Chapter 1030: Unexpected Encounter

"Congratulations, Marquis." Kevin smirked.

"Don't tease me." Noel shook his head helplessly.

"Hahaha. I think you know this, but there is one thing that you need to know. No matter how you're going to fight, don't outshine them too much."

"I know, Uncle. Currently, I am only a Spirit Grandmaster. They won't be able to do anything to me for the time being. But it will change the moment I become a Spirit Transcendence Expert." Noel sighed.

In his previous life, Noel didn't know what caused the rebellion. But in this life, it seemed that he wouldn't be able to avoid the confrontation no matter how he planned to avoid it.

He never set his sights on the throne. While he believed he could become a good lord and had the power to lay waste to hundreds if not millions of demons, he didn't think he had the ability to be a king.

That was why Noel planned to remain a noble, but he wanted to make sure that his territory prospered for hundreds if not thousands of years.

"In that case, I don't have anything to say anymore. Today, you are the star. There are a lot of eyes locked on you right now..." Kevin smirked, feeling the gaze of the nobles. It was clear that the moment he left Noel's side, he would be surrounded by these nobles.

"This will be a very long night. Uncle. Will you do me a favor? Please send a letter to Anna saying that I will be going home soon. I might not stop at your mansion tonight and immediately go back to my territory."

"Don't worry. I can understand that." Kevin patted Noel's shoulders. "I'm truly proud of you. Please take care of my daughter."

"Yes." Noel nodded with a smile.

With that, Kevin walked away from Noel.

In that instant, the nobles began to come toward Noel.

"Congratulations, Marquis Noel Ardagan. I never thought that you would become a marquis this soon. You are just like your father, very talented."

"Thank you, Earl Wilde." Noel nodded with a smile.

"Ah, let me introduce you to her." The earl stepped to the side, showing his daughter.

And Noel had to deal with at least fifteen nobles who tried to marry their daughters to him. However, Noel continued rejecting them.

While it looked like he was arrogant, it was true that Anna was the only one who accompanied him the whole time. So, it was natural for Anna to be the only person in his heart.

However, Noel didn't push them away so hard that they would turn into his enemies. Instead, he told them that it was possible for them to work together, especially regarding the road.

Obviously, they considered it positively. It shouldn't take too long for Noel to be able to raise his Ardagan family from zero to the wealthiest family in the world, surpassing the reputation that his father had created.

During the whole ceremony, Noel would always be captured by at least two or three nobles at a time. Even Noel felt a bit tired from dealing with all of them since he had to maintain his etiquette and image.

Finally, after a long four hours, Noel escaped from the ceremony.

"Ha..." Noel let out a long sigh while walking down the hallway. He was tired mentally since he had to repeat his words multiple times.

Fortunately, he managed to gain some cooperation from the two nobles that he wanted to get the most. And with the Sword Arbiter helping him to persuade another two nobles, he should be able to expand the highway to at least a total of ten noble territories.

"For now, I have to find people who are qualified to become nobles under me. At the very least, they should be loyal and clever." Noel looked down, thinking, 'Is there anyone like that in my territory? Or should I find people from outside my territory?'

While he was on his thoughts, a figure appeared in the corner of his eyes as she also walked in the same hallway.

Noel couldn't help but become serious as the person before him was actually the same third princess that the king planned to marry.

The third princess had long bluish silver hair. Her eyes were rather empty as though she were being controlled. At the same time, it was rather daring for a princess to walk without being guarded.

In his memory, the third princess had little achievement under her belt. She didn't know how to fight and had little to no experience in government matters.

Yet, there were two things that shocked Noel. The first was the fact that he could feel the faint strength hidden in her body. It would be impossible for people who didn't have enough strength to sense her ability.

And the second one was her affection.

Name: Wendy Ve Lenfenth

Affection: Friendly (55/100)

Description: Admire you and hope that she can work together with you.

He had been using the Affection Medal to look at all the nobles and the king. The royal family and their faction hated him. Yet, he didn't expect that the third princess would be friendly to him. The number was also quite high. He had never met her, so he couldn't help but wonder where that number came from.

"Congratulations, Marquis, for your promotion. The kingdom is blessed to have a noble like you." The third princess politely bowed to him as a greeting while lifting the hem of her skirt. However, her voice was rather monotone.

"Thank you, Your Highness." Noel placed his hand on his chest while lowering his head.

"I heard that my father wants me to marry you."

"I apologize, Your Highness. I feel like I'm unworthy of your presence since I'm just a new noble."

"If all the new nobles in the kingdom were as capable as you, our kingdom would have dominated the world." The third princess paused for a moment. "It is a pity... I thought that I could work together with you."

"Pardon?" Noel played dumb, even though he had known about it from her affection.

"Beware of the Third Prince. His strength is unfathomable."

"I'm sorry? I don't think I understand what you're trying to say, Your Highness."

"I am merely thinking about the kingdom. My life as the third princess is filled with comparison to the mighty of the Third Prince. So, I can't help but look into him. I might share it with you, Marquis.

"His influence is not weaker than yours, Marquis. There are at least fifteen grandmasters under him. Even his strength is currently unknown.

"After finding out about your background, I know that you are related to him in one way or another. And it's probably not a friendly relationship.

"You personally should have been aware of the connection between him and the royal family's dogs. The very dogs that dare to bite the hands that feed them."

"..." Noel was quite surprised by what he heard. Despite having such a hollow gaze, the third princess was actually much more resourceful than he originally thought. In fact, this might be her facade so that she could survive in the royal family.

"I am disappointed that you chose to reject the marriage, but I can also understand your position. That's why I want to ask you... If you don't wish to be my husband, would you like to be my sword? A sword that will cleanse this kingdom."

"!!!" Noel raised his eyebrows. Her words made him think about the rebellion. Was he actually working under this person in his previous life?

If that was the truth, their ultimate goal would be to eradicate the Supreme Devil Organization as well as the Third Prince before placing her on the throne.

"I am nothing but a small noble. My hands are currently full with the development of my territory. I will just pretend that I didn't hear any of this tonight, Your Highness." Noel shook his head.

The third princess closed her eyes for a moment. "In that case, I wish you luck, Marquis. If you ever think that this kingdom is too dirty, you can always head to the southwest. There will be someone who will guide you to me."

Noel politely bowed to her as she walked away. This was the first time he saw the princess.

'This is rather surprising. Now that I think about it, I haven't learned much about the royal family. I only know about the king and the crown prince since they are a threat to me.

'It seems that I have to learn more about the royal family. I don't really want to get into this trouble after what happened not long ago.'

Noel sighed, still remembering how the previous throne war ended. At the same time, the third princess gave him rather interesting information.

The Third Prince had always been the most mysterious faction in the kingdom. After being exiled, it was clear that he was trying to grow his influence and bide his time until he could retake the throne.

But to think that he had fifteen grandmasters under his command, even Noel didn't know where he got those people.

'Now that I think about it, what if the rebellion didn't start because the princess wanted to take the throne? What if it started to actually lure out the Third Prince? In the end, the one who would benefit the most from the rebellion was none other than the Third Prince.'

Noel's expression turned grim, realizing that the rebellion might not be as simple as he thought.

Nevertheless, he had to hurry back to his territory. There were a lot of matters that required his attention.