it was not a common occurrence. He felt he had done nothing to warrant such attention from the imperial family, but of course, he obeyed the order.

However, once he met the emperor in his private study and the topic turned to Aldrian—and how the emperor knew about him being Aldrian’s father—he was immediately struck with fear. His face turned pale, and countless negative thoughts about the emperor’s possible opinions filled his mind.

He couldn’t help thinking that way, given his and Irene’s family history, and the fact that they were from different empires.

Yet, to his surprise, the emperor seemed entirely unbothered by it. He even expressed support, going so far as to laugh and thank him for his great merit, simply because he was Aldrian’s father.

He was then told that the emperor of the Doria Empire, Emperor Durand, also already knew about Aldrian’s origin—something he had already known because Aldrian had told him.

Now it became clearer why Emperor Herman did not seem to mind that Aldrian had been born from a woman of another empire, even one from a rival family.

In the end, Emperor Herman clearly had his own interests, and they were not far from the benefit of keeping Aldrian on the empire’s side. He could already imagine that the emperor did not want to lose Aldrian to the Doria Empire by letting him side with his mother’s family and choose to inherit from them.

Because of that, Emperor Herman was actively prioritizing the Flamecrest family to show goodwill toward Aldrian.

On several occasions, the imperial family also deliberately brought up Aldrian in front of the grand duke and himself. It was an effort to let the Grand Duke of Flamecrest better understand Aldrian’s character and qualities beyond just his powerful strength.

They then always portrayed Aldrey as a remarkable son who had brought great benefit to the empire by drawing Aldrian and the imperial family closer.

Aldrey sighed as he looked at how far the emperor was going to show his support for him and his family, all so that Aldrian might choose his father’s side if he decided to inherit. Even the emperor himself had come to this battlefield—something that made the situation truly out of the ordinary, even with the appearance of the Gluttony Devil.

A day ago after the devils attacked some of the places near the border, the Flamecrest family planning to intercepted a group of devils that want to attack the town near this place. But they A day ago, after the devils attacked several locations near the border, the Flamecrest family began planning to intercept a group of devils targeting a nearby town. However, they did not expect the emperor himself to arrive, offering his help and stating that the appearance of Gluttony had to be taken seriously.

With him came a few of his generals and a flying fortress—an impressive show of force that would serve as a strong deterrent, enough to keep the Gluttony Devil from acting recklessly.

Grand Duke Flamecrest could not outright reject the emperor’s offer, so he agreed to let the imperial forces participate as support. They would only intervene if the Gluttony Devil appeared on the battlefield.

If the Flamecrest relied on the imperial forces to handle every ’puny’ devil, it would only damage the Flamecrest family’s prestige.

Still, the emperor could have simply sent a few of his generals to assist them—but no, he came in person, bringing his family’s divine-grade artifact. That alone was more than enough to show everyone that the Flamecrest family was truly important and viewed differently from other noble houses in the emperor’s eyes. Aldrey was genuinely grateful for the emperor’s support in this matter.

However, the problem was that it was too conspicuous. It was blatant favoritism, and his father sensed that there was more to it than met the eye. Aldrey knew then that his father had finally grown suspicious, as the imperial family’s treatment had become too excessive, especially with the emperor’s personal involvement in the battle.

Grand Duke Flamecrest arrived with a group of imperial generals, followed by the flying fortress, which landed beside the battlefield.

He then landed near his son and Emperor Herman, before gave the emperor a slight bow.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your assistance. We would have faced great difficulty confronting the Gluttony Devil without your help," Grand Duke Flamecrest said.

Emperor Herman smiled at the words and waved a hand.

"Aish, it’s nothing. Isn’t it also my duty to stop the devils’ wicked plans? This is just my way of doing so. You don’t need to feel burdened by it," he said.

Grand Duke Flamecrest nodded in understanding, but inwardly, he still had doubts about the emperor’s treatment of the Flamecrest family. This had already gone far beyond what he considered normal—something many would clearly see as favoritism from the emperor. Other noble families would likely think the same and begin to question what was truly going through the emperor’s mind.

