Duke Alvaray looked like a short, plump middle-aged man. His tiny eyes were always darting about, and his two pointed little mustaches gave him a somewhat comical air. At the moment, he sat on the train, staring wide-eyed at Hunter across from him.
"Alvaray... Uncle, you came alone? You didn't even bring an attendant?"
Hunter looked at the smiling middle-aged man opposite him in disbelief. This was one of the Northern Territory's three grand dukes with real power. Even the Empress had to treat him with courtesy in person. He was one of the most powerful men on the entire continent.
Of course, there was no Empress anymore, and presumably no grand dukes in the Northern Territory either.
"Hehe, Hunter, you're still not professional enough when it comes to surrendering." Alvaray shook his head as he spoke.
"When to surrender, whom to surrender to, and in what manner to surrender—there's an art to all of it. You young people are still too young. You've lost the inheritance!"
Hunter nearly lost his composure on the spot. "Did you gain your territory by surrendering?"
Alvaray gave him an approving look. "Not bad. You've got good instincts, young man."
"Back then, my family was nothing more than hunters... Don't look at me like that. Your father's family was even worse than mine—they raised pigs."
Hunter's eyes went wide. His father had never told him that. Wasn't the Watts Family a family of scholars? Shouldn't knowledge and wisdom flow in their blood? How had they... raised pigs!?
"Anyway, back then the Saint Mir Empire had only just been founded. Great Sage Bruno was even personally leading troops into battle. My family's ancestor dragged Old Watts, the pig farmer, to surrender to the Great Sage, earning them the right to follow him into war. Only