In the duke's mansion, the duke who had just returned from going out to handle affairs was receiving the prime minister.

  "Your Excellency, this is absolutely unacceptable." Duke Mlarak looked embarrassed and shook his head in refusal. "The timber of Aire, the mines of Calrendo, the art trade with Western nations... these have been your family's industries for a long time, how can they be transferred to my name? And I hold military power, it doesn't seem quite right either."

  "It's not 'your family', but 'our family'." The prime minister corrected, his face squeezed into a warm and affectionate expression, if the duke was like a kind merchant, then he was a passionate philanthropist. "Your Excellency, don't forget that we are all one family. We have always been very clear and certain about your abilities. It's only natural that you would take charge of these matters, which were originally yours to handle anyway. And now, with the current shortage of personnel, it's even more fitting for you to take the helm. These are just our family affairs, after all. His Majesty is wise and will not think it unusual." When he said "family affairs", his tone unconsciously became heavier, his voice natural and affectionate to the extreme, as if this was indeed a matter of course, without any room for excuse or refusal.

  "Your Excellency, I really think this is inconvenient..." The duke still insisted on his difficult stance.

  "You're still so formal, it's settled then." The prime minister showed a somewhat reproachful expression. But this was not a manifestation of displeasure, but rather like a lover's quarrel, because of the closeness and intimacy, it was expressed without any reserve. "Alright then. Klaudius can come to my place later and bring the documents over first."

  After the prime minister left, Duke Mlak smiled. This was a relaxed and pleased smile that was exactly opposite to the earlier embarrassed expression, he turned his head to Klauss and said: "Your uncle has lost a lot of weight."

  "This must be frustrating for him." Klauvius rarely showed a smile of schadenfreude, but the Duke's mood was good and his followed suit. "Many people have died in the family, including several powerful ministers, and he has to deal with too many aftermaths. Moreover, his son Modo, that useless thing, has caused another big trouble, colluding with a Guards officer to lead a team of Guards to kill the priest, just when His Majesty was attacked by that vampire. If it weren't for him selling his life to save his son, that guy would have been beheaded long ago. However, as a result, His Majesty's trust in him has already fallen to the lowest point, and if there is even a slight mistake again, he may not even be able to keep his position as Prime Minister."

  "The position of the prime minister... The duke's slender eyes narrowed, with a hint of enjoyment. Just like a gourmet in front of a delicate dish, he had to take a look and sniff it first, savoring the feeling in his mind. "It's only a matter of time before someone else takes this seat. Your uncle used to be quite disdainful of me, but now he's actually thinking of using my name as a temporary shield, which means he really has come to realize that he's at the end of his rope. Heh... I suppose he thinks I'm a useful umbrella to exploit, and thought this was a good idea..." The duke nodded in great satisfaction, almost laughing out loud. "I think it's a good idea too."

  "The undead guild really helped us out, just one vampire and the El'gorin family's power has fallen to an all-time low, probably won't have a chance to turn things around again." Klauvis said this with a smile, without feeling any awkwardness at all, he had even forgotten his own surname. The Duke was his idol, his spiritual father, the embodiment of the power and status he worshipped. In his own subconscious, he was just the Duke's dog, not even that, simply the Duke's shadow.

  "But through this incident, the church's political power has suddenly increased. Now that the situation is chaotic, what should we do?"

  "Don't rush into anything, at least not in public." The duke shook his head. "As you just said, the situation is not yet fully clear. Bishop Ronis has never been involved in politics before, and now he's suddenly become active, and our dangerous friend has also shown up, receiving attention from His Majesty and other countries. Although their energy seems to be temporarily focused on non-political matters, what will they do next? And how will their relationship with the military develop? We absolutely cannot reveal ourselves openly until these situations are fully clarified."

  "Yes, I understand." Klauvius nodded. Even if the duke forgot the specific content of these words later, he could still recite them verbatim.

  The Duke continued, "However, we can't really do nothing. Because our situation is generally good. My capable daughter, your wife, made a perfect appearance in that emergency hunting situation, which was an unexpected delight. His Majesty granted her a title and financial official position, although it was out of consideration for maintaining a clean image, I didn't ask her about it, but there's no doubt it will be helpful to us in the future. Moreover, now I hold military power, my position is as stable as Mount Tai, so in this chaotic situation of readjusting, opportunities are everywhere. We absolutely cannot waste such a good opportunity, and we must push things in the direction we hope for without hesitation." He revealed a somewhat complacent mysterious expression. "In short, it's enough to secretly plot behind the scenes, there's no need to put ourselves on stage, can't expose that it was our doing."

