Yawei stood in a corner of the majestic palace, where all the glory and brilliance were. Accompanied by the slow chanting of the orchestra, a warm and solemn power enveloped the place.
Arthur...or Duke Phoenix shook his head.
"He was temporarily isolated by us. Although I have trust in the demon hunter, but... the resurrection from the dead is still too weird, far beyond our knowledge. Neither we nor Lorenzo himself.
There needs to be a process of acceptance.”
"The process of acceptance? I've also heard about it. In fact, with Lorenzo's bad character, he probably doesn't have any psychological reaction of rejection."
Yawei said.
Duke Phoenix glanced at the old butler, as if he didn't expect that he was so familiar with Lorenzo, or at least he was familiar with that bad character.
"Yes, if you earn a life in vain, this lunatic will definitely live a happier life than before."
Duke Phoenix sighed and looked at the center of the hall. The warm light was shining down. Bathed in the light, the girl looked divine and light. Maybe God was loving this moment. Even the gloomy sky was rarely clear.
.
"Seliu really hopes that he can come and witness everything. Although she didn't say it, she really thought so... This is a girl who likes to hide all her thoughts in her heart."
Yawei looked at the figure walking on the red carpet. Under everyone's attention, she walked further and further away. The woman on the endless steps smiled at her and then extended her hand.
This is the sacred and solemn Platinum Palace, the center of power of the entire Old Dunling, and even the entire Yin Erweg.
Today's ancient ceremony will begin here. This is the moment when the power of the Duke of Stuart is handed over. With the Queen's grant, Seleucid will truly inherit this century-old glory today and become the youngest duchess.
"Is this so?" Duke Phoenix sighed, "Actually, I have always been unable to figure out one thing, but now I understand it."
"What's up?"
"About the difference between Eve and her."
Yawei was stunned for a moment, his eyes looked a little strange, as if he didn't understand why he said that.
"You may not know that Lorenzo, that bastard, didn't hesitate at all when he wanted to kill my daughter, but when it came to Seleu, he took Lawrence to self-destruct instead... In fact, the plan was far from this.
"
He said slowly.
"But looking at it now, it's just that we think of him in a complicated way. Apart from those different identities, they are just ordinary people."
Ordinary person? It’s hard to think of Lorenzo as an ordinary person.
"Think about it, Yawei, a girl, when she was in the darkest and most ignorant age... That was when her emotions were the most intense and pure. A man fished her out of the suffocating ocean and brought her with him.
She went to the world of light, and she was taught strange things along the way. Anyone would have a strange feeling, maybe it was admiration, maybe it was admiration..."
Duke Phoenix chuckled slightly when he said this. It's a hell of a plot, but life is indeed like this. It's like the only meteor flashing across the darkness, so you chase the falling star like a fool, because it's the only meteor in the darkness.
Light.
"We had an internal idea that erosion is mutual. While demons are eroding humans, humans are actually eroding demons. The two parties are influencing each other, but the influence of humans is too weak... Lorenzo maybe
Likewise, he was also influenced by Seleucid, although he didn't realize it."
"What impact?"
Yawei was a little curious.
"human nature."
Duke Phoenix replied.
"I have always regarded Lorenzo as a beast, or a machine, because he has always been so efficient and cold, and his bad jokes are just to make us relax our vigilance, but it was not until then that I noticed the struggle in him...
…struggled between humanity and bestiality.”
"Although it is not clear what they have experienced, it is true that Seleucus taught him humanity through the mutual influence."
As if thinking of something funny, Duke Phoenix continued.
"Can you believe it? Lorenzo is also a philanthropist. Basically all the money he earns is donated to the monasteries that raise orphans."
Yawei's expression was very surprised, and it was difficult to connect this matter with the demon hunter.
"So that's it. He was very happy at that time. As long as Seleu died, he would have no weaknesses at all and become a pure will. But he was also sad. After Seleu died, he would really become a bloodthirsty monster.
The Beast. It’s the girl who connects him to the world.”
