Chapter 181

……

On the other side, in the palace.

Ever since Odysseus learned about the discovery of the Toulouse family crest, he has been dealing with the relevant aftermath for three consecutive days.

First, the original task force was disbanded and a new group of people were assigned to investigate.

Then the files in the imperial court were replaced, and all the very important files were brought back to the palace.

After these things were dealt with, Odysseus thought he could conceal it. After all, he had paid enough hush money, and those who knew about it would not spread it.

But who knew that the Duke of Orleans suddenly put pressure on him and insisted on personally intervening in the investigation, saying that if the Orleans side was not allowed to participate in the investigation, it would prove that the royal family had something to hide.

It was very strange. Obviously, in the eyes of Odysseus and a group of high-ranking officials of the empire, Sean, the new regent of the Duke of Orleans, was an honest man, and he would never have the courage to challenge the royal family.

But the other party not only did it, but also pulled other dukes to jointly issue a statement.

The situation is now so serious that additional border troops have to be dispatched.

In desperation, Odysseus could only let the front-line troops return to defend while discussing the response strategy day and night.

The discussion finally came to a conclusion, but it required Arthas's consent.

That is, today, he planned to meet Arthas again and ask his opinion.

Chapter 85: Conversation

"Father, long time no see." Arthas looked at Odysseus in front of him and bowed respectfully.

"Well, you still know that I am your father." Odysseus snorted coldly, "Then do you know what I have been busy with these days?"

"The son knows." Arthas nodded. He had heard the rumors about the outside world in the palace these days. When he heard that the family emblem of the Toulouse family was found in an industry he acquired not long ago, and it was the kind of genuine.

Of course, Arthas knew that he was framed, because he had never thought of taking action against any noble from beginning to end, but the evidence was irrefutable, and the other party had used some means to throw dirty water on him.

The only thing that can make Arthas feel a little relieved is that this matter is also related to the royal family. Even if it is to clear the suspicion of the royal family, Odysseus has to help him.

But these days, there have been a lot of rumors from the outside world, and even the dukes have jointly issued a statement, and the royal family must make concessions.

Whoever started the matter will be responsible. Arthas understands the meaning of Odysseus coming to him today.

"But father, please believe me, I am definitely wronged, and I have never done anything to murder the duke."

"Of course I believe you, and I know you will never do such a thing, but ah, Arthas, things are not something that can be solved by just believing in me. Now the dukes are anxious to get an explanation. If the deceased is a count, we may be able to make a big deal out of it, but this time the assassin was a duke after all. This kind of thing has never happened in the empire for hundreds of years."

"So... what does father mean?" Arthas looked at Odysseus in confusion.

"If we can't cover it up, we can only give them the information. In this way, they will also know that Francois's death is related to you."

"And you are the only suspect in the open. Their anger will undoubtedly be vented on you, and then it will also affect the royal family."

Hearing Odysseus' words, Arthas felt cold in his heart.

"Father...I don't understand why we can't push a scapegoat to the stage?"

"Hehe, scapegoat?" Odysseus couldn't help laughing when he heard this.

"Arthas, do you know how strong the guards around Francois are? Can a scapegoat be found casually?"

"Looking at the entire Saint Laurent City, how many families do you think have a lineup of strong men above the eighth level? If we just pull out a scapegoat, will they believe it?"

"And if we find someone with that strength to scapegoat, do you think the other party is willing to be our scapegoat?"

"..."Arthas was silent.

After a moment, he spoke again, trying to fight for his last chance.

"Father, what do you think we should do? Do I have to take the blame?"

"Again, this matter started with you. If you hadn't taken action against those industries before, the original owners of those industries would be suspected now, right?"

Odysseus sighed helplessly.

"..."Arthas nodded after hearing this. "Father, you are right. I shouldn't make this mistake. However, as you said, Saint Laurent City does have a force that can mobilize strong men above the eighth level, and we don't have to worry about touching the other party's interests. On the contrary, we can completely wipe out all the evil forces in Saint Laurent City through this action."

"Oh?" Odysseus looked at Arthas curiously after hearing this.

"Tell me."

It was also a helpless move to let Arthas make sacrifices, but if Arthas had a better plan, Odysseus would not mind adopting his suggestion.

...

Time went back to the night before Francois was assassinated.

After the banquet, François did not return to his residence directly with his guards as usual, but took a detour to a secret place before returning to his residence.

And this information is unknown.

"You just said that Marie left a legacy?" Francois sat at one side of the table and looked at the person sitting opposite.

This is a membership-based coffee shop. Usually, dignitaries often come in to discuss issues. Therefore, when registering customers, in order to protect their privacy, pseudonyms or anonymity are deliberately used.

Such occasions are very common in Saint Laurent City, because the nobles always have some private matters that are not convenient to use their real names, no matter how big or small.

"Of course, don't you want to know how much private wealth Lady Marie left for herself during her reign in Antica?"

"That private wealth has been seized a long time ago, right?"

"You are Marie's brother. You should know how smart Marie is. Do you think she might be so stupid as to keep all her private wealth in one place without moving it away?"

"So, what do you mean?"

"Mrs. Marie has a lot of property directly under the royal family. These properties are either cash stored in the vault or turned into various industries, all under the name of one person. Do you want to know the location of that person?"

"...Tell me, as Marie's brother, I have the right to inherit her finances after her death."

"Of course, that's why I came here." The other party said this and handed Francois a business card. After Francois read it, he gave it back to the other party.

"I remember, I will go find it. If I don't find it, I can understand that you don't want to have any contact with me in the future."

"What if you find it?"

