Not to mention the hall below, which became more and more lively with the addition of nobles, in the study room on the third floor of the Duke's Palace, the Duke of Lancaster, who was old but still in good spirits, was sitting opposite an old man with the same white beard, and the sound of discussion was constantly coming

If Leo had been here, he would have been surprised to find that the old man's appearance had some vague resemblance to Count Barr Hohenzollern

Yes, this old man, who was a marquis, but could talk in front of the duke, was Barr's cousin, the Marquis Peyton Hohenzollern, or rather, His Excellency Councillor Hohenzollern......

Outside the study, the Duke of Lancaster's personal butler personally guarded the door, indicating that the content of this conversation was very important and hidden, and even other family members could not enter without the Duke's permission

Looking at his long-time friend on the other side, the Duke of Lancaster suddenly said with an obvious mocking expression on his face

"Old friend, you should be 60 years old this year, right? Not a few years younger than me, and as a member of the House of Nobles, he is still a marquis, it's hard for you to sit here so calmly."

Holding a shelled nut in his well-maintained hand, the marquis slowly rubbed off the soft skin on the outside of the fruit, and was not in a hurry to put it in his mouth, so he kept playing with it in his hand, and he could not see a ripple on his calm face, and said softly

"What about the Marquis? The Hohenzollern family is in the same state as the country, our family has a total of 4 counts, 2 marquises in various parts of the empire, and there are more members of the lower titles, what about you being an old man and a duke? When you die, who will be able to keep your family business, Antonis or your unsuccessful brothers? Hmph"

"You!" For many years, no one dared to mention the word death in front of him without scruples, and after glaring at the other party for a long time, the duke finally sighed and sat down again

"Everyone, His Majesty the Emperor has been delaying you from being promoted to duke, just like the more and more suppression of our family in recent years, he is paving the way for the next emperor......"

Nodding, he threw the nut in his hand into his mouth and chewed it a few times before spitting it out, and the loose teeth made the Marquis of Peyton a little irritated, and he said when he heard the words

"Hey, we've been friends for decades, what kind of dumb riddle are you playing in front of me, who doesn't know that the one on the throne now, the throne came a little wrong, for the sake of his two sons, haven't they been desperately suppressing us traditional nobles for many years, don't do the cumbersome set, let's get down to business, what do you think of Leo?"

"Do you still have any impression of the Swan family in the founding days?" Instead of rushing to answer the Marquis's question, the Duke pushed the heavy, yellowed book on the table first

"Huh?" Hearing this, the marquis's long calm expression couldn't help but be moved, and a glimmer of light flashed in his eyes in an instant, "Are you talking about the Swan family of Crest?" ”

As soon as the words came out, the marquis then patted his thigh, and was a little hesitant, "It seems that it is really old, how can there be a second swan family in the empire besides them, do you mean that Leo and the ancestor of the Crest family are from the same place?" ”

"Yes......" gently stroking the heavy cover of the book, the Duke of Lancaster was also a little sad, he was also a nobleman, and he felt even more disdain for the practices of the empire for hundreds of years

After the founding of the Isos Empire, with the death of the legendary first patriarch of the Crest family, the last two emperors of the empire were okay, and they were favored by the Swan family, regardless of the ability of the successor, almost all of them were promised high positions, and spent a lot of money to help rebuild the mysterious and disappeared Swan Knights

But at the beginning of Bonova III's accession to the throne, the subsequent emperors suddenly discovered that the Crest family had suddenly become quite large unconsciously, and in order to maintain the status of the ruler, even if the other party still followed the ancestral teachings and was extremely loyal to the empire

The imperial royal family began to carry out a crazy suppression of the Swan family openly and secretly, and finally changed the Swan family from the status of a grand duke who could own the principality to an ordinary duke, and then a marquis...... Earl......

Subsequently, the principality in the southern part of the empire was also abolished and replaced with a fief in the heart of the empire, and the large and elite knights were also ordered to disband most of them and merge them under the direct jurisdiction of the royal family, which eventually became the predecessor of the Knights of Glory. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

At the same time of suppression, successive emperors also revised the history books through scribes, artificially downplaying the contributions and historical traces of the Crest family, and over time finally let a once most prosperous family slowly disappear and dilute the center of power......

By the time of the current emperor, Bernadotte I had changed the Crester family, who had been demoted to barons, from the hinterland of the empire to the desolate northern realm, completely erasing the hidden dangers and making the current nobles finally forget about them

Coming from a brief moment of contemplation, the Duke of Lancaster spoke in a slightly sad tone

"The Swan family is not bad, how many families who are also founding fathers have completely disappeared without a trace? You and my family have reached this point, how long can you be tolerated by the person above? Do we really have to put our hopes in the mercy of the higher? My old man."

"Kindness? If it is better if the eldest prince succeeds to the throne in the end, if it is replaced by Rolf's idiot and megalomania, I'm afraid that the first one will be to attack us people," the marquis replied through gritted teeth

Staring into the other's eyes, the Duke lowered his voice

"So, Leo is our best chance, through Antonis's report, I can basically be sure that he and the ancestor of the Swan family are from the same place, the mysterious Pande, and a series of events in the Northern Territory can also show that this person does not seem to have the intention of assisting and returning to the Empire......"

"Ambition? Are you saying that he has a lot of ambitions, and that the actual control of the Northern Territory is just the beginning, and that he has even greater ambitions, such as the entire empire? The Marquis also lowered his voice

"I didn't say that, old friend, but Antonis said that he also had a very strong knight order under his command, a magnificent city that suddenly appeared, and what was even more terrifying was that his wealth seemed to be endless, such a man I don't think Hoi An would guard the northern ...... for the empire that had no feelings at all."

The words have already been said to this point, if the marquis can no longer feel the meaning of the duke, I am afraid that he has lived in vain for so many years, thought for a while, raised his head and said firmly

"The empire is old...... The coming to power of the Bernadotte family has made the royal blood not pure enough, I understand what you mean, but it is recommended to learn more about Leo, and at this stage, it is mainly good, you see? ”

Nodding, the Duke of Lancaster agreed with the Marquis's idea, although he was old, but he was still healthy under the good quality of life and attention to maintenance, and they could afford to wait for a few years

Estimating the time, the Marquis was about to finish the conversation and leave, when the Duke seemed to remember something and spoke

"By the way, Peyton, I heard Antonis say that your cousin Barr was involved in the Orlando mess, and after being pardoned by Leo, he personally handed him a letter before leaving, I heard that it was addressed to you......"

"Damn, your bastard hasn't changed after so many years, I understand, I'll wait for Leo's visit, and I'll hurry up to contact my allies in the House of Nobles these days, plus your power in the House of Lords, Leo's identity authentication shouldn't be a problem"

"Of course, His Majesty the Emperor should understand that not everything can be done by him as he pleases......"

Looking at the back of the Marquis who pushed the door and left, the Duke of Lancaster smiled happily, slowly stood up and beckoned the butler to ask the servant to change his clothes, the time for the banquet to start was approaching, and the Duke was now a little eager to see Leo himself......