Tome of Blood

  Chapter 183-33-Death of the Old Duke

  Bold City, Duke's Mansion.

   "Cough cough cough...cough cough cough cough..."

  Severe coughing sounds came intermittently. The old Duke Andre of Boulder was lying on the bed, looking haggard, completely different from the high-spirited one a year ago.

  Lighted incense in the brazier spits out light blue smoke, exuding a mixture of spices and medicine.

  In the huge bedroom, the windows were closed, and it was deserted. The only one serving the old duke was his personal maid who had followed him for many years.

   "My lord, it's time to take your medicine."

  The maid held a tray in both hands, respectfully and authentically.

  The old prince opened his cloudy eyes and took a hard look, only to see a silverware filled with black powder and a goblet filled with water on the tray.

   "Hang huh... this... what is this?"

  He asked hoarsely and weakly, that difficult and slow voice seemed to be pulled out of a carriage that was about to fall apart.

   "This is the secret elixir His Royal Highness Philip consulted from ancient oriental books. It is made by mixing the powder of a thousand-year-old mummy with Coria ointment. It is mixed with the holy water of the church. It should help your condition."

  The maid said respectfully.

   "Woo...mummy? Cough cough cough cough..."

  The voice of the old prince raised slightly, and his cough became more intense.

   "Your Excellency..."

  The maid put the tray beside the bed, and hurriedly stepped forward to comfort the old prince.

  The old prince opened his mouth, took a few breaths with difficulty, and said weakly:

   "Help...help me up."

  The maid supported the old Duke's arm like a dead wood, and helped him up with difficulty.

  Through the mercury mirror by the bedside, the old Duke's haggard face and gray and messy hair were reflected in the cloudy eyes of the old prince, with a somewhat gloomy expression.

  He opened his mouth tremblingly, while the maid carefully mixed the black powder with holy water and fed him little by little.

  The pasty "elixir" entered the throat, carrying a strong spice, which made the old prince cough violently again, and he couldn't swallow it until he took a few mouthfuls of holy water.

  As the elixir entered his stomach, the old duke soon felt a warm force gradually spreading in his body, nourishing his decaying body.

   After recovering a little strength, the old Duke's increasingly sluggish thinking slowly began to turn:

   "You... you just said, who... who brought the prescription?"

   "My lord, it is His Royal Highness Philip."

  The maid replied respectfully.

   "Phi...Philip...? He...has come?"

  The old prince was startled.

   "My lord, His Royal Highness Philip arrived last night, and now he is waiting outside with Lady Eleanor."

   said the maid.

  The old prince was silent.

   After a long time, he let out a long sigh and said in a hoarse voice:

   "Let them... come in."

  The door of the bedroom was creaked and pushed like rotten dead wood, and the third prince Philip and Eleanor walked into the room hand in hand.

   "Master Andre (Father)..."

  The third prince and his wife came to the bed together and bowed respectfully to the old duke.

  The old prince stared blankly at his daughter whom he had not seen for many years.

   After not seeing her for so many years, she seemed to have lost a lot of weight.

  Her eyes are not as agile as before. I am afraid that the life of the royal family also brings great pressure.

  Thinking of this, a trace of guilt welled up in the old Duke's heart.

  Perhaps...he shouldn't have allowed his daughter to marry the New Moon royal family back then.

  If there is no marriage, he can still let his daughter recruit a husband and continue to inherit the territory.

  If there is no marriage, the daughter can always be by his side, and he doesn't have to be alone at this last moment.

  Unfortunately, there are no ifs in this world.

  When he learned that he had an illegitimate child, he had already given up his daughter.

  Perhaps this is the God Lord’s punishment for him. His daughter has become a deal for him to consolidate his rule. Now, he not only lost his daughter, but also lost Leno.

  The Boulder family, which has been passed down for thousands of years, may be extinct in his generation.

  Recalling the tall figure that slammed the door a year ago, a sadness flashed in the depths of the old Duke's eyes.

  The old prince didn't know how to describe his current mood.

  Desperate?

sad?

Do not…

  When the fact that the family died out was really revealed in front of him, he suddenly found that he was much calmer than he imagined.