  The duke sighed, like an artist signing his name and adding a comment to his satisfactory work. "Means are the privilege of intelligent people, the tool of successful people, and if they can be used more, they should be used more. However, noble qualities such as integrity and uprightness are also equally beautiful things that cannot be abandoned. Both must be taken care of, and what is produced by combining them is 'intrigue'."

  "I understand." Klause nodded in admiration. He couldn't help but want to imprint these brilliant words and explanations on his own soul. The great gift his uncle had just given him was the perfect result of this kind of clever tactic, which was far more effective than using brute force to get things done.

  Duke Mularak casually mentioned at the meeting of military ministers the day before yesterday that the Ernie family has been using its political power to monopolize and make a fortune in business and trade. These things were originally unknown to outsiders, but Klaus was not an outsider, and he had long been concerned about these things, so what the Duke said was brief, but every sentence was fatal.

  With the duke's eloquence and cleverness, these words were naturally spoken in a very suitable situation, seemingly without much care. But once they fell into the ears of the ministers who had always been hostile to the Erni family and were looking for an opportunity to take advantage of them, they naturally became very concerned about this matter. And so things developed smoothly from there, these things quietly and automatically came into the hands of the duke, who was always upright and never did anything underhanded.

  The duke can finally breathe a sigh of relief and boost his spirits to start showing off. It's not just because this plan will greatly increase his wealth, preparing for future greatness, but also because he has found a way to fill in the huge gap that had been keeping him up at night.

  The duke had been devoting all his energy to this cover-up operation for a long time, so he didn't have any moves in other areas. Since he couldn't take action against the person who knew too much again, he could only eliminate all the evidence of intelligence support for Europe, all the traces of funding Europe that he had hidden before. This was absolutely a troublesome thing, and it was simply an impossible task for others. Fortunately, relying on the duke's superb ability, he perfectly accomplished it after spending a lot of thought and effort.

  Moreover, Ou Fu is now working hard to establish good relations with various countries, and the Duke has not gained any great benefits from the establishment of Ou Fu. Without evidence, no matter who says that the Duke colluded with Ou Fu, it is impossible for anyone to believe.

  Everything is now ready. The industries of the Ernie family can greatly enhance the power of the duke, and for a duke with such a high level of wisdom and cunning, even a small advantage can be used to great effect.

  Klauss arrived at the Prime Minister's residence at dusk, when the Prime Minister was having dinner alone.

  "You're here. Come, let's have a good talk." Even as he was savoring the exquisite food, the Prime Minister looked somewhat fatigued and didn't bother with polite formalities when greeting his nephew. It seemed that the events of this period had indeed drained his energy, leaving him little strength to devote to these superficial niceties.

  Before the conversation, the prime minister had to do one preparatory task: to drive away the astonishing number of servants surrounding him. In the vast dining hall, there were several chefs, pastry cooks, and roasters ready to cater to the prime minister's changing appetite at any moment. At the table, three servants were responsible for cutting meat, two for pouring wine, four specially trained servants quickly selected dishes from the astonishing number on the table and arranged them in a visually appealing way on individual plates. Finally, two attendants, dressed more elegantly than Clavius, wearing uniform wigs and powdered hair, served the prime minister by putting these things into his mouth. If it weren't for enjoying these wonderful things becoming tasteless under one's own efforts, the prime minister would probably need to find someone else to chew for him as well.

  This is not a grand occasion, but just an ordinary meal that can be seen every day. The prime minister's stomach has already been spoiled to some extent, so there are only forty dishes in one meal, and these servants are also the minimum limit, if reduced further, it would be completely humiliating.

  The Prime Minister's contempt for the Duke of M?ak had mostly been due to the latter's lack of such flair. For someone who ate without servants waiting on him, didn't care about his food, and even served himself bread, no matter how high he rose or how many lavish parties he threw with golden and silver tableware to entertain ministers, at heart he was just a country bumpkin turned nouveau riche.

  However, the current situation is compelling, and he can't help but bow his head to this rustic fellow. The prime minister also looks somewhat dispirited, handing over the already prepared account books, documents, and family heirloom seals to Klause, saying with a hint of resignation: "To be honest, it's truly regrettable - you were originally the most talented and promising young member of our family. But due to your father's circumstances, everyone kept their distance from you, and I also had some prejudices against you..."

  Klauss didn't say a word or show any expression, this was the indifference he had cultivated towards his family members since young. However, he could also see that his uncle indeed felt like he had no way out. Because people usually only speak their true feelings when they are disheartened and lazy.

  "As long as we get through this most difficult period, our family will still have the opportunity to turn things around. After all, whether in power or out of it, we still have great potential. So you must be careful and take good care of these industries when you are with Duke Mlak. I am old now, and the future of this family depends on you."

  For the first time in his life, Klaus smiled at his uncle: "Don't worry, I've got this one covered."

