It was at this moment that a crystal ball on the walnut desk suddenly opened its eyes. The eyes looked at Duke Viero not far away, and there was an indescribable smile in them.
"It seems that the era of your words being of great weight has passed," it said, its voice somewhat mocking. "But this is just the beginning. Your granddaughter will take back all your power sooner or later. There will be no more nobles in this kingdom, and the royal family will be the only one. House Covardo stole the crown from House Seifer, and now they are using the same trick to aggressively take away your power."
"Shut up!" Duke Viero angrily flipped the table, and with a loud bang, everything on the table rolled onto the carpet. The loud noise scared the maids outside the door, and the crystal ball rolled to the corner of the room before stopping.
The eyes on the crystal ball still looked at Duke Viero with a smile of pity.
"You are old, and soon you will become an old man with one foot in the grave. Originally, you still had some power in your hands, but as your brain gradually deteriorated, even your servants dared to go against you. Your daughter was just the beginning. She was originally willful, but because of your prestige, she didn't show this kind of hidden ambition. But soon you will find that you can't suppress anyone's ambition. Even those lowly commoners will dare to make a fool of you. "
"Enough." Duke Viero knew that the other party was just talking nonsense, but he still felt panic from the bottom of his heart.
The eyes on the crystal ball had no intention of stopping, and the bewitching voice continued. "Soon, you will even lose your power. By then, you will just be an old man who has lost his value. You will find that family, loyalty, they are all just lies. All of them will leave you, and you will be left alone to die. Do you understand that the sweet nothings around you and the flourishing scenes are merely built on your strength and authority? Even those lowly people want to embezzle your wealth in private, let alone when you no longer have any restraint over them? Think about it carefully. Don't regret it when there is nothing left of you. "
"… Eugenie will not leave me."
"Is that so? Even if your daughter really loves you, she will have to marry one day. Your daughter has already fallen in love with another man, and she will soon leave you and fall into the arms of that man. When that time comes, will she still care about you? "
"You make it sound nice …" Viero said coldly. "But in the end, you people still have your own motives. Don't think that I will wallow in the mire with you people."
"Hehe." The voice from the crystal ball sounded extremely hateful. It mocked, "Since that's the case, you should have thrown this crystal ball away long ago. But after thinking about it again and again, didn't you still keep it? I understand that nobles are good at leaving at least a way out for themselves. You are no exception. In that case, it is not impossible for us to sit down and negotiate, isn't it? You have to give us a chance to make an offer. "
The expression on Duke Viero's face changed unpredictably for a moment. He seemed to be struggling, but finally began to speak. "If you try to harm Erouine and Viero's interests, then keep your mouth shut. Gryphine is at least my granddaughter. I can't stand on the opposite side of her."
After saying this, the Duke seemed to relax, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his shoulders.
The eyes in the crystal ball smiled even more.
"You know very well who we are. How can we be interested in a mere Erouine? Of course, we don't care whether your granddaughter is dead or alive. We don't mean to offend you, but we don't like to lie in a roundabout way. But since you mentioned it, then we don't have to do anything to your granddaughter. It's always good to have fewer people die, isn't it? "
"Then what are you trying to do?" Duke Viero asked, unmoved. He was no longer young and impetuous, and would not easily believe the words of others.
"It's very simple," the voice replied. "We know very well why Erouine is like this. It's all because of some people who shouldn't be here —"
"You want to make a move on the Cadiloso family?" Duke Viero said firmly. "That's impossible."
He stared at the eyes in the crystal ball. If the other party wanted to let the Duke of Viero clash with the Highland Knight and kill with a borrowed knife, then it was a wrong idea.
However, the eyes in the crystal ball did not care and continued. "Let me finish, Your Grace. Why should we make a move on the grandson of Darius? It's not in our interests. But does the count really care about the gains and losses of Erouine? With his ambition, he has a place even in the Cruz Empire. Why would he care about a small kingdom? "
"What are you trying to say?"
