Chapter 709: 707 Debunked_1

“Duke, I don’t understand what you mean…”

“Don’t you?” Colin caressed Grace’s flawless, jade-like face, seemingly searching for a trace of panic, “Then let me be clear–

Huorong City is a trap, a trap set against me and the Blood Knight Army!”

Grace tilted her head in confusion, cuddling against Colin’s broad chest, and chuckled, “Your Grace, but haven’t you already seen through this trap? Even Mr. Ji was driven to escape in a miserable state under the pursuit of the Blood Knight Army.”

“If the trap laid by Mr. Ji were that simple, then Cyrus St. Hilde wouldn’t have perished. Even though I’ve always looked down on him for hiding behind the scenes and plotting, I’ve never underestimated him.”

“Ah? Then… what other plots does he have?” Grace showed a panicked expression, taking this opportunity to snuggle further into Colin, intentionally creating friction at certain sensitive points.

Unfortunately, Colin remained unmoved, even with a beauty in his arms, his face remained as calm as water.

“One year without seeing each other, and your acting has greatly improved. Have you gone through special training?” Colin stares with amusement into Grace’s eyes, as clear as blue crystal, yet found no anomaly from within.

“Your Grace, are you joking with me?” Grace, tip toeing, cooed at her lover. Her warm, fragrant breath caressed Colin’s face, causing a wave of disarray within him.

Colin extended his hand, grabbing Grace’s jaw to prevent the close pair of red lips from approaching further. Then he said coldly:

“Do I look like I am joking? Mr. Ji’s trap has not been destroyed, but on the contrary, has just started.

And you, you’re one of the key figures helping him set this trap!”

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“Your Grace!” Tears sparkled in Grace’s eyes she looked even more aggrieved, “For you, I even killed my grandfather… yet you, you still suspect me…”

Colin gave a wry smile, his face expressing disdain:

“Do you know? The reason I started doubting you is precisely because you killed the old Count.”

Seeing Grace’s confusion, Colin began to explain:

“Under such circumstances, almost no one in the Brugen family would be willing to follow the old Count to their death. In that case, you only needed to detain and restrict him. Why did you have to kill him?

Don’t give me a lame excuse like winning my trust by killing your own grandfather. Simply by opening the gates of Huorong City, you have already secured my trust. There was no need for additional moves, damaging your own reputation needlessly.”

Grace seemed more wronged than ever, sobbing as she spoke:

“Your Grace… I… at that time, I was just blinded by anger… which led me to kill him… also, as you know, I’m not the real daughter of Count Brugen, that old man has no blood ties with me… killing him was truly only to prove my faithfulness to you…”

“Yes, killing the old Count was indeed a good allegiance token, but more importantly, you didn’t want him alive and falling into my hands!” Colin replied coldly, “He probably knew a lot about Mr. Ji’s secrets, didn’t he? So, how could you let him live, to allow these secrets to be extracted by me?

This old man thought he was controlling the situation, but he didn’t even know that you were Mr. Ji’s real accomplice, and he, was just a bait you guys tossed out.”

“Your Grace, you really misunderstood me! How could I possibly conspire with Mr. Ji…”

Seeing that Grace still refused to admit it, Colin sneered:

“Do you know why I suspect you’re conspiring with Mr. Ji?”

Without waiting for Grace to deny again, Colin answered his own question:

“Do you remember, one year ago when I first came to Huorong City? You willingly offered yourself to be my lover.

But how could I trust you so easily? After all, I had just killed your father.

Then how did you gain my trust?

You said you were also secretly allied with Queen Midela and revealed your secret to gain her trust —

You are not the real daughter of Count Brugen.

But do you remember, at that time, I also asked you, has the Queen exchanged any secrets with you?”

Upon hearing that, Grace nodded and said, “The secret that Her Majesty the Queen told me was that Prince Harrison and Princess Judy are not the emperor’s offspring. Is there a problem with this?”

“No, there isn’t,” Colin’s smile grew brighter, “but precisely because there’s no problem here, reveals a problem!”

“Your Grace… I don’t understand what you mean…”

“Do you know the secret the Queen exchanged with me?”

“What?”

“She told me that Vera is her daughter!”

“What!”

“Alright, stop acting.” Colin sneered dismissively, “This secret is fake. How could someone like the Queen possibly give up her real weakness? But strangely enough, she really did give her greatest weakness to you!”

Grace’s eyes widened, still maintaining an innocent expression, “Your Grace, could it be that the Queen also told me a fake secret…”

“No. This secret I have verified myself. Harrison and Judy indeed aren’t Emperor Reinhardt’s offspring. The emperor even left a testament to change the heir.

So, Grace, how did you know such an important secret?

You’re the Brugen family. No matter how strategically important Huorong City is, the emperor should be able to get information about it without your cooperation.

Why did the Queen, a cunning politician, suddenly trust you so much?”

“Your Grace… This really is the secret the Queen told me! Perhaps she figured I couldn’t possibly betray her…”

“Yes, but why would such a wily politician as the Queen suddenly trust you so much?” Before Grace could explain, Colin questioned again, “And why did Lord Oberth specifically want Knight Camilla to be engaged to you?”

“Because they know I am your lover and they wanted to provoke you!” Grace quickly responded.

But Colin slowly shook his head, clearly not satisfied with this answer, and asked:

“Then why, a year ago, did Count Evan prefer to break off his engagement with a princess of the House of Lexie to be engaged to you?”

“Because Count Evan wanted to take over his brother’s power, and among those forces, the Brugen family’s possession of Huorong City, a vital strategic location, is someone he had to pull into his camp.”

Colin shook his head again, saying:

“I thought so at first too. But then I found that I had overlooked one important issue.”

“What?”

Colin caressed the girl’s smooth jaw, asking in a somber voice:

“You claim that you’re not the real daughter of Count Brugen, then who is your illegitimate father exactly?”

Grace also looked confused, saying:

“This… I really don’t know.”

“But I do.” Suddenly, Colin revealed an unfathomable smile.