"Of course you can, Grand Duchess. My own son will take you to see the contents of this mansion," said Duke Carbell.
"No need. I'll just go around on my own. See you then." Rowena got up from the sofa and walked away from the room to explore this from Duke Carbell's residence.
According to Prince Helios's story, the Duke Carbell Family was a criminal family that dominated the Sunverro Empire for a long time. The crimes they committed were theft, fraud, poison and drugs. This family has a crazy tradition that has been passed down through generations, namely killing each other to get the position of heir to the next Duke Carbell title.
All children born into Duke Carbell's family were obliged to kill each other's siblings. Whoever can survive is the winner who will become the next Duke Carbell. That was why the current Duke Carbell had 12 wives and 36 children. Rowena was a little surprised when she heard this story from Prince Helios. In her mind she kept wondering how there could be tradition and a father as crazy and cruel as this. Rowena's arrival is now aimed at eliminating the crazy tradition as well as eliminating Carbell.
As Rowena was wandering around the residence, her attention was drawn to a woman who was stabbing a man with a dagger in her hand. After the dagger was stabbed into the man's chest, the woman immediately crawled backwards in fright and spit out her stomach contents. According to Rowena's conjecture, it seemed like it was the woman's first experience in killing.
The woman kept throwing up her guts and crying. It seemed that she had accidentally killed the man in order to protect her own life if this incident was connected to that strange Carbell tradition. Rowena walked over to the woman and held out her hand to help her up.
"Stop crying and let's get out of here, Lady," Rowena said with a warm smile on her face.
The woman immediately stopped crying and took Rowena's hand and stood up. They both immediately left the place.
"This is the first time I've seen you. Who are you, anyway?" she asked.
"How about you say your name first, then I'll introduce myself," Rowena replied casually.
"My name is Cecille Fortina de Carbell, the youngest daughter of Duke Carbell," the woman introduced herself to Rowena.
Rowena nodded her head as a sign that she understood. "I'm just a guest here. I came with Helios earlier."
Cecille was surprised to hear that and immediately turned to Rowena. "You mean His Highness the Crown Prince of Helios?"
"Yes, you're right," said Rowena curtly.
Cecille was silent for a moment and began to think. "If you come with a person of high position like Crown Prince Helios, it seems that your identity cannot be underestimated."
"I think she's the right person," Rowena thought.
Rowena looked into Cecille's amber eyes and laughed loudly. "You really are better at thinking than killing people like you did just now. Your guess is absolutely correct."
"My name is Rowena Ernest de Erica," added Rowena.
Cecille covered her mouth with her hands in surprise. At first she only thought that Rowena was the daughter of a middle class noble who had been chosen to be the Crown prince's fiancé because she visited the Carbell residence with Prince Helios.
Cecille immediately knelt in front of Rowena. "My apologies for not recognizing you, Grand Duchess Erica."
"Never mind, you don't have to kneel like that. Besides, I'm also not like other Miss nobles who are snobby like that. But I'm still touched that you recognize me even though you've never set foot outside," replied Rowena.
Cecille rose to her feet again. "I am very embarrassed that Her Highness the Grand Duchess saw me at such an inopportune time like just now."
"Did your brother just want to kill you?" Rowena asked bluntly.
"Yes, you're right. You must know the tradition in our family. I didn't really want to kill my brother but if I didn't stab him then I'd be the one who died right then and there. I did that purely to protect my own life," explained Cecille, who seemed to be shaking a little because she was reminded of the events she had gone through.
"Do you want to be free from this crazy tradition?" asked Rowena suddenly.
Cecille subconsciously turned to Rowena with a confused expression. "What do you mean, Grand Duchess?"
Rowena looked into the woman's eyes intently. "I offer you freedom. I like your critical thinking attitude, so I want you to be my subordinate. Of course I will guarantee your safety and your comfort. Do you agree with my offer?"
Without thinking, Cecille immediately replied, "I agree, Your Majesty. I will remain loyal to dedicate myself to you if you can get me out of this miserable mental torture."
Rowena smiled satisfied with Cecille's answer. "Alright then let's go back to the room where everyone was gathered."
The two of them walked over to where Prince Helios was while chatting about the state of the Carbell family. Rowena kept digging up information from Cecille until she didn't realize that they had finally arrived at Carbell's living room. In the room there were only Helios and Duke Carbell. Rowena went to Prince Helios and sat beside him.
"Are you done walking around?" asked Prince Helios.
"Actually I'm still not satisfied walking around. But while on the way I found something interesting so I came back here to discuss it with Duke Carbell," answered Rowena who still kept a smile on her face.
"What interests you, Rowena? I think you should tell me too," said Prince Helios.
"I saw with my own eyes that Lady Cecille stabbed her own brother with a dagger. I feel lucky because I can see the Carbell family tradition firsthand," Rowena said jokingly.
Both Duke Carbell and Prince Helios were shocked to hear that.
Suddenly Rowena threw a necklace pendant that was Erica's family crest (the family crest given by the Emperor just the day after Rowena bestowed her title) right at Duke Carbell's face.
"I want to have a title fight with you, Duke Carbell," Rowena said confidently.
Title battles were battles fought by nobles at the stake of their titles. This battle can be done in inter-regional warfare, war, intelligence, or others. It's just that what determines the type of fight is the challenger for the title fight. The losing party will lose the title and all his wealth, while the winning party will get the title and wealth from the loser.