Duke Phoenix looked at the girl under the light. She was bowing, and her vision seemed a little blurry. Maybe many years later, there will be a girl with fiery red hair standing here, inheriting the honor of the Phoenix. It is unspeakable to think about this.
emotion.
"In everyone's life, there are always a few special people, right, who can make you give up your stubborn ideals."
He spoke very slowly and looked at Yawei.
"Who is that to you?" Yahweh said.
"Of course it's Eve, she is my last warmth."
He made no secret of his love for his daughter, although this love seemed a bit incomprehensible to Eve.
"It's not so much about guarding the human world as it is about guarding her world. The rest of humanity just happens to live under the same sky as her."
"Does that mean protecting everyone is incidental?"
"Of course, you don't pay us wages."
The two old guys were chatting and laughing, which was a rare moment of relaxation.
But Duke Phoenix's face immediately turned cold. He looked at Yawei beside him, his eyes full of majestic scrutiny.
"You should know what I want to ask next, right."
The old housekeeper nodded, as if he had forebodings of this.
"I had a premonition from the moment Seliu came into contact with you... I thought I could hide it for the rest of my life. As long as I die, no one will know the truth."
The old housekeeper looked ahead with confusion, at the girl standing like a swan behind the crowd.
"This is the information Lorenzo got after he woke up. At that time, he failed to stop Lawrence. He captured Seleucus and successfully used her as a link to spread the erosion... But large-scale demonization did not appear. Those under our surveillance
The Stuart groups on the list are safe and sound."
Duke Phoenix said slowly.
"Although Lorenzo is a psychopath, as a detective, some of his words do make sense. Eliminating all impossibilities, the remaining answer, no matter how incredible, must be the truth."
He said solemnly.
"Seleu is not of Stuart blood at all, is he?"
That was a terrifying secret that set off a huge wave of shock.
Everything seems so ironic, Seleu is receiving the award of glory, and the so-called glory at this moment is just a deception.
But the old housekeeper seemed very calm and simply replied.
"Yes."
He said and laughed.
"Actually, this is a lie full of loopholes. How could the noble Stuart blood flow to Gaulnaro? Even if it did, the angry enemies would kill them all... It's just a self-deceiving joke.
"
"You...why are you doing this?"
Duke Phoenix asked in confusion.
In fact, the current conversation between the two can't change anything at all. Seleucid is the last Stuart, and Yawei is the last waiter of this ancient family. As long as he is sure of Seleucid's identity, others will not be able to find anything out of the ordinary.
The strange memetic pollution and demonic power will not appear in public view.
"You are the guardian of this bloodline, but in the end you tarnished this honor... just to keep Stuart alive?"
Yawei shook his head, his cloudy eyes reflecting the light.
"No, that's not the case with Duke Phoenix. Glory never belongs to any bloodline. Even if the old Duke Stuart is still alive, he will agree with my decision."
"What's the decision? Just find someone to solve the problem of Jue He?"
He seemed a little angry.
"You bring disgrace to Nevis Stuart."
Nevis Stuart, it was he who awarded everyone in the war, and later made outstanding military exploits in the Glorious War. That was the man recorded in the history of Inverg.
This was originally a severe rebuke, but to Yawei's ears it was like some big joke. He laughed even happier, and then looked at Duke Phoenix.
"No, no one will blame me, especially Nevis Stuart. On the contrary, he will praise me because I did what he always wanted to do."
Duke Phoenix looked at him in confusion, and then Yawei continued.
"Did you know? His real name is Navis Dodd, and he is the son of a blacksmith."
The terrible truth was revealed, and Yawei said it so lightly.
The Duke of Phoenix recalled the previous rumors about the Stuart family, the warnings from the perished Baskervilles, and the broken puzzle pieces came together, with a look of astonishment on his face.
he asked after a brief shock.
"That means those are true."
"Of course it's true. It's just that everyone was united and hugged each other tightly. No one leaked the secret, so Nevis Dodd became Nevis Stuart."
Yahweh continued.
"Yes, that's the truth. In fact, Stuart's blood has been cut off for a long time. He died with the old earl in the castle a hundred years ago."
