Emperor! Can You See Stats!?

Chapter 106 > Owner

At that time, Grand Duke had returned to his castle for the first time in several months and was preparing to go out.

‘I wanted to stay in the capital as much as possible to keep an eye on that first prince bastard, but I have no choice.’

It was a secret outing, so it took some time to get ready. 

His gaze moved to the several portraits in the room as he waited.

‘My ancestors all sacrificed themselves as the emperor’s loyal subjects for almost two hundred years.’

Those portraits were all of the warriors who had been called sword saints in the past generations. 

He had heard that his father, the previous Grand Duke, had a close relationship with the imperial family.

‘But I will be different. I can’t be satisfied with being a second-rate person!’

He thought that he had enough qualifications to run the empire. 

It was also an act for that purpose that he took Gladius out of the emperor’s influence as soon as he inherited his title.

“Your Highness Grand Duke, we are ready to depart.”

“…”

He silently got on the prepared carriage. 

The coachman also started to drive the horse towards a certain place that Grand Duke secretly visited without any instructions.

‘They are vulgar and unlucky, but I have to ask for their help this time.’

…

‘Grand Duke and Gladius…’

Eurius’s expression was filled with doubt as he left the palace. 

This imperial secret was something he had never thought of in his previous life.

He was recalling the conversation he had just had.

“So what exactly is Gladius?”

“I don’t know much either, because the information was cut off in my generation.”

The emperor said that and seemed to think for a moment.

“But what is certain is that they were the group in charge of ‘force’ in Illuminati. After all, aren’t you and I having this conversation because of Grand Duke alone?”

According to the emperor’s explanation, the three groups belonging to Illuminati each received a ‘gift’ from Grand Duke that corresponded to their position.

“Then Oculus must have some characteristics too, right? But Marius seems like just a civil official to me?”

Marius explained with a sheepish expression.

“Hehe, I’m just a leader. The people who work on the front lines will be introduced to you someday.”

That was the end of the conversation between him and the emperor. 

The emperor did not give him all the authority of Oculus.

However, since he could access all the information through Marius, it was practically equivalent to a handover.

Eurius smiled as he checked his future plans again in his head.

‘It’s a welcome thing to have more cards to play with!’

A little later.

“That’s amazing. I never thought you would have such detailed information beforehand.”

“Isn’t it possible for you guys to catch Grand Duke’s tail with your skills with this much?”

“It’s hard to say for sure, but it seems possible. The central part of Grand Duke’s territory was as hard to investigate as Illuminati, but it’s possible to touch it if we have this much prior information.”

‘Of course, Grand Duke is part of Illuminati, so it makes sense.’

While hiding a bitter smile inside, Eurius faced Jegal Hwayoung, who was looking over the information with a slightly flushed expression.

The information was a document that detailed Grand Duke’s forces in detail, which he had just received from Marius. 

She opened her mouth again with a slightly cautious tone.

“I’m sorry to say this, but you are like an onion, my lord. It seems like there are always more layers when I try to peel you off.”

“That’s an absurd compliment. To me, it’s more amazing that you guys bring such information when you haven’t been in this continent for long.”

He answered as if it was not a big deal and then said his next words.

“As I said before, the most important thing is to catch Grand Duke’s dogs who participated in the martial arts tournament before.”

“That’s why we said we weren’t sure. They seem to be very confidential even within Grand Duke’s forces.”

The subject of their conversation was none other than Grand Duke’s shadow, who had caused the northern war and secretly participated in the royal martial arts tournament.

In fact, he thought it would not be difficult to catch them if it was Current Moon War. 

All he had to do was investigate their movement route after they were taken out by Grand Duke and joined the Golden Lion Knights.

But surprisingly, Grand Duke did not give up his tail easily.

“We looked at the movement routes of the suspicious knights who participated as members of the Golden Lion Knights, but there was nothing special.”

“How can that be? They must be the ones that Grand Duke took out separately, right?”

“We thought so too, but their identities were surprisingly normal. There was clear evidence of their joining time and origin.”

“Well, Grand Duke is secretly raising a force, so he wouldn’t be so careless about security.”

Eurius agreed, but he couldn’t help but feel sorry.

‘If we leave a group of knights who are almost master-level or equivalent, the damage on our side will be great.’

Besides, the existence of such a group was suspicious in itself. 

