Imperial Crown

In the secret room, the air was so heavy that it was almost solid.

Lux glanced at the hand on her chest, and then moved her eyes to Raven's face. His pretty face was as cold as ice: "What are you doing?"

At this moment, Raven was surprisingly calm due to the instinct he developed while living on the streets. He looked into Lux's eyes and said righteously:

"CPR!"

His eyes were so sincere and his voice was so steady, he looked like a knight rescuing lives.

Lux almost believed Raven's words - if his hand stopped moving right here.

A sage once said that no matter what you do, as long as you do it for ten thousand hours, you will become an expert in this field.

If this statement is true, then there is no doubt that Raven is an expert in dealing with women.

One of the hallmarks of an expert is turning a very complex skill into a physical instinct.

Just like now, Lei Ming clearly had no thoughts, but his hands had begun to move skillfully.

So when he saw Lux's eyes falling on his hands again, the expression on his face was particularly embarrassing.

"That...this is also part of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. If I stop now, you will faint immediately!"

"How dare you blaspheme the priest of the God of Light, it is an unforgivable crime!" Lux raised her hand and chanted a prayer: "Great Lord of Light, please allow me to use your gifts to punish the enemies in front of me - —”

A ray of light as bright as the morning sun bloomed from her hand. It was the divine magician's second-level magic [Punishment Technique]!

Just when the last few syllables were about to be sung, Lux's voice stopped suddenly, and her arms bent like noodles.

She... fainted again.

"What kind of thing is this!"

Raven looked at his hand that had been withdrawn, dumbfounded: "Did I really perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation just now?"

That's certainly impossible.

Judging from Lux's ridiculously pale face, it was probably fainting caused by excessive blood loss.

Lux is a second-level magician, and her physical fitness is far beyond that of ordinary people. She will not die for a while.

It didn't matter if she fainted, but if she saw Donald's body, it would be a big trouble.

Without pausing for a moment, Raven immediately began to rearrange the scene.

They put Donald in formal clothes, including gloves, wig and socks, moved a chair to the corner, moved the body on it, then took out the rapier and twisted him into a mess between the chest and abdomen.

The light was dim, and no one would notice anything unusual about Donald unless they looked closer.

Then, he helped Lux ​​up and put her on another chair, and smoothed out the wrinkles on her clothes.

After everything was done and he went over the plan in his mind, Raven opened the door to the secret room with the only key.

Half an hour later, Raven returned here with two men.

Raven walked in the front. The man behind him was stout, wearing a thick plate armor, carrying a studded buckler, and a thick half-hand sword at his waist. A thick brown beard emerged from the helmet and breastplate. It came out of the gap.

The most eye-catching thing is his eyes. The left eye is as wide as a bell, it can even be said to be a "tiger eye", showing the courage that a warrior should have; but the right eye is not so satisfactory, as if It was the Creator who suddenly lost his patience when he was kneading the clay tire, and casually gouged it out with a carving knife, leaving only a hole not much bigger than a peanut.

Others have big or small eyes, but he has "big, small, small eyes."

This man is the chief guard of Eagle Castle, Eric Davinson, a first-order heavy armor warrior. He was the one who led people to Meng En City to bring Raven back.

The person walking at the end looked to be in his sixties, with pale silver hair and a face full of wrinkles. His eyes contained wisdom that had accumulated over time. He also wore a gold-framed monocle in his right eye, which looked similar to "The Devil". There is a certain resemblance to Gandalf in "The Ring". He is the steward of Eagle Castle, Old Gordon.

"Raven, what happened to the Baron?" Eric asked: "We are already here, can we talk now?!"

Raven ignored him, took out the key and silently opened the door: "Please come in, you two."

"Huh." Eric snorted coldly, strode in, and bumped into Raven intentionally or unintentionally.

In comparison, Old Gordon was much more polite. He nodded slightly and saluted Raven before walking in.

"What's going on!!!?" Eric's voice was almost a roar. He drew his sword and pointed it at Raven: "Lord of Light, Raven, what did you do to the Baron!?"

boom.

The door to the secret room slowly closed, and Raven Shiran walked in: "It's not what I did to him, but what you did to him."

Eric was stunned: "W-what do you mean!?"

