Babel von Agnus stood with his head bowed while facing the Duke, who sat at the head of the office where he handled his official duties. Duke Agnus, gazing expressionlessly out the window, spoke quietly.

“Lift your head. An Agnus should not look like that.”

Babel’s eyes widened and he slowly raised his head.

“Why did you use mana?” Duke Agnus’s gaze was unflinching.

“That—” Babel stopped and bit his lip.

“Do you feel inferior?”

Babel’s expression twisted.

‘Inferiority complex? To that dung tosser? No way!’ What was his father talking about now? Babel clenched his fists, digging his nails into his palms. He didn’t want to accept the fact that Joshua had also used mana, not to mention the fact that he had been defeated by the latter as well.

‘It’s just a coincidence. I don’t know what trick you pulled, but if we meet again…’

“Understanding one’s enemy is also a skill.” Babel’s eyes widened in astonishment. Duke Agnus seemed to have read his innermost thoughts. 

“Be strong. If your opponent is strong, be stronger. Be so strong that no one can make you kneel, not even the Nine Stars.”

“—Even more than you?”

“Yes.” Duke Agnus nodded firmly.

“Can I ask you one thing?”

“What?”

“Duke… No, Father… who am I to you?”

Duke Agnus gazed at him with a politely expressionless face. He didn’t speak for a long while.

“You…”

***

“Young Lady?” Cox discovered that Charles was in a poor mood all day. While she wasn’t a child, she was always full of energy; this was the first time anyone, even Cox, who had served her for so long, had seen her looking so dejected.

“Get out, Cox.”

Cox hesitated at Charles’s weak reply.

‘What happened?’ Charles frowned at Charles, who had buried her head into the bed. ‘Was it Joshua? I believe she saw him today.’

“Cox.”

“Oh, I understand, Young Lady.” Cox bowed his head and carried out his orders: to “get out”.

‘I need to meet him at least once. If that boy really is a mana user, I must meet with him for my master.’ He could not afford to forget his original intentions for coming all the way here. After all, he had to leave immediately after fulfilling his master’s orders.

“Then I will take my leave, Young Lady.” Cox bowed and smiled bitterly at Charles’s lack of reaction, then stepped out of the room. The door shut behind Cox with a heavy thud.

“Haaahhhh…” Charles, head still buried in the pillows, sighed deeply. The memory of her encounter was still fresh on her mind.

“Joshua von Agnus…” she murmured. Given her usual personality, she should have reacted wildly when he first told her to shut up and leave.

‘I’m the daughter of the Pontier family, for God’s sake!’

But being treated like that for the first time didn’t result in angry outbursts, raging emotions, or outrageous tantrums.

Instead, it made her afraid.

‘When I heard that voice, I thought my heart would stop. ‘

There was something special about that boy, something that young Charles had never experienced.

“Joshua von Agnus…” Charles squeezed her eyes shut.

Everything became so boring. Even her family’s current situation—what must she do?

‘I just want to laze around here and rest.’

“Annoying.” Her soft mutter filled the entire room.

***

Duke Agnus was on his way out of the office, but halted. At the other end of the hallway, a woman was coming down the stairs.

She bowed her head to the Duke. Duke Agnus approached with a measured gait, neither slow, nor fast, and opened his mouth.

“Is the attached residence good enough?”

“...Yes, Your Grace,” answered Lucia, Joshua’s mother.

The Duke looked at Lucia, then Chiffon, and then back at Lucia.

“Okay.” Duke Agnus quickly moved on. “Let’s go.”

“Yes, Your Grace.” The two men walked past Lucia, whose head remained bowed. As he was in front of the Master, Chiffon did not neglect to offer Lucia a polite nod for formality’s sake.

“If you need anything—” Duke Agnus paused and spoke quietly. “Come to me anytime.”

“Yes, Your Grace.” Lucia trembled.

With that, Duke Agnus walked away with Chiffon in tow.

“Chiffon, you are dismissed as well. I will train alone.”

“Oh, I understand.” Chiffon saluted.

“Ah! Please bring Joshua to my room later in the evening, he wouldn’t know the way to my room.”

“I heed and obey.” Chiffon stared at his departing back and frowned.

“This is bad.”

***

Joshua slowly rose from the bed after doing some deep thinking. He had been thinking of taking over the entire Duchy.

Was this an impulsive decision?

Absolutely not.

Before his return, the Avalon Empire had been wrecked by a second civil war. 

If the first civil war was the bloody battle between the First and Second Princes, the second civil war was nothing less than a battle of the Fourth Prince against all the other princes.

The Fourth Prince, Kaiser ben Britten, lurked in the shadows until the First Prince was weakened by the first civil war. In one fell swoop, the Fourth Prince wrested away control of the Empire. It was only possible because he’d positioned himself as the First Prince’s trusted advisor.

Of course, there were some who believed his tricks. Some nobles claimed to be neutral, refusing to weaken the Empire by slaughtering their own kin. Other nobles were eager to invade other nations and supported the Fourth Prince from the very beginning.

Extraordinarily, Kaiser welcomed the First Prince’s forces with open arms rather than purging them—perhaps he was afraid that his own allies would do the same to himself otherwise.

“Of course… Otherwise, that wouldn’t be Kaiser ben Britten at all.” Joshua grinned savagely.

The mighty forces of Kaiser ben Britten…

‘In this life, I will personally crush all of you.’

Rather than ambushing a clueless Fourth Prince, Joshua would cut him down when his power was at its peak and he was intoxicated by the thrill of victory. Only then could Joshua show him true despair.

Knock, Knock!

Joshua was dragged back to reality.

“Young Master. This is Chiffon, commander of the Red Knights.”

“Come in.”

The door swung open.

“It’s time for your appointment with the Duke.” Chiffon nodded politely.

Joshua got up and followed Chiffon. No words were exchanged on the way over.

Chiffon stopped on the third floor, in the innermost part of the mansion, and only then spoke to Joshua.

“Here we are. Only people permitted by the Duke may enter this place… I will now take my leave.” Chiffon bowed his head and quietly stepped away, leaving Joshua to stare at the door.

‘Finally, a place unknown to the people of the Duke of Agnus.’

He knocked.

“Your Grace, this is… Joshua… von Agnus.” His full name felt awkward to say.

“Come in.”

He opened the door and entered the room, which was only decorated by the desk that the Duke sat at.

Aden von Agnus, Duke of the Avalon Empire, one of the Nine Stars, stared at him with a terribly flat expression.

“Who are you?”