Gara wasn’t entirely sure why he was sitting here, right beside a furious Duke Eshaan, yet he found himself trying to calm down the most powerful man in the entire Esalavya Duchy.

On the floor, the Duke’s son, Ramun, knelt with his head bowed low.

A moment ago, the Duke had told everything that happened the night he collapsed into a coma.

That night, Karon had left the Duke’s room after their discussion. Not long after, the Duke heard murmuring from outside.

But when he listened more carefully, it wasn’t Karon’s voice— though it sounded familiar.

A maid entered carrying a glass of water. The Duke drank it and casually asked who she had been speaking to outside.

The maid claimed she had spoken to another maid.

But the Duke knew that was a lie, he had distinctly heard a man’s voice.

The maid panicked, and he restrained her immediately.

Terrified, she confessed the truth: the person outside had been Count Vardhan. The Duke instantly recognized the voice, his son-in-law’s.

Moments later, his consciousness had faded.

After the Duke finished his story, Ramun explained what happened afterward. How he had been away at the border, how Erdhi had contacted him first, and how Erdhi immediately accused Karon.

Ramun, panicked and emotional at the time, had lost the ability to think rationally.

By the time he returned to the duchy, he was already too blinded by anger to listen to anything Karon said.

Gara could only shake his head. Ramun was... too gullible.

Meanwhile, the Duke was livid.

Afraid the Duke might actually suffer heart attack, Gara hurried to calm him down.

Fortunately, the Duke didn’t push him away.

He didn’t even question Gara’s identity, whether the boy was truly Gavin’s son or not. He simply accepted it.

"Duke, please calm down. Your body is still in the middle of recovery," Gara said sternly, sounding more like a physician than a mere guest.

But to the servants and soldiers present, his words were shockingly bold.

In this household, no one spoke to the Almighty Duke Eshaan like that. Even in the entire Bhumi Kingdom, only a handful dared.

After all, Duke Eshaan was one of the elders in the capital city— one of the representatives of the human race.

But Gara, unaware of all this, continued, "Sir Karon has already been summoned, and Count Vardhan’s spies are being hunted down. Getting angry won’t help."

The Duke inhaled deeply, finally relaxing a little.

Not long after, Karon arrived. He spared Ramun a brief, sympathetic look before walking to Gara’s side.

"I’ve been informed of the situation. I think the best course of action now is to hide the fact that we know who the culprit is."

Duke Eshaan agreed. It was exactly what he had been planning.

Gara silently nodded as well. Karon deserved to be the heir.

After giving several orders to the soldiers, the tense conversation finally came to an end.

Karon turned to Gara. "This is all thanks to you, Gara."

Duke Eshaan nodded firmly. "Eshaan House will protect you, Gara. And beyond that, you may ask for anything."

"For now, I don’t want anything." Gara hesitated. "But... I’m curious. Why did you immediately believe I’m your grandson?"

The Duke stroked his white beard. "Isn’t it obvious? You look so much like Gavin... and Lady Vita."

"You knew my mother?" Gara blurted out.

The Duke nodded but said nothing more.

Gara didn’t press further. Instead, he excused himself. It was time for him to go back.

He was escorted by carriage to the teleportation hall. The alchemist association’s staff only dropped him off, then left.

"So the culprit wasn’t the two brothers... but the husband of their sister. Meaning—my aunt’s husband," Gara muttered inside the carriage.

"I wonder if Countess Vardhan—Lady Diya—will be alright after this. Or... did she take part in it too?"

"Life among nobles really is messy. I’ll only get involved up to this point. What matters is that Duke Eshaan has woken up—ehk!"

Suddenly, the carriage jolted and came to a violent stop. Gara was thrown forward.

"What happened?" he called to the coachman.

Silence. A chill ran down Gara’s spine.

"Akh!" A scream from outside made Gara clutch his chest.

"Young Master Gara, please don’t come out! We’ll handle it!" shouted one of the soldiers escorting him.

Gara’s skin tingled in dread.

"No way—someone’s attacking me? I’ve never been in this situation before... Did revealing my identity cause this?!"

Panic surged in him, regret creeping in like a shadow. He quickly summoned a water dome, forming a protective shield while silently praying no one on their side would die.

...

Back in Duke Eshaan’s room, Ramun stood ready to be escorted away for house arrest.

Just then, a soldier burst through the door.