   It may also be that I don’t have the energy to think so much anymore, or it may be that I am really tired.

  Thinking back on my life, at the age of fifteen, I succeeded to the throne in a precarious kingdom, followed His Majesty the King to fight on the battlefield, and defeated the enemy again and again in the Star-Moon War.

  In his life, he did not know how many battles he participated in, and how many enemies he killed.

  The army of the Fallen Star Kingdom will tremble when they hear his name, and the people of the New Moon Kingdom will cheer when they see his army.

  He is known as the greatest Duke of Boulder for thousands of years, Andre the Lion.

  He has been high-spirited, and he has attracted much attention.

  He is in control of the power, and in the principality he says what he says.

  He is so powerful that he is in charge of the kingdom's army, and even His Majesty the King will refer to his opinions at the court.

  However, it was also him who, in order to take advantage of the opportunity of war to make further progress in the kingdom, spent years of wars excessively consuming the resources of the family, consuming all the heritage of the Boulder family for thousands of years.

  However, it was also him who, in order to win the support of the nobles during the war for many years, continued to delegate power to the nobles, which led to the gradual loss of control over the territory today.

  When a lion is young, it may be powerful.

  But, there will be time to grow old.

   And when he ended, the huge Boulder... didn't even have a loyal accompanying nobleman.

  He can even make a fool of a young girl!

  The old duke knew that this had something to do with how tight he had been in power over the past few years.

   But, what can he do?

  He just didn't want to leave a precarious Bold to future generations.

   Just like when His Majesty the King inherited the Crescent Moon Throne.

   Maybe... he was wrong in the first place.

  Perhaps, he should not have spent most of his life on the battlefield.

  Perhaps, he should care more about his territory.

  Perhaps, he should care more about his family.

  Perhaps, he should treat the Castel family in a different way from the very beginning, treat the promising earl and his wife, and treat that seemingly young and ignorant but really unfathomable little girl...

  One year was enough for the Duke of Bold to investigate something, and it was also enough for him to understand something.

   But, it was too late.

  Thinking of this, the old Duke couldn't help but tremblingly raised his head and looked at his only daughter.

   "E... Eleanor."

  He stretched out his hand to his daughter with difficulty, and Eleanor quickly reached out to hold it:

"Father…"

  Feeling his daughter's warmth, the old Duke felt much more at ease.

  At this moment, he suddenly felt that everything else seemed unimportant.

   That's all.

never mind.

  It doesn't matter whether it's the Principality of Boulder or the Castel family.

  He is tired, he needs to rest.

   As for my own daughter...

  Even if you don't become a powerful duchess, with the royal family as your backing, at least... you can live happily.

  He owed his daughter his whole life.

   Now may be the time to repay the debt.

  Thinking of this, the old prince took a deep breath and sat up with difficulty supporting his body.

   "Your Excellency..."

  The maid rushed to help him, but he refused.

  The old duke sat on the bed panting, and the once high-ranking blazing sun man had such a hard time getting up at this moment.

  He looked directly into the eyes of the third prince Philip, and the cloudy eyes seemed to be sharp again at this moment.

   "His Royal Highness Philip..."

  The old duke took the hands of the third prince and used all his strength at this moment:

   "I... know your ambition, and also know... your desire to control Boulder!"

   "Everything I have...can be given to you, everything in Boulder...can be given to you!"

  The third prince Philip looked at the dying old man in surprise, as if he didn't expect that the rumored Bold lion, who regarded his family as his life, would say such a thing.

   "However, I have one condition..."

  The old prince changed the topic.

  I saw him staring firmly into the eyes of the third prince, as if he wanted to see through his heart:

   "I...I want you to treat Eleanor well, I want you...to make her get...happiness!"

  Hearing what the old duke said, Eleanor trembled slightly, and a wave seemed to flash through her blue-gray eyes.

  The third prince Philip lowered his eyelids slightly. When he raised his head and looked at the old Duke again, he put on a bright smile:

   "Of course, my lord Andre."

   "Eleanor is my most beloved wife, and I will give her happiness."

  Hearing the third prince's promise, the old duke finally felt a little relieved.

   "Ahem... remember what you said."

   He coughed violently a few times and said.

