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Chapter 112

"Who are you talking about?"

"..."

"Is he stronger than you, Kane?"

"Not sure, I haven\'t seen him fight."

"Heeeh? He\'s probably weaker than Kane. Maybe if it\'s that loudmouth, but not likely."

The "loudmouth" Blata was referring to was Crown Prince Isaac.

Even Blata seemed to acknowledge him.

"Huh? The fool\'s coming!"

Gillip was approaching the top of the fortress wall.

"Your Excellency!!"

The changed demeanor from before was gone, and he reverted back to the groveling simpleton.

"What do you want?"

"I\'ve been looking for you for a while!"

"Just get to the point. I\'m busy."

"Is there another strange phenomenon happening at the demon forest?"

"Your point!"

Kane was noticeably irritated.

The executioners from the House of the Sun were on their way.

At least two or more would be coming.

This situation made Kane act sharply toward Gillip.

"I’ve decided to stay by your side from now on."

"What?"

Kane’s face twisted.

What kind of nonsense was he spouting?

Kane felt an intense urge to punch him in the face.

"Do you even know what it means to stay by my side?"

"I do."

The answer was too casual.

"Knowing my identity makes me too nervous to act freely."

"So? You’re saying you want to stay close and monitor me?"

"If not, you’ll get annoyed and kill me anyway, right?"

"Then why do you keep spouting nonsense if you already know that?"

"I’d rather fully serve under your command."

Kane’s expression darkened.

Taking the Black Crow exchange under his command was a significant move.

There would be no need to build an intelligence organization.

They already held the empire\'s information.

However, it was a double-edged sword, and if things went wrong, the backlash could be devastating.

One misstep, and critical information could fall into the enemy\'s hands.

"Do you think I would allow that?"

"Then I won’t carry out any more tasks you assign me."

Gillip was pushing his luck.

"You want to die?"

"My identity’s exposed, so I don’t know when I might die. Do as you please."

Even Blata found Gillip’s behavior strange.

"Did this fool eat something weird, Kane?"

"Haaaa."

Kane let out a deep sigh.

This was becoming a headache.

It was good to have a powerful information network under his command.

Plus, Gillip was a pure-blooded Tegelo.

It wasn’t that Kane doubted Gillip’s abilities, but he wasn’t sure if he could fully trust him.

Having someone like that under his command was like living with a bomb.

This situation was entirely different from when he was dealing with him as Ray.

The current Gillip seemed like a man obsessed with money.

Yet, deep down, he still harbored a desire to return to his original position in Tegelo.

"If I stay by your side, I’ll be of great use to you, Your Excellency. The rumor of the Blood Star being with you spread across the empire overnight."

Kane didn\'t want to keep anyone uncertain under his wing.

"I wasn’t going to mention this, but... ahem."

"You don’t have to say anything, just leave."

"There’s someone here who’s deeply connected to Rehinar. Aren’t you curious?"

A sense of unease crept over Kane as he listened to Gillip’s voice. It was as if Gillip knew something Kane was already aware of.

"I’ll think about it."

"Merchants only act when a deal is on the table."

"But aren’t you a noble, not a merchant? A high-ranking one at that."

"Ever since I was exiled from Tegelo, I’ve never once considered myself a noble. I don’t know if you’re aware of who my idol is, but—"

"Isn’t it Count Dyer? The first person born to a merchant who rose to become a high-ranking noble."

"How did you know? Did I ever tell you that?"

"You used to say it all the time."

After Gillip had barely survived being killed by his uncle, the Marquis of Tegelo, he had abandoned his lineage.

He constantly repeated his new identity as Gillip Aches, even deceiving himself.

One of his common statements was:

- "I’ll become someone greater than Count Dyer, a legendary figure among merchants."

He had completely erased his Tegelo bloodline and acted as if he were born a merchant.

"I almost fell for it myself."

"Did I really say such things?"

"Enough. Speak quickly."

"Will you accept me as your subordinate?"

"For now."

"You’ve made a promise."

"Who’s coming here?"

"Archduke Aiden, your uncle, is coming to Rehinar."

"...Where is he now?"

"He’s almost at the East Gate."

"He arrived faster than expected."

Kane’s eyes gleamed.

Aiden Rehinar was not only his uncle but also the husband of the current emperor’s sister.

---

A middle-aged man with white hair opened the carriage window and muttered to himself.

"It’s the smell of home I haven’t sensed in a long time."

"Your Excellency, the air is quite chilly. Perhaps you should close the window," said an elderly man clad in white armor as he approached the side of the carriage.

"Are you not enjoying it?"

"It only feels revolting."

"True. Neither of us has any fond memories of this place."

"When Rehinar was in a state beyond recovery, we should have killed everyone."

The old man’s voice was filled with a chilling tone of anger, but the middle-aged man tried to calm him.

"I understand how you feel, but he’s still my brother, after all."

"I apologize, but I cannot agree with that. Duke Carl tried to kill you, his own brother, Your Excellency. Yet you could have taken his life but didn’t."

