February 16, 128 A.D., overcast.

A few of the old trees in the courtyard of Fort Midnight had lost their leaves, and a flock of crows were circling around the trees, making an unpleasant noise, and the weather was so cold that one shivered unconsciously. However, for the people in the church, today's funeral made them more sad than the weather.

"As a canonized count of the Empire, he is the defender of the Empire's land, as the lord of the Counts of Midnight, he is a noble and worthy of respect, and as the head of a family, he is a kind and loving elder. Winston No. Jerichault - Earl of Midnight, who was faithful to his duty throughout his life, loyal to the Empire, kind to his people, kind to his family, a role model for society, and touched by his virtues by the gods.

Now that he has been called by the Lord to leave us, we should bless him on his journey to the Lord, and set his example to us, and may his spirit and will remain in our hearts forever. ”

The god father who gave the eulogy kissed the emblem on his chest.

"Amen. ”

"Amen. ”

The people present also responded.

The Count's best friend and his grandson carried the Count's coffin and transported it to the family cemetery of the Jericho family at Midnight Castle. There, the place belonging to the Count was ready, and the old and young men lowered the coffin into the pit, and the others who had followed the Count's coffin all the way stepped forward and threw white bouquets on the lid of the Count's coffin, and some of the ladies were already sobbing. The priest had finished his final mass, and the previous coffin-bearers had begun to cover the Count's final resting place.

It was gradually raining lightly, the black crowd slowly dispersed, and after the Earl's funeral, these people who had come from afar were also leaving, most of them were figures with heads and faces, and time was always tight.

"Condolences to you, Mr. Jerichault. I'm sorry we can't spend any more time with old Winston, but tomorrow we'll have to leave for Germany. ”

Sven No. Jericho looked at his grandfather's best friend who was carrying the coffin with him, and nodded politely in understanding. "The funeral is over, and the deceased has been laid to rest. We are grateful that you have a high position in the country, and that you were able to attend my grandfather's funeral in your busy schedule, and there is nothing to blame, on the contrary, please accept our gratitude. ”

The old man let out a long sigh and looked at the cloudy sky with a look of nostalgia on his face. "I, and many others, have a very deep friendship with old Winston. I have known Winston Sr. for more than forty years, and I have always regretted that he did not enter the government, and that regret can probably no longer be remedied. ”

"I truly admire your friendship, Monsieur Marquis. ”

"Don't be so angry. The old man waved his hand, "I am a close friend of old Winston, and I have a good relationship with your father, although I don't know how long I can live, but you can treat me as an elder, and I will always provide friendship and help to you and the Jericho family." ”

"That's very grateful, Mr. Phil. Swain bowed in thanks.

"It's getting heavier and heavier, let's go inside. ”

Wood Noll Fair and Swain walked out of the cemetery and got into the carriage they had been waiting for for a long time. Some of the ladies had already taken refuge in the wagons to avoid the rain, and the long convoy slowly moved towards Fort Midnight.

"Swain, call it that. ”

"Yes. ”

Wood looked at the young man in front of him, his face looked very young, probably seventeen or eighteen years old, his skin was quite white, sickly white. The young man, dressed in a black mourning dress, sat calmly in front of him, with a look and appearance like the well-mannered Winston No. Jericht he had seen forty years earlier.

No, it's still different, the young man barely laughs.

Wood thought to himself, but he could understand it, after all, his grandfather had just died.

"In accordance with the will of Count Midnight, Winston no Jericho, you will inherit his title and the position of head of the Jericho family. As a Justice of the Imperial Court, I have full witness power. Saying that, Wood frowned, he was still a little puzzled by this will, "However, since the Earl of Midnight is a direct vassal of His Majesty the Emperor, and the title of Earl of Midnight needs to be canonized by His Majesty the Emperor himself, so you have now inherited the position of the head of the Jericho family, but the title of Earl also requires you to visit Dewei in person." ”

"Yes, I understand, I will finish the affairs here as soon as possible and go to the imperial capital. Swain's expression was still calm, without any joy at becoming an earl.

"To be honest, such a will is not in accordance with the inheritance laws of the empire, your father is still alive, and the title is directly given to the eldest grandson, which is contrary to the primogeniture system of the nobility. But since His Majesty the Emperor did not object, such an inheritance was also granted. Please also pay attention to this. ”

"Yes, I'll take notice. ”

Wood looked at the young man sitting across from him, and honestly he had barely seen any change in Swain's face since he got into the carriage, and even since he had hurried to Fort Midnight last night, there had been no change in the young man's expression in front of him. But given that his grandfather had just died, it was perhaps understandable, and Wood once again consoled himself with this reason.

"Besides......" Wood hesitated, "is your sister, Miss Sophia Noe Jericho, also coming with you?" he looked at Sven's face, trying to see a slight expression.

"Yes. The answer is still so concise and straightforward, it doesn't look like a nobleman.

Wood felt a little relieved, but at the same time a little nervous, perhaps the young man was deliberately hiding something in front of him, and he did hide it well, Wood couldn't see his thoughts. However, such a calm and almost blank face shows that this person's heart is not thoughtless.

With a sigh in his heart, Wood spoke again: "Maybe this kind of thing shouldn't be left to me, an outsider, but because I have been asked by others, I hope you can meet your father." Although your grandfather was reluctant to pass on the title to your father for various reasons, please believe me that your father, Ernest No. Jericho, was by no means the kind of person who disregarded family affection, and he must have had an unincomprehensible affection for you and Miss No. Jerichaul. ”

"I believe so, too. ”

Seeing that Swain's expression remained unchanged, Wood felt a little desperate. Perhaps it is not the father who has not seen his children for more than ten years, but the son who has abandoned family affection for more than ten years.

