In this era of backward communication, it sometimes takes several days or even more than ten days for a message to reach Francis' ears, and he dare not use all the resources to search in a big way, so the final result... until now, he has not Be able to identify who your target is.
The lack of discovery some time ago made him almost lose his mind. Now that he finally found some clues, he immediately made up his mind to solve these damn things as quickly as possible—it is very strange that the scouts disappeared for no reason. In addition to the previous doubts, Maybe the guy he was looking for was hidden among these scouts.
I comforted myself so much in my heart, but the anxiety in my heart could not be relieved after all.
He casually picked up the parchment on the table, which said there was a surveillance report about Sally, because there was no way to insert spies into the "Rosary Cross" temple, so these guys who were guarding the outside of the church day and night had no I didn't get much useful information, so I could only inquire indirectly, and got some useless news such as "attended church in the morning" and "received the bishop's appreciation".
He also thought about using the method of assassination to let Sally die directly, but the risk of doing so was too great, because once he offended the "Rose Cross", it would be difficult for him to bear the retaliation. The madness of religious institutions is far from the "elegance" of the lords chatting and stabbing each other, so in the bottom of Francis' heart, such a preparatory plan is always left at the end...
Walking out of the room with such a depressed mood, Francis sighed and prepared to go to the back garden to relax. But when he opened the door, he saw the old butler of the Duke's Mansion passing by with a silver tray, so he stopped and gave a simple greeting.
Butler Alpha has served the family for more than fifty years. He is sixty-seven years old this year and still looks hale and hearty, with a straight back and meticulous silver-white hair. Even at this age, he still moves quickly when he walks by with that plate.
When he saw Francis, the old butler immediately stopped, nodded and saluted, and said with a little smile on his face, "Master Francis."
This title has been heard for twenty years, but now Francis feels that there is an inexplicable sense of irony in it. He nodded, and asked as if looking for a topic: "How is father's health recently?"
For a long time, the conversation between Francis and Steward Alpha almost always started with this topic. Because even if it is a father and son, before inheriting the duke title and territory, everything in front of them is still in the hands of the father, and as the executor of the order, the alpha steward has even more power than Francis to some extent.
So he didn't dare to offend the old housekeeper casually, even though the other party always faced him with a respectful attitude, this kind of vigilance in his heart never relaxed.
Steward Alpha's eyes were lowered, his posture remained respectful, and he said in a low voice: "Master's condition... is relatively stable."
Francis sighed at the ambiguity. In fact, everyone knows that the Duke of Angmar's illness has never improved at all. No matter how many doctors, priests, and druids he invited from the southern forest, no one can treat this kind of disease. Inexplicable illness. Speaking of which, all he can do now is to watch the Duke of Angmar grow old and decadent day after day, but he is helpless at all.
"So...today, let me deliver lunch, old Alpha."
He wanted to say this a long time ago, but he didn’t say it in the end. Now that he was depressed, Francis suddenly wanted to see his father—when he was young, whenever he was in a bad mood, he would always get relief from his father. Although he knew that he could only see a taciturn and unconscious old man when he went now, but he suddenly... felt a little nostalgic for the past.
"Master, master will understand your painstaking efforts."
Because they are familiar with each other, it can even be said that Alpha watched Francis grow up, so Alpha did not refuse the young earl's request, and obediently handed over the silver dinner plate to the Duke's eldest son.
Francis took the plate and walked to his father's bedroom full of thoughts. Behind him, the old butler who was always bent over slowly raised his eyes.
The gray-white eyes narrowed slightly, but there was a little chill on the face that had just been smiling warmly.
This feeling was fleeting. In the slightly dim corridor of the Duke's mansion, the old butler seemed to have just stood there for a moment. When he turned around and left, he returned to his usual calmness and calmness...
Because the status is close to "retirement", not only the guards in the Duke's Mansion are not vigilant, but even the servants are much less. The Duke of Angmar has rarely left his bedroom until now. Except for the meal time, he has not allowed anyone to enter his room, as if he has completely sealed himself off.
