"Viscount Ernest No. Jericho!"

When Ernest appeared, someone let out a small exclamation, thinking of the identity of the Count Jericho sitting in front of them, and these old people who had dealt with people in the diplomatic arena for many years immediately understood that the Marquis of Metternich had deliberately invited the father and son together. And looking at the sudden cold atmosphere in the room after Ernest appeared, they couldn't help but secretly complain, if they had known that it would become like this, they would not have come to the Marquis at this time, and as a result, they would not have felt comfortable with themselves.

Compared to the bitter faces of the Foreign Ministry officials, Metternich watching the play, and Swain's indifference, Sophia was the most responsive of the people in the room. She turned her head to look at her father, her eyes filled with excitement, her crimson eyes rippling, tears pouring out. After all, this is her father, and it is impossible to say that there is no emotion. However, after a momentary gaffe, Sophia immediately remembered that her brother was by her side, and she turned back again. Seeing her brother's more indifferent face, Sophia lowered her head in fear, she was afraid that her appearance just now would make her brother angry, and she didn't dare to speak even more because she was uneasy.

Passing through the reactions of everyone in the room, Ernest walked over to the couch directly across from Swin and Sophia and sat down. He looked at the son he had met for the first time, but there was an enemy look in his eyes. It can be said that Swain's appearance is similar to what Ernest imagined, and he can see his own shadow in this young man, but more often than not, the shadow of his grandfather, or the traditional Jericho.

While Viscount Ernest was looking at Swain, Swain was also observing the Viscount. Ernest should be exactly forty years old this year, when a man is in his prime. His expression was very serious, especially his countenance, which had also left traces of majesty in his years of work, making him look extremely oppressive, with a unique momentum as a commander. This man had a resolute face, his dark eyes were staring at Swain like sharp knives, and behind his stereotypical expression, everyone felt a kind of power that was about to explode, and that fierce feeling was directed towards Swain, so that he ignored Sophia beside Sven.

When the two Jericho's gazes collided with each other, everyone could barely breathe, the Marquis finally spoke. "Why do you say that, Ernest, don't you want your son to have a good future?" asked the Marquis, smiling as if he didn't know anything, though he knew the contradiction between the two Jerichos.

"The Earl of Midnight is an undead spirit bound to the land, and it has long been unaware of the passage of time. For it, no matter how the times change, he will not be willing to leave the burial place where he is buried, and would rather be washed away by the torrent of time with his cemetery than embrace the new era. ”

Ernest's loud and threatening voice stunned several diplomats, and his words confused them even more. It sounds like Viscount Ernest is criticizing those fiefdom nobles in the south, accusing them of not knowing how to keep up with the trend of the times and maintaining their independence in today's era, but this viscount is accusing his son and his own family, has this guy fallen out with the Jericho family to this extent?

"Whether it's the undead or the times, don't talk about such a heavy topic when your father and son meet for the first time. The Marquis played a round game, and to his surprise, Ernest, who was usually taciturn but still knew how to advance and retreat, was now as sharp as his son.

"This disagreement has dragged on for almost twenty years, and this is the first time I have seen the Earl of Midnight again in nearly twenty years, so it is better to settle this issue now, and who knows if there will be another twenty years. ”

The Marquis sighed helplessly, he was deeply tired. Dealing with the Jericho family is so troublesome, whether it is Winston Sr., Ernest, or Swain, these Jerichos all have one thing in common: they don't like to accept other people's advice. So he looked at Swain, and since he refused to accept his offer to mediate, then let them solve it themselves. The Marquis thought of this, and his expression relaxed a little.

"That's fine. Swain, who had been silent since Ernest appeared, finally spoke, "If the pay is greater than the gain, then use words and diplomacy, and if the benefit is greater than the pay, then use force and war." ”

Ernest snorted coldly, as if he was not used to Swain's arrogance. "But for the self-contained, self-enclosed Midnight Fort, diplomacy and war are too extravagant means to be used. ”

"So, shouldn't this realm be called invincible?"

