# 60
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In fact, there was no need to go the long way around. It was because Edward Rinco was in none other than the underground archives. He stood there staring blankly into the interior of the archives with his back to the door.
“Marquis So!”
However, Edward did not look back at her. As he stared straight ahead as if lost in thought, the lady-in-waiting also followed him and looked straight ahead.
“!!”
The maid covered her mouth without realizing it.
Richmond's archives, usually filled with the Marquis and Countess's unofficial documents, were spotlessly empty. As if a thief had broken in.
The Duchy of Richmond is a duchy. From managing the castle garrison to overseeing the servants in the inner castle and handling minor administrative tasks, there is so much to govern and manage. Edward was convinced that the work of regency his parents had performed was by no means an easy task. Therefore, he believed that even if the Duke intended to ruin the Marquis of Rinco, he would not interfere with his parents' authority until he was sufficiently prepared.
"From this moment on, the authority of regency temporarily granted to the Marquis Rinko is revoked. However, for the sake of an efficient and smooth handover of duties, you must not leave the castle for the time being. Do you understand?"
However, the Duke drove out the Count family of Lewen and simultaneously revoked the regency authority of the Marquis family. Furthermore, he prevented the Marquis Rinko family from leaving the castle.
When Edward, seized with fear, immediately ran to the underground archives, they were completely empty.
This is the key to the only underground archive in the Duke of Richmond Castle. You take care of it.
His father's words flashed through his mind amusingly. Edward gripped the library key so tightly it threatened to break and asked his mother's maid standing behind him.
What is the matter?
"master……."
As Edward turned to look at her with reddened eyes, the maid flinched and spoke.
We, who served the Marquise… have been stripped of our authority as ladies-in-waiting within the castle. We are no longer able to issue orders to the castle's servants.
"under……."
In other words, it meant that his mother could no longer reign as the head of the fortress.
Edward let out a sigh.
Secret documents were stolen, Father lost the administrative authority he held as regent, and Mother was effectively stripped of her authority in the inner palace.
Then, what remained was the troops. The problem was that the position of Count Rwen, who had been managing the troops until now, had become vacant.
All of this happened in just one day.
Edward left his mother's maid behind and stepped out onto the ground. The cold rain continued, and the chill seeping through the stone walls made his hair stand on end.
He walked frantically toward somewhere. Then, when he reached a fork in the road, confusion washed over him. His labored breaths shattered into white fragments.
“Haa, haa…….”
For the first time, Edward felt this castle was unfamiliar.
Looking around, he began to climb the stairs aimlessly. After climbing the spiral staircase like a madman, he reached the top of a spire with a small bell hanging from it. It was one of the many spires erected in the Duke of Richmond Castle.
As the spire consisted entirely of four stone pillars supporting a pointed roof and a waist-high stone railing, the wind and rain lashed down directly upon it. Edward approached the stone railing closely, oblivious to the fact that his entire body was becoming soaked.
“…….”
The vast Duke's castle unfolded before his eyes. The magnificent main castle, thousands of corridors, and hundreds of towers. Hundreds of blue eagle banners hanging atop the towers fluttered vigorously, even as they glistened with moisture.
And Edward's gaze, which had been staring blankly at the waves of the curtain, was drawn somewhere like iron filings being pulled by a magnet.
Their red cloaks and black armor stood out clearly even amidst the thick mist. The torrential rain seemed to be of no hindrance to them, and the bone-chilling cold also appeared unable to penetrate their strong muscles.
The five hundred knights who had returned alive with the Duke crossed the gates of the Duke of Richmond Castle. The knights guarding the castle under Count Lewen were pushed back by their momentum and were nowhere to be seen.
The black knights lined up in two rows stopped in perfect order at a certain moment. Then, at the precise timing, they looked at each other and stepped back a few steps.
Then, following the path made by the knights, a man appeared riding on horseback. The two knights standing at the very back followed behind him, holding a long banner emblazoned with a blue eagle.
