Duane stood on the steps before the castle gate. He saw two fine horses gallop over and stop at the foot of the stairs.

’It’s Kaelon.’

Seeing one of the figures, Duane’s anxious heart settled. He then turned his gaze to the other person.

The man looked vaguely familiar, but rummaging through his memories, he couldn’t quite place him.

"My Lord, I’ve returned!"

Kaelon swung himself off his horse and bounded lightly up the steps in a few strides.

"Well done."

Duane looked at the young man who had come with Kaelon. "And this is?"

The man wasn’t old, with healthy, tanned skin. Beneath his short brown hair, his eyes were exceptionally bright. He was an energetic young man.

Duane’s attention fell on the One-Handed Sword and Shield on the man’s back.

From their appearance, he could tell they were quite heavy, and it wasn’t hard to deduce that the man was a Warrior.

"Raymond Iron Shield, my respects to you, Baron!"

The young man dropped to one knee, performing a grand salute.

Kaelon chimed in at the right moment, "Raymond is the Captain of the thirty-eighth squad of the Third Legion, an Advanced Warrior. He was wounded following Lord Carter into the Secret Realm and has been on leave. Now that his injuries are mostly healed, he wishes to follow you!"

Hearing this, Duane immediately leaned down and helped the man to his feet.

’So Kaelon was late because he was out recruiting?’

Raymond said, "I have admired your father since I was a child. After joining the Third Legion, I received guidance and gifts from Lord Carter, and I had long wanted to follow him. Unfortunately, before I could say anything, he died a hero’s death in the Secret Realm."

As he spoke of this, his eyes grew red.

"Baron, Lord Carter died a hero! He wasn’t recklessly chasing glory, as the rumors say! He was not at fault in the slightest!"

Kaelon added excitedly, "My Lord, His Majesty has granted your audience for tomorrow. I suggest you bring Raymond to confront them and expose the lies of Orlando and his ilk!"

"Yes, I’m willing to testify!"

Raymond said firmly, "If it weren’t for Lord Carter’s fearless fighting, the casualties would have been far greater, and I certainly wouldn’t have been lucky enough to survive! The deaths of those nobles’ relatives were not his fault at all!"

"To restore justice and fairness for Lord Carter, I am willing to do anything!"

Their affection for Carter was genuine. Now that they understood the situation, they were filled with righteous indignation, vowing to seek justice for him.

Duane understood their feelings. After all, they both owed Carter a great debt of gratitude; it was only natural they would want to clear his name.

However, Raymond’s words confirmed Duane’s earlier suspicions. The accusations against Carter were baseless, fabricated to influence the distribution of benefits from the Lakefront Secret Realm.

It was very likely that people at all levels were involved in this matter.

If Duane really did drag Raymond along to refute the claims and expose Earl Orlando’s slander, the consequences could be even worse than being made a Baron on Black Forest Island.

For one thing, Raymond would certainly not survive.

Duane glanced around. Thankfully, no one was nearby. Otherwise, with so many ears around, there was a risk these words could get out.

"Let’s go inside and talk."

As they walked, Duane asked, "I recall that every soldier in the Third Legion is registered and isn’t allowed to leave at will. You chose to follow me, did the Legion approve?"

"They did!"

Raymond said, "I applied the day before yesterday, as soon as my injuries healed. I thought it would be difficult, but to my surprise, it was approved the very next day."

Duane frowned. "How did you apply?"

"I wrote that I wanted to pledge my loyalty to you to repay Lord Carter’s kindness."

Duane couldn’t help but glance at him, thinking: ’What an honest fellow.’

Getting back to the matter at hand, he felt something was fishy about this.

Raymond was an Advanced Warrior, after all, and an officer to boot. It was impossible that they would approve his discharge without so much as a single conversation.

"Who is the current commander of the Third Legion?" Duane asked.

"It’s Lord Hunter Hughes. He is reorganizing the Third Legion," Raymond replied.

Kaelon added in a timely manner, "It’s said that he will also be in charge of managing the Lakefront Secret Realm from now on."

Duane tried to recall who this person was.

The surname Hughes was very famous in the Pruck Kingdom, as the only Duke was Kelvin Hughes.

"Hunter is a descendant of Duke Kelvin?"

Duane asked, "I don’t think I’ve heard his name much before."

"I heard he was only recently transferred from the Duke’s Territory."

