The room was plainly adorned with only two pieces of furniture: a large, solid bookshelf made from high-quality wood, and a wooden table occupying the middle.

This was the room of Duke Agnus, the shining star of Avalon, one of the three most influential empires in the entire continent.

“—Joshua has arrived?”

“Yes, Your Grace.” The knight who replied could only submit before the power of his lord and liege. He was Count Valderas den Chiffon; he commanded the Red Knights, one of the three major arms of Duke Agnus’s forces.

Duke Agnus’s hair was dark—nearly black—blue, but his eyes were an icy pale blue. The stubborn set of his jaw bore a certain resemblance to that boy, Joshua.

Aden von Agnus.

One of only five Masters in the vast Avalon Empire. One of the Nine Stars, who were said to be the mightiest individuals on the continent. He was a monster on the battlefield, wielding a greatsword nearly two meters long, for which reason he was known as the Titan of Avalon.

“You said your name was Rols?”

“Yes, Your Grace!”

The man with brown hair, Rols, lifted his head from where he was prostrated on the floor. He was one of the three centurions who had suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Joshua.

Duke Agnus asked calmly, “What unit do you belong to?” 

“The 29th Battalion!”

“The 29th Battalion… under Griezmann?”

“Yes, Your Grace.” Chiffon answered this time as he stood up from his seat.

Duke Aden’s standing army numbered an impressive 40,000. The army was divided into forty battalions, each commanded by a general. Each general had ten centurions, and each centurion commanded ten sergeants[1].

Griezmann was the general commanding the 29th Battalion.

Duke Agnus examined Rols’s armor that was placed before him. Despite its low cost, it was good armor, stitched from the tough skins of black tribe orcs from the northern plains. It was definitely considered to be of great quality relative to its price.

However, the armor looked as if it had been blasted apart by a mage’s fireball.

“You mean to tell me that what happened to this armor is Joshua’s doing?” Duke Agnus’s words were soft and deep.

Looking at the trembling soldier, Count Chiffon roared, his voice filled with killing intent, “Think carefully before you answer. If you lie even a little…”

Rols choked and quivered on the ground. He didn’t even have to hear the second half of the sentence to know what consequences he would have to bear if he did.

“I’m not lying, Your Grace!” 

“Chiffon, did you examine the armor?” 

“Yes, Your Grace,” Count Chiffon answered with a solemn expression.

The hole in the armor was somehow curled at the edges. Duke Agnus’s gaze were fixated on the curled edges and asked, “How old will Joshua be this year?”

“He is five years younger than Young Master Babel, so Joshua should be nine right now.” 

“So what you're telling me is that a nine-year-old boy did this to black orc’s skin?”

“...”

“With his bare hands, at that.” Duke Agnus commented.

Hearing Duke Agnus’s summary, Chiffon’s cold eyes dared Rols to speak up. The knight was equally unconvinced.

If Chiffon was asked to tear through leather of that kind without using mana, he couldn’t confidently say that he was able to. He might as well be tasked to flatten out a piece of steel armor. He didn’t know if he could even rupture the leather armor with mana.

“Well, if he could use mana… it might be possible.” Duke Agnus muttered under his breath.

“It’s definitely impossible.” Chiffon shook his head before he continued, “Your Grace! There has never been a single case of someone using mana at the age of nine. Not in the Empire, not anywhere!”

With even more conviction in his words, he added, “Even if someone pulled it off at some point in history, they had to at least be a B-Class Knight. They can infuse mana into their hands, too.”

“...”

“So there’s no reason to believe that Young Master Joshua did this, given he’s only nine years old.”

Duke Agnus remained silent and unmoving.

After a moment of silence, Chiffon spoke up again.

“Perhaps, Your Grace, this is a coverup that this soldier has cooked up to hide the fact that they have been abusing Young Master Joshua.”

“...!”

Chiffon shot a cold glare at Rols, whose forehead was still firmly glued to the floor

“If Your Grace allows it, I will take this guy out and correct the soldiers’ discipline.” The knight bowed his head and waited silently for the Duke Argus’s answer.

“No! I never lied! What I said was completely the truth! Your Grace, please spare me.”

“Shut your mouth!” Chiffon roared. 

His hand dropped to the hilt of his sword. He took Duke Agnus’s continued silence as affirmation and slowly approached Rols.

Duke Agnus still remained silent.

“Your Grace! Your Grace!” Rols’s face turned pale as he desperately retreated from Chiffon.

“Stop.”

“Your Grace?” Chiffon stopped.

“This problem will be solved when I’ve met with the other side of the issue.” Duke Agnus spoke with a resounding authority, ignoring the shivering Rols.

“...It was about time, anyway.” Duke Agnus muttered with a sad expression on his face. “I will see him on my own.”

Chiffon’s eyes widened. The duke himself was taking interest in the concubine’s son, and he was even lowering himself to visit the child instead of calling him over. Even Young Master Babel, the treasure of the Agnus family, the one regarded as the most talented genius in the whole continent, didn’t get this kind of treatment.

“Where did you say Joshua was?”

“I was just told he has come to the mansion. He may be in the first floor waiting room.”

“Let’s go.” Duke Agnus stood and strode slowly to the door. 

Chiffon spared a glance at Rols before quickly following his lord.

Thud!

The door shut behind them, leaving Rols slumped on the cold floor, sobbing. A yellow stain with a fishy smell was slowly spreading around the crotch of his pants.