Boulder City, Ducal Palace.

"Ahem, ahem...... cough cough cough cough ......"

The sound of violent coughing came intermittently, and the old Duke of Boulder, André, lay on the bed, describing it as withered, similar to the vigor of a year ago.

Lit incense puffs blue smoke from the brazier, releasing a mixture of spices and medicines.

In the huge bedroom, the windows were closed and deserted, and only the personal maid who had followed him for many years was left serving the old duke.

"Lord Duke, it's time to take your medicine."

The maid held a tray in both hands and said respectfully.

The old duke opened his cloudy eyes and took a hard look, and saw a silverware filled with black powder and a goblet filled with water on a tray.

"Boom...... This...... What is this?"

He asked hoarsely and weakly, his hard, slow voice as if it had been dragged out of a carriage that was about to fall apart.

"This is a secret elixir that His Highness Philip consulted from ancient books in the East, made from a mixture of the powder of the thousand-year-old mummy Yin and the Kolya ointment, mixed with the holy water of the Church, which should help your condition."

The maid said respectfully.

"Wood...... Mu Nai-yin? cough cough cough cough ......"

The old duke's voice raised slightly, and the cough became more intense.

"Lord Duke......

The maid put the tray on the side of the bed and hurriedly stepped forward to ease the old duke.

The old duke opened his mouth, took a few hard breaths, and said weakly:

"Fu ...... Help me up."

The maid took the old duke's dead arm, and lifted him up with difficulty.

Through the mercury mirror at the head of the bed, the old duke's cloudy gaze reflected his withered description and gray and disheveled hair, and his expression was a little dark.

He opened his mouth tremblingly, while the maid carefully mixed the black powder with holy water and fed him little by little.

The lake-shaped "elixir" entered his throat, carrying a spicy and spicy spice, which choked the old duke and coughed violently again, until he swallowed it with difficulty after a few sips of holy water.

And as the elixir entered his stomach, the old duke soon felt a warm power gradually spreading in his body, moisturizing his increasingly decaying body.

Regaining a little strength, the old duke's increasingly sluggish mind slowly began to turn:

"You...... You just said, who ...... Who brought the prescription?"

"Lord Duke, it's His Royal Highness Philip."

The maid replied respectfully.

"Philippines...... Philip......? He...... It's already here?"

The old duke was stunned.

"Lord Duke, His Royal Highness Philip arrived last night, and is now waiting outside with Lord Eleanor."

The maid said.

The old duke was silent.

After a long time, he let out a long sigh and said in a hoarse voice:

"Let them ...... Come in."

The door to the bedroom creaked like rotting dead wood, and the third prince, Philip and Eleanor, stepped into the room hand in hand.

"Lord Andrei (Father)......"

The third prince and his wife came to the bed together and bowed respectfully to the old duke.

The old duke looked at his daughter, whom he had not seen for many years, in a daze. ….

After so many years of not seeing her, she seems to have lost a lot of weight.

Her eyes are not as smart as they were at the beginning, and I am afraid that the life of the royal family has also brought great pressure.

Thinking of this, a trace of guilt welled up in the old duke's heart.

Maybe...... He shouldn't have let his daughter marry the Crescent royal family back then.

If there is no marriage, he can also let his daughter recruit a son-in-law and continue to inherit the territory.

If there is no marriage, his daughter will always be by his side, and he will not have to be alone in this last moment.

It's a pity that this world

There are no ifs in the world.

When he learned that he had an illegitimate child, he had already given up his daughter.

Perhaps this was the punishment of the gods, and his daughter became a deal for him to consolidate his rule, and now, he has lost not only his daughter, but also Lyno.

The Border family, which has been inherited for thousands of years, may be cut off in his generation.

Recalling the tall figure that slammed the door a year ago, a dark flash flashed in the depths of the old duke's eyes.

The old duke didn't know how to describe his current mood.

Despair?

Saddened?

No......

When the matter of the family's heir was really unfolded in front of him, he suddenly found that he was much calmer than he had imagined.

It could be that you don't have the energy to think so much anymore, or it may be that you're really tired.

