Darkstone Code

Chapter 1248 - 1246: You Have to Endure It!

"Lynch will help us?"

In the room, the Eldest Prince raised this question. "I don’t think he will... help us!"

There were some things he didn’t say out loud, but all four people in the room understood what he meant.

What he wanted to say was that Lynch wouldn’t, out of regard for Jenia, help them deal with the Noble Group or anything like that. That was highly unlikely.

Not only was Jenia a bit older than Lynch, she was also a Princess of the Empire, absolutely impossible to marry out. And their relationship was not some kind of romantic one at all, it was purely a very blunt, simple physical relationship, with some利益 entanglements mixed in.

Under these circumstances, how could Lynch possibly stand opposite the Noble Group and help them?

Moreover, judging from Jenia’s previous statements, Lynch clearly didn’t think much of their chances, so why would he still step in?

If he had no reason, then his actions were highly suspicious.

Jenia hadn’t completely figured it out yet. She was a bit ashamed and annoyed; she felt the Eldest Prince’s words made her lose face.

But out of regard for the Emperor, she didn’t flare up. She just subconsciously said, "He asked for a title and other things..."

The Emperor raised his hand and waved it twice. "That is only something he said to put us at ease. He must have other motives!"

Jenia looked at the father and son, then closed her mouth.

She was always playing this very awkward role. Rather than say more and be attacked and mocked by them, it was better to shut up early.

He pondered for a moment. Some vague guesses surfaced in his mind, but he would not say them out loud, and he knew Lynch would not say them either.

The Federation did not need a stable Gafura!

But for the Emperor at this very moment, he had no other choice!

Yes, Lynch couldn’t exactly say, "The purpose of my helping you is to make this country a bit more chaotic and its losses a bit greater," could he?

At the same time, Lynch’s words had also reminded His Majesty of one point: as long as they held on to the power to confer noble titles, even if the Imperial Family withdrew from the core of power, it didn’t mean the Imperial Family would be completely powerless.

Once Gafura truly became a country under Monarchy Constitution, or a country under a system like the Federation’s, the loss to the Imperial Family would in fact be the same.

They would both forever lose the power to firmly control the country’s future. But if the Imperial Family could still confer titles on nobles, it meant they still had a chance.

A free market... just look at the Federation and you’ll see, it can always breed many great capital forces that even politicians and the government are powerless against.

When these great capital forces want to go a step further, what they require is not only to become richer, but also to gain some power, the privileges of nobility.

Thinking of this, he raised his head and looked at his younger sister. "Go and tell Lynch that no matter what the outcome is, I will grant him a hereditary title!"

He didn’t say what title it would be. It might only be a Hereditary Baron, but even a Hereditary Baron was already a very remarkable title.

Jenia rose and left. This was the Emperor asking her to leave; she had no reason to stay any longer.

After she left, His Majesty the Emperor looked at his son. "We have no choice, and Lynch has grasped the key to the matter. We can only watch what he does."

The Eldest Prince didn’t quite understand why the war between the Imperial Family and the nobles was firmly in Lynch’s hands.

He simply couldn’t figure out the crucial point. He asked, but the Emperor did not want to say.

The Eldest Prince was by no means an outstanding Heir; the Emperor had acknowledged this fact.

He did not want his children to walk the same path he had, gaining the right to inherit the throne by slaughtering their brothers and sisters.

Most Emperors who gained the throne in such a way seemed to deliberately avoid the reappearance of that possibility. He had done his utmost to educate his children, but it seemed that education in a greenhouse didn’t work very well.

After sending the Eldest Prince away, he turned to the Imperial Palace Chief Steward at his side, his elder brother. "Do you think he can succeed?"

"He" referred to Lynch.

The Royal Grand Steward was His Majesty’s elder brother. Back when His Majesty was fighting for the throne, blood flowed like a river. In order to avoid losing his life over a throne he had never even thought about, he had taken the initiative to assume this post.

This also meant he was completely cut off from any chance at the throne, but at least he stayed alive.

The older generation had always been embroiled in various struggles: between the Imperial Family and the nobility, within the Imperial Family, and even within the family there were conflicts and divisions.

The Royal Grand Steward had seen too much deceit and confrontation. His experience and his breadth of vision were far richer than the Eldest Prince’s.

In this relatively peaceful and stable era, young people seemed to have lost that kind of strength, that kind of wisdom, and courage.

He was silent for a moment, as if thinking seriously. In the end he gave a very fair answer. "Lynch will certainly do his best to fulfill his promise!"

His Majesty the Emperor nodded. "Yes, he will definitely do it!"

When he said the words "yes," he still sounded not so certain, but by the time he said "definitely," one could already feel his firm attitude!

