“Hm.”
The knights also seemed very curious about the contents of the letter, but as the Imperial Guards truly believed silence was a virtue, they didn’t verbalize their curiosity.

  “Is there a mage to make telecommunication contact with the Imperial capital?”
“One of the royal mages resides in Mangsk, sir.”
Kim Seon-Hyeok asked that a mage be called to the room without delay.

  “I want to communicate with the Imperial capital.”
“I will connect you immediately, sir.”
As with all mages, the royal mage immersed himself in his work without taking any notice of the disastrous room.

  “It’s connected, sir.”
Just as Kim Seon-Hyeok saw a light momentarily flash from the communication device and crystal orb set up by the mage, he heard Ophelia’s voice coming from the crystal orb. 

  [Why is it that once you go out, you never come back?]

  Since he really did have a history of doing that, he had nothing to say for himself. He could only sweat at Ophelia’s scolding while babbling pathetic excuses.

  “Well you see, somehow things got complicated again…”
[Do you truly wish for me to put a leash on you and keep you chained up in the capital?]

  In the end, Ophelia stopped threatening him, and Kim Seon-Hyeok promised that this would be the last time he did something like this again. 

  Of course, Ophelia didn’t seem to believe his promise, but she also stopped rebuking him. 

  [Seeing how someone as heartless as you contacted me, you must have read the letter?]

  Kim Seon-Hyeok had been sweating profusely for a while now, so he was very happy that Ophelia brought up the reason for the call before he could even ask.

  “How on earth did you know?”
[I’m sure you have many questions, but they’ll all be answered once you return.]

  He asked the question, delighted. However, Ophelia said that right now, it didn’t matter how she got the information. Seon-Hyeok saw that she was concerned about the security of the telecommunication magic, so he didn’t press her any further.

  After all, as she said, neither the source of the information nor the way the information was obtained was important right now.

  [In the past, my father believed that Duke Roachim residing in the Imperial capital was a tremendous benefit and had shown considerable leniency for it.]

  Considering the duties and restrictions of an Adjuster, it was impossible for Marek to live the life of an average nobleman. Not to mention, he was someone who wanted to have his own way, so if the previous king wanted to keep Marek in the capital, then he couldn’t treat Marek the way he would a normal noble. 

  It probably wasn’t easy. 

  It would have been even more difficult for a monarch who was used to suppressing the nobilities' power for the sake of absolute authority for the monarchy. However, Theodore seemed to have judged that it was worthwhile to give preferential treatment to Marek and keep the Sword Star. 

  Since Kim Seon-Hyeok had a vague understanding of Marek’s true abilities, it felt like a reasonable decision, but at the same time, it felt like it was too much of a privilege to be given to a knight for having reached the peak. 

  At their core, Adenstein’s method of human resources management could only be established if there was a transaction. But Marek was a superhuman who had never shown his true abilities, and Adenstein had still made the decision to unilaterally favor him. Seon-Hyeok couldn’t help but be curious. 

  The answer to his question was written in the letter from Ophelia.

  To my dear. 

  Marek Schnail Roachim is at level 68. His level exceeds the average level 40 of the advanced knights in the Empire, and level 54 of Marquis Reinhardt, one of the prominent knights of the Empire. Duke Roachim is truly amazing. So, if possible, avoid crossing swords with him, but if that is not possible, then be sure to contact me….

  Surprisingly, the basis for Adenstein’s judgement for talent was a person’s level. It would have been stranger not to be surprised when the standard for judgement power that the foreigners used popped up somewhere unexpected.

  But that wasn’t the only thing surprising.

  The letter contained not only information on Marek’s level but his class as well.

  Marek’s class was ‘Sword Master.’ It was the perfect class for the Sword Star who could form the image of a sword with only his will.

  But just because Seon-Hyeok found out about Marek’s information didn’t mean he was happy.

  Marek not only had a high level, but he also had a special class that was thought to be the best class. With the duel right in front of his eyes, this wasn’t good news for Seon-Hyeok.

  If there was one comfort, it was that Marek’s power was waning. 

