For Lord Leonard, he was really in a dilemma now.After weighing the pros and cons, in the end, the Earl gritted his teeth and decided to bet everything on a full-on offensive.There was no hope of retreating now.
Once he retreated, all that the Leonard family had painstakingly built up in Luxembourg over hundreds of years would come to nothing.Although the Leonard family had countless connections with those wealthy and noble families living in the capital, after all, the Leonard family was not one of those noble families.
The Leonard family had always belonged to Luxembourg, to the southern part of Francois. Luxembourg was the soil on which the Leonard family survived. It was precisely because the Leonard family had deeply rooted itself in this fertile soil that it had thrived so vigorously.
Once separated from this soil, this family would become leaves floating and drifting.Without roots and a trunk, those leaves couldn't exist for long.There was no turning back now.If the heir to the lord standing in front of him was of the same temperament as the old Earl Madin, if the young man in front of him was a kind and tolerant person.
Perhaps there would still be room for compromise, perhaps there would still be the possibility of retreat.But now it seemed that clearly wasn't the case. This young man would never accept his compromise. Once this young man got a firm foothold, he would surely uproot the Leonard family and burn this big tree with deep roots and lush foliage in Luxembourg with a raging fire.
Lord Leonard seemed to have already seen the descendants of his family, one after another, being soaked in blood.He seemed to have already seen the ancestral home of his family, which had a history of hundreds of years and had stood there even before Luxembourg was built, burning fiercely in the fire.He seemed to have already seen in a corner of the slum, the descendants of the Leonard family were fighting and scrambling for a piece of dry bread, and beside them were numerous graves, and these graves didn't even have tombstones.
The Earl was quite aware that all of this was possible. This was the consequence of failure.Lord Leonard had never thought that he might fail before, because that was really ridiculous. There was a huge force behind him. The real bigwig who manipulated everything was far from being comparable to a small lord like Earl Maidin. The reason why that bigwig didn't directly interfere in this matter was just for a good reputation.
Moreover, the descendants of the Maidin family couldn't be called brave fighters at all. They would rather hold a quill pen than a sword. Dealing with such enemies seemed to have no possibility of failure at all.But now, everything had suddenly turned upside down.Out of nowhere, an heir to the lord had emerged.
If this young man was just a clumsy imposter, that would be okay.But he happened to be an excellent actor, deceiving the eyes of most people and winning the support of everyone.Even so, Lord Leonard still wasn't worried.Anyway, the main power in Luxembourg was in his hands, and he had a huge force behind him as his backer. Letting this imposter sit on the lord's seat wasn't unacceptable. At most, he could make him a puppet by hollowing out his power. However, even letting this young man be a titular lord wasn't something Lord Leonard could accept. He didn't think he was that tolerant.
Exposing this imposter's true face in front of everyone and taking this opportunity to teach a lesson to those families that had supported this imposter was what he would like to see.It was precisely because of this that everything the Earl had been secretly doing was centered around how to expose the fraud.He had never expected that the situation would become so unfavorable to him.He had never expected that the enemies he faced were not a clumsy liar or a group of despicable liars.
It was a sinister alliance composed of conspirators and killers.Lord Leonard began to be afraid.He was quite afraid.Since so many of his men had been killed one after another, he had been afraid.The opponents were clearly more unscrupulous and more brutal than him.
These people couldn't even be described as cruel. Judging from the fact that they tore people into pieces alive, it could be seen that these people were bloodthirsty, extremely bloodthirsty.And now he had to face these bloodthirsty enemies. He didn't know what fate awaited him. This was the most terrifying thing.Lord Leonard tried his best to get rid of the feeling of fear in his heart.
With great difficulty, he managed to calm himself down.After all, he still had a trump card in his hand.
He could still prove that this young master Ivan was an imposter.However, although this trump card was effective, in the eyes of most people, it was really an extremely immoral means.
Using such a method would probably make him be attacked by everyone.
Therefore, he would try not to use this method if possible.
Originally, he was quite confident that he could gather other evidence.
Monitoring Mr. Juan and all the people related to him did bring him a lot of information.
