As a queen who has lost her kingdom, I can see the comments section.

A series of figures appeared in Bennett's mind, among which Vincent's figure became clearer.

Just as Bennett was thinking of Vincent, a carriage approached him from a distance, making him immediately alert and look in that direction.

The guards surrounding Bennett also fixed their gazes on the carriage with lightning speed.

With a creak, the carriage came to a stop.

Then, under everyone's watchful eyes, Vincent, with a simple and honest expression, stepped out of the carriage.

When Bennett saw Vincent, he was a little surprised: "Brother, you've come to see me? What's up?"

“Bennett.” Vincent looked at Bennett and said sincerely, “Since my father died, I have noticed a lot of chaos in Beard City and many people have died. I didn’t understand why before, but later I realized that it’s because the next Grand Duke has not yet been decided, is that right?”

"Why are you telling me all this, brother?"

"Bennett, you should become the next Grand Duke. Only in this way can the chaos be resolved."

"What did you say?"

Bennett almost thought he had misheard.

Vincent's expression grew even more sincere: "I know everyone wants you, Bennett, to be the Grand Duke. So, you should be the Grand Duke. Only in this way will no one else die."

Seeing Vincent's sincere expression, Bennett couldn't show any joy.

In the past few days, he has discovered some problems with Vincent and believes that Vincent also has his eye on the Grand Duke's position. How could such a person suddenly say such a thing?

Is there a conspiracy?

While considering the situation, Bennett said unhurriedly, "Brother, are you sure you want me to be the next Grand Duke? Don't you care about this position? Don't you want to sit in that position?"

Vincent sighed and said, "I have no interest in this position, but you think I do, right? Well, it's no wonder you think that way, because there's been some misunderstanding between us."

“Misunderstanding? What misunderstanding could there be?” Bennett asked.

Vincent raised his hand and pulled down the carriage curtain, revealing the situation inside the carriage directly to Bennett.

Inside the carriage, a man was bound, pale-faced and looking very weak from being tortured; it was Viscount Halley Thomas.

Upon seeing this person, Bennett narrowed his eyes.

“Bennett,” Vincent said helplessly, “you must know that Harley is bribing people in the military, right? Would you believe me if I said I only found out about this recently?”

"Brother, what are you trying to do by saying all this?" Bennett was a little unsure of Vincent's meaning.

“Harley was once saved by my mother, so he desperately wants me to become the next Grand Duke. That’s why he took it upon himself to do these things, trying to support my ascension to the throne. But he didn’t ask me if I wanted to sit in that position,” Vincent said with a helpless tone.

Upon hearing Vincent's words, Bennett frowned.

Is Vincent saying that he has no intention of competing for the position of the next Grand Duke?

Bennett thought about it carefully, and among the many pieces of information he had found, he couldn't find any information about what Vincent had done. It was all Harley's doing. It was just that Harley had the most contact with Vincent, so people assumed that it was Vincent's idea.

“I know that if I were to ascend the throne, it would surely cause a bloodbath, so I cannot do that. Bennett, only you can take the position of Grand Duke. If you wish, you can summon all the nobles now, and I can declare my support for your ascension in front of them!” Vincent said confidently.

Bennett's gaze turned strange.

If Vincent could admit his support in front of everyone, it would be too late for him to back out later.

Vincent, do you really not want to be a Grand Duke?

“Brother, what about the brothers and sisters who have died in the city these days, and so many nobles? Does that have nothing to do with you?” Bennett asked again.

Upon hearing this, Vincent sighed, "Some of them are still connected to me. Harley took it upon himself to eliminate some people for me, and these people are..."

After naming some people, Vincent concluded, "As for the others, I don't know who did it."

Seeing Vincent's composed demeanor, Bennett was momentarily speechless.

He wouldn't trust Vincent so easily, always feeling that the other party had some kind of scheme, but he couldn't figure out what the other party was thinking for the time being.

After thinking for a moment, Bennett simply said, "In that case, let's summon all the nobles and you can acknowledge me as the next Grand Duke in front of them."

“That’s what I’m going to do,” Vincent said with a simple, honest smile.

"Your Highness, please don't do this! We actually had a chance," Harley said, his face contorted in pain as he was bound.

“Enough said, I don’t want to see any more bloodshed.” Vincent turned to Bennett and said, “You can handle him too. Find out anything you want to know from him.”

Bennett nodded.

He sent someone to find the castle guards, and then had the castle guards send someone to contact the various nobles to come.

In addition, someone was also sent to take Harley down with them.

Next, they had to wait for the rest of the nobles to arrive.

What is Vincent really thinking? Does he have someone among the nobles he's placed there doing something later?

Bennett thought about it carefully.

While Bennett was thinking, Vincent returned to the carriage and sat down: "Bennett, can you come and talk to me? It's been a long time since we brothers had a proper chat, hasn't it?"

Bennett remained silent upon hearing this.

"Why didn't you come over? You don't still not trust me, do you? I came all alone to find you, and you have so many guards around you. Even I'm not worried, so what are you worried about?" Vincent chuckled.

Bennett didn't go over, but instead gave his guard a look.

His guards immediately went to the carriage and carefully examined it. They quickly determined that the carriage was just an ordinary one and had not been tampered with in any way.

After confirming that the carriage was safe, Bennett boarded it and sat opposite Vincent.

“You’re really cautious,” Vincent sighed.

"I'm sorry, brother, but the situation is rather unusual right now, so I have to be careful."