So Francis has not been here for a long, long time. When he pushed open the heavy solid wood door, everything in front of him always made him a little emotional.
In a trance, I remembered the scene where I played around here when I was a child, and the furnishings in the house have not changed much. The crimson carpet is still soft, and the armchairs used by the Luciferon family for fifty years ago have an intoxicating color in the sun, and the candlesticks on the desk are somewhat mottled, telling the story of time left here. Mark of. The fireplace is always burning in my memory, and the warm feeling seems to have remained in my heart since then.
I remember listening to the old Duke and Duchess telling stories to him when he was a child, and the orange fire kept his body warm.
In the memory of warm tones, my younger sister Sally would always sit obediently by the side, listening to me tell her the stories I heard, and seeing her adoring expression, I was always proud and proud.
When did all of this... start to change
After entering the main hall, the extremely quiet environment made his already bad mood even more dull. His eyes glanced at the ornaments that had never changed--the precious oil paintings hanging on the wall, the full-body armor on the wall, ornate weapons on the rack. The long sword... The warm memory just now seemed to be torn apart by these things that lost their color in an instant, pulling him back to reality.
Continue to walk forward, pass through the main hall, and when he came to his father's bedroom, Francis' footsteps seemed a little hesitant.
The bedroom door was open, and from here he could see the well-lit balcony at the edge of the bedroom, and the back of the man sitting motionless in the armchair in front of the balcony.
There are many emotions in my heart, including anger, unwillingness, resentment and sighing. But he also understands... no matter what he wants to do, the person in front of him is his father after all, this is an undeniable fact.
Over the years, anyone could see his father's estrangement from him, and Francis used to panic because of this, fearing that one day his father would announce that he was disqualified from inheriting the title.
So he started these plans - contacting the orcs, getting rid of his own sister without leaving a trace... In this way, the title naturally has no second choice, and he can sit back and relax.
But the more he thought about it in his heart, the more disordered his mood became at the moment. Francis was hit hard by the frustration of failing to kill Sally. At this time, looking at his father with his back turned, he seemed a little nervous for no reason.
"Father... your lunch."
Open the hemispherical lid of the silver tray, and inside are roasted pigeon meat, fruit, bread, butter and hot soup. Such food is extremely luxurious for commoners, but for noble lords, it can only be called "simple".
There was no response to Francis' words, and he seemed to have expected his father's reaction. He placed the food on the round table by himself, and then came to the armchair of the Duke of Angmar, stretched out his hand, and gently held his father arms.
The old man's body was already very weak, even skinny to the point of skin and bones, the skin on his face was loose, pale and covered with age spots - it stands to reason that the Duke of Angmar, who is only fifty-two years old this year, would not be so old at all However, now he looks like a ninety-two-year-old old man.
When Francis held his forearm, the face of the old prince didn't change at all. If it weren't for the slightly trembling eyelashes and slow breathing, others would probably think it was a sculpture.
The originally sea-blue pupils were gray and white. The Duke of Angmar was looking straight at the street view of Houlier City outside the balcony at this moment. His eyes finally trembled a little.
Then, like a rusty machine, the Duke of Angmar turned his head slowly, as if he couldn't even move his eyes. He saw Francis' face, and then... narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Let me help you eat."
Without waiting for his father to express his intention to agree, he stretched out his other hand to grab his father's shoulder, and slowly but firmly made him stand up.
The Duke of Angmar was skinny at the moment, weighing less than a hundred catties. Francis wanted to say something, but after realizing how light his father was, he still sighed slightly, and helped his father walk away as gently as possible. round table.
The old man staggered a bit, and it could even be said that this body seemed to be supported by instinct. When he sat on the chair and looked at the food in front of him, he still didn't show the slightest expression, as if it was just a pile of food. It's just a stone.
Francis picked up the knife and fork and began to cut food for his father, talking about some recent experiences, including gossip among nobles or income from the territory. A few years ago, his father liked him to come and chat with him like this, but By now, it's more like Francis talking to himself.
