"Sigh..."
After a long conversation with his son Makai and seeing his back leaving the hall, the duke couldn't help but sigh heavily.
There was something else he didn't tell Makai that he was just keeping to himself.
14 years ago, when Teresa was about to leave, he didn't want to accept her departure and tried to use all of his Epic Knight strength to stop her from leaving this world, but no matter how hard he tried, his strength seemed to be meaningless in the face of her strength. Teresa didn't even need to use a weapon to beat him and just used her empty hands as she casually waved them.
At that moment, the duke had never felt so helpless before and, he knew, Teresa's enemies in the overworld were even more terrifying.
It had always been his desire to go look for her, but deep down, he knew there was nothing he could do, as he didn't have the strength.
However, his fight against Teresa was not without gain, soon after she left, he had broken through his bottleneck that he initially planned to break by going to adventure in the Mystic Valley and left the Epic Knight Realm advancing to a realm that many in the world of Lazeroth dream of achieving, but spend their entire lives trying without having any chance of success.
Since then, he has gained some confidence and has been gathering strength to force his way through the Mystic Valley.
Now that Makai has graduated, he has fulfilled the promise he had made to Teresa, and it was time to start putting his many-year plans into action.
While saying in today's council that the Collins family was about to face the same problems as their ancestors, while it's true, that's not the main reason he plans to rebel against the royal family.
Since Teresa left, the duke finally realized how insignificant he was in this world and looked like a frog at the bottom of a well.
So he set a goal when he became convinced of such a thought, "If I can't even become a King in this world, what qualifications do I have to go after Teresa in the upper world?"
Thinking about it, the duke smiled coldly as he withdrew a melon-sized crystal ball from inside his space storage ring.
By placing this crystal ball on the table, he pressed the palm of his right hand to its surface and injected its vital energy.
Soon, the entire crystal ball began to glow as several orange-colored runes began to light up.
If the Collins family members had witnessed this scene, they would have recognized this crystal ball but would have been surprised to see the orange-colored runes being lit up. If the space storage ring is a rare item, then this crystal ball would be classified as extremely rare.
The runes faded shortly after lighting up and from inside the crystal ball emerged a handsome face of a middle-aged man with short silver hair followed by a slightly husky voice, "Old friend, you've decided your heir, and you want to share your glory with this old man?"
Duke Marvin braced his right hand beside the crystal ball and began rhythmically tapping the table with his index finger as he said, "Old fox, how could I decide my heir casually?"
The face in the crystal ball looked surprised, "Hmm? Wasn't it announced that you would decide today?"
"What I decided today is just a method of who my heir would be... I'm contacting you for another reason."
That said, Duke Marvin retracted his right hand as he adjusted himself in the red wooden chair and looked solemn.
Noticing the change in his friend's tone, the face in the crystal ball also turned serious as he questioned, "Is it about that subject?"
"Hmm." Duke Marvin nodded and continued, "As I said before, I will take the lead and count on your support when necessary. However, plans have changed and you may not need to act..."
Soon, he began to tell the whole story plan that Makai had devised.
The more the face in the crystal ball listened, the more surprised he was, and when Duke Marvin was finished, he couldn't help but say, "Old friend, did you by any chance sleep with one of my wives and have Makai?"
Duke Marvin was dismayed and wanted to cry but had no tears, "Old fox, do you think I have your tastes? Who doesn't know that you have a harem all fox women?"
"Hahaha... It's true, how could any other man compare to this old man's vigor? Fox women aren't for everyone... Cough, cough... Alright, I won't play anymore..."
"I have to admit, Makai is really a sly little fox..."
"That Letter of Petition he prepared looks amazing..."
After the face in the crystal ball expressed his admiration for Makai, he changed the subject, "Old friend, Makai turned 15 yesterday and still hasn't had his first wife, right?"
Duke Marvin frowned, but very quickly he returned to normal, "You're not wrong. Makai just graduated and still doesn't have a wife..."
"Old fox, don't tell me you want to influence my child tastes for this one your side..."
"Old friend, don't get me wrong. Your child Makai, in addition to being a great talent and excelling during his studies at the Knights Academy, he also seems to be a very smart boy..."
"See, I have a daughter who is also very talented and matches Makai very well..."
"You must have heard about her, right?"
Seeing his friend's sly gaze in the crystal ball, the duke wanted to curse him, but he still replied, "Who in the Starfall Kingdom doesn't know The Brightest Pearl in the South? Even the 7th Prince intends to make it his wife..."
"Hahaha. You get the point. Since we're going to board this boat and navigate rough waters, why not choose the fastest boat?"
"You... You are indeed an old fox... However, it looks good and I believe that Makai will not refuse such a proposal..."
"Old fox, I accept this marriage. However, I cannot guarantee that your daughter will be the first wife..."
"Fine. Makai just needs to accept her and treat her well. The 7th Prince seems to be getting more and more impatient waiting for an answer..." The face in the crystal ball snorted, "Hmm! Does the Royal Family think we're their golden goose so they can come here and get them when they feel like it?"
"They think I forgot... Sigh... Forget it."