"Huh—invincible?" Ernest's eyes looked like a beast about to eat people, and the diplomat sitting next to him couldn't help but tremble, "If Your Majesty wants to take away the title of Earl of Midnight, will the Empire give up as long as Fort Midnight says that he is invincible? ”

"The so-called peaceful situation is relative, and the world is like a city built of building blocks. Although Ernest gave a huge oppressive force, Sven was still the same, "This world, this society, is made up of pieces of building blocks, the empire may be the largest and strongest of them, but if you want to maintain this building block city, the empire also needs the support of other building blocks, and it also needs to support other building blocks." People, organizations, countries, everything has its rightful place in this society, they are supported by elements in other positions, and they also support elements in other positions, each performing its own duties, each with its own share, this is the so-called society, this is the so-called situation. If the current situation is broken and some building blocks are broken, we will lose peace, but we will not lose society, we will lose the order of the original structure, but we will get a new structure, a new order. ”

Swain's words made everyone think deeply, they did not expect such a young man to think so deeply about the social and philosophical level, so much so that Franz couldn't help but ask: "But if the current peace is broken, then the new order will only be a bad society." Once an all-out war comes, people's lives will only become more and more difficult, our factories will be turned into ruthless machines for the production of weapons, and death will only be a number in the statistics book.

When Franz had said this, the old marquis glared at him fiercely, and he quickly shrank back in fright. None of the people present were ordinary people, and when they heard this theory, they immediately thought of the recent tensions between the Empire and Hadrian. They weren't sure if Swain's words meant something, but Franz's statement was clearly an attempt to keep the peace, and it was the same as the current Foreign Secretary Mencken, and the Marquis of Metternich, who had criticized Menken just now, couldn't help but get angry when he heard that his grandson was demolishing his own platform, even if he didn't mean to.

"Not really. There is no difference between good and bad societies, only differences in the degree of development. If you are looking at society from a social point of view, you should understand that society is a collection of the whole human race, and it does not care about the feelings of the individual. If we want to win, we need more advanced weapons, more advanced tactical theories, and more developed science and technology, all of which are factors that promote social progress. What you are talking about is that life is difficult, as long as we get through this period, our society will get a qualitative leap, and it is worth it, isn't it? Peace, bring satisfaction and laziness, excessive social welfare will only make people slack off and hinder the development and progress of society. If an empire wants to be strong, it must defeat others, and if society wants to progress and develop, it must concentrate resources, whether it is war or diplomacy, it is only a means to achieve this goal. ”

If Swain's words just now were thought-provoking, then the words now are appalling. Does he want to advocate war? This question invariably arose in the minds of the people.

"Again, that's how you are. While everyone was looking at Swain, Ernest stood up in a depressed tone, "This is the theory you have always adhered to, the holy law that you have held up as a classic. You don't care about people, as long as the society and the world are moving in the direction you want. So you feel detached, just hide in the Midnight Castle and watch everything, for you, it is true that the structure is broken, and those who suffer will not be you, so of course you can pretend to be so-called philosophers and continue to advocate your ways. But don't forget, as long as you are still human, as long as you can't get out of this society, when it collapses, you will also be a powerless worm under the torrent. ”

These words were quite terrible, and many people couldn't help but change color a little. Sophia looked at her father and brother even more uneasily, although she had long been mentally prepared for the feud between her father and brother, and the dispute that was bound to come, but now what Ernest said was beyond her mental preparation, and almost painted a terrible scene in front of her that she could not afford.

"So what?" Swain didn't dodge, but looked straight at Ernest, "Shall I put on a compassionate face and pretend to give small favors to others, so that I can be considered a good person?" I said, there is no good or bad in society, and there are no people, don't impose your naïve values on others." Since you don't want to be forced on you by the values of Midnight Castle, then don't use your tricks to teach me a lesson. Although Swain's expression was still calm, everyone felt the excitement and anger in his words, as if he finally couldn't control himself and showed some inner feelings.

The dispute has reached this level, although the two Jerichos still maintain the appearance of decency, but in fact they are already-for-tat and incompatible, especially when the tone of the two people has no room for relaxation, and the fuse that has been hidden for nearly twenty years finally caused an explosion.

In the midst of everyone's stunned and even horrified gazes, Ernest pulled out the matching gun from his waist and pressed it against Swain's head. "I shouldn't have given you birth in the first place. His voice was so cold that he could pull the trigger at any moment.

The sudden change made everyone shocked, the diplomats did not expect that this time the meeting would be so unfortunate and loaded with so many things, and the Marquis of Metternich also changed his face, since Ernest appeared, the scene was out of his control, he didn't expect the two Jerichos to collide so fiercely together, and now even the gun was out.

"Damn it, put the gun down, Ernest, you're an official of the Empire, do you know what you're doing?" the Marquis scolded angrily, but Ernest was unmoved. The Marquis was a little helpless now, and in this case, he would not be able to find anyone else to help him for a while. Do you want to count on these guys here? The Marquis looked at the diplomats who took care of themselves, even if they were no match for the commander of the imperial capital's garrison, not to mention that they didn't have the courage to do so. His grandson was better, and immediately blocked in front of the Marquis after Ernest pulled out his gun, which made the old man a little moved, but looking at his trembling legs, the Marquis also knew that it was impossible for him to stop Ernest.

