In the early days of the Empire, three dukes were established, along with a large number of marquises and counts.
After that, Emperor André I deliberately kept the number of territorial nobles under control.
At the time, those nobles were still well-behaved, and under his leadership, the entire Empire flourished.
The next surge in territorial nobility didn't come until André II launched his invasion of the dwarves.
Having only recently ascended the throne, André II lacked prestige among the old nobility and couldn't rally a sufficiently strong army.
So he used territorial titles as rewards, attracting a large number of rising talents—those who had previously only received noble titles without land.
With this newly formed force, he launched a surprise attack on the dwarves, severely crippling two royal dwarven clans.
However, the old nobility refused to provide support for a long time. Meanwhile, the front line stretched beyond the Darle River, and the three dwarven royal clans united, rallying the entire dwarven race in resistance.
As a result, the human army suffered continuous defeats in the later stages, even losing vast territories north of the Darle River in the southern region.
In the end, André II had to cede large amounts of land—and even created a new Duke of the West—just to secure military support from the old nobility and barely reclaim the lost territory.
But this came at a cost.
His prestige plummeted to rock bottom.
For the remainder of his reign, André II spent decades trying to reduce the number of territorial nobles while strengthening the military as a whole.
Under this strategy, the Northern Winter War began.
He deliberately restricted grain exports to the beastfolk and engaged in both overt and covert provocations.
After years of testing and escalating conflict, the beastfolk finally launched an invasion.
The Beast Court was established, and their armies mobilized.
This was exactly what André II had been waiting for.
Using the invasion as justification, he ordered the Duke of the North to defend against the attack, while also mobilizing the Duke of the East's private troops to assist.
At the same time, he issued a nationwide conscription order, significantly improving待遇 for soldiers in the imperial military.
Because the Empire was in a state of war, the territorial nobles failed to notice the deeper implications.
As a result, the military's strength expanded rapidly within a single year—surpassing the combined forces of the four ducal armies.
With that, the royal family regained both its authority and dignity.
"That's the general situation," Emperor André III concluded, his voice echoing softly through the dining hall.
Ron snapped out of his thoughts.
He had only skimmed this part of history before—just a surface-level understanding.
Without truly experiencing it, it was difficult to grasp all the underlying conflicts and details.
If not for the emperor deliberately explaining it to him, Ron wouldn't have bothered digging deeper.
And the fact that André III was patiently walking him through all this…
It was clear.
This "father" was genuinely beginning to treat him as a potential heir.
Maybe not the top candidate—but the signal was unmistakable.
Back when the original Ron still lived in the palace, André III had never told him any of this.
He hadn't even been allowed into this dining hall.
After dessert, Ron took his leave.
Only when he was back in the carriage, heading toward Moonview Street, did he begin to understand the deeper meaning behind the emperor's words.
Now that all major factions had begun choosing sides—
Aside from the ever-opportunistic Duke Christine, the other three dukes had already made their allegiances clear.
The Duke of the North supported the First Prince
The Duke of the West backed the Second Prince
The Duke of the South was aligned with the Fourth Prince (who shared their bloodline)
In this situation, André III's deliberate emphasis on the flaws of territorial nobility clearly wasn't casual commentary.
He could've simply said "historical reasons."
But he didn't.
Which meant—
He was warning Ron.
To be cautious when using this power.
To build influence—but not lose control.
To avoid becoming a puppet king.
Ron leaned against the carriage window, resting his chin on his hand as he watched the streets slide by.
These kinds of layered conversations…
They were exhausting.
"If I had to deal with people like this every day, I'd go bald sooner or later…"
He muttered internally, then promptly pushed the whole matter out of his mind.
After all—
He had no intention of competing for the throne anyway.
To him, André III's warning was completely unnecessary.
One believed Ron was a contender for the crown.
The other knew full well he had zero interest in it.
With such a massive information gap, tonight's conversation was inevitable.
Back at the tournament venue, Ron entered the control room.
It was already past 8 PM. The first day of the preliminary rounds was nearing its end.
"How did Mia perform today?" Ron asked, sitting beside Nora. "She didn't lose and start crying, did she?"
"Of course not." Nora shook her head seriously and handed over a report.
"She played four matches today—three wins and one loss. At this rate, she has a good chance of advancing."
Ron blinked.
"Seriously?" he said in surprise. "Is Soren really that powerful?"
"Um…" Nora gave an awkward smile. "How should I put it…"
"It's not 100% accurate, but… about 80% of the players he praises end up losing."
"There were even a few matches where he complimented someone—and they immediately got reversed by the underdog."
"So… maybe there really is something strange going on…"
"..."
Ron's eyebrow twitched.
That's terrifying.
Still—
He wasn't about to believe in something so… mystical.
He cleared his throat and changed the subject.
"How many spectators today?"
Nora immediately pulled out a report.
"Morning: 2,000 entries. Afternoon: 7,000. Evening: 9,000."
"Peak periods were around dinner time, and another smaller peak around 1–2 PM."
"Excluding repeat entries, the total unique audience today was around 6,000."
Ron nodded.
The drop made sense—the venue had shifted from Ron's Wonderful Flower Shop arena to the Moonview Street tournament hall, and it was only the first day of the preliminaries.
Even though the check-in event had included this venue as a required location, many people still weren't familiar with it.
But as the tournament progressed, attendance would likely grow.
Once it broke 10,000—
He might consider moving the finals to the Grand Arena.
After confirming the numbers, Ron reviewed other reports.
The noble who had caused trouble earlier had already been publicly exposed.
The full incident, recorded by Mimic Grass, had been displayed throughout the venue.
It sparked widespread discussion.
Commoners were thrilled—as if they'd won some great victory.
Meanwhile, under Wardson's leadership, the other nobles remained relatively calm.
Everything was moving in the direction Ron had intended.
Time passed.
The first day of the preliminaries came to an end, and the staff began cleanup.
Late at night, the venue closed.
Ron boarded the carriage with Nora, pulling her into his arms as they leaned against each other.
"Boss… stop touching…" Nora whispered.