Chapter 1783 - 496: The Demons of the Duchy Are Truly Increasing_3

Looking at the devoutly praying Hero, Sarah lightly clicked her tongue. To her, it was obvious that the Demon King had swayed her brother. What did thanking Saint Sis mean?

Was it related to Him?

That's why she disliked this woman!

Not noticing the hostile eyes under the hood, Erin prayed for about half a minute, finally calming down.

However, what followed was deeper confusion.

She couldn't understand why her second brother Jelock would betray her elder brother when their relationship was clearly so good.

Moreover, knowing her second brother, he was an even more devout and noble Knight than she was. He would never fall into injustice because of personal ambition.

Though he was indeed stubborn at times, she couldn't imagine him clashing swords with his brother because of it.

"Theresa, I don't understand, why did Jelock betray Edward? I still can't fully accept… such a thing happening over the past month."

Theresa opened her mouth, seemingly unsure how to explain the complex reasons. After all, she was just a Knight, and she knew these things only because she had been acting as Erin for the past few months, without deeply participating in the court affairs herself.

While the two were lost in confusion, a calm voice suddenly sounded not far from Erin, interrupting her chaotic thoughts.

"It's not hard to understand, Your Highness."

Erin raised her head and looked seriously at Sarah.

"Do you know something?"

This mysterious guard always following Mr. Colin had helped her many times, and she had always trusted this woman, just as she trusted Prince Colin.

Putting down the arms she was hugging, Sarah walked to the small window of the attic and gazed at the bell tower of the church not far away.

"Until the end, Jelock did not point his sword at his brother. If he initiated this rebellion, it wouldn't end in such a conclusion."

"You mean…"

"He is not innocent, but he is also a person caught up in events. Earl of Glanston used his naivety, whether he wanted to pressure his brother with his chips or achieve another goal, the person behind him gave him a push."

"Are you saying someone manipulated him?" Theresa frowned, then continued to ask, "But who would that person be?"

"Who else could it be? Wasn't it written in the Thunder City Daily delivered to the front line?"

Sarah turned around, with a touch of compassion in her eyes, looking at Erin who was holding her breath, and continued, "Those old nobles, fearing change, spontaneously gathered around Jelock, forming the Northern Vassals Group led by Earl Derek. They used names like honor and orthodoxy to incite Jelock's Knights, and then the war machine moved on its own."

Theresa swallowed a mouthful of saliva.

"So the mastermind is the Earl…"

"Yes, and no."

Sarah gently nodded, then gently shook her head.

"Just an Earl couldn't oppose the Duke, because no one could promise him higher interests, and the risk of failure was something he couldn't bear."

The answer was obvious.

Sarah paused for two seconds, looked at the Hero Miss shocked by the King's evil, and revealed the last and most cruel part of the truth.

"Someone who could buy the Earl is obviously another King."

Silence lasted for a long time.

Theresa sighed, drew a cross on her chest, and softly uttered the words Erin couldn't bear to say until the end.

"This is simply… more brutal than the Demon King."

Sarah: "…"

Exactly how did the Demon King wrong you?

...

The Knights confined in the attic were lamenting the Duchy's misfortune, while Thunder City had plunged into a sea of rejoicing.

On the main road to City Hall, soldiers wearing medals on their chests marched in neat formations down the street.

The crowds lined the sides of the road, shoulder to shoulder.

They were either whistling, craning their necks to look, or shouting familiar names… searching for their neighbors and friends among those unsung heroes.

Girls carrying baskets tossed freshly picked petals into the air. The Priest sprinkled Holy Water on the ground, blessing the soldiers returning from the expedition.

A grand celebration was underway.

Previously, someone had advised Edward to carefully consider the increasingly tense relationship between the Duchy's commoners and nobles, and to deal discreetly with this victory.

However, since the Grand Duke returned from Glanton Castle, he had changed his former attitude. Not only did he want to hold this celebration, but he wanted it to be extravagant, preferably grander than the celebration held for defeating the Demon King!

The Duchy's only three Earls had fallen from their horses, leaving no one to stop this enterprising Duke.

He seemed determined to stand together with those emerging nobles and commoners who supported him in winning this civil war.

So that morning, all Thunder City's newspapers bore a bold headline—

"The wise Grand Duke thwarts the Northern Vassals' conspiracy to overthrow the Duchy!"

And in that boiling crowd, aside from the official unified stance, there were also a variety of voices from the public.

"Those damned Ryan Kingdom nobles! I knew it was them behind the incitement!"

"I never expected that an old noble like Earl Derek would forget ancient honor and team up with the kingdom's forces to deal with our own people!"