To everyone's surprise, when a group of big men didn't dare to move, Sophia stood up and prepared to rush to her father. She already had a very uneasy feeling when Ernest stood up, and when she saw Ernest pull out the gun, her mind went blank, and her body moved on its own, wanting to protect her brother.

Seeing Sophia's actions, Ernest couldn't help but frown. But he didn't have the time to repay the guilt he felt for his daughter, and his murderous intent towards Swain was genuine. He raised his free left hand, already thinking about how hard to knock Sophia unconscious.

But when Ernest was about to make a move, Swain took the first step to hold Sophia back. Sophia, who was stopped by her brother, looked at her brother suspiciously and uneasily, and when she saw Swain's already calm face, she slowly calmed down.

Swain stood up slowly, his expression still the same even when he was being pointed at gunpoint. It seems that the physical threat is not as touching him as Ernest a few words.

"You've long since missed the only chance to kill me. ”

"Then try it. ”

Ernest has opened the insurance.

"Ahh

He had been here for a long time, and the servants and guests who had hurried through the corridor from time to time had passed in front of him, but they had not seen him. He had been using the demon to keep an eye on the situation in the room, originally he was just going to observe in order to keep a record, but the situation has developed to such a point that he has to take action, otherwise he is afraid that if a Jericho dies here today, it will be his dereliction of duty.

Count Hecate drove his moth to attach the chandelier to the room, and then the demon exploded silently, breaking the chain from which the chandelier was hanging, and in no time, the huge chandelier fell.

Another accident brought the hearts of the marquis and the others directly to their throats, and several diplomats almost crawled to the edge of the room, and Franz also hurried to protect his grandfather from being hurt. With such a huge momentum, even Ernest couldn't help but be diverted from some of his attention. The lights in the hallway were also turned off by Earl Hecate, and after the chandelier was smashed, the parlor was completely darkened. Many were in a panic, fearing that Ernest's bullet would hit them.

And when the crowd was scared, the gunshots rang out.

A group of big men let out a scream of shame, so many so that the cooks in the nearby kitchen heard it.

When Joseph Noe Metternich, the youngest son of the Marquis, who had found out that something had happened here, came over with someone, the gentlemen, who had been yelled at by the Marquis and quieted down, also felt ashamed of what they had just done, and came out of their hiding places with red faces.

Between the disappearance of the lights and the arrival of Joseph with his men, it was no more than five minutes at most. Joseph had the servants bring a lantern to restore the light in the drawing-room, and the gentlemen were finally fully settled.

"Don't look at me, let's see if anyone is hurt!" Joseph was startled when he saw the smashed chandelier, and hurriedly went to see if the marquis was injured, but was scolded back by the marquis. The calmed people had time to see Jericho, and they were surprised to see that the gun in Ernest's hand shot out an imperial flag.

Ernest stared blankly at the gun in his hand, he felt something pass by him in the darkness, but he was sure that no one had touched the gun in his hand, and now that his police gun had become a toy gun, he was a little overwhelmed.

The Marquis was relieved to see that no one was injured, and if someone was really injured or even killed here tonight, then to hell with Metternich's reputation. "Ernest!" the Marquis waited sternly for Ernest, "how old are you to scare me, an old man, with such a trick?"

Ernest couldn't help but be stunned when he heard the marquis's words. Not only him, but the people in the room just now were surprised, they obviously heard the gunshot just now, why did the Marquis say that Viscount Jericho was joking with a toy gun, he didn't look like that kind of person. However, everyone immediately came back to their senses, it was clear that the Marquis was shielding Viscount Jericho and hiding it for him, after all, no one was injured now, everyone was just frightened.

Ernest withdrew his suspicious gaze from the gun in his hand, and looked solemnly at the Jericho brothers and sisters standing in front of him, especially Sophia, who was holding Swain's arm tightly and looking at him with fear and hatred in his eyes for a long time.

"Sorry for the trouble, Marquis Metternich. I'm going to take my leave. ”

In the end, Ernest gave up the idea of taking Sophia away and walked out of the parlor alone, and Joseph did not stop him, but under his father's gaze, he also realized that he did not need to send the viscount.

After Ernest left, the diplomats also took their leave, and they didn't want to stay in this place any longer. Franz then left the room with the Jericho siblings, and Joseph, who had wanted someone to clean the place, was kicked out by the Marquis. When everyone had left, the Marquis slowly stood up, walked closer to the door, picked up a black feather from the ground, and his solemn gaze was full of doubt and incomprehension.