  After his thoughts were settled, the old Duke felt as if his strength had receded all of a sudden.

  His body slowly slid down uncontrollably, and his eyes with a little guilt and love stayed on his daughter.

   However, when his eyes slipped past his daughter's cuff, he suddenly saw the dense scars under the shadow.

  The old prince's aura stagnated almost instantly.

  He suddenly regained his strength, almost struggling to reach out to Eleanor, and then pulled off her sleeve.

  I saw bruises and hideous scars all over the arm that should have been fair and smooth under the sleeve.

  The expression of the old prince changed almost instantly.

  The decadent and astonishing coercion suddenly erupted from him, and the extraordinary power that could not be mobilized originally boiled again at this moment.

  The old duke angrily picked up the collar of the third prince and shouted angrily:

   "Philip! What's going on here?!"

  The third prince Philip looked calm.

  I saw him slowly and forcefully push the old duke's haggard fingers away from his clothes, then stood up gently, looked down at him, and sighed lightly:

   "My lord, what you said just now, it would be great if you said it earlier."

  The old prince raised his head and looked at him angrily, but suddenly felt a pain in his stomach, and couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of black-red blood.

  In an instant, he felt the strength in his body being pulled away rapidly, and the burning pain spread rapidly from his stomach to his surroundings.

  The old prince raised his head and looked at the maid standing aside with difficulty, but saw that she slowly moved to the side of the third prince and stood respectfully, looking at him with only indifference.

  The old prince stared wide-eyed:

"you…!"

  The third prince blocked his sight sideways, leaned on him slightly, and said with a smile:

   "My lord, I never like to give alms, and I don't like being forced to trade anything, and I hate being a bargaining chip for others."

  "What I want to get, I must get it with my own hands, no matter what method and means I use."

   "The Duchy of Boulder, the County of Castel, I will get it myself."

"and also…"

  He lowered his head, leaned against the ear of the old prince, and said in a low voice:

   "You shouldn't have murdered in front of me."

  Looking at the devil-like smile of the third prince, the old duke showed anger.

  His gaze was fixed on the other person's eyes, that cannibalistic gaze wished to tear the third prince into pieces...

  But soon, he suddenly laughed again:

   "Ahem...hehe...haha..."

   "Polder... and... Cass... Castel... huh..."

   "Hehe...hahaha..."

  I saw the old prince laughing loudly, the more he laughed, the more wanton, the more insane he was, the more pitiful he was.

  Facing the meaningful smile of the old duke, the third prince frowned slightly:

   "My lord, is there anything funny?"

  However, the old prince did not answer.

  He is still smiling wantonly.

   But the eyes lost their final focus.

  A cloudy tear slowly slid down his old cheek, and his hands also slowly slid down.

   Until the moment he swallowed his last breath, his blue-gray eyes were still wide open.

   "Are you dead..."

  Looking at the lifeless old duke, the third prince frowned slightly, feeling extremely bored.

  However, the old duke's strange smile somehow made him feel irritable.

   Intermittent sobbing sounds came from beside him, and the third prince looked at his wife beside him.

   His expression turned cold, and he said:

   "Did I make you cry?"

  Elinor trembled slightly, lowered her head, her voice trembling:

   "Hmm...woof..."

   "Well, be good."

  The third prince rubbed her head in satisfaction.

   Then, he ordered to the maid beside him:

   "Let's deal with this. The old Duke has died of illness. From now on, Eleanor and I will be the masters of Boulder."

  The maid trembled slightly, and lowered her head in awe.

  The third prince took Eleanor's hand and walked out of the bedroom.

  Back to the hall of the Duke's Mansion, he naturally sat down on the main seat.

   Soon, hurried soldiers rushed in from the door, came to him panting, knelt down on one knee, and offered a piece of parchment with both hands:

   "My lord, there is an urgent message from the north! The little Earl of Castel has returned to his territory!"

  Philip frowned, quickly took it, quickly opened it and browsed it.

   While watching, his face darkened instantly.

  I saw him throwing the parchment on the ground, cursing:

   "Waste, a bunch of waste! They can't even stop a little girl!"

   "With this strength, do you still want to return to the Fallen Star Kingdom?"

  (end of this chapter)