"You've done something wrong, I won't let you inherit …"
Although the Dukes Of Angmar's words were interrupted, Francis obviously would not think that his father was joking. Now the facts were right in front of him … His father's body was approaching the edge of death, and as long as Sally was alive, he might not be able to inherit all the wealth of the territory!
"What should I do … What should I do …"
He fiercely scratched his originally meticulously combed hair. His forehead was drenched in sweat due to anxiety. The fear and uneasiness that arose from the bottom of his heart made him pace back and forth in front of the fireplace, unable to stop at all.
The young Francis did not have the deep and sophisticated temperament of a middle-aged man. Although he was able to keep his composure in most things, when it came to the inheritance of the title that he was most concerned about, he was completely flustered.
He and Sally were the only two direct descendants of the Lucifron Family. Although there were a lot of collateral aunts, aunts, and uncles, other than him, the only one who could truly inherit the title was Sally.
He had envisioned many scenarios, and even imagined that his father would eventually tell him that he could inherit this huge territory. But now, his father's sudden words were like a heavy hammer, smashing all his beautiful visions, leaving him with no way out.
"Do I really have to shed all pretense of cordiality with the Rose Cross?"
Francis could not help but think of the final plan that he originally did not want to think about. But after thinking about it countless times, he found that he no longer had a choice. Either he killed Sally, or he could only wait for the power to fall into the hands of others.
Growing up with Sally, he naturally understood his sister's ability. If all the resources and manpower of the territory were handed over to her, he was afraid that he would not even have the chance to assassinate her!
His eyes slowly moved, and finally, he saw the information about Sally on the table. He slightly clenched his fist.
After closing his eyes and thinking for a moment, he already had a prototype of the next plan in his mind. Walking out of the door, the ferocious and distorted face had returned to its former calmness. He ordered the maid at the door, "I want to go to Moria Manor to stay for a few days. Go prepare the carriage, I'll leave tomorrow. By the way, ask Willie to come over."
The maidservant left after receiving the order. Not long after, the hunched Willy arrived at the young count's room. When the door closed, the smile on his face disappeared in an instant. His cold voice was low and emotionless.
"Go find someone and kill Sally in the shortest time possible."
He paused for a moment.
"I'll be staying in Moria Manor during this period of time. I won't be involved in anything that happens in Hollier City. Understand? "
Willie pursed his lips and replied in a low voice, "Yes, Master!"
*****
September 1st.
No matter how the conspirators weaved a web, for most people in Hollier, life was still just life. The things that the nobles considered had never had much to do with them.
It was the end of summer and the beginning of autumn. The city's hustle and bustle had almost reached the peak of the year.
The harvest day had just passed, and the lords had already begun a new round of tax collection. After the farmers paid the taxes, if they had a surplus, they would choose to sell some of their food to exchange for some necessities.
The merchants' cries rose and fell in the square. Every day, from dawn to dusk, the circus set up a stage in the square. The dancing flames and the audience's exclamations were always heard. The surrounding alehouses smelt of ale, and the minstrel, with his vielle in his hand, sang popular ballads to the merry accompaniment.
The beggars lay on the street corners of the slums, waving their hands to chase away the flies hovering around them from time to time. They did not have to worry about the bad weather or where their next meal would be like in winter. Occasionally, a rich person would come to distribute food, and they would rush forward and snatch a few pieces of hard black bread. Then, they would rejoice and lie back down.
In a city with a resident population of 20,000 and a floating population of 25,000, the daily scene was mostly dominated by such an atmosphere.
The streets were not tidy, and when the carriages passed by, there would occasionally be an unpleasant smell of feces. Most of the commoners' clothes were dark grey, and there was a tinge of calmness in the midst of the hustle and bustle. Every time Sally gazed out of the window, her heart would carry some of these emotions.
In the past few months, the young daughter of Duke had completely adapted to life in the monastery. It was a little monotonous, but in fact, the life in the Ducal Palace was not much better. So in her heart, she had an attitude of taking things as they came.
The prayers were over, and after she had finished her work for the day, she wrote something unknown to others in her room. At this moment, the parchment in her hand was the tasks that she had assigned to her subordinates outside the monastery. Up until now, she had barely established an intelligence network outside the monastery, and her tentacles had extended to several major towns in the territory. The furthest one was the place marked at the beginning of the letter.
Norland Village.
"Missing … He went into the grassland with two teams of scouts … Did he really go to find trouble with the orcs?"
The same news sounded like a complete joke to Francis, but Sally did not show any contempt. Instead, she read it over and over again with great seriousness, and finally confirmed a certain possibility in her heart.
The mind of a young girl was always somewhat complicated. She was worried that Roddy would have an accident, and she also thought of the worst possibility … For example, Roddy would eventually die in the endless grassland because of some accident …
Bah, bah, bah, I can't think like that.
Every time those unimaginable but uncontrollable images popped up in her mind, she would always feel her heart beating faster for no reason. Then she would examine the position of the person in her heart with an absolutely calm perspective …
Who is he to you? Is it worth it to worry so much?
He's a bastard, and he just wants to use you!
He …
Her fingers slightly clenched the parchment in her hand, and she slowly let out a sigh of relief.
