Darkstone Code

Chapter 1249 - 1247: Counterattack

The old aristocrat left, and the young count’s uncle’s wife finally entered the room.

She had been just outside the room earlier, and her laughter didn’t sound even a bit "sad". Clearly, her mood was quite good.

"How are you feeling?" she asked.

The young count’s uncle rolled his eyes and said nothing.

This gesture caused his wife’s eyebrows to furrow; she was somewhat dissatisfied, "Kip, mind your attitude!"

"Kip" is a short form, or nickname, for the young count’s uncle’s name; when you remove the surname and some irrelevant parts from his name, it’s simply Kipling.

People always like to give each other short names and nicknames, especially the aristocrats.

The arrogance of the aristocrats created this style; they always refer to those not as high as them in this manner.

They rename others, adding adjectives to their names, such as "weak" or "stupid".

But when addressing those of higher status than themselves, they display great respect, at least they wouldn’t mess with their names.

Calling her husband’s name "Kip" was not out of affection, but ridicule, and contempt.

She looked down on this man, for many reasons.

For instance, he couldn’t even compete with his own nephew, losing the chance to seize the right to the title and ended up being driven away like a stray dog seeking refuge with her family.

Or because he never recognized his own status and was delusional about using the family’s influence to develop his own business, which never came to fruition.

Also, his abilities in bed were mediocre at best, far from being good or exceptional, which was another reason why she disdained her husband.

The most crucial point was that there was no affection between them; this was the key.

Kipling looked at his wife; the two stared at each other with a bit of resentment and anger.

For her, she should have had a better marriage, but her father took a liking to the assets split from the young count’s family and married off his not-so-prominent daughter to him.

And for him, the choice of marriage was purely out of interest; after separating from the other family, without another family providing shelter, he might lose everything he had!

And with this shameless and indiscreet woman frequently caught up in scandals, he wouldn’t hold much affection for his wife.

The two stared at each other for a while before Kipling looked away; now was not the time to fall out with this family. He looked away as if admitting defeat and then closed his eyes.

Seeing her nominal husband admit defeat made the woman extremely happy. She hummed softly, noticing the newspaper at the head of the bed.

She picked it up and glanced at it, then laughed aloud, "Look, the whole world knows your ass is really white. Is this the only advantage you have?"

Mocking, Kipling opened his eyes and glared at his wife, and the woman glared back, unwilling to give in.

This time, she lost.

From Kipling’s eyes, she saw something... terrifying. Feeling a bit uneasy, she looked away but was unwilling to admit defeat, cursing.

"Bitch!"

The woman took a deep breath and tossed the newspaper back onto the bedside, "Now everyone knows you got beaten when you went to a brothel, and they saw your white ass. You became famous, dear."

"Next time you visit such a place, you might ask those women if they can be famous for hitting a celebrity like you..."

Kipling couldn’t take it any longer, pointing at the wooden door, shouting, "Get out, you... bitch!"

His wife glanced at him a few more times before turning away.

"Wishing you a speedy recovery; we all want to see your ass again!"

Kipling grabbed a pillow and threw it, hitting the ground amidst the woman’s shriek.

She left the second floor and, upon reaching the first floor, encountered her father, the current patriarch of the family.

"You shouldn’t provoke him at this time!" He didn’t think his daughter did anything wrong; aristocrats are generally arrogant, looking down on those who betrayed their family.

But this person still possessed benefits he desired, hence the reason he accepted this traitor.

However, that doesn’t mean he will treat him as an equal aristocrat.

The woman lost her arrogance from above, cautiously lowering her head, "Yes, I understand, Father."

The old aristocrat nodded slightly, but you couldn’t feel him "nodding" because he always held his head high. "Recently, we need a stable environment; don’t run around causing trouble. I don’t want to hear about your scandals, understand?"

The woman nodded again.

The old aristocrat was referring to her affairs with her lovers; the young count’s uncle had his life, and the woman had hers, each doing their own thing.

The young count’s uncle satisfied personal needs and vented frustrations through money outside, while his wife kept numerous lovers.

