The council chamber was filled with Reinhardt's arrogant laughter.

The surrounding ministers were dumbfounded; things had changed so quickly that many hadn't even had time to react.

Seeing the bright red blood gradually spreading beneath the Marquis Ferlinan's corpse, the ministers in Ferlinan's camp collapsed to their knees in despair, while others covered their faces and sobbed, tears streaming down their faces.

It's over, it's all over.

No matter what conspiracies or schemes there are, once a person dies, that's the end of it.

"How about it? How about it?" Reinhardt, feeling he had the situation under control, pointed his blood-stained dagger at the crowd in the council chamber, his face growing increasingly ferocious. "Let's see who dares to look down on me now!"

"Who dares to disobey?"

"Step forward now!"

"Do you have it or not!"

The ministers trembled with fear as they looked at the dagger in Reinhardt's hand, not daring to meet his gaze.

In their eyes, Reinhardt had gone mad, and they had no doubt that he would stab anyone who dared to say "no" to him.

After all, there was a precedent: the Marquis of Ferlinan's body was still warm on the ground, so who would dare to stand in his way?

In this desperate situation, some people began to steal glances at the Marquis Charles out of the corner of their eyes.

In the ministers' impression, the Marquis Charles was undoubtedly a man who could remain rational and composed in any situation.

Everyone knows that the Senate is Reinhardt's backer. Therefore, as the person in charge of the Senate, Marquis Charles's words carry significant weight at this time.

However, to the surprise of the ministers, the Marquis Charles remained silent at this moment. The death of his main political rival, the Marquis Ferlinan, did not seem to cause any ripples in his heart. He simply sat there quietly watching what Reinhardt was doing.

Alvin was equally quiet and silent. He looked at the crazed Reinhardt, sighed, shook his head, and then focused on pouring tea for Zhu Yifu beside him, no longer watching the farce unfolding in the hall.

"Is nobody talking?"

Reinhardt was undoubtedly the center of attention at this moment. He circled the entire arena with his dagger in hand, but no one spoke. Finally, he smiled triumphantly and looked at the throne on the high platform.

“Look, my dear uncle, I’ve already eliminated one wrong answer for you in this two-choice question,” Reinhardt said with a smile. “Don’t worry, I will take good care of you after I ascend the throne, ensure you have a peaceful end, and offer the most abundant sacrifices at your grave every year on the anniversary of your death.”

"I can swear on that."

“You’re wrong.” Grand Duke Ryan glanced at the corpse of Marquis Ferlinan on the ground, then at the crazed Reinhardt, his face as calm as still water.

"I was wrong? What did I do wrong!" Reinhardt's face twisted into a grimace again. "Don't push your luck..."

“I have never considered Ferlinan as my heir to the throne,” Archduke Ryan interrupted Reinhardt. “So you are wrong. He was never one of the two options.”

"What?" Reinhardt was stunned for a moment, then gritted his teeth and roared, "Do you still want to lie to me at this point? Say that I am the only candidate in your heart?"

"Do you think I'd believe your nonsense? Do you think I'm a three-year-old?!"

According to the laws of the Duchy of Reinhardt, the basic requirement for succession to the throne is that one must be at least 18 years old. Reinhardt's children are too young, and most of them are illegitimate children born from his affairs with his mistresses, whose bloodlines are not recognized by the royal family.

The Marquis of Ferlinan was in a similar situation; the oldest of his children with his principal wife was only 16 years old.

In other words, if the Duke of Ryan were to pass on the throne this year, Prince Reinhardt and Marquis Ferlinan would be the only two candidates, and Marquis Ferlinan is now dead.

“You’re wrong again.” Grand Duke Ryan shook his head. “I promised your father I would give you a chance, but it was only a possible chance. It doesn’t mean I’m handing this country over to you.”

“And now…” Grand Duke Ryan shook his head again, “you have eliminated that possibility.”

"But you have no choice!" Reinhardt roared, pointing the tip of his knife at the Marquis Ferlinan's corpse on the ground. "Don't force me to do this!"

“What Ferlinan did… he deserved to die.” Grand Duke Ryan’s expression remained calm, unmoved by the threat of the bloody blade. “I originally intended to sentence him to life imprisonment through the law and a public trial after today, rather than this kind of vigilante justice.”

"His death was... a little too pitiful... alas, he brought it upon himself." Grand Duke Ryan's expression somber as he finished speaking.

Marquis Ferlinan was guilty, but he was, after all, his cousin.

Reinhardt was a little confused; he suddenly felt like he couldn't quite understand what Archduke Reinhard was saying.

"Do you really want to force me to take action?" Reinhardt was getting impatient with Grand Duke Ryan's words, and then glanced at the ministers around him.

The ministers who were caught in Reinhardt's gaze couldn't help but tremble, and the ministers who were originally in Marquis Ferlinan's camp were so frightened that they knelt on the ground.

"Hahaha—" Reinhardt laughed wildly again as he looked at the ministers' ugly behavior. "Don't worry, even if I wanted to kill you, you wouldn't be the first."

“As for you,” Reinhardt said, pointing his sword at Grand Duke Ryan, “I said I would let you die peacefully, my dear uncle, and I meant it.”

Reinhardt's blade swept over Marshal Zhu Yifu, Dean Erwin, and others before finally settling on one person.

“Father!” Reinhard sneered, “You are the second person I want to kill!”

The atmosphere in the council hall instantly plummeted to freezing point, leaving the members of the Senate dumbfounded.

"oh?"

Having been called out, Marquis Charles had no choice but to speak. He casually rolled up his sleeves, seemingly unsurprised, and even a strange smile appeared on his thin lips beneath his hooked nose.

Why?

“Do you know how disgusted I feel every time I call you ‘Father’ in private!” Reinhardt said viciously. “Don’t think I don’t know! You just treat me like a fool, a pawn that you can control at will!”

"You helped me and put me on the throne, but you only wanted to use me as a puppet so that you could become the regent behind the scenes!"

"But have you ever thought about this? You're using me, and I'm using you! Hahaha—" Reinhardt laughed maniacally, the humiliation he had endured for years finally giving way to triumph, his mood extremely cheerful. "And now, you're useless! You can die!"

"crow!"

Reinhardt shouted, and with a clang, "Crow" drew a long sword.

“Kill him!” Reinhardt said, enunciating each word clearly.

The ministers surrounding Marquis Charles panicked. Some seemed to want to stand in front of him, but they were afraid of dying and dared not move forward. They had the will but their feet wouldn't obey them. Their hesitant and circling appearance was quite ridiculous.

puff--

It was another case of the white knife going in and the red knife coming out.

Blood splattered everywhere.

The ministers present were all dumbfounded, their eyes practically popping out of their sockets.

Reinhardt stared in disbelief at the dagger protruding from his chest.