White Dew Castle.
In the dead of night.
In early winter, the climate was already a bit cold, and the faint scent of night orchids wafted in the air, silently soothing the restless hearts of everyone in the castle.
"Duchess!"
"Is Vincent still awake?"
"not yet… "
The Marquise was full of sadness, biting her lips and wanted to say something, but seeing the solemn expression of the Duchess, she didn't dare to say anything.
"I want to perform a healing technique for the Marquis, you go out first." The Duchess waved her hand.
"yes."
The Marquis and all the maids retreated quietly, leaving only the Duchess and Marquis Vincent in the room.
The Duchess sat down in an armchair next to the hospital bed and looked at her sleeping son quietly.
Marquis Vincent was lying on his back on the hospital bed, his body was covered with a pure white quilt, his face was as white as paper, his breathing was weak, as if he would stop in the next second, but he never swallowed his last breath.
"My child...why are you struggling so hard..." The Duchess reached out and stroked the Marquis Vincent's face, her eyes were full of distress and incomprehension, but they were soon replaced by firmness and indifference.
"Don't worry, mother will release you soon... Don't blame mother for being cruel, this is a necessary sacrifice. Only in this way can we regain the gaze of our Lord."
After finishing speaking, the Duchess clasped her hands together and silently prayed, then stretched out her right hand and tapped the forehead, tip of the nose, and lips of Marquis Vincent with her index finger.
A faint holy light diffused where her fingertips pointed, making Marquis Vincent's pale face instantly become extremely holy.
If someone who knows something about the divine arts of the church is here, they will find that what the Duchess uses is not a healing spell at all, but a prayer spell to let the dead rest in peace!
The holy light gradually dimmed, and the Duchess took out another delicate vial from her bosom.
The bottle is a bottle of holy water, but what is inside, only the Duchess knows.
But just as the Duchess was about to feed the water in the bottle into the mouth of Marquis Vincent, there was a sudden knock on the door.
The Duchess frowned, and still poured water into the mouth of Marquis Vincent, then got up and opened the door, saying:
"Didn't you tell me not to disturb me at this time?"
The butler apologized again and again, but still reported: "Ma'am, Miss Beatrice has just entered the city!"
"Beatrice..." The Duchess' face changed, as if recalling some bad memories, and then she walked out with a gloomy face.
Walking along the spiral staircase to the lobby on the first floor, the Duchess happened to meet Beatrice who was walking in.
"Kate!"
"Beatrice!"
As soon as the two women met, there seemed to be fire in the air.
The knight who was following behind the duchess took a slight step forward, and at the same time put his right hand on the saber at his waist, looking warily at Beatrice on the opposite side.
No way, this young lady has a criminal record.
Beatrice rolled her eyes when she saw this, and said disdainfully: "I haven't seen you for so many years, and you are still so timid."
"I haven't seen you for so many years, you are still so rude." The Duchess immediately retorted.
Beatrice curled her lips, not wanting to get entangled with the Duchess, so she asked the butler beside her, "Where's my brother?"
The steward sighed, and said with a sad expression: "Your Excellency... I'm afraid something has happened..."
"What!" Beatrice's eyes widened, she immediately stepped forward and grabbed the butler by the collar, and asked, "What's going on!"
The butler had no choice but to tell the story of the blood cavalry army's breach of Bailu City before.
After hearing this, Beatrice stood there in a daze, as if she had lost her soul.
The Duchess said coldly: "Beatrice, do you understand the seriousness of the situation now? Stay well and don't make trouble for me anymore!"
After speaking, the Duchess strode out.
Rarely did Beatrice not refute, she just let go of the butler's collar and stood where she was, her expression constantly changing.
The butler waited for a long time, and seeing that Beatrice had not moved, he suggested in a low voice:
"Miss Beatrice, I have ordered someone to tidy up your room for you. You are exhausted from the journey, why don't you wash and rest first."
Beatrice didn't respond.
Just when the housekeeper didn't know what to do, she finally spoke:
"You said that my brother issued a call-up order to the major lords south of the Altias Mountains, so why didn't the Fein family receive it?"
"No. I personally helped the Duke sort out the call-up orders, and one copy was obviously sent to Skylark City!"
Beatrice narrowed her eyes, and immediately realized that the call-up order should have been hidden by her good daughter-in-law.
And it's not hard to guess her purpose for doing this, she must be planning to ambush Ke Lin and his party from Tinder City first, and then lead the private army of the Fein family to defeat the blood cavalry army passing through Skylark City.
It's a pity that before she led the army out of the city, she was decisively killed by Beatrice who heard the news.
This stupid woman!
I really deserve to die!
Beatrice's heart boiled with anger.
Although she had a lot of dissatisfaction with her brother, the Duke of St. Pros, his death still dealt a great blow to Beatrice.
Thinking of the agreement she had made with Colin Angelet in Skylark City, Beatrice was shaken for a while.
Do you really want to cooperate with the enemy who killed your brother
What made her feel even more confused was the future of the East Territory.
No matter how mediocre the Duke of St. Pros was, he could at least hold the scene. With him, the situation in the Eastern Region would not be too bad.
But now, as soon as the Duke of St. Pros died, the question of the heir immediately became apparent.
The eldest son, Vincent, still occupies the position of Marquis of the Eastern Territory. It stands to reason that he should inherit the title of Duke. However, not long ago, the Duke of St. Pross, under the instigation of some people, wantonly weakened the support of Marquis Vincent. , and began to support the second son, Earl Evan.
As a result, Earl Evan, who had no hope of inheriting the Dukedom, now has the confidence to compete with Marquis Vincent.
More importantly, the battle for heirs is similar to a duel—once you get involved, it is absolutely impossible to quit without dividing life and death.
Originally, Marquis Vincent might be able to tolerate a younger brother who was not a threat, but now, after Evan showed his intention to fight for the Duke position, Vincent obviously would not be so generous anymore. Similarly, Earl Evan would never He won't just sit back and watch his brother inherit the duke position, and then face the inevitable suppression and exclusion.
Coupled with the coveted northern territory and the church with ulterior motives... Beatrice was in a state of confusion for a moment.
"Miss Beatrice..." Seeing that Beatrice had been silent for a long time, the butler couldn't help reminding her.
Beatrice came back to her senses and said, "You just said that Vincent was also seriously injured in that battle?"
"Yes."
"Take me to him."
"yes."
(end of this chapter)