The grand duke looked at the marquis and said,
"Well, Marquis? Isn't this level of insight sufficient?"
"Hmm, indeed. He turned out to be a knight who knows how to think on a grand scale."
The marquis swallowed a groan and reluctantly conceded.
The grand duke wore the expression of a man who had just cleared one hurdle.
Marquis Offenburg worried about the royal house's power growing excessive, and at the same time, he didn't welcome the idea of me—a mere knight by origin—ascending to the sacred rank of prince.
He acknowledged my combat ability but pointed out my lack of any record in governance or diplomacy. Nobles tend to view knights as ignorant brutes, and the marquis held that same prejudice against me.
It's the same logic as acknowledging someone's talent while looking down on them for never going past high school. Well, it's true that the majority of knights are ignorant. Knights who could read were rare, and far from having manners, most were outright ruffians.
