Chapter 112

This is… utterly ridiculous! How could something this absurd even happen? As he stared at the shiny new badge on the panel, not only did the group of nobles in the ward freeze in shock, but Leon, seated in his wheelchair, was also caught completely off guard.

Just a few days ago, he had broken into the Lane family estate under cover of night. He didn’t just eliminate their first heir; he even went on to take out over two hundred key members, single-handedly orchestrating the infamous Lane Blood Night that plunged the Lanes into Hades.

And yet, here was the old Duke of the Lane family, seemingly out of his mind, recognizing Leon as the next heir mere seconds after being wheeled into the room. This made Leon the biggest beneficiary of the Lane Blood Night incident…

Hell! Isn’t this just screwing with people? Being both the ultimate beneficiary and suspected architect of the Lane Blood Night, any sane investigator from the Clearing Bureau would surely send down an entire platoon to thoroughly investigate him from head to toe! “Everyone, please hear me out!”

Suddenly saddled with a two-ton hot potato smacked right onto his face, though Leon felt no guilt in his heart, he still tensed up and hastily refused:

“I have no interest in this title. Perhaps you should consider someone else…”

“Scoundrel!”

Before Leon could finish his sentence, an elderly man with gray hair and elaborate robes stepped forward from the crowd, eyes full of disdain as he rebuked:

“This is the title of the Lionheart Duke! And it was personally designated by the old Duke before his death! Is it something you can simply relinquish with a word?”

So what’s it got to do with you?

As a somewhat cultured individual, Leon might normally watch his words, but given his urgency to rid himself of this烫手山芋and clear his name from the Lane Blood Night accusations, his tone became rather blunt.

“Who the hell are you?”

After delivering a response that caused the assembled nobles’ expressions to shift dramatically, Leon quickly assessed the elder’s attire, finding a blue crown adorned with three single-feather plumes on his chest badge.

Though cameras now exist, their high cost limits their availability, so identification often relies on credentials and badges. Therefore, the kingdom’s emblem laws are quite stringent.

According to these regulations, all badges must strictly adhere to specific requirements, especially noble crests which must include crowns, shields, supporters, and mantlings without exception.

The most crucial crown insignia serves as the mark of rank, excluding the royal diamond crest for the five ranks of nobility: Duke, Marquis, Count, Viscount, and Baron, each corresponding to gold, silver, copper, iron, and tin colors respectively.

Additionally, the royal diamond crown features a robin as its emblem, while the five noble ranks use corresponding single-feather plumes to symbolize their role as the pillars supporting the monarchy.

The highest Duke rank starts with five feathers, while the lowest Baron begins with one. Those who inherit titles and achieve significant accomplishments may add an additional feather as an extra honor.

The white-haired elder’s badge with three copper feathers revealed him to be a third-tier Count within the kingdom’s nobility hierarchy, a common count who achieved little beyond inheriting his title.

…

“Ho ho, such arrogance, I thought you were some grand figure, turns out you’re just a Count?”

To quickly rid himself of this troublesome ducal title and avoid scrutiny from the Clearing Bureau, Leon decided to go all out, flashing a disdainful smile at the white-haired elder.

Adhering to the principle of offending as many people as possible, preferably all of them, to encourage them to reconsider another candidate for duke, Leon endured the excruciating pain in his skin as he stood up from his wheelchair. Under everyone’s watchful eyes, he slowly approached the white-haired elder, raising his hand to forcefully prod the three-feathered copper crown on his chest.

“A third-tier Count with only the basic three feathers… turns out you’re just a petty nobody?”

Petty nobody? Me? Petty nobody? Upon hearing Leon’s “incisive” evaluation, feeling the strange gazes of the other nobles upon him, the white-haired elder stumbled back a couple steps, blood rushing to his head as he roared furiously:

“You!!!”

“What about me? Am I wrong?”

Worried that insufficient force might fail to rid him of this cursed ducal title, Leon quietly switched his badge, equipping the Silver-level [Elite Performer], then crossed his arms and slightly lifted his head, sneering with disdain:

“Third-tier Count with only three feathers… tch, don’t you know how worthless those feathers from the royal family are?

