Chapter 104: He Will Bring Pain to the World
Among the three mineral-rich territories Ambrose had previously investigated, one belonged to the Skinner Duke, a lord who worshiped the Mistress of Pain, Levitra.
The title of "Skinner Duke" carried exceptional prestige among the neighboring lords and meant that he stood a cut above his peers.
He was no self-styled noble. The title belonged to an ancient family whose lineage stretched back several centuries. They had once ruled within a small duchy—a nation with a sparse population, but one in which every citizen worshiped the Mistress of Pain.
Levitra was a deity of boundless ambition and ceaseless aggression. From that alone, one could easily imagine the character of a country that revered her.
Eventually, that country was annihilated by the Lyon Empire.
The Skinner Duke fled with his family's wealth and a handful of surviving kin. He settled in Alkhemia, where he purchased a new territory and continued to style himself a duke.
Alkhemia had no objections. Here, knowledge reigned supreme. Noble titles mattered less than an author's byline on a paper. Aristocrats enjoyed few privileges to begin with.
In Alkhemia, one often saw nobles bowing or kneeling before scholars. As for aristocratic etiquette between nobles? That was irrelevant. Let the nobles play their games among themselves: Alkhemia's laws did not concern such matters.
Thus, although the Skinner Duke's title sounded impressive, in reality, it only granted him authority within his own lands.