Imperial Crown

The time has come to the end of March, and the most discussed topic in the Nord province now is the marriage between the Fox family and the Griffith family.

Some people think that this is a signal for the Fox family to stabilize themselves from adversity. From now on, the entire Nord province will change from two powerful forces to a three-party confrontation.

Slater's side, Anthony's side, Fox and Griffith's side.

Some people think that this is just the death struggle of the Fox family, and Raven is superficial and short-sighted. Even though Marquis Anthony has let him go, he is still tied to Fox for temporary benefits. In the future, he will definitely be implicated by the Fox family and lead to destruction together.

Others believe that although the wedding date has been set, it is not without variables. After all, Raven was born in the untouchable class and does not understand what noble honor is. He is likely to break the contract as the wedding date approaches, as proof of joining the Slater family.

But no matter what the outside world speculates, for the Fox family, the wedding is inevitable.

The wedding of the Earl's family is not an ordinary wedding, and must be done with great pomp and splendor.

In fact, for this marriage, the Fox family used a full 2,500 private soldiers and began intensive training a month in advance.

Regardless of how practical the weapons and armor are, at least they look beautiful and sparkling.

April 28th is the wedding date, and now it is March 29th. It will be postponed to April 1st at most, and the bride-to-be team has to set off.

The last internal family meeting before departure was held in Montreal, and Nancy was eligible to attend for the first time.

In addition to Nancy, the three people present - her father Montreal, the eldest brother Guldan, and the second brother Sanchi - all had serious faces, which made the overall atmosphere seem quite dull.

After all, things have not been easy for the Fox family during this period of time.

Montreal was the first to speak: "I called you here today mainly to set a direction for the family's next actions."

"Nancy's wedding is a major event for our family. As the head of the family and the earl, I must be present in person. As the eldest son, Gul'dan also has to attend the ceremony with me."

Having said this, Montreal turned to his second son and said, "So, in the next two to three months, Sanchi, you have to shoulder the heavy responsibility of managing the family."

The second son of the Fox family is now 31 years old, but he has a baby face and is covered with freckles. He looks more than 10 years younger than his actual age.

Hearing his father's words, he sighed: "Father, you think too highly of me. My accomplishments are limited to painting and sculpture, and you want me to manage the territory? Why don't you hang me at the city gate? Maybe it can help a little bit." Deterrent effect.”

"If you ask me, it would be better for you to leave your elder brother behind."

If it were normal, Gul'dan would be very happy to be able to control the earl's power.

But now that the Fox family is in turmoil, all internal and external troubles have been exposed, and even Montreal is somewhat unable to do what it wants. To take up the burden at this time is to simply seek punishment.

"My brother, you should obey your father's orders. You are 31 years old and it is time to take on some responsibilities."

Sanchi smiled bitterly: "Brother, if you want a fox to learn to hunt, you should train it from an early age instead of feeding it with leftovers and vegetables and then throwing it into the wild to fend for itself!"

This sentence seemed to be said to Guldan, but the target was directed at Montreal.

In order to avoid internal strife in the family, Montreal provided Gul'dan with the best aristocratic education, while the second son Sanchi allowed him to develop freely and never considered him in the line of succession.

"If a family wants to last, it must allocate everyone's responsibilities." Montreal glanced at Sanchi: "I have never forced you to do anything, nor have I forbidden you to do anything."

"It's your family's support that allows you to indulge in the pleasure of art. Now it's time for you to repay your family."

Sanchi grinned and let out a disdainful sneer, but did not refute: "Yes, Father."

Montreal's speaking skills are a mixture of shamelessness and sophistry. The heads of the family have begun to speak in this way, so why bother to show off?

Seeing that his second son had approved his decision, Montreal turned to Gourdan: "And you, my son, I arranged for Sanchi to stay because this is the most appropriate decision at the moment, not a reason for you to refuse to take responsibility with peace of mind. ”

"You all think that the Fox family is on the verge of collapse and will soon collapse, right?"

His eyes glanced at his two sons, who both avoided him guiltily.

The atmosphere was a little too dull for a while.

Montreal took off the earl's crown from his head and threw it to the center of the table.

Both sons' eyes were attracted to the crown. Montreal saw the covetousness in Gul'dan's eyes, and the ambition that Sanchi restrained behind his pupils.

Montreal shook his head in disappointment:

"Do you think that this hat alone can determine who is the earl?"

"Big mistake."

"The essence of power is violence and wealth."

"It's the territory of our Fox family spanning two counties, the millions of serfs we control, and the powerful force composed of 47 extraordinary people and two standing legions!"

"As long as these are still there, the Fox family will not fall!"

This statement was so powerful that both Gul'dan and Fox felt a little more energetic.

Montreal said in a deep voice: "Sanchi, go and ask the housekeeper for advice on how to ensure the running of the family."

