Count Hecate shook his head, and he stared at Artmis, care and concern for his daughter intertwined in his eyes.

"I'm never going to force you to do anything, and this time it's the same. However, there is only one thing, I can't indulge you, the Hecate family can't be cut off at your hands and mine, even if it will be weakened, even if it is deprived of the leadership of the thirteen lessons, we can't let our family be cut off like this. Since our ancestors, the first Sir Hecate, because of the important position of the head of the thirteenth section, and the fact that the Hecate Demon Dao can only be inherited by a single generation, our family has not been prosperous, and some distant branches have long been unable to inherit our family and magic inheritance, which is a common problem of the Demon Dao family, and the same is true of the Jericho family. Now, you are the only one who can inherit my title and the Hecatet Demon Dao, and even if you don't want to marry Count Jericho, you must leave an heir for this family and pass on the Hecate bloodline. You know? That's the only thing I ask you to do, and that's the only thing you have to listen to. ”

Attmis lowered his eyes and looked at the crimson oriental carpet on the floor. She bit her lip, the truth that her father said was what she had been hearing since she came into contact with this society, even though the family and the title were no longer prominent, but the dedication to blood inheritance had not faded from the bones of the nobles. And what she hates is this kind of thing, she evades the obligations of the Thirteen Lessons and the Hecate family, just to escape the so-called family responsibilities, obviously she can do well, but Artemis always uses laziness to make excuses for herself, she is unwilling to be devoured by the so-called high society, even if this is the envy of those at the bottom, but she still does not want to let herself become like her father.

"I don't want to talk about that, at least not right now. ”

"Atmiss ......"

She didn't give her father a chance to speak, and ran straight out of the door, leaving her father with her own back and the heavy closing of the door.

Earl Hecate could only sigh helplessly, and almost every time he and his daughter talked about it, Artemis would interrupt the conversation in various wayward and even rude ways. And the Count never reprimanded his daughter, not even for him himself, just as he could not understand why his wife could not understand his tolerance.

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After sending the message declaring war, Pryton's army quickly assembled, and Michel VII, with unprecedented determination, immediately advanced his troops to Fort Midnight, south of his territory. Although his allies were a little slower, when the Pritown army entered the Midnight Fort, they met no resistance and easily took their target, and the Southern nobles won their first victory since the start of the war without much effort.

It took Midnight Fort without a single soldier, which made Michel VII gain great prestige and self-confidence, and in the post-disaster rescue of the Tsunami in the Bay of Bes, he had already won the favor of the southern nobles with his material support at any cost, which was also an important bargaining chip for him to win over almost all the southern nobles to rebel against the empire. And after showing his talents in government affairs, he also achieved military prestige, and Prince Pritton, who had been indecisive in the past, could not help but be a little complacent and fluttering at this time.

However, after taking the Midnight Fort, his old problems began to recur, and he was a little hesitant to plan the next action goal because the initial goal was so simple that he and his staff did not expect. Originally, according to the intended goal, the Pritown army was supposed to first surround the Midnight Fort, and then wait for the assembly of the allied troops. Due to the sudden death of Baron Fairfax, the commander of the Southern Legion, the Southern Legion quickly fell into the hands of the premeditated Southern nobles, and the empire could not mobilize troops to suppress it for a while, so Prince Pritown and his allies estimated that they would have about a week to gather troops for both sides. But now, due to the rapid fall of Midnight Fort, the operation of the Pritown side went smoothly beyond the previous expectations, and the imperial capital, which had no accurate information about the south, did not dare to act rashly for a while, and the two sides were temporarily in a stalemate. With the strength of Pritton, it is impossible to compete with the 40,000 imperial standing army that has arrived in the imperial capital, but Michel VII does not want to give the empire enough time to gather the 180,000 standing army, and the situation he most hopes to see is that the southern coalition army can preemptively attack Germany before the 140,000 troops in the east are assembled, and gain the advantage of being the first to win, so even if the eastern front army is assembled, the empire will not dare to risk losing the imperial capital, and put the main force into the south, which is bound to let the 140,000 army urgently rescue the imperial capital. Then the Southern Coalition Army will be able to grasp the opportunity of the battle situation, on the one hand, defend Germany with superior forces, and on the other hand, meet the main force of the empire with leisure.

Of course, even if this is the situation that Michel VII wants to see the most, there are still considerable risks. If not handled carefully, the eastern and western armies of the empire may form a front and rear attack on the southern coalition army, so before meeting the eastern army at ease, Michel VII must first deal enough blows to the 40,000 troops stationed in Germany to avoid being flanked by the front and rear.

This strategy was a bit risky, but it was the best for the Southern Alliance, which was far inferior to the Empire in terms of overall strength. Despite the Hadrian Empire and the Mahdia's Empire as foreign aid, Michel VII did not completely leave his fate in the hands of others. Perhaps Emperor Hadrian and the Emperor of the Desert would fully support Michel VII and his allies in the event of a crisis for the Southern Alliance, but with the South in the ascendancy, these two Majesties would have thought otherwise. Their main purpose was to weaken the Cyrul Empire, now the world's largest power, rather than to help Michel VII, and if the Southern Coalition was strong, then Hadrian and the Desert People would be happy to see the Silier Empire's civil war, allowing the Empire to consume its own strength.

