#After returning, the family was ruined (105)
Ethan dressed up in his clothes.
A swordsmanship competition was held and many people flocked to the city.
As such, the plan was to hold a huge festival along with a swordsmanship competition.
To conduct the festival’s hosting speech.
Ethan began moving towards the central square within the city.
In the central square, not only commoners but also nobles gathered to see the duke.
“His Excellency Duke Ethan, the 18th head of the Ardan duchy, is entering!”
Pooh!
Magnificent music came out along with the sound of a huge horn.
Soon, the peacock climbed onto the large platform installed in the central square.
“Waaah!”
The plaza was filled with wild cheers.
Not only was he reviving the collapsing duchy, but the duke was a knight known to have the greatest talent among all the household heads.
It was natural that the shouts were so hot that they felt like they were burning. That was when Ethan looked around.
‘Hoo.’
His eyes shone.
This is because an enormous amount of power was felt from one of the people in the square.
A person wearing a black robe.
Although it looked very ordinary on the outside, perhaps because it was hiding its presence.
It wasn’t enough to fool his sense of mana control, which was at its peak.
‘Count Marek.’
A superhuman that I dealt with before.
He was of a similar level to him. There were few strong men in the West who had that level of power.
Who could it be?
As Ethan pondered for a moment, a person came to mind.
Turian Marquis.
‘He’s a short-tempered guy.’
I clearly remember being told to wait, but he couldn’t stand it anymore and came to the duchy in person.
Ethan smiled quietly while looking at him and took out his divine sword.
A huge sword with a contrasting white handle and inky body.
The people of the territory saw the sword and their eyes lit up.
A unique handle made of tree branches.
The legend of the new sword was already well known to them.
It was then.
Good luck!
The Duke spoke, creating a white flame that made his entire sword body burn brightly.
[Today is a festival day. Eat, drink, and have fun!]
After finishing speaking, it was the moment the Duke drew his sword into the sky.
Mana made of pure white flame began to fly towards the sky.
Just like the phoenix that only appears in legends.
The mana emitted by the peacock was flying through the air in the shape of a huge bird.
The residents of the territory began to look up at the sky while cheering at the spectacular sights.
If the people were simply enjoying the sight before their eyes, the Turian Marquis was different.
Because he was now letting out a silent expression of astonishment.
‘…What!’
Not only can you shape mana into shape, but you also have the ability to control it by floating it in the air and then moving it freely?
That was not a sight that even he could easily show.
The duke’s accomplishments were several steps deeper than what he had heard from Count Marek.
Suddenly, the gaze of the duke, who had suddenly looked at the place where he was earlier, came to mind. I felt something uneasy. Then the Marquis shook his head.
‘You couldn’t have recognized me.’
He was the one with skills that surpassed that of a superhuman. No matter how outstanding the Duke’s achievements are.
It was impossible for someone to recognize me as I had completely hidden my presence.
Anyone would have seen him as an ordinary passerby.
It was then.
[We will start a festival more spectacular than any other city!]
The moment the atmosphere reached its peak, the Duke shouted loudly while carrying mana.
“Wow!”
The festival of Londinium was held amidst cheers and cheers.
* * *
Thanks to the crowds of people for the festival, getting into Londinium was not difficult at all.
I was able to enter the city right away by handing over just an elaborately forged ID card.
The Marquis recalled a memory from the past.
Five years ago.
The Marquis of Turian had visited Londinium in person.
The city wasn’t like this back then.
The streets were full of residents dying of starvation, commerce was all but destroyed, and the interior of the city was filled with despair.
But now.
‘…Has it changed?’
Londinium was changing to the extent that the changes could be recognized at a glance.
Basically, Young Ji-min’s behavior was like that.
Residents passing along the main street with smiles on their faces full of hope.
The voices of merchants selling goods were loudly echoing throughout the streets, and throughout the city, old buildings were being transformed one by one into neat and clean buildings.
‘You’re full of life.’
Even the spirits he was dealing with were excited by the vivid vitality blooming within the city.
The Marquis quietly admired.
But it wasn’t just admiration. Wariness was slowly blooming between his pupils.
He remembered the rumors about Ethan. He was known to have unprecedented talent as a knight.
But looking at the scene now.
It seemed like this guy wasn’t just good at using a sword.
‘Did you have that talent in internal affairs as well?’
Not even three months have passed since the duchy was restored. There wasn’t enough time to transform a huge city like this.
That I accomplished that.
It meant that he was not just the type of person who was good at using a sword.
As the Marquis was wandering around the city, a very strange sight began to appear.
There seemed to be a huge line of people waiting at the bar.
If there were just people waiting in line, I would have passed by without thinking that it must be a restaurant that serves amazing snacks.
However, there were several sights that caught the Marquis’ eye.
