Chapter 105: Drastic Change, the Next Grand Duke Candidate

“I once liked a young girl, but Bennett came to like her too. Father knew both our feelings, yet he chose to arrange and facilitate a match for Bennett. I could only watch helplessly as the girl I loved fell into Bennett’s embrace.”

Vincent spoke slowly, recounting those past events.

Because he was still holding Bennett, the surrounding guards didn’t dare to approach. They could only watch Bennett with worried faces, listening to Vincent’s words.

“All of you, tell me why? We are both our father’s sons. Why was the treatment I received always a little worse? Why? Who can tell me why? Just why?”

As he went on, Vincent’s expression became ferocious.

“Bennett, can you tell me the answer? My dear little brother,” Vincent leaned close to Bennett’s ear and whispered.

Spitting out blood, Bennett managed to force a weak smile. “So that’s how it was, Vincent.”

“What do you know?”

“Of course I know. Because you’ve been like this since you were small. You always kept your troubles bottled up inside and refused to speak of them. You just looked at others with anger in your eyes. You were too stubborn. If you had been willing to voice your inner thoughts instead of holding them in, perhaps Father would have treated you differently.”

“Heh, is that your judgment? How laughable. Father is dead now. You can spin any explanation you want, but it’s too late. Everything is far too late now.”

A cruel look appeared on Vincent’s face. He slammed his palm down onto the top of Bennett’s head.

Bennett spurted out another mouthful of blood. At the same time, blood began pouring from his eyes, ears, and nostrils. His head lolled to the side, and he became completely unresponsive.

“Your Highness!”

Seeing this scene, Daphne and the numerous guards felt their eyes nearly split with rage and grief.

“Daphne, you have a chance to change your mind right now,” Vincent looked at Daphne and said. “Submit to me, support me, and I can overlook your past decision to help Bennett.”

“Go to hell!” Daphne had only one word of answer, glaring at Vincent with fury.

She knew that Grand Duke Ogden had wanted to pass the position to Bennett. Even without a written will, that had undoubtedly been the Grand Duke’s wish. So she would only ever support Bennett.

“What a pity. In that case, you are the enemy.”

With a cold laugh, Vincent turned and began to walk away, still carrying Bennett’s body.

He needed to retrieve Harley first. After all, Harley was loyal to him. The act was over; naturally, he had to bring the man back.

As for taking Bennett along, it was to make Daphne wary of harming a hostage, preventing her from fighting him with full force.

“Put down His Highness, the Second Prince!”

Seeing Vincent leave, Daphne anxiously gave chase, shouting. At the same time, she ordered others to quickly fetch the church Priests to prepare for emergency treatment.

Vincent acted as if he hadn’t heard Daphne’s voice and continued his rapid flight.

‘It was still too rushed. Even if I’ve dealt with Bennett, the repercussions will be huge. What should I do next? Mm, I’ll go to the military camp and seize control of the army. Once I control the army, even if the nobles are displeased with me, what can they do?’

Vincent’s line of thinking was very clear.

White Maple Academy.

In the dormitory living room, Amelia looked at the Bullet Comments appearing before her eyes, her expression grave.

Just a short while ago, the Bullet Comments had appeared and erupted into intense discussion. From those comments, Amelia understood that the scene visible to the viewers had shifted elsewhere. Moreover, the content displayed in the scene was extremely critical, which explained why the Bullet Comments were in an uproar.

“Vincent, Bennett… I never thought the change would come so quickly!”

Amelia was already pondering how she should respond.

Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps approached, and Eileen entered the living room.

Following behind Eileen was Verna. “Amelia, why did you have Eileen rush to find me so urgently?”

Amelia looked at Verna and said, “According to information transmitted by my subordinates, Vincent has made a move against Bennett. Bennett is likely already dead.”

“What did you say?” Verna thought she must have misheard for a moment.

“Vincent is a High-Rank Apostle,” Amelia added.

High-Rank Apostle?

This revelation made Verna draw in a sharp breath.

Amelia wasn’t surprised by Verna’s shock. When she had learned through the Bullet Comments that Vincent was actually a High-Rank Apostle, she herself had been greatly astonished. Why had the viewers never mentioned this point before?

At any rate, she had indeed only just now obtained this piece of information.