Michel VII would not want to miss such a good situation, and who would be happy to be a dog wagging his tail and begging for mercy? However, the problem soon arose in front of Michel VII, who somewhat overestimated his allies. The southern aristocracy was an alliance, and although it unanimously elected Michel VII of the Quenoyle family, Prince of Pritown and once hereditary governor of Orkness, as the leader, Michel VII was not the emperor, and the dukes, counts, and mayors were not his cabinet ministers, and in the face of these allies with different intentions, Michel VII could not do what he said and forbidden, as Nicholas I did.

The Duke of Charolalene was the most reluctant to accept Michel VII's plan, because his Duchy of Charolalene was the first target of the Arlesian Front, and if the emperor really made up his mind to use 40,000 men to defend virtue and let the 140,000 troops enter his territory, then even if he won the final victory, he would face heavy losses in the principality.

The mayor of Port Bess is worried about the Leviathan fleet that the empire is blockading the Ronnal Strait, and the Southern Fleet is currently stationed in Port Leon and Port Biss in Pritown respectively, if the two fleets are combined into one, he is naturally not afraid of the Leviathan fleet at all, but now he only has half of the fleet, as the port of Bess with maritime trade as the main income, he is not like Michel VII, he can let his sea trade lines be blocked, but half of the fleet in his hands is not enough to resist the Leviathan fleet, so he can only be worried, for fear that Dönitz will transfer the fleet back to Biss Bay。 He asked Michel VII several times to hand over half of the Southern Fleet in Port León to him, but Michel VII refused, which also left a rift between the two. Unlike other dukes. Counts, Porto Bess is a free city, and it was not the mayor who ruled twelve years ago, so he doesn't feel that he owes Michel VII any favors, and it can be said that in the Southern Alliance, the troops of Port Bess are the least resolute.

The other allies also had their own ideas, and this state of fragmentation and multiple orders caused the Southern coalition to assemble as quickly as the Imperial army, and the battle began for several days, and Michel VII only waited for the troops of the Duke of Roy and the Duke of Koga, and the others were still on the way. The Southern Legion was in the hands of Michel VII, but due to the new death of the legion commander, the soldiers were suddenly taken by the commander to join the rebels, and the morale of the army was obviously not stable enough, and Michel VII did not dare to put this legion on the battlefield at all.

After the initial success, a series of problems caused Michel VII to start suffering again. On the one hand, he wanted to carry out his strategy of besieging Deweide, and on the other hand, he was worried about the unreliability of his allies, so after quickly taking the Midnight Fort, Pritown's army stopped and handed over time to the Empire, which was racing against time.

Of course, it was not that Michel VII did nothing during this time, just as the emperor needed a military parade to boost the morale of the army, and Michel VII was also ready to declare to the world the strength and determination of the Southern coalition by entering the Midnight Fort.

On April 4, Prince Michel Noy Knoiille VII, Prince of Pritown, took a special train from Nanterley, the capital of Pritown, to the south to inspect the Midnight Fort.

When the Prince arrived at Midnight Fort, it was the best time of the year for Midnight Fort. It was a sunny day, and in the large farmland around the old castle, the green crops swayed with the spring breeze from time to time, as if they were welcoming the arrival of the prince.

After getting off the train, the prince rode to the Midnight Fort. He was no stranger to this journey, and on several previous visits to the former Earl of Midnight, he was fascinated by the unique idyllic scenery of Midnight Castle. It's like a noble manor from the last era, and although the castle is equipped with the latest scientific and technological achievements, the simple farmers and the refreshing green forests are really rare to see in the big cities.

Baron Deniz, who had been entrusted by Swain to manage the affairs of the realm, was already waiting at the castle gates. The Baron chose to surrender the Midnight Fort when the Pritten army arrived, so that the Pritten army took their target without a single soldier. When this news reached the imperial capital, it not only made the emperor furious, but also slapped Swain in the face - he kept saying in front of the emperor, "Midnight Fort will do its best for the empire, even if there is only one soldier left, it will fight for Siliul."

The prince had seen the baron at the dinner party of the first earl, and of course, it was difficult for such a small country gentleman to impress him much compared to the prince's status and status. He sat on his horse and looked at the old gentleman, dressed in a crisp black tuxedo, which did not look like an old outfit, as if the baron was doing well, at least the clothes did not disgrace him. Baron Deniz stood upright, although his actions could be regarded as surrender and betrayal, but there was no look of humility on his face, although humble, but it was respect for the prince, and while respecting the prince, he did not belittle himself to please the prince, the old gentleman held his neck high, his expression was natural, his hands were behind his back, and his upper body was slightly bent forward, as if he was bending to the prince, but he was looking at the prince squarely.

Michel VII was very puzzled when he saw this appearance of Baron Deniz, in his impression, this baron seemed to have nothing too special, but this performance in front of him today really impressed the prince.

