Imperial Crown

Outside the temporary residence of the Fox family, Raven stood quietly.

His greeting card had been sent in by the gatekeeper.

Looking at this temporary residence, Raven admired:

"Tsk, that's really impressive."

After all, it is the Earl family. Even if it is a temporary residence, it will not just set up a tent like a temporary army, but occupy the government building in the old city.

This was once a castle with three main floors. After it was converted into a government building, the city wall was demolished, but the overall scale is still grand, with an old and solemn atmosphere eroded by the years.

Raven's visit to the Fox family today was not just a whim.

He wants to gain more benefits for himself.

There is no doubt that in the eyes of the outside world, since Raven has accepted the transfer order from the Slater family, he will definitely side with the Slater family.

Raven wants to break this prejudice and make the Fox family realize that he is not loyal to Slater and that he has the intention and possibility to cooperate with the Fox family.

Even if the Fox family can't be his help, it's best not to be the obstacle for him to share his military exploits.

At this moment, a gust of wind blew by, waking Raven up.

His brows furrowed slightly.

It's a little too long.

The soldier who had sent the greeting card into the castle had returned to stand guard at the door, but he did not look sideways and did not look at Raven at all.

The nobles coming and going looked at Raven and began to whisper and point.

Raven raised his head and glanced at the sky, his expression unchanged and he continued to wait.

At the same time, on the second floor of the castle, Gul'dan shook his wine glass and looked down at Raven through the window.

Now that the Fox family has made a strong entrance, visitors are coming in an endless stream, and nobles are coming in and out at the door. Raven is like an inconspicuous stone in the river, alone.

"Don't your Angel's Tears represent the province of Nord?" Gul'dan said with a contemptuous smile: "Now, why can't you even come through the door of my house?"

During the original press conference, Gul'dan was quite dissatisfied with Raven's double show of goodwill.

What disgusted him even more was Raven's reputation.

As the first and only recipient of the Medal of Valor, First Class, in this war, Raven's reputation has been well-known lately.

He is so popular that he is simply the number one among the young generation in Nord Province!

Where does this leave Gul'dan?

Picking up Raven's greeting card from the table again, Gul'dan tapped the paper with his fingers, and the smile on his lips became wider.

Five hundred bottles of Angel Tears, plus three thousand gold coins, which is far more than the annual income of an ordinary baron family.

Being able to come up with these is enough to show Raven's sincerity.

And the more this happened, the more Gul'dan asked Revan to wait a little longer and let him reflect deeply on his mistakes.

Responding to the Slater family's call was, in Gul'dan's opinion, a crime in itself.

Of course, the Fox family welcomes the ability to "abandon darkness and turn to light".

However, although the Fox family is broad-minded, it does not mean they are weak and can be bullied!

The longer Raven stood, the more he was able to tell other nobles - don't be complacent, the Slater family is finished now, so what about the recipient of the Empire's First Class Medal of Valor, don't you still have to stand in front of the door honestly?

Time passed bit by bit, and the sky began to get dark, but Raven still stood there.

"Oh, you know what's going on." Seeing that the time was almost up, Gul'dan straightened his clothes and turned to go downstairs.

However, when he came to the door, Raven was missing.

Gul'dan frowned and asked the guard guard: "Where are the Ravens?"

"There, my lord."

The guard guard pointed his finger, and Gul'dan looked in that direction and found that Raven had turned and left, his back gradually disappearing into the crowd.

Gul'dan frowned, anger rising in his heart.

I came to greet you personally, how dare you leave? What do you think the Fox family is? ?

A curse flowed out from between his teeth: "Bitch..."

The soldier didn't hear clearly: "Sir, what did you say?"

Gul'dan took a deep breath, looked at Raven's back and said loudly:

"Look at that guy, does he look like a dog?"

For a moment, all the eyes of the people coming and going fell on Raven.

Raven stopped slightly, then strode forward and left without looking back.

It's polite to wait at the door.

But leaving at this time is for the sake of one's own dignity.

Gul'dan returned to the castle and asked the kitchen to make his favorite confit duck, and ate it deliciously with angel's tears.

Looking at the clear wine in the glass, Gul'dan raised a contemptuous smile on his lips: "Raven, Raven, do you think turning away means you have backbone?"

"Dignity must be earned by oneself!"

Raven is a little baron with no power or background. Does he really think he is important?

He doesn't think that he can become a viscount based on his reputation, right?

"There can only be one viscount in this war, and that's me!"

After finishing the meal, Gul'dan used Raven's invitation as a napkin to wipe his hands and threw it into the trash can.

The sky also turned completely dark.

"Master Guldan, the Count of Montreal and Bishop Thomas are back."

After hearing the servant's announcement, Gul'dan arranged his clothes and prepared to go to greet him.

However, unlike usual, the pace in Montreal was extremely fast today. As soon as Guldan arrived downstairs, he saw his father.

He stepped forward with joy: "Father, you..."

As soon as he opened his mouth, Gul'dan realized something was wrong, because the Count of Montreal's face did not show the joy of victory, but instead looked as gloomy as a dark cloud.

Montreal said: "Follow me."

