The capital was turned upside down with the sudden appearance of the Second Prince, Creed, and the gatherings of the nobility were filled with whispers about him.
As soon as various classes of nobles gathered in a lady's salon, they began discussing Creed.
"The Emperor certainly felt the magic aura. Then, it's undeniable he is his legitimate son."
This event was shrouded in mystery.
The Second Prince, who was declared dead and even had a funeral, had come back to life out of nowhere, which was strange.
Creed didn't appear quietly either.
He deliberately announced his existence to the world in the most dramatic way.
The public was already spreading stories about Creed, who they thought was the dead "Black Devil."
"The way he revealed his legitimacy was impressive. But what now? He has renounced his claim to the throne, right?"
"It's likely he tucked his tail in advance, knowing his forces were overwhelmingly outmatched."
"In that case, Prince Creed is a clever man."
"Now he's not a prince but should be addressed as His Grace the Grand Duke, right?"
"Haha, a Grand Duke..."
A Grand Duke. There was a moment of silence over the revival of this title, long thought extinct.
"Being ennobled as a Grand Duke and given the name 'Eiles,' isn't that quite a coincidence? I wonder what the Emperor is thinking."
"It would be a problem if he was just made a Duke, but a Grand Duke is a completely different matter."
In other words, an entirely new house called Eiles, only sharing the name in pronunciation, had been born.
"That's right. It carries the title of 'His Grace.'"
This was not simply a promotion in rank.
A Duke was at the top of the noble hierarchy.
But a Grand Duke was not just nobility. That rank was 'royalty'. Hence the honorific.
At that moment, a lady who had been quietly listening put down her teacup and casually remarked.
"I hear the Eseled Duke's house has been looking after Prince Creed."
At the mention of the Eseled Duke's house, the nobles snickered and sneered.
"I thought they were trying to produce an Empress with all their love stories at one time. But contrary to expectations, they've retreated like a snail back into their house."
A gentleman's sarcastic comment was clear. He was mocking the Esseleds as cowards.
"Was hiding Prince Creed their secret weapon? But that seems like a miscalculation now... He has given up the right to the throne."
"It's like the dog that chased the chicken only to end up watching the roof."
Laughter swept through the room. The follies of the privileged class were always the most amusing stories.
"So, Eseled's chance of revival is practically over now?"
"Unless the Eseled lady, who's said to be so beautiful, bewitches either Young Lord Agnes or Prince Ares with her fair face."
As they heartily mocked the Esseleds,
"Master, urgent news!"
A gentleman's servant rushed in with a letter.
The gentleman, who had been basking in mocking Eseled, raised an eyebrow and tore open the letter.
"...What nonsense is this!"
"What happened?"
"Agnes has suddenly decided to stop distributing magic stones! Are they mad!"
The gentleman owned a business dealing in products made of magic stones. He turned pale upon hearing such unexpected news.
"Ah, a problem in mining? So they're stopping supply? It's all nonsense!"
If Agnes, the largest supplier of magic stones, stopped supplying, the price of magic stones would skyrocket.
Although not frequent, Agnes occasionally exercised its power in this way, oppressing those around them.
The world had made tremendous advancements relying heavily on magic stones. Therefore, magic stones were an indispensable energy resource.
Abruptly!
"I'm leaving!"
"Me too, I must go."
The news changed the complexion of not just one person. There were too many businesses dependent on magic stones.
As the capital plunged into chaos, the situation was no different in the Lucia Duke's house.
"Agnes has completely lost its mind!"
The Lucia Duke's face was flushed with rage, bubbling to the brim.
"If the supply is cut off even for a week, train operations become impossible! What about the alliance with the Marquis Stanly's house? The Empress surely said she would sway them to our side this time!"
The Duke's pressing queries left his aides exchanging awkward glances before one hesitantly spoke up.
"Actually, a message arrived from the Empress's palace today, saying the deal with the Marquis Stanly's house fell through. Sir Vamillo Stanly confessed to having some sort of deal during a match with Prince Creed..."
"What? Why is Prince Creed's name coming up all of a sudden!"
The aide quickly handed the Duke the letter from the Empress's palace.
The Duke of Lucia, in a fit of rage, paid a visit to the Marquis Stanly's estate. However, Bonard, the imperial chancellor, was already there, having arrived by the emperor's order.
Bonard, the chancellor, looked at the Duke of Lucia with an inscrutable smile.