However, there wasn't much valuable information among these pieces of intelligence because the monitors he sent out were also being monitored by the other side.
Moreover, the time was too short. Before this, he didn't even know that Lord Juan existed.
And after that, these people wiped out all the forces in his hands.
Two weeks was really too short. But it wasn't completely fruitless.
That person named Audrey had traveled between Southport and Luxembourg several times, and his actions were extremely suspicious.
When in Southport, he acted mysteriously, went in and out of the Primo family's house many times, and transported a lot of oil paintings away.
Why had he overlooked this matter at that time? There must be secrets hidden in these oil paintings.
Besides, he also secretly brought two people to Luxembourg.
One of them was the most famous and highest-priced prostitute in Southport. This was quite understandable. It was heard that this young master Ivan was at least similar to the real Ivan · Este in one aspect, that is, they were both out-and-out playboys.
Sending a prostitute to a playboy as a plaything was quite a suitable choice.
And the other person seemed to be the butler of the Este family. At the beginning, when there was that massacre, this guy's body wasn't found. He had thought that this person might have escaped death.
If he could find this butler, that would definitely be a powerful piece of evidence.
Unfortunately, these guys were faster and more ruthless than him.
Dozens of corpses and the bloody killing methods not only wiped out all the forces in his hands but also made those people who were originally willing to work for him as long as the price was right now stay far away from him.
Since there was no other evidence, it seemed that he had no choice but to use that trump card.
Lord Leonard hesitated for a long time and finally gritted his teeth. He decided to take the risk.
The Earl took a big step forward. This was entirely to boost his courage. He said, "Dear gentlemen, ladies, and young ladies, today is an important and solemn day. The young heir of the Maidin family is standing in front of us. If his bloodline purity can be proved, then he will become our new lord."
"Lord Leonard, this is already beyond doubt. We have checked all the documents. All the documents are complete, and the appraisal experts have verified the authenticity of these documents," Earl Kenneth said.
"I can fully imagine that. There is no doubt that the documents are authentic and reliable. But what can these documents prove? If these documents were in my hands, would you believe that I am Miss Bertha's son? That's really ridiculous, don't you think?" Mr. Leonard said.
"Are you doubting Mr. Ivan's identity?" Earl Kenneth asked.
"Yes, I'm not just doubting. I even have evidence to prove that Mr. Ivan is not Miss Bertha's son. The real Ivan · Este died in the plague seven years ago," Leonard said loudly.
"Lord Leonard, you'd better think clearly about what you are doubting. Your words have insulted the reputations of several noble and noble-minded gentlemen. The respectable butler of the Primo family is the biggest victim of reputation among them. You have doubted his loyalty and his dedication. Moreover, insulting the dead is a serious crime and also an extremely despicable act because the dead can't defend themselves."
"Secondly, you have insulted Lord Juan. You have insulted his wisdom and his honesty and reliability. For an outstanding diplomat, these are the most precious treasures."
"Finally, you have insulted all of us here. You have described all of us here as deaf and blind. Lord Leonard, if you can't present sufficient evidence to justify your reasons, I will propose that all the nobles in Luxembourg vote to impeach you," Earl Kenneth said, getting more and more excited.
"Insult? I have never insulted anyone. That butler, who has ever seen his body? As far as I know, he is still alive in this world. Moreover, he is not a loyal and reliable gentleman. If you carefully check the financial account books he managed on behalf of others, you can find many flaws in them.
As for Lord Juan, I think he is a liar, an out-and-out liar, a clever liar. And an even cleverer liar is this young master Ivan. He is the most successful liar I've ever seen. Want to see the proof? Okay, I'll show you the proof," Lord Leonard took out a small box woven with gold threads from his arms.
Opening the box, there was an irregularly shaped grayish-white cylinder lying on the scarlet velvet cushion.
Lord Leonard held the box in his hand and raised it high. He said, "Here is the evidence. This is a section of finger bone taken from Miss Bertha's body. Everyone should have heard of the blood kinship identification ceremony. Archbishop, a clergy member with such high strength as you should be able to hold this ceremony. As long as some blood is taken from this young master Ivan, it can be proved whether the blood flowing in his body is related to the Maidin family or not."
