"You... you actually..."
Wallace's eyes widened as he said in disbelief:
"Didn't I say so? Lord Garen couldn't possibly be one."
Wallace glanced around before carefully lowering his voice:
"A Celestial Dragon."
After spending a long time with Garen, Wallace had realized that not only did Garen lack the arrogance of old-fashioned nobles, but his words and actions also inadvertently revealed his disdain and hostility toward nobles.
Unlike rebels of noble birth like Wallace, or commoners who had awakened only after suffering under noble rule, Garen's contempt for nobles was natural, instinctive, and habitual.
It was as though, in his mind, nobles had never been a group worthy of respect.
That was absolutely not how someone born into nobility would behave.
So despite those small details that seemed worth noting, Wallace could tell that Garen was not a noble, much less the sort of person Wallace had boldly imagined him to be at first.
After hearing Wallace's accusation, Bogein waved his hand with an innocent expression.
"A Celestial Dragon? I never said that!"
"I merely spread a few little stories."
"As for what people thought after hearing them, that was beyond my control."
Wallace's face darkened, and he said nothing.
He was very familiar with that line, because it was exactly the tactic he usually used when stirring up major news.
After a long silence, Wallace finally asked in confusion:
"How could a rumor like that fool even the king?"
"It's simple."
Bogein adopted the tone of an elder instructing a junior:
"Better to believe it exists than risk it not existing."
"Celestial Dragons are the kind of people who can bring utter ruin upon you for the slightest offense."
"Even if it's only an unverified rumor, they wouldn't dare treat it lightly."
Bogein gave his nephew Wallace another deep