A Devious Scheme

Three days might not seem like much, but neither was it too short.

The duration was proposed by Cecilia after calculating the distance from the Royce Estate to Tindis Castle. Looking at the timeline, it was evident that if Count Mario wanted to make it in time, he had to act immediately upon receiving the invitation. The letter granted Count Mario permission to bring Martin, Moodus, and a group of knights, but it didn't explicitly state if he could bring his private guards.

This was a key factor Durun could exploit.

If Count Mario arrived on time, even with his private guards, letting them into the castle wouldn't matter, as the new soldiers trained by Old Peter were far from inexperienced. However, if Count Mario wished to display power and intentionally delayed his arrival, as the prospective heir to the lordship, Durun naturally had the authority to order Count Mario to leave his private guards behind.