Dust of History Chapter 13: Inheritance

"I underestimate you." The Duke's voice had lost all vitality, and he just spat out the words one by one. "You have been only asking about political affairs, so I have never been wary of you. I thought you were the same as those military ministers, but they were all upright and foolish. I didn't expect you to be able to see some clues, and you are still here. Negotiate an alliance with the original enemy before the battle, and put on a good show for us."

"People who play with power must have brains. But those who don't play with power are not all stupid." Captain Roland said lightly.

The Duke nodded slowly. If the desire is too strong, it will blind the mind. If you pay too much attention to some things, you will not be able to feel and grasp the whole picture of things and the subtle changes in them. Attracted by one leaf, the whole forest cannot be seen.

He actually knows these truths. But he has been chasing after the wind and waves for a long time in power and conspiracy, and he is too addicted to it. The eyes will only distinguish things by tricks.

Captain Roland pointed to Asa. "Although I don't know him very well, and the last time the members of the regiment were killed by a necromancer, I had doubts about him, but at least I can see that the wounds on the Bishop's body are not like his, who can't even use a sword. It was stabbed by someone. Although you have covered up the wound, at least in my eyes, it is trying to cover it up. Even if I am not sure it is you, I am sure it is not him."

The Duke smiled wryly. He himself felt that even the expression on his face was collapsing. "I actually forgot the vision of the number one swordsman in the empire."

"That's because your trap is so perfect. So you don't need to care about other details at all." Captain Roland praised lightly, but there was no friendly meaning in his eyes. "The foreshadowing of the previous necromancer killing the members of the Holy Knight Order, the arrest warrant signed by the bishop, and the witnesses of hundreds of priests. Even if I see something wrong, I can only obediently follow what you arranged for me Go down the road."

"Actually, if it wasn't for the strange attitude of the bishop when he treated the necromancer incident before, even if I was suspicious, I would never dare to negotiate a compromise with a necromancer, and I would not be able to learn about the arrest warrant. The real inside story. Since the wanted person will not be the murderer, there are not many people in the entire capital who are qualified to be the murderer. Based on some clues and your performance at the scene at the time, I can almost be sure that you are the murderer .” Captain Roland's voice and eyes became sharp together. "Why did you kill Bishop Ronis?"

"Why?" The Duke smiled bitterly. "Because he is in front of me, and I am in front of him. He has to strike first, so either I die or he dies."

"What the **** is going on?"

"I'm too lazy to talk about it. Now that you have taken control of the overall situation, you will find out if you investigate slowly." The Duke sighed. "But even if you join forces with this necromancer, based on what you know and the means, you will definitely not be able to reach this point." He slowly turned his head and looked at Rodhart. There was no anger of being betrayed in his eyes, only death-like frustration. "Many of them are arranged by him, but I don't know how you can win him over."

"We didn't win him over, but he chose to believe in friends and justice." Captain Roland also looked at Rodhart, with approval already in his eyes. "Just after I discussed with old Mr. Sandro, when I suspected you but didn't know what to do, he came to me. He told me that he believed that his friend was definitely not a spy of the Necromancer Guild. He believed that this There must be something hidden in the matter."

Asa looked at Rodhart, quite surprised.

Although the topic fell on himself, Rod Hart still stood so straight, still so calm and calm, and showed such a kind and gentle smile to Asa.

"You know, the person who dared to stand up and speak for a friend at that time and that situation must be a person who has vision, responsibility and confidence in his own judgment. So I trust him and put what we doubt Tell him everything. As for him coming to you to lurk, it is his own suggestion. We can use your plan to push the boat smoothly, and this is all thanks to him."

"His credit..." The Duke thought for a while, and a little light suddenly appeared in his eyes that had been turned gray by failure and despair. It seemed that the stagnant pool of rotten water was suddenly stimulated again, and some anger came from the bottom. He looked at Rodhart. "I remember that you participated in the battle against necromancers."

"Yes." Rod Hart nodded, still answering politely and humbly.

