Darkstone Code

Chapter 1245 - 1243: Still Untitled

When the Eldest Prince heard his father utter the words "the chances are slim," his mind buzzed, and he felt a slight ringing in his ears.

As his gaze shifted, the world in his eyes seemed to have some trailing afterimages, and he could no longer walk back and forth, holding onto the armrest of the chair, he sat down.

His expression began to twist slightly. To him, all of this was unfair. He had done nothing, yet he was about to lose his future and power. He couldn’t understand why it was him and not someone else.

It took quite a while before the Eldest Prince recovered from this lost state. He licked his lips, a gesture that was actually quite vulgar.

If aristocrats had slightly cracked lips that needed protection, they would use ointment made from whale oil to keep their lips moist.

They wouldn’t lick their lips with their tongues; that was a method only used by lower classes.

"Can we... suppress these nobles?"

When the Eldest Prince said this, the Emperor looked at him with an expression filled with mockery, as if looking at an idiot, "Don’t let what’s in front of you obstruct your thinking, and don’t say such foolish things again!"

Of course, as a father, he still explained a little, "To mobilize troops, either the military needs to cooperate, or I would have those generals bring their troops back directly."

"But neither way would work."

He paused for a moment. "None of us want a civil war. We can lose, but we cannot become the sinners of Gafura, my child..."

There were actually many things he did not explain to the Eldest Prince. The rapid changes since the Prime Minister seized power were hard to keep up with for anyone at the pace of the Noble Group.

The loss of financial power was just one manifestation of the Noble Group reaching for imperial power. He originally thought that letting the Prime Minister take the financial power wouldn’t cause more problems. He didn’t realize the Prime Minister, having gained power, would not be satisfied with the status quo and start considering overthrowing the Imperial Family’s rule.

After all, at that time, it seemed the Prime Minister wouldn’t last long, as he was too old, and a war would break out within a few years.

Handing power to the nobles was a compromise to reduce the long-standing grievances on both sides, weakening the confrontation, and then he would consolidate power through the outbreak of war.

But who could have thought that just as he wanted to slightly reduce the nobles’ grievances against the Imperial Family, within just "a few days," the Prime Minister would want to overthrow the Imperial Family?

He even felt... the Prime Minister had been a mascot for decades in preparation for this day!

This deceitful, treacherous scoundrel—this is the downside of a limited vocabulary, rendering cursing ineffectual.

At this time, in his mind, the Prime Minister was no longer the laughing, seldom speaking backdrop at events. He was a venomous snake, a ravenous wolf!

However, he wasn’t entirely without chance. He was waiting, just like the Prime Minister’s long wait. He, too, had to be patient for the opportunity that might or might not come.

Lynch spent the entire noon at the Secretariat, which seemed to return to its original state when first established, trying to handle some state affairs.

Of course, they had no power in their hands. Ultimately, they would pass their opinions to the Prime Minister, who would approve them as deemed appropriate.

The two sides are currently in the honeymoon phase of cooperation. As long as the proposals are not too distorted, the Prime Minister would give positive results.

This also made many nobles more determined to restore the honor of the Secretariat, wanting to make the deliberation system a governing institution of the country once more!

And this also allowed Lynch to witness the factionalism and "disunity" among the nobles.

In the final phase of the deliberation, someone proposed reducing investments in Amelia and reallocating part of the funds and resources back to the Main Island.

This noble also listed the words of the ministers and Emperor at the time of their initial takeover of the Amelia Region, claiming they intended to cultivate Amelia and use them later to replenish the Main Island.

Now, with the rapid development of Amelia, everyone has seen the new generation of nobles there making so much money they can hardly count it, and their eyes are green with envy.

This utterly wrong discussion should never have been brought up, but due to substantial noble support, numerous nobles are opposing it as well.

The Young Count’s hands clenched tightly on the armrest of the chair, nervous and extremely irritable.

He had just expressed his opinion, yet after saying just two sentences, people ignored his presence, and no one even continued to look at him!

It was as if he were an extra, or a nonexistent person, or... an insignificant person, making him feel humiliated!

Most of the people around Lynch felt the same way, appearing anxious as this concerned their future.

If the Secretariat agreed to this idea and if the Prime Minister agreed as well, it would mean the new generation of nobles would lose their future once more.

"We need to do something!" the Young Count whispered, "Doing nothing at all puts us too passive!"