Faking tax collection, pretending to aid disaster relief, or even sending a grand gift during the princess’s birth, they’ll give you a feather for anything. You’re already this old, yet your badge still only has three feathers—what are you if not a petty nobody?”

“I… I…”

“If I were you, I’d have slit my throat long ago!”

With the assistance of the Silver-level [Elite Performer], Leon’s handsome face displayed genuine disdain and bone-chilling contempt.

“Believe me, die sooner.”

Reaching out to pat the white-haired elder’s sagging cheek, Leon leaned in with sincere eyes and suggested: “Looking at your robust constitution, you’ve got at least twenty more years of food waste ahead of you. If you hung yourself today, it could save the kingdom a hefty sum, maybe even earn you some credit.

Think about it, if the royal family sees how much you’ve contributed, they might reward you with a feather, and then you wouldn’t be a petty nobody anymore. It’s a win-win situation, isn’t it?”

Nonsense! Absurd!! You deserve death!!

After enduring such humiliating mockery, the white-haired elder, face turning purple, prepared to protest, but when he met Leon’s gaze,

Two parts disdain, three parts contempt, the remaining five parts pure sincerity.

This damn dog truly believed that someone like him, a “petty” noble, was worth more dead than alive!

“Ho… Ho…”

Struck by Leon’s genuine sincerity, all the curses and vile insults stuck in his throat, transforming into instantly skyrocketing blood pressure and a burning, sticky glob of yellow phlegm that choked the elder until his eyes rolled back and his legs gave way, causing him to collapse backward.

Wow?! Didn’t expect that just two sentences would drop the elder’s HP to zero, even Leon was startled, instinctively stepping back.

“You saw it! I just poked him twice with my finger, he fell on his own!”

Yes, we saw it, you indeed only poked him twice with your finger, but you stabbed him in the heart a thousand times with your mouth! Most nobles care about appearances, at least superficially. Seeing someone reprimanded with just a word and then publicly humiliated into fainting after two sentences, the dozens of nobles in the ward immediately fell silent.

This newly appointed Lionheart Duke clearly had no qualms about causing trouble. With the white-haired elder serving as a cautionary example, anyone who dared speak up risked being publicly ridiculed in front of so many relatives. Who could live with that? After a brief pause, except for a few familiar nobles calling for help to carry the elder out, the entire noble group maintained a默契silence. Though no one challenged Leon, neither did anyone suggest replacing the heir, effectively defaulting the decision.

Since it’s the Lane family’s heir, not ours, the harm won’t reach us. As for the noble’s dignity… laughable, compared to actual interests, it’s not even worth a copper coin! If the incoming Lionheart Duke were sharp and capable, there might be opposition, since the more Lane assets the new duke could preserve, the less there would be for others to divide. But now…

Seeing this new duke choose to offend the family in-laws at the moment the Lane family needed support the most, even going so far as to throw a tantrum in public, satisfaction gleamed in the eyes of dozens of nobles.

Perfect, this naive youth with no tact, overambitious yet arrogant, is exactly the right person to take over as the Lionheart Duke!

Of course, once things settle down in a month or two and the Lane family’s assets are mostly divided, his duchy will come to an end too…

There weren’t many influential figures left in the Lane family who could decisively impact the inheritance of the dukedom.

Apart from the “wholeheartedly supportive” old Duke, the rest were either killed or incapacitated by Bobby Lane, followed by Leon’s “elimination” of another batch. Only a handful remained, either long retired or nearing the end of their lives. The ones with the most say now were the group of “in-laws” inside the ward.

Ignoring the strong objections of the newly appointed duke, the Lane family in-laws spent less than five minutes deciding to follow the old Duke’s last wish, making Leon, with his black hair and black eyes, who looked nothing like a Lane, the new leader of the nine-plus ten-thousand golden puppies of the entire Lane family.

This is… utterly absurd! It’s like a farce! Upon learning how the new duke was chosen from the officer who pushed Leon into the ward, the Minister of Defense was both excited and infuriated.