"The magic stones supplied by the Marquis Stanly's estate will be distributed under the supervision of the royal family. It's a measure to minimize the impact on the market."
It was a declaration that the Lucia Duke's house would not be the first to receive supply.
* * *
Time had passed since Agnes halted the distribution of magic stones.
The capital was in chaos, and during this time, Creed quietly completed his Grand Duke investiture and even took the Academy entrance exam.
Such news was hardly mentioned by people, overshadowed by the suspension of magic stone distribution.
Gradually, as the magic stones ran out, groans were heard here and there.
People, nurturing resentment and anger towards Agnes, would soon realize their tremendous influence and start visiting the duchy with all sorts of bribes.
They were those who wanted preferential supply of magic stones by submitting to Agnes.
But Lucia could not do that.
"Has the Empress still not said anything?"
"Yes… She said to wait a bit longer as the magic stones are not a big issue…"
"How can magic stones not be a big issue! This is all because of the Empress's mistake, provoking Nikan Agnes!"
Nikan was urging a speedy marriage between Ares and Vivian.
But the Empress would never accept such a proposal at this time, as it would mean bowing down to Agnes.
After all, the Empress wasn't in a hurry, having Ares as her ace card.
Her attitude further inflamed the Duke of Lucia's dissatisfaction.
"What in the world could the Empress be thinking!"
No one knew of Ares's awakening as an incarnation, except Diana. So, it was natural for the Duke of Lucia to feel frustrated and helpless.
The news reaching his ears only worsened day by day.
Especially when he heard that the Duchy of Agnes began supplying magic stones to those houses that had thoroughly submitted to them, he was almost faint with rage.
At that moment, someone knocked on the door of his office, where he was in a fury.
Knock knock.
"Come in!"
The Duke of Lucia said irritably, and the butler came in.
"Lady Eseled has requested a private meeting. What should we do?"
Lady Eseled, all of a sudden?
'She comes unannounced, and not even the duke, but the lady?'
"Hah, how dare a mere lady!"
The butler approached the Duke and quietly added.
"It's about magic stones."
"…Magic stones?"
Surprised by the unexpected topic, the Duke of Lucia's eyes narrowed.
'Even if she is young, as the sole heir of Eseled, she wouldn't speak nonsense.'
"Let her in."
Upon his permission, Navia walked in lightly, escorted by only one guard.
"It's been a while, Duke of Lucia."
"Well, Lady Eseled, what brings you to me?"
The Duke of Lucia, without offering her a seat, rudely asked her business directly.
Navia wasn't offended by his attitude. After all, it would be the Duke of Lucia begging at her feet in this meeting.
"I've come to sell magic stones."
The Duke of Lucia frowned, not quite understanding.
"Sell magic stones? You mean to hand over the magic stones your house possesses?"
Navia slightly curled her lips and then sat down uninvited, with the natural air of royalty.
The Duke of Lucia, not immediately realizing what was wrong, was soon enveloped in displeasure.
"Lady, you are…"
"Would you like to see this?"
Thump.
Navia took out a cylinder-shaped stone the size of her fist from her bag.
It was a refined magic stone.
But the Duke of Lucia didn't recognize it as such.
That was natural.
Magic stones were usually irregularly shaped stones, so it was unlikely for them to occur naturally in such a smooth form.
"What is this?"
"It's a magic stone."
"…This?"
The Duke of Lucia alternated between looking at Navia and the magic stone before awkwardly sitting near her.
Navia watched him examining the magic stone, then added nonchalantly.
"It's a bit of a stretch to call it just a magic stone. It's a 'rechargeable magic stone.'"
"Hmm…"
The Duke of Lucia looked at Navia with a dumbfounded expression.
"It might be better if you see this."
Rather than explain verbally, Navia showed him the documents prepared for announcing the rechargeable magic stone to the world.
The Duke of Lucia read the documents with a serious expression.
"No… Well… This is, um…"
He stumbled over his words, sighed, and changed his complexion several times.
After reading the last page and thoroughly re-reading the document, he put it down with a completely shocked expression.
The Duke repeatedly washed his face with his hands, unable to find the words to speak.
This was... a revolution.
It was more than changing the landscape of wealth; this technology alone would change the world. Yes, the entire level of the world was going to evolve.
And Eseled held that weapon in his grasp.
Eseled was going to be the leader, no, the emperor of this forthcoming new world.
...Chills ran through his entire body.
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