  "Ah, thank you for your hard work." The prime minister also thought that although he had a prodigal son as a father, this nephew was still useful.

  He turned and left, walking down the wide, deep corridors of the Chancellor's palace with a cold smile. He could fully understand his uncle's intentions. However, now that he had in his hands the things that represented the family's power, he didn't feel any sense of accomplishment or satisfaction, nor did he look forward to anything. He knew that it wouldn't take much time and effort for him and the Duke to turn these documents and seals into something completely unrelated to the Ernie family, and his heart was filled with a sense of revenge and satisfaction.

  According to the family rules, those things should have been his father's first and then passed down to him. However, because his father was a complete prodigal son, the family had no choice but to hand them over to his uncle, preparing to change the head of the household. And he also suffered from the exclusion and cold eyes of the clan people due to his father's fault.

  He didn't expect at all what his uncle said about the family legacy being passed down to him, and even in his subconscious he wouldn't have a hint of resistance against the duke. Firstly, it was clear that there was a huge gap in their powers, just like how a rabbit wouldn't dare think it could eat a lion, and most importantly, he was completely under the duke's control spiritually, having become an appendage to him.

  A woman's crying and shouting accompanied by the sound of slapping came from a room next door, interrupting his thoughts. Klause frowned and listened for a moment before walking over.

  The weather wasn't hot, but everyone in the room was stark naked. Several women huddled together on that huge bed, shivering and watching a man beating up a woman in the corner of the room.

  The man's limbs were thin and weak, but he was like a mad dog, biting, scratching, tearing, kicking and hitting the woman's snow-white body. While beating her, he shouted: "I'll make you do what I dare not do, hit you and you still dare to resist..." The woman did not dare to resist, she could only barely protect her face, crying and screaming in agony.

  "What are you doing in my house?" The prime minister's son glared at Clovis, who had suddenly appeared in the doorway. This time his father had barely saved his life, but he had also given him a good scolding and even hit him personally. It was the first time he had been disciplined since birth, which made him furious, and he could only vent his anger on these women.

  Klauss lazily replied, waving the thing in his hand as if to show off. This waste had often shown off to him in various ways before, relying on the things his father held.

  The rubbish also knew about the recent situation and did not show any hostility towards this demonstration, but just thought for a moment and suddenly said: "You come in, we discuss something, you help me with one thing."

  Klauss walked in, although he certainly didn't mean to help, but also wanted to hear what was going on, this was the first time this waste asked him for something.

  "Get out. All of you, get out." Mordo kicked the battered woman in the face and chased all the women away before turning to Klavius and saying: "Lend me those dozens of Holy Knights under your command, I'm going to go kill someone." His voice was twisted with malice. "I have to kill that guy, no matter what. That's why my dad beat me up, you know? He beat me up."

  Klauss couldn't help but sneer. Trash will always be trash, and this time they still haven't learned their lesson. And what kind of team is the Holy Knights, how can it be used for private fights?

  However, what he was most concerned about was the tone of the waste material, which was still so arrogant, as if it had to help him. He sneered: "Why should I help you?"

  Mo Da's tone didn't soften at all, and instead became somewhat condescending, as if helping him was a privilege granted by himself. A true spoiled brat is someone who always throws a tantrum and acts arrogant no matter the situation. "Don't think that just because our family's situation isn't good right now, you can do whatever you want. Let me tell you, when our family rises again in the future, it will still be my father as the head of the household. Do you think your idle and lazy father has what it takes to be the head? And in the end, the family business will still be passed down to me. So, you standing on my side right now is absolutely correct."

  Klause sneered coldly, his sneer was a mockery of the fool in front of him, and he was happy because he could finally stand at the peak of victory and look down on these now ridiculous demonstrations.

  "You dare not!" The prime minister's son shrieked. "Do you think I don't know? Your wife and he are former lovers, and compared to him, you're not even a man. He has the bishop's protection, so you don't dare touch him, you useless coward!"

  Klavius's two sword-like eyebrows collided violently in the middle, and sparks also burst out of his eyes. But he immediately closed his eyes and fell silent.

  After a while, Klaus opened his eyes. The spark had already disappeared into the depths. He replied expressionlessly: "No way. I don't want to help you take the blame." Then he turned around and walked out.

  "Stop right there." Mordo chased out the door, but Klaevis was gone in a few long strides. He had only turned back with a scowl. "Remember this, you'll be sorry later." Suddenly his bare foot stepped on something small on the floor, picked it up and took a look, it was a small exquisitely carved seal with Klaevis' name on it, along with the holy cross pattern of the Knights Templar.

  "Consider yourself lucky." Mordo gazed in the direction Klaue had gone and snorted.