Swain's proposal puzzled both the Hecatet father and daughter, who thought it was a strange thing in itself to let Viscount Jericho of the Ministry of the Interior lead troops into battle. Although it can barely be said in terms of name and identity, what is the purpose of doing so?

"Do you want your own father to die on the battlefield?" asked the outspoken Artemis directly, she had a bad sense of Swain, and when she heard him make this proposal, the first thing that came to mind was that Swain wanted to kill his own father.

"How could it be. Swain wasn't nervous about Atmis's accusations, "My hope is that Viscount Ernest will be knighted for this exploit and avoid his inheritance of my title of Earl of Midnight." ”

This reason silenced the Hecate father and daughter. I have to say that Swain's idea is very reasonable, the Hecatet father and daughter can't think of the disadvantages of this plan for Viscount Jericho, and there is nothing to blame Sven, and this plan is indeed beautiful, Count Hecate is surprised that Swain can come up with such an ingenious idea. According to the general view, this can indeed solve the biggest conflict between Jericho and his son, but for Hecate, who knows more about the inside story, they have more than that.

It seems that Count Jericho is very reluctant to let Viscount Jericho still have the slightest threat to his title, is it because of the secret that Count Midnight does not know? Count Heckat looked at Swain carefully, and he couldn't help but be more curious about the mysterious secret behind Count Midnight.

"It's a good idea, but it's a War Department business, and we're not in a position to put a beak. Although it was a good plan, Count Hecate still didn't want to participate, and if he did, he would be suspected of overstepping his authority, which he had to worry about.

"Viscount Ernest is a member of the Ministry of the Interior, and you are a colleague in the system with Your Excellency the Earl, so of course you can choose to support it. Moreover, I have already proposed to His Highness Beria, and I think he will support it. ”

The news came as a surprise to the Hecate father and daughter, who had no idea when Swain had been in contact with His Royal Highness Beria, the Minister of the Interior. Although Swain's words were not dead and used very vague wording, since Swain had released the news, it would not be groundless.

"Our thirteen classes are directly under the department of His Majesty the Emperor, not to mention, if you have the support of His Highness Beria, you won't need us, will you?" Count Hecate still wanted to shirk it, and if His Highness Beria was involved, then he would not be able to participate in this matter. Thinking of Viscount Jericho's position between the two highnesses, this is not good to say that it will turn into a factional dispute, even if His Royal Highness Beria is favored by Emperor Nicholas I, but he is not the emperor after all, as a department directly under the emperor, if he shows a position on the issue of succession to the throne, it will really be self-defeating.

"Just because you belong directly to His Majesty the Emperor, your words are more shareable than the other directors of the Ministry of the Interior, aren't they?" Swain continued to persuade the Count as if he had no idea of Count Hecate's concerns.

"It is precisely because we are directly subordinate to His Majesty the Emperor that we must remain loyal to His Majesty. Count Jericho, please do not forget our position. Artemis spoke, her words were already a faint reminder to Sven that he was still a person within the surveillance range of the Thirteen Lessons, and such words and deeds were enough to be blacklisted by the Thirteen Classes and reported to the Emperor. And Artmis's reminder is naturally not out of good intentions, because of Young's attack on Swain, the Hecate family was caught by Sven with a handle, but now Sven's words are equivalent to giving the Hecate family a handle, Artemis naturally hopes that the two sides can keep their own secrets, and she doesn't have to help Jericht, who she hates.

"If you have to say that......" Swain still looked calm, not at all afraid of Artmis's covert threat, "then can I understand that if I propose directly to His Majesty the Emperor, the Hecate family will be willing to support it?"

This made Artemis stunned, she thought that Swain wanted His Highness Belial to open this mouth, but Swain didn't seem to care at all, and planned to go and make this suggestion to the emperor himself. If this is the case, then his words and deeds are indeed not a conspiracy, but a formal procedure, and the Hecate family has no way to accuse him.

"If His Majesty the Emperor agrees, we naturally have nothing to say. Count Hecate spoke before Artemis could speak. After all, the Earl is an old politician in the official family, and his vague official tone is much better than what the fast-talking Artemis said. However, if the Emperor would have agreed directly, then what else would Swain do with them?

"Your answer does not satisfy me. Naturally, Swain would not be fooled by Count Hecate's words, he didn't want the cooperation of the Hecate family, "I hope you can really help, then I will be grateful." ”

What use do I want your gratitude. Count Hecate scolded in his heart, but he really couldn't do anything about Sven, Jericht's family was too much of a headache for him, and he couldn't afford to provoke it, but he still found it, and now Count Hecate can't get rid of this trouble.

