29. The Duke's Dark Schemes

“Reet contracted with a dragon?!”

Kait had returned home and reported what had transpired, only to face his father’s fury.

“I’m terribly sorry…”

Kait offered his apologies while trembling.

“Blast it… You useless fool. And to think I was chosen on my first attempt…”

“I truly am sorry…”

“…However, knowing Reet as I do, he was probably chosen by some insignificant dragon anyway. In other words, there’s still a possibility that you could be chosen by that ‘Blue Egg.’”

“…The ‘Blue Egg,’ you say? Is that perhaps the one that hasn’t hatched in 700 years…?”

When Kait asked in return, the Duke went rigid, his voice sharpening as he replied.

“Surely not… Could that wretch have been chosen by the ‘Blue Egg’?”

“Well… Father… If I may speak…”

Learning that his banished son had been chosen by the legendary dragon that even he had failed to contract with, Duke Ride Welzley’s fury escalated. He drove his fist against the wall, laying bare his rage.

“Damn him…!!”

At this point, Kait couldn’t even bring himself to apologize.

“…Blast it. Never mind. …It’s fine, no problem…”

The Duke spoke as if to convince himself.

“Don’t worry. We have the commander of the Eastern Knight Order as our backing.”

That was the Duke’s greatest strength. The current Eastern Knight Order commander was the Duke’s successor in rank and was essentially a subordinate in all but name. If the Duke asked a favor of the commander, there was almost nothing he couldn’t accomplish.

“I’ll force his way up to Seventh Rank if I have to.”

With those words, the Duke stood before a contact mirror that hung on the wall. It was an item used to hold conversations at great distances—a costly thing, but easily obtained with the Duke’s wealth.

“Connect me to the Eastern Knight Order commander’s office!”

When the Duke issued his command to the mirror, a middle-aged man appeared on its surface moments later.

The current Eastern Knight Order commander.

“Duke Welzley! How are you doing?”

“I’m well. I have a favor to ask of you today.”

“Please, command as you will.”

Remarkably humble words from a man who had reached the very pinnacle of knighthood. It made plain that the commander had incurred a great debt to Duke Ride Welzley.

“I want you to promote my Kait to Seventh Rank. Can it be done?”

When the Duke asked, the commander nodded readily. “Of course, Your Grace.”

“Splendid. I knew I could count on you.”

“The timing couldn’t be better, actually. Princess Camilla just asked me to give a promotion to the son of Duke Argyle. We were planning to conduct an ‘Elite Selection’ within the Eastern Knight Order for that very reason. It’s framed as a temporary promotion exam—a way to nurture promising young talent as executive candidates early on. Of course, it was only designed to promote Argyle’s son, but we can arrange for Kait to slip in as well.”

“Excellent. That way he can take the platoon leader exam this year too.”

A platoon leader is a position held by those of Sixth Rank. To take the exam, naturally one needed to already hold Seventh Rank.

Duke Ride Welzley’s expression brightened with relief.

“And… there’s one more favor I have to ask. This one is a bit… ‘dirty.’”

“Anything at all.”

“There’s a man I want you to hurt.”

“Who might that be?”

When the commander asked, Duke Ride Welzley answered in cold, measured words.

“Reet.”

Upon hearing that name, even the commander was shaken.

“…Your own son…?”

But the Duke’s reply was ice-cold.

“That boy is no longer my son. He is a stain upon our house. An eyesore. Break one of his limbs—cut off his hands or feet so he can never hold a sword again. Worst case… I don’t care if you kill him.”

The Eastern Knight Order commander had done many dirty jobs at the Duke’s command before, but even he hesitated at an order to maim or kill his own son. Yet when he saw the look in the Duke’s eyes and understood that he was in earnest, he could only nod in assent.

“…As it happens, there is a man who despises your son with a burning hatred. He would go so far as to ‘go berserk’ if it meant his revenge…”

Hearing this, the Duke nodded. “Good.”

“I’m counting on you, Commander.”

“I shall see it done.”