The dim candlelight and the open coffin made the atmosphere in the camp look a bit gloomy.
Colin, Vera, and Bachelor Dawn surrounded the coffin with serious expressions.
"This is indeed not my father's body." Vera said with certainty, "There is no arcane fluctuation on it, it is just an ordinary stone sculpture. If it is really a body that was petrified by a forbidden curse, this situation cannot happen."
Colin slapped the coffin lid heavily, and said angrily, "It must be the Morrison family's fault!"
Vera frowned slightly, and asked in confusion: "But why did the Morrison family do this? What use is it to them to steal their father's body?"
Colin hesitated for a while, but still didn't tell what he had seen and heard in the underground cave in the bell tower of the Swallow Butterfly Castle.
After all, it involves his biggest secret, even if it is the person next to him, Ke Lin is unwilling to tell it frankly.
At least, not yet.
"I suspect that the Morrison family has a secret connection with Knight Nelson and others." Bachelor Dawn said surprisingly.
"Huh?" Ke Lin was slightly startled, and quickly asked, "Why do you say that?"
Bachelor Dawn said unhurriedly: "Master Viscount, have you noticed that when Knight Nelson said he wanted to pay his respects to the Duke's remains, it was right after you suggested withdrawing troops and returning to Cold Winter City.
It seems that he already knew that as long as he opened the coffin, he would see a replaced body, which made it impossible for us to completely confirm the fact that the Duke is dead.
In this way, Knight Nelson and others have reason to reject the proposal of the heir to the duke like Miss Vera. "
Colin nodded solemnly, and found that what Maester Dawn said was quite reasonable.
In retrospect, the actions of Knight Nelson and others seemed to have known in advance that the coffin was a fake corpse.
"Then, the Morrison family, and Knight Nelson, why did they do this?"
Hearing Colin's question, Maester Dawn rubbed his chin and thought for a moment before answering:
"I think there should be two motivations for them to do this.
First, it was the surrender of the Uman family that made Knight Nelson so confident that he decided to fight the dwarves. If you think about it this way, I am afraid that Earl Uman is also involved in this conspiracy. "
Hearing this, Colin nodded involuntarily, because he thought of Earl Uman's behavior when he saw the coffin. His pretentious appearance really seemed to have known in advance that the Duke's body was fake.
"Second..." Bachelor Dawn continued, "If Knight Nelson and Earl Uman join forces to defeat the dwarves, then they will become the true heroes of the North.
At that time, they may also be consulted on the ownership of the Duke of the Northern Territory.
It is foreseeable that they should elect Master Joyce to be the Lord of the North.
After all, a child like Joyce is easier to control, unlike Miss Vera, who has her own opinions and is married to a powerful lord... "
"Hehe." Colin suddenly laughed, and he didn't know if it was because of the last little flattery of Maester Dawn, or because he was laughing at Knight Nelson and the others for being overconfident.
I have to say that Bachelor Dawn gave a very good analytical perspective.
Originally, Colin thought that the Morrison family stole the Duke's body on their own initiative and wanted to do some secret research.
But now, he felt that perhaps the other party's purpose might not be that simple, and the Morrison family might not be the only force behind this conspiracy.
At least Earl Uman was probably involved. This guy has a grudge against Colin, and he definitely doesn't want to see Vera succeed in taking the position of Duke of the North.
Therefore, he will definitely find ways to prevent the Golden Lions from falling into Vera's control.
"Earl Morrison is so ambitious! Hmph! Then he won't be able to marry Cousin Nina!"
Seeing Vera's angry appearance, Colin was suddenly happy.
She didn't expect this to be what she was thinking at this moment, the brain circuit was really weird and cute.
After touching Vera's head, Colin turned his head and glanced at Bachelor Dawn again. Seeing that he was still calm, he asked:
"Bachelor Dawn, when you persuaded me to come here, didn't you think of the situation in case Knight Nelson would not obey the order?"
"Of course I thought of it." Bachelor Dawn looked confident, "I did have a backup plan back then."
"Oh? Please tell me." Colin asked with a smile on his face.
Bachelor Dawn looked at Colin, and said leisurely: "Master Viscount, the backup plan I mentioned actually lies with one person. Presumably you should have noticed who he is."