Looking back on his life, at the age of fifteen, he succeeded to the throne in the turmoil of the kingdom, followed His Majesty the King on the battlefield, and defeated the enemy in the Star and Moon War again and again.

In his life, he does not know how many battles he participated in, and he does not know how many enemies he killed.

The army of the Kingdom of the Falling Star will tremble at the sight of his name, and the people of the Kingdom of the Crescent will cheer at the sight of his army.

He is known as the greatest duke of the Boulder millennium, André the Lion.

He's been high-spirited, he's been in the limelight.

He is in power, and he has nothing to say in the principality.

He is powerful and in charge of the king's ** team, and even His Majesty the king will refer to his opinions in the court.

However, it was also him, in order to take advantage of the opportunity of the war to further his progress in the kingdom, he excessively consumed the family's resources in the years of war, and exhausted the thousand-year-old heritage of the Boulder family.

However, it was also him, who fought for many years in order to gain the support of the nobles, and constantly delegated power to the nobles, which led to the gradual loss of control of the territory today.

When the lion is young, he may be able to strike the world.

However, there will be a time when you will grow old.

And when he finished, the great Bolt ...... There was not even a nobleman who was loyal to him.

He can even give a milky little girl a yin away!

The old duke knew that this had something to do with the fact that he had been too tight in the past few years.

But what could he do?

He just didn't want to leave a stormy Bolt for posterity.

Just like when His Majesty the King inherited the throne of the Crescent.

It may also ...... He must have been wrong in the first place.

Perhaps, he should not have spent most of his life on the battlefield.

Perhaps, he should care more about his territory.

Perhaps, he should care more about his family. ….

Perhaps, he should have treated the Castelles family in a different way from the beginning, to the promising earl, to the little girl who seemed to be young and ignorant, but in fact unfathomable......

A year was enough time for the Duke of Boulder to investigate something, and enough for him to figure out something.

But, it's too late.

Thinking of this, the old duke couldn't help but raise his head tremblingly and looked at his only daughter.

"Ae...... Eleanor."

With difficulty, he reached out to his daughter, and Eleanor quickly reached out to shake:

"Father......

Feeling the temperature of his daughter, the old duke's heart was a lot more steady.

At this moment, he suddenly felt as if everything else was unimportant.

That's it.

It doesn't matter anymore.

Whether it's the Duchy of Boulder or the Castels.

He's tired and he needs a break.

As for his own daughter......

Even if she doesn't become a duchess with real power and has the royal family as a backer, at least ...... You can live happily and happily.

He owed his daughter a lifetime.

Now, perhaps, it's time to pay the bill.

Thinking of this, the old duke took a deep breath and sat up with difficulty supporting his body.

"Lord Duke......

The maid hurriedly came to help him, but he refused.

The old duke sat on the bed panting, and it was so difficult for the once high blazing sun powerhouse to get up at this moment.

He looked directly into the eyes of the third prince, Philip, and his cloudy eyes seemed to be sharpened again at this moment.

"His Royal Highness Philip ......"

The old duke shook the hands of the third prince and used all his strength at this moment:

"I...... Know your ambitions, and know ...... Your desire to control Boulder!"

"Everything I have...... can give you, Boulder's everything...... It's all for you!"

The third prince, Philip, looked at the dying old man in front of him with some surprise, as if he did not expect that the rumored Boulder Lion, who regarded his family as his life and had a stubborn and gloomy personality, would say such a thing.

"However, I have one condition......

The old duke changed his words.

I saw him staring at the eyes of the third prince, as if he wanted to see through his heart:

"I...... I want you to be kind to Eleanor, I want you to ...... Let her get ...... Happiness!"

Listening to the old duke's words, Eleanor trembled slightly, and her blue-gray eyes seemed to flash a fluctuation.

The third prince, Philip, had his eyelids drooping slightly, and when he raised his head again to look at the old duke, he had already changed into a bright smile:

"Of course, honorable Lord Andrew."

"Eleanor is my most beloved wife, and I will give her happiness."

Hearing the promise of the third prince, the old duke finally felt a little relieved.

"Ahem...... Remember what you said."

He coughed violently a few times and said.

However, the old duke felt as if his strength had receded all of a sudden.