"According to what Captain Roland said. You went to find him immediately after the battle, which showed your trust in your friends and justice." The Duke even regained some vitality in his voice, and his mouth was still pursed. With a slight angle, it seems to be smiling slightly.

Rod Hart nodded and sighed with regret. "It was only after I received the order that I learned that Bishop Ronis had been assassinated. I was really shocked for a while. Also, the scene was too big, so I hesitated for a while, so I didn't catch up with the battle to stop the head and old Mr. Sandro. Fortunately, they can distinguish the situation themselves."

The Duke thought for a while and nodded slowly. His expression is still decadent, lost and sad. But it is no longer that lifeless. It was as if he had regained something of his life through these conspiracies that had long been a part of his soul. "I said before, I know you are a man with foresight, determination and city. But now I know that my evaluation of you is still low." He forced out a wry smile. "I thought I was raising a cat that hadn't become a tiger yet, but it turned out to be a tiger pretending to be a cat and trying to swallow me up. But I'm a little relieved to know this, because I'm not so defeated Confused, it’s just that the new generation is better than the old.”

"I'm sorry. I'm not against you, Lord Duke." The expression on Rodhart's face was very serious and sincere, as if a child was expressing his heart to an adult. "I just do what I think I should do."

"Good bearing. Good eyesight." The Duke smiled and nodded. His smile is a wry smile, but it seems to be a bit understanding. Like a loser in a wonderful but difficult game of poker, although he is completely defeated, he is not angry or hysterical. In addition to the frustration and loss of failure, he also has admiration for his opponent and even a little sympathy for each other.

But others obviously couldn't understand the deep meaning in his eyes. Captain Roland sighed, he seemed to feel a little regretful that such an old, treacherous and difficult enemy like the Duke gave up so quickly and thoroughly when he failed. "Actually, I didn't expect you to admit defeat as soon as you saw us appear. I thought you would struggle a bit, and at least defend yourself."

"Since you all dare to appear in front of me at the same time, it means that you have no intention of giving me any room to struggle. In such an occasion, there are no means and tricks that can work. Don't I even see this? Is it?" The Duke glanced lightly at Captain Roland and Sandro's faces. "Since the two of you want to kill me, it's not much different from killing a chicken. Why should I die ugly like a chicken?"

Captain Roland looked at the Duke and was silent for a while, then sighed: "Actually, with your ingenuity, no matter how well you use it, it is enough to leave your name in history. Even you don't have to be in such a hurry, take your time After more than ten years, the entire empire may really fall into your hands. Why do you have to go farther and farther on the road of power, and even bury yourself."

The Duke was slightly taken aback. Looking back now, it seems that was the case. Wouldn't it be better if I didn't go further and further like this?

But after thinking about it, the Duke shook his head with a wry smile. Impossible, because I have already started to walk. Once a lot of things start, there is no way to stop. After victory, there will be new goals, and then we will keep making progress, wanting to go higher and stronger... Finally... the Duke suddenly remembered a story he told his daughter a long time ago, one that once worn There are only fairy tales of shoes that dance till they die. I am the one who likes to dance, and power and ambition are the magic shoes, which drive people crazy to death once they are put on.

Commander Roland's words interrupted the Duke's train of thought: "You are wrong because you are too ambitious and your desire is too strong."

"I said it. I was not wrong, I was defeated." The Duke stood up abruptly, his voice completely restored. "I am not wrong. I am not the first to walk on the road of power and ambition, and I will definitely not be the last. I just failed and fell by the side of the road. Naturally, others will follow in my footsteps. , stepping on my dead body to go higher." The Duke didn't look at anyone, but looked up at the ceiling. He has a serious face, as if a lonely believer is reciting his own Bible. "The reason for my failure is that I was too complacent and obsessed with the power of power. If my desire is too strong, my reason will be blocked. If I pay too much attention to some things, I will not be able to feel and grasp the whole picture of things and the subtle changes in them. If you are attracted by the leaves, you will not be able to see the entire forest. Only by not sticking to the things in front of you, and setting your sights wider, can you go further. Pursue and not be obsessed with power, and you can get real power. My latecomer They will definitely learn from my lessons and go further than me.”

