“Calm down, Your Highness.”
The Duke handed a glass of wine to Charles, his voice calm and gentle.
“Haste makes waste, after all.”
He gently swirled the wine glass in his hand, watching the liquid coat the sides of the crystal in beautiful, elegant legs.
“The loss is indeed distressing. Sir John was a true warrior.”
“But since it has already happened, we must remain calm rather than panic.”
The Third Prince took the glass, but had no intention of tasting it. He merely stared intently at Joseph.
On the surface, he acquiesced, saying, “You are right, Duke. I lost my composure.”
But inside, his fury was already boiling, and he let out a cold snort in his mind.
He knew very well!
The collapse of his core military pillar—the one most independent of Joseph's faction—was, overall, more beneficial than detrimental to the Duke!
Yes, Gorn's fall was indeed a significant loss to the Duke's faction.
After all, Gorn was a Legendary expert whom Joseph had spent a fortune to nurture.
But compared to the devastating blow that the annihilation of John's Holy Knights dealt to the Third Prince, Gorn's death became “acceptable.”
Sir John, who came from his mother's side of the family and was absolutely loyal to him, was his greatest leverage to stand on equal footing with the deeply entrenched Duke Joseph within their own faction.
Now that John and his hand-built knight order were completely wiped out, it meant that Third Prince Charles had completely lost his dominant position within his own faction.
To continue this struggle for the throne, he had to rely even more heavily on—or rather, completely depend on—Duke Joseph's power.
Even if he won the throne, he would likely be unable to escape the fate of a puppet.
And this was exactly the outcome Duke Joseph was most pleased to see.
Although losing two Legendary pillars was painful, with the Duke's own massive wealth, connections, and hidden power, he could still firmly push the defanged Third Prince into the position of “prime contender.”
Except this “contender” would henceforth be entirely under his control.
The Duke took a sip of his wine, looking at the young prince before him who was desperately suppressing his anxiety.
A trace of barely perceptible satisfaction flickered deep in the Duke's eyes.
This was exactly the result he wanted.
A future king who would have to rely entirely on him to secure the throne.
When he originally proposed having John's Holy Knights escort that cowardly princess, he really hadn't expected such an unexpected windfall.
The atmosphere in the room grew subtle.
Duke Joseph leisurely savored his wine as if admiring a work of art, completely ignoring Third Prince Charles's anxiety and restlessness, which were practically written all over his face.
He was waiting patiently.
Waiting for this young prince—who had once relied on his mother's family to stand up to him—to completely swallow his pride and utter the promise with his own mouth.
That would represent his complete alignment with him.
It would be a pledge of allegiance, showing he was willing to trade his future royal authority and the vast majority of his interests for immediate support.
Charles struggled fiercely within, his expression shifting rapidly.
In the end, the harsh reality crushed his last shred of reservation.
He took a deep breath, as if using every ounce of his strength, and spoke in a dry, low voice, “Duke... I understand my current situation.”
“As long as... as long as you help me ascend the throne, in the future... the keys to the treasury, the command of the military...”
“And even... even the distribution of profits from all the newly opened trade routes in the southwest, can be... determined by you first.”
“At the same time, I will also marry your daughter and make her my queen.”
This sentence practically drained him of all his strength, representing his active surrender of his future authority on a silver platter.
A flash of undisguised smugness and satisfaction instantly swept across Duke Joseph's eyes.
An incredibly warm smile bloomed on his plump face.
He set down his glass, stepped forward, and clapped Charles firmly on the shoulder.
The gesture seemed affectionate, but it carried an unquestionable sense of dominance.
“You flatter me, Your Highness! We are in the same boat, so why draw lines between us? Since you trust me so deeply, I will certainly spare no effort to help you achieve your royal ambition!”
Charles squeezed out a stiff smile, but his heart was roaring with fury.
If John's Holy Knights were still here... why would I have to endure such humiliation, begging like this!
The conversation then shifted to the main topic, becoming serious and secretive.
Joseph walked to the door, cracked it open with a touch of vigilance, and whispered to the guard captain outside, whose presence was heavy and steady, to confirm, “Are you sure everything is secure? Absolutely no one can eavesdrop?”
The guard captain straightened his posture and spoke with absolute confidence, “Rest assured, my Lord! Fourteen High-tier Transcendent knights are conducting overlapping patrols, and two barrier mages are maintaining the highest-level ‘Silent Barrier’.”
“Even a Legendary Assassin would be detected by us!”
Joseph nodded in satisfaction, shut the door completely, and returned to Charles's side.