Excitement stemmed from his daughter’s assurance that Leon was absolutely not someone who would side with the nobles. Rather than worrying he’d collude with the old aristocracy after becoming duke, there was concern he might flip the table, perhaps even conspire with rebels to stage another bloodbath, wiping out the Lane family in-laws altogether.

If Isa’s judgment was correct, the ascension of such an “un-noble” duke would be a tremendous boon to Princess Veronica’s reforms. Having an “insider” in the impenetrable Upper House would be akin to planting a knife in the heart of the old aristocracy.

As for why he was angry…

“Your Highness! These old nobles must be dealt with soon!”

Looking at the princess behind the desk, calm as ever, the old man couldn’t help but express his anger:

“The Lane family’s sphere of influence lies in the Road Administration Department and the Military Department, mainly public infrastructure and military procurement. Yet the core powers of these crucial departments are entirely controlled by the old nobility, able to appoint positions privately without formal approval! The candidates they select, you merely rubber-stamp them! This cannot continue!”

“Hmm, I will, but not now.”

The princess behind the desk flipped through the “new duke’s” file, calmly stating: “These old nobles are the rotten flesh parasitizing on the kingdom, which must be removed, but if done improperly, the wound will bleed uncontrollably.

My father once dismissed three consecutive Ministers of Finance and purged numerous minor families in an attempt to personally control the kingdom’s finances, leading to fierce backlash.

The result of their struggle was a six-month halt in the kingdom’s finances, revealing a combined deficit of nearly 60 billion, almost collapsing the entire system. Six years ago, during the defensive war, even military funds couldn’t be replenished, creating deficits that persist to this day.”

Pausing here, she marked something on Leon’s file before continuing:

“So such actions must not be rushed. If removing the old nobility causes the country to temporarily shut down, it would create a greater catastrophe. Thus, it must be done step by step.

And the current situation is actually perfect, especially our new Lionheart Duke… Hmm… Do you know what he once said?”

Looking at the circled part on the file, the princess spoke calmly:

“As for the royal family and the nobles, they are nothing but lice growing in the crotch, and once they suck enough blood to cause pain, they should be caught and crushed!”

?!!! Completely unaware of Leon’s “rebel” identity, upon hearing the princess’s words, the Minister of Defense was greatly shocked.

But before he could say anything, he noticed a slight upward curve at the corner of the princess’s usually steady lips.

“Though the metaphor is a bit crude, it’s not wrong.”

Unbothered by being likened to lice in the crotch, the princess closed Leon’s file, opened the report on the inheritance situation, and smiled: “Lionheart Duke… Hmm… Louse-heart Duke… Thinking about it, it’s quite ironic.

This duke who views the nobility and royalty as lice has now become one of the fattest lice on the kingdom, with the ability to gorge on its blood. I wonder what he’ll do…

Oh, by the way, look at this.”

Passing over the report, the princess, who usually frowned, rarely chuckled softly, then lightly tapped a record on the report, narrating with interest: “That count he insulted into fainting kept a cabbage in his bedroom, and openly declared that Leon Lane’s Lionheart Duke title would rot faster than his cabbage!”

Cabbage… meaning at most two or three months? Taking the report and looking it over, the Minister of Defense’s brows furrowed, recalling the glowing eyes of his daughter when mentioning Leon.

“Princess Veronica…”

Sighing internally, the Minister of Defense took the initiative to ask:

“Do you think how long his duchy will last? Will he be purged after the Lane family is divided?”

“Purging won’t happen.”

After pondering, the princess shook her head: “Apart from the count he offended to death, the other nobles won’t care about an empty-shell duke. However, the Lane family might not survive longer than that cabbage.

After losing their connections in the Military Department and the Road Administration Department, the Lane family’s influence in the military has bottomed out, leaving only one seat in the Upper House politically. In business, although they seem to have something left, it’s all propped up by contracts from the Military Department and the Road Administration Department.

In terms of military, politics, and commerce, the Lane family doesn’t hold any advantage now. What kind of person could prop up this crumbling operation?”

(End of Chapter)