  [When Father first saw Duke Roachim, his level was definitely at 92. However, immediately after the Great Summoning, he dropped at least 10 levels, and now, he is only at 68, which is a lot less than previous.]

  Ophelia seemed to be thinking that the drop in level was due to age, but Kim Seon-Hyeok thought differently. 

  The sudden drop in level immediately after the Great Summoning and Marek suddenly looking for a successor was no coincidence.

  Marek was dying. 

  But it was unknown whether the death that had been postponed was now approaching Marek because his destiny as the Adjuster had ended or whether the world was seeking another Adjuster because Marek’s destiny was over. 

  [If possible, I wish that the duel between you and Duke Roachim would be in the distant future. With each passing year, Duke Roachim’s power declines while I know that you will continue to grow.]

  One thing that was certain, Marek’s power was rapidly declining even at this very moment. 

  But despite this, Marek’s level was around 70, and the gap between Marek and himself was too large. Making up for that gap would not be easy. It may even be that defeat was a foregone fact. 

  That is if he was alone. 

  [However, things are already like this and I can’t keep blaming you forever. So, I’m going to tell you a secret plan Father had left behind for me in case anything goes wrong.]

  Ophelia didn’t disappoint his expectations. 

  ***

  Before dawn the next day, a guest came to the Mangsk estate.

  “Grand Duke.”
“Sir Roland, it’s been a while.”
Jean-Marie de Roland and griffin Devon, he had once been a knight of Griffindor, but now, he was a knight of the Adenburg Empire.

  “I don’t know why I’m here, but I came here as fast as possible the moment I was given the order, sir.”
Roland must have flown quite hastily because he usually cared about his appearance, but right now, he was a mess. Looking at him, it was clear that he flew all the way to Mangsk without listening to the details.

  Kim Seon-Hyeok briefly praised Roland when he complained that if he hadn’t left a few days earlier, he wouldn’t have been able to meet the deadline. 

  “I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m glad my visit has helped, sir.”
Roland, who was quite vain, smiled nonstop. He must’ve been in a good mood when someone with high status as the Grand Duke praised him so highly.

  But Roland’s smile didn’t last long.

  “Sir Roland, let me borrow your griffin for one day.”
Roland never imagined that Seon-Hyeok might suddenly ask to borrow Devon.”
“De, Devon… why so suddenly…”
Roland had abandoned his homeland to keep his position as a Griffin Rider. There was no way Seon-Hyeok’s request would be welcomed. 

  “He has flown for several days without rest, sir. He needs to rest.”
Kim Seon-Hyeok spoke harshly when Roland tried to refuse the request by giving the excuse that the griffin was tired from the long-distance flight.

  “I am a Wyvern rider. I understand that, so you don’t need to worry about that.”
Roland protested several times when Seon-Hyeok gave that resolute response that gave him no room to refuse, but it was no use. 

  However, that was only natural. The current owner of the griffin was Kim Seon-Hyeok and Roland was merely in the position of borrowing the griffin as a rider. There was no way he could continue to refuse when the actual owner was simply asking to borrow the griffin for a day, not taking it back completely. 

  “De, Devon is…”
“Devon, will that be alright?”
Caw. 

  Kim Seon-Hyeok completely ignored Roland and approached the beast who had folded back his wings. When Seon-Hyeok acted friendly towards him, Devon rubbed his head against Seon-Hyeok and acted cute, very unsuitably so for his size.

  There were no signs of caring about Roland at all.

  “Ah…”
Roland seemed shocked when the beast that he had always loved and cared for turned away from him. 

  “It won’t be dangerous for him, would it, sir?”
But even so, Roland continued to ask several times as he made sure Devon wouldn’t get hurt. 

  “I’ll try my best.”
Of course, Seon-Hyeok gave a vague answer and Roland looked like he was about to cry. 

  “Why don’t you go rest. I plan to fly with him for a while.”
When Kim Seon-Hyeok climbed onto the saddle, Devon gave a long and loud screech as he flapped his wings vigorously. As if Seon-Hyeok had ridden Devon from the beginning, it looked very natural.

