Duke Pendragon

The nobles had been stunned speechless after hearing the incredible, shocking story. However, dozens among the thousands of nobles alread knew of the existence of the Shadow Brotherhood. Some had even made previous commissions to the assassins. As such, it was only natural for them to be struck with fear. They were afraid that their relations to the Shadow Brotherhood might be revealed to the world.

So when Alan Pendragon first revealed the truth, they desperately searched for opportunities to refute his words or loopholes in his story.

However, their attempts were nullified with the appearance of Soldrake.

Everyone knew.

There were only a few absolute truths in the world, and one of them was the fact that dragons never lied. In the end, the returned hero's words were accepted as the truth, and all the arrows turned toward the Shadow Brotherhood and Margrave Mirin.

"I will take care of the appeals on my own."

"Will you be okay?"

"Most of them are just taking the chance to appeal to me. Everyone knows that it will be hard to send a large expedition because of the empire's finances unless they are fools. The empire is fine just as it is."

"As expected, I can rely on the almighty emperor."

"Family help each other out, right?"

Ian smiled, and Raven responded in kind.

All preparations were complete.

Now that the bait was thrown, all that was left was to wait and see how the fish in the water would react.

"The only problem is with how we send you and Elkin to Mirin naturally…"

"Hmm."

Raven sank into thought.

However, his contemplation was short.

"What about as the emperor's special envoy?"

"Envoy?"

Ian narrowed his eyes, and Raven nodded.

"I guarantee that there are some nobles who were at the banquet that have doubts or complaints about what I said at the banquet. I'm certain that they did not come forward because of the atmosphere at the time."

"Certainly. They might be thinking that the emperor and King Pendragon are abusing their authority and persecuting an innocent nobleman."

"That's right. So, since we are witnesses as well, you can designate me and Elkin as the emperor's special envoy. The Margrave possesses both military and legal authority in the land of Mirin, right? It's obvious that they will reject any investigators from the imperial castle, so you can send a special envoy."

"Hooh… Well, even if he is the margrave, he still belongs to the empire. He has no authority to reject an official envoy of the empire. If he did such a thing, he would only be admitting to your claim."

"Exactly. In addition, they won't be able to resort to any cheap tricks with everyone's eyes fixated on them. Moreover, as the emperor, the most important thing for you should be…"

Raven continued in a whisper.

"To know why Margrave Mirin did such a thing, right?"

"Hmm!"

Ian's eyes glimmered.

Raven had justification to condemn Margrave Mirin since his son and sister were almost kidnapped. However, it was a little different for Ian, the emperor. Although Mia and Raymond were his sister-in-law and nephew, he was the absolute of the empire. He needed to review the situation as the monarch before anything else.

"But just in case, I can have a legion of the imperial army…"

"No, there is no need. I don't want to belittle the imperial army, but we have an even stronger force than that."

Raven smiled coldly while cutting off Ian's words.

"By the way, Duke Lindegor's daughter is set to arrive soon. Shouldn't you see her before you go?"

"You know how Elkin is. Once he's provoked, he can't see anything else."

Raven licked his lips. He wanted for Elkin to meet with the daughter of Duke Lindegor, one of his bride candidates, before leaving, but Isla was stubborn. He insisted that he could not be leisurely meeting a woman when he was faced with a royal crisis, that he would meet with Joshua Lindegor after the situation was resolved.

"I think the Knight King of Valvas might have a hard time later on…"

"Hmm."

Raven nodded.

It was the Lindegor Duchy, and not anyone else. Now that the Pendragon Duchy was a kingdom, the Lindegor family was the strongest family of the empire. Moreover, they were extremely prideful.

"I will have to trouble Your Majesty to appease Duke Lindegor."

"What? I wasn't talking about Duke LIndegor."

"Hmm? Then…"

Raven responded with a puzzled expression, and Ian spoke with a mysterious smile.

"You don't know either, huh? Haha! Well, that figures. How would you know when you've never even seen her? Anyways, I was talking about Joshua, the youngest daughter of Duke Lindegor."

"Hmnm?"

Raven frowned. He only knew her to be one of Isla's bride candidates and nothing else. Ian felt thrilled at Raven's ignorance.

"This is rather fun, isn't it? Well, I guess you will find out once you get back. Kuhaha!"

Raven felt rather ominous faced with Ian's insidious smile, which was unbefitting the emperor.

***

"Now, have fun, but make sure you listen to the words of your aunts."

Instead of telling him to behave like a normal parent, Raven stroked his son's head while Raymond to enjoy himself.

"Can I not go with you?"

Raymond was still young. He felt reluctant to part with his father, especially after seeing him for the first time in his life. He grabbed onto the hem of Raven's shirt with a sad, regretful expression.

Raven knelt down and gazed into his son's eyes.

"You are a Pendragon. Is that not right, Raymond."