"But so what? Duke Phoenix."
he asked rhetorically.
"The bloodline has been severed long ago, but Stuart's glory still continues in this world, doesn't it? And it's getting stronger.
Glory never belongs to any bloodline, it belongs to human will. Even if you die, no matter what, there will always be someone to pick up the dust and wipe it and move on.
Will is stronger than blood, it can never be killed."
Duke Phoenix breathed heavily for a while. Sure enough, human beings are still much more complicated than demons. It was too much for him to think about. The words hit his heart like a heavy hammer, and he finally asked reluctantly.
"But...why?"
Why are you so stubborn about this? The past was already a hundred years ago, so why are you still so stubborn?
"Because we want to continue Stuart's name and continue its glory. This is the only way we can repay what the war gave us at that time."
Letting this name continue is the only way they can remember the old count.
"And it is no longer as simple as a last name. It represents the same will and the people who are connected to it."
Yahweh's voice became heavier and heavier, accompanied by the music rising in the hall like the words of a pious god.
"Stuart will not perish and will never perish. As long as there are still people who are willing to follow this path, they can be named Stuart."
The applause was thunderous.
Everyone was celebrating the moment when the glory was awarded, and it was also at this moment that Duke Phoenix noticed countless eyes. He suddenly raised his head and found that there were familiar figures one after another in the witnessing crowd. They looked at them with smiles.
Himself, nodded.
It was them, those who swore an oath in war, those Stuarts.
This was a grant from Seleucid, and every family sent representatives, who were never absent.
As Arthur, he felt the unknown for the first time. The unknown about the old Dunling and the unknown about Yin Erweg. He never imagined that this power would be so powerful and hidden so deeply. In that weird feeling
, he realized something.
"Did you elect Seleu?" he asked.
Yawei nodded.
"Everyone likes this girl very much. Although she is a little willful, girls..."
He slowly told them that the ancient will connected them together, just like the purification mechanism that connected these madmen.
Duke Phoenix looked at Yawei in awe and at the people in the crowd who were beckoning to him.
"I'll keep it a secret."
"It's okay even if you say it, no one will believe it, just like Baskerville."
Yawei said calmly.
The ceremony was over, and everyone gathered around to celebrate the young Duke.
"By the way, please pass this to Lorenzo."
As if remembering something, Yawei took out a badge, which was the emblem of Stuart's family, sixty-one sharp swords intertwined into round shields.
"Seleu said she finally awarded it to Lorenzo."
Duke Phoenix took the badge with some hesitation in his voice.
"You should know that at that time she did not have the power of a duke, and the queen had already put restrictions on your arbitrary granting."
"Of course I know, and what if the Queen admits it? Lorenzo is a demon hunter, a madman who fights with demons... He is destined to be a guy who hides in the shadows and is afraid of light.
Moreover, if it is really awarded to him, he will definitely add a strange prefix when introducing himself."
Yawei continued speaking with a smile on his face.
"This is just the recognition of a wayward child. He will not appear in the history of Stuart, nor will he be recorded. At most, he will have a corner in the unofficial history, but that will be many years later.
It’s about that.”
"Does this make sense?"
Duke Phoenix doesn't understand that honor that is unknown to others is just a beautiful illusion.
"Yes, it is meaningless. He will not exist in any position. But on the contrary, he will be very meaningful and will always exist in that precious position."
"where?"
He asked with some curiosity.
"here."
Yawei stretched out his hand and gently tapped Duke Phoenix on the chest.
"Here she is."
The old butler left, just like everyone else, surrounding the honored girl, celebrating all this, while Duke Phoenix was a little stunned, the ancient secret had just been revealed, so lightly, like an afternoon chat
It was usually relaxed, but the lingering sound slowly echoed at this moment, shocking people's hearts.
After an unknown amount of time, he slowly lowered his head and looked at the badge in his hand.
Different from the normal Stuart emblem, there is an extra sword on the round shield made of swords. The sixty-second sword, the thirty-third existing recipient, is destined to be hidden in the darkness.