Clang!

Inside the central villa at Helenburgh, a group of servants stood trembling outside Prince Reinhardt's room, where the loud crashes of shattering porcelain echoed continuously. The floor was a mess, but none of the servants dared to go in and clean it.

“Old bastards! Both of you are old codgers!” Prince Reinhardt roared from inside the room.

"Your Highness, please calm down," someone inside the room advised. "Walls have ears; if these words get out, it won't be good..."

The people who are in this room right now are all Prince Reinhardt's confidants in the Lane political arena.

"Do you think I still care about the gossip outside?" Prince Reinhardt sat behind his desk in the room, his eyes red. "Not only am I about to lose my throne, but I'm also about to become a prisoner!"

"No! I should say I'm a prisoner now! You bastard!"

Prince Reinhardt was placed under house arrest by Grand Duke Reinhardt and was confined to Helenburg, but he kept a close eye on information from the outside world.

Over the past month, the situation in the Duchy of Ryan has been turbulent, with various forces secretly making contact and choosing sides in preparation for the upcoming "great upheaval".

At such a critical moment, he was the only one standing aside, which made him anxious.

“How could His Highness be a prisoner?” someone in the room pleaded. “His Highness is the first in line to the throne, the future king of Ryan…”

"Hahaha—" Reinhardt, disheveled and with a full beard, was nearly driven mad by a month of house arrest. "The future king? Don't you find that ridiculous? Your future king is currently in the palace, strutting around and handling state affairs with great enthusiasm..."

“The Marquis of Ferlinan…” someone hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice, “The Marquis of Ferlinan has publicly promised that once the Grand Duke’s health improves slightly, he will take the initiative to ask the Grand Duke to allow His Highness the Prince to oversee the country…”

"You old scoundrel! That weasel! He's got a real scheme up his sleeve! Not only does he want to seize power, but he also wants to gain a good reputation!" Reinhardt slammed a report on the table. "How can this possibly end well!"

"With the Grand Duke dead, wouldn't he have the final say on everything? Would he really be so kind as to give me the throne?"

"You bastard!"

The people around him flipped through the reports on the table, and then fell silent.

"Is...it true?" someone asked hesitantly.

“This is a report from the Central Hospital. It took a lot of effort to get it, so it can’t be fake,” Reinhardt said with a grim expression. “My contacts at the Central Hospital have also confirmed that the contents of the report are consistent with the results of the examinations they handled.”

"This..." The atmosphere in the room suddenly became somewhat chaotic. "Does the Marquis Ferlinan not know about this situation?"

"Don't know?" Reinhardt laughed. "I can get something this important here, I don't believe he wouldn't be able to get it in the palace."

"The Marquis Ferlinan pretended not to know, and he even made that kind of promise..."

The atmosphere in the room was somewhat oppressive; everyone knew that their time was running out. Those present were all Prince Reinhardt's confidants, their personal and family futures essentially tied to him.

When the nest is overturned, no egg remains intact. If Prince Reinhard falls in the power struggle with the Marquis of Ferlinan, they will be the first to be purged by the Marquis of Ferlinan.

After reading the report, the people in the room became impatient, whispering among themselves, and the noise grew louder and louder.

"Alright, alright!" Reinhardt waved his hand impatiently. "I didn't raise you guys to cause me trouble. We need to come up with a solution. Tell me, what should we do next?"

Soon after, the discussion subsided, and an older man with considerable seniority stepped forward.

“Your Highness, I believe we cannot remain trapped here any longer. The most important thing is for Your Highness to enter the palace.”

"You think I don't want to go out?" Reinhardt said with a look of resentment. "My uncle must have gone crazy. Before he fell ill, he put me under house arrest. My cousin took it too seriously. There are several layers of police patrols outside Helenburg. How am I supposed to get out?"

“Your Highness, I believe things have reached an extremely urgent point. We can no longer worry about breaking any more bottles or jars at home.” The old man’s eyes also began to harden. “As long as Your Highness can mobilize the gang, we can find a breakthrough. As long as Your Highness can enter the palace, although it doesn’t guarantee you the throne, at least you will have the opportunity to compete with Marquis Ferlinan.”

Reinhardt remained silent.

In recent years, in order to cultivate his own power, he has become involved in many gray industries. In fact, he is the real behind-the-scenes boss of many underworld forces.

If Ryan's entire underworld network were mobilized, it would indeed overwhelm the patrol team, but it would also mean exposing his shady dealings over the years to the light of day, which would have a huge negative impact on his reputation.

“Alright, go handle it.” Reinhardt nodded grimly. He used to hide it because of his status as the heir to the throne, but now he couldn’t care less. Even if the capital were turned upside down, he couldn’t control it anymore.

"By the way, where is General Zhang Fan? I've never seen him before," Reinhardt said after a moment's thought. "I remember he had a fiefdom in Xilin, which I gave him. The people there..."

"There's no one left in Xilin," someone said as they walked out.

“Nobody?” Reinhardt was taken aback. “How come I didn’t know? I remember there were several hundred people in Silin, and he later sent another batch of orphans in…”

“They’ve all moved to Benghazi. Benghazi is now General Zhang Fan’s territory, uh…” The man hesitated for a moment, “because it wasn’t anything urgent, and His Highness has been busy, so I didn’t report it to you…”

Bang!

Reinhardt slammed his hammer on the table.

"I haven't even fallen yet, and you're already trying to distance yourself?"

"Go find him! Whatever his demands, agree to them!" Reinhardt clenched his fists, veins bulging, making a silent vow. If he were to successfully ascend the throne one day, the second person he would settle scores with would be this outsider named Zhang Fan!

Zhang Fan now commands an independent space fleet. Although it is a newly formed fleet, if he can bring it to the capital planet, it will be a key force that can influence the situation.

Marshal Zhu Yifu was placed under house arrest, and General Andrei's departure took most of the senior officers with him, resulting in the dispersal of troops near the capital planet. Although the number of troops was considerable, most of those left behind were officers below the regimental level, commanding at most a regiment. No one had enough prestige to unite these troops.

If it were merely a matter of inciting a few troops to riot, they would be no match for the Imperial Guard. Moreover, Marshal Zhu Yifu was still in the palace. Given his prestige within the Ryan Army, it was uncertain whose side the rioting troops would ultimately follow if he simply spoke up. Therefore, no troops dared to make any move and remained observing.

Although many people have been secretly meeting with key military figures recently, almost none of them have actually reached an agreement.

In this situation, the Marquis of Ferlinan, who controls the armed force of the patrol police, undoubtedly has the advantage, which is why Reinhardt is anxious.

"Your Highness!" Just as everyone was in a state of panic, a butler rushed in to report, "Marquis Charles has arrived!"

"Please let him in!" Reinhardt stood up excitedly. "He's finally here!"

“Wait!” Reinhardt looked at his clothes and stroked his stubble. “Take the Marquis to the study in the backyard and wait there. I will meet him there.”

After saying that, Reinhardt hurriedly went to change his clothes and tidy his appearance. The person he had been eagerly awaiting had finally arrived.