In the silent night, only the faint owl call was heard.

In the rooms that are not spacious, the atmosphere is stagnant as if it is almost suffocating.

Count Uman and Louis Knight stood there in a daze, and were caught off guard by the news of the butler Delinden.

They never thought that the Duke of St. Hild actually made a will.

For a time, thousands of thoughts flashed through the minds of the two conceited, but none of them were clear.

Butler Delinden didn\'t seem to care about the silence of the two of them, and unfurled the parchment scroll in his hands.

The breathing of Count Uman and Louis Knight suddenly became heavy, and the two looked at each other, and then immediately turned back to the steward, as if waiting for the final judgment of fate.

Drinden didn\'t seem to feel the abnormality of the two of them, so he cleared his throat and read the content on the parchment:

"I, Seris St. Hild, named Vera St. Hild as the 17th Duke of the North as the Marquis of the North. After my death, she will inherit the throne of the Duke of the North and be in charge. The authority of the North, inheriting the glory of Saint Hild..."

"Impossible!" Before Delinden had finished reading, the Louis Knight shouted, his face full of unbelievable panic.

Count Uman\'s face was gloomy, his eyes gleamed with danger, and his tone became hard as iron: "Your Excellency Drinden, are you wrong? Master Joyce\'s succession ranks ahead of Miss Vera. "

The butler of Drinden said solemnly: "How could you make a mistake? This is a will written by the Duke of St. Hilde."

"I don\'t believe it!" Knight Louis began to move towards the door, apparently preparing to block the exit.

Count Uman also slowly approached the butler of Drinden, and said solemnly, "Can you show me this will?"

Butler Drinden seemed to be completely unaware of his situation, and handed the will to Count Uman indifferently.

Count Uman glanced quickly, and then his face was completely gloomy.

He recognized the handwriting of the Duke of St. Hild, and the will is true.

The Louis Knight also saw the clues from the change in Count Uman\'s face, and immediately clenched his fists, ready to turn his face at any time.

Delinden still looked at the house in a calm and unhurried manner, and asked faintly: "My Lord Earl, have you finished reading it?"

Earl Uman slowly put away the sheepskin scroll, stared at the butler of Drinden for a moment, and exchanged a look with Louis Knight. Finally, he turned around and threw the will into the fireplace.

call--

The flames ignited the sheepskin rolls in an instant, but Steward Drinden seemed to ignore it.

It wasn\'t until the will of the Duke of St. Hild was completely ashes that the Earl of Uman and the Knight Louis finally breathed a sigh of relief.

However, the performance of Butler Delinden puzzled the two of them.

Why didn\'t he stop?

Count Uman suddenly laughed and said to the butler: "Your Excellency Delinden, you don\'t want to see Miss Vera inherit the Duke\'s throne, do you?"

Butler Drinden finally showed a smile on his indifferent face and nodded: "Yes."

The tension in the house suddenly disappeared.

Louis Knight laughed and said, "Mr. Butler, you said it earlier! We almost misunderstood you."

Butler Drinden said with deep meaning: "If I said earlier, how can I know the true attitude of the two?"

Earl Uman smiled and said, "Mr. Butler is right!"

Knight Louis also nodded again and again, and after a while, he wondered: "Mr. Butler, why do you think the Lord Duke wants Miss Vera to be his heir?"

The butler of Delinden smiled slightly: "You probably didn\'t know that the Duke made this will in September last year."

"September last year?" Louis Knight still looked confused.

But Earl Uman has already reacted: "Miss Vera\'s coming-of-age ceremony was in September last year, right?"

"Yes." The butler of Delinden nodded. "It was after Miss Vera\'s coming-of-age ceremony was over that the Duke made this will and put it in my custody."

Knight Louis then remembered that the last Marquis of the North, the second son of the Duke, Adams, was poisoned at the coming-of-age banquet.

It turned out that at that time, the Duke of St. Hild had already appointed the heir of the Marquis, but he did not announce it in public.

But why didn\'t the Duke publicly announce the canonization of Vera as the Marquis of the North?

Knight Louis just wanted to ask, he realized that this was a stupid question, because at that coming-of-age ceremony, the Duke had already betrothed Vera to the half-elf prince, Tupé Modywin.

How could a woman who married a foreign race inherit the title of Duke of the North?

But... why did the Duke of St. Hilde make such a will?

"Didn\'t the Duke already marry Vera to Prince Tupe? Why did she make a will and let her inherit the position of Marquis?"

Hearing the question from the Louis Cavaliers, butler Delinden hesitated for a moment, and finally replied:

"Actually, I can\'t give you a clear answer to this question, but according to my judgment, Lord Duke was unwilling to establish Vera as the heir. It was only because of some pressure that he had to establish such a share. will.

Therefore, I have always felt that this will is not a manifestation of the true will of Lord Duke. It is the most appropriate to be destroyed now. "

"Under pressure?" Count Uman said condensedly, "Who can put pressure on the Duke of St. Hild?"

