Author: 冬瓜茶仙人 / Winter Melon Tea Immortal
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 90
Before taking action, Shivers sent a report to the Duke, recounting in as much detail as possible the history of the Holy Grail and the elusive rules that many desperately sought, as told by Yitzfa.
- The Holy Grail originates from the Black Gold Family.
- The Holy Grail is more like a recessive genetic disease. As time passes, many may inherit this bloodline, but only one person truly awakens at a time.
- There cannot be two Holy Grails in the world at the same time—as long as the person with this forbidden bloodline is awakened and continues to breathe, a second Holy Grail cannot appear.
- Only the Lamp Bearers can verify the authenticity of the Holy Grail, but it cannot be commanded.
This meant that whether it was the castle witch embedded in the wall due to magical backlash or the present forces represented by the Mokwen royal family of the various Doran nations, their cruel efforts were in vain—only the Black Gold Families could give birth to the Holy Grail. However, these forces that had spread across the continent were regarded as unworthy by the nobility for centuries.
They may covet the wealth in the Black Gold’s hands and even rely on their familial abilities, but overall, dignified nobles wouldn’t tolerate any association with a Black Gold Family, let alone intermarriage.
This was probably an instinctual caution and agreement among all nobles, regardless of their rank, much like how they would instinctively frown and avoid rats, united in closing the channels through which the major Black Gold Families might gain noble status through their surnames.
Therefore, Yitzfa mockingly criticized the actions of the Mokwen royal family. Dwight noticed that in his later conversations with Shivers, he disdainfully referred to them by name.
A King and an Earl, born noble, attempted to combine this glory with legend to create an entity both obedient to them and capable of overturning the continent, believing they were on the right path, not realizing that their proud noble lineage was precisely what ensured their failure.
Oh, the irony.
Shivers also wrote: Although people often discuss the Black Gold Families together, they are actually relatively independent. They may interact occasionally, but they aren’t the natural allies as rumors suggest, and there is even some opposition between them.
At present, we don’t know the stance of other Black Gold Families. Speaking of Yitzfa alone, the Fox family has an ambiguous attitude towards the Holy Grail. He used the words “seize or destroy”, but these two statements are somewhat contradictory. I lean towards one of them being Yitzfa’s own opinion.
Dwight noticed that the Knight Commander didn’t make a preliminary judgment on which statement was Yitzfa’s own opinion for the Duke’s reference as usual, indicating that Yitzfa’s words and actions made it difficult to judge.
At the same time, Yitzfa said the Holy Grail comes from a Black Gold Family but didn’t specify which one. This may belong to a higher level of classified information. Even though Shivers explicitly mentioned that he could buy the information, Yitzfa still avoided this question.
There were four existing Black Gold Families: Fox, Wolf, Monkey, and Lion. Apart from Wolf and Monkey, the other two families had always been distinct and non-interfering, with their family bases far apart. The claim that they were once one family hundreds of years ago didn’t hold, and the instances of intermarriage in the past two hundred years were too few to count, with no shared bloodlines.
Therefore, Shivers was more inclined to believe that the Holy Grail would only come from one or two of these families.
If it was one, it was very likely the Lion family, which tended to be reclusive and lived in the high mountain ice plains. If it was two, then the relatively frequent interactions between the Wolf and Monkey families make them likely candidates.
“Which one do you think it is?” he asked.
The rabbit-headed shopkeeper looked serious. “I think the Knight Commander is very reliable, and I agree with all his opinions.”
Unexpectedly, this blatantly cheeky attitude didn’t anger the Duke. He just glanced at him and then nonchalantly returned his gaze to the letter.
This made Charlie somewhat uncomfortable.
Not just because of the reply, but also because it reflected a recent change in the Duke—the Duke of Brandenburg’s demeanor had visibly become more reserved. He was seldom provoked by his intentional or unintentional teasing anymore, and more often than not, he reacted like he did just now: not angry, but without any other emotional response.
In the polite language of the nobility, this was tolerance.
In the rabbit-headed shopkeeper’s words, it was the look one gives a fool.
No one would argue with a fool.
What unsettled him was exactly this point. Given the Duke’s character, any perfunctory behavior and concealment shouldn’t be so easily forgiven. The only explanation was that the Duke had seen through his reluctance to engage in discussions about the Holy Grail.
Perhaps he had also begun to doubt his own identity.
So, the more Dwight knew, the less he could afford to speak carelessly—the young Duke’s talent for analysis and deduction was alarmingly sharp, and Charlie didn’t want to test how much he had guessed.
If possible, Charlie hoped that everything about the Holy Grail would be buried forever, but people kept digging, and with more investigators, secrets would one day no longer be secrets.
But it must never be revealed through his own words, so playing the fool was his only option.
And for some reason, the Duke now tacitly allowed his pretense.
The two men, each with different thoughts, had achieved a strange, temporary balance.
“Shivers is bringing Yitzfa to the estate.” Dwight continued reading the letter, furrowing his brow slightly. “According to the timing, Lestrop should have already arrived.”
Perhaps they had already started fighting.
“What are you planning to do with this brother-in-law?” The rabbit-headed shopkeeper asked deliberately pettily, and sure enough, he was met with a sidelong glance from the Duke.
Knowing many details, Dwight disliked the term “brother-in-law” even more. He preferred to call him “a shameless thief”.
He had removed the originally blooming Lemenian rose but hadn’t provided the necessary care, causing everyone at Brandenburg to be frustrated.
“Tifa’s personal troops should have also arrived. Whichever dies, I’ll open a good bottle of wine,” Dwight said lazily. “If both die, I’ll ask Mokwen for war.”
He would conquer this kingdom for Priscilla to raise his little nephew.
