before he was crowned king

In the middle of the night, a group of heavily armed soldiers walked south along Syndra Avenue, quietly passed through the downtown area during the day, and came to the smoky production area of ​​the Imperial Capital.

The large incinerators and steam engines are still operating uninterrupted, like huge beasts roaring and roaring.Duke Oscar stood at the forefront of the team on a horse, wearing the black military uniform of the palace banquet, with a thin silver chain hanging on his shoulders, and the golden medal on his chest shining brightly in the moonlight.

He pulled out the silver sword he carried with him, and easily cut off the obstacles in front of him. The barbed wire fence extended outside the factory broke a huge hole.

"Fence this place, and no one is allowed to enter during the investigation." Duke Oscar turned his horse's head, facing the soldiers and said in a low voice.

"Yes." A tidy answer.

He raised the silver sword that symbolized power, and all the soldiers got the order and rushed into the factory with long guns on their backs.

In the early morning, in the top box in the casino, Grand Duke Henry was lying on a big soft and messy bed, with a thin and fair young body nestled in his arms.

A quick knock on the door woke him from his deep sleep.

"Get out! It's so noisy!" Grand Duke Henry opened his eyes and yelled towards the door.

"What happened to the Grand Duke?" The boy wrapped in the quilt opened his sleepy eyes and asked softly.

"It's nothing, a servant who doesn't understand the rules." Grand Duke Henry stroked the boy's waist, as if he was fantasizing about something, and obsessively kissed the pale golden hair.

"Grand Duke..." The boy let out a low whimper, his body trembling slightly, "Yesterday wasn't..."

"Yesterday was fine, I am very satisfied, but the money your father owes me cannot be paid off overnight." Grand Duke Henry turned over, "Come on, baby..."

"Grand Duke! Grand Duke!" A man's voice came from outside the door this time.

Grand Duke Henry exhaled, raised his fat body with a gloomy face: "Get out."

The door was pushed open, and Baron Sist strode in in formal attire. He glanced at the chaos in the room, and then looked directly at the thin boy sitting on the bed.

Grand Duke Henry waved his hand, and the boy froze.

"Get out." Grand Duke Henry no longer had the good temper of last night, and his voice was grumpy.

The boy shivered and lifted the quilt, exposing his scarred body to the air. He couldn't find his torn clothes, so he could only walk out.

Sist frowned, and took off his dark red cloak expressionlessly and threw it on the boy.

"Thank you." The boy lowered his head, wrapped in a cloak, and ran out of the room barefoot.

"Sister, you'd better be able to say something important." Grand Duke Henry's tone was filled with anger of desire and dissatisfaction, "Otherwise I will send you to the gallows."

"Sorry, Grand Duke. If there is no important matter, my subordinates dare not disturb you." Sister saluted slightly.

"Say." Grand Duke Henry sat by the bed and lit a cigarette.

"Last night, Duke Oscar sealed off all the two metal processing plants under our name." Sister said, "The soldiers on the periphery stopped all our people outside, and they were not allowed to start work or enter."

"What? Oscar?" Grand Duke Henry frowned. "Is he crazy? Who allowed him to do this? Can he figure out how much profit the metal factory can bring me in a day?"

"I don't know." Sister said, "Those soldiers said that they will conduct a safety inspection of the equipment in the factory."

"Security check? What a shitty security check!" Grand Duke Henry laughed angrily, "He did it on purpose, deliberately using such meaningless things to trouble me."

"What should we do next?" Baron Cester lowered his eyes, "Should we gather troops..."

Grand Duke Henry frowned and exhaled smoke, and shook his index finger: "I said not to fight Oscar, he is a terrible person, and this is the capital, our actions will affect His Royal Highness Fern."

"Then what should we do?"

"Take [-] yuan and go to the mansion of Duke Oscar tomorrow." Grand Duke Henry pressed out the sparks, "And your sister, let her dress up maturely and beautifully."

"Grand Duke..." Baron Sist clenched his palms tightly.

"Sister, don't forget who gave you your current status, now is the time for you to repay it." Grand Duke Henry did not give his eyes to the man in front of him, "Get out, do as I say."

The door opened and closed, and Sester left the extravagant and charming room, and met the boy just now in the corridor. At this time, the boy had already changed into rough civilian clothes, holding his cloak in his hand.

"My lord, this is your—" The boy lowered his head, his voice was like a mosquito.

"Throw it away." Sist passed by without stopping.

The bright afternoon sun shines on the spire of the Mirror Palace, stacks of delicate and sweet snacks are placed on the snow-white tablecloth, and they are accompanied by Margaritas that were just picked today. The dewy, rich floral fragrance is elegant and captivating.

Duke Oscar stood at the side of the dining table: "Is the food not to your taste today?"

"Maybe, I don't know." Herrell leaned back on the cold patterned chair, "It may also be because I have lost interest in sweets."

Duke Oscar was stunned for a moment: "You don't like sweets anymore?"

Helaier shook his head, with a dull expression: "The taste is very similar, and if you eat too much, you will feel tired and it's hard to eat."

