The daily meetings of the Inner Chamber of the Kavalburg continued throughout the morning, with endless arguments and justifications filling the entire process.

Towards noon, Pedi ended the routine meeting, which was destined to be fruitless. Because, today he and his father have made an appointment to have lunch, and he needs to take his wife to the independent dining room in the master bedroom area of the castle's back courtyard early.

At half past eleven, Pedi arrived at the dining area with Erin Phil.

Duke Nick appeared when the clock on the front wall of the dining room was headed towards a quarter past twelve.

Duke Nick seems to be older than the other day... The power of the curse spread almost all over his body, bandages everywhere but his head, and a strong smell of herbs and rancid stench permeated the dining room as soon as he appeared.

"Don't waste your mental energy. Duke Nick stopped Pedi from using his holy power to heal him, pointed to the table and said, "Let's dine... The enchanting aroma of food always makes you forget all your worries. ”

The old duke didn't seem to be able to smell the rancid stench and medicine on his body, and raised his eyes to look at the dining table, "What are you doing at noon today?"

Those curious eyes seemed to be looking for some precious treasure...

But it hasn't been served yet.

"The main course is roasted deer shank. Herman, the warden of the castle, accompanied him at the table, and he introduced calmly in a magnetic voice, "The side dishes are fried shiitake mushrooms and peppered noodles, and the soup is made from Kemir fatty fish." ”

"It's so rich, there is my favorite Kemir fatty fish soup. Duke Nick looked very happy, and said to Herman, the chief steward, "Serve me soup first, I like to drink soup first." ”

"Of course. Herman nodded and gestured to the maid next to him, then he looked at Pedi and Erin Field, "Are you ready to serve?"

"Let's serve, I'm a little hungry today. Pedi tried to keep his smile on his face.

Erin Fil immediately said: "I only need half of the deer legs, and the extra deer legs can be disposed of in the kitchen by myself." "She behaved casually because it was a family dinner.

"Servants will thank you for your generosity, ma'am. Herman thanked Erin Fil in place of the servant. With that, he bowed to the trio at the table and stepped aside.

In less than a minute, the deputy butler led the maid in...

The aroma of food begins to permeate the restaurant, with organists playing unknown tunes.

Duke Nick ate very slowly, he drank the bowl of soup for ten minutes alone, and he obviously didn't want to eat the roast meat in the back, but he still endured the discomfort and ate it all.

The two of them deliberately slowed down the pace of their meal and accompanied the old man to finish their lunch slowly.

During this period, the three of them chatted about some idle things from time to time. Mainly Pei Di and his wife are talking, telling humorous stories, one story after another to make the old man laugh constantly. Apparently, Pedi and Erin Phil had prepared ahead of time for today's lunch.

By half-past one in the clock, the long lunch was coming to an end.

"It's been a long time since I've had such a pleasant lunch," the old duke put down his dishes, wiped his lips, and picked up the steel knots beside him, trying to stand up.

Eileen Phil wanted to walk over and help.

"No, I'm fine. The old man stubbornly refused and pointed to the tea room next to the restaurant, "Go over and sit down." ”

The tea room is small and is a typical family tea room.

As soon as he walked into the tea room, a pungent musty smell burrowed into Pedi's nostrils, but the old duke, who slowly walked into the room, was unaware.

Peddy and Erin Phil glanced at each other, and then looked at Herman, the steward who was following beside them.

Herman could only act helplessly, after all, no human power could drive away the breath left by the years.

"Sit down. The old duke looked very happy in this tea room, his originally cloudy eyes sparkled because of this tea room, "When I was young, my father used to sit here at night with my mother, brother and sister to chat..."

But the old man's smile didn't last long, maybe he thought of something unhappy, his face became ugly, and he couldn't help whispering: "And all this stopped with the war thirteen years ago, and also began with the war thirteen years ago!"

Pedi didn't answer his father's words, he looked at everything in the tea room,

The sofa placed next to the window is very old, and it was the favorite sectional sofa made of solid wood and fur inlaid by the nobles of the empire a hundred years ago. Next to the sofa lay a couple of small upholstered stools, small stools, the kind used by children.

On the coffee table between the sofa and the stool, dessert had been prepared a few minutes in advance, and there were three cups of fragrant tea.

