The three dukes had come to their own conclusions and set their suspicious gazes toward the Glutt family for a number of different reasons.
Some of them being the previous attacks on Zou, the internal problems within the Meridian family and the recently captured people who had been infiltrating onto the grounds which Catviper and Dogstorm were protecting.
There was little proof to point the finger towards the Glutt family but the recent actions had only confirmed their suspicions a little more as they each sensed the potential danger the family created within Zou.
If their nature was to be understood then the Glutt family were very greedy and malicious, if limits were not placed on them or they were not put in their place soon and they were able to grow enough in power then their greed would cause Zou to crumble.
Their greed would not be satisfied from just sitting at the top so they would slowly bring Zou to ruin as they would devour everything like hungry hyenas leaving nothing but bones behind.
Once they were done, they would search for a new hunting ground to satisfy their unsatisfied greed and hunger.
If their hands had already extended outside of Zou and had made their own mark in various places whether good or bad places then they would have a place to rely on to move to once everything was finished or to use to rise to the top as they desired.
Baan, Catviper and Dogstorm were briefly able to see into that part of them during the hunting event so they would keep a closer eye on them in the future.
If there was a key way to overcome them then it was the Meridian family which were their current main opponents and most things seemed to be centred around the heirs and Pixel.
If the Glutt family won and gained the Meridian family, they gained the whole of the trade rights and control over the various supplies to Zou which would only help them gain more power so it was something that could not be allowed to happen.
Upon approaching Pixel and Rufus, they quickly learned about the details of the hunting competition which made them even more certain that the Glutt family were becoming impatient enough to act against two of the children of the main line of the Meridian family.
They were eager for results so there were more chances that they would make mistakes and expose themselves so Pixel had given the three Dukes a great gift by handling it as she did.
Micah was still dancing with Cleo while showing his protectiveness over her but he would occasionally peer over towards Rufus who was talking to Pixel.
Cleo squinted her eyes as she gazed at him. "What is wrong?"
Micah showed a playful look on his face and answered. "Nothing, I am just curious how your grandfather is thinking of my proposal."
Cleo blushed a little and bashfully stepped on his foot lightly which showed how comfortable she had become around him. "Stop joking around."
Micah showed a satisfied smile but his ears were alertly tilted up as if he was trying to overhear the conversation far away.
Rufus looked over at the dancing couple then sighed. "What do you think of this? I want Cleo to be happy but marrying into a Marquess family may only bring her more harm. The pressure will only be higher once she goes there and our family will be unable to assist her."
It was clear that once Cleo married into the Marquess family, she was no longer a Meridian and she would have many challenges ahead as a wife of the future head of the family.
She would have to deal with the allies and opponents of the family while dealing with internal family problems so the Meridian family could not get involved.
Some that married into families above their status would have a difficult time adjusting and would be suppressed or suffer many injustices from their in laws or others within the family home so Rufus couldn't help but worry about Cleo.
Pixel looked over at Cleo who was displaying a bashful attitude towards Micah. "I do not know a lot about this Micah or his family all that much but they seem to like each other. First we should accept and see how things go between them then we can see how they are when they reach the appropriate age."
Rufus placed his hand on his chin and frowned. "I never imagined anything like this happening. It came so soon without warning."
The youngest among his grandchildren had already found her future partner so Rufus was feeling a little down about it but he knew that it would not be long until there were others that would be arranged to have their own engagements. "Are you interested in anyone yet? You seem to have met lots of others over the time you have spent training with Catviper."
Pixel shook her head with an innocent look on her face. "I do not have anyone like that right now. I do not want a political marriage either."
Rufus patted her head and rubbed her hair playfully. "That is good. Take your time then."
Pixel continued to stare silently examining him then whispered to Rufus. "Look into Micah and his family as much as you can. I find him.. a little strange?"
She saw something strange about Micah but she was not yet sure so she wished to investigate his details to identify why she felt that way.
Rufus answered with a voice filled with regret. "It would be difficult for me to investigate him since his family is higher status than us but I can ask Baan for some information. I will get it to you soon. By the way, what do you plan on doing with what you captured?"
Pixel answered. "You mean the lord of the swamp? I will keep it and raise it well. I always wanted a good mount."
Rufus rolled his eyes and turned to watch the ongoing festivities. "Hah.. do what you want. Just do not use it to cause any trouble."
Pixel smiled and raised her hand to state her intend as she said. "I promise grandfather."
The festivities were coming to an end as the various families were discussing many things together and making their own negotiations or partnerships out in the open until Baan showed up towards the end. "I would like to make an announcement to end this event. There has been some preparations being made behind the scenes by the three duke families for a while now and it is time to announce it.
There will soon be a public school being opened to everyone whether they are noble children or commoners. The funds have already been prepared along with hiring some capable teachers, it does not matter whether you are an heir or a second or illegitimate child of a family or are an orphan without a family.. all will be allowed to study there so long as they work hard to improve the selves.
There will be different lessons available from combat training to different others to help learn the skills needed for different jobs or roles so I hope that the many families here will give it a try and send your children once it is opened within the next couple of months.
While most higher ranked noble families have their own tutors, not every family has their own who can prepare their children for the future challenges they may face so I hope to give such families and children a place where the young can improve themselves for the sake of Zou's future prosperity."
There was a brief silence within the crowd but then many of the lower families started to break the silence as they praised. "Oh wow.."
"Finding a tutor is always so difficult."
"The duke families are stepping up to help us lower nobles."
"Finally.. we can send our dumb son to a place where he can compare himself with others and change his ways."
Many saw many positive things in the school being established but then there were some voices which were not so accepting. "Nobles and commoners studying together?"
"Why would I send my child to such a place when I have my own trusted tutors?"
"The dukes are making a stupid decision this time."
Baan spoke up again after listening to their gossip. "Alright then that is the end of it but please give it a chance before putting down the idea completely. Not everyone had access to certain resources and knowledge so it is very difficult for our country to show more talented people. I want to see a new Zou with many pillars which will support it into its new future."
He did a slight bow then left and by doing so, he left behind many speechless nobles who failed to convince him against the idea while others with a lower status were silently cheering and considering pledging their complete loyalty to the dukes.
It was a sudden and surprising move which was made by Baan but many did not know that Pixel had been the one to suggest such a thing and she had been donating towards it while providing some of her own ideas.
Nobody knew that a young girl had already caused the three dukes to make the very move which caused the nobles to be very surprised and that they had already used that that show their support and approval of her as they placed their hopes on her future.