"Report, My Lord! Young Master Gara’s carriage was ambushed by a group of druids. The carriage was teleported into the forest north of Esapury City!"

"Outrageous!" Duke Eshaan roared. "Use teleportation—send troops immediately!"

Karon snapped his gaze toward the Duke in shock.

"Yes, My Lord!" The soldier saluted.

Before he could leave, Ramun grabbed his arm. He turned toward his father.

"Duke, allow me to lead the rescue mission. I’m worried the druids sent their guardians after Gara."

Karon expected the Duke to reject the idea.

But instead, the Duke nodded.

"Save him," he said.

Ramun left immediately with the soldier.

"Duke... why did you authorize the teleportation room and let Ramun lead personally?" Karon asked once Ramun had gone.

The Duke stared ahead, expression stern but eyes filled with regret.

"In the past, I was a coward. I refused to send help to Gavin and Gara’s mother because I didn’t want conflict between the races. Even now, I’ve hidden the truth about Gavin’s death from the public. I thought I’d take that secret to my grave, but..."

"That would be the last time. I won’t stay silent if someone threatens this family again, even if it means making an entire race our enemy."

Karon studied the old man’s face, then smiled softly.

"I will support whatever decision the Duke makes."

...

Meanwhile, Ramun and his troops arrived deep in the forest.

His fury spiked when he saw soldiers fighting off several druids, while two druid liners attacked the carriage.

"ELIMINATE THEM!" Ramun roared.

His reinforcements overwhelmed the druid soldiers with ease. Ramun himself attacked the two druid Liners.

Water surged from his palms, forming chains that wrapped tightly around the two. Other soldiers quickly joined in, subduing the druids.

But the moment they tried to capture them, the druids touched the trees—and vanished one by one.

"Commander! They’re using invisibility!" one soldier shouted.

"Use powder bombs!" Ramun ordered, sprinting toward the carriage.

Boom! White powder exploded into the air.

Ramun and his soldiers scanned the surroundings, looking for any sign of druids using invisibility-type talents or tools.

But they found nothing.

Ramun clenched his fists. "This isn’t invisibility, it’s teleportation. The entire attack was neatly planned."

"Search the area! They couldn’t have teleported far!"

He reached the carriage. Outside, it was surrounded by thorns, rocks, and ice blades.

It looked impossible for anyone inside to survive.

Ramun’s face hardened, but he forced himself forward. "Gara!"

He pulled the door, and it fell off its hinges.

When he tried to look inside, he couldn’t see anything. The interior was filled with water.

"Gara, are you alright?" A spark of hope bloomed. He knew Gara had inherited his father’s water-type elemental talent.

The water subsided, revealing Gara’s unharmed face and body.

"Sir Ramun? What are you doing here?" Gara asked in confusion.

"Thank goodness..." Ramun exhaled heavily.

He gave a quick explanation. It was enough to shock Gara.

"So it really was druids."

"Gara, don’t worry. This won’t happen again. Eshaan House will protect you," Ramun assured him.

"It should’ve been like that from the start, shouldn’t it?" Gara shot back, voice dripping sarcasm.

Ramun couldn’t answer. A heavy guilt pressed on his chest.

Gara had saved Duke Eshaan. Before that, he had already been part of Eshaan House. Of course he deserved protection.

"Please take me to the teleportation hall. Staying in the forest is not a good idea," Gara said.

Ramun mounted his horse and escorted Gara with several soldiers.

Gara sat stiffly on the horse. ’There are warhorses in my dimensional home... I really need riding lessons.’

Ramun didn’t stop at the teleportation hall, he personally escorted Gara all the way back to the academy.

They used Eshaan House’s luxury carriage, stored near the hall.

Its arrival drew attention from students entering and leaving the academy.

Gara didn’t care. He simply nodded politely to Ramun and walked inside.

He hoped Eshaan House would act quickly.

"Even if they can’t openly antagonize the druids, they should at least make me look important," Gara complained to Tristan through the crystal ring later that night.

"I’ll pass this along, Gara. If they do nothing, Marquess Cakra will act first," Tristan replied.

At least that gave Gara some peace of mind. Tristan always did whatever he could to help.

The next day, something unexpected happened.

Eshaan House released an announcement that shook the entire Bhumi Kingdom:

"Starting today, Gara Eshaan, first son of the late Commander Gavin Eshaan, is officially appointed as the heir of Duke Eshaan."

...