"There are three manors whose income is better than in previous years. When I passed by last time, I tasted the wine made by the butler Bolton. To be honest, the taste is still good."
"The marriage partner of Lord Kirk's son hasn't been chosen yet. He doesn't seem to like Viscount Gordon's daughter very much. Of course, I think he doesn't like Viscount Gordon's land."
…
After saying a few words, Francis cut the very tender pigeon meat into small pieces and put them on the plate. He sat on the chair beside his father and said softly, "You can eat it."
This may be the only words that the old Duke can respond to. He gently held the fork in his trembling palm, and began to eat mechanically. However, when Francis wondered if he should say something, there was no response. The expressionless Duke of Angmar stopped his movements slightly.
"S...Sally...where is...?"
The voice was so hoarse that Francis was stunned for a few seconds before realizing what his father was saying—he suddenly had a premonition that something was wrong, because his father had never behaved so abnormally, and he always had to eat When eating, I don't even say a word if I don't need it.
But now—he thought of Sally
"Sister, she was selected by the bishop as an alternate priest, and now she has started her training in the Temple of the Rosary Cross."
What Francis said was the truth, so his expression was very natural.
"wrong."
The Duke of Angmar, with his arms hanging in the air, slowly said this word. As if he remembered something, his whole body seemed to be frozen there, only his slack eyelids were drooping, but his eyes could actually tremble slightly—obviously this old man who seemed to be forever silent was thinking about something.
Francis swallowed. He felt his heartbeat quicken. He wanted to say something, but he saw his father turned his head slightly, and looked up at him with blank eyes.
I never thought that my father would have such eyes... in the gray pupils, confusion and struggle first appeared, but when they focused on themselves, there was a little... disappointment.
"You did...wrong."
"It's too much...wrong...something."
The staccato voice seemed weak because of the old man's frail body, but Francis could still hear the sullenness in it.
Father is angry.
This fact made Francis panic all of a sudden—it was enough to prove his cruelty to attack Sally with the help of an orc, but for his father, Francis had never thought of "father killing and usurping the throne" until now. After all, he is just a young man who has never left the southwestern territory of the Karen Kingdom. Although he has ambitions, he is limited to this...
Therefore, facing his father's sudden anger, he didn't have the composure he used to. He just tried his best to sit beside his father, trying to make a puzzled expression, and stammered, "Father...Father, what are you talking about?" ?”
"…I won't… let you..inherit—"
This made Francis' mind go blank before he finished speaking, but the door behind him was suddenly knocked.
The old butler Alpha stood outside the door, still looking calm, with his eyes lowered, bent over and said, "Master, Viscount Charlton wishes to see the master, would you like to go and see?"
Francis stood up abruptly as if he had been awakened, and his forehead was covered with beads of sweat in just a moment. After hesitating for two seconds, he looked at Alpha with a stiff expression, squeezed out an ugly smile, and said After saying "I'll go and see", he walked out of the bedroom sullenly, and disappeared from the old housekeeper's sight as if he was running away.
The atmosphere in the bedroom fell into silence again.
The Duke of Angmar raised his eyes and pointed at Alpha with his skinny fingers as if he wanted to say something, but the next moment, the old butler walked up to him as if nothing had happened, staring at Alpha thoughtfully. Francis disappeared into the corridor for a moment, as if he was weighing something, and when he came back to his senses, he calmly served a bowl of thick soup for the Duke of Angmar, and put it on the Ai Lord Furta's mouth...
"Back to the light? You are about to succeed, but you can regain a little consciousness—oh, the obsession in your heart is really strong enough."
He didn't mention the "Viscount Charlton" just mentioned in his words. The old butler almost fed Angmar a whole bowl of soup by force, and then he didn't care whether the other party wanted to eat more , put the uneaten pigeon meat and other lunches back into the silver plate, and when he turned to leave, the old butler showed an extremely weird smile at the old duke...
"It's almost... almost done."