Seeing Henwell bow, Kaku jumps down from the carriage and quickly strides over to him.

  He grabs Henwell’s arm firmly. “Henwell, why are you still so formal with me?”

  Then, with a swift kick, he knocks down a knight who also dismounted nearby. “Are you blind? Didn’t you see this is my brother? I just took a short nap, and you stir up trouble like this? Outsiders might think we don’t get along!”

  Elisa, sitting on horseback, pouts. “Second Brother, your men broke the rules just now and even hit people on the road! Father made it clear, no one’s allowed to bully their way on the official road. I’m going to tell him when I get back!”

  Kaku smiles apologetically. “Don’t do that! I came back for the Midsummer Festival and pnned to stay a few days. If you compin, I might get kicked out by Father! And I brought you plenty of gifts!”

  Then Kaku turns coldly to his guards. “Who hit someone just now? Break their hands for me! I’ve said it before, we must follow the rules. These are Henwell’s carefully thought-out suggestions for Father, all for the good of the Phoenix family! You’re breaking the rules and disrespecting Father’s authority and Henwell’s goodwill!”

  After Kaku’s order, the guard who hit people actually has his hands broken.

  Elisa has always been close to Kaku and softens when she sees him admit fault.

  Kaku then pulls Elisa into the carriage and invites Henwell along.

  Henwell politely declines and rides behind the convoy instead.

  Henwell gnces at Simon, whose face is dark. “What do you make of this?”

  Simon sighs. “He’s trying to provoke you, or us guards.”

  “Where does he get the confidence to act like that?” Henwell asks.

  Simon replies angrily, “It must be the stubborn old guard in the Phoenix family backing him. Otherwise, Viscount Kaku wouldn’t be so brazen.”

  Henwell chuckles softly. “Anything else?”

  Simon knows Henwell is testing him. “I think someone promised Kaku something, or said something to him. Maybe the title of Grand Duke of Phoenix! The only one who could make such a promise is probably that cunning old king from Silver Peak City.”

  “Oh? Then why does Kaku believe it? Orak is the rightful first heir, after all!”

  Simon thinks for a moment. “Lord Orak will take time to return, and no one can guarantee he will come back at all. People sometimes have unrealistic hopes, especially when huge rewards are involved. Even a tiny chance gets magnified by desire.”

  Henwell nods slightly, clearly satisfied with Simon’s answer.

  Henwell adds, “There’s one more person who’s likely backing Kaku.”

  He then points north.

  “The Marquis Descartes of Vorska City, his position is quite delicate right now. His territory borders Kaku’s closely, so they must have struck some kind of deal.”

  Simon looks surprised by this. “Why? Marquis Descartes is a core member of the Nobles’ Alliance, isn’t he? He and Duke Marcus should both want to see Phoenix and us grow stronger, further weakening the royal family’s power.”

  Henwell sighs. “Don’t you see? You just called him Marquis Descartes. That’s the key. He was supposed to be elevated to duke like Marcus, but because of the defeat in the Transformation War, he only got the title of Marquis to govern his region. How could he possibly accept that?

  “Besides, the Phoenix family suddenly becoming dukes creates a huge gap. That shakes his loyalty. Maybe cozying up to that king isn’t so hard to swallow after all.”

  Simon’s eyes widen, struggling to accept this conclusion. “But… but! He might not even gain anything from it! Aligning with King Amir isn’t a better choice for him or his entire faction.”

  Henwell replies calmly, “The whole point of the Nobles’ Alliance is to band together for mutual support and resist the strong royal factions. I support Arius. Once Arius takes power, both I and the Phoenix family automatically become the new loyalists to the crown.

  “Add in Fabio from the Western Regions and other royal dukes, and they’ll form a force that can steamroll the Nobles’ Alliance. They might not stop me from pushing Arius to power, but they can push me and the Phoenix family, as far away as possible.

  “No matter the outcome, they gain a potential ally, which is very advantageous for them.”

  Henwell doesn’t say anything further.

  Behind all this, he suspects the hand of his future father-in-w.

  Since marrying Melissa, their families are indeed linked, but the MacLeod family is bound to him, not to the Phoenix family.

  Eastern Mist City is too far away; the MacLeods can’t directly influence matters here.

  Duke Marcus must weaken the Phoenix family’s hold over him.

  It’s not just to secure Melissa’s position as Lady of Blood Hill, but also to drive a wedge between the Phoenix family and himself.

  The reason is simple: as leader of the Nobles’ Alliance, Marcus and his faction cannot tolerate a strong king rising to power.

  If Henwell distances himself from the Phoenix family, Marcus can naturally pull him into the Nobles’ Alliance.

  Arius grew up within the Phoenix family and undoubtedly feels more loyalty to them than to Henwell.

  When conflicts arise between Henwell and Phoenix, Arius will side with Phoenix both emotionally and logically.

  Over time, this breeds resentment in Henwell’s heart.

  Marcus’s pn isn’t to weaken Henwell; on the contrary, his future father-in-w is actually strengthening him, just using more aggressive methods that Henwell dislikes.

  The goal is clear: Marcus wants Henwell to drift away from the Phoenix family, to grow distant and eventually hostile.

  That way, when Henwell absorbs the Phoenix family, he won’t be burdened by emotional ties.

  With Peace Haven’s power, if Henwell takes over the Phoenix family, no one can stop him.

  Neighboring forces would welcome it, and even King Amir wouldn’t intervene.

  Because such a move would severely damage Henwell’s reputation, branding him as a ruthless opportunist.

  But in reality, this is extremely advantageous for Peace Haven.

  As a seasoned politician, Duke Marcus has keenly realized that the Phoenix family will become a stumbling block for Henwell’s future.

  Now, his future father-in-w has already begun plotting on his behalf.

  He’s even careful to protect Henwell’s reputation, preparing to paint the Phoenix family as treacherous, greedy, arrogant, and short-sighted vilins.