"That's understandable, really. Our duchy has been able to exist for so long because of our caution and prudence. By the way, Bennett, are you an apostle?"

"No, I'm just an ordinary person."

Bennett certainly wouldn't tell the truth; his rank as a middle-level apostle was his secret trump card.

Vincent said regretfully, "Alas, if only you were an apostle, you could become a Grand Duke and, if you had the opportunity to become a transcendent apostle, you might change our country's status and prevent us from being just a duchy. A duchy can't keep a transcendent apostle."

Hearing Vincent say this, Bennett was immediately moved.

The principality is too small, making it difficult to retain super-ranking apostles within the power structure; at most, it can only attract high-ranking apostles to stay.

Their chief of security in the Principality of Luban, along with several generals, were the superior apostles.

As for superior apostles, there are none.

“Super-ranking apostles only exist in those kingdoms. As for beings even more powerful than super-ranking apostles, only empires can possess them,” Bennett continued.

“That’s exactly it. The reason is that a duchy can’t attract too many strong people to join. Of course, even if those strong people did join, how could the rulers feel at ease? After all, they couldn’t be kept at bay.” Vincent shook his head as he spoke.

"Brother, why did you suddenly bring this up?" Bennett asked Vincent.

"I just think that a country's ruler is a powerful apostle himself, which is more conducive to the country's development. There is no need to worry about not being able to attract strong people, because he himself is strong, and there is no need to worry about the arrival of strong people threatening him."

"But unfortunately, this is just wishful thinking; reality rarely goes as we imagine."

“No, reality can unfold as one desires. Therefore, Bennett, the Grand Duke's seat must still be occupied by me.”

The instant Vincent finished speaking, Bennett sensed Vincent appearing beside him. The speed was so fast that even a mid-level apostle like Bennett didn't have time to react.

Before Bennett could do anything, Vincent had already hugged him.

Immediately afterwards...

"Crack!"

Vincent hugged Bennett tightly, and the sound of bones breaking came directly from Bennett's body, causing him to throw his head back and let out a shrill scream.

"Your Highness!"

The guards outside the carriage were taken aback and rushed towards it immediately.

"Too late, it's no use." Vincent's honest face had vanished, replaced by a cold smile.

Under his powerful embrace, Bennett's bones were broken all over his body, blood gushed from his mouth, and he was barely breathing, with an expression of disbelief on his face.

High-ranking apostle?

Vincent is actually a high-ranking apostle?

This was something Bennett hadn't anticipated at all. Why was the other party a high-ranking apostle? Could their talent really be that terrifying?

While shocked, Bennett also felt a lot of pain, his whole body ached, and the whole world seemed to have turned bright red.

"Heh, Bennett, you still lied to me and said you weren't an Apostle? Judging from my senses, you're at least a mid-level Apostle, but unfortunately, you still can't change anything," Vincent sneered.

“Vincent…” Bennett managed to say, “Even if you kill me, you can’t become a Grand Duke. Because you’re doing this openly, the nobles won’t accept you.”

"No, the nobles will agree, because I am a high-ranking apostle, and they don't want to offend me. Besides..." Vincent's eyes blazed with fire, "Besides, I also control a considerable amount of military power. As long as I have force, what does it matter if my behavior is a little violent?"

Originally, Vincent wouldn't have gone so far as to directly confront Bennett and kill him, but if he continued to secretly accumulate power, he felt he might fail, because there were too many people willing to follow Bennett.

Therefore, Vincent decided to be direct: as long as Bennett, the root cause, is eliminated, the forces that follow Bennett will inevitably fall apart.

To ensure his success, he had been putting on an act and even had Harley cooperate with him, finally managing to get close to Bennett.

If those words hadn't shaken Bennett's resolve, he wouldn't have been able to come directly to Bennett's side, because among Bennett's protectors were high-ranking apostles.

"Daphne, it must have been tough for you. As a high-ranking apostle, you even hid in the shadows to protect Bennett. Why didn't you stay among the visible guards? Was it to catch any potential attackers off guard? But didn't you realize that the attackers might also be high-ranking apostles?"

Vincent looked at the bushes on his left with a half-smile. Just as he made his move, a purple figure flew out of the bushes and quickly approached.

This person was none other than Daphne Melville, the sheriff of the police station!

"Your Highness, have you gone mad?"

Daphne's face turned extremely ugly as she looked at Bennett, who was being held in Vincent's arms like a puddle of mud.

Even though she had secretly protected him, she still couldn't protect His Highness, which made her so angry that her chest heaved and she lost her composure for a moment.

“Crazy? Maybe?” Vincent said as if to himself. “When we were little, Bennett and I went to catch goldfish. I caught five, but Bennett didn’t catch any. When we got back, my father saw Bennett’s disappointed face and took it upon himself to give all the goldfish to Bennett. Did he ask me what I thought at the time? Did he forget that I was the one who caught the goldfish?”

“Once, when Bennett and I were playing ball, I accidentally kicked and broke a window. My father slapped me several times, but only gave Bennett a simple verbal reprimand. Why can't we be treated the same for the same thing?”

“When I was in school, I showed my father my excellent report card, and he told me to keep up the good work. Bennett brought home the same report card, and my father was so happy that he bought him a lot of things. My father didn’t even look at me; he didn’t know that I also wanted a reward.”

Chapter 105 Dramatic Changes, Selection of the Next Grand Duke

“I once had a crush on a girl, but Bennett also fell for her. My father knew our feelings, but he chose to play matchmaker for Bennett, and I watched helplessly as the girl I liked fell into Bennett's arms.”