Joe Victor was still dressed in the same black robe as if it had never changed, and he was cautious by nature after going around the imperial capital a few times, and after confirming that he did not arouse suspicion and tracking, he carefully squeezed into the side door of the Marquis's Mansion used as a servant's passage, and nodded to the Auston cronies who opened the door, and went directly to Leo's room under the guidance of the latter

Before entering the door, Joe looked at Tydamir who was guarding the door with some surprise, but he didn't worry too much about why a barbarian would appear here, and years of turbulent life made him understand early on that curiosity doesn't just kill cats......

Leo sipped his black tea and looked at Joe who was taking off his cloak in front of him with a smile, obviously with sufficient funds and not worrying about his sister's safety, his complexion was much better, and his emaciated cheeks were obviously rounded

"Tell me, Mr. Victor, I don't think you would have come here during the day if there was nothing important...... Oh yes, and you'll remember to check out Claudia later, who was learning flower arrangement with a private tutor."

Joe's mood fluctuated only for a moment, and then he immediately bowed deeply and spoke in his usual calm voice

"Thank you for your kindness, my lordship, first of all, please accept my sincerest wishes for you to become the new Grand Duke, and besides, the matter of the church that you have commanded has already been somewhat discussed, do you need to report it now?"

Looking around, although only Finn was present in the quiet room, the cautious Joe confirmed again, and after Leo smiled and nodded, Joe lowered his voice and spoke

"My lord, the current situation in the church is very strange, a bit loose on the outside and tight on the inside, I have investigated the conflict between them and you before, according to the vague information inside, it seems that they are seeking to obtain something near you or in your territory?"

"Forget that, Mr. Victor, I understand your doubts, it's just that these aren't the things you need to know right now, tell me something else"

"Understood, sir," continued with the expression on Joe's face without the slightest change

"But in all respects, the tension in the church has nothing to do with you, my lord, and that's very confusing......

Frowning and glancing at Finn, Leo put down the teacup in his hand, leaned forward slightly and asked seriously

"What do you mean by the tension?"

"The movement of the Church's armed forces, my lord, the recent movements of the Knights Templar are a bit abnormal, there has been no sign of their activities in the imperial capital recently, including the head of the Knights, all the high-ranking Knights have recently stayed in the church headquarters, and there is no sign of participating in any social activities, at the same time, the knights who are on missions outside are also constantly rushing back, I'm sorry my lord, for these fanatics, I don't have a better way to get detailed information for the time being!"

After listening quietly, Leo tapped his fingers to judge everything that was abnormal, and inadvertently, Bernadotte I's seriously ill body and the rumored secret war between the two princes suddenly crossed his mind......

Could it be that there is a collusion of interests between the church and a certain prince? If you think about it, it is also very likely that the Church's attempts to seek political status are now well known to the upper classes, and the power in their hands is enough to become an important bargaining chip for them, it is difficult to say that under the temptation of the throne, the two princes may not dare to take risks

Joe hesitated for a moment and looked at Leo in thought, "My lord, another thing, our people once accidentally discovered that there was a big man who should not have anything to do with the church, and his name was ...... several times in and out of the church's headquarters at night."

By a dramatic coincidence, just as Joe was about to say the name, the door was pushed open from the outside, and Auston, dressed in silk clothes, walked in, glanced at Joe, who immediately stopped and saluted respectfully, and laughed and said to Leo who greeted him

"Leo, my friend, our Venerable Second Prince, His Royal Highness Rolf, has sent someone to bring a large number of gifts and his handwritten letters, he apologizes for Perran's reckless behavior before, and hopes that these gifts can make up for the damage you have suffered in your heart, and at the same time ask that you can forgive him for his negligence!"

"Oh?" After getting up and beckoning Auston to take a seat, Leo felt a little strange, to be honest, a person of Rolf's character could simply give in and even apologize, which was beyond his expectations

Waving his hand for Joe to leave, Leo poured Auston a cup of black tea, and after the two talked for a while, he understood the whole thing from each other's mouths

Just after Leo was officially canonized as the Grand Duke, the Duke of Lancaster and others, who were themselves at odds with Rolf, took advantage of this opportunity to impeach Bernadotte I again in the name of the House of Lords for what he had done, after all, whether he recognized it or not, it was an indisputable fact that Perrin was Rolf's personal vassal

Finally, under pressure, after Rolf gave up his defense, Bernadotte I had to punish his second son, and announced the revocation of all the rights of the nobles of the Raymond family to which Perrin belonged, and suffered this dumb loss......

"His Excellency the Duke is a little impatient, in such a period of time, stimulating His Majesty will only make the contradiction between the royal family and the great nobles more acute, I am afraid that after this incident, Your Majesty will be more inclined to the side of Rolf, and there may even be a possibility of changing the heir......"

Leo didn't have any joy on his face after hearing this, but said with some worry

Auston leaned back on the couch but didn't care about it, and shook his finger, "Leo, do you think we haven't thought about any of this?" Now, whether you do it or not, as long as the royal family still wants to reduce the rights of our great nobles, such a contradiction cannot be reconciled, so if you can add some blockage to Your Majesty and Rolf, why not? ”

Leo smiled bitterly and pointed at the other party, Auston's attitude gave him a sense of familiarity with the bureaucrats of his previous life, and he exhaled, but still opened his mouth to persuade

"There used to be a saying in my hometown that political means and demands without ends are extremely childish behavior, and Auston, in any case, as a superior person, is often not able to act according to his own preferences"

"I understand, dear friend, that I feel a deep kindness from your words, but it doesn't matter, I have resigned from your position as Governor to Your Majesty, and in a while, as I said before, the Duke and I will return to our own territory, and what does it matter if the Imperial Capital is in chaos here......"

Shrugging his shoulders, Leo stopped trying to persuade him, knowing that sometimes it wasn't necessarily a good thing for friends to talk too much about each other, so he stood up and smiled at Auston and spoke

"Well, then, in order to thank the honorable Marquis of Auston for his help to me, I have decided to transfer Rolf's compensation to me to Lord Marquis, please do not refuse the generosity of an archduke, haha"

“…… Leo, you didn't look at it at all, maybe you will regret it later, you must know that Rolf has made a bloody investment this time! ”

"Really? So what, as a friend, I can give you more ...... if you need it"

"Leo"

"Huh?"

"I now find more and more that you flaunt your wealth with a careless attitude so hateful!"

Between the two teasing, Leo had completely forgotten to ask who the person Joe was about to say......

(To be continued.) Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info)