“This happened at the castle. I can only tell you this much. As for how you want to act next, you need to decide for yourself, and quickly.”

“I understand.”

Verna knew Amelia had no reason to deceive her about such a matter. Immediately, she hurried away.

After Verna left, Amelia continued watching the Bullet Comments.

The viewers’ scene was still at the castle.

[I never expected Vincent to act so recklessly, disregarding all consequences. By dealing with Bennett in this manner, his own reputation has plummeted to rock bottom.]

[Although quite a few princes and princesses have died, all of those incidents happened in the shadows. No one knew the killer. This time is the only instance where the murderer is completely obvious. And he killed Bennett, the most popular one.]

[But just as Vincent said, as long as he controls enough power, the likelihood of him becoming Grand Duke is still very high.]

[Aside from Bennett, it will be very difficult for anyone else to be Vincent’s match.]

[Does Vincent’s mother’s side perhaps have Dwarven Bloodline? His strength is immense, and isn’t great power an ability gained through Faith in the Hammer of Thunder?]

Dwarven Bloodline?

Amelia noticed another piece of interesting information.

She stared at the Bullet Comments for a moment and quickly gathered more understanding.

Individuals possessing the bloodlines of two races—for example, having both Human bloodline and Dwarven Bloodline—could potentially hold Faith in both the Human God and the Dwarf God. If Vincent had Dwarven Bloodline, it wouldn’t be strange that he could also hold Faith in the Hammer of Thunder.

The Hammer of Thunder could grant its believers abilities over lightning and great strength.

This was different from Amelia’s situation.

Although Amelia also possessed the bloodlines of both Humans and Elves, the Elf side of her bloodline was a Divine Bloodline, while the Human side was an ordinary bloodline. Thus, she could only hold Faith in the Elf God.

As for why the Elf bloodline was dominant, yet her outward appearance was Human, it was because any Half-Elf born from an Elf and another race takes on the physical appearance of the other race. Only pure Elves have those distinctly pointed ears.

“The sky is about to fall,”

Amelia murmured to herself, watching the Bullet Comments.

In truth, the sky had already fallen the moment Grand Duke Ogden passed away. But now, the change was becoming far more violent.

The competition for the position of the next Grand Duke had reached its most heated climax.

By the time Verna arrived at the castle, Vincent had already taken Harley and left.

Daphne had also finally managed to retrieve Bennett’s body. At this moment, she was having the hastily summoned church Priests use their healing abilities on Bennett. Sacred white light continuously showered down upon his form.

“Don’t bother healing me. I know I don’t have much time left. Cough, cough.“

Bennett spoke with great effort, coughing up blood between his words. His appearance was incredibly miserable.

He hadn’t died immediately because, in the critical moment, he had used his Rapid Freezing ability to freeze his heart and other vital areas, temporarily sustaining his life.

But even this could only extend his life for a very short while. All the bones in his body had been crushed and broken, and his internal organs were severely damaged. Under such conditions, not even the Priests’ healing could save him.

Bennett naturally felt great unwillingness about this. He had never expected to be completely undone by Vincent in this way.

Who could have imagined that Vincent, at such a young age, would already be a High-Rank Apostle? With that kind of talent… perhaps there really was a possibility he could become a Transcendent Apostle in the future, right?

At this thought, Bennett felt a sense of confusion. Could it be that handing the duchy over to Vincent was the better choice, after all?

But… but… ah, how unwilling he was.

“Bennett, Big Brother!”

A worried cry came from nearby.

Bennett struggled to shift his gaze and saw Verna arriving.

“So it’s Verna. Cough, cough. It’s very rare for you to wear your hair in a high ponytail today,” Bennett managed a weak smile.

“Bennett, Big Brother, how is your condition? Can you still hold on?” Verna asked, her face full of anxiety.

“I’m afraid… I won’t make it.”

“Then… if you don’t make it, what will happen afterwards?”

“Afterwards… cough. Right. I must plan for what comes after.”

Bennett struggled to think.

Seeing this, Verna spoke to the people surrounding them. “Everyone, step back for a moment. I need to speak with Big Brother Bennett alone.”

Hearing this, the people around exchanged glances, then withdrew, forming a protective circle at a short distance.

Bennett didn’t mind this. He turned back to Verna and said, “Verna, if I die, you must switch your support to Albert.”

