No Evil Lady in the World (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 204

Hamon stared at Sediloi with an utterly dumbfounded expression. Over the years of their friendship, he’d heard plenty of incomprehensible remarks—by Hamon’s own standards—but he hadn’t expected something entirely new to surface now.

“You’re saying you won’t come to the capital? So you’ll spend your entire life only in your duchy?”

“It’s the place I have to manage anyway. It’s our family’s land.”

“Who doesn’t know that? But you’re not ignorant of why nobles insist on staying in El Laoutica.”

Sediloi gave a faint smile. Of course, he knew. Did nobles residing in El Laoutica lack estates in the provinces? They weren’t staying in the royal palace simply because they had no townhouses, writing groveling petitions to the king each time.

Only by staying continuously in El Laoutica could one respond sensitively to changes in noble society—the shifts in power, evolving political perspectives, and even secondary matters like fashion trends.

Staying in the provinces made it utterly impossible to keep up swiftly with such things—especially considering that all trends originated from the royal family and nobles close to them.

Hamon spoke.

“You, Sediloi… excluding the royal family, you’re practically the most powerful duke in this country. Frankly speaking, if Her Majesty and my brothers were to die overnight, you could become the next candidate for the throne—and a very strong one at that.”

Sediloi frowned.

“Don’t say such dreadful things.”

“I’m just stating a fact—your position demands it. It’s not merely that you must stay here to gain social recognition in the capital. Both you and your daughter Ariante are in a position where you must lead trends in the capital. You also have the duty to understand political currents and mediate them. You’re well aware of this.”

He knew it well, Sediloi thought.

Nobles who didn’t stubbornly insist on living in El Laoutica—like the Eurt marquess family, for example—could freely choose their residence precisely because their standing wasn’t particularly solid, nor were they in a nationally crucial position.

But the Duke of Valterminster was a different matter entirely. Until now, King Elmerat had allowed Sediloi to remain in his duchy solely for Ariante’s sake. If not for Ariante, would the king have simply stood by while someone so vital to state affairs secluded himself in his duchy?

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