Colin's eyes rolled, and he immediately thought of the Cavalier Campbellin who had been silent among the three high-level commanders of the Golden Lion Legion.
Before leaving, Colin also made eye contact with the other party.
Apparently, the Cavalier of Campbellin had something to say to Colin.
"You mean the Cavaliers of Cambernin."
"That's right!" Maester Dawn snapped his fingers and explained, "Actually, when the Duke appointed the commander of the Golden Lion Legion, he was careful.
You should have also seen that the Cavaliers of Campbelling, Knights of Nelson and Knights of Louis are obviously not on the right path, no, it is not just that they are not on the right path.
In fact, the Cavaliers of Campbelling and Knights of Nelson had a grudge against each other. It was an old story, but the Duke insisted on putting Knights of Campbelling into the Golden Lion Army led by Knights of Nelson, and even became his deputy. One of them is that they don't want the top management of the Golden Lions to become monolithic.
In this way, Cavalier Campbelling became an eye that could not be bought, watching Knight Nelson for the Duke.
And once something goes wrong with Knight Nelson, then..."
Colin took up the conversation decisively: "Then the Cavaliers of Campbelling are candidates for the head of the legion!"
Maester Dawn nodded slowly, showing a mouthful of white teeth in a smile, looking a bit hideous under the dim candlelight.
Hearing this, Vera seemed to have just reacted, her eyes widened in surprise, and she deliberately lowered her voice, "Could it be... you want to kill Knight Nelson?"
Colin's eyes flickered, and he comforted: "Knight Nelson doesn't have to be killed, as long as he takes back the command of the Golden Lion Army from him. As for Earl Uman, hehe, he must die!"
"But... But, hasn't Earl Uman surrendered?" Vera obviously still had illusions about Earl Uman and even Knight Nelson, "Can't we just let Earl Uman and Knight Nelson fight against the dwarves? If they win Then, wouldn’t the rebellion in the northern border be completely suppressed?”
But Colin shook his head firmly: "You are too naive. Even if they can defeat the dwarves, after the victory, the first thing to solve is the Angelet family, and of course you, so that Joyce's The superior clears the obstacles.
What's more, the Golden Lion Legion is the last bargaining chip of the St. Hilde family. Why should it be handed over to others and become their bet on the table
If this bet is lost, then Cold Winter City will definitely not be able to hold on. At that time, the Lord of the Northern Territory will really have to change to a new surname.
Under the current situation, it is the safest choice to lead the army back to Winter City. We cannot let Knight Nelson lead the Golden Lions into the abyss for his own sake. "
Vera nodded silently, but still couldn't bear it: "What about Earl Uman? Since he has already turned his back on the dark, there is no need to kill him, right?"
Ke Lin had no choice but to speak again: "Do you still remember when I ran away from home alone and met you in Jinghu Camp?"
"Of course I remember." Vera nodded, wondering why Colin brought up these things at this time.
"Do you know why I ran away from home alone?"
"Why?"
Colin's face was gloomy, and he said harshly, "Because I was assassinated in the bedroom of my castle! An assassination by a knight from the Angelet family!"
"What?" Vera was taken aback immediately, and hurriedly asked, "Who is responsible for that?"
"Earl Uman." Colin blurted out, "I found out later that my father died on the front line, so if I also died, the title of the Angelet family will fall to my sister Caitlin , and Caitlin..."
"Married to Valla Uman!" Vera suddenly realized, and immediately said angrily, "Count Uman dared to assassinate a nobleman! It is a disgrace to the knight! He should be killed!"
"It really deserves to be killed!" Colin finally recovered his smile, "So, we must not let the conspiracy of Earl Uman and Knight Nelson succeed, even if we take the most extreme measures!"
"En." Vera nodded heavily, no longer feeling the psychological burden of killing allies.
Seeing that the young couple finally reached an agreement, Bachelor Dawn breathed a sigh of relief, and solemnly said:
"Master Viscount, it is not easy to seize the command of the Golden Lion Legion from Knight Nelson. We still need to think long-term."
Ke Lin smiled confidently and said:
"You don't have to worry about that, I already have a solution."
(end of this chapter)