"However, we are not in a position to comply with your request. ”

Swain glanced at Artmis, then at Count Hecate. "I'll give you three hundred thousand Imperial Geer, and you don't have to spend anything. In that way, you have a position. ”

Artemis was bewildered by Sven's glance, and even more so at his point. 300,000 Imperial Geer, this is to bribe us directly, is this Count Jericho suddenly stupid? Artmis, who doesn't understand what Swain is talking about, only thinks that this Count Jericho wants to use money to open the way, but a department like Lesson 13 is the most unbribed, is this how this young earl, who has always been very shrewd, thinks about things like this?

Count Hecate understood what Swain meant, and this made him smile bitterly. While Swain's proposal did put the Hecate family and Count Jericho on the same side, it was no different from bribery. Moreover, why did the Hecate family, who didn't want to wade into this troubled water, accept his proposal?

"I beg your pardon for refusing. The Count rejected the offer outright.

Swain, who had received no good response from the Hecate family for either proposal, was still not upset. "Do you think that's good?"

"What?" This time, Count Hecate didn't understand what Swain meant.

"With the title of Earl of Glamorgan, do you think this is good for the Hecate family?"

Swin's words made the faces of both Hecate and his daughter change. Artemis had complained before, after all, the count of Count Hecate is the Count of Glamorgan, the name of the Count of Glamorgan drenched in blood and curses, and even the count himself had considerable concerns when he accepted this canonization, but in the end, the count still couldn't hold back his desire for the title, and was unwilling to keep being a nobleman with only a low-level title, so that the name of Hecate would be dusted forever. However, who can know whether His Majesty Nicholas I, who has been suppressing the power of the nobility and recovering the land of the nobility, suddenly canonized the Heckat family as the Earl of Glamorgan, and also gave the fief of Fort Govellen on a rare basis, whether it was a whim or something else.

Earl Heckat pondered for a long time, Swain's proposal might indeed help him get out of such a disturbing situation, but the danger of Earl Glamorgan was uncertain after all, and perhaps it was really just the whim of the Emperor, who simply wanted to reward the Sheikat family for their loyal devotion over the years. And once he had reached an alliance of this magnitude with Count Jericho, he would face immediate and real trouble.

"Please let me ...... Think again. After thinking about it for a long time, Count Hecate still couldn't make up his mind, or maybe he said such a prevarication just out of his usual demeanor, not wanting to refuse to say it to his face, and causing Swin to lose face so much that he completely lost the opportunity to cooperate.

"Of course, I'm not in a hurry. I've been bothered for a long time today, so please ...... Take care. Sven, who had been stubbornly dragging the Hecate family to his side, suddenly became reasonable and took the initiative to leave.

After Swain left the Earl's room, Artemis couldn't help but ask her father. "Dad, what does Jericho mean?

Count Hecate glanced at his daughter, sighed, and remained silent.

————————————

The tense war situation has not yet had much impact on Astrad I, and although some students are already nervous, Principal Russell insists that the school continue to hold classes as usual.

Astrad I Public School is located in the western suburbs of Deweide, according to the Emerald River, surrounded by mostly mountainous terrain, will not become the main direction of attack of the rebels, to the south is the 20,000 standing army of Gongwei Imperial Capital, and further west is the St. George River and Yanwan Province in the hands of the Empire, the geographical location of the public school is even safer than Deweide.

Some students may be disappointed by the decision not to suspend classes, but for Sophia, who has only been here for two or three days, there are not so many other thoughts. Although she was a little disappointed that she couldn't go back to see her brother right away, the war in the south also meant that Swain wouldn't be back at Midnight Fort right away, which made Sophia, who was worried about being left alone in the imperial capital, somewhat relieved.

The bathrooms in the dorms can provide showers, but Sophia, who is used to the large baths and hot springs of the Midnight Castle, prefers the spacious and comfortable public baths. Although it is a public bath, the Astrad I School is after all a centuries-old aristocratic school, and the bathrooms here are definitely comparable to those of the Metternich family, not only clean and spacious, but also beautifully decorated, and even the water outlet of the bath is made of pure gold.

Although Sophia likes the spacious bath, because she can shower in her own room, not all students come here to bathe, and she doesn't like to be honest with others, so this luxurious large bathroom is often not used by few people, and the money wasted here every day by the Astrad I College is a considerable expense, but the wealthy public school has never stopped opening the bathroom.

After showering, Sophia soaked in the huge bath and enjoyed the feeling. The feeling of the moderate temperature of the water enveloping her whole body reminded Sophia of the hot springs of Fort Midnight. Because Swain likes to be clean, the baths at Midnight Fort are used every day, and he also enjoys the hot spring baths every once in a while. When she was a child, Sophia has always enjoyed the happiness brought by water with Swain, but Swain really likes the comfort of bathing, and little Sophia just likes to play in the water with her brother. Of course, Sophia is not that big now.