That’s right.
[Bar Festival!]
―This is one of the stores where alcohol and food are half-price off during the festival!
―You can try the card game completely free!
With promotional slogans stuck above the bar.
[Special card bundle sales office]
―Limited-time sale only during the festival period!
―50 silver per bundle.
―Due to a shortage of supplies, only a maximum of ten bundles can be purchased per person.
“Here, give me one hundred bundles of special cards!”
“Um… Count Halaim. Because our supply is limited….”
“Uh-huh! Why are you like this! I am a count! “Sell it first!”
“This is a special order from ‘His Excellency the Duke.’ sorry.”
“Keueuung….”
“If anyone hears this, they’ll think you’re the only Count in the world! Sell it to me first! “I’m going to buy ten bundles!”
“Me… me too! Just give me ten bundles!”
It was a scene where a group of people who looked like nobles were buying something called a ‘special card bundle’ while holding bundles of money. That scene was not only visible to nobles.
In addition to where a group of nobles were gathered, on the other side, commoners were crowding around and purchasing bundles of cards.
[General card bundle sales office]
―50 copper per bundle.
―Enjoy fun games to your heart’s content at a low price!
“50 cooper? It’s super cheap? “Isn’t that the price of three chicken skewers?”
“I see? I tried it earlier and it was really fun. Let’s go buy some of this and take it with us.”
“okay. “Here, give me ten cards!”
“Only five here!”
“I’ll buy thirty!”
‘what?’
What those who handed over the money received was a small box.
Those who received the box were seen immediately opening the package and taking out the cards from inside.
“what! “There are no legendary cards?”
“oh! It’s a rare grade card, right? haha. “I won.”
“There are truly unique cards in here!”
“What…what! Unique grade? “Baron Murrenton, is that really true?”
“Look here. Can’t you see this beautiful purple color?”
The Marquis, who had been secretly eavesdropping on the conversation, gaped.
If commoners had seen something like that, they would have understood.
But the thing that is giving the Marquis goosebumps is this.
Those who were cheering like that were the heads of the Count Belmont and Count Halaim, heads of noble families renowned in the central region.
‘…What on earth is a card game?’
Turian Marquis.
He naturally looked at the bar. There was a very long line between the bars.
If you reveal your identity, you can ignore the line, but this is not the land you control.
After thinking for a moment, he began to enter the bar, using the wind spirit to hide himself.
* * *
‘…what.’
The turian looked at the calendar.
A week had already passed since I decided to look around the city and analyze Londinium.
What did you do during that week?
It was simple.
card game.
I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Starting from special card bundles where only ten purchases can be made per person, to regular card bundles where unlimited purchases can be made.
There were already hundreds of stacks of cards piled up in his subspace pocket.
“…haha.”
It really felt like I was enjoying a game to the fullest for the first time in a long time.
It was a game that seemed to be more lively and variable than chess.
The only drawback was that ‘luck’ played a big role.
‘Even that was fun.’
This is because the essence of the game was a fierce battle of wits along with luck. Soon after, the Marquis’s expression gradually hardened.
‘Duke Ethan. He is truly a scary person.’
The essence of card games.
This did not end with simply spending money.
By making the people of the duchy into ‘characters’, we were able to naturally have the effect of making them remain in our memories.
There was widespread talk that the duke would also hold a card game competition as well as a swordsmanship competition, as if he was planning to actively spread card games.
‘Ardan.’
Even now, it was a castle that was ranked higher than any other family among the kingdom’s citizens.
It was obvious that the more the card game spread throughout the kingdom, the more severe the phenomenon would become.
The Marquis’ heart naturally became heavy.
“…also. “There is a limit to what you can do with your desk.”
The Marquis laughed bitterly.
-The entire duchy is developing rapidly.
The core content of the report was at most this one line. It was something that was considered insignificant at the time.
However, I only found out after visiting Londinium in person for the past week.
That the duke is someone with very dangerous potential.
‘Strength too. That resourcefulness.’
It was by no means an unusual masterpiece.
The Marquis, who had been lost in thought for a moment, stood up.
‘I have looked into all internal affairs.’
Now it was time to look at the finals of the swordsmanship competition that would be held starting today.
If you watch those games, you will be able to clearly see with your own eyes how sharp the duke’s sword is.
The Marquis walked diligently and was soon able to come to the Daeyeonmujang in Naeseong.
It was the moment I sat in one of the pre-reserved seats and waited for the finals.
A person wearing a black robe like himself sat down in the seat next to him.
The Marquis did not care at all about the person next to him. This is because I didn’t feel any particular momentum.
At best, he was judged to be a somewhat skilled knight.
It was then.
“Did you enjoy the city tour, Turian Marquis?”
“…!”
A very familiar voice came from the seat next to him.