Bert went to Karl's residence with 250,000 pounds, and Ernst asked Duchess Sufi about Archduke Ferdinand's anomaly, but unfortunately Duchess Sufi didn't know much about it.

Dinner was spent as usual, except that Archduke Ferdinand talked a lot about managing his subordinates, which deepened Ernst's doubts.

At 7:32 a.m., after dinner had ended, everyone had dispersed......

Ernst wanted to leave with Lord Sophie and Mysimilian, but at this time, Archduke Ferdinand suddenly spoke: "Ernst stay, I have something to tell you." ”

Glancing at the departed Mysimilian and the Sophie lord and the Sophie duchess, Ernst sat back down at the table, but now Ernst was no longer in front of him but a cup of coffee.

"How much do you know about me?"

The strange opening remarks, although a little puzzled, Ernst still said honestly: "It's not too much, it's mainly something about your travel around the world and your love of hunting." ”

Archduke Ferdinand nodded as if with some satisfaction: "Then you should know about New Caledonia!" ”

New Caledonia? Archduke Ferdinand's inquiry stunned Ernst, who had naturally heard of the island, where murderous bandits from all over the globe were imprisoned, and a huge prison of more than 8,000 prisoners occupied the entire island, and it was said that the guillotine was even used.

Murderous bandits from all over the globe are exaggerated? It's not an exaggeration to say that the British fleet traveled the globe, colonies were spread all over the world, and there were even some oriental faces on the islands.

Archduke Ferdinand once went there, which has always been a matter of pride for Archduke Ferdinand, because few Western nobles have the courage to land on the island, after all, rebellions on the island occur from time to time, and if it were not for the isolation of the sea, it is believed that the crimes on the island would have escaped long ago.

"Daddy, do you want to tell me something about New Caledonia?"

Ernst was a little depressed, he was not a child, did he still like to listen to these adventure stories? Of course, Ernst still had some speculation that Archduke Ferdinand wanted to hint at something about himself through New Caledonia? However, he could not guess these things until Ferdinand made them public.

Ernst's words made Archduke Ferdinand laugh: "Naturally not, few people knew that I had bought off the management at that time and bought a place for one hundred and twenty prisoners who must be sentenced to death. ”

Stunned for a moment, Ernst seemed to have guessed what Archduke Ferdinand wanted to say, remembering Archduke Ferdinand's words just now, Ernst looked at Archduke Ferdinand in disbelief.

Really......

"They're always there for you, but the Vatican is locking you down, and they can only see you when you leave the church."

Ernst was glad that he had been cautious, otherwise his secret would not have been hidden, and even Archduke Ferdinand had such a secret organization around him, could the Vatican rule Europe for nearly a thousand years?

"I'm going to send 50 of them to you, your guards are very good, but they are still a little worse in terms of ferocity, and it is better not to leave some secret things to them."

Although the ascetics have their own unique skills, but being able to become ascetics has already destined their state of mind, and they believe that they do not have the ability to cultivate killers and bandits, just like Archduke Ferdinand said, if you want to do something secret, it is more appropriate to let some professionals.

Ernst did not hesitate, he knew that Archduke Ferdinand must have a similar power around him, and after thanking him, Ernst would meet his new recruit tomorrow.

After a brief introduction by Archduke Ferdinand, Ernst understood that of the 50 death row inmates, thirteen were Asians, eight were African, one was Indian, and the rest were Europeans.

Among them, there are pirates, bandits, rebels, and religions, but they all have one thing in common, that is, the means are extremely fierce and vicious, and it is very appropriate to use them to kill people without blinking.

Ernst was also mentally exhausted from a day's travel, and the matter of the gift from Archduke Ferdinand came to an end, and tomorrow Ernst was to be taken to their secret residence by Steward Lennard, who was the only one except Archduke Ferdinand.

"Twenty years, their service is twenty years, this is our deal!"

"And how many years are there until the deadline?"

Ernst shuddered when he recalled the meaningful smile of Archduke Ferdinand, who had always been so kind and benevolent in front of him that he even made Ernst ignore his old-fashioned countenance. But it was then that Ernst realized that kindness and kindness were only done in the face of a family.

The ruthlessness of the royal family Ernst personally experienced that this was undoubtedly a big shock to Ernst's heart, and it was not clear how to deal with these people who were waiting for release in the future, and he did not want to think about it, because it was destined to be a bloody road.

Tossing and turning until 3 a.m., Bert came to Ernst's room at 7 a.m. to get dressed, and looked at the dark circles on Ernst's face, but Bert reminded him slightly, but did not ask for a specific reason, because that was not what he was supposed to do as a servant.

"It's all over to Cousin Carl?"

Hearing this, Bert nodded while putting on Ernst's shoes, "Prince Karl thanked you, and promised to repay the principal and interest after six months. ”

Ernst was very satisfied, but at the same time he remembered the back of Duchess Sophie that he had seen from the dining room last night and couldn't help frowning, if he could, he would have left later!

Unable to help sighing, Ernst found that it was not the first time that Duchess Sophie's back had been seen, as if she felt guilty, and she needed to see her back in her room every day before she could leave with peace of mind.

On several occasions Ernst wanted to say that it was not her fault that she went to the Vatican, and that it was her own choice, and that she did not need to feel that Duchess Sophie felt indebted to her, but ...... How would he speak in that case?

Ernst, who had decided to leave in a few days, decided to stay for a few months, there was still a long way to go before the First World War, he didn't need to leave in a hurry, and the construction of the territory could not be completed overnight.

After all, he is the prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and he needs to have some familiar friends and contacts in Vienna, and it is a must for the royal family to brush up on his presence from time to time.

Aristocracy is a banquet, a ball, a party, boring is a fact but also an essential thing, because only in this way can the nobles be able to inherit for thousands of years, and a family without connections is doomed to decline.

"Bert, maybe we need to leave later."

"It's the right choice, Lord Earl."

Bert was very happy, which made Ernst a little confused, if he went to the territory, wouldn't Bert be the big butler of the territory? No matter how much Ernst thought about it, he couldn't understand Bert's thoughts at this time, and of course this was the main reason why he ignored Bert's loyalty.

The loyal Bert never thought about his own affairs, and his heart was happy at this time, because as a traditional housekeeper who had been nurtured by tradition, his heart undoubtedly attached great importance to the matter of connections.

Ernst was very idle in Vienna, but Bert was very busy, and he visited various families in Vienna except for Ernst's affairs, and he invisibly accumulated a lot of contacts for Ernst, although he spent a lot of money in the meantime.

Ernst knew this, but he didn't know how much trouble Bert's actions would save Ernst in the future. And about the money spent, £2,000 is a lot?

All right! Ernst was actually a guy who didn't know the price level, and he didn't know that it was rare to spend £2,000 to visit a dozen families, but at the same time Ernst also received a generous and noble evaluation in Viennese aristocratic circles.