Albert Luban, the Fifth Prince of the Luban Duchy.

Verna furrowed her delicate brows slightly. “Albert? Can he stand against Vincent?”

“I don’t know. But I understand one thing: Vincent cannot be allowed to successfully become Grand Duke. Because too many people followed me. All these people will become thorns in Vincent’s eye. When the time comes, Vincent will certainly settle accounts with everyone. No one will meet a good end. If so many nobles and so many important figures are purged, it could truly be called a river of blood.”

Bennett understood clearly that a nation does not belong to a single person, but to all its people. If the nation’s core pillars were eliminated en masse, the remaining strength would be insufficient to support the country. Even if they promoted more people into those roles, it would be useless. It would set the nation on a path to destruction.

As for why he chose Albert, it was because there simply weren’t any other candidates. Among the remaining princes, only Albert possessed a sliver of prestige and reputation. If his own power base could be directed to serve Albert, perhaps the situation wouldn’t turn out so terribly.

“Bennett, Big Brother, how about choosing someone else? Albert… he won’t do,” Verna said softly.

“Choose someone else? Who else is suitable?”

“Me.”

“Who?”

“Me!”

Verna repeated herself, looking at Bennett seriously.

Bennett stared at Verna, completely dumbfounded. He had never expected to hear such words from this younger sister, who he had always remembered as being so docile and obedient.

“You… you want to be the Grand Duke?”

Bennett suddenly felt that Verna seemed almost like a stranger.

He looked into Verna’s eyes. Within them, it was as if flames were dancing. It was the fire of ambition.

This was clearly not some ambition that had just sprung up on a whim; this was premeditated!

“Bennett, Big Brother, give all your power to me. I can lead the nation well. I definitely can.” Verna looked at Bennett intently.

If Bennett were willing to transfer all the nobles and forces who supported him over to her, her wings would be fully feathered.

Bennett didn’t speak. He just stared blankly at Verna.

“Ah, I see. Bennett, Big Brother, you don’t yet understand my power. You’re afraid I’m not capable.” Verna continued, “Actually, I am also an Apostle. Although I haven’t reached the Mid-Rank Apostle like you, Big Brother, I am still a Low-Rank Apostle. My Faith lies in the Book of Mysteries. Isn’t that a fairly good level of personal strength? After all, I am still young.”

“You are actually an Apostle?” This truly surprised Bennett.

“I also hold command over many other forces,” Verna added. To gain Bennett’s acknowledgment, she began to list the various powers she controlled, one by one.

Simply claiming she controlled them would naturally not be believed. But she knew how to drop crucial pieces of information, revealing details that left no room for doubt.

Bennett confirmed it for himself: Verna had been eying the Grand Duke’s position for a very long time. She had even secretly accumulated no small amount of power. If it were all brought to the surface, it would prove incredibly troublesome to deal with.

If his own forces could combine with Verna’s forces, would they be able to deal with Vincent?

Bennett still hadn’t made his decision.

Because he felt he had completely lost his understanding of this younger sister. He realized that his original impression of Verna was entirely mistaken. Standing before him was clearly a scheming, deeply ambitious individual.

Could such a person be trusted?

“Oh, and I’ve also secured Amelia’s support,” Verna added in a low voice, revealing another bargaining chip.

“Amelia?” Bennett’s pupils contracted sharply.

“That’s right. Could it be that Bennett, Big Brother, still doesn’t understand why Amelia never contracted with you? It’s because she had already signed a contract with me long ago.”

For Bennett, Verna’s words struck like a heavy blow.

He recalled his past interactions with Amelia, and the role Verna had played within them, and slowly began to see things clearly.

“So, if the day ever came when I grew suspicious of Amelia because she kept delaying the contract, and I started to see through her, you and Amelia would have joined forces to deal with me?” Bennett felt a chill run through his body.

“Bennett, Big Brother, none of that ever happened. Don’t frighten yourself. We only ever cooperated to kill Dwight. How could we ever lay a hand on Big Brother Bennett?” Verna replied calmly.

“Dwight was killed by you two?” Bennett’s pupils contracted violently again.

“Yes. We also had plans to kill other princes, but simply hadn’t had the chance to make a move on them yet. Mm, Bennett, Big Brother, you were not on that list. Truly,” Verna said with a smile.