"My lord, are you really... a descendant of the Augustus Clan?"
"I know the origin of the Double-headed Eagle Badge, but you... what exactly is your background?"
Now that Agatha—sothing of an outsider—had left, only insiders remained. Matthew couldn’t help but ask out of curiosity.
Dalia, too, was brimming with curiosity as she looked at Fang Zhen.
Fang Zhen’s expression was grave, as if he were a man with a deep past. He stared straight ahead for five or six seconds, his gaze serious yet unfocused.
The pose had a profound, artistic quality; the training he’d undergone had sharpened the contours of his face, making him resemble a pensive sculpture.
"Don’t ask. There’s no need to bring up my past."
To Dalia and Matthew, he seed incredibly mysterious. One look was all it took to know he was a man with a profound history, a man who had lived through stories untold.
Since Fang Zhen had said so, Dalia and Matthew asked no more questions.
He was no insignificant man. On the contrary, his authority and aura had grown ever more substantial, lending great weight to his words.
Matthew held his tongue out of fear; Dalia, out of deep respect.
Besides, the more mysterious he was, the more it fueled Dalia’s imagination and curiosity.
’As for Fang Zhen, the truth was that he couldn’t be bothered to lie to his own people, and he was too lazy to invent a background story.’
"Matthew’s guess was right," Fang Zhen said. "I found the Double-headed Eagle Badge when I destroyed the Goblin Nest. I had no idea I could activate it. I only just tried, and it actually lit up."
Tade could attest that every word he spoke was the truth.
As for how others interpreted it, that was their business. He couldn’t control their thoughts.
Hearing Fang Zhen’s words, Dalia and Matthew exchanged looks of understanding. Their last shred of doubt vanished as their minds filled in the gaps, creating a complete and logical story.
"You were born extraordinary; you just didn’t know it," Dalia said in an exceptionally gentle tone.
"The Double-headed Eagle Badge has actually been in my family’s possession all this ti. My ancestor was the last person to see Sword Saint Augustus, and also the first to learn of his departure."
"My ancestor was Sword Saint Augustus’s most trusted confidant, a comrade-in-arms who faced life and death by his side. Before his departure, he entrusted the Double-headed Eagle Badge, along with all the docunts proving the Augustus Clan’s lineage, to my ancestor."
"This is a secret the Cristin Clan has guarded for generations. Out of loyalty to a comrade and a commitnt to upholding that trust, we have never spoken of it to an outsider."
A strange light glinted in Dalia’s eyes as she continued:
"It must be divine providence that this badge ca into your possession."
"I possess all the docunts and evidence proving the Augustus Clan’s lineage. This is more than enough to verify your identity. I will give them all to you so you can claim your rightful title as Duke."
Fang Zhen chuckled. "I’m not that naive," he said. "Claiming the title of Duke won’t be so easy, I’m afraid."
"Why not? You have the evidence I can provide, and your prowess rivals that of the Sword Saint himself. Is that not enough?" Dalia asked, puzzled.
"Dalia," Fang Zhen said, "the Cristin Clan’s loyalty to its friends is admirable, but the real world doesn’t operate on principles of honor and allegiance."
"The ergence of a new Duke would be a political earthquake for the Kingdom. Even with sufficient proof, many will refuse to acknowledge my claim."
Dalia considered his words and fell silent.
Her own experience with the politics of the nobility told her that Fang Zhen was right.
’Laws could be anded, identities questioned. Even if you were the genuine article, if soone in power needed you to be a fake, then you were a fake. The truth would be irrelevant.’
’And besides, the authenticity of Fang Zhen’s identity was shaky to begin with.’
"Then, what do we do?" Dalia asked, looking up at him.
"It’s not a problem, actually," Fang Zhen said with a smile. "With the right incentives, I imagine the Royal Family might just be willing to recognize as this ’Duke’."
There was a confident, knowing quality to Fang Zhen’s smile.
He wasn’t naive enough to believe he could inherit the identity and the ducal title so easily.
’But, as he’d just implied, if those in power didn’t want to acknowledge you, truth could be made into lies.’
’And if the right deals were struck, if key figures needed you to be real, then lies could be made into truth.’
’At that point, the truth itself would hardly matter.’
’It was the classic case of truth becoming falsehood and falsehood becoming truth.’
’And Fang Zhen already had the beginnings of a plan to cent his claim.’
...
「Half an hour later.」
Fang Zhen rode his towering Red Hare Warhorse, with Agatha, the Knights of the Ashton Territory, and several hundred soldiers behind him. Radiating a murderous aura, they charged toward Count Henry’s encampnt.
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