Chapter 155: The Royal Family

"It is certainly convenient to deal with a wise man, though it strips away a good deal of the amusement."

Ranze shook his head and said.

"The amusement of speaking nonsense."

Ranze paused briefly, then continued.

"If you possess an extraordinary fondness for spouting nonsense, you could simply step outside, find some minor aristocrat, and converse with him for days and nights. I am certain that once those petty nobles realize your true standing, they would not dare refuse you."

Li Ju flicked the ash at the tip of the wooden stick he was burning.

"However, at least when you are with me, I would prefer you to refrain from uttering nonsense, because—"

"I do not care to listen."

Li Ju looked calmly at Ranze and said.

"Your gaze is like that of a dragon, a demonic dragon, so malevolent and tyrannical..."

"I like it very much."

Ranze met Li Ju's eyes, an exaggerated smile spreading across his face.

"Mr. Ranze, I believe you do not need to prove to me over and over again the undeniable fact that you are a patient suffering from a cerebral disorder. I suggest we discuss something useful instead."

"Consider it done for the sake of your Her Majesty the Queen."

Li Ju extinguished the wood stick that was about to burn out, then ignited a fresh one.

"Very well, let us say it is for the sake of Her Majesty the Queen."

"What a pity; I had wished to talk a bit longer."

Ranze shrugged with a hint of helplessness.

"My purpose in coming here today is primarily to inquire of the Crystal Count of your Iron-Gold Family regarding certain details from when the Grand Duke of Bedrock engaged your family in battle, and incidentally to see if I might incorporate your Iron-Gold Family into our fold."

"Of course, I have arrived a bit late. There is no longer a Crystal Count, but only you, the Iron-Gold Count."

Ranze pulled a chair from the side and seated himself unceremoniously before Li Ju.

"The Grand Duke of Bedrock..."

Li Ju murmured thoughtfully.

"At the time of the conflict with the Grand Duke of Bedrock, the bearer of the title Iron-Gold Count was my father, Rex. I was still lingering in my knightly fief beside the Wisteria River, and thus I know very few details concerning the war between my Iron-Gold Family and the Grand Duke of Bedrock."

Li Ju said slowly.

"Very well then, would you be so kind as to pose a few questions to your father on my behalf, concerning the Grand Duke of Bedrock?"

Ranze asked.

"Very well."

Li Ju nodded.

"I wish to ask whether the Royal Family is aware of what precisely the Grand Duke of Bedrock sought to achieve when he chose to declare war upon our Iron-Gold Family."

"Was it for the lair of the Armored Golden Dragon, or was it for that epic-grade weapon?"

Li Ju inquired.

"Regarding that matter, the intelligence released by the Grand Duke's side claims it was to acquire that epic-grade weapon. The epic-grade weapon previously possessed by your Iron-Gold Family was presumably a component of a legendary-grade weapon."

"As for the lair of the Armored Golden Dragon, that was likely merely incidental."

Ranze tapped his fingers rhythmically against the tabletop.

"Do you believe that?"

Li Ju countered.

"I do not."

Ranze chuckled instantly.

"I believe it, but not entirely."

Li Ju did not smile.

"The matter of the legendary-grade armament is true, but the desire to acquire the Armored Golden Dragon lair of my Iron-Gold Family must also be true."

Li Ju stated.

"Then why would the Grand Duke of Bedrock, a Grand Duke possessing a grand-ducal-tier lair, set his heart upon a mere count-tier Armored Golden Dragon lair?"

Ranze asked.

"Lair evolution."

"Lair evolution."

Li Ju and Ranze spoke simultaneously.

"To think that your Iron-Gold Family, a mere count-tier house, managed to possess both the materials for a grand-ducal-tier lair evolution and the components of a legendary-grade weapon simultaneously—what boundless fortune you truly had."

Ranze sighed with emotion.

"..."

Li Ju was equally speechless regarding this turn of events. To say the Iron-Gold Family was deeply blessed would be absurd, as both treasures were plundered by the Grand Duke of Bedrock; yet to say they lacked fortune would be inaccurate, since the family had indeed possessed both items, only failing to recognize their true value.

Perhaps when the Grand Duke of Bedrock decided to move against the Iron-Gold Family, even he could not help but marvel at their luck.

"The Armored Golden Dragon lair is merely a count-tier lair. Even when used as material for lair evolution, it would only advance to a marquess-tier lair afterward. Yet the Grand Duke of Bedrock took the risk of drawing the Royal Family's special attention; surely he did not do so for a mere marquess-tier lair."

Li Ju took a pull from his wooden stick and said.

"Under the command of the Grand Duke of Bedrock, aside from the grand-ducal-tier Bedrock Earth Dragon lair, he also controls two marquess-tier lairs. Perhaps a marquess-tier lair evolved from the Armored Golden Dragon could undergo another round of lair evolution with one of those two marquess-tier lairs."

Ranze suggested.

"A future grand-ducal-tier lair, coupled with a reassembled legendary-grade weapon—and all it took to obtain these two treasures was to crush a minor count. No wonder the Grand Duke of Bedrock acted so decisively against our Iron-Gold Family."

"If I were in his position, I fear I would find it equally difficult to resist such temptation."

Li Ju reflected with a sigh.

"However, with the Grand Duke of Bedrock soon to become the first and only aristocrat within the kingdom to successfully control two grand-ducal-tier lairs, has your Royal Family made no move whatsoever?"

Li Ju looked at Ranze and asked.

"Ah, do not use the term 'your Royal Family.' I am no member of royalty; I am merely a humble messenger."

Ranze waved a hand dismissively.

"The Royal Family has entertained several hypotheses regarding the Grand Duke's intentions and has prepared several contingency plans. However, the event transpired far too suddenly, leaving the Royal Family with rather sparse intelligence on the matter, which is why I was dispatched to gather information."

"Among the contingencies formulated by the Royal Family, the worst-case scenario anticipated is..."

Ranze paused deliberately.

"The new grand-ducal-tier lair acquired by the Grand Duke of Bedrock is very likely the evolutionary material for his Bedrock Earth Dragon lair, fusing two grand-ducal-tier lairs to evolve into..."

"A new monarch-tier lair."

"Perhaps, in the near future, the Grand Duke of Bedrock will no longer be styled the Grand Duke of Bedrock, but rather King of Bedrock."

The smile on Ranze's face grew increasingly pronounced as he spoke.

"The higher the tier of a lair, the greater the sustaining resources it demands. The earliest aristocrats who mastered lairs only became landed nobles later because they required the resources yielded by a territory to sustain their lairs."

"The birth of a new monarch-tier lair will inevitably propel the birth of a new kingdom. Yet the land area of this continent is finite, and with all territories across the realm already carved up by the major kingdoms, if the Grand Duke of Bedrock truly desires to establish a kingdom, he must inevitably wrest land from the existing realms."