Butler Drinden shook his head, indicating that he was not clear.

Count Uman\'s eyes flickered, and he suddenly felt that this must be related to the death of Marquis Adams, and perhaps also to Vera\'s life experience.

At this time, a slightly impatient voice of Louis Knight sounded in the room: "Since the will has been burned, don\'t worry about it! The top priority is to control Winter City. Do not let Vera enter the Golden Lion Army. In the city!"

Count Uman also nodded in agreement: "Mr. Butler, if I remember correctly, the commander of the city defense forces in Winter City is Thomas Knight, right?"

"Yes."

"Do you know whether he will support Master Joyce or Miss Vera?"

The butler of Delinden smiled slightly and said, "Should we invite him here and ask for it in person, don\'t we know?"

Count Uman and Louis Knight looked at each other and nodded immediately:

"it is good!"

...

In the dark night, Thomas Knight followed his attendants to the meeting room of Roar Fort.

The Thomas knight was also surnamed Saint Hilde, and he was still the cousin of the Duke Saint Hilde.

However, to be able to become the commander of the city defense forces of Winter City, Thomas Knight must be a diehard of the Duke of St. Hild.

Walking into the drawing room, Knight Thomas saw the Butler of Derlinden, and of course, Earl Uman and Knight Louis.

For the latter two, Thomas, as the commander of the city defense army, of course knew that they had just entered the city tonight.

"Mr. Butler, I wonder if you are looking for me?"

"Thomas Knight, Lord Duke has no news so far, and there are even rumors of being dead, and now the rebels are approaching step by step, so I think Winter City needs a leader to lead everyone through the difficulties.

Who do you think is more suitable? "

Butler Drinden used the term "leader" instead of the Duke of the North. After all, the inheritance of the Duke needs to be granted by the royal family. Of course, these people are not qualified to determine the ownership of the Lord of the North.

However, the Thomas Cavaliers can also understand the implied meaning of the opponent\'s words, which is asking him to stand in line.

"Where is the Golden Lion Corps now? How is the situation?"

Seeing Louis Knight appearing in Winter City, and then the butler suddenly asked him to choose to stand in line, Thomas Knight immediately realized that this matter must have something to do with the Golden Lion Legion.

Sure enough, I heard Knight Louis say in a painful tone: "The Golden Lion Corps has been forcibly called up by Miss Vera, and is fighting the Dawson family by the river!"

Thomas Knight squinted his eyes, his expression uncertain, and he didn\'t know what he was thinking.

Afterwards, Earl Uman asked in a condensed voice: "Knight Thomas, do you think Miss Vera is qualified to command the Golden Lion Legion when the life and death of the Duke of St. Hild are unknown?"

Thomas Knight\'s heart stunned, knowing that the most critical moment had come.

Moreover, he was keenly aware that the Count Uman and the Louis Cavaliers had sandwiched him one to the other, and put on a ready-to-go posture. If he answered badly in the next sentence, I am afraid that he may not be safe. Out of here.

"Of course it\'s not appropriate. Master Joyce is the current first heir to Lord Duke."

call--

The stagnant atmosphere in the hall instantly became loose.

Butler Drinden also put a smile on his face, and asked: "So, do you also think that under the current situation, Master Joyce should be the leader of Winter City?"

"Yes." Thomas Knight said solemnly.

Although the Thomas Cavaliers have no obvious bias between Vera and Joyce, in the current situation, he is very clear that he must make a choice.

And this choice can only be Joyce.

...

The gleam of the morning shredded the darkness that enveloped the earth, and sprinkled the first ray of morning light on the highest point of Lion\'s Roar Fort.

After Joyce had finished washing under the service of the maids, the butler of Drinden stepped forward and said:

"Master Joyce, there are some guests outside waiting for your call."

"Oh? Then invite them in." Joyce didn\'t care, but he was a little confused about why a guest came so early today.

"Okay!" The butler went out personally and led the three Count Uman in.

Joyce obviously knew these three people, and greeted with a smile: "Good morning, Earl Uman, Uncle Thomas, Louis Knight~www.novelhall.com~ Good morning, Master Joyce!"

The three also greeted in unison, and then knelt down on one knee in front of Joyce, while raising the saber above his head.

Joyston was stunned.

Of course he understands that this is an oath of allegiance, but...

He looked at the butler of Drinden, and saw that the other person offered encouraging glances.

Joyce seemed to understand something, and a strong excitement appeared on his face, and he strode to Count Uman, took the long sword, and placed it on the opponent\'s shoulder.

"I, Talos Uman, offer unconditional loyalty to the noble descendant of the Paladin family, Joyce Saint Hild!

From then on, your will is my way forward, and your command is my highest creed! "

Joyce took a deep breath, tried to learn his father\'s appearance, and said loudly:

"I accept your allegiance!"