In his gaze towards those nobles lingered an anger and a faint hint of hatred, and the others didn’t look any better.

These nobles, relying on their extensive family history, always displayed an arrogant stance towards the newer, smaller nobles.

In reality, it wasn’t all that surprising; how could a generation or two of nobles compare to those with long-standing legacies?

For these nobles, people like Lynch were just a little better than ordinary people, still essentially ordinary!

Lacking much power, unable to pass on their family legacies, they might coexist for decades, but after that, they and their descendants would disappear.

Why then, should the nobles engage too deeply with those doomed to disappear?

Sometimes nobility can also be quite realistic.

Lynch shook his head slightly, "Those big nobles and ministers are more aware of Amelia’s value than these people, they won’t agree."

He then continued, "But doing nothing is not my style, perhaps we can find some trouble for them."

The young Count’s eyes lit up, "What are you planning to do?"

"Beat them up!"

When Lynch said this, the young Count obviously didn’t take it seriously. He only thought Lynch was joking and chimed in, "That’s a good idea, invite me when it happens."

He thought this was the Secretariat, not so private, so Lynch didn’t say it out loud. He really didn’t think beating up nobles was a good method of revenge.

The intermittent meeting finally ended around one o’clock, and a group of people left the Secretariat with empty stomachs.

Some cursed without regard for decorum, while others kept a sardonic smile throughout.

After returning, the young Count brought up the topic again.

"How do you plan on dealing with them?" he eagerly pursued this question.

In Lynch’s eyes, the young Count was like a dog!

Of course, this analogy is somewhat impolite, yet very fitting; this is what he saw.

He held a piece of meat bone, with the young Count hopping back and forth, waiting for him to shout "go" and throw the bone.

Lynch said without much thought, "If you want to vent, find a reason to beat them up."

"As long as the reason is justifiable, these people won’t hold it against you. Despite them ignoring our presence now, when it comes to making a choice, they will hope we stand together with them."

"Besides this..." Lynch licked his lips, "perhaps you can try chatting with the Prime Minister, the attitude of the Governor of Amelia is quite ambiguous."

"And you represent a potential force, a possibility that the Prime Minister will not overlook!"

The young Count felt a bit intrigued after hearing this.

In fact, he didn’t even realize how important he was.

Amelia cannot fall into chaos, and the Governor sides with the Emperor. Once the monarchy is overthrown, the Governor’s position is certainly at risk.

Even if promises are made by those alongside the Prime Minister not to remove him, it would only be temporary.

But wanting to remove the Governor is very troublesome, according to the various rules and systems in Gafura, the Governor’s power is considerable.

If by any chance there is a conflict between him and the Main Island leading to a declaration of independence, it would be a significant blow to the Main Island.

The nobles in the Secretariat ignored the young Count and his peers, not even discussing the situation of the Governor of Amelia, just to first lull them into complacency.

After they overthrow the monarchy, they’ll discuss how to resolve it; the young Count is not as unimportant as he imagined, he just lacks the experience and was deceived by a group of veteran actors.

A group of nobles who have practiced their acting skills every day in the Secretariat for decades, how could a young Count see through their masks?

Seeing the young Count still seemed a bit hesitant, Lynch took the initiative to push a little, "Is there anyone you particularly dislike?"

The young Count thought for a moment and nodded, "There’s a bastard who once came forward to support my uncle inheriting the title..."

Lynch was quite satisfied, "Then we’ll beat him up!"

The young Count felt somewhat enthusiastic after hearing this, yet a little worried, "I’ve never been in a fight before, and wouldn’t this make us even more marginalized?"

Lynch had a different opinion, "If you never throw a punch, those people will always think you’re a coward."

"If you don’t assert your views, your attitude, they’ll bully you at will."

"If you seriously look at history books, you’d understand that medieval nobles often went to war over rumors or because they didn’t get along."

"The current society is civilized; we won’t go to war over petty matters, but it doesn’t mean we don’t defend our own honor."

"As for your issue with fighting," Lynch stroked his chin, "Just make a fist, and hammer it down on that guy’s nose!"

The young Count stood up abruptly, paced back and forth, "Will nothing really happen?"

"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister, the Secretariat?"

Lynch spread his hands, "At most, they’d just tell you not to cause trouble..."

The young Count waved his fist, "Then when do we beat him up?"