"I remember sitting on that stool when I was a kid. Duke Nick beckoned the couple to sit down, then pointed to a stool and said, "Father won't let us sit on the sofa after a few hours, even if there is a free seat." He shook his head, "But when my father is in a good mood, my brother and sister will have the opportunity to sit on the sofa, but I will never be the only one." ”

"Later, I knew why. Duke Nick leaned back in his chair, "Father is teaching me not to forget the rules... My brother and sister can do whatever they want once in a while, but I can't, because I'm the heir to Krew, and I have to keep the rules in mind. ”

"Do you understand what I mean?" the old man looked at Pedi.

"Of course..."

"No, you haven't understood. The old man shook his head, "Penny knows better than you do," the old duke stopped in the middle of speaking, frowning as if he had encountered some problem.

When Peidi heard his father's words, he subconsciously wanted to refute, but he couldn't bear to interrupt the old man's thinking.

"That letter Penny wrote," Duke Nick spoke again after a long while, and he pointed to Pedy, "can you see what she means by that so-called autographed letterhead?

"She wants to tell us not to use her brother's name or her father's name when making decisions, because it will make her think that she is begging us... She doesn't want to owe the empire a favor that she can't repay!"

"But father," said Eileen Field, "Queen Penny has always been our relative..."

"Yes, she is my daughter and your sister. "So I left her the coordinates of the magic teleportation of the Kru Territory, and if the Empire can't protect her, she can come back." ”

Pedi said in a low voice, "But she won't come back." ”

"Why?" said Eileen.

"Because of her son, she already has the blood of the Danediv family. "She's smart, so she's not going to return to Crewe with her son." ”

"Why?" Irene Fil was a little excited, she knew why, but she couldn't help but ask, because she seemed to see her future in Penny.

Pedi took his wife's hand with his backhand and tried to comfort her, but Duke Nick continued as if he hadn't noticed the change in Erinfield: "Let the discussion in the inner hall end tomorrow, we need a motion that must leave the Empire speechless without shaking the foundation of the realm." ”

"There's already a plan. Pedi immediately said, "But we need to find out what the people in Elok are thinking first... In its current form, if we rush into the army, we will be able to face the Eluk leader and the elves and werewolves behind him. ”

"Do what you want. The old duke seemed to be a little cold, and after he tightened his clothes, "Tomorrow, I will let you officially inherit the title of duke..."

"Father!"

"This is my decision, and I won't ask anything about the territory from tomorrow. The old man's face was serious, "It's time for your mother to come back, you go and get her back, you tell her... Penny won't be coming back. ”

"Of course, if you have a hard time, you can come to me. ”

"Kid!" Duke Nick suddenly looked at Erin Field, "I have something I would like to talk to Peddy about alone, please forgive an old man for his stubbornness." ”

"Of course, father. Eileen Phil immediately stood up from her seat, "It's your power. "You can see that she really doesn't mind.

Hearing this, Pei Di frowned slightly, picked up the teacup that had not been touched and took a sip gently.

When Irene Fil left the tea room, the old duke looked at Pedi and smiled, "You have a good wife, but as the mistress of Crewe, she still has a lot to learn, and you have to adapt her to her new identity." ”

Pedi subconsciously said, "I think Erin Phil is adapting well. ”

"But—" Duke Nick shook his head as soon as he spoke, "let's change the subject... I can see that you've always wanted me to make clear what I think about the Central Empire, or that you want me to point out the path the Reagan should take. ”

"Yes, but you have been avoiding the topic. Pedi doesn't deny it.

"You've already figured out what to do. Duke Nick smiled, "Why don't you do what you want?"

"Because I still have some questions, I really want to get them straight. ”

"What do you want to ask?"

"What the hell was going on in that war thirteen years ago?"

"The war thirteen years ago. Duke Nick put down his teacup and changed to a more comfortable sitting position, lowered his head and thought for a while, and then asked, "Do you know why we call Barrett a puppet emperor and a mad emperor?"