Gul'dan had a bad premonition in his heart, but he still followed, while Thomas followed leisurely all the way to the study.

Montreal and Thomas sat facing each other, while Gul'dan stood behind his father.

After a slight hesitation, Montreal said in a deep voice: "You can't get the title of viscount."

This sentence was like a bolt from the blue, which stunned Gul'dan: "...Why?"

Father Thomas was concise and concise: "Count Tyrone took out His Majesty the King's royal decree. This time he mobilized the Iron Legion is completely reasonable and legal. On the contrary, the Governor of Montreal may be accused of unfavorable governance."

"He used this as a threat to hand over your share of military exploits to Hyde."

Gul'dan's mind was in a mess, his face became extremely ugly, and he looked quite dazed.

How could the Viscount, who was about to get it, just disappear like this?

"Earl of Montreal, you don't have to worry too much." Thomas continued as if he hadn't seen Gul'dan: "In my opinion, the reason why Count Tyrone made this gesture today is because he wanted to discuss and exchange benefits with you. , rather than really wanting to take off your title of governor.”

"I have figured this out too." Montreal nodded: "It will not be good for the Slater family if I lose the title of governor."

His Majesty the King is not an idiot. If the Governor is handed over to Tyrone, it means that the military power and political power of the entire Nord Province are in the hands of the Slater family. This is no different from the establishment of an independent country.

So if Montreal loses its governorship title, there are two possible outcomes.

The first is that Tyrone becomes the governor of Nord Province, but His Majesty the King will definitely uproot the influence of the Slater family from the Iron Legion in order to check and balance. This is absolutely unacceptable to the Slater family.

The second is to directly send a court earl or earl from other provinces to serve in other places. This person will definitely be a close confidant of His Majesty the King. This will directly change the current confrontation between the two powers in the Nord province, and one more person will be divided. Cake is not in the interest of the Slater family either.

Gul'dan also thought of this: "In this case, why do we still want to give up the title of Viscount?"

"Because it's just not cost-effective for the Slater family." Thomas said lightly: "For your Fox family, it's a real loss."

Montreal sighed: "Yeah, if it really comes to that, it's just a matter of comparing whose losses are smaller - at this point, we will definitely lose more."

"Not only is it very likely that he will not get the title of viscount, but he will also lose his position as governor."

The title of Governor of Montreal is somewhat unrealistic, but it is precisely because he serves as Governor and holds executive power that the Fox family can confront the Slater family.

If they lose this title, the Fox family will lose its influence in the three counties and become truly alone.

Gul'dan swallowed: "Isn't there a way to get the best of both worlds?"

"...No." Thomas said: "It is indeed an unexpectedly good move for Count Tyrone to obtain His Majesty the King's royal order."

Montreal knew Father Thomas was right.

The most correct thing to do now is to stop fighting and give the credit to Hyde, using this as a price to win more military exploits and fiefdoms for the nobles who follow the Fox family.

But Montreal just can't swallow this breath.

He cooperated with Father Thomas and used all the tricks to make the Slater family fall and suffer a big loss!

The Slaters did fall, but suddenly gold was dug out of the mud.

Not only did he not suffer a loss, he actually reaped the greatest benefits.

On the contrary, he was in Montreal, sandwiched between the royal family and the Church of Light. He could neither advance nor retreat!

"I can give my military exploits to Tyrone's son." Montreal said, "But I can't let him get the title of viscount so easily."

"Push the other guy and fight Hyde in the ring!"

This decision was not rational, but it was just right for Thomas. A divided province of Nord was more in the interests of the Holy See.

"Then what are you going to do? You can't directly nominate people from the Fox family. This will only make Tyrone lose everything."

Gul'dan recognized the reality that he could not become a viscount, and began to follow the two people's thinking: "In this case, why not nominate Baron Roger or Baron Florence?"

Both of them are vassals of the Fox family.

"No." Montreal shook his head and said: "Although there is no doubt about the loyalty of their two families, their achievements in this war are too small and cannot be compared with Hyde."

Gul'dan was stunned and mentioned a few more nobles who were not so close to him but were loyal to Fox, but they were all rejected by Montreal.

"Then there really are no candidates, Father." Gul'dan said with a grimace: "These are the families that are closest to us and have contributed the most. It would be even more inappropriate to nominate someone else by bypassing them."

The atmosphere in the study became dull, and Montreal's frown became tighter and tighter.

Thomas sighed in his heart. He didn't expect that Montreal's structure would be so small, so he had to remind him: "In that case, just choose people from those four temporary legions."

Guldan said: "Archbishop Thomas, please forgive me for being rude, but the coalition army is full of Slater family members..."

"No, wait." Montreal raised his palm, a glimmer in his eyes: "This is indeed a good idea."

Anyway, nominating other nobles is to make things difficult for the Slater family. Since they can't start with their own people, they can just poach people from the Slater family.

The Slater family doesn't have succubus blood, so it's impossible for all nobles to be loyal to them.

And in this way, not only can Earl Tyrone be disgusted once, but also bring new help to the Fox family!

