"Knock knock knock!"
Phil Gray knocked on the door of the Duke's mansion, but a strange middle-aged man came out instead.
He had a large belly, a greasy face, a jade ring on his thumb, and leaned on a cane. Behind him were two male servants, respectfully carrying fruit and a pipe.
Phil Gray was somewhat surprised; Ernest had such a relative?
"Excuse me, are the Duke of Surrey and Mr. Ernest in?" Phil Gray glanced inside out of the corner of his eye and noticed that the layout of the living room was completely different from before. Some of the decorations and portraits were very flamboyant and not quite in the Duke of Surrey's style.
"Hehe, they're not here!" The man looked them up and down with interest, then walked around them with his cane, his eyebrows twitching.
Phil Gray suppressed the urge to ask further questions; his intuition told him that this man didn't seem like a good person.
"Excuse me, we may have come to the wrong place!" Phil Gray said, feigning embarrassment.
"Hmm, there's no Duke of Surrey here, only Duke Bradrick Ingersoll." The man raised his head, humming a little tune as he walked into the living room.
The two male servants behind him smiled slightly at them and then closed the door.
"What exactly happened? Did they move?" Eli rested his chin on his hand, somewhat puzzled. He glanced at the clematis by the door again; the flowers were still in full bloom, confirming that it was indeed the Duke's residence.
“Think about the tone of that man just now. I think the Duke of Surrey and Ernest might not be in a good position right now. The princess would send people to target us, so there’s no reason why she wouldn’t make things difficult for them. Besides, the king is also a suspect. They know about the royal scandal, and the king must be resentful,” Phil Gray analyzed carefully.
"Won't they be in danger?"
"I don't think so. After all, the Duke of Surrey has been a duke for so many years and has enough power in the capital. The king and princess shouldn't be able to pose any danger to them. At most..."
What is the most?
“Losing their original power and status,” Phil Grayton paused, then continued.
They asked a few kind-looking people along the way and indeed heard that the Duke of Surrey had been stripped of his title for deceiving the king and blaspheming the royal family.
The family has now moved out of the Duke's mansion and is living on a large estate in the suburbs of the city.
"Ha, this king, I thought he was a good monarch who put family aside for the greater good." Eli rolled his eyes, crossed his arms, and they were already in the carriage, heading to the new manor.
“How could that be? He killed George because it was a stain on his reputation, and he was pressured by the two church elders. After holding power for so many years, he must have been corrupted by power and reputation. But compared to George’s cruelty and bloodshed, let’s just let him continue being the father.” Phil Gray smiled.
"arrive."
The carriage stopped, and the driver said cheerfully.
They gave him a silver coin and then he entered the new manor.
The manor was surrounded by a wooden fence, and clematis were planted around the fence. The small purple and white flowers were in full bloom, and a girl was watering them with a small bucket, her back to them.
“That’s right. Although we haven’t met many times, I recognize this figure from behind. It’s Simona! Where’s your brother?”
Eli walked over excitedly, snapped his fingers lightly, and more and more clematis spread out.
"Ah! What's going on?" Simona turned around in surprise and saw the two people behind her. "Wow, you're my brother's friends? You're back!"
“Yes, where’s your brother?” Phil Gray asked.
“He and his father went to the carpenter to have new furniture made, but they should be back soon.” Simona looked up at the sky; it was already late afternoon, but the sunlight was still quite bright. “Come in and sit down. Your brother will be very happy to be back!”
“Okay.” They followed Simona into the living room, which was simply decorated and somewhat spacious.
"Please have a seat, I'll make you some tea." Simone smiled, her white dress making her look very ladylike.
"OK."
After Simona served the tea, Phil Gray said, "Besides stripping your father of his title, what other bad things have the King and Princess done to you?"
“No, they wouldn’t dare.” Simona smiled slightly. “Actually, none of us are attached to any titles. My brother likes to be a knight in the Church of Fate, while my mother and I like to grow flowers. Now that this place is near the outskirts of the city, it’s quiet, and I can build my own garden here.”
"That's fine."
They chatted casually for a while longer until the Duke of Surrey and Ernest opened the door:
"Hello!" Phil Gray greeted first, unsure how to address the Duke of Surrey, since he was no longer a duke.
“Oh, hello.” The Duke of Surrey nodded to them, then went upstairs, leaving them ample space to talk.
"You're back!" Ernest exclaimed in surprise and excitement. He instinctively tried to bow, but Phil Gray stopped him.
"Yes, we're back. We've come to find you. Let's set off together for the Cult of Dawn."
Ernest hesitated for a moment, then asked, "What about Patrick? Haven't you found him?"
“Found him, don’t worry, he’s fine.” Phil Gray smiled, then briefly recounted his and Patrick’s experiences, omitting some things that couldn’t be said. He felt like he was becoming a storyteller, which amazed Simona.
Ernest was furious. He had heard about the danger Phil Gray had encountered and regretted that he was not there to protect His Holiness the Pope.
“Princess Sani, I will never let her go!” He gripped his longsword tightly. This princess had not only caused his mother’s death and his father to lose his title, but had also put the Pope, whom he was protecting, in danger.
“Brother.” Simona pulled Ernest aside and called out softly.
Phil Gray patted him on the shoulder, a slight smile playing on his lips. “We still have a long way to go, so we need to deal with her as soon as possible. We’ll sneak into the palace tonight.”
"Huh?" Simona had thought he would try to persuade her brother, but he actually agreed to the plan to get rid of the princess. This was too crazy. "There are many people favored by the gods in the palace. It's too dangerous for you to go like this."
“It’s alright, we can take care of her secretly.” Phil Gray smiled mysteriously.
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