色戒无删除版

Early the next day, a sentinel knocked on Galahad's room and informed him that the council had called a meeting. The duke shook his head at the timing of those bastards. The sun hasn't fully risen yet but they were already on their toes and even commenced a meeting without informing him.

"Your council is really bold," Ulysses, who came out from the other room, commented.

He was leaning on the closed door and was fully dressed in a white formal attire with all the accessories and the noticeable medal of honor on his left chest. He must have heard the knock and the sentinel's words. One other possibility was that the man already anticipated that something like this might happen.

"With that get up, are you planning on coming with me?" The duke sent the sentinel away before returning his attention to Ulysses.

"Of course! I want to meet your council and see what they are capable of," Ulysses pushed himself up and stood straight. "So you should dress up properly and show them your power. Tsk, you've become weak that I can't feel that dangerous aura anymore."

Galahad laughed at the man's comment before he closed the door to his room. It only took him a short amount of time to prepare. When he exited his room, Ulysses couldn't help himself from giving Galahad an applause.

"You really look sharp right now and I like the hairstyle, it gives you that respectable look." Ulysses grinned after giving Galahad a look from head to toe.

The man was currently wearing a red top and black pants. On top of it was a long black coat with fur accented with gold and red lines on the coat's lapels and sleeves. It was a color that Duke Galahad would always use in the past.

"Enough teasing," there was a frown on Galahad's face as he was getting annoyed with the man.

Ulysses chuckled as he patted the man's shoulder after closing the distance between them. "That should always be the tone of your voice. I bet the council is bullying you because you are showing too many weaknesses."

Galahad sighed and shook his head, "Let's go."

They both walked the silent hallways of the manor towards the conference hall where all the council members were present. All seats around the rectangular table were filled except for the seat at the top which was usually reserved for the head of the dukedom. The wooden doors to the hall opened and two figures entered, one was wearing black while the other was wearing white.

The air around them was pulsating and it gave the room an invisible pressure that made the people inside gasp for air. They watched as Duke Galahad took his seat and as Duke Ulysses stood behind him with a grin on his face. He briefly swept his gaze on the people who were present before giving them all a smile.

"Please don't mind me and treat me as if I am not here, go on and start the meeting," he waved his hand forward to at least ease the tension but nothing happened.

"I didn't expect you to be here, Duke Ginehart," one of the council members said.

He was the oldest of the members and held a decent amount of power inside the organization. From what Ulysses could remember, he was called Enrick Vaermin. Ulysses couldn't help but chuckle at the man's name.

"Oh, I happen to have free time so I decided to come here," Ulysses answered with a smile. "You know I needed some vacation from all that was happening in the capital and my wife can always take care of the duchy in my place, so I will be staying here for an extended period of time."

His words had a hint of playfulness but at the same time it was also provoking. The council members frowned because they could feel the threat from those words. Enrick Vaermin could only force a smile after hearing those words.

"Then I hope you enjoy your stay." He nodded even though he was silently cursing the man for just being there.

Ulysses did not speak any further and waited for the meeting to begin. At first the council members were a bit reluctant to say what they wanted but after a few minutes, when they noticed that Ulysses was indeed just there to watch, they became bold. One by one, they voiced out their dissatisfaction because the duke seemed to be not doing anything about the complaints of the people.

They even reported that there were more complaints that the duke was unresponsive and that he was true to his promises. He had promised his people so many things and yet none of them were implemented. Because of this, most of the people were dissatisfied with his leadership.

Galahad listened to all of this with a straight face. It was the same issue over and over again that he was getting bored by it. He did not understand why these men were so keen on passing on all of the blame on him when they were the ones who had been hindering all of his plans.

"Some of them even came to us to express their desire for a new ruler!" Suddenly a crisp and high pitched voice exclaimed.

In the blink of an eye, several pairs of eyes were looking in his direction. The man shrunk on his seat after all attention was given to him. He didn't mean to speak so loudly but it just happened.

Galahad shook his head. He thought that this must be the reason why they were being pushy. They wanted to replace him as the head of Blackwell even though he was still alive. And, they were even using a council with not much influence in the territory, maybe to shift all the blame on him if something would go wrong.

"Then who would they like to be their leader?" Galahad leaned forward and placed his hands on the table.

He narrowed his eyes at the people who wanted to depose him from his position. He was waiting for them to say it in his face, that they wanted him gone. Ulysses who was listening from behind slightly narrowed his eyes and waited for them to answer.

"It's not that we want to replace you but we want to urge you to choose a suitable candidate as an heir. We can always pacify the people," Enrick reasoned without batting an eye.

From that simple statement, Galahad and Ulysses could infer two things. The council wanted Galahad to replace Isaiah as his heir with the other candidates on their list, who they thought were suitable. Secondly, he could remain as the duke as long as he listen to their instructions.

They were clearly planning on making him a puppet ruler. In the past, they dare not because they didn't have anything to use against him. Now, they were getting desperate and the reason behind this desperation, the duke hasn't discover it yet.

"I already have an heir and I will not change my mind," Galahad started and he saw that they were about to protest so he spoke first, "and no matter what you say, no matter what you do, no matter how you create this illusion of people complaining against me and no matter what your reason is, my decision of naming Isaiah my heir will not change."

His cold and resolute voice echoed through the room. The pressure from his aura alone pressed down on these people who were challenging his authority. Galahad realized that what Ulysses said was true, he became weak. This must be the reason why they thought they could do whatever they wanted inside his own territory.

"Regarding those complaints, those are because of you. If not for your intervention, those promises should have been fulfilled a long time ago." Galahad swept his angry gaze at these people who should have been supporting him.

"Duke Galahad!" One of the council protested. "Are you slandering us?"