Thinking back to her time at Midnight Castle, Sophia misses her brother even more. She let her body slide slowly down the wall of the pool, completely submerging herself in the water, leaving only the part above her nose on the surface of the water, allowing herself to enjoy her brother's favorite feeling to the fullest.

It was only noon, and Sophia was alone in the huge bathroom, so she could enjoy it peacefully. However, just as she was basking in the memories of the good old days, she didn't notice that someone had come in again.

There was a rush of running, and then Sophia listened to the cry of "huha", and a girl jumped into the bath as if she were diving. The originally calm water suddenly splashed with a huge splash, pushed by the current, and Sophia, who lost her balance, slipped into the bottom of the water, and she choked on a mouthful of water in embarrassment without holding her breath.

"Ah——, sure enough, the bath here is comfortable, the bathtub at home is too small!" Victoria enjoyed the freedom brought by the large bath as if she was surfing on the beach, and when she saw Sophia struggling out of the water, she couldn't help but be startled.

"Ahem, ahem, ahem......" Sophia coughed incessantly, the feeling of water pouring into her nose was so uncomfortable that if she hadn't learned to swim with her brother, she might not have been able to climb up.

"Ah, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Victoria couldn't see Sophia's face because her long wet hair was sticking to her face. She hurriedly went up to support the girl who had been offended by her, and sincerely apologized to her, "I didn't see you, I thought there was no one here......"

When Sophia raised her face, both of them were stunned.

Although the two sisters are not exactly the same as the other twins because they have lived and been educated in different places since they were children, they can recognize them at a glance because of their blood relationship.

Looking at the appearance they could see every day in the mirror, the two sisters quickly guessed each other's identities. Victoria was stunned at first, and then immediately surprised to save Sophia.

"It's you, it's you, me, my sister, my Sophia!"

Compared to her sister's heartfelt joy, Sophia was not so excited. After a brief loss of consciousness, Sophia's face also showed a faint smile, a little reserved, and a little Swain's demeanor.

"Yes, long time no see, sister. ”

Victoria was a little strange when she hadn't heard this sentence for a long time, but she quickly reacted. After all, they came to this world together, and although they don't have memories of that time, they did see each other at first sight.

"Well, it's been a long time...... Sophia. ”

Victoria sniffed, and although it wasn't her who fell into the water, she felt a little sour now. She let go of Sophia and looked closely at her sister's face. Although they have exactly the same face, they have long hair and short hair, which is very easy to recognize. And thinking of what happened to her sister, her eyes were already dripping.

Although I often imagine the scene after seeing my sister, and I think about a lot of things to say to my sister, but when she really saw it, she held back so many emotions in her heart, but it didn't turn into a decent sentence.

"You...... Are you alright?"

After thinking about it for a long time, Victoria also popped out of her mouth, she really had too many things to say to Sophia, but so many words could not be said, and finally only the simplest greeting.

Sophia didn't think about it so much, although she was happy to see her own sister, but the first thing she thought of was what Swain had told her before leaving Midnight Castle.

"You should also teach your sister the etiquette of the Jericho family and bring it back to teach it well. ”

Her brother's words echoed in Sophia's ears, preventing her from smiling like Victoria.

"I'm fine, sister. Over the years, I have always felt very happy and blessed with the care and love of my elder brother. ”

Victoria subconsciously didn't want to mention Swain at this most pleasant time, and she couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed when she talked about that brother, so she tried to change the subject as much as she could.

"I heard from my mother that you have been in the imperial capital for a while, why don't you come to our house?

Hearing Victoria mention her father, Sophia lowered her eyebrows and smiled.

"Father's words, my brother and I have already met...... My father didn't seem to want to see my brother, so we didn't feel uncomfortable. ”

Sophia's words made Victoria's smile froze, although she didn't know when her father met Swain and Sophia, but she could fully imagine what kind of attitude her father would have when he saw Swain, whom he hated the most.

"But...... But you can also come by yourself, no matter what, my mother misses you so much, and she was the saddest at the beginning. You see, the ...... That brother has already visited his mother, and he doesn't hate her, does he?"

"I know. However, I can't leave my brother, for whom I am his only relative. ”

He is also my only relative. Although Sophia thought so in her heart, she didn't want to break her sister's heart, so she didn't say it.

At this point, Victoria can also see that Sophia is still quite resistant to her father, and even has some prejudices against her and her mother. She sighed helplessly and hugged her sister tightly.