Chapter 13 Chapter 13 The weak cannot survive in Chalvez…

Isabel took the wreath amid the cheers.

But she did not think that this was Heinrich's recognition of the identity of "Duchess".

As expected, the young Duke's eyes were filled with scrutiny as he lowered his voice and said, "I hope you can continue your good fortune until the moment you truly wear the Duchess's crown."

After he finished speaking, he whistled, and the sound of horse hooves came closer and closer.

Heinrich mounted his horse and said one last thing: "The weak cannot survive in Chalvey. This is a piece of advice for you, Miss Norman."

-

As night fell, everyone returned to the main castle to rest.

Isabel was temporarily placed in the guest room, while Emily was to live with the Spencer family's servants. Of course, in order to ensure the safety of her little maid, Isabel first called them in to give them some instructions.

"Listen, until you fully understand the situation at Chalvey, you need to listen carefully and observe carefully. If you see anything suspicious, tell me."

Emily nodded solemnly, "I understand, Miss."

Isabel patted her head in relief.

The little girl was young, as innocent as Audrey, but very loyal and obedient. Seeing her was like seeing Otti.

Emily obeyed the order and as a new maid, she needed to learn the rules from the housekeeper of the Duke's Mansion.

Isabel was the only one left in the room, lost in thought.

She didn't think Heinrich's advice was useless, and her four dead fiancées were the best examples.

On the surface, Louisa and Edmund were obvious rivals, but after a day of interaction, their malicious intent proved limited and they seemed easy to deal with.

But Isabel will not take it lightly.

On the other hand, if a foolish couple could murder four noble ladies from prominent families and even get away with it afterwards, it would only show that there was something fishy going on behind the scenes.

Before coming, Aunt Mary revealed the background of the Duke's Mansion.

Lady Violet's husband, Frederick Spencer, Heinrich and Edmund's grandfather, was the previous Duke.

The old man had two sons, Ludwig Spencer and Joyce Spencer, who were the father of Heinrich and Edmund respectively.

According to the succession law of the Principality of Ceylon, the title and estate were inherited by the eldest son. Heinrich's father, Ludwig, was the first in line of succession, while Heinrich was second, followed by Edmund's father and Edmund himself.

The incident happened five years ago.

At that time, the Principality of Ceylon launched the third war against the Heslan Empire, and Frederick led the troops as the Ceylon Marshal.

Heinrich's father, Ludwig, grew up as the heir to a duke. He was reserved and humble, yet brave and skilled in warfare, a typical Ceylonese noble. He volunteered to accompany his father on military campaigns, where he achieved numerous military feats.

Just on the eve of the father and son's victorious return, news suddenly came that he had died in battle.

The Heslan Empire was ready to declare surrender, but some fanatical warmongers were unwilling to accept defeat and ambushed the Principality of Ceylon, and the carriage carrying Spencer and his son was blown up.

The bad news reached Chalves, and almost at the same time, Heinrich, who was only eighteen years old, rushed to the front alone, took over the command of his grandfather and father, and fought against the Heslans again.

The other side was still immersed in the joy of Ceylon losing the two pillars of the empire. Their morale was high and they even put away the surrender edict. They were very confident that they could turn defeat into victory.

Unexpectedly, the newcomer, Mr. Spencer, had a completely different fighting style from his elders. His desperate madness was more terrifying than powerful ships and cannons.

Perhaps it was the grief of losing his loved ones that made the young commander completely furious, or perhaps it was the warlike gene in the Spencer family's blood that was aroused. In short, after the three-month naval battle, Heinrich was called the Satan Commander by the Heslan people.

This time, the surrender document was undoubtedly presented to the Queen of Ceylon.

After the victory, according to the will left by Marshal Frederick, the soldiers scattered his and Ludwig's ashes into the sea, guarding the waters of the Principality of Ceylon forever, just as they did when the two pillars of the empire were still alive.

The story reaches this point, and twists and turns occur again.

On the way back to the triumphant return of the royal army, Heinrich was assassinated, his guards all dead, and his body was nowhere to be found. When the news reached the Chalvis Manor, old Lady Violet was devastated and nearly died with him.

After months of searching without success, it was finally confirmed that Heinrich had died. The memorial service was presided over by Joyce, the third in line to the throne, the Duke's second son and Edmund's father.

On the same day, Joyce will also inherit the title.

Almost all of Ceylon's upper class nobles attended the ceremony, with the Queen observing a moment of silence and the Pope praying in person.

It is undoubtedly heartbreaking that the Spencer family fought for the country and sacrificed three generations of their family in one battle.

Joyce, weeping, took the Spencer family scepter from the Queen and put on the Duke's crown. At the moment of reading the oath, Heinrich, who had been missing for several months, reappeared.

No one knew where Heinrich's scars came from. Everyone was just shocked by his appearance, and then watched him snatch his uncle's scepter and crown in a dignified manner, and inherit the title with a higher priority.

When it comes to secrets of the nobility, apart from what is witnessed by everyone, there are always some rumors or unverifiable parts.

For example, it was said that Heinrich had been ill since his return, was mentally abnormal, and easily angered. During the illness, he even killed a priest who was performing an exorcism on him. This was an incredible thing in the Principality of Ceylon, where the religious atmosphere was extremely strong.

Even if he was a duke, he could not commit such a heinous crime.

The Chalvey Estate is very tight-lipped, so there are only rumors about this from the outside world, and no concrete evidence.

For example, Joyce died suddenly one night and was found by his son Edmund the next day. It is said that someone saw Heinrich leaving Joyce's room the previous night.

From then on, Edmund and Heinrich became enemies.

Based on this pieced-together information, Isabel basically deduced that this was an incident of fratricide and fratricide caused by the title.

After the death of his father and brother, Joyce attempted to assassinate his nephew in order to gain the title. However, on the day of his succession, his nephew, who had survived the ordeal, reappeared and not only took back the title but also killed Joyce.

As for the deaths of the old duke and his son, was it a conspiracy or an accident? Did Heinrich, who returned mad after the war, really kill the pastor? Was Joyce's sudden death actually caused by Heinrich? These questions remain unanswered.

However, Edmund clearly considered his cousin Heinrich the murderer of his father. Furthermore, from a profit-oriented perspective, Heinrich had no sons, and if he died unexpectedly, the title would fall to Edmund. Regardless of the reasons, Edmund had a reason to kill Heinrich.

The only thing Isabel could ponder was… Was her grandmother, Lady Violet, truly in the dark about their open confrontation? Or was she fully aware of everything and allowing them to fight for other reasons?

Isabel didn't believe that the old lady from a noble family was as confused as she seemed. Just like Louisa married into the Duke's house, it was not just because of her love for Edmund.

Isabel wrote down all the information with a quill, then held the paper close to the fire and burned it.

The firelight reflected in her ice-blue eyes, and she tapped the table lightly, which was her usual action when thinking.

To put it bluntly, the Spencer family's love and hatred had nothing to do with her. Her job was to confront the enemy with force and address the water with earth. As she unraveled one small puzzle after another, more and more clues emerged, and the truth naturally surfaced.

For example, at this moment, she was not dealing with a sophisticated trap, but rather the small troubles that Louisa was about to throw.

Once she solved it, the difficulty would naturally increase, just like playing games and fighting monsters in her previous life.

Just as I was thinking about this, there was a knock on the door at the right time.

"Miss Norman, the dinner is about to begin. Mrs. Louisa sent me to deliver the dress."

Isabel's eyes flickered slightly, and she tidied up her desk before opening the door.

"Thanks."

Outside the door, melodious music came from the hall downstairs.

A dinner party destined to be turbulent awaits her appearance.

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