landbeastnovel Chapter 388 Idle Chess and Cold Moves
Chapter 388 Idle Chess and Cold Moves
Chapter 388 Idle Chess and Cold Moves
After listening to Robert's account, Evan finally understood the reason for Earl Hall's drastic change in stance, and at the same time expressed a similar sentiment to Robert's.
"Earl Hall was indeed a man of great talent, but it's a pity he didn't truly embark on an extraordinary path."
This world is filled with extraordinary forces, which means that no matter how outstanding Earl Hall himself is, he can only play the role of a spokesperson and can never truly determine the development and direction of the situation.
"If Earl Hall truly intends to fully support Alfred Hall, does that also mean he intends to change his own successor?"
Evan quickly gathered his thoughts and asked a very practical question.
Robert's response, however, was cold, even ruthless.
"This is what Earl Hall must do, since he has already foreseen the future direction of the world situation and wants to win our support."
Then he should also give us a corresponding return.
We can support Alfred Hall to become a demigod, but his political allegiance alone is certainly not enough.
What I need is the support of the entire Hall family, so Alfred must inevitably become his heir.
Robert's words were unusually blunt, almost as if he were saying that he hoped the Earl of Hall's entire family would pledge allegiance to him in the future.
Robert didn't explicitly state that his demand for Earl Hall to change his successor also had a mystical connotation.
The primogeniture system is actually one of the cornerstones of the order of the Kingdom of Rune. Anyone or any family that touches this rule will eventually suffer the backlash of the rule.
This backlash will not be visible to the naked eye, but will appear as a curse of "fate", including but not limited to the occurrence of hereditary diseases in the family, frequent accidents to heirs, and lack of luck in doing things.
Robert was able to inherit the title of Earl of Ahova because all of the old Earl's direct bloodlines had died out.
Earl Hall himself was merely a Sequence 6 Extraordinary, so he naturally couldn't directly perceive the backlash from these deep-seated mystical rules. Even if there were some real-world lessons, he might have overlooked them.
Therefore, once he takes this step, he will weaken the mystical ties between the Hall family and the Augustus family as 'ruler and subject'.
To some extent, Robert used the information gap to sabotage Earl Hall, intending to use the change of heir to gradually lead Earl Hall to the opposite side of the Augustus family.
Count Hall has no intention of betraying the Augustus family; he simply wants to use Robert's power to support his son.
But once he takes this step, he will find in the future that without opposing the Augustus family, the Hall family will have less and less of a way to survive.
Of course, Robert didn't tell Evan about his scheme against Earl Hall, nor was there any need to. He simply said to Evan solemnly:
"The power Earl Hall represents is extremely important and cannot be relinquished. Therefore, your role as Miss Audrey Hall's protector cannot be compromised!"
Although Robert didn't reveal all his actions, Evan still sensed his ambition and determination to take over the Hall family.
The words I wanted to say could no longer be uttered; I could only nod silently to indicate that I understood what to do.
Robert and Evan then discussed the events at the Fussac Empire Embassy and Evan's future voyages. Before they knew it, it was breakfast time.
Robert glanced at the large grandfather clock in the corner, stood up, and said:
"You came all night, you must be tired. Why don't you stay and have breakfast with us?"
Evan nodded, without refusing.
Evan watched Robert's carriage head towards the Capitol, then got into the carriage prepared for him by the butler and headed towards his own baron's mansion.
Upon returning to his residence, the butler reported to him on various events that had occurred during this period, including, but not limited to, the birth of a child in a count's household and the untimely death of a viscount.
As Evan listened to the butler's report, he kept flipping through the mountain of invitations in his hands.
Just then, a thick gray fog suddenly appeared before Evan's eyes, followed by a scene.
A pure and beautiful young girl is praying, asking Mr. Fool to tell her that he wants to meet her.
Evan immediately recognized the girl as the beautiful "Justice" Audrey.
Why would she suddenly want to meet me? Did she discover something?