"You should know that the people who really affect Her Highness are only the despicable people around him. Those 'new nobles' who were born in Tónigel. If they can't gain the favor of Her Highness, they won't have any status in the kingdom at all."
"Do you know who those people are? Some of them were even born as pariahs, mercenaries, and adventurers. They are the most despicable group of people in this kingdom. They use the flag of the grandson of the Earth Sword Saint to seize the power that you should have. They are trying to turn this once glorious kingdom into a depraved and demonic country."
"Think about it. Would Darius' grandson really condone such people? Before he left the kingdom, was Erouine like this? Everything happened after he left the kingdom. Now that the count is missing, his original subordinates are even more unscrupulous. They even dare to flirt with the nobles in the north. "
"Your Grace, all of this, is it something you can tolerate?"
"Hmph." Duke Viero regained his composure at this time. He sneered: "So, you came all the way here just to help us?"
"Haha," the eyes in the crystal ball laughed: "Your Grace, we are not children anymore. These high-sounding words are too boring. I'm just telling you a possibility. Of course, we have our own goals, but on this point, our interests are the same. Those despicable people from Tónigel can influence Her Highness Erouine. As her grandfather, why can't you try to influence her too? "
Duke Viero was slightly startled and couldn't help but frown.
"There is no need to be hostile between us, and there is no need to offend anyone. You are just trying to make your granddaughter listen to what you have to say. This is human nature, isn't it? Besides, everyone has their own methods. Do you intend to surrender without a fight and withdraw from the kingdom's politics? "
"What do you plan to do?" Duke Viero was silent for a long time before he asked.
"We will provide you with the necessary resources," the voice replied: "It can be funds, manpower, information, or even advice. With these things, you can regain your influence in the kingdom. At least, you will not be pushed out of Erouine's political power center. We can even let the few powerful wizards in this world cast those powerful spells on your body, allowing your body to regain its vitality and return to its peak state, allowing your territory to crawl under your feet again. "
"What benefits do you get from doing this?"
"It's hard for you to understand the benefits we've received, but you should know that we've been secretly trying to bring this world under our control. That's our most important goal, but this kind of control doesn't affect you at all, so we can have common benefits."
The Duke of Viero was silent.
This was an answer that was not on the same level. If someone else told him this answer, he might not have believed it. But he knew who the people behind the crystal ball were. In the past, their actions seemed to confirm their words.
This answer was not reassuring, but he also understood that as a mortal, he only needed to worry about the interests in front of him. It would be better if the two sides were not intertwined.
He had to admit that he was tempted, especially the last point. No one would not want to stay young forever. After a long time, Duke Viero said quietly, "Don't worry.
"Then what do I need to do?"
…
Gryphine silently looked at the girl in front of her.
To be exact, she was just a little girl. The little girl had a head of beautiful golden curly hair, especially around her ears. Her fluffy curly hair was tied into two playful and gorgeous ponytails, and the thin layer of fringe on her forehead couldn't cover her bright blue eyes that were like the sea. The girl seemed to be full of vitality. Although her every move reflected the best royal aristocratic etiquette, and her slender body was bound under the tight-looking long skirt, she still gave people the impression that she was restless.
Perhaps it was the curiosity and slyness hidden in her eyes that gave everyone who saw the little girl for the first time such a feeling.
The golden sunlight penetrated the plant curtains on the upper level of the Valhalla Holy Palace. Fine light dust floated in the air and fell on the little princess of Seifer.
This was the first time Gryphine saw her cousin, who was nominally a distant relative.
Since the Seifer family and the Covardo family became hostile, she gradually drifted away from Levin Oneson. Princess Chiara was born after that, so she had never seen her.
But even so, that pair of familiar ice-blue eyes still made her feel a sense of familiarity.
In particular, Chiara had used an unusual opening to quickly close the distance between the two of them.
"You are the famous princess, my other sister in name?"
"You are so beautiful, Sister Gryphine."
Chiara's childish voice still made it difficult to notice her demonic side. The half-elf girl almost instantly regarded her cousin's sister as a child with naivety.
But she did not notice the slyness that flashed in the other's eyes.
…
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