Snap!
Cross gazed at the pitiful Countess Shanna, a sunny smile gracing his handsome face as he casually snapped his fingers. "For a request from such a beautiful lady, I truly can't find a reason to refuse!"
Although this coup had come too suddenly, making events unfold beyond his expectations, it wasn't entirely irreversible. If he could protect Duke Attawa and Countess Shanna and help one of them ascend the throne, he could definitely regain the Bion Kingdom's friendship and complete the mission Vice Admiral Sakazuki had given him.
"Stubborn fool!"
Upon witnessing this, Marquis Mankervis's expression abruptly darkened as he coldly spat out the words.
"Thank you... thank you..."
At the same time, Countess Shanna covered her mouth, almost weeping with joy, her thanks flowing out excitedly. Duke Attawa also remembered Cross's formidable strength, and hope rekindled within him. He quickly responded, "Captain Cross, my sister's words represent my intentions. As long as you can protect my safety, I will agree to all your conditions! And you only need to hold out for a while; my Royal Uncle Lavishur* and Grand General Hebrass will come to rescue...!"
"Don't dream!"
Marquis Mankervis sharply waved a hand, viciously interrupting Duke Attawa's words, his tone sinister. "Royal Uncle Lavishur and Grand General Hebrass will absolutely not return to save you, because they can barely protect themselves! His Excellency Bazron, the Medicine King, has already taken care of both of them!'"
At this declaration, the faces of Cross, Duke Attawa, and Countess Shanna all changed drastically.
"You colluded with pirates?!" Duke Attawa cried out in shock, his face filled with terror and disbelief.
"So that's it!" Countess Shanna suddenly understood, exclaiming in surprise, "No wonder the fortress guarding Oneway Port canyon fell so easily, without the kingdom even having time to react! It was you, the Noble faction, pulling strings!"
"I couldn't help it. My dear Aniki controls the kingdom's military power, which kept me from ascending the throne for so long!" Knowing the truth was out, Marquis Mankervis no longer concealed it, stating directly, "We originally didn't want to expose ourselves. After all, colluding with pirates damages one's reputation too much. So we just secretly lent a hand, using the Roberts Legion's power to slowly eliminate the forces you controlled. We just didn't expect the Marines to arrive so suddenly..."
At this point, he glared coldly at Cross, angrily adding, "Especially this damned Marine soldier! To suddenly appear in Doma City last night and scare away that coward Roberts! Otherwise, with our Noble faction secretly letting them through, the Roberts Legion would definitely have stormed into Doma City and wiped out you Royalist scum!"
After hearing his words, Cross finally understood many things. But one thing remained unclear, so he pointed at Siren and asked directly, "What about this one? Did you send her to assassinate King Doma VII?"
"Of course not!" Marquis Mankervis denied it without hesitation.
"Hohohoho~"
At this, Siren showed a playful expression, chuckling softly and making a shocking statement, "The one who contacted me to assassinate King Doma VII was naturally the esteemed Duke Attawa himself!"
At this revelation, everyone in the castle hall attending the banquet erupted in an uproar. Although many had already suspected it, hearing the direct admission from Siren, the assassin herself, still left them in disbelief.
"I... you..." Duke Attawa's face turned beet red, and he stammered for a long time, unable to form a complete sentence. He wanted to deny it, but then he remembered his slip of the tongue when Siren attacked Cross, revealing that he had hired Siren to kill. For a moment, his mind went blank. He didn't know what to do. He only knew that his patricide had been exposed!
"However, it's also thanks to this Duke Attawa that Roberts found his opportunity, leading the Bion Kingdom into its current chaos!" Siren stated deliberately.
They say "killing a man's heart is worse than killing his body." Siren's words at this moment practically attributed all responsibility for the pirate invasion to Duke Attawa.
This made the expressions of the nobles and merchants of the Bion Kingdom present turn different towards Duke Attawa. Many neutral parties, and even members of the Royalist faction, showed hatred in their eyes, as if blaming him for plunging the Bion Kingdom into its current perilous situation.
"Actually, I'm also curious. Father King was very good to you, so why did you kill him?" Marquis Mankervis looked at Duke Attawa with cold eyes, his tone intentionally provocative.
Hearing Marquis Mankervis's words, Duke Attawa suddenly lifted his head, his eyes bloodshot as he glared at Marquis Mankervis, the hatred in his gaze almost as if he wanted to devour the other man alive.
"Don't look at me like that. You're the one who killed Father King, not me!" Marquis Mankervis said coldly.
"You bastard! If it weren't for your existence, why would I have killed Father King?!" Duke Attawa completely let loose, his expression utterly ferocious as he roared with unbridled fury, "That old fool! He'd get sick and then get better, then sick again, but he just wouldn't die! And he still wanted to pass the throne to you, you bastard child!"
"And your mother, that cheap woman Andali! If my mother hadn't died early, she'd just be a mistress hidden in the shadows, and you'd just be a bastard. What right do you have to contend with me for the throne?!"
"And even if I killed my Father King, I never thought of betraying the Bion Kingdom!"
"What right do you, a man who colluded with pirates and betrayed the Bion Kingdom's interests, have to accuse me?!"
"I just never thought that Siren was also your person!"
Finished, Duke Attawa panted heavily, glaring viciously at Marquis Mankervis and Siren, the hatred in his eyes almost solidifying.
"Are you done talking now? Since we're brothers, though there's no brotherly affection between us, it's a good time to lay everything bare tonight!" After listening to his half-brother's furious outburst, Marquis Mankervis's expression remained unchanged. He merely looked at the other man with cold eyes, as if he had known all of this already, and said in a flat tone, "Siren isn't my person. I only found out today that she's Roberts's subordinate, and that you were the one who orchestrated Father King's assassination. But it doesn't matter now. Things have reached this point. One phrase—the winner takes all!"
"You have the Royalist faction from the military and the Marines as your aid. I have the Noble faction and the Roberts Legion as my aid. Who wins and who loses will be decided after tonight!" At this, a hint of triumph appeared on Marquis Mankervis's face as he chuckled softly, "But for now, it seems I have the upper hand!"
"Take out this Marine soldier! Capture Attawa and Shanna!"
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Lavishur is previously translated as Labuiel Shoal.
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