"I think you can find the answer in the other two letters."
Upon hearing it, the Grand Protector couldn't help but look at these letters. Since he was more curious about the Ezenholm Family, he opened it first.
"The Ezenholm Family is condemning the Atracaeca Kingdom for extorting the bloodline of our family."
Just a single sentence was enough for the Grand Protector to understand the rest of the content. He couldn't help but grit his teeth, asking, "Is Noel Ardagan truly…"
"After a simple background check, we've confirmed that it's true. He is the son of the famous Luke Ardagan and Leysha Ezenholm. Leysha Ezenholm is the daughter of the famous Raincart Ezenholm. She was once one of the five Spirit Grandmasters the Ezenholm Family had."
The Grand Protector's face darkened. It was clear that the situation was beyond repair. As for the reason, it would be explained in the last letter, which was Noel's letter.
"Before you read it, I think you should be aware of this first, Sir." His advisor stopped him for an important piece of information. "Noel Ardagan became an earl in the Muivell Kingdom not long ago. His achievement makes Anna's talent pale in comparison. Of course, his strength has also reached Spirit Grandmaster."
"…" The Grand Protector's heart skipped a beat. That achievement couldn't be reproduced by their people. And with the status of an earl, they couldn't easily do something to Noel, especially with the fact that he was Princess Livia's teacher.
When he opened the last letter, his heart sank.
"I'm disappointed by the treatment of the Atracaeca Kingdom. I originally thought there could be cooperation between us, especially in the rune department. Unfortunately, the only memory I had of the Atracaeca Kingdom was a bitter one.
"To maintain my integrity, I have fulfilled my side of the agreement by giving the tips of learning rune to your second prince. With this, I will have no connection with the Atracaeca Kingdom.
"With my name, I hereby ban all people from the Atracaeca Kingdom from enlisting in my Rune Academy."
The Grand Protector's heart sank when he saw the last sentence. It was clear that the founder of the runes was planning to create an academy about the very thing he found. Just like the Greenwood Kingdom, they could learn from him directly and advance their progress in runes.
Yet, for one reason or another, the second prince had offended Noel and forced him to take this action.
The Grand Protector asked, "What actually has happened between him and the second prince?"
"…" The man looked hesitant to say it. The problem seemed to be bigger than he originally thought.
Still, as the man at the top, the Grand Protector demanded, "Say it!"
His advisor could only sigh before explaining, "Yes, Sir. You should have gotten the report about the second prince's finding, Sir."
"Was Noel Ardagan with him back then?"
"Yes. It was normal cooperation at first. However, it changed when the Supreme Devil Organization came into the picture. To escape, Noel Ardagan made an agreement with the second prince. His Highness used this opportunity to extort Noel Ardagan… I believe he thought that Noel Ardagan would die in the hands of the Supreme Devil Organization. After all, it was reported that the enemies had two Devil Saints and dozens of Spirit Grandmasters and Spirit Masters.
"However, everything didn't go according to the original plan. While it was not mentioned in the report, two Great Protectors informed us that Great Protector Legolaz had asked for their cooperation. They weren't aware of the situation, so they continued as planned, but it seemed that they were trying to let Noel Ardagan die in the hands of the organization.
"There was also a sign of Legolaz moving the troops near the border of the Zaecuria Kingdom. I'm assuming he was using them to create a line that prevented Noel Ardagan from crossing it, turning the battlefield at the border into his execution ground.
"Last but not least, Noel Ardagan managed to escape into the Greenwood Kingdom. Unfortunately, nothing could be seen other than a huge ice wall. An ice wall of that magnitude could only be unleashed by the famous Raincart. And it was said that he was the one who killed one of the Devil Saints."
The Grand Protector involuntarily crushed the letter in his hand as he couldn't believe what he had just heard. "Are you serious…"
The man couldn't say anything. If the second prince's plan worked, they might have gotten something anybody desired.
But the plan didn't work, and Noel retaliated by banning the Atracaeca Kingdom from enrolling in the Rune Academy.
In other words, the one who would have the least development among the four kingdoms would be none other than their kingdom.
For a kingdom that required strength to manage its country, they would probably be the kingdom that needed runes the most. Yet, that opportunity had been destroyed by their second prince.
The blood was rushing into his head. Even his adviser couldn't look him directly in the eyes.
Spiritual Energy began to leak out of his body as the Grand Protector roared, "GET THAT DAMNED BASTARD, HERE!"
His voice shook the entire palace. It was so loud that it felt like the palace shook for a second.
The people could feel his anger, but their concern was taken away by the fact that they were holding their ears at the moment. After all, his voice almost ruptured their eardrums.
…
While the Atracaeca Kingdom was fuming in anger, the Zaecuria Kingdom seemed to be riding the wave.
They had received a letter from the Greenwood Kingdom. And with the information they received from the spies stationed in the Atracaeca Kingdom, they realized that this was actually an opportunity.
"Hahaha. That old bastard from the Atracaeca Kingdom has produced a really good offspring. Since they're the ones blocking the entrances, we can simply say that our kingdom wants to receive him but is restrained by the border. We would always welcome him with open arms."
"Indeed. Noel Ardagan has become an Earl. We should send a gift to congratulate him."
"Who has the most progress in the runes?"
"I think it's Count Bernard."
"Count Bernard is good, but he is quite stiff. If we send him, he would just ruin it."
"I think we should send Marquis Zepth. While his achievement in rune is less than Count Bernard, he is good at negotiation."
"Good. Let's send Marquis Zepth to the Muivell Kingdom."
The Zaecuria Kingdom was laughing at the Atracaeca Kingdom for not using this opportunity. Since there was no bad blood between the Zaecuria Kingdom and Noel, they could use this opportunity to form a good bond. If possible, they would also send their people to learn runes from Noel.
They even heard about Livia being Noel's student. With that information, they became a bit greedy.
It was an opportunity to send their talented men and women to befriend Noel. With this, they would also do Noel a favor by using their people to stop the Muivell Kingdom from putting more pressure on Noel's shoulders.
As Raincart taught Noel, the letters were extremely useful, especially if one had a good reputation. They could use it as a bargaining power in order to protect themselves.
Even though Raincart couldn't enter the Muivell Kingdom or stop Noel from going back, he could still protect his grandson.
King Oliver didn't realize that not destroying Noel right away was a big mistake. Now that he had sent Noel to the border, it meant that supervising him would be hard.
While he didn't know what Noel was up to, support from the Greenwood Kingdom and the Zaecuria Kingdom came.
It brought him a great shock as he didn't know how Noel gathered their support.
Hiding Livia's identity seemed to work perfectly. Once the report about the Greenwood Kingdom and the Zaecuria Kingdom came, the king hurriedly realized that he had been had.
"Hurry up and call Anna Stargaze back! If we let her go to his territory, she might die. This is a trap set by Noel Ardagan. We can't afford to lose Anna Stargaze right now!" The king ordered.
Unfortunately, it was too late. The timing of the letters was perfect. During that time, Noel had reached his new territory.
Noel was planning to use all these supports to build his new territory, creating a territory that was able to resist the royal family, the demons, and the organization.
However, the support from the two kingdoms wasn't the one that shook the country the most.
There was one more thing that Noel had yet to reveal. Once it was known by the whole world, it would cause all four kingdoms to stand still.
Even the royal family in the Muivell Kingdom had no clue about it.
…
Seven days after Noel's departure, he and Rose finally reached a small village at the edge of the territory where Dimitri and the others had waited.
This was the beginning of his life as a noble.
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