Wood couldn't help but feel irritated as he stopped looking at Swain's mask-like, immobile face and turned his head to look out the window. To be honest, today's scenery can be described as terrible. Midnight Castle was not lacking in beauty, but winter made her so bleak, and the cold weather was her ugliest outfit. Wood couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow for old Winston, and he was buried on such a day, but he was afraid that old Winston's journey to heaven would not be so chic.

"Actually, I have something to ask you, Mr. Phil. Just when Wood was feeling a little impatient with Sven, Sven suddenly spoke.

"Huh?" Wood turned his face sideways, looking at the new earl with some curiosity.

"Now that I have succeeded as the head of the Jericho clan, and am about to inherit my grandfather's title of earl, I will continue to stay in Midnight Castle and assume the duties of a vassal of the Empire. Although Midnight Fort is a famous city in the southern part of the empire, it is far less prosperous than those cities that have undergone the baptism of revolution. Swain said so many things in front of Wood for the first time, and Wood's impression of the young man changed a little, "You mentioned my sister Sophia just now, to be honest, I'm still worried about her future, it's a waste of youth for a young girl to be trapped in this backcountry all the time, but I'm very worried about whether anyone will be able to take care of her after leaving me. ”

Wood understood Swain's hint that he was considering custody. Maybe he also thought about the inheritance of property after the separation, Wood thought maliciously. "The brother-sister relationship is really touching. Although he had malicious speculation in his heart, Wood didn't reveal it on the surface, and just replied simply, not looking too concerned.

Swain could also see that Wood was a little cold, but it still didn't make him change his expression. "I have asked my sister before, and she wants to see the imperial capital, so I will let her accompany her to this visit. In addition, I also considered it, and planned to let her study in the imperial capital for a while, whether it was painting or music, I didn't worry about the tuition fee, but only about Sophia's life. ”

Wood could hear that Swain seemed to be out of tune, and his attitude became much more positive. "You mean, let your sister live in the imperial capital for a while, so why not let your father take care of her?"

Wood seemed to see the corners of Sven's mouth move, as if he was sneering, but he couldn't see it really, as if he had just misread it. "So, Mr. Phil, in what capacity will my sister live in Viscount Ernest, as a relative, or as a ward?"

Wood was secretly annoyed, he seemed to underestimate this young man too much, he had just deliberately lured himself to speak, and he was fooled like a hairy boy in the social field. "You seem to be too angry, for your father, where do you need to think about this. ”

"Then after I arrived in the imperial capital, as the head of the Jericho family, and went to meet His Majesty the Emperor to be made an earl, should Viscount Ernest attend?"

Damn it. Wood couldn't help but curse secretly, not only could this young man not be underestimated, but this was simply putting him under great pressure all the time. This is something he and Ernest have been trying to avoid, after all, this is a very embarrassing thing for a father, obviously a father, but he has to be stood on the head by his son, not to mention that the relationship between father and son is so bad.

"Of course I will attend, and I will bless you. At this time, Wood had no choice but to choose a nice scene to say.

"Then I think I'll be able to discuss this with the Viscount when the time comes. Swain's icy gaze seemed to Wood like a war letter, "as the leader of a sect." He added deliberately.

Does this kid really want everyone to make a fool of himself? Wood almost gritted his teeth with hatred, not understanding why the handsome old Winston had raised such a paranoid and powerful grandson. "I, as a judge, can give you legal advice and advisors, and even serve as a witness. But if I were to intervene in this matter myself, it would be a breach of the principle of fairness that judges themselves should uphold. Dissatisfied, Wood also gave his own threats.

"That's good. Swain didn't seem to hear Wood's threat, but Wood didn't really think so, "I think I need to put the Jericho family in order." For hundreds of years, the genealogy of the Jericho family has avoided branching out in order to ensure the safety of the county. If there is now a branch of the imperial capital, this is not only a violation of tradition for the Jericho family, but also a great crisis for the title of earl. ”

Wood's eyes widened, and he couldn't tell whether the young man was cunning or rigid now. More than 100 years after the revolution, there are still people who take the title so seriously, just like those knights who fought with swords for titles and land in the last era, but can this guy be a knight? The current empire only has some fiefdom nobles in the south, and even if it is the land of the southern nobles, the income of tens of thousands of acres of land is not as good as that of a factory, and the upper class understands the way to make money by exchanging land for capital, and who is willing to rent land to peasants to earn rent money that is only worth a few children. Even the top aristocratic families in the imperial capital like Noble Fair no longer attach so much importance to titles, it is just a false name, and it can no longer be linked to interests, and the family will branch out again, as long as there is no problem with the inheritance, it doesn't hurt to divide the title, and no one will support your brother to seize your territory this year. If you want to say that you really care about the title of nobility, there are only those lowly nouveau riche.

"It seems to me that if you do this, the Jericho family will lose even more, or at least its reputation will plummet, and the prestige that your grandfather has brought to the Jericho family is afraid that it will be ruined by such a farce. Now that Swain had said such a thing, Wood had decided to use a tougher tone to give the young man some admonition from his elders.

"You think it's farce? I don't think so. But since you don't want to talk too much about it, we have another thing to talk about. Swain avoided the topic, but Wood didn't feel triumphant, "How about talking about my other sister Victoria?"

"Damn!" Wood scolded inwardly, and even the anger in his heart accidentally showed on his face, "This is what this guy has always wanted to say!"