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There was a faint stench of blood in the air, as well as an ongoing whiff of death.

“What? Has it failed again?”

Hearing the voice behind them, the three half-elf female doctors in the basement came back to their senses and paid their respects to Colin.

Colin waved his hand, indicating that such formalities were unnecessary. He then walked to the operating table in the middle of the basement, noticing two corpses there—one large and one small, both monkeys.

One of the female doctors said mournfully, “We apologize, Count Colin, we have tried numerous times, but we still cannot successfully perform this ‘cesarean section’ procedure as you asked.”

“Is it a problem of controlling the bleeding?” Colin panned his eyes around the room, taking in the sanguinary mess, and asked.

“Yes, Count,” one of the doctors answered soberly.

“So, you should be able to easily extract the fetus from the body, right?”

The doctors hesitated a little before answering, “Yes, but… Count, using this method, there may be hope for a child, but the mother… is certain to die!”

It was obvious that these three doctors had already guessed why Colin wanted them to experiment with these ‘cesarean sections’. The thought of using this method to perform surgery on the Queen terrified them.

If anything were to happen to Her Majesty or her unborn child, they would undoubtedly bear the blame.

So, their only hope was that Colin would realize the reality of this situation and abandon this insurmountable approach.

“I understand,” Colin nodded, “You can rest now. We will end this experiment here.”

The three female doctors exchanged glances, wanting to ask Colin if he had truly abandoned this so-called cesarean section but, seeing Colin’s stolid face, none of them dared utter a word and instead retreated nervously.

Colin looked at the mess on the surgical table without any ripples of emotion in his heart.

The failure of the doctors did not surprise him.

If they had managed to successfully implement a cesarean section procedure given the primitive surgical techniques of this world, that would be the real miracle.

Yet, Colin still made these female doctors practice on monkeys. It wasn’t out of hope that they would succeed, but as a means to familiarize them with a fetus’s position in a mother’s womb as well as how to extract a fetus with a knife.

All this was to have an emergency contingency plan if Queen Isa should face any complications during childbirth.

As for the failures of these experiments, Colin did not mind.

After all, the causes of cesarean failure, such as blood loss or infection, aren’t problems for the Blood Clan.

However, these cesarean experiments were a mere precaution. Colin hoped these measures would never need to be implemented.

Exiting the basement, Colin turned towards the Queen’s bedchamber to visit Isa. However, as he reached the door, he found that Duke Miller was waiting outside.

“Count Colin, are you coming to see Her Majesty?” Duke Miller, with a toadying smile, asked.

Duke Miller was Isa’s elder brother. After the death of the previous Duke Miller, he naturally inherited the Miller family title.

“Indeed,” Colin nodded, puzzled. He asked, “Why don’t you go in?”

Duke Miller fidgeted, looking somewhat embarrassed, he replied, “Mother is inside having… a quiet chat with the Queen.”

Colin understood immediately.

So, it was Lady Sharon, Duke Miller’s mother and also Queen Isa’s mother, inside. Presumably, mother and daughter were discussing precautions for childbirth. It’s no wonder Duke Miller preferred to wait outside.

Colin touched his nose, recognizing that this wasn’t the best time for him to enter. He stood next to Duke Miller, thinking of what to say to defuse the tension.

Fortunately, Duke Miller started speaking first, “Count Colin, I’ve heard recent upsetting rumors about Silver Moon City. Is that true?”

Colin glanced at him, asking with a smile, “What rumors?”

Duke Miller, seeing Colin feigning ignorance, said directly, “Count Colin, I don’t believe you haven’t heard some of the rumors. Many of the nobles within Silver Moon City are now secretly aligning themselves, ready to rebel during Her Majesty’s weak period of childbirth!”

“Really?” Colin acted surprised, then quickly asked, “Such important news, shouldn’t you report to Her Majesty?”

“I’ve already told Her Majesty! However, she doesn’t listen to advice!” Duke Miller said helplessly, “Count Colin, I am fully aware that Her Majesty…respects you. You should also attempt to persuade Her Majesty.”

Colin, stroking his chin, seemed a little moved. He asked, “So, Duke Miller, what countermeasures do you think the Queen should take?”

“First of all, it’s imperative to secure the Silver Moon Guards!” Duke Miller suggested immediately, “Her Majesty should never hand over the command of the Silver Moon Guards to Duke Modewen during this critical time.”

“Do you think Duke Modewen might rebel?”

“Certainly possible. After all, the Modewen family was once the Royal family of the Half-Elves, and not having been able to inherit the throne, William Modewen may bear a grudge against Her Majesty.”

Colin nodded absently, falling into silence.

Seeing this, Duke Miller continued encouraging, “Furthermore, Her Majesty actually let Duke Modewen rule the kingdom’s affairs… doesn’t that mean Duke Modewen is effectively the Half-Elf King now?!

You surely know, the key to power is balance…”

As Duke Miller continued sharing his perspectives on the balance of power, Colin rolled his eyes discreetly.

He knew exactly what Queen Isa’s brother was trying to do – he simply envied Duke Modewen.

However, truthfully, Colin could somewhat understand Duke Miller. After all, he was the Queen’s elder brother but less favored than an outsider, it was inevitable that he would feel imbalanced.

But this also clarified one point: Duke Miller had not seen through the bait plan that Colin and Isa were currently deploying. Otherwise, he would have never envied Duke Modewen’s current position.

That was a ticking time bomb.

In the same vein, this suggested that Queen Isa had not disclosed her plan to Duke Miller.

With this thought, Colin narrowed his eyes a bit— it appeared that Isa didn’t trust her eldest brother as much.

While Duke Miller kept preaching his political wisdom, Colin was getting rather impatient. He was about to change the subject when suddenly, they heard a flurry of frantic footsteps from behind.

Colin turned and saw Lady Sharon, Queen Isa’s mother, running out flustered.

“Mother, what’s the matter?” Duke Miller hurriedly asked.

Half-anxious and half-excited, Lady Sharon exclaimed,

“Her Majesty is going into labor!”.