Glanston Castle, Earl Derek's study. In the stone-brick fireplace, blazing flames flickered, dispelling the chill of late autumn.
The Earl sitting behind the desk wore a faint smile as he toyed with the crest of the Granston family in his hand, carefully savoring the radiance gleaming on that golden shield.
The Campbell family was like the firelight in that fireplace, having forged the splendor of the Granston family. Yet when that hearth-fire grew too dazzling, it still fell to nobles of pure blood like them to turn the tide, to remind the former who was the true, shining gold.
Fortunately, the Granston family's foundations were deep, and that Duke whose roots were still shallow could not stir up much of a storm.
Everything lay within his grasp—
Be it the North Stream Valley Earl's Territory, the Campbell Duchy, or that Demon King in Thunder County.