After more than four months of not seeing each other, the appearance of Roddy in her mind seemed to have become blurred, but on the contrary, the wonderful "interactions" between her and Roddy had become more and more profound. When facing the Scorpion King, Roddy had thrown her out, when facing Francis, Roddy had asked her to use the necklace to sneak in, and when they were in the mining tunnel, Roddy had pushed her to the other side of the ruins … All kinds of images flashed through her mind. Some were grateful, some were ashamed, some were guilty, and some were lost.
When she thought about the last time she met him, how she personally received the soft armor he made, and then watched his figure disappear into the distance, Sally pursed her lips slightly. However, she felt like she couldn't find his position in her heart at all.
Slowly letting out a breath, Sally stood up and tidied her robe. The afternoon sun shone through the window, and her platinum hair was gently tied up, reflecting the crystal light.
"Maybe … he has forgotten me."
She always complained, but in her mind, the sentence was completely different. Feeling conflicted, Sally stepped out of the bedroom and walked towards the church in front of the monastery. Usually, at this time, the nuns would answer some questions about the doctrine of the church for the believers in the vestibule. When the sun went down, the mission of the day would be considered completed.
Along the way, many believers respectfully saluted the "candidate priest", and Sally smiled back. Occasionally, she would talk to some of the believers she was familiar with and say hello to them. As a noble, she was very good at dealing with interpersonal relationships. Almost all the people in the monastery were friendly to her. Even the few who were slightly cold to her did not dare to show any disrespect because of her identity and status.
"Sally, Booker went to the tavern a few days ago to eavesdrop on the stories told by the bards. It sounds very interesting!"
A brown-haired girl followed Sally's footsteps. They seemed to be quite familiar with each other. She could be considered one of the closer friends in the monastery.
Of course, it was also because Kris was the daughter of a viscount. They had the same noble bloodline, so it was easy for them to "get together". Naturally, Kris did not have much interest in other believers who were born as commoners. Her "womanly" friendship with Sally was more obvious.
"Booker always likes to run around. If the bishop knows, he will definitely scold him again." Sally smiled. "What story makes you so excited? Is it another battle between a knight and a dragon? "
"No, no, no. You will never imagine it." Kris shook her head like a rattle. "Those childish stories about knights and princesses should be told to the children who have never heard of communication. Hey … Booker heard a story about orcs!"
Kris, who was obviously showing off, looked around as if she wanted to see if more people were attracted by her words. Unsurprisingly, three or four young fellows stopped in their tracks with curious expressions on their faces and slowly approached him.
After all, most of the believers were less than 20 years old. It was unrealistic for them to study all day long at this age. Therefore, during such a break in the monastery, the monks and nuns were still very relaxed. It was not as serious as one would imagine.
"What about the ferocious orcs? In the past, when father mentioned them, he only used them to scare me. I have never heard of their stories. This time, Booker heard a very novel version. He said … Uh … Sally? "
Kris suddenly stopped talking because she suddenly noticed that Sally's expression did not seem to be right.
"Hmm? Orcs. Yes, orcs. Ah … This story should be very interesting. I was just wondering where the story of the orcs came from. "
Sally's face was full of smiles, but not much. She clenched her fists under her robe and slowed down a little.
Kris thought she was hallucinating and continued, "Booker talked a lot. He talked about the battles at the border that the bard told us about. The strong orcs, the brave human warriors, and the story about the wolf riders … It seems to be the war that Emperor Koen fought against the orcs in the past."
Sally's eyes narrowed slightly. She felt a little melancholy and lost. She nodded perfunctorily and said, "And then?"
"But unlike the other stories, this time the bard told a story about scouts. Heh, to be honest, I didn't even know what they did until Booker told me the word 'scouts'," Roland said with a smile.
"S-Scouts?"
"Yes. They are soldiers who carry out reconnaissance missions before a battle, gather intelligence, and sacrifice their lives for the country when necessary. In the past, I always heard about how heroic the knights were. Later on, I found out that they were the ones who shamelessly claimed the credit for a lot of things. Most of the time, the ones who really made the contribution were actually the small characters like the scouts. "
The two of them walked side by side. Kris began to tell the story she had just heard. Sally listened quietly at the side, her eyes looking forward. At a certain moment, it seemed that she had heard something that touched her heartstrings. She felt an inexplicable lump in her throat.
"… A single person killing 10 Wolf Cavalrymen and leading a team to kill those evil beastmen. It sounds really exciting, doesn't it?"
Kris excitedly made a "chopping" gesture. When she turned around, she found that Sally was rubbing her eyes.
"Sally?"
Flustered, Sally shifted her gaze to the side. She blinked hard to dispel the inexplicable fog in front of her eyes. She waved her hand to indicate that she was fine. When Kris told the story about the group of scouts who charged into the orc kingdom to avenge the dead villagers, Sally finally stopped walking. With an apologetic tone, she tried to control her voice and said, "Kris … I suddenly remembered something. I might not be able to go to the church in the afternoon. Please apologize to Bishop Benjamin on my behalf."
After saying that, she did not care whether Kris agreed or not. She turned around and ran back to her room. The parchment that she had read countless times was tightly clenched in her hand.
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