Hearing what Lord Leonard said, most of the nobles present hadn't fully reacted yet.
Only to hear Elder Monr angrily shout, "Mr. Leonard, you have gone too far. This is simply the act of a devil. You not only insulted the reputation of the dead but also desecrated the dignity of the dead. You damaged the body parts of the dead. This is an unforgivable crime. What right do you have to make the dead unable to rest in peace even after death? Even stray dogs on the roadside know that it is the law of nature for flesh and blood to return to the earth, and bones should not be damaged. And you are even worse than a stray dog."
The elder's words made everyone in the church filled with righteous indignation. Miss Bertha had always been an angelic existence in their hearts. They were full of sadness for Miss Bertha's death. Now someone actually damaged Miss Bertha's remains for such despicable purposes. That was an absolutely intolerable behavior.
Many nobles, including Viscount Theodore, angrily walked towards Lord Leonard. In their opinion, perhaps piercing this scumbag's heart with a sword was a merciful way, and the stake was the most suitable choice for him.
Lord Leonard had already expected that this might happen. He quickly retreated to the side of that young man.
"Enough, stop it," the young man roared with an intimidating aura.The angry shout lingered in the air above the church and wouldn't dissipate for a long time.The young man swept his cold and sharp eyes over the gradually gathering nobles.The deafening shout and the intimidating glare made the enraged nobles pause because of fear.
Wherever his gaze passed, the nobles backed away one after another. "Let me say a few words. I'm not interested in things like desecrating the remains or damaging the dignity of the dead. I just hope to prove whether Mr. Ivan is eligible to be the heir. In my opinion, Mr. Leonard's method is the most reliable.
If you think that Mr. Leonard has desecrated the dead and want to convict him, wait until the blood kinship identification is done and it's proved that Mr. Ivan has inherited the bloodline of the Maidin family. Don't waste my time anymore. Archbishop, you should be able to conduct this ceremony. As far as I know, it's not difficult," the young man said.
"Sir, none of us here has ever known who you are.
You have no right to interfere in Luxembourg's affairs. Mr. Leonard's behavior is unforgivable, and he will be subject to a severe and fair trial," Earl Kenneth said angrily.
"Enough," the young man shouted again. "You don't need to know who I am at all. Besides, it's impossible that you can't guess my identity at all. I've already said that I didn't come here this time for your affairs. Mr. Leonard was worried that there would be no impartiality in Luxembourg, so he asked me to take on the role of an impartial judge. The establishment of the heir to the lord of Luxembourg is a major event in any case, so I reluctantly agreed.
I will treat everyone fairly as long as they have sufficient reasons. I will honestly report everything that has happened here to His Majesty the King. Moreover, I've also said that you can try Mr. Leonard or punish him if you want. I definitely won't stop all of this. But first, finish the blood kinship identification. What I need is a definite result."
"The verification method provided by Mr. Leonard is a wanton trampling on the dignity of the dead. Moreover, I'm very worried about whether the verification method provided by such a despicable person as Mr. Leonard is reliable. His means are really despicable, and we don't know what even more despicable conspiracies are involved. Perhaps that section of finger bone wasn't taken from Miss Bertha's body at all.
I believe Mr. Leonard is definitely capable of such shameless acts," Earl Kenneth said.
"Don't worry. You can divide this section of finger bone into two parts. Anyway, there are only two people in this world with the bloodline of the Maidin family. One is our young master Ivan, but I'm quite skeptical about this. The other is the respected Miss Maidin. This is beyond doubt. Divide the finger bone into two parts. If the blood kinship identification proves that young master Ivan has no blood relationship with Miss Bertha, then use Miss Maidin is blood to try.
Of course, I'm not so stupid as to leave loopholes for others to exploit. In case Miss Maidin sacrifices herself and secretly replaces it with her own blood, then wouldn't I become an extremely evil liar? These two gentlemen will keep a close eye on Miss Maidin, and the magician is fully capable of detecting everything," Mr. Leonard said triumphantly.
