After hearing Leon's words, the old man slightly furrowed his brow and then asked,
"Why did you kill him?"
"Because the job required it."
Unsure of how much the old man knew about the "underwater world," Leon didn't immediately concoct a story but instead retorted,
"What do you know about the Purification Bureau?"
"I've learned a little."
Since he had already thoroughly investigated Leon's file, it was only natural not to ignore his work. After a moment of silence, the old man waved off two officers before speaking in a lowered voice,
"The royal family has a manual. Once a name is written in it, they can maintain their soul's 'silence' even when aware of the presence of anomalies, thereby avoiding attacks by anomalies. My name is also in it.
And since you mentioned the Purification Bureau, does this mean that the incident was not due to an internal conflict in the Ryan Family, but rather related to your Bureau's 'work content'?"
*A manual that could keep the soul in 'silence'?* It seemed not all "ordinary people" were unaware of the existence of anomalies, just that there weren't many.
After keeping this information in mind, Leon nodded and said,
"Yes, Bobby Layne merged with an anomalous object. He not only attempted to seize the anomalous object I was safeguarding but even threatened the lives of ordinary people to force me to reveal the Purification Bureau's secrets.
Although the Purification Bureau has rules prohibiting actions against ordinary people unless necessary, the situation was urgent at the time, and he was no longer considered human, so I had no choice but to kill him."
*So that's how it was...*
After learning the "truth" of the Ryan Blood Night from Leon, the old man compared it with other information he knew, and his tightly furrowed brow relaxed slightly.
If Leon had revealed the answer directly at the beginning of the questioning, the old man might have seized on several doubts to continue his inquiry.
But Leon first used two questions to "challenge" him, and after confirming his understanding of the Purification Bureau, he "reluctantly" disclosed the "real" situation of the Ryan Blood Night.
As the saying goes, a concubine is less worthy than a mistress, a mistress less worthy than a stolen wife, and a stolen wife less worthy than a wife yet to be stolen. The situation at hand was somewhat similar.
Compared to readily available answers, these hard-earned pieces of intelligence seemed inherently more credible, at least to the Minister of Defense, who only knew a little about the Purification Bureau. He basically believed Leon's words, albeit...
"If possible, I'd like you to change the narrative."
With a serious expression, the old man said to the slightly surprised Leon,
"For your Purification Bureau, you can say whatever needs to be said, but when others outside the Bureau ask, I hope you can cooperate with us to label the Ryan Family incident as an internal conflict."
Although Leon, as an "ordinary person," was not very familiar with the political landscape of the Kingdom, he'd heard vague rumors about who stood behind the Minister of Defense.
"Is the Princess planning to take action against the old nobility?"
Admitting Leon's judgment frankly, the old man with graying hair said,
"If you wish, you can put it more bluntly... This is a frame-up!"
After openly stating his intentions, the old man, with eyes as sharp as an eagle's, stared firmly into Leon's eyes, observing his expression closely as he swiftly explained,
"Regardless of whether it's rebels or internal conflict, the Ryan Family, with so many key members dead, is already doomed. However, the old nobility is a collective; even if the Ryan Family completely loses power, their vacant positions won't fall to anyone else but will be swiftly divided among other nobles.
By then, except for the Ryan Armaments Company becoming the Maseni Firearms Company, and those from the Ryan Family in the Department of Road Administration, Department of Finance, and Department of Agriculture being replaced by people named York or other surnames, everything will continue as usual. This country will see no change."
After briefly explaining the possible situations, the old man slightly raised his voice, looking serious as he said,
"But now it's different. As long as you're willing to cooperate and demonstrate that the Ryan Family incident was an internal conflict, it will create an excellent opportunity for the Princess to take a significant step towards a better direction for the Kingdom!"
"I don't understand."
Hearing this, Leon frowned in confusion and asked,
"Whether it was internal conflict or an attack by rebels, weren't the ones who died all from the Ryan Family? Why would this provide a good opportunity for the Princess?"
"Because the Kingdom needs to maintain stability. No department can or should have large-scale vacancies all at once."
Observing Leon, who clearly lacked understanding of political maneuvering—his knowledge wasn't even on par with his own daughter's—the old man considered for a moment before explaining as simply as possible,
"Among the two hundred-plus casualties in the Ryan Family, over a hundred were mid-level officials within various departments of the Kingdom, especially in the Department of Road Administration and the military, where these two alone saw near eighty vacancies.
Of the forty-seven subordinate branches of the military, one-quarter started accumulating files due to the incident, and two small sub-bureaus temporarily halted operations from losing their heads.
Although the old nobility will quickly fill these vacancies, it will take at least one to two months for the new officials to take over and become familiar with their work, and possibly more than three months to fully resolve the backlog. Some related departments might even experience inefficient operations for half a year or longer due to unfamiliarity."
After simply outlining the direct impact caused by the Ryan Blood Night, the old man continued with a serious expression,
"If just one noble family's internal conflict can result in such severe consequences, what if two families, three families, or even more nobles encounter issues one after another within half a year? This is the best pretext to act!"
If this event could be classified as internal strife, the Princess could argue in parliament to reduce the number of the old nobility in each department to curb their excessive power, citing the need to ensure the Kingdom's normal functioning.
Even if ultimately unsuccessful, a demand could be made for the old nobility to ceded power, ensuring that a single noble family doesn't hold too many positions in any department to prevent related departments from coming to a standstill if a similar issue arises.
And when these nobles can no longer have numerous clansmen in a department, those who side with the Princess would have room to maneuver, potentially uniting with others to balance power or even reclaim control of key matters within that department!"
As he said this, seemingly envisioning the Princess's successful reform sweeping away years of accumulated problems in the Kingdom, the old man's face slightly reddened with excitement, his eyes filled with fervor as he said,
"Take the Ryan Family as an example. Just imagine, if the number of Ryan officials in the Department of Road Administration was reduced to half or even a third of its original number, could they still monopolize the construction of the Old Town like before?
And if the number of Ryan officials in military procurement also dropped to half of its original count, could Ryan Armaments Company still consume so much of the military's budget annually? If... what is it now?"
"Someone from Her Highness just arrived..."
One of the two young officers said with a peculiar expression as he entered the hospital room holding a dispatch order,
"The people sent by the Princess said... the old Duke of the Ryan Family is on the verge, and those in the top five succession ranks need to arrive quickly..."
*The Duke of Lionheart is near the end?*
Upon hearing the young officer's words, the old man was slightly pleased and immediately stood up from the bedside, decisively saying,
"In any case, consider my words first. An opportunity like the Ryan Blood Night won't come again. Your choice might become... what's wrong now?"
Looking at Leon, who was covered in bandages on the bed, the young officer said somewhat helplessly,
"The one on the bed is the fifth in line of succession for the Ryan Family..."