"Where did this parchment come from?"

The solemn gaze slowly withdrew from the parchment, and Duke Borde watched cautiously towards Leno.

Seeing his solemn expression, Leno's expression changed, quickly turning into disappointment.

"Judging by your expression... everything written on this, is it all true?"

The old Duke's gaze fell on the surrounding maids and servants.

"You all leave first."

The maids and servants bowed and hurriedly left.

Only father and son remained in the study.

Leno looked at Duke Borde with a complicated expression, pursing his lips as he asked.

"Ten years ago, during the Flame Demon Disaster... was the Borde family the true mastermind?"

"The uprising in Count Tulip territory, was it orchestrated by you?"

"Tell me, is all this true or false?"

Leno pressed on with his questions.

Duke Borde was about to answer when Leno interjected.

"I want to hear the truth."

Duke Borde fell into silence.

He set down the parchment in his hand, sighed lightly, and asked back.

"What if it's true? What if it's false? These are all things of the past."

Leno's face instantly turned ugly.

"Things of the past? So, you're saying... the Borde family truly was the root cause?"

"Did the revered Borde family, guardians of the Borde Duchy, secretly cause the Flame Demon Disaster ten years ago? Resulting in the destruction of thousands of families?"

"And the purpose... was it for you to restore your fertility?"

"Did you plot the rebellion against Count Tulip, causing tens of thousands of subjects to become ruined?"

"Is this the Borde family? Is this what you call the glory of nobility?"

Listening to Leno's accusations, Duke Borde's face turned pale and then flushed.

He fell silent for a moment before saying,

"Leno, what's written here is just one side of the story, there's no evidence."

"Evidence? Even if there were evidence, I'm afraid you've already destroyed it, haven't you?"

Leno sneered.

Duke Borde's expression immediately darkened.

"Leno, mind your tone and your status! I am your father!"

"But I don't remember having such an evil father..."

Leno shook his head coldly.

Watching his stubborn attitude, the old Duke frowned.

He knew his bastard son had a stubborn temper, not yielding to coercion.

Especially at this moment, he should use a softer approach.

Thinking of this, the old Duke set aside the parchment and sighed lightly, saying,

"Yes, ten years ago during the Flame Demon Disaster... the Borde family was involved, and I did orchestrate the uprising in Count Tulip territory. But there were reasons for all of it."

"Reasons?"

Leno frowned.

The old Duke sighed deeply and continued.

"Yes, my child, all of this... is for the future of the Duchy, and you."

"I have already lost my fertility long ago, and you are my only son. But the entire Borde Duchy will never acknowledge your lineage. Everyone will only see your uncle, Anthony, as the heir to the title."

"But from the beginning, I knew that you were more suited to inherit the Duchy. You are my child, the one who should inherit the title!"

"For you, for the future of the Duchy, and to eliminate Count Tulip's right to inherit the title, I orchestrated the rebellion in his territory..."

"The purpose of rebellion in the Tulip County and the Flame Demon Disaster are both the same."

Leno laughed bitterly.

"For me?"

"How noble!"

"So many people died in the Tulip Rebellion, and you say it's for the Duchy!"

"The Flame Demon Disaster caused so much damage to the Borde Duchy, and you say it's for me!"

The old duke frowned faintly and calmly said.

"I know what is written on this parchment claims that I did it all to restore my fertility. I have to admit, the person who gave you this parchment indeed knows some secrets from back then."

"However, that is not the complete truth."

"The truth? At this point, are you still talking about truth with me?"

Leno said angrily.

But the old Duke had completely regained his composure. He looked quietly at his illegitimate son and said slowly.

"Leno, do you know how precarious the Borde family was ten years ago?"

"At that time, there were four Blazing Suns in the Duchy, three of whom were not from my Borde family, and two of whom were from the Castell family..."

"The Star-Moon War had ended, the Duchy was in ruins, but the Castell family was thriving..."

"The Count of Castell and his wife were highly respected, and countless nobles and commoners followed them. Many lords of other kingdoms, when mentioning our Borde Duchy, only knew of Castell, not Borde..."

"Their power was too strong, they had already threatened the rule of our Borde family... If we let them continue to grow, the entire Borde Duchy will fall into chaos."

"Wait... are you saying..."

Hearing the duke's words, Leno was slightly stunned.

The old Duke looked deeply at him and continued.

"Yes, you're right."

"The Borde family did indeed manipulate the Flame Demon Disaster, but... the true purpose was to suppress the influence of the already dominant noble families..."

"The Castell family was too powerful, and they were very close to Anthony, even the Brois family were their allies..."

"Perhaps during the war, they were the arms of the Duchy, but the war has ended, and the Duchy does not need so many Blazing Suns."

"We need to utilize the Blood Demon Cult, utilize the Flame Demon Disaster, utilize the Dreaming Salon, to strike these increasingly powerful nobles."

Leno was completely stunned.

"So you secretly encouraged Count Brois? So you allowed the outbreak of the Flame Demon Disaster? You watched as the Flame Demon ravaged the city, allowed the Blood Demon Cult to harm innocent girls, just to eliminate the family that contributed the most to the Duchy during the Star-Moon War?"

As he spoke, he suddenly realized something, and his face turned ugly.

"Wait... is this also true for the Dreaming Salon this time?"

"Do you mean you already knew everything? You were just waiting to close the net?"

The old Duke fell silent for a moment and sighed.

"Was that... bad?"

"If we don't utilize the Dreaming Salon, how can we eliminate those noble families that are likely to challenge our rule in the future?"

"Leno, I know you may find it hard to accept, but it's necessary."

"We are the Borde, we are the Lords of the Duchy, and we cannot allow any vassal to possess the power to challenge us."

"Nobles value honor, dealing with it in this way, we can be seen as saviors in the eyes of the people, and we can also eliminate threats."

"If sacrificing a small number of subjects can ensure the long-term stability of the Duchy, isn't this good?"

Leno stared blankly at the old Duke as if he were looking at a stranger.

"Crazy!"

"You... you must be crazy!"