Duke Oscar's pupils contracted slightly. After hearing these remarks, he felt that something was wrong.

"Have you encountered any troubles?" Duke Oscar asked after some consideration.

"Trouble?" Herrell put his hands behind his head and said softly, "Oscar, I am a god, will I also encounter trouble?"

"I don't dare to speculate on your mind." Duke Oscar bent over with a humble tone, "Perhaps there are some things that make you unhappy..."

Helaier stood up suddenly and walked towards the window sill, where a luxurious carriage stopped beside the stone statue in the front yard.

Seeing the few people who came out, Herrell looked back blankly.

"Smelly fat pig." Herrell snapped his fingers, and the fat body under the window sill seemed to be caught by something, and fell to the ground in embarrassment.

"If you hate him, I can deal with him for you." Oscar's eyes flashed a cold murderous intent.

"No need, aren't you and that human being already planning in secret?" Haral slowly walked towards the door, "The stupid gambler lost everything because of greed, and he has already fallen into the spider web you are hunting."

After Grand Duke Henry wiped off the blood under his nose and straightened his clothes, he stood in front of the classical heavy gate and forced a smile.Baron Cister stood on his left side, carrying two pure black cowhide suitcases in his hands.Miss Lucy stood at the end, her slender and graceful waist was outlined in her improved lady's dress, she followed closely behind Cister, holding her brother's hem, like a frightened chick in the forest.

After a long time, the door finally opened.

"Grand Duke Henry." The young and handsome servant came out with a gentle and friendly smile on his face.

"Where's Duke Oscar?" All he saw was a butler, and Grand Duke Henry couldn't keep up his expression.

"Duke Oscar is taking a nap, may I ask what you can do for your visit?" Lin Lin asked respectfully.

"Didn't Duke Oscar know that I'm coming?" Grand Duke Henry said calmly.

"do not know."

"Then hurry up and report!" Grand Duke Henry couldn't help but speak too loudly.

"I'm very sorry, Grand Duke. No one is allowed to disturb the Duke when he is resting." Lin Lin replied with a smile.

"Anyone?" said Grand Duke Henry. "I'm paying my respects. Is the Duke trying to make things difficult?"

"Grand Duke, please don't think too much, the Duke never meant to make things difficult for you." Lin Lin said in a gentle voice, "And the Duke's nap habit is known to Her Majesty the Queen."

Grand Duke Henry's face was blue with anger: "When will the Duke wake up?"

"This..." Lin Lin's expression was a little hesitant, "Your Excellency has just digested his food and is just lying down now. Would you like to come in and have a cup of tea?"

Already here, naturally there is no reason to go back.Although Grand Duke Henry was annoyed, he followed Lin Lin into the hall of the Mirror Palace.

Lucy looked at the decorations that shone like stars, and couldn't help but admire in admiration.

"Your Excellency, are you still awake? Doesn't he think it's too rude!" The minute hand on the clock has made two laps, and the scented tea in the bone china cup has run out of time. Grand Duke Henry finally endured Can't stop this endless delay.

"It's been too long, I'll go and urge the Duke." Lin Lin also showed shame, bowed slightly, turned and left.

The thick soles of the shoes slapped anxiously on the ground, and when the door of the hall opened again, Grand Duke Henry suddenly stood up.

Lin Lin was still the only one who came in.

Grand Duke Henry was about to lose his temper, and Lin Lin spoke first: "Your Majesty the Duke said that everything is on Her Majesty's will, and he is just executing it on her behalf."

"What? What does His Majesty mean?" Grand Duke Henry's body gradually turned cold, and his face turned pale.

"Yes." Lin Lin glanced at the box in Baron Cister's hand and said with a smile, "My lord Duke also said, thank you for your visit. He suggested that if you really have too much money, you can give it to the empire custody."

"I'm looking for His Royal Highness Fern, everything is messed up." Back at Fort Everetts, Grand Duke Henry couldn't hide his panic at all. He bit his thumbnail and walked back and forth on the valuable wool woven carpet pacing.

"Grand Duke, Baron Sister has gone to look for him, and he will reply soon." The servant next to him comforted him.

At this moment someone trotted to the door.

Grand Duke Henry immediately turned his head, seeing that it wasn't Cister, his expression became more ferocious.

"Grand Duke, there is a letter..." The man was quite frightened by the oppressive atmosphere in the room, "You told me earlier that if there is a letter in these few days, it will be sent to you as soon as possible."

"Get out, I'm not in the mood to read any letters right now." Grand Duke Henry roared, "Get out! Get out!"

"However, there is an expedited sign on the envelope, and the sender said it is a very important matter for you to look over." The man said tremblingly.

Grand Duke Henry walked over, grabbed the letter, and tore the envelope roughly from both sides.

"Who...is this from?" Grand Duke Henry's voice began to tremble with fear. He rummaged through the envelope, but he couldn't find the signature.

"I don't know, it was sent by a child wearing a black felt hat."

"This is from the devil..." Grand Duke Henry held the two gold coins in the envelope tightly. He opened the letter tremblingly, and after reading it, he slumped on the ground like a child.