Although Quint Will had climbed over the wall to break into the Merrick family estate, he was in no hurry to explain himself.
He made himself completely at home, his face calm, but his eyes sized up Liszt with a hint of surprise.
After a long while, he nodded as if in appreciation.
"You've exceeded my expectations!"
"Not only did you not go looking for Anna once this month, but you've also been diligently practicing your family's saber techniques."
"What surprised me the most is that you actually discovered the affair between Anna and Ruiz, and even had the news passed on to me."
"Was it the day after the duel was set that you found out about them, and that's when you came to your senses?"
Quint Will recounted Liszt's recent activities, almost all of which were under his investigation, except for the information about him leaving the city to eliminate the three-headed hounds.
Liszt wasn't surprised by this, if he could gather information on the other party, the other party could naturally do the same to him.
It was just that the duke's son before him always maintained the posture of a superior, or rather, a controller, which annoyed him a little.
He was clearly younger than him, and his strength was mediocre.
If he were still the original Liszt, the other party would have the right to act this way.
But now, the tables had long since turned!
"So, you knew about the relationship between Anna and Ruiz all along?"
Liszt patiently asked the other party.
Although the other's attitude made him uncomfortable, now was not the time to be rash.
If he really wanted to teach him a lesson, there would be plenty of opportunities in the dueling arena tomorrow.
The most important thing now was to figure out Quint's purpose for visiting him tonight.
"But of course!"
"The mere daughter of a finance minister, did you really think I'd fall for her?"
"She just thought she was being clever, trying to use me to tie you down, if she weren't still useful, hehe~!"
Speaking of Anna, Quint's face immediately turned disdainful, and a hint of ruthlessness even flashed in his eyes.
As expected, the future Duke Will III couldn't possibly be a fool who would duel over a woman.
The information I knew from the future expansion was correct after all!
"So, you're deliberately causing trouble for my Merrick family?"
Since it wasn't for the woman, Anna, the conclusion was obvious, the other party was targeting him, or rather, the Merrick family behind him.
"Yes! But I'm not the one causing trouble for your Merrick family!"
"It's my father, Duke Will II."
Quint maintained a polite smile, quietly watching Liszt across from him, and seeing no sign of panic, the smile and appreciation on his face grew stronger.
He had thought that Liszt, the last successor of the Merrick family, was a good-for-nothing who only had eyes for women, but unexpectedly, he had some brains and was quick on the uptake.
Since he could come to his senses at a critical moment and not be blinded by love, such a person was worthy of his attention.
...
Although Liszt's face was calm at the moment, his heart had quietly sunk.
Over the past half-month, he had predicted countless possible reasons for this duel incident.
And now that the answer was revealed, it was the worst-case scenario he had considered.
The one causing him trouble wasn't the mere duke's son, Quint, but Duke Will II himself.
If that was the case, there wouldn't be much time left for him to grow.
"So His Grace the Duke wants my life?"
…
"My father has no intention of taking your life."
"Whether you live or die makes no difference to him."
"It's just that in his eyes, the Merrick family no longer has a reason to exist!"
"I believe you can figure out the reason, although the target is your Merrick family, the real target isn't your family, it's just that your family happens to be in decline."
Liszt quickly understood what Quint was saying.
The current situation in the Duchy of Will was one where the Duke Will family held absolute power.
Then there were the new nobles surrounding the Duke, and the seven old Profession-user families led by the Earl Connor family.
During Duke Will I's era, he chose to coexist peacefully with his old comrades, the seven Profession-user families.
But now with Will II, it was clear he was not satisfied with having a force within the duchy that was somewhat transcendent and did not completely obey his ducal command.
All seven Profession-user families were within Will II's sights.
The Merrick family was already the fastest declining among the seven Profession-user families, and also the easiest to suppress.
From Will II's perspective, Liszt saw that the purpose of eliminating the Merrick family first was obvious.
It was to serve as a warning to the remaining six Profession-user families, to see if they would change their stance and pledge true allegiance in the time to come.
If not... a larger-scale civil strife would soon befall the Duchy of Will.
"In that case, why are you telling me all this?"
Tonight, Quint's few words had allowed Liszt to completely clarify the power factions within the duchy that had confused him for a month.
However, Liszt still couldn't be completely sure of the stance of Quint Will himself.
"Do you even need to ask? If I listened to my father in everything, how could the title of Duke Will III possibly fall to me in the future?"
"Even though my Profession-user talent is no worse than my elder brothers', among the six heirs, he dislikes me the most, and I receive the fewest resources."
"If things truly go as he wishes, my future is either death or being sent to the borderlands as a minor noble."
…
"So you plan to unite our seven families to secretly oppose Will II?"
Liszt was certain that according to the world's inertia, Quint would become Will III in the future.
But how could a mere heir like Quint, who was not favored by the Duke, possibly have the power to contend with the other heirs.
Then the force that could ultimately overthrow or overpower the other heirs must be a power within the duchy other than the ducal faction, the seven Profession-user families were naturally Quint's best choice.
"I understand!"
"Then tomorrow's duel...?"
From the current look of things, he and Quint were not in a state of hostility, one could even say they were potential allies.
The one most concerned about tomorrow's duel was actually Will II, who wanted to use it to slap the faces of the seven Profession-user families, and it was also the beginning of his move against them.
When Quint Will mentioned the duel, he seemed unconcerned, casually stating his original plan.
"Originally, I planned to either seriously injure you or cut off one of your arms, as a show for my father, but now..."
…
"I've changed my mind!"
...
Quint Will looked at him with the appreciative gaze of a superior.
The afterglow of the setting sun sprinkled on his golden hair, the interplay of light and shadow giving his face a faintly sacred and epic premonition.
"As long as you submit to me and become my follower, I promise to only leave a 'small mark' on you tomorrow, and not truly harm you!"
"When I truly become the Duke in the future, I can help your Merrick family become a stronger Profession-user family than ever before."
To be honest, if Liszt didn't have the player panel and was truly without support.
Siding with Quint Will, this future Duke Will III, would indeed be a good choice.
Although he was just making empty promises for now, Liszt knew better than Quint himself that the promises he made would be fulfilled in the future.
Unfortunately, Liszt was no longer the Liszt Merrick of the past.
Not to mention his strength now far surpassed Quint's, just his main quest alone, to restore the glory of the Merrick family, meant there was no possibility of lying low first.
Facing Quint's expression that was so certain he would follow him, Liszt could no longer tolerate his overflowing self-confidence and immediately spoke.
"You're overthinking it."
"I will never follow anyone in this life!"
…
He didn't say any other harsh words, not only because Liszt's practical interests aligned with the other party's.
More importantly, Liszt still had something to ask of him, so it was not good to make the relationship too tense for now.
Unfortunately, Quint in front of him did not appreciate the gesture, the original appreciation and anticipation on his face instantly vanished, replaced by a look of astonishment, as if he had misheard.
"Have you thought this through!?"
"If you don't follow me, I won't show any mercy tomorrow!"
His attitude remained arrogant, as if he was certain his strength was greater than Liszt's, looking as if he had him completely in his grasp.
To some extent, Quint was a Tier 3 Profession-user after all, and he could still sense that Liszt's basic aura was weaker than his.
In the native world of "God's Revelation," especially in these first two acts, a one-tier gap was still very significant.
...
Although their interests were aligned, this extremely conceited face still made Liszt unable to resist retorting.
"Stop dreaming, I wouldn't follow your father Will II even if he asked me today, let alone you!"
"I hope your sword is sharper than your tongue in the duel tomorrow!"
…
"You..."