In fact, those who truly understood the development of the situation all knew that breaking the Noble Group’s coercion of the royal authority was not particularly difficult. Of course, it sounded simple enough: destroy the unity of the Noble Group.

After the Prime Minister had decided to overthrow the monarchy, he did not act immediately. His success in persuading the Noble Group to stand on his side made it clear just how valuable the Noble Group was.

In normal times, they were indeed just a bunch of nobles with no concrete power. Their only daily business was probably scheming where they could scrape together some money, or putting some thought into eating, drinking, and entertainment.

Power is very far away from them; they can’t reach it, and they don’t have any chance to touch it.

But that doesn’t mean the nobles don’t have any "strength" at all.

Sometimes not holding power in your hands doesn’t mean you have no strength. A common man has no power, not a shred of it; he might even be bossed around by his own wife at home.

But can you say he’s definitely safe and stable?

No, not necessarily. When the need arises, put a knife in his hand, and he can kill.

It’s the same with the nobles. They don’t hold power, but they can change the overall trend. When they stand together, even the Imperial Family has to give ground.

The minor Count’s uncle being stripped naked and beaten up on Entertainment Street is Lynch sending a signal, a signal of his value.

He can make the nobles go to war with each other, and that is exactly what the Emperor needs most urgently.

Once the nobles split internally, he can have the Royalist Sect rope in a portion of the nobles. As long as, in the Secretariat, the noble forces form a confrontational setup, the Prime Minister wants to push for ending the monarchical state system?

That’s nothing but a dream!

When the time comes, the Emperor can perform a "voluntary abdication," reshuffle the ministers, push those loyal to the Imperial Family into office, and the Imperial Family’s ruling authority will be able to stabilize.

And at this moment, the minor Count’s uncle had already returned home.

His wife had also come back, which was rare.

Ever since some emotional discord arose between them, the two had already been on the brink of divorce.

If it weren’t for his wife’s father—that old noble who supported the minor Count’s uncle inheriting the title—still eyeing the assets in his hands, the two of them might have already divorced.

In a marriage with no emotional bond, there’s no such thing as love.

There is only a naked, transactional relationship.

His wife was listing his faults together with the others as if watching someone else’s scandal for fun. Her father had also come, along with some other relatives.

He was lying in bed, his face burning hot, running a slight fever.

The fever was only part of the reason; more of it was because of that newspaper on his bedside table.

On the front page, he was stark naked, curled up on the road, and the subheadline read: "That Ass Is Really White." Obviously, no one respected him.

After the old noble murmured with the others for a while, he walked over to the bed.

He looked at the patient on the bed, his eyes hiding many complicated emotions. "I pulled some strings. The one who made you lose face is your nephew."

The minor Count’s uncle froze slightly after hearing this, and his first thought was that it was impossible.

He knew his nephew only too well. If his nephew really had that kind of boldness, he wouldn’t have ended up like this.

Those uncles and aunts, his brothers and sisters, had practically torn a noble household’s foundation to pieces. If he really had that kind of spine, he would have taken all that back long ago!

But then he thought that the man in front of him wouldn’t lie to him, at least shouldn’t lie to him, and had no reason to lie to him.

He pushed aside those messy thoughts and nodded. "Thank you for helping me find out."

He didn’t say anything more. They were clearly one family, yet they acted like ordinary acquaintances; they weren’t even on a friend’s footing, the sense of distance and guardedness was thick.

The old noble didn’t seem to have any intention of leaving. He remained by the bed, looking at the minor Count’s uncle. "We’re family. This is what I should do."

He paused after speaking, hesitated for a few seconds, then continued, "There’s one more thing I need to tell you. In the short term, you must not lay a hand on him. In any form, you must not!"

The minor Count’s uncle lifted his head and looked at his wife’s father, a bit confused. "I don’t understand..."

The old noble didn’t hold anything back and spoke very directly. "This isn’t a decision made by me or by any single person. It’s a decision made by many people."

"Your nephew now has quite a reputation among the new generation of nobles, and his status is very high. We are currently joining forces to do something big."

"We can’t let what we’re trying to do be exposed to uncontrollable risk because of personal reasons. So no matter how dissatisfied, how resentful you feel, you’d best swallow it."

"When everything is over, maybe you can give it a try then!"

After saying this, the old noble turned and left. A Marquis had called him, asking him to keep the minor Count’s uncle under control and not let the conflict escalate.

Right now, everyone was throwing themselves into dealing with the Imperial Family, and an internal feud at this moment could very likely trigger unpredictable consequences.

The old noble did as he was asked, but since they weren’t the ones directly involved, they couldn’t understand how the minor Count’s uncle felt at this moment!

He turned his head again and glanced at the newspaper.

The subheadline was still an eyesore!

"That Ass Is Really White"

!