"If you say so, there should be a candidate." Montreal looked at Thomas: "Is he also a member of the Church of Light?"

Thomas shook his head: "His faith is the same as yours, and his loyalty to the Lord of Light is unquestionable."

What he meant by this sentence was that the candidate he was going to nominate was like all nobles, and he was not afraid to cooperate with the Church of Light for the sake of profit.

"Who is he?"

"Raven, Raven Ota Griffith!"

After saying this, before Montreal could say anything, Gul'dan immediately shouted, "Who!?"

Montreal glanced at him and felt that his son was making a fuss. He turned to Thomas and said, "I've heard of this person before. He seems to be a baron of the Eagle Territory, right? He seems to be a magician."

"The Angel's Tears and Angel's Kiss produced in the Eagle Territory have become famous recently."

"And he has made a lot of headlines in this war. Whether in terms of military exploits or reputation, he is the first of the younger generation. He is indeed a strong contender for the title of Viscount."

"However, I heard that Minsk gave him the first-class medal of bravery, which is endorsed by the reputation of the Slater family. Is this Raven really willing to join us?"

Priest Thomas smiled and said, "I don't understand this. I just proposed a candidate. At least As for how to do it specifically, it's up to you to decide. "

Montreal nodded slowly: "In that case, Gul'dan, you send an invitation in my name, inviting Baron Raven to come over tomorrow."

Hearing this, Gul'dan's expression became even weirder: "This... Father... This..."

Montreal looked at his son strangely: "Why, did you have a stomachache?"

"No." Gul'dan swallowed his saliva and said hesitantly: "Well, Baron Raven just came today."

Montreal was stunned: "This is a good thing. Since he is willing to come, it means he intends to join us. Where is he now? Bring him to see me."

Gul'dan said: "Uh, he left on his own because he didn't wait for you to come back."

"Really? What did he say to you?" Montreal's eyes began to become cold.

He knew Gul'dan's usual arrogant style too well.

"This, this..." Gul'dan couldn't answer.

"Since he's here, there should be a visiting card." Montreal snorted, "Give it to me, go get it yourself!"

"Yes!" Gul'dan left the study and searched for a long time before finding Raven's visiting card in the trash can. He endured the nausea and wiped off the fruit and vegetable stains on it, trying to make it smooth, and then went back to give it to his father.

Montreal took the visiting card and first glanced at the stains on the visiting card. His expression began to gloom. When he read the content, his breathing became heavier:

"...Why did he leave?"

The wording of the visiting card was polite and the content was very decent, especially the proposal to donate 3,000 gold coins and 500 bottles of Angel's Tears to the Fox family.

It showed sincerity that was very consistent with the status of a baron.

Gul'dan's eyes moved to the side.

Montreal emphasized: "Speak!"

Archbishop Thomas glanced at the content of the visiting card, stood up and left without saying a word, leaving the father and son with independent space.

"This is all because of Raven's arrogance!" Gul'dan defended himself loudly: "You know, there are so many guests now, how could I take care of a small baron?"

"I just asked him to wait at the door for a while, but he left without saying a word! He didn't even stop when I tried to keep him!"

Montreal extracted the most critical information from Gul'dan's words, staring at his eyes with trembling eyebrows: "You let Raven, the winner of the Imperial First Class Medal of Courage, a noble who came to visit with good intentions, stand at the door?!"

"Yes, father, but..."

Slap--

Montreal raised his arm high and slapped Gul'dan in the face.

This was so powerful that even though Gul'dan had the strength of the third level, he was still slapped in the air and fell to the ground with a bang.

Gul'dan covered his cheeks, and his whole face swelled up at a speed visible to the naked eye. He looked at his father in disbelief, and couldn't understand why Montreal was so angry because of a mere Raven.

Montreal's chest rose and fell, and he pointed at Gul'dan's nose and asked: "Do you know why I hit you?"

Gul'dan's eyes flickered: "... Because, because I neglected Raven?"

Montreal closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and said angrily: "What do you think politics is?"

"Politics is not a dinner party, not a written decree, and even less a painting or sculpture.

It can't be so elegant, so calm, so gentle, so kind, so polite and modest!

Politics is an art, an art that does not shed blood but is very cruel.

It can make people ascend to heaven in one step, but it can also make people fall into the abyss! "

In Montreal's opinion, it doesn't matter if Gul'dan has some small thoughts, and it's nothing to neglect Raven.

A mere baron, no matter how high his military achievements are, can't jump over the Fox family.

The problem is that Gul'dan's approach is too low-level and the impact is too bad.

Among the coalition forces this time, there are more than just Raven who want to please both sides, and there are also many people who want to surrender to the Fox family.

Gul'dan did such a thing today. Once it spreads, the nobles will think to themselves-the Fox family is too powerful. It's not okay to surrender to them voluntarily. You have to kneel down and be their dog!

The nobles are all good at face. It's okay to be a dog, but you have to think about it in reputation.

Gul'dan's approach is simply to drive the originally neutral nobles to the Slater family!

"...Go find a priest to treat your injuries." Montreal said:

"Tomorrow morning, you personally go to Raven to deliver my invitation."

...