Chapter 142

"It's just a coincidence that this time, everyone is not very rational."

After listening to William's words, Orson showed a grateful expression.

At this moment, the other nobles in the field who had just been called by Mary had somewhat embarrassed expressions on their faces.

Some things are indeed known to others, but they are not stated clearly.

But there are some things that everyone really doesn’t know.

At this moment, many eyes on the field were looking at Giovanni, including Odysseus.

Chapter 30: Suicide

Mary was taken into her room, and then the door was slammed shut.

I don’t know how much time passed before the door was opened again.

Orson walked in from the door.

"Oh, your goal has been achieved." Mary said coldly.

"Well, thank you." Orson said and nodded.

Then he came to Mary.

"Actually, I feel very sorry. We could have been a very good family." Although he said this, there was no emotion in Orson's tone.

"You are in charge, father is in charge, Li Te and I are responsible for taking over your duties." Orson said regretfully.

"You must have already thought about how to deal with me from the beginning." Mary said.

"If you are talking about the time when you came to conspire with me after Li Te returned home, then that is indeed the case." Orson said frankly. "After all, I don't think I, a junior, can persuade you, an elder."

"What's more, you have always boasted that your ambitions are as high as the sky. How could I stop you from pursuing your dreams?"

"Heh." Mary snorted coldly. "Even now, you still refuse to tell me the truth, do you?"

"I have always told the truth. At least, what I told you that day was the truth. I wanted to make Li Teuk a duke. I also convinced my father later."

"Even if he is not your biological father, even if he favors Lite, who is his blood relative, and thus throws aside your adopted son, who is more talented?"

"Oson, I really don't understand. You are so powerful, why are you unwilling to cooperate with me to evacuate the power of this family?"

"Maybe it's because I don't have this ambition." Orson said and sighed. "Just as you never wanted to be a wife, I don't want to be a duke either."

"Ha, as expected, you are scarier than I thought." Mary said this and sneered. "You want to gain the trust of father and son through my death, and completely become the man behind the scenes of the Duchy of Antica, listening to politics from behind the curtain, right?"

"If that's the case, couldn't you have done the same?" Orson asked.

"Aren't you the one who was most trusted in our family at the beginning?"

Mary was silent.

"I can understand your pain. I know that the source of all this tragedy is your brother. He married you here. The deeper tragedy is because your family has always favored sons over daughters. Your brother More popular than you."

"So, no matter how hard you try, you will eventually lose to him because of your age and gender disadvantages, and then you will be liquidated by him."

"It's okay." Orson said, standing in front of Mary and looking into her eyes.

"We will help you achieve your revenge, but before that, please repay the evil you have done."

Then Orson took a bottle of potion and handed it to Mary.

"This bottle of potion can allow you to leave behind all the pain in your life."

Mary looked at the bottle of potion, then glanced at Orson in front of her, and suddenly smiled.

In front of her, a picture of when she had just entered the house suddenly appeared.

It was the tenth year since the death of Lucius's late wife. At that time, Lucius's age

Twice her size.

With the resentment of failure in the political struggle, she married far away to Antica.

When she entered the house, a young child caught her attention. The child had black hair and purple eyes. She knew at a glance that he was Lucius's son.

However, Mary found that she could not see the childishness and innocence of ordinary children in this child's eyes, but instead looked as calm and profound as an old man.

After meeting Lucius, Mary tried to be a good mother and get along with Orson as a sister and mother.

As a result, Orson always kept a distance from her.

Maybe it's because she is a stepmother, Mary thought, and the relationship between the two has remained an apparent mother-child relationship since then, without any further changes.

I have no memories of this family, so I regard the family as a tool for my revenge.

"Orson." Mary took the poison from Orson's hand and looked at Orson with a trace of sadness in her eyes.

"Please tell me." Orson bowed respectfully and then asked.

"In the past eight years, have you ever regarded me as your mother?" Her tone was trembling. "Have I ever behaved like a mother?"

"..." Orson was silent for a while, and then said: "Yes, you taught me a lot of truths and saved me a lot of detours."

"Okay." Mary nodded after hearing this, then opened the poison and drank it in one gulp.

"Have a good trip, mother." Orson said, and helped Mary to the bed.

Next, she will die in her sleep.

Then, Orson left Mary's room.

He told the guard at the door not to let anyone in, and then walked into Lucius's room.

"Is it over?" Lucius asked.

"Yes, father, mother, she has..." Orson reported with his head down.

"Oh, I know." Lucius nodded, and then sighed. "In this way, there is no factor in the dukedom that prevents Lit from inheriting the title, right?"

"Basically, but strictly speaking, there is still one."

"Oh?" Hearing this, Lucius looked at Orson curiously.

"It's me." Orson pointed at himself. "If I don't break off my relationship with the Stranik family, I'm afraid someone will make a fuss about me."

"Will it be a big problem?" Lucius asked.

"Don't worry about this. If you use my name to oppose Lit, then I only need to come forward to stabilize the situation. The key is whether I will have the idea of ​​usurping power."

"What do you think, Orson? Do you have this idea?" Hearing this, Lucius raised his eyebrows.

