"Where did this parchment come from?"
Duke Bold slowly withdrew his solemn gaze from the parchment and looked at Lai Nuo warily.
Looking at his solemn expression, Laino's expression changed, and his face quickly turned into disappointment:
"From your looks... are the things written here all true?"
The old prince's eyes fell on the maids and waiters around him:
"You guys go out first."
The maids and waiters bowed and left in a hurry.
Only the father and son were left in the study.
Lai Nuo looked at Duke Bold with a complicated expression, pursed his lips and asked:
"The Balrog disaster ten years ago... Was the Bold family the real mastermind behind it?"
"Did you plan the riot in the Earldom of Tulip?"
"Tell me, are these true or false?"
Lai Nuo asked questions step by step.
Duke Bold was about to answer, but Lenno said:
"I want to hear the truth."
Duke Bold fell silent.
He put down the parchment in his hand, sighed softly, and asked:
"What if it's true? What if it's false? It's all in the past."
Lai Nuo's face suddenly turned ugly:
"It's a thing of the past? So... the source of everything is really the Bold family?"
"Did the Bolder family, who protected the Principality of Bolder and were respected by the people, secretly cause the Fire Demon Disaster ten years ago? Thousands of families were broken up?"
"And the purpose... is to restore your fertility?"
"You planned the Tulip peasant uprising, which displaced tens of thousands of people?"
"This is Bold? This is what you call the glory of the nobility?"
Listening to Laino's accusations, Duke Bold's face turned pale and blue.
He was silent for a moment, then said:
"Lainuo, what is recorded here is just one-sided words, there is no evidence."
"Evidence? Even if there is evidence, I'm afraid you have destroyed it long ago, right?"
Lai Nuo sneered.
Duke Bold's expression suddenly turned gloomy:
"Laino, watch your tone and identity! I am your father!"
"But I don't remember having such a dark father..."
Laino shook his head coldly.
Seeing his stubborn attitude, the old duke frowned.
He knew that his illegitimate son had a stubborn temper and would only respond to soft words and not harsh ones.
Especially at this time, we should say some soft words.
Thinking of this, the old duke put the parchment aside and sighed:
"Yes, the Balrog disaster ten years ago... The Bold family was involved, and I also planned the riot in the Earldom of Tulip. But there are reasons for all this."
"reason?"
Lai Nuo frowned.
The old duke sighed and continued:
"Yes, my child, all of this... is for the future of the principality, and for you."
"I have long lost my fertility, and you are my only son. However, no one in the entire Principality of Boulder will recognize your origin. Everyone will only regard me, Anthony, as the heir to the title."
"But I knew from the beginning that you are more suitable to be the heir to the duchy than Anthony. You are my child, and you are the one who should inherit the title!"
"For you, for the future of the principality, and to abolish Count Tulip's right to inherit the title, I designed the peasant uprising in the earldom..."
"The Earldom Riot was like this, and so was the Fire Demon Disaster."
Lai Nuo was so angry that he laughed:
"for me?"
“How grandiose!”
"So many people died in the Tulip Rebellion, and you actually said it was for the Principality!"
"The Fire Demon Disaster caused such great losses to the Principality of Boulder, and you actually said it was all for me!"
The old duke frowned and said calmly:
"I know that this parchment said that I originally wanted to restore my fertility. I have to admit that the person who gave you this piece of paper did know some secrets of the past."
"However, this was not entirely the truth back then."
"The truth? At this point, what truth do you want to tell me?"
Lai Nuo said angrily.
The old duke regained his composure. He looked at his illegitimate son quietly and said slowly:
"Laino, do you know how dangerous the Bold family was ten years ago?"
"At that time, there were four Blazing Suns in the Principality, three of whom were not from my Bold family, and two of whom were from the Castel family..."
"The Star-Moon War has ended, and the Principality is in ruins, but the Castel family is thriving..."
"The Count and Countess of Castel are very famous, and they have countless nobles and commoners following them. When many lords of other kingdoms mention our Principality of Bolder, they only know of Castel, but not Bolder..."
"They are too powerful and have already threatened the rule of our Boulder... If we allow them to continue to develop, the entire Boulder will inevitably fall into chaos."
"Wait... you mean..."
After hearing the Duke's words, Laino was slightly stunned.
The old duke looked at him deeply and continued:
"Yes, you're right."
"I, Polder, am indeed the mastermind behind the Fire Demon Disaster, but... my real purpose is to suppress the power of the nobles who have become too powerful to be eliminated..."
"The Castel family is too powerful, and they are very close to Anthony. Even the Broglie family is their close friend..."
"Perhaps during the war, they were the arms of the principality, but the war is over now, and the principality does not need so many Blazing Suns."
"We need to rely on the Blood Demon Cult, the Fire Demon Disaster, and the Drunken Dream Salon to fight these nobles who are becoming increasingly powerful."
Lai Nuo was completely shocked:
"So you secretly instigated Count Broglie? So you allowed the Fire Demon Disaster to break out? You watched the Fire Demon Disaster rage, and you allowed the Blood Demon Cult to kill innocent girls, just to eliminate the family that made the greatest contribution to the Principality in the Star-Moon War?"
At this point, he suddenly realized something, and his face suddenly became ugly:
"Wait... Is this also the case for the Drunken Dream Salon this time?"
"Did you know everything? Did you know about the existence of the Drunken Dream Salon and were just waiting to close the net at the end?"
The old prince was silent for a moment, then sighed:
"Is not it good?"
"If you don't rely on the power of the Drunken Dream Salon, how can you get rid of those nobles who may disobey your rule in the future?"
"Laino, I know you can't accept it, but this is necessary."
"We are Bold, we are the lords of the duchy, and we cannot allow any vassal to have the power to challenge us."
"Nobles value honor. By handling this matter in this way, we can become saviors in the eyes of our subjects and eliminate the threat."
"If we can sacrifice a small number of our subjects in exchange for long-term stability in the principality, wouldn't that be good?"
Lenno stared at the old duke, as if he were looking at a stranger:
"crazy!"
"You... must be crazy!"