  “Devon…”
Shocked by the sight, Roland stumbled a bit, momentarily feeling dizzy. 

  After the short flight with Devon, Kim Seon-Hyeok regained his sense of flight that he had forgotten. Then he holed up in his room and tried his best to raise his condition. 

  At least for today, he didn’t think about Julian, who had become the dragon slayer, and only focused on his duel with Marek. 

  “Ugh, this isn’t easy.”
He tried several things as he imagined the fight against Marek, but the results weren’t good. After repeatedly opening and closing his eyes, Seon-Hyeok sighed. 

  This was a duel where he had to overcome the difference of 30 levels. Whether it was imaginary or real, victory wasn’t easily achieved. 

  No, it wasn’t a matter of being easy or difficult. It would be a miracle in itself if he managed to win against Marek. 

  However, he believed in himself. He had been successful in countless challenges that were deemed impossible. If there was a difference, it would be the level of difficulty.

  “The higher the difficulty, the greater the reward.”
Instead of being frustrated by the high wall in front of him, Kim Seon-Hyeoked showed an even stronger will. 

  “I can’t fail, I’ve even obtained a strategy from Ophelia.

  Now, the outcome of the duel depended on how faithfully he could carry out the strategy. He immersed himself in the imagined duel to increase his odds even a little bit.

  “Grand Duke.”
Perhaps it was because he had been too focused?

  “It’s time, sir.”
By the time he refocused to the voice of the Imperial Knight, it was arranged time for the duel. 

  “Oww.”
His joints complained at him for staying in the same position for too long. However, unlike his stiff joints, his facial expression was quite confident. 

  It seemed he had achieved a satisfactory result in his imagined fights. 

  “I will help you prepare, sir.”
One of the Imperial Guards knights waiting outside the door came inside to help him put on his armor. 

  “It’s going to be an intense fight, sir. Something will happen if you wear the armor too loosely like this, sir.”
The knight’s meticulous care showed that he was someone who had spent his entire life wearing armor with a sword in his hand.

  “Thank you.”
Fully armed, Kim Seon-Hyeok moved his body to and fro. He showed a satisfied expression.

  “I wish you luck, sir.” The knight saluted.

  “I’ll see you when I return.”
Kim Seon-Hyeok glanced at the knight as he walked out of the door. The waiting Imperial Guards raised their swords. 

  “May there be another victory for the Indomitable Grand Duke!”
Perhaps it was Ophelia’s orders, but the knights of the Imperial Guard didn’t stop him anymore. They simply hoped that the member of the Imperial family that they would sacrifice their lives to guard would not get hurt when their swords couldn't help him. 

  “I’ll be back.”
Kim Seon-Hyeok climbed onto Devon and flew straight into the sky as the knights saw him off. 

  Whoosh. 

  With the pleasant sound of the wind, the surrounding scenery flew past him, and in an instant, the Mangsk castle was so far away that it couldn’t be seen.

  “This would be appropriate.”
Having reached a place far from the Mangsk castle, he had the griffin slowly lower their altitude as he looked at the widespread wasteland. 

  “Um.”
Kim Seon-Hyeok landed but he had a trouble expression as he realized that while he had set a time for the duel, he hadn’t set a location.

  “Well, if I call him, he’ll make his way over.”
He murmured to himself, then, he slowly began to raise his fighting spirit. As if responding to him, a characteristically sharp energy began flowing towards him from the distant Mangsk Castle. 

  The faint fighting spirit gradually got closer. Then suddenly, it felt like an invisible sword was directly under his chin. 

  “I hadn’t decided on a location, but you found me.”
By that time, Marek was right in front of him. 

  “How could I not when you called me so loudly?”
Marek’s voice was as sharp as a knife. He must’ve been offended by the confidence Kim Seon-Hyeok had shown the previous day. 

  “Keep your promise.”
“You as well.”
After exchanging words briefly, Kim Seon-Hyeok and Marek stood facing each other.