That's true. Although Earl Hall is a Sequence 6 Extraordinary, Audrey is also a 'psychiatrist' specializing in the field of mind.
Moreover, they live under the same roof; Earl Hall figured it would be difficult for any secret to be kept from his daughter.
Evan pulled one invitation from his hand, tossed the rest to the butler, and said:
"I'll attend Viscount Grelint's reading group; you can handle the rest."
The butler, carrying a pile of things in his arms, bowed and left the study.
Evan, through Mr. Fool, agreed to Audrey's request to meet and arranged to go to Viscount Grynt's place.
Afterwards, Evan went back to his bedroom, washed up, changed his clothes, and without asking the butler to prepare a carriage, headed directly to the Viscount Grelint's house, which was not far away.
Viscount Grelint was quite surprised by Evan's arrival. Ever since Evan became the deputy director of MI9, he had completely cut off contact with them, a group of idle second-generation nobles.
After all, strictly speaking, Evan is now on the same level as their father, and they can't get along at all, a fact that even they are well aware of.
No one had long since thought of giving Evan, this "country bumpkin" from out of town, a proper assessment. The two were simply not on the same level. Viscount Grelint sent Evan an invitation as usual, never expecting that Evan would actually come. So when he heard the report from the welcoming servants outside, he was overjoyed and immediately abandoned the other guests and ran out.
Evan looked at the slightly out of breath Viscount Grelint and found it somewhat amusing. He greeted him and then said in a low voice:
"Given your condition, it seems the medicine a pharmacist can concoct won't be of much quality!"
Or is it that the speed at which you prepare medicine to replenish your body can't keep up with the rate at which you deplete it?
Upon hearing this, Viscount Grelint's face flushed slightly. He couldn't admit that the medicine he had prepared was inadequate, nor could he confess that he had been indulging himself too much lately. He could only pretend not to hear and ask:
"I heard you went to the naval training base in Pulitzer Bay. When did you come back?"
"And didn't you hate attending these kinds of parties the most? Why are you here today?"
Evan was just being sarcastic and didn't really mean to embarrass him, so he stopped teasing and said with a smile:
"I'm meeting someone today, not attending any book club. Could you arrange a room for me?"
"So it was Audrey who asked you to meet up. No wonder you had time to come today!"
Viscount Grelint suddenly realized that only Audrey had the influence to persuade Evan, so he quickly led the way to a large study on the third floor of his villa.
On the way upstairs, people kept coming up to greet Evan and introduce themselves, but Evan just nodded politely and didn't really talk to them.
These second-generation nobles were quite sensible and didn't block the way or cause any trouble.
Standing on the railing outside the study, Evan looked down at the aristocratic second-generation people who were leisurely enjoying tea and chatting, and suddenly felt that the inside and outside of the room were two completely different worlds.
The wind and rain outside seem to have no effect on the people here's eating, drinking, and having fun.
Whether it's the struggle between the Fusak Empire and the Kingdom of Rune, or the ordinary people of Backlund struggling with the plague, it all seems to have nothing to do with this place.
This even made Evan feel that his busy schedule seemed ridiculous.
But Evan quickly came to his senses, smiled and shook his head, realizing he had been too attached to appearances.
"What's wrong with me? Why am I suddenly becoming so sentimental?"
The laughter and merriment below are nothing but an illusion, like a bubble, easily burst at any moment. Am I missing this kind of life because I've been away from it for too long, or am I just too tired lately and want to rest?
Evan was secretly alarmed as he watched Viscount Grelint enter the study.
Sitting on the large sofa in the center of the study, a butler led a group of servants to set out various dishes.
After the butler led the servants away, Viscount Grelint sat down opposite Evan, hesitated for a moment, and then asked:
"I heard from my teacher that you've already ascended to the level of a demigod?"
Viscount Grelint was introduced to Darkwell by Evan and became Darkwell's apprentice, so he is now actually a member of the secret organization, the Council of Life.
