"Why is Uncle Jonathan making such a big move?"
"Hasn't the Lancaster Family already pledged themselves to him?"
The First Prince sat cross-legged opposite Grand Duke Hamfast.
Their postures were upright, like mirrored shadows.
Prince Padrick gazed calmly at the continental map projected by the Recording Crystal.
He had long since memorized the distribution of power within the kingdom and knew that was Lancaster Family territory.
Hamfast, however, still wore his meticulously stern expression.
"I heard that the Lancaster Family has defected to Kouyi."
"My foolish and hot-tempered elder brother cannot even outmaneuver a duke from outside the royal line."
"His plan to win over the Heretic Church is gradually shrinking his influence."
"That man who shames our ancestors—having Saint Sebastian Imperial City under his control is the misfortune of the Pendragon Family."
Even while criticizing him, Hamfast's tone remained calm and unhurried.
Grand Duke Jonathan and King Guser were both his elder brothers.
Among the direct-line royal grand dukes of their generation, he was the youngest, yet the strongest.
"Our ancestor once said that Heretics cannot be trusted."
"They dedicate everything to their so-called gods."
"But this continent will ultimately be a stage for overlords."
First Prince Padrick quoted King Arthur's warning.
As the overlord who had once ridden across the continent, King Arthur had left behind countless legends.
The Avalon Kingdom revered Io, the Nine-Faced Dragon God.
But reverence and faith were two different things.
Without building Temples and altars, without engaging in religious rituals and sacrifices, the deity being revered was merely a vague and intangible symbol.
Or perhaps a form of spiritual comfort.
Moreover, the reverence for the Dragon God had begun with King Arthur III of Avalon.
He was the third king of the Avalon Kingdom.
King Arthur's influence had still been immense at the