Did he want to raise his worth? The Prince thought to himself, he didn't think that Jericho's retainers would be so loyal to Swain now, because his impression of Swain was that of an arrogant and disgusting kid, and although he had never seen the smile of the little Jericho, whenever he remembered the words on the letter, Swain's smile automatically appeared in his mind. Sneering, sneering, snickering, Michel VII imagined many expressions on Swain's face when he wrote this letter, and it was this mood that made him decide to rebel.

The prince's horse stopped in front of the baron. Baron Deniz bowed to the prince, seeing the baron's impeccable demeanor, the prince couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, the baron's etiquette reminded him of the old butler in his manor, but even a big family like Cnoyes, which has been handed down for hundreds of years, does not have such a steward deacon.

"Greetings, His Royal Highness Prince Knoyes, and welcome back to Midnight Castle. ”

The prince looked at the old baron, but did not immediately respond to his greeting. Obviously, Baron Deniz's words still had a thorn in his words, although he came again, but this time Prince Michel VII took the army of Pritown and forcibly captured Midnight Castle, which was indeed a far cry from the respectful attitude he had towards the previous Earl when he came to Midnight Castle. Baron Deniz's words of welcome were as if the first Earl had welcomed the prince as a retainer of the Jericho family during his lifetime.

Although the baron's words were somewhat sarcastic, his words reminded the prince of his past visit to Midnight Castle. He had great respect for the Earl of Midnight in his ancestors, and even now that he had entered the territory with his army, which had always been peaceful and peaceful, he still had a great admiration for the Earl Jericho. If it weren't for the fact that the new Earl of Midnight was too much to look at, he would have been more than willing to maintain friendly relations with the Jerichots. It was a pity that in his eyes, a man as perfect as old Winston did not have a decent heir, and the Earl of Midnight was a real threat to his position.

Looking up at this elegant and chic castle, this castle hardly looks like a fortress left over from the war-torn era of knights, but rather like a beautiful and elegant manor, its beauty is more like a work of art than a cold fortress. This feeling haunted the Prince, and he finally decided not to blame the baron, who behaved as if he were both loyal and unprincipled, and who had clearly betrayed his master's castle, but who had shown his loyalty to the Jericho family in the presence of the Prince.

The Prince just nodded faintly, and then drove his horse into Midnight Castle.

The castle is no different from the Prince's previous impression, the castle seems to have been magically locked in time, and after countless centuries, Midnight Castle and the Jericho family have always been here. Neither the furnishings nor the architectural decoration had changed in the slightest, and the Prince breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, for he was afraid that little Jericho had made a mess of old Winston's arrangement.

In the Midnight Castle, there is a place that has always been of great concern to the Prince. Walking into the hall, on the inner floor of the staircase leading to the second floor, there was a sealed door, and Michel VII had asked the Earl of the First Generation, but the elder Winston had never given him a clear answer. Now that Midnight Fort is in his hands, the Prince finally has a chance to explore the secret. Although such behavior was disrespectful to the Earl Winston, whom he revered, Michel VII also had his own considerations, and the situation of this war was quite favorable to him, even if he had many concerns before the war, but it still gave him a lot of confidence to be able to take the Midnight Fort so easily. Michel VII felt that even if he could not win and gain independence this time, at least he could negotiate with both sides, and he would be able to get the title of Midnight County and Governor of Orknis with dignity, and then support the emperor in his counterattack against Hadrian's and Mahdia's empires. At that time, he would never hand over the Earl of Midnight to that milky imp again, he could consider having Viscount Jericho succeed to the throne, and of course, what he hoped most was for one of Old Winston's granddaughters to marry someone from the Cnoillere family, so that the Cnoille family could smoothly take the territory into their pockets. If that's the case, then it's not too much for him to take a look at the secrets of Fort Midnight.

But his wish was rejected by Baron Deniz. Even in the face of the prince's obvious threat, the old baron did not agree to open the door and did not give any reason. Not only was the prince annoyed, he had no way to deal with the dukes who had gone with him, but a little baron, and a traitor, what right did he have to refute him like that.

He forcibly let the soldier open the door, and this process naturally let Baron Deniz watch from the side, he wanted to see the baron's reaction, whether there was really something wrong, or if the old guy was simply playing for him.

To the Prince's disappointment, although he watched the door be smashed open by rude soldiers, Baron Deniz had the same face as usual, neither panicked nor secretly proud.

At this time, the prince's prudence prevailed in his heart again, and although he was curious, he naturally did not risk his life. He asked a few soldiers to take the baron down to find out the situation first, and if there was no problem, he went to see the secret that the old baron was firmly guarding.

A few minutes passed, and those who went down returned, including the baron. The non-commissioned officer who went down said that it was just a library down there, and there was nothing special. The Prince had no doubts about this answer, for the Earl of the First Father was very learned and well-read, and it would not be surprising if his collection was below. It's just that the Jericho family protects this place so mysteriously, but he doesn't understand.

Driven by curiosity, the Prince decided to go down and take a look, and since there was no danger, it would not hurt to see the secrets of the Jericho family and Midnight Castle, not to mention that it was his long-cherished wish.

However, in the next few minutes, he saw something that he would never forget.