"I have a plan." Noel pointed at the book. "The Third Prince planned to get this knowledge from me, but if I let him possess this, he would have too much power. It's good if I want to fully support the Third Prince and reclaim the throne, but the situation is not that good.
"My father suspects that the Royal Family is involved with the Supreme Devil Organization. It's a bold claim, but it makes sense for a lot of things.
"Hence, I'm not planning to let one side possess that much power before determining whether that person is involved with the organization or not.
"My grandfather will handle that side, while in this kingdom, I'm planning to use both the marquis and the countess."
Rose frowned, feeling something off with this plan. "But if you go this path, won't the Third Prince question your loyalty? I can kinda understand the current situation and that's why I'm confused."
"No." Noel shook his head. "There is a catch. I'm planning to meet the countess to talk about the book, but I'm going to ask her to make it look like the marquis stole the book.
"At the same time, the countess will spread the knowledge, starting from the Marquis' territory. This way, the knowledge will spread from there and the blame will fall on the marquis."
Rose contemplated for a moment and murmured, "I see. You can simply say that you want the countess' help as an ally of your father for this book. But because it's stolen, the blame should be directed to the marquis.
"I don't know how much influence the Third Prince has, but it's clear that he's still very strong. The fact that he's still called the Third Prince, his former title, and the Royal Family refusing to give the third-born child that title shows a lot about his power.
"You want to use this incident to measure the Third Prince's strength while using them to eradicate the family's enemy. The countess will surely join because she can finally fight back against the oppressor and finally be liberated from all those sufferings."
"That's the plan," Noel confirmed without hesitation. "As for the details, I'll leave it for later.
"That's true. What you should worry about is the Greenwood Kingdom. How do you explain the leak of knowledge?"
"It's simple. I've given the book to my grandfather before graduation, so I can claim that my grandfather arranged the book with the ancient Spirit Enchantment Book." Noel shrugged.
With this excuse, it was clear that the Third Prince would have a hard time finding fault. Noel could simply claim that he wasn't as clever as his father, so mistakes were bound to make, especially since he wasn't actively taking part in the management of the family.
Noel had truly prepared a lot for this.
"There is also another benefit to giving this book to the Ezenholm Family other than spreading the knowledge and the Royal Family.
"I'm sure that my father will put my name on it as the creator of this rune system. This alone will give a lot of protection since they will think twice about whether to eliminate me or bring me to their side.
"The neutral parties will try to negotiate with me or even wish to develop the rune with them. The enemies will try to eliminate me because I'll become a huge threat to them, while the Ardagan Family's allies will contact me to help. This way, I can see who is my enemy and who is my ally."
Rose understood that intention. Although Noel didn't seem to care about it, he also considered the Ezenholm Family's interest. With this book, their status in the kingdom would increase. And the Ezenholm Family could openly protect him since Noel was an important resource that could develop the Rune System far faster than anyone else. Even their Royal Family might give a decree to the Ezenholm Family personally.
There were some disadvantages to this plan since it brought a lot of enemies to him directly. But Rose didn't miss the detail where Noel said to publish this book six months from now.
"Then, I assume the six months…" Rose narrowed her eyes.
"Yes. I should be able to become a Spirit Master within six months and consolidate my strength. Although I still won't be able to fight against a Spirit Grandmaster, I should be strong enough to escape."
"I see." Dimitri nodded in understanding. He couldn't reject Noel since the latter had considered all this. "If that's the case, I'll use my full speed to go straight to the Ezenholm Family. With the current distance, I think I should be able to return to you within two weeks. But I don't know where you're planning to go after this. You're not planning to visit the countess before becoming a Spirit Master, right?"
"Yeah. I'm planning to visit the border after this to do something before going back to the Demon Banner Army headquarters within one month. Let's meet up there."
"I understand." Dimitri didn't know what Noel planned to do there, but it would be easy if they could regroup there. He turned to Rose and said, "I'll leave the young master to you, Miss."
"Y-yes." Rose politely bowed. She didn't know Dimitri's real identity, but she could feel the overwhelming strength hidden underneath that gentle appearance. It seemed the other party was an expert whose strength was on par with Paul's or even higher.
"Good. Thank you for doing all this, Dimitri."
"No, it's my job."
"Though, do you know anyone who is trusted enough to investigate something?" Noel asked.
"Hmm…" Dimitri thought for a moment. "I think there is one person that you want to visit. Although he is only the second in command for information gathering under your father, he is still available."
"The second in command?"
"Yes. The one in charge disappeared after the executions. I'm afraid he's the one helping your father. So, it's best to approach the other one."
"I see. Who is he?"
"His name is Harley, he is currently an owner of a brothel called Eternal Flower. If you wish to meet him, he should be in Tamworth."
