The Bartleion family has fallen to such a state, and Marquis Saxon has certainly played no small part behind the scenes.
He originally thought the Bartleion family had completely declined, but unexpectedly, Lynn, who had once become a good-for-nothing, suddenly rose to prominence, and even aligned with the Third Imperial Princess, Ivyst. There was a faint trend of resurgence, seeming to lead the fallen Bartleion family to rise again.
This made Marquis Saxon extremely uneasy.
What he didn’t expect was that before he could take action, Lynn fell by himself, committing the heinous crime of murdering the Fourth Prince, and in his view, it was certain death for Lynn.
"In my opinion, hanging is too lenient for him. A lawless fiend like him should be tied to the gallows, letting crows peck at his flesh until his bones weather away to nothing."
Beside Marquis Saxon, Lady Olivia curled her lips into a mocking smile. Although she bore no grudge against Lynn and the Bartleion family, she personally had extreme disgust for Ivyst.
And since Lynn was Ivyst’s lackey, she was naturally delighted to see Lynn being hanged.
"Ha, you all seem eager."
Earl Wallis calmly adjusted his attire, a sinister gleam in his eyes, "Don’t forget, standing behind him is the Third Imperial Princess. Who knows if she might suddenly wake and cause some more trouble?"
Lady Olivia sneered, "She can’t even protect herself now; whether she wakes or not is uncertain, what more could she stir up?"
Earl Wallis squinted, his gaze sweeping across to the other side of the square, where several stern-faced individuals stood, evidently supporters of Lynn.
And those who could still stand firmly by Lynn at such a time were obviously only Morris and Glaya.
After withdrawing his gaze from them, Earl Wallis let out a cold laugh and suddenly lowered his voice:
"Why don’t we... make a bet?" ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novel[f]ire.net
Marquis Saxon raised an eyebrow.
"Bet on whether he’ll die today."
A cruel smile formed at the corner of Earl Wallis’s lips, "I bet he’ll be hanged publicly, his corpse left hanging for three days, to appease the public’s wrath."
After all, many civilians had perished at the hands of the limb connector.
"Then I bet he’ll be torn apart by the enraged citizens before the execution," Olivia chuckled, "After all, who would tolerate a prince killer living even a second longer?"
The always silent Marquis Matthew Augustine pondered for a moment, then suddenly revealed a profound smile:
"I bet... he won’t die at all."
Those around couldn’t help but be taken aback when they heard this, then burst into laughter, as if they’d heard an absurd joke.
"Matthew, you haven’t been sunstruck, have you?"
Olivia mocked, "If he walks out of this square alive today, I’ll swallow the emblem on my chest whole..."
Matthew didn’t argue, only cast a meaningful glance toward the high platform, then met Olivia’s gaze.
"Swallowing an emblem isn’t necessary, Olivia, you’ll most likely choke to death."
Matthew drawled lazily, a smile playing on his lips, his gray-blue eyes sparkling with mischievous light; his mindset today wasn’t entirely aligned with the surrounding nobles.
Olivia gave him a cold glance, "Who gave you the confidence to think Lynn would walk out of Saint Square alive?"
Matthew shrugged, his tone frivolous: "I just think your emblem is crudely made, with a raised edge; swallowing it might cut your throat."
"Why not...swallow mine?"
Matthew paused, leading Olivia to momentarily think this kid was making an indecent joke, and her face flushed red.
As the sole heir of the Augustin family, this kid seemed to have just turned eighteen this year. When he was sixteen, his father suddenly died, leading him to inherit the title at a young age, likely not yet fully matured.
But before Olivia could retort at this brash youth who dared to flirt with her, Matthew suddenly pulled out a delicate silver family crest from his pocket, flicking it lightly with his fingers:
"Look, our Augustin family crest is polished so round and smooth, a top-notch taste."
The emblem drew a silver arc in the air, which Olivia slapped away with a fierce gaze that seemed to burn a hole in Matthew’s face: "Do you have a death wish?"
Matthew widened his eyes in feigned surprise: "I’m saving your life, dear Lady Olivia."
Earl Wallis chuckled softly, cutting off the pair’s farce: "Alright, Matthew, that mouth of yours will be the death of you one day."
Picking up the emblem from the ground, Matthew nonchalantly pinned it back on his collar, his smile unwavering: "Instead of my mouth, shouldn’t you be more concerned about your wallets?"
"Since you’re the ones proposing the bet, if you lose, pay me ten thousand gold coins each!"
"That’s settled then."
After saying this, Matthew’s gaze went over the crowd, looking toward the high platform.
It could be said that all of Glostit was deserted, with everyone eagerly watching this unprecedented major event.
By midday, everyone finally saw the main culprit shackled with heavy chains. However, upon seeing the individual, many were stunned, as they never expected the instigator behind the limb connector’s serial murders to be such a young boy. Though his clothes were tattered and his demeanor weak, his handsomeness was still unmistakable.