His body slipped slowly and uncontrollably, and his gaze rested on his daughter with a little guilt and pity.

It's just that when his gaze slid over his daughter's cuffs, he suddenly saw the dense scars under the shadows. ….

The old duke's breath stagnated almost instantly.

Suddenly, he regained his strength, almost struggling to reach out to Eleanor, and then ripped off her sleeve.

I saw that under the sleeves, the arm that should have been white and smooth, was covered with bruises and hideous scars.

The old duke's expression changed almost instantly.

The corrupt and astonishing coercion suddenly erupted from him, and the extraordinary power that had been unable to be mobilized was boiling again at this moment.

I saw the old duke angrily pick up the collar of the third prince and shouted angrily:

"Philip! This...... What's going on?!"

The third prince, Philip, had a calm face.

I saw him slowly but forcefully pull the old duke's withered fingers away from his clothes, and then gently got up, looked at him condescendingly, and sighed softly:

"Lord Duke, it would have been nice if you had said that earlier."

The old duke raised his head and looked at him angrily, but suddenly felt a pain in his abdomen, and couldn't help but spurt out a mouthful of black-red blood.

In an instant, he felt the strength in his body being rapidly withdrawn, and the burning pain spread rapidly from his stomach to all around his body.

The old duke raised his head and looked at the maid standing aside with difficulty, but saw that the other party slowly moved to the side of the third prince and stood respectfully, looking at him with only indifference.

The old duke's eyes widened:

"You're ......!"

The third prince turned sideways to block his view, possessed himself slightly, and said with a smile:

"Lord Duke, I've never liked charity, and I don't like to be forced

I am forced to trade something, and I hate to be a bargaining chip for other people's transactions."

"What I want, I have to get with my own hands, no matter what method and means I use."

"Duchy of Boulder, County of Castel, I'll get it myself."

"And ......"

He lowered his head, leaned into the old duke's ear, and whispered:

"You shouldn't have killed me in front of me."

Looking at the devil-like smile of the third prince, the old duke showed anger.

His gaze was fixed on the other party's eyes, and the cannibalistic gaze was eager to tear the third prince to pieces......

But soon, he suddenly laughed again:

"Ahem...... Hehe...... Haha......"

"Boulder...... And...... Cass...... Castel ...... ......

"Huh...... Hahaha......"

I saw the old duke laughing, the more he laughed, the more wanton he became, the more he laughed, the more he laughed, the more he laughed, the more he laughed, the more he laugh

Facing the old duke's meaningful smile, the third prince frowned slightly:

"Lord Duke, is there anything funny?"

However, the old duke did not answer.

He still had a wild smile.

But the eyes have lost their last focus.

A cloudy tear slowly slipped down his old cheeks, and his hands slowly slid down.

Until the moment he took his last breath, his blue-gray eyes were still wide open.

"Are you dead......

Looking at the lifeless old duke, the third prince frowned slightly, feeling bored.

However, the old duke's weird smile inexplicably made him feel irritable.

Intermittent sobs came from beside him, and the third prince looked at his wife beside him.

His expression turned cold and he said:

"Did I make you cry?"

Eleanor shuddered slightly, lowered her head, and her voice trembled:

"Hmm...... Wang ......"

"Yes, good."

The third prince rubbed her head with satisfaction.

Then he commanded the maid beside him:

"Let's deal with this place, the old duke has died of illness, and the masters of Boulder will be me and Eleanor from now on."

The maid shuddered slightly, and bowed her head in awe.

The third prince took Eleanor's hand and walked out of the bedroom.

Back in the hall of the Duke's Palace, he naturally sat down on the throne.

Soon, the hurried soldiers came in from outside the door, came to him panting, got down on one knee, and presented a piece of parchment in both hands:

"My lord, it's urgent from the north! The little count of Castell has returned to the realm!"

Philip frowned, quickly took it, quickly opened it and browsed it.

And looking at it, his face instantly became gloomy.

I saw him throw the parchment to the ground and cursed:

"Garbage, a bunch of garbage! I can't even stop a little girl!"

"With this strength, you still want to return to the Kingdom of Falling Stars?"

Boom