The old man was resolute.

He knew his attitude was insolent, but the wounds from the past were too deep.

The middle-aged man, referred to as the Archduke, laughed heartily.

"Thanks to that, I married the emperor’s sister, didn’t I? Let’s look on the bright side."

“"His Grace is too soft-hearted for his own good."

"I don’t know what I would do if you’re not by my side. Always stay close to me."

"I’m nearing retirement now. It’s time to pass this position on to the younger ones."

"Don’t talk like that. Who else would be by my side but you? Never speak of retirement again."

"Ha, I guess I’ll have to stay by His Grace’s side until I die."

Their interaction resembled that of a father and son. The others who accompanied them seemed familiar with this dynamic, watching the two with contented smiles as they walked.

"Grace, we will soon arrive at Rehinar’s Eastern Gate."

The knight’s voice prompted Aiden to address the old man.

"Georg, shall we make a bet on whether the tightly shut gate will open or not?"

"It’s not much of a bet. Given whose procession it is, it will surely open."

"Then I’ll wager it won’t open."

"Ha, His Grace still tends to underestimate himself."

Aiden shook his head.

"It’s not that. The Eastern Gate of Rehinar is a point of pride for them. Even if the Emperor himself came, they wouldn’t open it easily. Especially not for someone like me, who was nearly killed and exiled by my brother."

"That would be disrespectful to the royal family."

Though Aiden was of Rehinar’s bloodline, he was an exile. Of course, he had since married the Emperor’s sister and achieved the rank of Duke. He had become the Emperor’s brother-in-law.

The carriage came to a stop in front of the Eastern Gate of Rehinar.

Aiden stepped out and marveled at the sight.

"Rehinar is stretching itself awake. Isn’t it so, Georg?"

"Even so, it’s still far smaller than the Stein Principality, which you govern."

"That a place in such decline has grown to this extent is indeed remarkable."

Georg muttered under his breath, barely audible to Aiden.

"What a pity... If Aiden had succeeded in Rehinar, there would have been no downfall."

He remained tied to the past, which was why he had traveled all this way.

Georg called out loudly to the gate.

"Open the gate! The Duke of Stein has arrived!"

His voice, imbued with magical energy, struck the fortress walls with the force of an experienced warrior from the battlefield.

The soldiers’ faces went pale. Then, a familiar face emerged from somewhere and raised his voice.

"Only those authorized may enter through the gate. Please return or proceed through the southern or northern gates for entry procedures."

The voice challenging Georg’s authority belonged to none other than Kane Rehinar, the current hot topic.

* * *

Kane looked down at the elderly knight with a scornful gaze.

Georg Röder.

A former commander of the Guardian Knights.

He was also Cedric Harka’s mentor.

Turning his gaze sideways, he saw the middle-aged man with silver hair standing leisurely.

His name was Aiden.

A man of Rehinar.

"Aiden von Fresia... So you’ve come here on your own legs after all."

Aiden had come to steal the Blood Star, arriving as a Duke.

"I’ll watch and see how long you can hide your brutality behind that self-righteous mask."

The reason for Aiden’s exile from Rehinar was simple.

His cruelty.

Unlike Duke Carl, who had been stern but just, Aiden saw the people of Rehinar as mere expendable tools for the benefit of Rehinar itself.

Duke Carl knew this well. He tried to reform his brother’s brutal nature, but Aiden only grew more vicious, and his crimes escalated.

In the end, Duke Carl chose to exile his brother. There was no other way.

Georg had strongly opposed the decision, but in the end, both of them were exiled, and the matter was settled.

For many years, Aiden had not even glanced at Rehinar. He merely watched its decline with disdain, taking no action.

Yet now, he had made the arduous journey to Rehinar because of the Blood Star.

"How will you respond now?"

Kane looked down at the wall below, where a powerful aura of malice was emanating.

"Insolence! Do you not know who this is that you do not open the gate!"

Georg’s roar reverberated, his voice carrying such force that it cracked the walls.

He was a High-Tier 6th-class knight. Though weakened from his prime, he still wielded formidable mana.

"To open the gate, you must first obtain an approval certificate."

Kane continued to provoke Georg.

"How dare you speak to me like that, you lowly beast!"

Just as Georg was about to draw his twin swords, Aiden raised his hand to stop him.

"Georg, step back."

"Your Grace!"

"I will handle this."

"Ugh,"

Aiden’s voice cut through the tension, signaling that he intended to take control of the situation himself.

Georg retreated with a frustrated expression as Aiden raised his gaze to meet Kane’s eyes.

"So you are Kane. How nice to meet you. I am your uncle, your dad must have told you about me," Aiden said, his tone exuding the nobility and grandeur of aristocracy. He spoke as though he were imparting the lesson of royalty itself.

However, Kane\'s response was blunt.

"I don’t fucking know you."

The smile on Kane’s lips as he declared his ignorance was unmistakably mocking.