Suddenly, the magician stretched his hand into the air and kept waving and spinning it, chanting something. As his arm spun faster and faster, a buzzing sound filled the air above, and countless bees were flying above the magician's head.The buzzing sounds came one after another and finally merged into one. These tiny, furry creatures were like a dark cloud hovering over everyone's heads and also like a whirlwind sweeping there.
Although it was hard to see clearly what these bees looked like, their color was completely different from that of ordinary bees. The bright red color, just like blood, was the most obvious difference between them and ordinary bees.Ladies and young ladies were naturally afraid of these furry things flying around everywhere.For a while, shrill screams came one after another." These are the blood bees I raise, creatures that are fond of blood. They won't attack anyone without my order. Don't worry," the magician comforted. "The sense of smell of blood bees is very sensitive. Their preference for blood enables them to easily find the location of wounds. Of course, you can rest assured that without my order, they still won't attack anyone.
Their bloodthirsty nature is definitely not as effective as my order."
"Please control these bees first. Look, there are so many ladies and young ladies here, and they don't want to see those things," Earl Kenneth said.The magician, hearing the intermittent bursts of fearful crying still coming from the church, nodded.He rolled up his sleeves and exposed his arm to the air.Those bees quickly gathered around his arm, and soon his arm was covered with bees.These insects that made a deafening buzzing sound and kept moving around all the time made most of the people present shudder.The magician was quite aware of ordinary people's aversion to such creatures.
He put down his sleeves to cover the arm covered with bees.Apparently, this was also a kind of magic.Suddenly, the buzzing sound that had filled the air completely died down, as if all the bees had disappeared at once." That's okay now. Please start," the young man said.Earl Kenneth was about to say something else. In fact, after being disrupted by Mr. Leonard like this, he also began to have some doubts about the authenticity of Ivan's bloodline.Just at this moment, Ivan suddenly interrupted and said, "Lord Leonard, I will always remember the harm you have done to my mother's remains.
If it is finally proved that my bloodline is pure, you must pay the price for this. I won't let my mother's remains be damaged and at the same time be slandered in terms of reputation. Any investigation will make my deceased mother unable to rest in peace in heaven. I would rather choose a more direct solution. I will challenge you to a duel, and no one can replace you.""Alright, I agree.
It seems that you are willing to undergo the blood kinship identification ceremony," Lord Leonard said extremely happily. "As long as Elder Monr can conduct this ceremony, I have no reason to refuse, because I am indeed my mother's child," Ivan said firmly.This affirmative answer made Lord Leonard somewhat hesitant instead."I can conduct this ceremony, but this ceremony takes a long time," Elder Mole said.
Although he didn't know why Ivan was so resolute and so certain.Of course, he fully believed that Ivan's confidence wasn't blind."Elder, what should I do?" Ivan asked."You just need to provide a few drops of blood. Oh, I'm not sure. Maybe one milligram would be about right. Well, if possible, one milliliter should be enough," Elder Monr began to play dumb. In case the identification failed, he could also take the blame on himself."As long as the amount of blood that can cover the entire palm is enough.
hen the clergy will have to pray, praying to the God of Life to trigger the miracle of life. If you have a blood relationship with the provider of the finger bone, the God of Life will turn the dry finger bone into a vibrant cartilage. Some cartilages may even be covered with blood vessels.
The whole process will take three or four hours," the magician explained. "Yes, yes, yes. Come here. Go and get a golden bowl, fill it with water, and bring a surgical knife, the small-sized one," Elder Monr ordered."It's better to use a crystal bowl so that we can clearly see the changes happening inside, and at the same time, we don't have to worry about someone climbing onto the roof to replace the finger bone inside," the magician reminded again."Alright, get a crystal bowl," the elder ordered as usual.Before long, a priest came back to the auditorium carrying a crystal-clear crystal bowl.
The crystal bowl was filled with holy water, and it seemed that countless rays of sunlight were dissolved in the holy water. As the water rippled, the golden light flowed everywhere. In the other hand of this priest was a sharp surgical knife that glinted with a cold light.Ivan slowly walked up to the priest. He held the surgical knife in his right hand and gently made a cut on the palm of his left hand.
