Overgeared

Political strife was common. The nobles divided into factions for their own interests and kept each other in check. The Seven Dukes were the same. Apart from the Sword Duke, they were all loyal to the imperial family, but they kept a close eye on each other and were vigilant. In the worst case scenario, there would be armed conflict.

It was inevitable that the dukes would fight. The dukes led millions of people, so incidents and accidents continued. Someone didn’t want to lose the inheritance gained from their ancestors, and someone else became relentless for their own ambition. Irrespective of the position and tendencies of such individuals, there was a common feature among the Seven Dukes.

It was that they had respect for each other. They might be afraid of or hostile to each other, but on the surface, they showed courtesy and goodwill to each other. It was because they didn’t want to lose their honor. This was to let people know that the ‘dukes of the empire’ deserved respect from everyone.

It was a type of image marketing. In other words—

“Don’t look at the Overgeared King with your glaring eyes.”

“...”

It meant this situation wasn’t normal, even if Duke Grenhal’s strength and authority was above that of Duke Diworth and even if their two families were fighting over the commercial rights of Saileta.

‘In front of others...’

It was far from common sense for Grenhal to show such hostility to Diworth in front of an adversary. Diworth lowered his eyes while clenching his fists. He breathed deeply as his body and mind trembled with anger. ‘I should be calmer.’

Defending the Overgeared King while undermining the value of the empire’s dukes...? The present Grenhal must be out of his mind. Grenhal was crazy enough that Diworth suspected he had already become a berserker. Diworth was once again convinced that Grid had used the pretext of Piaro to mislead the dukes.

‘Wicked person.’

Grid was the king who had betrayed the royal family he served and overthrown the kingdom. He was as cunning as a snake. Was it a coincidence that he took in Piaro? No, the likelihood of a coincidence was extremely low. This was calculated from the beginning.

Piaro was a special presence in the empire. Grid could make a great profit by placing Piaro by his side. As a result, he succeeded in dampening the empire’s desire to unify the continent and successfully obtained Mercedes. It was evident that the emperor sent Mercedes to the Overgeared Kingdom after learning about Piaro’s survival and took a passive stance toward the war against the Overgeared Kingdom.

‘He is too dangerous.’

Grid was too smart. His existence alone was a threat to the empire. Perhaps he was a dangerous existence beyond the Undefeated King. Madra only believed in strength and stuck to halting the empire’s advance. Meanwhile, this genius and cunning man would make the empire rot from within. In fact, the emperor and dukes were already playing in his hands.

‘For the sake of the emperor and the empire, this person must be eliminated.’

However, now wasn’t the time. Grenhal and Morse had already bitten the bait called Piaro. At the time of Piaro’s treason, they had petitioned the emperor, stating it was clear that Piaro had been framed. They pleaded that his family shouldn’t be put to the guillotine. Those who longed for Piaro would be delighted by news of Piaro’s survival. They would have complicated feelings toward Grid who misled them by saying he was caring for Piaro.

‘Piaro’s presence can’t be hidden anymore. It is a priority to inform them that Grid is using Piaro for political reasons, not caring for him out of pure benevolence.

‘Thus, let’s bow down. Let’s aim for an opportunity to ignite Grenhal’s rationality.’

Diworth would cooperate with Basara. Unlike the other dukes, she had no personal feelings or relationship with Piaro. She would be able to analyze the situation objectively. Diworth used a lot of effort to suppress his anger. He apologized to Grenhal and removed all the alcohol in his mana.

“I made a mistake. The opponent might be the leader of an enemy country, but he is also a king who leads the people. I was too excited that I lost my dignity as a duke of the empire and didn’t show him the minimal courtesy.”

Diworth’s eloquent words were subtle. He clearly declared that Grid was an enemy of the empire and that Grenhal’s act of protecting him was for noble reasons. It was also a veiled criticism of Grenhal, who was misled by Grid for personal reasons. Diworth felt that Grenhal would feel shame and regain his lost reason.

However, the result was different from what he expected. Grenhal said even crazier nonsense, “I told you to put away your hostility for your sake, not for those pretentious reasons.”

“For my sake?”

“That’s right.”

“...?”

‘This lord, you must’ve suffered quite a bit during the exploration of these ruins.’

scars on Grenhal’s body under the name of ‘medals.’ He wasn’t as good as before. Grenhal had fought for the emperor and the people for 60 years, and his mind and body had become tired a long time ago. The Ruins of the War God would be a continuous suffering for him. It was hard for Diworth to guess what would be the most difficult part of exploring this place for more than a month without troops. It seemed Grenhal had gone crazy at

would’ve died if you continued using that impure attitude in front of King Grid,” Morse said

I will be dead? Am I hearing properly right

Morse nodded. “Yes.”

as a jujube. He seemed drunk despite burning off all the alcohol. “Duke Morse, you might

He might be weaker than them, but he wasn’t a fool to be laughed at or

I interfere? So you will kill me? I am a duke

would kill him were ‘Grenhal’ and ‘Morse.’ It was naturally a misunderstanding. No matter the situation, a

crazy? Why

by whose hands will

clarification, only further fueled Diworth’s anger. Without knowing the seriousness of the situation, Diworth thought that Morse was a madman. He would surely tell His Majesty the Emperor the things that happened today. Then he

pledge. It was the voice of Basara, who had remained silent the whole time. “You would die

felt that he

would die because

fellow? Was this a new type of

“...Duke Basara, I’m disappointed.”

he was being ridiculed. Diworth realized how much the dukes usually ignored him and was filled with a shame that would traumatize him for life.

it and buried Piaro in his heart. Yet Diworth kept mentioning Piaro. Additionally, he kept tying Piaro to Grid. There must be something more to it. An unexpected feeling

wasn’t Diworth who responded

Piaro. He is currently my knight.” It

and Morse opened their

demanded confirmation again, “Your

a special person to Grenhal? Grid perceived this and paid attention to Grenhal. “Yes. It was a very long time ago. I met him when I

had almost died to him. Yet this

since the moment I

“W-What...”

was even

generation to generation in his family. The only person who smiled warmly when everyone was afraid and shunned Grenhal for the madness imprinted in his genes had

or afraid to reveal your

people.

Dukes, not Seven Dukes. Piaro was the

“Ah... Ahh...”

“Duke Grenhal!”

in his heart like indelible burn marks. He thanked the goddess of light and was relieved that Piaro had survived safely and was serving someone worthy. Simultaneously, an enormous feeling of guilt swept over him. It was the sin

“...”

saw Grenhal’s response, he thought of the time when he first heard Piaro’s story. It was a story that began with ‘Born in the best

was

was such a pity. Piaro had forgiven Asmophel and

alcohol appeared. Grid shifted his gaze and saw Drunk Duke Diworth drinking from a bottle of alcohol. The liquid flowed down

life to the empire and fulfilled my duties as a

bottle instantly and started to

are treating me like this for a traitor who has already left a long

eyes. The pressure he

enemy kingdom? I would be killed by the Overgeared

frankly when he reunited with Piaro,

strength when he relied on alcohol. Although he didn’t usually express it, Diworth was a person with low self-esteem. He was ashamed of himself for being unable to give up alcohol. It was no wonder why he

ridiculous as you think!” Diworth roared and rushed

to prove himself. The mana that contained alcohol dramatically improved Diworth’s physical abilities. Diworth was so fast that Grid couldn’t properly capture

your comfort.” Grid opened his

Eye has