After the incident involving the devils’ scheme and the fall of Boraz Fortress, the Flamecrest family’s name had risen sharply—even surpassing the imperial family. Normally, that would not be entirely favorable, as it was uncertain how the imperial family might react.

However, contrary to the assumptions of some high-ranking nobles, the imperial family had become even more supportive of the Flamecrest family. There was no indication of any move suggesting they would "not lose."

Instead, they appeared to draw even closer to the Flamecrest family—as if it was the imperial family that had stepped back, and they were the ones who needed the Flamecrest family. At least, that was how it looked from the perspective of some noble families and Grand Duke Flamecrest himself.

Grand Duke Flamecrest knew this treatment had something to do with Aldrian. That man seemed to have considerable influence within the imperial family.

Aldrian said the imperial family would not give the Flamecrest family trouble and would even reward them. That was exactly what happened, as the Flamecrest family received rewards for their "achievement," which were actually thanks to Aldrian.

Grand Duke Flamecrest knew his son had a close connection to Aldrian and because of that relationship, the Flamecrest family had also benefited. frёewebnoѵēl.com

If that connection could benefit the family, then he would also feel proud that his son had formed his own ties—especially with someone the imperial family truly placed on a pedestal and who could even influence them.

But for the emperor himself to appear with his forces to show support—that was beyond anything he had expected. Even if Aldrian could influence the imperial family’s treatment of the Flamecrest family, this level of involvement was excessive.

Was it truly only because Aldrian and Aldrey were close?

Was it solely Aldrian’s words that moved the imperial family?

No, he thought, there must be something deeper—something he did not yet know.

Grand Duke Flamecrest began to think about everything that had happened between his family and Aldrian, or more specifically, Aldrey’s relationship with Aldrian.

If he thought about it, no matter how close Aldrian was to Aldrey, there was no need for Aldrian to do everything that caused the Flamecrest family’s name to rise higher as it had. Aldrian was the one who destroyed Boraz Fortress, but the Flamecrest family was the one that got the credit.

That was not truly necessary, as even without that, the Flamecrest name would still have been high—and even though the devils had tried to smear it, it only revealed that it was a devil’s ploy.

At one point, he had already asked his son about his closeness to Aldrian, which was even deeper than he had thought. Since when had he had someone like Aldrian as a friend? For him, Aldrian had appeared out of nowhere—suddenly close to his son, and he knew Aldrey was never truly close to anyone outside of his family.

As a noble and the son of the grand duke, Aldrey had never had a true friend because he felt those who tried to approach him were not sincere in their friendship. The grand duke knew this because Aldrey had told him in the past.

But his son’s answer regarding Aldrian was that he met Aldrian not long after he got out of the Everlasting Silent Forest. He said it was because Aldrian had given him a helping hand after he was trapped inside the secret realm for so long. He felt grateful for that, and they became close since then, before he returned to the mansion.

Grand Duke Flamecrest accepted his son’s answer as it was, even though he still felt something was lacking and strange. His son’s explanation still felt vague and did not fully explain their closeness to this point.

"Come to think of it, did Aldrey really meet Aldrian after he came out of the Everlasting Silent Forest? We did not know his origin or anything about him, and his existence was unknown until the accident with the Hydra in Balin," the grand duke thought.

"Someone that powerful suddenly appearing is indeed strange. Is he a hermit who lived a secluded life before that? But from my observation of how Aldrian has acted all these years, he is not someone who likes to lie low. He doesn’t seem like someone who lived as a long-term hermit preferring a slow and peaceful life."

"It’s as if he came out from his place after so long, showed the world his existence, and kept doing things without care—which in the end made him famous." Grand Duke Flamecrest narrowed his eyes.

"Hidden place," suddenly a possibility came to his mind.

"Don’t tell me that Aldrian is actually from the same secret realm as Aldrey?"

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