Asa remained silent the whole time, quietly listening to the conversation between the Duke and Captain Roland. Rod Hart also listened quietly and carefully. Sandro seemed to have no energy here, he would ponder for a while and look around for a while.

The Duke lowered his head, glanced at everyone's face, and said slowly and calmly: "I repeat, I did nothing wrong, I just failed." He sat down again, picked up the The rapier turned around and aimed at his chest and inserted it in.

Asa took a step forward subconsciously, but he saw that Captain Roland and Sandro did not move, and they also stopped.

The rapier pierced through the Duke's body, protruding from the back and then piercing the back of the chair, and the blood continuously soaked out on the chest. The sword pierced right through his heart.

With a plain expression of pain, the Duke sighed. He met Asa's strange gaze, and said in a throbbing voice: "Actually, sometimes I also think that although a person like you who ignores everything and pursues nothing is a bit stupid, he is also a bit stupid." It's really relaxing..." As the bright red on the chest and the back of the chair continued to expand, the Duke's voice became softer, and his head slowly lowered. Finally, he died.

The study was very quiet, everyone except Sandro looked at the corpse of the Duke who was still sitting there with different eyes. After a while, Asa suddenly asked: "Why did you let him commit suicide?"

"He's going to die anyway. Suicide is the same." Captain Roland replied.

"I don't mean that. I mean he died like this. We can't produce any evidence. Will others believe that he killed the bishop?"

"Other people won't believe it. They don't have to."

Asa froze: "Then... I..."

"I'm sorry." Although he was saying sorry, Captain Roland looked at Asa calmly, as if he didn't mean to apologize at all. "You are still a wanted criminal. The crime of killing the bishop has to be charged to you."

"Why?" Asa couldn't figure it out at all, the culprit had already been awarded the head, but the blame could not be unloaded.

"Duke Mrak's reputation is very good, both in government and in opposition. He is also very powerful. You know this."

"I know." Asa nodded. The duke's reputation is not only good, but combined with his current power, it has almost become the common goal of all aspirants in the government and the opposition.

"If we suddenly announce that he is actually the real murderer of Bishop Ronnies, there will be an uproar in the government and the opposition. What will happen if the image of integrity and ability in everyone's mind is suddenly shattered? Like?"

"I don't know." Asa shook his head.

"External. This is a big scandal for the empire. The reputation of the empire will be hit among countries, and the relationship between the church and the empire will also be affected. Internally, the trust of the people and small officials in the imperial court will be affected. It plummeted. Under the turmoil of the hearts of the people, it is hard to say what will happen to the officials and merchants who were originally attached to the Duke. In short, it will definitely be detrimental to the empire. Therefore, the news that the Duke is actually the murderer cannot be spread. It is enough for people here to know. "

"So I have to blame him." Asa frowned.

"I'm sorry." Captain Roland sighed, and seemed to be looking at Asa with some earnestness~IndoMTL.com~ In fact, I don't want you to be caught either. After all, such a large reward amount is not a small burden on the empire's treasury. "

"You're used to being wanted anyway, so it's no big deal to be wanted again." Sandro glanced at him and said weakly. "And this wanted notice is also good for you. If I remember correctly, the **** of the Necromancer Guild seem to be chasing you. This wanted notice can help you keep a high level of vigilance at all times."

Asa sighed weakly, and replied: "Okay. Anyway, it's useless for me to refuse. But since the Duke was not the murderer of Bishop Ronnies, how can you explain his death?"

"Of course you killed him." Captain Roland said flatly. "Anyway, you have already been charged with such serious crimes, so you shouldn't care about this one more. Don't worry, this is just a temporary measure. We will clear these charges for you when the time is right."

"Unexpectedly, after the culprit died, I would inherit all his crimes." Asa smiled helplessly, and suddenly remembered. "But if I'm still the murderer, then...what about Xiaoyi? She...she's also with me..."

"Yes. According to what you said, she also has something to inherit. It's just a little different from yours." Captain Roland nodded and said to Rodhart. "You go and bring her."