Ever since King Rodney XVIII formally issued the decree granting Hall Duke the vast and strategically vital fief of the Yellow Earth Land, he had found it impossible to sleep peacefully at night.
Duke Bradley knew full well how important this place was. It lay in the Northeast Region of Aldo, guarding the vital passage from Aldo's heartland to the interior. It had once served as the Watchman Fortress's rear base.
Yet this was also where Marquis Paul Greiman had reclaimed lost territory through thunderous measures and rebuilt the frontier defenses. Nowadays, every inch of peace on this land was steeped in the military supplies and planning of Lakeheart Town.
On the other hand, without Marquis Greiman's support, the Watchers Legion would have long since been annihilated beneath the orcs' iron hooves. Without Marquis Greiman's funding, the fortress walls would still be lined with orc soldiers to this day.
Hall Duke knew perfectly well that all the glory and power he possessed today had been made possible by Marquis Greiman's strength.
What worried him even more, however, was why the Royal Family had chosen this particular moment to push him into the spotlight.
Duke Bradley had already seen the truth clearly: the Crystal Radiance Court had grown wary of Paul Greiman.
A powerful lord who had risen in the frontier held a mighty army in his hands and was financially self-sufficient. Whether he was truly loyal or not, the Royal Family needed to keep him in check. It needed to raise a pillar belonging to royal authority in the northern lands of the kingdom, which lay beneath Arda's shadow.
This was an instinctive reaction of any regime, and he, Hall Duke, was the pillar they had chosen.
He had written to the Crystal Radiance Court three times in succession, politely