That’s what he said, but while Lestrop might personally fight, Tifa was unlikely to leave the royal city easily—if he were so belligerent, rumors wouldn’t still be circulating in the capital about the old king favoring Lestrop as his successor.
Dwight remained skeptical about whether Tifa, the coward, truly had the guts to confront his brother with weapons. But regardless of the outcome, someone would be severely weakened.
If Tifa managed to kill Lestrop and eliminate the southern lord, using the name of the Mokwen Empire to exert pressure, that fertile territory would definitely not fall into others’ hands.
As for the Earl’s title… even if Priscilla couldn’t claim it immediately, as a widow already pregnant, it wasn’t impossible to advance further with proper manipulation.
It would be even better if Lestrop managed to seize power by killing Tifa in a single stroke. Taking his life while he was weakened after battle, and with the remaining royal relatives being useless hedonists, it wouldn’t be difficult for Priscilla, with her capabilities, to take control of the kingdom.
By then, with Lemena covertly supporting Mokwen to lie low for a few years and stabilize the situation, he was confident that he could collaborate with his sister to thrust his nephew into the struggle for the Doran Empire.
It simply couldn’t be more delightful.
“Tifa won’t enter the battlefield,” the rabbit-headed shopkeeper reminded him. “Unless the conflict escalates, and Lestrop counterattacks the royal city…”
Dwight looked up at him, and upon meeting his gaze, Charlie suddenly stopped.
Something felt off.
Lestrop rushed back to the manor, and Priscilla headed towards White Bridge—she was almost there, while Tifa was in Syriacochi, the royal city, perhaps waiting to reap and take over his brother’s ambition.
What had he overlooked?
Pleased by the rabbit-headed shopkeeper’s rare, puzzled expression, the Duke cheerfully hinted, “Tifa doesn’t need to be on the battlefield, but that doesn’t mean he’s safe.”
Charlie quickly calculated in his mind that the conflict between the brothers was fundamentally due to years of discord and conflicts of interest. If there were a third or fourth party involved in the battle, they must also be stakeholders.
Who else could be involved in their interests? Duke Baylor? No, he had investigated this person, who spent half of the year bedridden with illness and had no offspring to date.
Most of the old king’s sons were dead, and the princesses who married abroad rarely returned to the country. It was unlikely that they would intervene in this turmoil. Who else could there be?
The implication in Dwight’s words was clear: “he” referred to Tifa, meaning that it was very likely that person shared interests with Lestrop.
Charlie widened his eyes, looked at Dwight, and uncertainly uttered a name. “Christine?”
Tifa’s queen, Lestrop’s lover.
Would she stir up trouble in the royal city at this critical juncture?
Dwight didn’t speak, but his expression was subtle. Charlie stared at his light-colored eyes for a while and finally remembered what he had overlooked.
Another ambitious Dwight, Priscilla.
Charlie had forgotten that before their meeting in Lababata, this Countess hadn’t anticipated that her brother, the Duke of Brandenburg, was still within Doran’s borders.
That is, she hadn’t considered leveraging Lemena’s power. Charlie had thought her confidence stemmed from her years accumulated in Mokwen, enough to protect herself.
Thinking about it now, he probably underestimated this Dwight.
“Tifa and Christine each had their own attachments before their marriage. Christine, needless to say, almost everyone knew she had been involved with Lestrop. In comparison, Tifa’s scandal was more discreet, more taboo, and thus more talked about.” Charlie slowly recalled. “There were rumors in the palace that he fancied Countess Priscilla, partly because she bore a strong resemblance to his deceased sister, Princess Riley.”
Such rumors, even newcomers like them had heard. Priscilla, having lived in Mokwen for several years, couldn’t possibly be unaware.
She might know more, knowing the specific similarities between Princess Riley and herself, whether it was hair color, physique, or appearance…
Humans were a contradictory species.
Christine might not love Tifa, but being the Queen, everyone knew her husband’s heart had never leaned towards her, which still could make her feel humiliated.
Priscilla knew about Lestrop’s secret dealings with her, but she never lost her composure, especially in the eyes of everyone in the royal city. She was always seen as a gentle, kind Countess, blissfully protected by her husband. The King’s special treatment also surprised her, but she naively never explored the reasons behind it.
Her happy demeanor could easily sting Christine. The two men in her life were distracted by Priscilla—especially Lestrop, who, no matter what private vows they shared, was for the most part a considerate husband to his wife.
Priscilla had planted a splinter in her heart.
In the long game of mutual testing, Tifa and Lestrop’s tolerance for each other had reached a critical point. Priscilla secretly learned that Lestrop, through the use of high-level mercenaries, had killed several women Tifa had been experimenting on, and Tifa’s continued tolerance made him increasingly uncontrollable. The last time, an assassin infiltrated the king’s bedroom.
Lestrop crossed the line.
From this loss of control, Priscilla judged that the brothers were about to turn against each other, and just as Tifa’s recent favorite mistress became a casualty, she sent a girl, who was long selected and not very stunning but resembled Princess Riley more than she did, to the king’s side before leaving Syriacochi.
Tifa knew who the real killer was but still allowed the Senate to accuse Christine, letting her carry the murder suspicion, while Priscilla adeptly played the role of a lavish noble lady, casually mentioning to her husband that this year’s Wolf auction featured a very rare astrologer, rumored to interpret all secrets hidden in the stars, true or not.
Lestrop was indeed moved and, despite the royal city’s buzzing gossip, insisted on leaving for White Bridge.
Just at this time, a girl who resembled the late Princess Riley by seven parts was openly brought into the royal palace by the King, receiving his undivided attention and even making the murder in the bedroom seem less significant.
For a moment, Christine seemed to be forgotten by everyone.
And the splinter had finally grown into a thorn bush.
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