Darkstone Code

Chapter 1251 - 1249: Tradition

At this moment in the home of the old noble, he looked at the young Count’s uncle, his expression exceedingly gloomy.

"I asked..., he proved that I did not give any orders for anyone to attack other people’s properties, so if this order didn’t come from me, it must have been issued by you."

In front of him, Kipling’s face was equally unpleasant, as he looked at the old noble with some resentment.

Faced with this issue, he shook his head firmly, "It wasn’t me, I’m not that stupid, and you asked me to stop."

"Do you dare to swear?" the old noble asked.

Kipling then raised his hand and swore to the Lord of Gafura that none of this was done by him.

Sometimes it’s hard to understand the minds of the Federation people, and the Gafura people; on one hand, they do things that desecrate the gods, yet at certain specific times, they are filled with pure faith.

Criminals who have committed countless horrible crimes place their hands on the Bible in court and swear that every word they say is the truth, and people damned believe them.

They are willing to believe those absurd and ridiculous oaths rather than scientific evidence and factual proof.

After watching Kipling make such a vicious oath, the old noble was even more puzzled, "If it wasn’t you, then who did it?"

As he pondered this question, the phone rang.

After picking it up, his expression became increasingly worse, as if it wasn’t bad enough, now it was utterly terrible!

Actually, to him, Kipling wasn’t of much value, but to throw Kipling to the young Count, even if the young Count apologizes in front of everyone, it would mean he succumbed, which in turn means the entire family succumbed.

Not to mention those assets in Kipling’s hands; he has thought for so long yet didn’t get much, and once Kipling leaves, those assets would also be taken away and never be gotten back.

This was something the old noble could not bear; he once thought His Grace the Duke could give him a decent solution, but now it seems that’s not the case.

After hanging up the phone, he slightly lowered his head, which was rarely seen on him. He looked at Kipling, and at this moment, his gaze was like that of a predator, instilling fear in others.

After about ten seconds, maybe half a minute, he spoke to Kipling, "The young Count has presented a demand to the Secretariat; he demands that we must give up protecting you and hand you over to him..."

Kipling’s expression instantly turned terrified; he fought tooth and nail for the title with his only nephew, even sought out many outsiders to exert pressure.

After failing, he directly stole the family’s assets and then betrayed the family by marrying another’s daughter and joining another family.

These were unforgivable matters for nobles, and now the young Count actually wants to use his "belonging" as a condition for compromise, making Kipling realize the young Count truly wants him dead!

He was both shocked and terrified, and there was a hint in the old noble’s words that this was the Duke’s intention, the Duke approved of such a deal, which made him panic for a moment.

Seeing Kipling’s constantly changing expression, the old noble suddenly reassured him, "Rest assured, I will not hand you over to him, no matter what, you are my daughter’s husband, we are family."

"Maybe there are some conflicts between us, but that’s our own matter, the principle of our family is not to abandon any family member!"

"If they want to go to war, then let them come!"

The old noble now saw very clearly that whether he handed Kipling over or not, his dignity could not be maintained.

The only way to protect his dignity was to fight, to resolve the issue in the traditional noble manner!

Despite his old age, he had witnessed those armed conflicts among nobles when he was young, fought bloody and all, and things would mostly be resolved afterward!

Since the young Count was making things so difficult for him, why should he continue to endure it?

As for the plans of the Secretariat, they were not related to him now, does playing safe guarantee that he could achieve the power he desired in the future?

Not necessarily, he wasn’t an hereditary Duke or Marquis or any top noble guaranteed to hold various practical powers after the new system is implemented.

Since it’s uncertain he would benefit from this... no, he can’t even be considered a beneficiary, why should he sacrifice his interests to protect others’ benefits?

Furthermore, even if he followed Duke Phoenix’s arrangements, handing over the people and assets, his reputation for being weak would probably spread throughout noble circles.

Could a weak person occupy an important position in the political system of the new era?

That too was clearly impossible!

Quickly coming to such awareness and decision, the old noble immediately made a judgment.