"What do you want me to give you? Give you half of the assets?"

"No, I just need you to be my friend. As for the assets, give me a part that can let me spend my old age in the Duke of Orleans."

"Friend? Haha, okay." Francois nodded, then stood up and walked out.

"Marie, Mary, I didn't expect that you would be betrayed by the person who was once the closest to you after you died." Back in the carriage, thinking about what happened just now, Francois smiled and shook his head.

"But it doesn't matter, Mary, I will inherit your inheritance, so that you will not be considered to have no contribution to the Toulouse family."

On the way back, he was still thinking about how to use the property, but at this moment something strange happened.

The carriage suddenly stopped, and then there was a sound of swords clashing around him.

The captain of the guard sitting in front of his carriage poked his head in half a minute later.

"My Lord Duke, a group of blind thieves just came outside and wanted to rob us. Now we have driven them away."

"Well, if there is nothing else, let's continue." Francois nodded calmly after seeing the report from the captain of the guard.

"Hmph, the security of Saint Laurent City will decline sooner or later if it continues like this." Sitting in the car, he snorted coldly.

However, the end of his fate was waiting for him not far ahead.

Chapter 86: Secret Transaction

The convoy continued to move for a few minutes. Just when everyone recovered from the tension of the attack, a pair of eyes stared at Francois and his party.

Just when several people passed a few people at the intersection, the black shadow hiding on the roof chose to attack. With just one blow, Francois's captain of the guard was dead, and then, with the sound of sharp weapons cutting flesh and blood around, Francois's guard members were being harvested like straw.

When Francois first saw the carriage stop, he thought the road ahead was blocked, but when he heard the sound of people falling around him, he began to panic.

His guards seemed to fall to the ground without even making a sound.

"Captain Russell? Are you okay?" Francois asked through the curtain of the carriage.

However, no one responded to him.

"My Lord Duke! Go!" At this time, a guard finally made a sound, but then there was a scream, and he was obviously killed.

Francois was in a panic. The guard told him to go, but where could he go?

As a duke, he must have some means of saving his life, but these means all require someone to buy time for him. In this situation, no one can guess when the other party will appear in front of him.

When he releases the teleportation magic, he is extremely vulnerable. If he is attacked at this time, he will really have only one way to die.

"My Lord Duke, I will hold him back for you, please go!" At this moment, the guard captain Russell, who was attacked first and should have died, suddenly woke up. He said this and used all his strength to stop the carriage.

"Oh? You are still alive? It seems that I underestimated you." The shadow said.

"Captain Russell, I will never forget your life-saving grace." Francois was moved when he heard Russell say this, and then he quickly took out a magic scroll from his storage ring. He began to chant the spell. Once the chanting was over, he would move to the safest place.

However, as soon as he read the first byte, he saw that some dark red liquid was sprinkled on the curtains, and some of it penetrated into the carriage through the curtains.

The next second, a pair of big hands pushed the curtains open.

"Sorry, my Lord Duke, I will take your life."

The other party said this, without leaving Francois even a second, and directly stabbed the sharp blade in his hand into Francois' chest.

He widened his eyes in disbelief.

Russell, the captain of the guard with the strength of the seventh level, couldn't even survive a single move in front of this person? Who was the other party?

Was he really going to die?

It hurts...

This was the last thought in his mind. At the moment when his chest was pierced, the black shadow stretched out his other hand and probed into his chest along the wound.

"Is this... the blood of the Duke?" The black shadow looked at the heart that was still trembling and beating in his palm and sighed.

The world is unfair. Some nobles are superior when they are born, especially the great nobles headed by the royal family and the duke. Their blood power has built a barrier between their descendants and ordinary people.

The heart in the black shadow's hand now, even if it leaves the owner's body, still keeps beating.

If it hadn't caused such a fatal injury, I'm afraid he could still survive with his tenacious

vitality, right?

"As expected of a duke, he is so useful even in death." The shadow said this, walked out of the carriage, and then instantly fled into the dark alley beside the street.

The shadow circled several large circles in the complex streets of Saint Laurent City, and then stopped.

"Come out, rat who likes to follow others." The shadow said this, turning his head.

Sure enough, a few seconds later, a bat jumped down from the street lamp next to it and appeared in front of the shadow.

If Orson was there, he would definitely recognize the characteristics of this person.

That was the killing angel who had cooperated with Orson before.

"Don't be so nervous, I have no ill intentions." The killing angel said this and laughed twice.

"I don't think a person who doesn't want to show his true face has no ill intentions."

"I'm sorry, but according to my principles, it would be more difficult if you saw my true face, right?"

"Oh, forget it, it's my bad luck to be discovered by you, just tell me what you want."

"I don't need anything, I will keep this secret for you, but you have to go to a place..."

The two reached a secret deal in the alley, and then one returned to the Orchid Tavern, while the other disappeared.

...

The day after Odysseus met Arthas, the royal family began to seal the Orchid Tavern, and the seals were all over Oak Street, which also shifted the focus of everyone's investigation to here.

Almost at the same time, the emperor announced a compromise with the dukes and opened a joint investigation. Of course, only relevant personnel from the Duke of Orleans were allowed to participate in it.

However, being able to force the royal family to make such a concession has met the psychological expectations of the dukes.

Of course, Duke Henry of Orleans himself would not come to Saint Laurent City again, but let the nominal regent Sean rush to Saint Laurent City to show the importance of this matter.

If a satisfactory result is not given to everyone, although the war will not break out, the prestige of the royal family will definitely drop a lot.

However, in any case, during the investigation, the situation will be relatively calm for a while, and it will not be as tense as before.

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