769: Chapter 769 The person I fear most is others kneeling before me!

She looked at Ye Chen, a flicker of complexity flashing in her eyes.

Ye Chen leaned back against his chair and said helplessly.

"I'm the kind of person who doesn't like to hold grudges."

"You sent the High Priest to cause trouble for me, and the High Priest has already received his due retribution."

"Logically speaking, as far as I'm concerned, this matter is over."

Hilder's eyes lit up, and the heavy stone hanging in his heart fell halfway.

But Ye Chen changed the subject.

"But..."

He tilted his head and looked at the Queen.

"This is Eagle Country, and you are a Duke of Eagle Country. How you are handled is not for me to decide, but depends on the Queen's own wishes."

"After all, I'm not a judge in your Eagle Country, right?"

Hilder's heart jumped back up.

The Queen's brows knitted slightly.

She looked at Ye Chen's half-smiling face and suddenly understood.

This young man wasn't failing to hold a grudge; he was handing the blade of retribution to her.

He was testing her.

Testing whether, in the case of the Kent Family, she would choose to let things slide or use the opportunity to take action.

The Queen remained silent for a moment before slowly asking, "Mr. Ye, how do you think this should be handled?"

Ye Chen spread his hands.

"I said it already, I'm not a judge, and I don't pass judgment."

"However..."

He paused, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

"If you're asking for my personal opinion..."

"Lower their title, of course."

As soon as these words fell, the whole hall was in an uproar.

"What? Lower the title?!"

An elderly nobleman with graying hair stood up abruptly from his chair, his face flushing red.

"The Kent Family is one of the oldest ducal families in Eagle Country, having been passed down for over a dozen generations and having made countless contributions! You say lower it, so you lower it?"

Another middle-aged nobleman stood up, his voice filled with disbelief.

"Mr. Ye, we know you are powerful, but this is the internal affair of Eagle Country!"

"The Kent Family's title was earned by our ancestors with their lives; it's not something you can just lower because you say so!"

"That's right! The title system in Eagle Country has continued for centuries, and there has never been a precedent for lowering a ducal title because of something like this!"

"Your Majesty, please reconsider!"

The nobles began to discuss heatedly.

They weren't pleading for the Kent Family. Only someone with a screw loose would plead for them!

But the problem was... lowering a title over a minor matter was a precedent that absolutely must not be set!

In the noble circles of Eagle Country, lowering a title was even more terrifying than the death penalty.

The death penalty only kills one person. Lowering a title kills a family's centuries of glory.

And once a precedent was actually set, the Queen would absolutely use it to take action against a second, third, or even fourth person! This... was the reason they opposed it!!!

Hilder's expression changed completely. He hadn't expected Ye Chen to be so ruthless.

He thought Ye Chen would at most say a few cool remarks, or make the Kent Family pay some money and apologize, and the matter would be over.

After all, the High Priest had fallen, and Ye Chen hadn't suffered any substantial loss. But the moment Ye Chen spoke, he was demanding the life of the Kent Family.

Felix knelt on the ground, his face as pale as paper. "You... you can't do this!" "My father has already apologized! I've already knelt to you! What else do you want?!"

Ye Chen looked down at him and spoke indifferently. "You knelt because you are afraid of me." "Your father apologized because he was afraid of being investigated, and then it wouldn't be as simple as just lowering the title." "Therefore, you aren't afraid of me; you're afraid of the consequences."

He withdrew his gaze and looked at the Queen. "As for how to handle this..." "It remains the same: that is the Queen's business; I am just offering a suggestion."

The Queen sat on the main seat, silent. Lowering the Kent Family's title was not without precedent in the history of Eagle Country, but every time it happened, it was due to treason or rebellion.

Did what the Kent Family did this time rise to that level? Colluding with the High Priest, disturbing public order, intending to use others to kill... Each instance taken individually was not considered too severe.

But added together, plus the fact that the aftermath of the High Priest incident hadn't subsided and the public was still angry... If the Queen announced the lowering of the Kent Family's title at this time, what would the public think? They would feel the royal family was severely punishing evil forces, feel the Queen was impartial, and feel that there was still hope for this country.

But if she let them off lightly... what would those citizens, who had just recovered from the collapse of their faith, think? They would feel the royal family was shielding the powerful, feel that the law was only for ordinary people, and feel that this country was rotten to the core.

The Queen took a deep breath. "Hilder." Hilder's body trembled violently, and he bowed his head: "Your Majesty."

