Tome of Blood

"Where did this parchment come from?"

Slowly withdrawing his dignified gaze from the parchment, Duke Bold looked at Leno vigilantly.

Seeing his solemn expression, Leinuo's expression changed, and his face quickly turned into disappointment:

"Look at your appearance... Are all the things recorded on it true?"

The old prince's eyes fell on the surrounding maids and waiters:

"You go out first."

The maids and waiters saluted and left in a hurry.

Only father and son were left in the study.

Leno looked at Duke Bold with a complicated expression, and asked with his lips pursed:

"The Balrog disaster ten years ago...is the Bold family really behind the scenes?"

"The riot in the Tulip County was planned by you?"

"Tell me, are these real? Or fake?"

Leno asked step by step.

The Duke of Bold was about to answer when Leno said again:

"I want to hear the truth."

Duke Bold fell silent.

He put down the parchment in his hand, sighed softly, and asked:

"How about real? What about fake? This is all a thing of the past."

Leno's face turned ugly instantly:

"What happened in the past? So...the source of everything is really the Bold family?"

"Did the Boulder family, who guarded the Principality of Boulder and were respected by the people, secretly contributed to the Balrog disaster ten years ago? It caused thousands of families to be broken?"

"And the purpose... is for you to restore your fertility?"

"It was you who planned the peasant riots in Tulip, which displaced thousands of people from their homes?"

"Is this Boulder? Is this what you call the glory of nobility?"

Listening to Leno's accusation, Duke Bold's face turned green and white.

He was silent for a moment and said:

"Leonor, what's written on it is just one side of the story, and there's no evidence for it."

"Evidence? I'm afraid even if there is evidence, it has already been destroyed by you, right?"

Leno sneered.

Duke Bold's expression suddenly darkened:

"Leno, pay attention to your tone and identity! I am your father!"

"But I don't remember having such a dark father..."

Leno shook his head coldly.

Seeing his stubborn attitude, the old prince frowned.

He knew that his illegitimate son had a stubborn temper, and he would take soft things instead of tough ones.

The more it is at this time, the more I should say some soft words.

Thinking of this, the old prince put the parchment aside and sighed softly:

"That's right, the Balrog disaster ten years ago... The Bold family was involved, and I also planned the riot in the Tulip County. But there is a reason for everything."

"reason?"

Leno frowned.

The old prince let out a long sigh and continued:

"Yes, my child, all of this... is for the future of the principality, and for you."

"I have long since lost my fertility, and I only have one son, but no one in the entire Boulder Duchy will recognize your origin, and everyone will only regard me, Anthony, as the heir to the title."

"But I knew from the very beginning that you are more suitable to be the heir to the Principality 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 ban Earl Tulip's right to inherit the title, I designed the peasant riot in the earldom..."

"The same is true for the riots in the earldom, and the same is true for the disaster of the Balrog."

Leno laughed angrily:

"for me?"

"It's really magnificent!"

"So many people died in the Tulip Rebellion, you actually said it was for the Principality!"

"The Calamity of the Balrog caused so much damage to the Principality of Boulder, you actually said it was for me!"

The old prince frowned and said lightly:

"I know that this piece of parchment says that I was trying to restore my fertility. I have to admit that the person who gave you this piece of paper does know some of the secrets of the past."

"However, this is not entirely the truth back then."

"The truth? At this point, what truth do you still want to tell me?"

Leno said angrily.

However, the old duke completely recovered his calm. He looked at his illegitimate son quietly, and said slowly:

"Leno, do you know how dangerous the Polder family was ten years ago?"

"At that time, there were four Chi Yangs in the Principality, three of whom were not from my Boulder family, and two of them were all from the Castel family..."

"The Star-Moon War is over, the Principality is in ruins, but the Castel family is thriving..."

"The Countess of Castel and his wife are famous, and there are not many nobles and commoners who follow them. When the lords of many kingdoms mentioned our Principality of Boulder, they only knew about Castel, but not Boulder..."

"Their strength is too strong, and has already threatened our Boulder rule... If they are allowed to develop, the whole of Boulder will surely fall into turmoil."

"Wait...you mean to say..."

After hearing the Duke's words, Leno was slightly stunned.

The old prince gave him a deep look, and continued:

"Yes, you think well."

"I, Boulder, are indeed the driving force behind the Calamity of the Balrog, but... the real purpose is to suppress the power of the big nobles who are already too big..."

"The Castel family is too strong, and they are very close to Anthony. Even the Broglie family is their best friend..."

"Perhaps they are the arms of the Principality during the war, but the war is over, and the Principality does not need so many blazing suns."

"We need the help of the Gorefiend Cult, the Calamity of the Balrog, and the Drunken Dream Salon to fight against these increasingly powerful nobles."

Leno was completely stunned:

"So you secretly encouraged Earl Broglie? So you let the Balrog plague break out? You watched the Balrog plague ravage, and you allowed the Gorefiend Cult to kill innocent girls, just to get rid of the stars. The family that contributed the most to the Principality in the Lunar War?"

Having said that, he suddenly realized something again, and his face suddenly turned ugly:

"Wait... Is it the same for the Drunken Dream Salon this time?"

"Did you know everything a long time ago? You already knew about the existence of Drunken Dream Salon, and you just waited 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 use the power of Drunken Dream Salon, how can you get rid of those nobles who are likely to disobey your rule in the future?"

"Leno, I know you can't accept it, but it's necessary."

"We are Boulder, we are the lords of the principality, we cannot allow any subject to have the power to challenge us."

"Nobles pay attention to honor. With this method, we can not only become the savior in the eyes of the people, but also remove the threat."

"Isn't it good if you can sacrifice a small number of subjects in exchange for the duchy's long-term stability?"

Leno stared blankly at the old Duke, as if looking at a stranger:

"crazy!"

"You... must be crazy!"