"Yes. I am a Pendragon."

"Yes. And I am also a Pendragon. As such, I must head to Mirin to fulfill my responsibilities."

"T, then I can also…"

Raymond jerked his head up and spoke hopefully, but Raven gently shook his head.

"No. Because while I am not here, you must act as Pendragon in this place."

"Father…"

"Fulfill your responsibilities as Pendragon in the imperial castle. I will also be doing the same in Mirin as Pendragon. You can do it, right?"

"…Yes."

The young prince nodded at the king's words. His eyes were still a little teary, but the little prince appeared to have become determined after hearing his father's words.

"Good. I am proud of you."

Raven embraced Raymond before slowly standing up. His son's expression was an exact replica of his own as a child.

"Please take good care of Raymond. Mia, Irene."

"Don't worry, brother."

"Heeuk! Have a safe trip! You must come back safely!"

Mia nodded calmly while holding Raymond's hand tightly. On the other hand, Irene couldn't hold back her tears while jumping into her brother's arms.

"You are even more like a child than Mia. Don't worry. I leave him to you, Irene."

"Yes, yes…"

She slowly parted from his embrace while wiping away her tears. Her fists curled up with determination.

"Please punish those who dared to insult the Pendragon family and the Aragon family. I trust you, Brother."

"Hmm. I will make them regret it even in death."

The two sisters nodded vigorously after hearing their brother's words. He never failed to keep a promise.

"Let's go. Sol, Elkin."

"Yeah."

"Yes, my lord."

The three figures slowly headed toward the griffons prepared by the imperial castle.

It was then.

"Wait!"

Someone's sharp cry rang out. Raven turned around. The voice was unfamiliar, but weirdly familiar at the same time.

His eyes filled with shock.

A slim woman was standing in face of the sharp wind. She was adorned in a thick, white fur coat with her attending maids bowing behind her.

She was…

"Princess… Ingrid?"

Raven was surprised to see the beauty staring at him with quivering, watery eyes.

"I thought it would be disrespectful to avoid you even when you were leaving… Your Majesty Pendragon. Please forgive me, Your Majesty."

Ingrid looked towards Irene.

"Ah! Of course. Go ahead, Your Highness."

Irene smiled brightly and willingly yielded her brother.

Tap. Tap.

Ingrid slowly approached Raven.

"….."

Raven could not find words to say.

He knew from speaking with Ian and Irene.

Although she was the eldest princess, she was still unmarried. All of the other princesses had been married off before they turned twenty – to successors of other kingdoms or sons of the empire's great nobles. However, she alone stayed unmarried in the imperial castle.

Princess Ingrid was a peerless beauty even amongst the princesses, and she was the oldest of them all. However, she remained unmarried for a reason, and it was a truth known to everyone.

It was because of her former fiancé, the founding king of the Pendragon Kingdom.

She refused all other marriages, even though she had previously broken off the engagement and seven years had passed since his supposed death.

She rejected offers from her father, the previous empire, and her brother, Ian as well.

The emotions and joy she felt when she heard of her admired's return was no less than Irene and Ian. Moreover, he was even coming to the imperial castle.

However, she could not meet him. As such, she did not attend the banquet. Ian knew of his sister's unspoken heartache, so he did not force her to attend either.

However, she suddenly made an appearance after intentionally avoiding him for the past few days.

"How… have you been?"

Raven asked awkwardly. Although it had been many years, Ingrid was observing him with the same, affectionate eyes from the past. It was as if only a day had passed since their last encounter.

"Of course. I have been quite well. Even though your face has changed, I am glad Your Majesty seems to be doing well."

"Hmm…"

"Firstly, let me apologize for not greeting you sooner. As I get older, it seems both my mind and appearance have become brazen."

"Not at all. The princess is… still quite beautiful."

He felt extremely awkward. However, there was nothing else to say, and it was true as well. Ingrid was still dazzlingly beautiful and overflowing with dignity. Even though Raven had little interest in women's appearance, she was almost unchanged from seven years ago. It was as if he had stepped into the past.

"Is that so? Thank you, even if they are empty words."

"Hmm."

Raven was slightly taken aback by her transformed atmosphere.

She felt mature.

Indeed, she was no longer a girl in her teens. She was now nearing mid-20's, so surely she would not be as reckless as before.

However…

It did not take long for Raven to realize how wrong he was.

"Ha…!"

Ingrid silently gazed at Raven for a moment, then took a long breath.

Raven's senses suddenly perked up and started warning him when,

"Now! Since you've been leading a solitary life for seven years, I think I'm qualified. What do you think, Your Majesty Pendragon? Do you have any thoughts of taking me in after you come back? I'm fine as a concubine as well."

"Heuk!?"

"W, what?"

Everyone was stunned speechless. The first princess of the empire had just declared her willingness to become the concubine of a kingdom under the empire's influence.