At Grand Duke Kerrac's mansion, Kerrac was currently questioning his eldest son, Tove.
"How is it? Have you found Catherine?" Kerrac asked, frowning.
"Father, there is still not a single trace," Tove replied with his head bowed.
"How is that possible?" Kerrac's frown deepened as he asked in a low voice, "Have we been keeping an eye on the royal palace?"
His current situation was far from good; it could even be described as highly dangerous. He originally thought he could secure a marriage alliance with Grand Duke Benson, but unexpectedly, it had failed, leading to this awkward and perilous predicament.
If another Grand Duke were won over by the First Prince, then he would truly be in peril. After all, a single Grand Duke could not stand against the First Prince alone.
Now, his only hope was to get Catherine back and join forces with Grand Duke Benson. That way, they might be able to seize more advantages, perhaps even pull the First Prince down and claim the throne for themselves.
Although he had many ideas, the other Grand Dukes weren't stupid either. They were all the type to refuse to act without seeing a clear benefit. Some were also afraid of being purged by the First Prince, so they preferred to maintain the current stalemate.
"There is no news from the palace either. I heard Princess Lucy was also taken away," Tove said in a low voice.
"Damn it, who exactly is pulling the strings behind all this?" Kerrac said, infuriated.
He knew exactly what the other two Grand Dukes were thinking; their thoughts were pretty much the same as his own.
"Father, what do we do now? Should we approach Grand Duke Porken for an alliance?" Tove asked.
"He refused." Kerrac sighed and said, "He still leans toward the First Prince. He is only hesitating because he hasn't received certain guarantees."
"Then... then what do we do? If this drags on any longer, it will be detrimental to us," Tove said anxiously. It had to be remembered that they were the ones who had betrayed the First Prince in the first place.
"No need to rush." Kerrac waved his hand, rubbing his temples as he pondered how to break the deadlock.
Tap, tap, tap... Just then, hurried footsteps approached the study, followed by a knock on the door.
"My Lord, the First Prince has sent someone to deliver an order," The butler called out.
"Oh? Bring him in." Kerrac frowned. An order? He had stopped taking orders a long time ago.
"Yes, My Lord," The butler replied respectfully.
Creak... A moment later, the study door was pushed open, and Deacon Number Three walked in. This time, he was here to deliver the order—or rather, to persuade Grand Duke Kerrac to head to the Western Lands.
"And you are?" Kerrac narrowed his eyes. He knew this person was by the First Prince's side, but he had no idea about his background.
"Grand Duke Kerrac, I am the one sent to deliver His Highness's orders." Deacon Number Three bowed.
"What orders?" Kerrac raised an eyebrow.
"Before announcing the order, allow me to share a piece of intelligence with you, Grand Duke Kerrac," Deacon Number Three said with a smile playing on his lips.
"Speak," Kerrac said flatly.
"I know who captured Lady Catherine, and where she was taken," Deacon Number Three said evenly.
He thoroughly enjoyed this feeling—being able to manipulate people from various powerful factions and watching them act according to his designs.
"Who?" Kerrac's eyes widened, his voice turning grim. "Where is Catherine now?"
"Lucas. Lady Catherine should currently be in Sedona City, which is in the Western Lands," Deacon Number Three said calmly.
"How is that possible?" Tove was the first to express disbelief. The Western Lands were so far away; how could Catherine have suddenly ended up in such a remote place?
"What if birdkin were involved?" Deacon Number Three spread his hands and said coolly. "Even Princess Lucy was taken to Sedona City."
"..." Kerrac fell silent, quietly staring at Deacon Number Three. After a long while, he said, "The order wouldn't happen to be for me to go to Sedona City and rescue Princess Lucy, would it?"
"It is." Deacon Number Three nodded faintly. It was inevitable that the order would be guessed.
"Inform His Highness that I am advanced in age and find it difficult to travel. Please ask His Highness to find someone else," Kerrac said coldly, his expression unchanging. "If possible, have them rescue Catherine along the way as well."
Yes, he was abandoning Catherine. Asking him to go to the Western Lands—wasn't that just a ploy to remove him from the center of power in the royal capital?
"There is no rush. His Highness's order has not been fully announced yet," Deacon Number Three said, completely unmoved.
"What else is there?" Kerrac frowned. No matter what the order was, he had no intention of obeying it.
"His Highness orders Grand Duke Kerrac to depart immediately for Sedona City to rescue Princess Lucy. Upon success, you are to remain in the Western Lands. That entire region will become your fief, Grand Duke Kerrac," Deacon Number Three said with a smile on his lips.
"What is the meaning of this?" Kerrac suspected he had misheard.
"Grand Duke Kerrac, His Highness intends to grant you the Western Lands as your territory," Deacon Number Three stated plainly.
"Where is the official decree?" Kerrac asked in a deep voice.
"Right here." Deacon Number Three pulled a linen scroll from his chest and handed it to the Grand Duke.
"It's actually real..." Kerrac murmured as he examined the official seal on the decree.
He hadn't expected Lucia to possess such immense boldness as to grant him the entire Western Lands. That was two-tenths of the entire Siacan Kingdom's territory.
The central region accounted for four-tenths of the Siacan Kingdom's territory, the west two-tenths, the east two-tenths, and the north and south one-tenth each. This was the territorial distribution of the kingdom.
The most barren was the west, the Western Lands, followed by the north and south. The most prime real estate was the inland central region.
"In that case, I ask that Grand Duke Kerrac depart for the Western Lands as soon as possible." Deacon Number Three left these words behind and departed, knowing full well that Kerrac was tempted.
Creak! The door closed. Tove immediately spoke up, "Father, are we really going to that remote western region?"
"What do you know?" The corners of Kerrac's mouth turned up. His eyes brimmed with ambition—the ambition to crown himself King.
"But..." Tove wanted to say more. He certainly didn't want to go to that remote place and suffer.
"We can become Kings," Kerrac chuckled lightly. Remote or not, as long as the territory was large enough, they could develop it. He could establish his own kingdom.
"Be... become Kings?" Tove's eyes widened.
"Heh... Otherwise, why would Lucia think I'd ever leave the royal capital? This is his compromise with us," Kerrac sneered.
He naturally knew that going to the Western Lands would be dangerous. Once the First Prince eliminated the other two factions and the Second Prince, his turn would come.
But that wouldn't happen until next year at the earliest. He could take this opportunity to recruit troops, buy horses, and strengthen his forces before facing the First Prince again. That would be vastly better than his current predicament.
Or rather, it was his sheer ambition that gave him the courage to take this gamble.
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