Lin Qi rose to his feet with a smile unlike those worn by Gefra nobles. He did not look arrogant, but approachable, and his confidence was plain to see.
But anyone who looked down on him because of that would discover the hidden sharpness in his eyes.
He inclined himself slightly—the attitude of a non-hereditary, lowest-ranking baron toward a hereditary Duke—then straightened and nodded. "Indeed, Your Excellency, Duke Phoenix."
The Duke Phoenix's temple twitched. He felt that Lin Qi had come looking for trouble, but he was not entirely sure.
He felt that Lin Qi had no reason to do so. In truth, Lin Qi and the Imperial Family were not on the same side at all.
Even now, the Duke Phoenix and the Prime Minister both clearly understood why Lin Qi had provoked a conflict between the Small Earl, Kipplin, and the Old Nobles—the father of his wife. He had ignited in advance the possible conflict between the New and Old Nobles, and done so under relatively fair circumstances.
So they had allowed it to happen. After all, they were not members of the Imperial Family, and they could not possibly support it.
But for some reason, when the Duke Phoenix looked at Lin Qi, he always felt that the young man's thoughts were not so simple.
"Then would you be willing to share your thoughts?" The Duke came back to himself and smiled, displaying his refinement.
If one set aside the nobles' motives, their attitude toward profit, and that foul-smelling arrogance they exuded, they were sometimes more polite than ordinary people—and by quite a lot.
"Of course!"
Lin Qi paused slightly, and the faint murmurs in the room faded away. "My question is actually quite simple. Is putting the Great Imperial Son on trial before the people a