Since any choice leads to the worst result, then simply not choosing, let everything go according to noble rules!

The old noble’s words did not bring much relief to Kipling, he had very profound knowledge of the old noble.

Initially, when both sides didn’t know each other well, he thought the old noble was a good person, not only supporting him to fight for the title but also willing to provide some aid in other aspects.

Later he realized, it was all for more benefits, to the extent that now, he had no way to leave this family.

When someone who can’t wait for him to drop dead to take all his assets suddenly says they want to help him, he feels something is amiss.

The old noble didn’t give him more time or space to think and continued, "Regardless of whether you did those things, we have no retreat now."

"I can’t turn you over to let your nephew humiliate you. After all, your wife is my daughter, and you are part of my family."

"And you also have no retreat; you must forge ahead, or your life will only amount to this!"

After considering for a while, Kipling didn’t immediately express his stance but cautiously asked, "Then what should I do?"

"Fight back!", the old noble immediately provided his decision, "Fight back fiercely!"

Kipling was somewhat surprised as he genuinely hadn’t expected the old noble to support him, suddenly feeling a touch of emotion.

But he quickly immersed himself in "revenge". Yes, he deemed this revenge, having suffered the most terrifying humiliation of his life, with possibly the whole world having seen his buttocks.

He was a bit narcissistic; not everyone was interested in his buttocks, just some women and some gay men.

This was a stain he couldn’t erase in his lifetime, possibly leading to a permanent disassociation from his title.

The Imperial Family would never confer a title to a clown appearing nude on newspaper pages, which would be the greatest humiliation to the Imperial Family and nobility at large!

Little Count truly harbored frightening thoughts, severing Kipling’s "succession path". How could Kipling not harbor deep hatred towards him?

The two sat together for a while and decided on a retaliatory action!

Little Count’s people smashed their shops, so they could go and smash Little Count’s assets!

Before Kipling departed, the old noble proudly and arrogantly told him that the family had quite a few assets in the Imperial Capital and the Empire, whereas Little Count’s assets were not many.

They lost a few shops, properties, which were inconsequential matters, but if Little Count lost some assets, the impact on his income would be devastating!

"We will definitely suffer losses, but we can bear them; they, however, cannot, and eventually, they will admit defeat first!"

"Go, show them our bravery!"

With the support of the old noble, quickly, the family dispatched over thirty people, all family servants.

Their parents were also family servants, and their loyalty to the family was unquestionable.

These young people were around their twenties, physically strong.

The nobles’ food was excellent, and the servants’ food was also excellent. They would do some rough work during the day and maintain safety in the manor or villa or other places at night.

With these manpower, Kipling swore to give his damn nephew a surprise, a lesson!

Little Count didn’t have many assets in the Imperial Capital; originally, there were some, but they were divided and taken away by those uncles and aunts, leaving only a few shops.

His main business is now over in the Amelia Region; business here can be considered unimportant.

"Where do you think they’ll attack first?"

Little Count didn’t have any "victim" consciousness, instead was very interested in discussing with Lynch about the opponent’s initial target.

Lynch didn’t directly answer him because he didn’t know either, "Which of these assets do you think was the most important to the past you?"

These kinds of enlightening questions were precisely what Little Count currently lacked.

He didn’t have a father who had fought with those nobles in the Secretariat for half a lifetime, handing him various experiences. His growth could only rely on himself!

Upon hearing this question, many answers filtered through his head.

"Financial company!", he shouted, "Yes, exactly, the financial company is the first target they’ll attack!"

In Gafura, there are also financial companies, and the main providers of this service are the nobles.

Nobles have this tradition.

In ancient, medieval, and even modern times, nobles would lend seeds to their subjects, then during harvest season, obtain a large amount of grain from them.

"Seed loans" might be one of the earliest forms of usury.

If civilians under the domain encounter some monetary needs, they would also borrow from noble lords; this itself is part of the nobles’ duty.

As lords, they have the duty to provide various assistance to the people whenever needed!

If there is something that brings steady income and is inconspicuous, it must be the financial company!