Aluke Marquis had previously been the Empire's tenth marquis, holding the distinction of being both the youngest and shortest-serving marquis. He was also the grandfather of the Knight Girl, Ailisha.
The Imperial Royal Family's public statement was that he had gone missing after exploring the Life Forbidden Zone.
However, according to the private intelligence sources of the marquises, Aluke had not entered the Life Forbidden Zone voluntarily. He had been pursued by a powerful enemy, left with no escape, and forced into it.
Even the weakest of the Empire's marquises were Ninth Rank Experts who had mastered the rules. A "Mysterious Expert" capable of hunting down Aluke Marquis would likewise be capable of hunting them down.
As for the true identity of that "Mysterious Expert," the marquises had long held many private guesses, yet none dared voice them aloud.
The situation before him involved an exceedingly delicate question: in the face of the Ruins' benefits, could the Four Great Families be trusted?
It was not as though Marquis Vent had never considered taking the initiative to test the Four Great Families' intentions and see what they truly thought.
But after some deliberation, he ultimately abandoned that choice.
According to secret intelligence he had obtained from a certain High-rank Prophet at enormous cost, the thing hidden within the Ruins this time was a secret related to surpassing the Ninth Rank Limit! The authenticity of this information had been verified through special Magic—it was indeed true.
And if even he could obtain this news, then the Four Great Families and the Imperial Royal Family, whose power exceeded his own, would certainly have received it as well.
It had been far too long since this continent had last seen a Legendary.
Before the temptation of crossing the impassable barrier of the Ninth Rank,