He began to show Charles the massive web he had woven with money and connections, explaining how they would knock the other two strong competitors out of the race.
“That Legendary Assassin under the Fifth Prince? He has been secretly searching for the ‘Spring of Life’ to extend his granddaughter's lifespan. Coincidentally, I happen to have a few drops in my treasury.”
“As for Eldest Princess Diana, who is backed by two dukes... Heh, her financial officer owes a massive debt to an underground bank.”
“As long as I help him clear it and promise him the position of Finance Minister in the future, he will naturally become our most loyal eyes.”
“At the same time, I have acquired all the outstanding bonds of the three largest merchant associations under her name. We only need to dump them all at a critical moment...”
Charles hesitated slightly. “Will they yield so easily? Those people are their die-hard loyalists...”
Joseph sneered, as if mocking Charles's naivety.
“Your Highness, there is no such thing as absolute loyalty in this world. It is simply that the price for betrayal is not high enough.”
“When it comes to wealth, even the royal treasury might not be as full as my Joseph family's!”
“Then... what about Elvia?”
Charles mentioned the name with a trace of wariness.
“Though she has lost her power, she is still a variable.”
A cold smile appeared on Joseph's face. “Her? She isn't worthy of us making a move ourselves.”
“I will secretly fund and guide those useless princes and princesses, along with the foolish rebels they collude with, to carry out that crazy ‘Saintess Assassination’ plan.”
“Assassinating the Saintess?!” Charles's pupils contracted.
“You mean... assassinating the Holy Saintess of Light?!”
“Exactly,” Joseph's smile grew colder.
“Those fools actually think that by assassinating the Saintess and bringing down the Holy Church of Light's crusaders to purge the Carter royal family, they can fish in troubled waters? What a massive joke!”
“Although the Saintess is treated as an expendable tool by the Church to deal with the Demon God, before she is officially integrated into the Hero's party and sent to the battlefield, she still represents the face of the Holy Church of Light!”
“How could her protective forces be as simple as they appear on the surface?”
“When they make their move, I will send people to stop them ‘just in time’ and then point all the evidence at our newly returned Princess Elvia.”
“As it happens, those High-tier Transcendent individuals plotting the assassination are precisely that cowardly princess's subordinates, and they are more than willing to carry out this plan in her name.”
“At that time, it won't matter if her little boyfriend is a member of the North Wind Transport Team or a believer of the Light.”
“In the face of the monstrous crime of assassinating the Saintess, no one will be able to protect her!”
“The wrath of the Holy Church of Light will burn her and all her hopes to ashes!”
“That ridiculous princess has no idea she's being schemed against by her own loyal subordinates. It's truly laughable.”
Hearing this, Charles let out a long sigh of relief.
Elvia's own strength and faction were indeed nothing to fear.
However, her exceptionally high reputation among low-level adventurers and the common people, along with her sharp political intuition, meant that no matter which side she leaned toward, she would bring massive support to them.
Especially her intelligence organization, whose specific members remained unknown.
They had gone to great lengths to exile her, yet she had actually returned.
This time, they had to seize the opportunity to completely crush her here in the Royal Capital!
After confirming a few more details, Joseph was in an excellent mood and decided to strike while the iron was hot.
He smiled and said to Charles, “Your Highness, there is no need to worry too much.”
“Come, let me show you my true treasure vault to put your mind at ease.”
“I, Joseph, have more than enough confidence and backing to support you!”
He wanted to use this concrete, mountain-like wealth to reassure this prince who had just been forced to hand over his dominance and whose heart was bound to be filled with anxiety and rage.
...
High above their heads, in the deep shadow of the heavy wooden beams, Lin Gui, perfectly concealed under the 【Shroud of the Gloomy Night】, felt Elvia's body instantly tense up against his back!
A cold hand had silently gripped the hilt of the rapier at her waist.
An incredibly suppressed, murderous intent began to diffuse into the air.
Reacting instantly, Lin Gui pressed his hand over hers to stop her from drawing the sword and whispered, “What do you think you're doing?”
Elvia turned her head.
Even in the blurry concealment, Lin Gui could “see” her eyes, which were practically spitting fire, and her face, which was as dark as the bottom of a pot.
She gritted her teeth, her voice squeezing out from between them, “I'm going to take this chance to slaughter that old bastard who wants to dump his blame on me!”
Lin Gui looked at her speechlessly, mercilessly exposing her previous words, “Who was the one advising me earlier that we couldn't kill him? Saying that killing him would be worse than killing your father?”
Elvia: “...”
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