Raymond spoke with a hint of disdain in his voice, "Lord Hunter is only an Advanced Warrior. In a real fight, I’m afraid he’s not even as strong as I am. If he weren’t the Duke’s grandson, there’s no way he could be the Legion’s commander!"

At this, a hint of admiration appeared in his eyes. "Only a powerful Warrior like Lord Carter is a true Legion commander in my heart!"

Duane analyzed the situation silently.

’Is Hunter’s move designed to purge Carter’s loyalists from the Third Legion so he can install his own people?’

’Or is there a deeper meaning to it?’

’According to the original owner’s personality, he might have actually taken Raymond to argue the case based on facts. If he did, Orlando might have been charged with the crime of slandering a nobleman.’

’That crime isn’t a serious one, especially when the Count had relatives who died.’

’But it could be used as a bargaining chip to negotiate the distribution of the Secret Realm’s resources?’

’Regardless of whether Carter was framed, my departure from Lakefront Manor is certain. The only difference is whether I leave alive or get carried out dead.’

The thought made Duane feel enveloped by danger once again.

The three of them entered the castle’s living room. He warned, "From now on, don’t talk about exposing lies or testifying."

Raymond was stunned. In disbelief, he asked, "Why?"

Kaelon, even more confused, asked, "My Lord, don’t you want to clear Lord Carter’s name?"

"As Carter’s son, how could I not want to clear his name?"

Duane shook his head. "It’s just that Raymond’s testimony alone isn’t enough to change anything. It’s even more unlikely that His Majesty would severely punish a landed Count."

He said seriously, "Please believe me, I will clear my father’s name. But only after we have enough power to do so."

Kaelon and Raymond seemed to only half-understand.

"There are some things you don’t know. You’ll understand in the future."

Duane didn’t elaborate, instead changing the subject.

"Raymond, you should know that Black Forest Island is no paradise. Are you sure you want to follow me?"

Raymond snapped back to his senses, temporarily setting aside the matter of testifying.

He dropped to one knee. "I implore you to accept my loyalty!"

Although Kaelon was still worried about clearing Carter’s name, he couldn’t help but emphasize when it came to Raymond:

"My Lord, you may not know this, but in the Third Legion’s combat tournament at the end of last year, Raymond defeated several Human Tier Warriors to take third place."

Duane’s eyes lit up. He hadn’t expected the young man to be so formidable!

"I accept your oath of loyalty!"

He quickly stepped forward and helped the man up. "I can promise you this: I will not mistreat any follower who accompanies me to Black Forest Island, and I certainly won’t mistreat you!"

Even though Raymond was following him out of gratitude to Carter, Duane knew he had to offer what was due.

According to the general rules of this world, a Warrior’s pay was usually tied to their Level and position.

A regular Advanced Warrior earned 30 Silver Coins a month, while a Human Tier Warrior earned 150 Silver Coins a month.

However, for an Advanced Warrior like Raymond, who could defeat ordinary Human Tier Warriors and also held the position of Captain in the Legion, the salary would naturally not be so low.

Duane learned that Raymond’s current monthly salary was 90 Silver Coins. To show how much he valued him, he offered a monthly salary of 120 Silver Coins.

This was just the Level-based pay. Once they were stable and had grown stronger, there would also be bonuses for his position.

Raymond actually tried to refuse such a high offer.

He had made this decision purely to repay Carter’s kindness and didn’t want to see his only son meet with a mishap in a dangerous place like Black Forest Island.

He was planning to wait until Duane was firmly established on Black Forest Island, then he would return and find his own path.

Duane wasn’t worried about the money.

In his eyes, the fact that Raymond, a commoner, had the strength to defeat a Human Tier Knight at the age of 24 was enough to prove he had outstanding talent for cultivation.

If Raymond had been born into a noble family with no lack of resources, his strength would likely be even greater by now.

Now, he was following him, a Lord who was still an ordinary person, only out of respect for Carter. To make such a decision was, to some extent, to give up on his own future.

Duane wouldn’t be stingy. He also knew that he couldn’t rely solely on that debt of gratitude to keep Raymond serving him.

After settling this matter, Duane finally asked Kaelon about delivering the formal request for an audience.

His Majesty Eric had readily agreed to Duane’s request for an audience, and they had arranged to meet tomorrow morning at Cyan Snake Fortress.

Duane was greatly looking forward to the meeting tomorrow. He really wanted to see a King from an Otherworld with his own eyes.

But that was secondary.

What he needed to do more was try to leverage the current situation to ask the King for some resources.