"ha……."
Edward let out a sigh.
It was purely his delusion that the Duke would need more time to seize the castle. Coming to his senses, Edward hurriedly descended the spire. He spotted his mother's lady-in-waiting who had come looking for him, and he ran to her and spoke quickly.
The guest from the capital. I must meet that guest right now.
* * *
It was last night that the master's order was issued to the knights, who had each been holding their breath.
They waited for the castle gates to open, wearing the black armor they had worn at the Wall of Death and red cloaks draped over their shoulders.
A dark morning with cold rain falling. Count Rwen's family was driven out.
And how much longer did we wait? The criminal was beheaded in the moat, and the master appeared atop the massive castle wall.
A cruel smile hung over the knights' menacing faces.
It feels good to be back alive.
Someone's murmuring flowed down along with the rain.
Crimson Isaac approached Ares, who was standing on the castle wall looking down at the knights waiting only for his orders. He had just finished executing 'Iron Foot'.
Preparation is complete.
Ares turned silently and put on the black helmet he was holding.
The garrison guarding the castle walls instinctively took a step back and bowed their heads toward him. It was an already bleak day, perhaps due to the drizzling rain and the darkening sky. Amidst this, the Duke, clad in black armor and a red cloak, looked like a god of war.
Ares soared onto the warhorse Crimson had brought. Watching this, the guards opened the gates for him and built a bridge over the moat before the order was even given.
As Ares crossed the moat on his warhorse, the five hundred knights waiting for him on the other side mounted their horses in unison. Seeing the cruel smiles on their lips, Ares also chuckled. There was no need to give orders or ask for their intentions.
As he rode toward the vast, rain-soaked plains of Richmond, the knights followed him as if they had been waiting for this very moment.
The rain struck my helmet and soaked my back, but what is a mere rain?
With the roar of hundreds of warhorses pounding the earth, the cloaks of comrades fluttering before one's eyes, and a master who had vowed to follow even unto death, it did not matter even if it was a place where arrows rained down.
Led by Ares, the five hundred knights ran in a long line along the outer perimeter of the massive Duke of Richmond Castle. The momentum of the knights, galloping with their bright red cloaks fluttering, reached the guards protecting the ramparts. The Duke's return left a deep impression on the minds of the guards, who had served Count Rwen as their superior for the past decade or so.
“Wow... Maybe it’s because they’ve survived the wall of death... but they’re different.”
The procession of the Duke and the knights did not end there.
Ares had the back gate opened after walking about halfway around the long fortress wall. Residential areas for commoners were densely concentrated near the back gate. Countless people flocked to the wide road leading from the back gate to the main fortress.
As Ares and the knights marched slowly along the path through the common people, shouts were heard from all around.
"dismissal!!!"
His Excellency has returned!!
However, the Duke did not respond to their call, nor did he remove his helmet to reveal his face. He simply silently announced the return of the Duke of Richmond.
As we passed through the area filled with commoners, a wall and a huge gate appeared again.
The gatekeepers opened the gates before the order was given. The dismounted knights entered the castle before Ares. As he rode in last, countless eyes flew in from every corner of the building.
Ares continued the march, leading the knights lined up in two rows. As all the nobles following the Duke rushed out and knelt on their left knees toward him, the servants also stopped what they were doing and knelt on their left knees toward him.
The white-haired Count Rodeo also knelt, leaving his son's worries behind. He should have done this long ago. His knees always ached, but today he didn't even feel the pain. Having remained kneeling throughout the long procession, as if that wasn't enough, he finally walked out into the pouring rain corridor.
"father!"
As the second son rushed over to support him, the old Count shook off his hand.
“Do not support him!”
Then, he walked proudly following behind the last knight, and other nobles who saw this rushed out to join the procession.
Ares moved like a rushing wave toward the shore, leading the long wave of loyalty clinging to his back. All the while, he never once looked back.