Raven walked around Eric and walked to stand next to Lux: "Eric, the chief guard of Eagle Castle, was dissatisfied because he was unable to be knighted after serving in Eagle Castle for fifteen years because of his strange appearance."

"So, you took advantage of Uncle Donald's trust, attacked suddenly, and killed him!"

"You want to frame me!?" The sword in Eric's hand was aimed at Raven's throat.

This secret room is not big. Although the heavily armored warrior is not known for his speed, he is sure to subdue Raven within five seconds!

But faster than his sword was Raven's.

Raven aimed the crossbow at Lux's temple and put the sword across his throat: "Your crime was exposed by me and Priest Lux. You became so angry that you simply stopped doing it and continued to kill both of us. Kill!"

Eric felt that the sword in his hand was heavier than ever before. He looked at Raven's extremely stable hands, cold sweat flowed down his forehead, and even wet his beard.

The baron was stabbed to death because of his negligence as the leader's bodyguard. If the priest and the first heir to the baron also died here, then he would be the biggest suspect.

The wrath of the church and the empire will be poured out on him, a little first-order warrior, and his family will inevitably be implicated!

"Scum!" Eric said tremblingly: "I have no reason to assassinate the Baron at all!"

Raven said calmly: "No, you have. You made a deal with Uncle Donald's successor, Denise, to assassinate Donald and let his stepson Vesdon inherit the title. The condition is that you will be canonized as a knight."

This sentence made Eric's heart go cold, because what Raven said was so reasonable and so consistent with the conspiracy theories that people always wanted to believe. Once this rumor spread, he couldn't even think of a way to clear himself!

Eric waved his hand and half sword: "...I have never done it, and I will never do it! I will go to the House of Lords now to expose your conspiracy to frame me!"

The next moment, a flash of scarlet appeared in front of him, causing his steps to freeze suddenly.

Raven actually pushed the edge of the stabbing sword and cut the skin on his neck!

This bloody color made Eric wake up instantly and he no longer dared to act rashly, because at this moment he was sure that Raven really had the courage to commit suicide: "Madman! You are really a madman!"

"What exactly do you want!?"

Raven showed a smile: "Finally we have reached this point."

His eyes left Eric and fell on old Gordon, who had been silent all this time: "Mr. Gordon, can I trouble you with something?"

Gordon bowed and saluted: "I obey your instructions, my lord."

"Then please immediately draft a document in Mr. Eric's voice." Raven said: "The content is that Mr. Eric admitted that he accepted Denise Gerard out of greed for the knighthood. On Griffith's terms, he personally assassinated Baron Donald Otta Griffith."

"I didn't—"

"As for you, Mr. Eric," Raven said, "If my judgment is correct, you should be a native Nord, right?"

Eric asked irritably: "What do you want to do again?"

Raven stared into his eyes: "Swear to your ancestors, pledge allegiance to me, and then sign the document."

"As long as you remain loyal to me, the contents of the paperwork will never be exposed."

Eric licked his dry lips: "But I still have a choice."

"That's right, kill me here and then escape immediately." Raven said calmly: "You are a Nord warrior who has received regular military training from the empire. I believe you have the ability to cross Eagle Mountain and escape into the bloody highlands. "

"But can your eleven-year-old son and eight-year-old daughter really withstand such a long journey? Can they really adapt to the cruel environment in Bloody Highlands?"

The corners of Eric's mouth twitched, and the veins on his forehead popped out, beating vigorously:

"Despicable! Shameless! Scum! Madman! Devil!"

Gordon walked around Eric and walked to Raven, presenting a document with both hands: "Sir, please take a look."

Raven read it over and nodded: "Then please ask Mr. Eric to sign."

Looking at the words on the document, the corner of Eric's mouth twitched. He didn't want to give in, but he couldn't let go of his children. He could only take off his gauntlet, pick up the quill, and sign his name on it.

When the pen tip left the document, Eric's soul seemed to be sucked away.

With a bang, he knelt down on one knee, wiped the blade of his sword across his palm, and covered his face with blood: "As evidenced by the Nord ancestors, I, Eric Davinson, am loyal to Raven Griffith, and am committed to loyalty. Stay on the right side!”

"Very good." Raven put away her rapier and hand crossbow, and put her hand on her chest: "I, Raven Griffith, accept your allegiance. From now on, as long as your loyalty remains unchanged, I will also Guarantee you to get the glory, fame and wealth you deserve!”