Seeing his old friend sigh as he said these words, Duke Marvin knew what he meant and consoled him, "Don't worry, you will have the opportunity to seek your revenge. In the meantime, my daughter Jennifer will be leaving tomorrow to develop in your borders... When you cut off the supply of your minerals and resources with the Southern Chamber of Commerce to cooperate with us, there may be some flies trying to disturb our cooperation. At that time, do not hesitate to contact Jennifer, she will know what to do... By the way, don't underestimate her, Jennifer may have no interest in management, but when it comes to eliminating a few flies, she'll do it very well."
The face in the crystal ball nodded, "If these flies dare to riot in my duchy, don't mention your daughter, Jennifer, for I have many daughters who are not easy to provoke either..."
"Although our family belongs to the left-wing party and cannot develop its own military force, there is no law that prevents me from having hundreds of fox daughters, right? Hahaha..."
Duke Marvin was dismayed when he said in disbelief, "Don't tell me that the reason you have such a large harem of fox women is just to form an army of fox daughters?"
"Hahaha..." The face in the crystal ball laughed with pride.
...
Meanwhile, Makai, who was now leaving the castle and heading to the family's military barracks, had no idea that his father had already found him a wife.
He now was looking at the silver ring on his left ring finger as he thought, "This storage ring is very convenient... But its internal space is not very big..."
Before leaving the hall, his father had presented him with this ring, and in addition to keeping the small golden brocade box left by his mother, there were also 1,000 gold coins.
"These 1,000 gold coins, I don't know where they came from..."
"Probably, his intention in giving me these gold coins is to use them when I cooperate with Uncle Thoradin, after all, within our duchy, there is no trade..."
"When members of the Collins family need something, they just sign in the booklet and get it as long as it doesn't exceed the quota... As for the salary of the commoners, they only receive food, clothes, and utensils for their daily needs since there is no money circulating..."
"Such a flawed method of government, it is no wonder that many military families perish in the annals of history..."
While thinking about the direction he would take in administering his new territory, Makai quickly arrived at the military barracks consisting of several pavilions not far from Crimson Castle.
In the military barracks, there were two main pavilions, the Arms Pavilion and the Combat Pavilion.
Naturally, the Arms Pavilion is where the entire Collins Family's arsenal is kept, and the Combat Pavilion is where the family's Knights are trained.
As resident commoners of the Crimson Duchy, they could not study at the Knights Academy in the Royal Capital, and they could only hope that the Collins family would admit them as Apprentice Knights when they turn 10 years old and awaken their vital seeds.
It is true that anyone in the world of Larezorth could become a Knight, but the situation of commoners is very different, as many of them do not have a good diet and do not receive the proper instructions to progress on their knightly path that they decided follow, often, they didn't even know what a Knight's path was or even what a palace was.
Due to these many limitations, commoners could not achieve great achievements and their path in a knight's way progressed very slowly. It is also for this reason that all commoners residing in military duchies wish to be accepted into the military family to receive proper training while swearing to follow that family to the death. They do not want to work in the mines and fields just to receive their daily necessities.
The Collins Family's Combat Pavilion is separated into three sections, the Apprentice Knight's Barracks, the Bronze Knight's Barracks, and the Elites' Barracks.
To the left, Makai observed a large pavilion built of gray stones and its structure looked like a big football stadium. On the big black gate in front was a big sign that said: Apprentice Knight's Barracks.
Facing this barracks, on the right side of Makai, was a similar large pavilion, only the stones that were used in its construction are the color of bronze and on the plaque above the gate it said: Barracks of the Bronze Knight.
At the bottom of this passage, behind these two great pavilions, was another pavilion built of large silver stones. Despite being further away, Makai didn't have to guess that this was the Elite Barracks.
Since he had been left alone while having a long conversation with his father, his older brothers had already selected their retinues of Knights and departed to their residences to take care of their preparations.
His father had also told him that he could select an entourage of 100 Bronze Knights and 10 Silver Saints to follow him, but Makai had other plans.
After he saw the Glacial Castle, and that he could still summon powerfully and 100% loyal troops, it would be wiser to leave the Knights from the military barracks to serve the family.
However, in order not to arouse suspicion, he still had to recruit some Knights and decided to recruit Apprentice Knights as they are easier to earn his trust. Once the Knights advance to a Bronze Knight, he would begin to form ideals of his own and join his proper factions within the family.
Soon, Makai entered the Apprentice Knight's Barracks.
Inside the Barracks, there were a few thousand young men in their 10s and 20s wearing red clothes with the Collins family crest as they swung their wooden spears or swords in sync.
Facing these young men was a middle-aged man clad in a set of silver armor as he gave instructions, "Posture, you must know that balance in your postures is the foundation if you want to advance in your Knight paths..."
This instructor had not finished his monotonous speech when he noticed that the great gates of the barracks were being opened, "Who is visiting today?"
"There are no young men missing here... Unless..."
Soon, he seemed to remember that not long ago, the Duke's sons were recruiting Knights from the other two barracks, and he ordered aloud, "Position."
As the thousands of youths stood straight as they pointed their swords downwards and their spears upwards, a great rustling echoed uniformly in Makai's ears as he entered, "Good. These youths seem to receive the same training methods as the Knight Academy..."
Nodding satisfied with the discipline of the Apprentice Knights, Makai walked slowly towards the instructor.