Blood immediately gushed out from the wound.Ivan closed his left palm into a bowl shape, with his five fingers tightly closed together. More and more blood gathered in his palm.Seeing that the blood had almost filled the entire palm, Ivan slowly put his hand into the crystal bowl.All the priests chanted the hymns praising the gods in a deep voice.
They slightly raised their heads and looked up at the place where the sunlight shone through.Ivan saw that the blood suddenly dispersed. The originally golden holy water was now shining with a golden-red light. He felt a slight throbbing pain in the wound on his palm, and then there was an itchy feeling.
Although the wound soaked in the holy water hadn't completely healed, it had stopped bleeding.Ivan played around like a child, pressing his palm in the crystal bowl. No one noticed that as the holy water in the bowl rippled, another stream of blood flowed into the crystal bowl from a slender magic wand hidden in Ivan's sleeve.
It was very easy to make the magic wand, which had been filled with the liquid in advance, let the liquid flow back out. There was no need to recite a spell at all. So, without anyone noticing, the blood taken from Miss Betty flowed into the crystal bowl.After Ivan took his hand out of the crystal bowl, Elder Monr took the crystal bowl and walked to the straight light column in the middle of the church.
A circular bracket slowly descended from the ceiling.The elder placed the crystal bowl on the bracket."Mr. Leonard, could you please bring Miss Bertha's remains here?" The elder said."Now everything will be clear," Lord Leonard took out the finger bone from the box and snapped it hard. With a "crack" sound, the finger bone broke into two pieces. "According to the agreement, the finger bone is divided into two pieces. If Mr. Ivan's blood can't fuse with this section of finger bone, then we'll try Miss Madin's blood to see if I've played any tricks."Lord Leonard's arrogant act aroused the dissatisfaction of most of the nobles. They wanted to gather around him again."Lord Leonard, you'd better think about how to deal with Mr. Ivan's request for a duel.
The insult to the dead may cost you your life," Elder mole said seriously. He took that section of finger bone and let it slowly sink to the bottom of the bowl.Elder Monr drew two strokes in the air with his index finger. The bracket slowly rose, and the crystal bowl containing the blood and that section of finger bone slowly floated towards the ceiling.
All the nobles in the church raised their heads and stared at that crystal bowl.The sunlight shining through the ceiling was refracted by the crystal bowl and projected onto the floor of the cathedral. People were standing in a blood-red light and shadow.The priests gathered under the ceiling. They knelt on the ground and prayed devoutly.The hymn of the God of Life resounded through the sky. Elder Monr closed his eyes slightly and presided over this ceremony.The light was flowing and the water was rippling. People were deeply attracted by this mysterious scene.
Only that young man stared with his sharp eyes and kept monitoring the several people who needed to be watched.He certainly knew that he couldn't be the slightest bit careless now.According to what Leonard said, he was absolutely certain that this Ivan was a fake.Leonard's words were believable because everything he said was reasonable and in line with his nature.
This despicable and shameless villain, if he wanted to plot against an unprepared person, he probably wouldn't make many mistakes.Besides, another thing that made him suspicious was that this young man was really too outstanding.And in the intelligence, the young Ivan · Este didn't show any talent at all. Except for being rather lustful, this kid had no other skills.
Seven years was enough to shape a person, but to achieve this, that person also had to have a strong desire to learn, plus talent and several times or even dozens of times of effort.And the real Ivan · Este definitely didn't have such qualities.Although this was just speculation, the possibility of this speculation was quite high.If he was a fake, then the blood kinship identification would surely expose him.
But this kid wasn't worried at all. There must be something fishy about it. There must be something that made him so calm.The young man was already completely certain that Ivan and his group would play tricks in the blood kinship identification ceremony.But how to play tricks and what kind of tricks to play were beyond his imagination.
However, it was certain that they couldn't possibly have a piece of activated cartilage in advance. They couldn't have known the means adopted by Leonard. They also didn't have time to make one temporarily.The only method that could be adopted was to infiltrate the blood of a real direct relative into the bowl.
However, the bloodline of the Maidin family was almost extinct. According to Leonard's statement, the last member of this family was that old woman.Therefore, the only one who could provide blood was that old woman.