Although Evan had been trying his best to hide the fact that he had been promoted to demigod, it was impossible to hide this from the people who had become members of his team.
Darkwell was one of the cornerstones of Evan's ritual to become the "Iron Knight".
Evan did not reply to Viscount Grelint's response, but his silence was his answer.
Viscount Grelint, suppressing his shock, asked somewhat cautiously:
"You told me before that if I wanted to get the 'Pharmacist' potion recipe, I could go to the Harvest Church in the South District of the Bridge, but I ended up joining the Council of Life."
Is it too late for me to re-establish contact with the Harvest Church?
Viscount Grelint was clearly spurred on by Evan's ascension to demigod status and wanted to cling even closer to Evan in order to advance his own career.
Evan chuckled and shook his head. After all, he had already personally gone to the Harvest Church and met Father Utravsky and Emlyn White. It was no longer necessary to go through him to test them. Viscount Grynt was clearly disappointed with the result, but Evan's next words rekindled his hope.
"If you'd like, you can apply to work at the Kingdom of Rune's embassy in Fenneport. I heard they're short of a counselor, and since you're an extraordinary individual with the 'Pharmacist' pathway, it'll be easier for you to collect materials in Fenneport. You could even switch pathways if you want!"
Viscount Grelint's move toward him made Evan realize that he had underestimated the influence of a demigod.
But thinking about it, it makes sense. Viscount Grelint's ancestors were also ennobled for their military achievements, so there must have been extraordinary individuals among them, and they may even have left behind some words describing the terror of demigods.
Therefore, it's not hard to understand why Viscount Grelint actively sought to align himself with him after learning that he had become a demigod!
It seems Grelint isn't as unambitious as he appears. Evan realized he had underestimated this first friend he met in Backlund.
Since his friend had shown ambition, Evan accepted all offers.
Because of Princess Orianna and the Earth Mother, he was interested in getting involved in the affairs of the Kingdom of Fenneport and the Castile family, so he wanted to arrange for Grelint to go to Fenneport as a strategic move!
"Um, I'm a member of the Life Council. I've heard that diplomatic personnel sent abroad are all subject to MI9 vetting—"
Before Viscount Grelint could finish speaking, he laughed first.
The person in front of me is the deputy director of MI9. How could I possibly fail on this?
Moreover, Evan's brother also controls the parliament's foreign affairs committee, and he can get the position of counselor without even having to pull strings.
"What would I be doing in the Kingdom of Fennepot?"
Viscount Grelint believed that clarifying the boss's goals was of paramount importance before taking any action.
"Use your strengths, cultivate good relationships, make friends everywhere, and do everything possible to learn about the inner workings of the Castilian family, while also keeping an eye on the movements of the Church of the Earth Mother!"
In fact, Evan didn't expect Viscount Grelint to do anything significant. He sent him there more to gather intelligence and to express his attitude to the Earth Mother, who might be observing Backlund all along.
The Horn family has goodwill towards the Church of the Earth Mother and is willing to establish ties with it!
"I understand! I'll definitely do it well!"
Viscount Grelint was unaware of Evan's thoughts, but judging from the task Evan had given him, he felt that Evan was not just casually dismissing him. Therefore, he seemed quite ambitious and eager to try, feeling that the family's glory would be restored in his hands!
Because there were other guests downstairs, and Evan didn't want his arrival to attract too much attention, Viscount Grelint didn't stay any longer but went down to entertain the guests, leaving Evan alone in the study.
Evan casually picked up a copy of "Roselle the Great" from the bookshelf, and while reading about the life experiences of his predecessor, whether true or false, he leisurely enjoyed the desserts carefully prepared by the chef of Viscount Grelint's household.
Soon, thanks to his excellent hearing, Ai Wenwen heard a slight commotion downstairs. His azure eyes turned into a clear, lake-like turquoise, and upon closer inspection, it seemed as if he could see layers upon layers of mirrors within them.
Through the window of the Grynt house, Evan saw the beautiful Miss Audrey leading a large golden retriever into the villa!