Even if Grand Duke was the strongest warrior in the continent, could he create a force comparable to the imperial guard knights so easily?

He didn’t know how at that time, but after hearing about Illuminati’s secret this time, Eurius had a slight clue about that problem.

‘But this time, that mystery will be solved to some extent.’

He didn’t know what method it was, but there was a high probability that Grand Duke had a way to raise excellent knights as his subordinates.

‘It must be related to the gift from Grand Duke that Gladius received.’

He finished his thoughts and opened his mouth again with a firm tone.

“Anyway, with this, it will be easier for you guys to work. There’s not much time left until we execute the plan, so cheer up.”

“Thank you for your encouragement.”

He left the secret room of Azure Dragon Hall after receiving Jegal Hwayoung’s greeting. 

But there were still some unsolved mysteries.

‘Why is Grand Duke so frustrated that he can’t bite me?’

Looking back on it now, after a few years of his return, his expectations based on his previous life’s knowledge were slightly off, except for what he intentionally changed. 

They were all Grand Duke’s tricks.

‘Yeah, I can understand that he tried to push his nephew Leon in my previous life because I was incompetent.’

But in this life, he had achieved more than Leonhardt in his previous life. 

He thought that Grand Duke’s personality was cold but fair and rational, as he was the best knight in the empire. 

There were also many warriors who respected him.

‘Why does he have to covet the imperial power and hate me so much?’

He had thought of him as an enemy because he had been attacked by him, but when he tried to completely drive him away, he couldn’t help but wonder.

“…”

But when he thought about it, he felt that he could get some clues if he drove Grand Duke away this time.

‘Maybe I’ll find some clues if I interrogate Grand Duke or search his family.’

Come to think of it, all the factors that had made him curious in his previous life were connected to the player.

He had thought about it a lot, but in the end there was only one conclusion.

“Have you arrived?”

A few people who wore black hoods that hid their faces greeted the duke.

This was also one of the reasons why the duke disliked this place. 

The mansion interior was splendid, but the ones who welcomed him were shabby hooded men. What a bad taste.

The duke was led to the reception room, where he sat down and listened to their words.

“Would you like some refreshments while you wait?”

“No need.”

“I understand.”

The grand duke refused coldly. 

This was a usual exchange, so the hooded men quietly withdrew.

“The owner will be here soon.”

“Hmph! I hope he’s not late because he’s dressing up like a clown again.”

“…”

‘Hmm.’

The sharp-eyed duke noticed that the hooded men briefly sent him a faint killing intent.

“Are you dissatisfied with my expression?”

The grand duke was already annoyed, and he felt even more irritated by these trivial men who seemed to ignore him.

“Gah!”

“Ugh…”

The killing intent he released instantly engulfed the hooded men. 

The atmosphere turned ominous in an instant!

The splendid door on one side of the reception room swung open. 

Then, a playful voice was heard.

“Sorry for being late. Did our kids do something rude?”

‘Tsk! He’s still unpleasant as ever.’

The duke inwardly clicked his tongue. 

He knew that the owner of this voice had intervened at the right moment, even though he seemed to come in suddenly.

If his voice had been a little late, the hooded men would have suffocated and died from his killing intent.

“…”

“You guys can go out.”

The owner of the playful voice was also wearing a bizarre outfit.

His face was covered by a golden mask that had a comical expression like a clown’s makeup. 

The only part that was exposed, his mouth, was smiling slyly.

The clothes he wore were also extravagant ones that even high-ranking nobles would only wear at parties.

“Let’s talk about my business first. The assassination I requested was useless. What happened?”

The duke wanted to leave this unpleasant place as soon as possible, so he started with a sharp inquiry.

But the masked man did not lose his playful tone.

“Is that so? I don’t think I’ve received the report yet?”

‘This guy?’

Crack.

The handle of the luxurious chair that the duke was sitting on shattered. 

Along with that, a killing intent that was incomparable to before swept over the masked man.

The masked man raised his hands as if he had no choice, while shaking his head slightly.

“Sorry, sorry. I was just joking. You’re still impatient, ‘Gladius’.”

“It’s not easy to be the owner of the black market and act like a clown.”

The duke retorted lightly, while glaring at the masked man. 

This guy was none other than the head of the black market, one of the branches of Illuminati that Je Gal Hwayeong mentioned! 

He was also known as ‘Owner’.