Chapter 648: The Map Is Long

Indeed...

After hearing this, the old nobles in the room nodded one after another, their expressions filled with helplessness.

The Lionheart Duke's succession ceremony was naturally not to be missed; most of the old nobles present had been there in person, having witnessed firsthand how the "Three Elder Lains" had fallen, and they understood well the current state of the Lain family.

According to the old nobles' customs, to depose the current Lionheart Duke and replace him with a new one, a sufficiently prominent "Lain" must first step forward to lead the effort, after which the "in-laws" could follow suit.

Though it might sound overly rigid—like needing a raft before jumping into a burning house—this was indeed one of the unspoken rules the old nobles must uphold.

After all, within the old noble class, many harbored mutual grievances, even some centuries-old feuds; if they truly ignored these unspoken rules and acted on impulse, they would likely collapse from internal strife long before the Princess even moved.

"We can't care about that anymore!"

Looking at the newspapers on the table, whose headlines made his scalp tighten, a younger old noble stood up, his expression tense as he proposed:

Even if the Lain family has no one to lead, we can't let this continue. Everyone knows what the Princess wants—if she succeeds in the end, we won't even have the right to be royal vassals; we'll be slowly strangled by her!

No matter what happens later, right now we must find a way to remove this disastrous Duke! At the very least, we must prevent him from dragging the Lain family's resources and seat over to the Princess—otherwise, it'll be too late!"

"I think the same."

Another "young hawk" old noble rose, nodding in full agreement:

"Compared to those old rules, stopping the Princess is more urgent now. We can't match the royal family's support, nor the merchants' wealth in the Lower House. If we don't act now, it'll be too late."

"I second that!"

"Ah… I have no objection."

"Agreed—even if it fails, we must try!"

…

"Wait, calm down first."

As the old nobles were rising one after another to support forcibly replacing the Lionheart Duke, an older noble stood up and warned:

"Don't forget—even if we can vote through the Upper House to forcibly remove the current Lionheart Duke, someone still has to sit on that seat."

"That's not important!"

The first young noble shouted:

"Whoever sits on the Lionheart Duke's seat, as long as it's not this one, it's fine."

"No, this is crucial!"

The elder noble shook his head:

"You probably haven't read the Lain family genealogy, have you? Know this: if you vote to forcibly remove the current Lionheart Duke, according to succession order, the next Duke will be his own sister."

"Then vote her out too!"

The young noble snarled:

"We can just give up more concessions. Compared to being strangled by the Princess's new decrees or having the Lower House merchants snatch our cake, the cost of removing two Dukes in a row is perfectly acceptable—so long as we oust this brother and sister…"

"After ousting this brother and sister, another pair waits in line!"

The elder noble sneered:

"Go flip through the Lain family genealogy properly! After you remove her, the next heir is the current Duke's younger brother, then his other sister again."

"Heh, replacing four Lionheart Dukes in a single day—you think the royal family is dead, just watching you force this through?"

… After asking a few closely allied nobles and receiving confirmation, the young noble who had proposed the forced replacement finally froze.

"So this family of four is blocking the entire path to replacement? Are we just going to sit here and do nothing?"

"Doing nothing is impossible, but forcing it won't work either. This is such a rare opportunity—the Princess, given her nature, will guard it fiercely and give us not a single opening."

"So in the end, we have no solution at all?"

"We still have a solution."

As most eyes turned toward him, the elder noble unfolded his "Yan Kingdom Map," squinting slightly as he said:

"But before I explain my idea, I must remind you all: our Lionheart Duke is far from as simple as he appears."

Though he seems like a clueless fool who acts purely on whim, lucky enough to stumble into his position…"

But let's calm down and think from his perspective: even if he doesn't hand over the Lain family, can he truly protect it?"

Without this turn of events, what would he have left besides an empty title of Duke? And would the Lain family's situation be any better than it is now?"

After posing these questions, seeing the others begin to ponder his words, their faces slowly showing dawning understanding, the elder noble continued, eyes half-lidded:

"To be honest, I believe our Lionheart Duke is the truly clever one."

From the start, he understood he had no ability to preserve the Lain family—whether he tried to curry favor with us in-laws or desperately held onto the family's legacy, in the end he'd be left with nothing."

But his mind was clear enough to know his limits; so he cleanly severed ties with us, shamelessly proposed marriage to the Princess, and brought in someone capable of protecting the Lain family."

"After all, we don't need him to acquire the Lain family's inheritance—he's worthless to us. But to the royal family and the Princess, his title as Duke is the only ticket in, worth every ounce of effort to court him."

"And because of our presence, the royal family can't fully swallow the Lain family; they must use his title as Lionheart Duke to compete with us for its resources—creating a delicate balance that lets him retain control of the Lain family."

"Hmm, our Duke may not know how to be a noble, but he absolutely knows how to do business—how to sell himself to the most suitable buyer, and at an exceptional price."

After finishing his praise of Li Ang with admiration, the elder noble paused briefly, giving the others time to reflect, then picked up a newspaper and lightly tapped the words "Princess," announcing loudly:

"Gentlemen, it's time we learned from this clever Duke and find ourselves a better 'buyer'… what do you think of Prince Joshua?"

Prince Joshua?

Upon hearing the elder noble's suggestion, the nobles frowned one after another; one couldn't help but object outright:

"You want us to fully side with the royal family? What's the difference from surrendering to the Princess? Won't we still be controlled by the royals?"

"First, I only suggest siding with Prince Joshua. And when did the Princess come to represent the entire royal family?"

After asking this pointed question, the elder noble fully unfurled his "Yan Kingdom Map," revealing the "dagger" he had prepared in advance, and asked:

"Gentlemen, consider carefully: what the Princess wants—is that what the entire royal family wants? And what the royal family wants—is that what Prince Joshua, along with the Queen and the Finance Minister behind him, want?"

Glancing at the nobles who were beginning to grasp his meaning, the elder noble explained slowly:

"Put more plainly: the Princess wants not only the throne, but also to curb our noble power—and that is also the royal family's goal, which is why the Princess could once represent the entire royal will."

"The Queen and Finance Minister support the royal family because they received the King's promise that the Princess would be married off, and that the entire kingdom's future belongs to Prince Joshua—so they gladly let her clear obstacles for him."

"But now our Princess hasn't been married off; instead, through her marriage to that clever Duke, she's seized power sufficient to shake the entire kingdom—so the situation is entirely different."

"Now the Princess is powerful, and with the King actively suppressing her to balance the old nobles, even if the Queen and Finance Minister are furious, they dare not act rashly now."

"But if the old nobles collectively turn to Prince Joshua, giving our Prince a strong enough ally… can the Princess still claim to represent the entire royal will?"

(End of Chapter)