The Queen spoke coldly. "The Kent Family, having colluded with the High Priest, disturbed public order, intended to harm a friend of another country, and seriously damaged the reputation of Eagle Country." "Effective immediately, the Kent Family is demoted from Duke to Marquess." "The ducal fief is revoked, and a marquess territory is granted instead." "Felix Kent, confined for half a year, may not participate in any public affairs." "You, Hilder Kent..." She paused, then spoke word by word. "Fined three years' salary, confined to your home to reflect on your mistakes." "If there is a repeat offense, your title will be stripped, and you will never be employed again."

The hall was deathly silent. No one dared to speak again, fearing they would be caught in the crossfire. Those elderly nobles who had just been filled with righteous indignation now had faces turned green. Because they realized the Queen wasn't discussing; she was notifying them. Her mind was made up.

Hilder looked as if he had been struck by lightning, dumbfounded. Duke... demoted to Marquess? Centuries of glory, ruined in the hands of him and his son!?

Felix knelt on the ground, tears finally streaming down. Fear! Boundless fear! He suddenly realized that from now on, he was no longer the son of a Duke. He was just the son of a Marquess.

In the upper circles of Eagle Country, the gap between a Marquess and a Duke was like the stars in the sky and the stones on the ground. Those who used to bow and scrape to him would start ignoring him from tomorrow on. Families that used to curry favor, flatter him, and couldn't wait to stuff their daughters into his arms as pets... from tomorrow on, they would avoid him like the plague. This was the reality of the noble circle. When a wall is about to collapse, everyone gives it a push. Today, he finally understood what it meant for the "wall to collapse."

The Queen looked at Hilder's ashen face, feeling not a shred of sympathy. She had given the Kent Family chances. Many times. But they didn't cherish them. They thought that as long as their plan was meticulous and their hands were clean, they would never capsize. But they forgot one thing... In this world, there are some people you cannot afford to provoke.

The Queen withdrew her gaze and looked back at Ye Chen. "Mr. Ye, are you satisfied with this handling?"

Ye Chen picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and set it down. "I said it already, I'm not a judge, and whether I'm satisfied is not for me to say." "However..." "At least, from now on, no one will kneel to me so easily." "I'm the type of person who hates it when others kneel." "Once someone kneels, I think they're about to ask me for money."

The hall was silent for a few seconds. The next moment, Euphemia couldn't help it and burst out laughing with a "pfft." But the people around them couldn't laugh. After all, being demoted for a minor matter set a precedent. They would have to be careful from now on, or they would suffer too!

The Queen: "..." Does this guy think he's being funny?

Euphemia sat beside Ye Chen, laughing so hard she was rocking back and forth, tears streaming down. "Ye Chen, can you... can you be a bit more serious?"

Ye Chen looked at her with an innocent face. "I'm very serious." "I really am afraid of people kneeling to me." "Last time, someone came to cause trouble for me, got beaten up by me, and ended up kneeling to beg for mercy." "Do you think I should have softened my heart, or not?"

Euphemia said without hesitation: "You shouldn't have softened your heart; you should beat the dog in the water!"

"Then that settles it, doesn't it?" Ye Chen shrugged. "So ever since then, I swore I wouldn't let anyone kneel to me again; I'd just slap them to death."

Euphemia laughed even harder, leaning on the table, her shoulders shaking. Watching all this, Hilder suddenly felt like a clown.

The next second, he was furious. "Ye Chen!" "Do you... really have to push us to the brink?"

Felix also raised his head abruptly, staring at Ye Chen with bloodshot eyes. "My father has already apologized! I've already knelt to you! What else do you want? Do you only be satisfied if our whole family is wiped out?!"

The father and son, one tall and one short, one old and one young, their faces filled with the same expression... unwillingness, anger, fear.

Ye Chen leaned back against his chair, looking at the father and son, and couldn't help but laugh. "Push you to the brink?" "If I were really pushing you to the brink, you wouldn't be alive right now."

Hilder's expression stiffened. Ye Chen continued. "You think I don't know what you were planning?" "You think you just sent the High Priest to cause trouble for me?" "You sent the High Priest to cause trouble for me, not to chase me out of Eagle Country, but to have me die in Eagle Country." "The mysterious powers that the High Priest held, ordinary people don't know, but you, Hilder, know." "You sent him to deal with me, never intending to let me leave alive." "You not only wanted to destroy my footing in Eagle Country, but you also wanted to destroy me as a person." "Now, do you still have the face to ask me why I'm pushing you to the brink?"