That was a big sin. However, it was not big enough for the Duchess to respond so harshly on herself. Since the slave trade was caused by the actions of a vassal household, she just had to feign ignorance.

She should take some responsibility, but that was the cruel nature of the world.

�But why?�

The rest of the people were confused, but Duchess Sonata, Antonio, and even Cale were all calm. However, a bigger shock came from Duchess Sonata�s next words.

�I also plan to pass the title of Duke to Antonio by the end of the year.�

�Grandmother!�

Antonio called toward Duchess Sonata in shock, but she was calm. No, she had a cold gaze in her eyes.

�This was my fault.�

The Gyerre household would be shaken up once more when the identity of the Empire�s merchant guild is revealed. Her choosing to take responsibility and step down would reduce the amount of chatter in the future.

Furthermore, she was planning on having Baron Chryshi relinquish his title and punishing his family, thus making any Chryshi descendants never show their faces in the world again.

But she was still worried.

She was worried because she did not notice the gap in the gates into the kingdom.

She had thought that securing power was the way to survive, however, she was wrong.

The gates to the house were broken while they were fighting for power. This was unacceptable.

She looked toward her grandson, Antonio.

She had always told her grandson the following.

�Nobles are all greedy people. You need to know how to use your sword if you want to survive. You cannot show any opening. You must always make a judgment about them and use those judgements to your advantage.�

It may have sounded harsh, but her grandson had never talked back to her. He always showed the demeanor of a proper and authoritative noble.

However, she had noticed how her grandson truly felt.

Although he was authoritative, her grandson held a lot of pride for the title of noble.

�Matriarch-nim, I believe we should lock the gates.�

Antonio was the first to suggest that they let go of their power and focus on fixing their internal affairs.

That made her realize that it was time to pass the title onto her grandson and support him to be a reliable gatekeeper for the southwest region.

��Grandmother.� JrNovels.com