Pei Di was a little too solemn in the face of the problems that his father had never talked about and did not allow him to talk about for more than ten years, and he subconsciously replied to his father's question: "It is recorded in the official history that thirteen years ago, the puppet Emperor Barit frantically slaughtered the members of the noble council. ”

"Yes, Barrett has killed some nobles, but not many. The old duke nodded and shook his head, "Moreover, all his decrees have formal legal effect, and even the legendary fire in the imperial capital was not caused by him... Barrett never wanted to set that big fire. ”

"Who set that fire?" asked Pedy.

"The man of 'Radiant Power'!"

"Your Majesty?"

"Yes, it's him!" Duke Nick said with a bit of anger on his face, "I only found out about this eight years ago, but I didn't delve into it during the War on the Throne, because it was then that I, Eric, and Laubert discovered a secret hidden in the depths of the Empire. ”

"A secret that should not be told to the public!"

Pedi only felt his heart start beating faster, and Duke Nick took a deep breath and asked, "Do you know 'copy memories'?"

"That's a terrible magic..."Pedi replied subconsciously, and then he reacted, and couldn't help but exclaim, "You mean Barrett is the one who copies memories?"

"That's right!" Duke Nick nodded heavily, "Two hundred years ago, to be exact, after the Divine Radiance Legion was misdecided and destroyed... All emperors are actually played by one person!"

"Danediv VI?" said Pedi incredulously, "that's why you're rebelling?"

"No! no!" Duke Nick shook his head, "Eric and I weren't going to rebel at the time, we were going to solve this problem politically... But then that fire changed our minds. ”

"The fire that His Majesty set off?"

"Yes!" the old duke nodded, "and we were hunted down in that fire... But now that I think about it, I think it's a little ridiculous, if Barrett really wants to kill us, we won't have a chance to escape. ”

"It was all arranged by His Majesty the Emperor?"

"I don't know, maybe it is, maybe not. The old man shook his head, "But he must have started the fire." His teeth rattled.

"Are you really sure that the Pseudo-Emperor Barit is a memory stealer?" asked Pedi.

"Of course, in order to consolidate his rule, the sixth emperor has not only stolen his memories, but almost all of the Lion Castle is his people!" Duke Nick showed a rare expression of disdain, "Perhaps, the bloodline of the Danediv family has long been impure. ”

Pedi looked at his father, and suddenly felt a little strange to the other party, "You know this? You let Penny marry Sinda?"

"Penny is not only your sister, she is also my daughter!" said the old duke, in a voice as low as the legendary demon of hell, "I have said a long time ago that this is her fate, and Omar, you, Penny, and Phyllis have their own fate, and we cannot resist the arrangement of fate, just as I have been unable to resist in thirteen years." ”

Pedi leaned forward slightly, looking at his father, "You are the mastermind of the Tower of Dawn!"

"I'm only a member of the Tower of Dawn, but our organization split over a decade ago. Duke Nick readily admitted.

"Morinda and you have known each other for a long time?"

"Yes. ”

"You planned the murder of Baron Al Gordon Ayr?"

"It's not. The old man shook his head: "But I know that this is a deal." ”

"What about the orc invasion?" Pedi bounced up from his seat, "Omar's death in battle, His Majesty's fall from the horse, are all you?"

"I didn't expect the orc war to evolve into what it is now, let alone the sudden civil strife among our elven allies!" Duke Nick sighed: "Rawbott's death was planned by the remnants of the 'Radiant Force', with the shadow of the orcs behind it. ”

The old man looked at his child, "I wanted to solve the corruption within the empire by peaceful means... In fact, the six dukes have already agreed to implement real reforms in the Empire, and the reform proposals currently in place within the Empire are only a small part of what we have on the agenda at the time. ”

"But, since the Duke of Chester was assassinated, everything has changed!"

Pedi sat back down, "So, your plan changed from changing the empire to re-establishing it?"

"Yes. The old man admitted, "You will be the ruler of the new empire, and I..."

"Does this make sense?" Peidi suddenly asked, "The entire continent is suffering from war, and perhaps in the next few years, ten years, or even decades, the continent of Ailan will be invaded by war." ”

"From the age of barbarism, to the age of nomadism, to the age of empire for more than three hundred years, wasn't that time a war that lasted for decades or even hundreds of years?" said Duke Nick with a deep breath:

"I believe that the world of the future will definitely be better than the current empire, but I don't see it..."

./9_

.。 m.