"If I were to brag, I certainly wouldn't, but people's hearts are unpredictable, so I still hope that you, father, can tell the difference."

"Oh, do you think I can tell the difference now?"

"Father, you know better than anyone, don't you?"

As Orson said this, Lucius paused, then shook his head.

"You want to cheat me?"

"Father, if you want to retire, I will help you build a cabin next to your wife Margaret's grave. If you feel tired, you can stay there temporarily."

"But I think it's too early for you, father."

"After all, you still have a grudge to avenge, don't you?"

Hearing Orson's words, Lucius paused, then laughed out loud.

"You are worthy of it, Orson." He said this and stood up.

After raising Orson for eighteen years, now, it turns out that this child knows him best.

Yes, he still has a grudge to avenge, how can he rest?

Chapter 31: Insider

Time goes back to when Mary was just carried upstairs.

At this time, the nobles downstairs focused their attention on Giovanni.

Mary just mentioned that Giovanni sent 5,000 insiders.

Although this may be an emotional remark, as the saying goes, flies don't bite seamless eggs. Mary said this, there must be a reason.

Did Giovanni really send insiders?

"What are you looking at me for?" Giovanni frowned.

"I didn't provide much support to the Duke of Antica when the orcs invaded, but this is because in my estimation, the support you gave, plus the Duke of Antica's own strength, is more than enough to deal with the orcs." Giovanni frowned as he said this.

"The actual results also show that it is indeed

as I expected, but things like the Earldom of Kars can only be said to be man-made disasters, which no one could have expected."

"That's true, she just said too much." Orson said this and smiled.

"After all, how can you wish for Duke Giovanni, the great loyal minister of the Empire, right? Your loyalty to the Empire is truly known by the sun and the moon."

"Oh, I'm glad to know." Giovanni laughed and said nothing more.

At the subsequent dinner, the center of social interaction became Lit, who was designated as the heir by Lucius. Many nobles toasted Lit. After all, in their opinion, Lucius was already in danger of death, and Lit might inherit the title of Duke at any time. At this time, building a good relationship with Lit is a basic social skill for nobles.

There are even many people who have already called Lit Duke Lit in advance.

For these people who curry favor with the powerful, Lit just kept a polite smile and refused to communicate with them further.

In the end, the dinner was still led by Orson to restore the originally lively atmosphere.

After all, the nobles here don't care about you, Mary, they only care about whether their own interests are guaranteed.

...

After the dinner, Giovanni returned to his temporary residence in Antica City.

Looking at the thriving Antica City, Giovanni didn't know why he always felt angry.

"Hehe, Lucius is really lucky. Whether it's his own children or his adopted children, they are all so excellent. Even though he has Alzheimer's disease now, he can still enjoy his old age."

"Unlike me, I only have a useless son." Giovanni said this and sighed.

"But at least you are still young and strong, Duke. In your time, you can fully realize your vision, right?" Behind Giovanni, a blond young man walked out of the shadows and smiled.

He was the mysterious man who was called a doctor by Orson and his party before.

"Well, thanks to the information you gave me, Zenit." Giovanni said this, showing a grateful look. "Otherwise, how could I see this drama of brothers killing each other."

"But I'm curious." Giovanni looked at the blond man.

"How did you know about the discord in Lucius's family and the fact that Lucius had dementia after being assassinated?"

"To be honest, I used to work for Master Orson." Zenit said. "Not only that, I am also Master Orson's confidant and have gained enough trust from him."

"Oh? If that's the case, why did you betray Orson and choose to cooperate with me?" Giovanni raised his eyebrows when he heard this. "If you can't give a suitable answer, you may not be able to leave this room today."

As he said this, Zenit could clearly feel the sudden change in the atmosphere in the room.

Obviously, there was a strong man secretly following and protecting Giovanni's personal safety, and the reason why Giovanni dared to say this was because this strong man backed him up.

"Because, I think Orson can't provide me with what I want." Zenit said this and shook his head. "As the saying goes, kindness cannot command troops, and goodness cannot hold power. Although Mr. Orson seems to be strong and capable in the eyes of outsiders, in fact, he has a fatal flaw."

"Oh?" Giovanni was interested when he heard this.

A perfect person like Orson would actually be considered flawed by others?

"What do you think?"

"Mr. Orson's coldness is relative to his enemies. Once he is considered an ally by Mr. Orson, he will be given unlimited trust."

"It's a very simple truth. Trust people when you employ them, and don't employ people when you doubt them." Giovanni was a little confused.

If Zenit's answer to him was just like this, then he would take action.

The reason why he acted according to the intelligence given by Zenit before was completely because even if the intelligence was false, it would not harm him in the slightest.

And if Zenit was a spy planted by Orson around him, then Giovanni obviously could not accept it.

"But he trusts Lit too much." Zenit turned and said: "For him, Lit and him have no blood relationship, and they have an absolute competitive relationship in the succession of the Dukedom."

"But, for some reason, Mr. Orson has been taking care of Lit since Lit just entered the family."

"Even, Duke, guess why Duke Lucius clearly stated in his will that Lit was his heir?"