Henry is impressed by the strikes, mentioning that the rebel army was centered around cavalrymen, but he guesses they have some of the guys like these two. Though Noah didn't kill the opponents. After cutting them, he used Leviathan's threat to knock them unconscious. People like these are too likely to kill themselves.
The next day, Noah meets Byron and reveals to him that there is a rebellion in Almaria. He threatens to kill the merchants if the word goes out. He had to tell these men, as Byron happens to do business in the area surrounding Almaria.
Noah elaborates that he has been told that cavalrymen are the center of the rebels' forces. He gives Byron ten thousand ren and orders him to buy all the horse feed in the fief immediately. Byron suggests securing standard rations as well. Yet Noah explains that they don't need it. War horses are not raised in Almaria. According to Henry, the rebels' horses were purchased elsewhere. There were only so many horses they could steal from citizens. The plan is pretty obvious. If Noah takes the soldiers' rations, they'd start looting.
The emperor informs Noah that the rebels provided incomplete information. They claim that assassins were trying to kidnap Noah in order to negotiate. Noah believes that the rebels gave up too easily, and that they are definitely lying. The emperor is impressed. He finds Noah very clever, though he suggests Noah not get worried, as there is a way to find out who is telling the truth. To catch a thief, they need a thief.
It was true that Noah didn't know much about torture, so he would just take their word for it.
The king praises Noah, but warns him that if he gets captured, the kingdom might have to make a difficult decision. He even mentions that targeting the horses was an excellent plan. Upon hearing it, Noah is taken aback. How does this man get to know every recent decision Noah makes?
The emperor ignores his shocked reaction and explains that starving enemies is a common strategy, and that Albert suggested using this tactic with the rebels as well. However, soon enough Noah realized that this could cause those rebels to attack civilians, so he chose to starve their horses only. This was a smart and thoughtful move. The emperor loved the thought process of this young boy, though he knows that carrying this plan out is not that easy.
In that instant, the king announces the reward for Noah, and grants permission to add a sword to Noah's crest. Noah is taken aback. He wasn't expecting this. This is a warrior nation, and adding a sword to one's symbol without the emperor's permission is a grave crime punishable by death. Receiving permission from the emperor is one of the greatest honors possible. The king instructs Cruz to issue the proclamation, making Noah feel as grateful as ever.
After that, Noah heads back toward his place. On the way, Byron meets the prince and explains that there are only so many types of feed designed to be transported. They know which routes will be used, so buying them will not be hard at all. Also, regarding Karfon, the leader of the rebels, he is extremely tenacious and will do whatever it takes to achieve his goal. The merchant is certain it is nothing Noah needs to worry about, but he warns him to be very cautious. Noah questions him as to why he is telling him all this.
At the same time, Evelyn interrupts hesitantly and informs Noah that there is a wounded man at the main door who says he has an urgent report. At the main door, the man is very honored to meet Noah, and introduces himself as Durian, serving in the Adora province of Almaria. Badly injured, he reveals that a rebellion has begun in Almaria and his superior started an uprising, but he couldn't go along with it. So he fled to report to the prince. Unfortunately, everyone knew about this already.
Still, Noah thanks the man for reporting, and instructs Evelyn to treat his wounds. While leaving, Noah announces that he will give the man a reward of a thousand ren. Byron is taken aback. He didn't expect Noah to reward the man, since the information wasn't helpful at all. Even though the information isn't helpful, still, the man risked his life to come to them with it.
In the palace, extremely tired, Zoe knocks on Noah's door. The prince lets her in, and in that moment she collapses from tiredness. Noah is worried. What happened to her? Suddenly he notices a small bag of money containing about five hundred ren. The maid explains that a stranger gave it to her as a reward for giving Noah a sleeping drug. She was to mix that into the prince's drink, then hand him over to those people once he fell asleep.
Noah realizes that these are the same rebels again, and that they really wanted to kidnap him, though he doesn't understand why his maid brought it to him. Zoe is loyal. She could never do this to the person who helped her mother and her village. Scared, the poor girl starts crying, as she has been threatened that she will be killed if she doesn't do the task.
Noah understands the situation and gives a reward to Zoe. Those rebels tried to buy her betrayal for five hundred ren, but she didn't do it, so Noah adds a zero to that. The reward is five thousand ren, which is a lot. She cannot accept it. Noah insists, and Zoe starts crying, thanking him, realizing that he is a truly generous master.
With that, Noah gives her a task. Carefully examining the bottle, he announces that he will take this drug. When he passes out, she should take him to them. Once they take him, she should immediately run away and hide, because if she stays, they will try to kill her. Zoe is stunned. She doesn't like this plan at all.
Moments later, Noah is kidnapped.
After a while, Noah becomes conscious. His hands and feet are tied. He sharpens his senses and comes to the conclusion that hiding his weapon was the right choice, as his enemies would have taken it. The rebels are scared, knowing this is a huge danger, and one stab with that creepy dagger and it'd be all over. Noah is confused. What dagger are they talking about? They recall Karfon's orders, being very well aware that they can't go wrong with this.
However, they didn't even remove his ring. Therefore, using his ring's powers, he cuts the ropes and frees himself. His eyes have adjusted. Initially he thought he was in a room, yet this is the back of a wagon.
Pretending to be unconscious, he asks Leviathan to show him its memories. The sword shows him what happened. Noah drank the tea and passed out. The rebels kidnapped him, tying his hands and feet, not concerned about Zoe as they fled. Zoe obviously followed the prince's order and escaped. Without hesitation, the rebels put Noah into a caravan and took him away.