There were a total of five dukes in the empire. Most of them were from the founding of the empire, as well as the children of the first emperor.
This was because after Ivanar la Orr, the eldest son of the first emperor, was crowned, the other four brothers were assigned and became dukes.
Kishiar, the Duke of Peletta, was a rare case. There were only a few cases of a person inheriting the duke’s title within the empire who had the surname of “La Orr”.
There was only one reason why it was possible. Because his father, the former emperor, personally conferred him a new duke when he was alive.
Under the imperial law, the prince would be deprived of his right to inherit and would never be able to seek the throne again. It was a precedent that had been followed since the first emperor and a good system to use to prevent blood-spattered power struggles between children.
However, the duke’s title was not granted proper land because it was close to a temporary job. Most of them had no power and had to defend their celibacy until they died for some reason, or were knighted in that way, and lived quietly in a corner of the estate and died.
The nobles thought that Kisiar la Orr had a very big problem. Rumor had it that he was seemingly fine but seedless and had low intelligence.
Kishiar did not deny the rumor and played with many.
His love affair history had been famous since his days as a prince, but the rumor was treated almost as true because no one showed up saying that they had his child.
It was also said that the emperor was generous with his younger brother Kishiar without killing him. And he was only letting Kishiar go because he didn’t cause any big accident with his only younger brother.
So when he first appeared properly and established the Cavalry and became the commander of it, some thought that the play-loving duke wanted to persuade the emperor to play a commander for a while after Awakening his power. It was a misunderstanding that would soon be broken.
On the surface, it would seem to be the first meaningful Awakener group on the continent founded by a duke from the imperial family. But it was not just beautiful from the inside.
Anyway, the fact that Kishiar, who had the last name ‘La Orr’, took charge of the armed group, could give him the image of trying to challenge the emperor’s power. But it was done without much noise because there was a power structure underneath it that no one else could see.
Yuder didn’t know this until after he became the commander. There might be other circumstances that he hadn’t known, but it was not known at the time of Kishiar’s and the former emperor’s death.
So even more, Yuder wondered what the real reason for Kishiar’s creation of this group was. Because he knew that Kishiar wasn’t as stupid as people said, nor was his sexual function crippled.
Was the good justification that Kishiar la Orr said indeed true? Was that really all?
“… You’re so surprised to hear my name that you can’t even speak?”
While continuing to think, Yuder came to his senses at the sound of Kiolle da Diarca snorting.
The Duke of Diarca had a blood relationship with the next crown prince. Therefore, he understood that this young knight, a member of that household, was complaining and citing Kishiar’s name.
The question, however, was why this person with such a background disappeared without a trace in the past.
Considering that he joined the Knight brigade, he was certainly not the duke’s successor. None of the four duke families had an infliction to martial arts, so they preferred to make their remaining children ministers or priests rather than sending them as knights.
Nevertheless, anyone of them who became a knight would have been a nobody there.
The energy flowing through his body didn’t seem to be that great either, so it was more likely that he’d risen to that position thanks to his family’s name than to his ability.
‘Did he live like that, infuriated someone, and was assassinated?’
Under his expressionless face, Yuder began to speak with a nonchalant thought.
“The Duke of Diarca. Of course, I’ve heard of it.”
“I guess so. Now just get out of here. This is no place for people like you to step in.”
“I cannot do that.”
“What?”
Kiolle’s cold face was distorted.
“How dare you ignore my orders?”
“Shall we get him out now?”
One of his servants asked, unable to resist an unpleasant look.
“It’s our commander who asked us to come here for training. Do you think you would’ve done this without discussing it with the commander of the Imperial Knights?”
In other words, he meant ‘why are you telling us what to do when the commander of the Imperial Knights already gave us permission?’.
As if he understood what Yuder meant, Kiolle’s eyes turned red with anger. Yuder thought he would try to get his men to drive them away, but he was more thoughtless than Yuder thought.
The young knight immediately drew a sword from his waist and pointed it at Yuder’s neck.
“Come. I will let you know your position today. Because you are one of the punks who are proud to believe that you have power.” (Kiolle)
“Yuder!”
Gakane jumped out from the back and tried to block Yuder’s front.
“I’ve heard that the Imperial Knights don’t draw swords meaninglessly. It wouldn’t be good for the knight to grow up like this.”
“This bastard and that bastard, both of you don’t know your position.”
The sword Kiolle aimed at did not shake. Yuder grabbed Gakane’s shoulder as he tried to go further forward to defend him.
“Gakane. Back off.”
“Yuder? Don’t tell me, you are…”
“Legally, the Cavalry members are not much different from the Imperial Knights. Even if we have a duel, it is fine as long as we have mutual consent.”
Originally, there was no duel between commoners and nobles. But this situation was extraordinary.
When Yuder pointed it out quietly, the Cavalry members, who were at a loss behind their backs, opened their mouths in unison. The same was true of Gakane’s expression.
“It can’t be all right, Yuder. No matter how…”
“It’s all right.”
Yuder said with confidence. Gakane’s green eyes momentarily drained after hearing his powerful voice. Yuder turned to his side and tilted his head.
“It’s great to be on the training ground. If you apply for a duel, I will accept it. But I don’t have a weapon, so the knight needs to provide me with a sword.”
“…Ha!”
There was a spark in Kiolle’s eyes.
“I’ve never seen such an insolent man in my life. Congratulations on making me wonder about the name of a mere commoner. What’s your name?”
‘Did he just hear that?’ Yuder opened his mouth, feeling a subtle pity for his intelligence.
“I’m Yuder.”
“All right. You there, offer him your sword.”
“Huh? But my sword is a family sword handed down by my father…”
As Kiolle nodded and said to one of the servants behind his back, the servant shook his head with a tearful look. It was so funny that the Cavalry members forgot it was a serious situation and burst into laughter.
“Pfft! He’s not even a five-year-old, what the hell is that? I wouldn’t want kids to play like that in my town.”
“Give me yours! I don’t want to! Huaa!”
“Who’s talking nonsense?”
The Cavalry members were quiet again due to Kiolle’s cold roar. But once the mood changed, it couldn’t change again just because he was shouting.
Even the Imperial Knights’ faces surrounding the area with the intention of watching the Cavalry members spread an unbearable smile. They used to think that Kiolle trusted in his family’s power.
Recognizing it, Kiolle’s face turned redder. He turned back and slapped the servant in the face.
“You dare defame the master you serve. You’re fired. Go back and pack up right away.”
“Pardon? N-no. I’ll give you my sword, Kiolle-nim!”
“I don’t need it. Don’t you hear me say get out? Or I’ll kill you here first.”
As Kiolle’s sword headed toward his neck, the servant screamed and fell down.
“I’m sorry!”
Most of the Kiolle’s servants looked to be in their mid-teens. Even though he knew how to use the sword to some extent, he was still young.
Swinging a sword without hesitation against such a child. Thinking of such a character, Yuder added confidence to speculation that Kiolle probably had been assassinated in the past by someone for a grudge.
‘What an irascible kid.’
Yuder raised his hand and swung slightly. Then Kiolle’s sword stopped momentarily as if it had been caught in an invisible hand and swung toward Yuder.
“Ugh! W, what!”
“Kiolle-nim!”
Kiolle, fortunately, did not miss the sword handle. However, as if he was pulled by a sword moving freely, he couldn’t get ahold of his body and fell forward.
“…”
Dust flopped over the nice training ground, where the soil was evenly spread like white powder.
Everyone was in shock. Kiolle himself, his subordinates, and the others surrounding him were shocked and couldn’t say anything. The only one not surprised here was Yuder himself.