Four Split Personalities

"You! What did you say!"

Dundis Duke suddenly rose from his seat, his seemingly dizzy eyes sharp as knife blades. Despite possessing only the strength of a middle-rank Mage, in that instant, he exploded with an intimidating authority that wasn’t about murderous intent per se, but rather the type of demeanor that could only be cultivated from spending an exceedingly long time at the very top of the power pyramid. Under such demeanor, even common epic powerhouses would feel a subconscious fear.

However, the person seated before him was neither common nor all that powerful. Disregarding the Duke’s intimidating aura, if the other party were to release a fart capable of piercing through walls and if that fart wasn’t the current topic of discussion, he could easily ignore it with a light-hearted attitude.

"I think I’ve made myself quite clear, Your Grace. Please, have a seat."

Motan lazily waved his hand, took a sip of the bitter tea Dundis had prepared moments ago, and repeated what he had said five seconds prior with measured emphasis, "If we calculate the time, our Crown Prince An, your dear nephew Rebo Bresen, should be dead by now."

Dundis slammed his hand on the table with a thunderous bang and bellowed, "I warn you, Anthony Dabus, if you dare spout nonsense..."

"Nonsense?"

Motan cheerfully cut off the Duke’s unfinished threat, raising an eyebrow as he said, "You don’t believe it, right?"

Dundis sat back down with an iron blue complexion, saying coldly, "It’s absurd, Rebo he..."

"He has command over the majority of the Zijing Guards left in Sālāmù’ēn, he has planted a large number of people around his younger half-brother, he has secretly gathered a considerable underground force with the resources accumulated over the years and the help of the Dengtis Family, and he even gained the support of nearly forty established Noble powers. Putting in immense effort, he wove a vast network, creating an interesting community of shared interests centered around himself. Besides the transactions, exchanges, and gathering of intelligence happening behind the scenes, when necessary, direct pressure could even be applied to the Royal Family."

Motan casually took up where Dundis left off, raising his cup in a toast after tossing out a series of shocking facts, "So what?"

"You... you..."

Duke Dundis had even forgotten what he originally wanted to say. It definitely wasn’t the litany of items Motan had just reeled off as if reading a menu. But that didn’t matter anymore. For the old man, what was most important now was why the other party knew these things, and whether... what he said earlier was true.

"All along, you have underestimated one person, even after he showed his fangs, you still did."

Motan could guess the turmoil Dundis was in at this very moment, so he didn’t wait for the other to ask and just answered of his own accord, "Yes, that person can only be Shu Bresen. Aside from you, clouded by hatred and thus blind, even your relatively accomplished nephew Rebo, who often dealt with his younger brother, has never truly understood Shu. Neither have you given him enough trust, nor have you been sufficiently cautious with him. Heh, the former doesn’t really matter since, in any case, Shu could become an obstacle for Crown Prince Rebo’s ascension to the throne. Not just for Violet, but within other families of the Empire, there could be various issues between rightful sons. However... you really should have been more cautious."

Duke Dundis’s complexion turned even paler.

"If that’s the case... crackle crackle crackle... Spit!"

Motan rinsed his mouth with the remaining half cup of tea, then disgracefully spat it onto the floor next to him, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, and continued, "At least you could have lost more gracefully."

"I don’t believe it..."

Duke Dundis murmured in a low voice. Shaking his head vigorously, his complexion had turned from iron blue to pale, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at Motan, "You’re lying to me, I don’t believe it... I don’t believe it..."

Rather than rebutting the other party, the old man’s actions seemed more like he was trying to convince himself.

"No, no, no, Your Grace. In fact, when I mentioned ’an interesting community of shared interests,’ you already believed most of it." Motan laughed coldly, mercilessly adding, "You know about that plan, don’t you? The one about directly taking out Shu Bresen in Sālāmù’ēn, eliminating the problem for good. You don’t just know it; you were actively involved in it, weren’t you? If that’s the case, then you should know better than anyone that even if Crown Prince Rebo only had the information I just mentioned, he could not possibly succeed in killing his own brother. Yet, having brandished his blade, he must bear the consequences of doing so, which is..."

Dundis panicked, his voice trembling as he shouted, "No, that’s wrong! Don’t you..."

"Dead!"

Motan stretched out his index finger and slowly drew it across his throat, grinning foolishly, "Right, just death, death, death, death, death, death over and over again, hahah, hahaha..."

His laughter grew increasingly frenzied, more and more hysterical, and he even clutched his stomach and began banging on the table as if he could pass out at any moment...

But there was not a hint of madness in Motan’s eyes; they were only filled with mocking pleasure as he watched Dundis Duke crumble before him. His unblinking eyes were cold and pleased, yet without a trace of a smile.