She didn’t care if others knew about it, nor was she afraid of them knowing.

This is one of the biggest differences between Gafura and the Federation: the attitude towards family!

In the Federation, if a public figure commits adultery during marriage, it qualifies as a scandal. If it’s a politician, it would directly affect their political career.

But in Gafura, people would merely see it as an interesting, spicy, and slightly salacious story.

This relates to the history of Gafura’s nobility. Since the era of knights, noblewomen have taken pride in sleeping with more knights.

This may sound confusing, but it’s easier to understand when explained the other way around.

Back then, a noblewoman’s prestige was judged by whether someone was willing to duel for her. In the Middle Ages, dueling for a noblewoman was also a way for knights to advance and gain prestige.

There was a saying at the time, "Once a knight goes to the Imperial Capital, he is no longer a knight," referring to such customs.

Whether famous or unknown, knights could seek pleasure from noblewomen, regardless of whether these women had husbands, or if the husbands were alive and well.

It’s said that an Empress once had three thousand knight suitors, and every day she would go to the arena to watch these knights fiercely battle for the chance to sleep with her.

Every day, knights would die in the arena, and people would cheer for the victors, with no one remembering the losers.

The victors would then get to sleep with the noblewomen that night!

The Empress had slept with knights, and more than one. At that time, the nobility didn’t find anything wrong with this.

Those nobles even hoped their wives would attract more knights’ admiration, as it would bring the nobility more prestige and win more knights’ allegiance.

After sleeping together, did one just leave?

No, knights would swear allegiance to the noblewoman’s family. Interestingly, once they swore allegiance, they lost the right to sleep with the noblewoman. They would become family knights, standing alongside the nobility.

Those noblewomen famed for their affairs often brought many strong knights to their families. After all, not every knight survived a duel, and those who did were often very strong.

This could be seen as a twisted selection mechanism, a way to bolster a family’s military strength.

And the nobility’s attitude towards "chastity" and family changed since that time.

The woman and her lover did not conceal their relationship, so an older nobleman reminded her to restrain herself for the time being, not letting these matters disrupt the core of the Secretariat, as they would become sinners.

The older nobleman soon left. His purpose today was to advise Kipling not to seek revenge for the moment, as overthrowing the Imperial Family was more important now!

But sometimes, things aren’t as simple as people imagine.

Kipling was first disrupted when he was about to reach the pinnacle of his life, then he was inexplicably beaten, and afterward, thrown into the street, with the whole world having seen his buttocks.

His wife’s father, who he relied on, told him not to take revenge.

Meanwhile, his wife mocked and ridiculed him at the doorway and in the room.

As a man, he can endure many things, like accidentally coming home and finding that female whore enjoying themselves with other bastards.

But this time, he couldn’t bear it because the one who struck was his nephew, whom he had always looked down upon.

With all sorts of factors mixed together, this time he won’t "obey"!

This storm seemed to have calmed down, with nothing unexpected happening for two consecutive days, but the little Count and Lynch were still waiting for new developments.

To that end, they even spent money on some tabloids, having them repeatedly make Kipling the protagonist of stories, for instance, that he was beaten because he was gay.

That he became a victim of jealousy among gay men.

Nobles weren’t particularly interested in these stories, as Gafura was tolerant of same-sex love and behavior, as there were all sorts of people among the nobility.

But the public loved this kind of news; they enjoyed seeing nobles in disgraceful situations.

Then, one day, a group of people suddenly attacked and set fire to a jewelry store owned by the little Count’s family, burning it to the ground.

When the little Count and Lynch learned of this, rather than being angry, they were actually relieved.

As long as that bastard took action, it meant this matter wouldn’t simply come to a halt.

They were only afraid Kipling would endure such humiliation, as then they wouldn’t know how to proceed next.

Surely, they couldn’t bully him if he admitted defeat, could they?

With retaliation, there would be give and take!

Soon, the little Count lodged a protest with the Secretariat, stating that his enterprise suffered a huge financial loss, and all fingers pointed to his wife’s father!

Yes, their target was not the little Count’s uncle.

It was his wife’s father!