Eric stood up without saying a word.

Raven didn't care about his attitude. He walked to Donald's body and said, "Since you have been loyal to me, there are some things you should know."

As he spoke, he pushed gently, and Donald's body fell to the ground with a thud.

"You-" Eric was about to get angry, but stopped immediately.

Because he has seen Donald's almost translucent skin, skin that should never appear on a human body!

Raven walked up to him and patted his shoulder: "It is true that I killed Donald. Now, you also see the reason."

Eric's eyes were full of confusion, and he looked at Raven: "This...but why..."

Now that Donald is associated with the Evil God, there is less psychological pressure on him switching allegiance to Raven.

He was originally a retainer of the Griffith family, and it was his duty to be loyal to the heir!

But he couldn't figure it out. If this was the case, Raven's reason for killing Donald was absolutely legitimate, so why would he take it to this step? Why do you have to risk your life to deceive yourself?

Raven said: "I know you have a lot of doubts, but now is not the time to explain. I need you to find a stretcher and carry our beloved priest Lacus to the guest room."

Eric felt that his brain was not enough, but Nord was good at one thing - if he couldn't figure it out, he didn't think about it, and just followed the order honestly.

At least now, his family will not be threatened.

Raven and Lacus were carried to a guest room together. The former left on his own, but Eric couldn't suppress his curiosity.

He grabbed Gordon's shoulder and asked, "Old Gordon, what's going on? Why did Raven do this?!"

"It's Lord Raven." Gordon calmly corrected his words: "Now that Lord Donald has passed away, Lord Raven is the first heir, and you have to call him the baron."

"Okay, Raven, Lord Raven." Eric said a little uncomfortably: "Can you tell me now?"

Gordon asked: "First of all, a question, if you are an irrelevant person, how would you react if you saw Lord Donald's body?"

"Then..." Eric thought for a while: "I will report this to the Holy See, but..."

"That's enough." Gordon pushed the frame: "You also know the Holy See's attitude towards the secret cult and the evil god. If reported, the Griffith family's title is likely to be revoked."

"Lord Raven is cautious enough. He doesn't know how you will react, so he must first Force you to swear allegiance to ensure that you will not leak this secret. "

Eric suddenly realized: "So that's the case... But why did he tell me the truth at the end? "

"Because Lord Raven is smart and wise enough. "Gordon said: "When you swore, you were simply threatened. Keeping a resentful person by your side is tantamount to a time bomb. "

"So, he needs you to know the truth to eliminate the resentment in your heart. "

Eric tried to digest these contents, scratching his head and said: "Lord Raven is really... cunning!"

"It's wisdom." Gordon smiled: "After several generations of decline, I have a hunch that the Griffith family will move towards a new glory under the leadership of this lord!"

Just then, Raven's voice rang: "Mr. Gordon, please come over, I need your help with something."

He heard the conversation between the two and deepened his understanding of the two.

Gordon is worthy of being the butler who has served the Griffith family for nearly forty years. He is shrewd and wise. He speaks without leaking a single word, and knows what to say and what not to say.

The reason he gave led Eric's thoughts to the Holy See, but made the latter ignore the most important point: with the death of Donald, Eric is the only extraordinary person left in Eagle Castle.

Although Raven is the first heir, he is not the only heir. Donald's stepson, Weston, also has the right of inheritance.

Which side Eric stands on is more likely to gain an advantage in the subsequent competition for the title.

So Raven would not hesitate to take risks to hold Eric in his hands.

Of course, Raven has another choice, which is to quietly dispose of Donald's body, then give up the title inheritance and return to Mon'en City to make a living.

But why?

In this world, the gap between nobles and civilians is so big that it is like two species!

The former can enjoy wealth, glory, power and women, and possess and enjoy all the dividends in this world.

The latter is the "bonus" itself.

Raven doesn't want to live like a rat in the gutter in Mon'en City anymore, so he must get this baron title!

"Lord Raven." Old Gordon saluted respectfully: "Your loyal servant, waiting for your orders."

"Come with me." Raven said: "I need to know what kind of person Denise Griffith is."

After all, this will be the biggest obstacle he will face in inheriting the baron title.

...