"Gul'dan, go meet Archbishop Thomas and invite him to go to the Eagle Territory with me."

"Yes, Father, but if Archbishop Thomas refuses..."

Montreal said emphatically: "He won't say no."

Gul'dan's eyes shone with light, and Sanchi beside him also looked enlightened.

Combined with Montreal's previous assertions about the nature of power, they saw hope for the family's revival.

Indeed, it was precisely because Montreal chose to betray His Majesty the King that it resulted in the current passive situation.

But everything has two sides. Since it is no longer possible to obtain His Majesty the King's forgiveness, then simply throw yourself into the arms of the Church of Light.

Power comes from violence, and the Church of Light is one of the strongest owners of force on the continent.

With the support of the Church of Light, the future of the Fox family is still bright.

The meeting is over.

Just when Nancy was about to leave, Montreal suddenly stopped her.

"Don't you have anything to say?"

Nancy shook her head gently: "Father, there must be a reason for your decision. I am a magician and I don't understand politics or power."

"Then you have to start learning from now on." Montreal said: "You will soon become the mistress of the Griffith family. Our Fox family needs your strength."

Nancy realized the meaning behind the words, which was to allow her to harm the interests of the Griffith family and feed Fox in return.

Originally, she was happy that she had gained her father's approval, but now she felt a little cold and her tone was not very polite: "Then what exactly should we do, Master?"

Seemingly unaware of his daughter's temper, Montreal said: "Just like every noble lady should do, wake him up in the morning and accompany him to sleep at night."

“Listen to his troubles and admire his achievements.”

"During the day, be the most stable lady in the entire empire; at night, be the slut that no one can match!"

Nancy's face turned from white to red, biting her lip: "This is not what a father should say to his daughter!"

Indeed, she liked Raven and was willing to be the most qualified wife.

But she couldn't accept that her father judged her as a piece of merchandise, a gift used to please others.

Even if this person is Raven.

"Then take it as the order of the head of the family." Montreal's expression remained unchanged and his voice was cold: "If you do all the above, Raven will truly treat you as his lover, and his secret will no longer be a secret, and his wealth will be Your wealth, his territory is your territory.”

"And at the end of the day, it's all going to belong to the Fox family."

"I can't do it, Father." Nancy took a deep breath and stared at Montreal: "I can't love Raven and cheat on him at the same time."

"If this is the case, I would rather regret the marriage!"

At this moment, the air seemed to stop flowing.

Montreal avoided Nancy's gaze and spoke of another matter slowly:

"Do you know why I look down on the Slater family?"

"Because they always take the feelings of family members too seriously, a piece of viscounty territory was actually given to the most useless son in the family!"

"History has long proven that a family that puts family interests first will always outperform a family that puts the wishes of its children first."

"A qualified noble should give up selfish desires and put family interests first."

Nancy lowered her head, her eyes were distracted, and she breathed out a somewhat mocking smile.

Montreal frowned slightly: "Is it funny?"

"No, Father is right." Nancy raised her head: "You are the head of the family, and of course your words are in the interests of the family."

"But I have a question. When have you ever made a decision that was entirely based on family interests and not for your own consideration?"

"Is it when you choose to join the Church of Light in exchange for resources to advance to the sixth level? Or are you deliberately raising my second brother so that he will cause less trouble for you?"

Just because Nancy is unwilling to reveal it doesn't mean she can't observe or think.

Montreal was struck to the core by these words.

He raised his head and looked at his daughter's face for the first time in 20 years. His lips moved and his eyelids trembled a little: "That afternoon, March 27, 1176 of the Bright Calendar."

Nancy's breathing stopped, and she stood there in a daze, looking at Montreal with eyes that were so sad that they seemed to be broken.

That day was the day Nancy was born.

It was also the time when her mother, her wife in Montreal, died in childbirth.

Montreal held the table with both hands, and his originally steady voice was trembling after suppression: "I originally wanted to take you to the mountains and let the wild beasts devour your life."

He stared at Nancy, gritted his teeth, veins popped out on his forehead, and there was unconcealable hatred in his eyes: "But I still let you go, let you inherit your mother's name, and let you grow up."

Montreal seemed to be back to that afternoon again, and he began to hear his wife's helpless cries and screams. His cheeks shook violently, and his brows jumped wildly:

"Because you are a member of the Fox family!"

Nancy's eyes widened, she clenched her fists tightly, and looked at her father, her moist eyes filled with calm pain.

For the first time in their lives, father and daughter had a deep conversation, and they broke each other's hearts.

Montreal stood up and walked quickly outside the house.

"I understand, Father." Nancy's voice was calm: "I will marry Raven and be the best wife."

She responded with a heavy slam of the door.

After an unknown amount of time, Nancy slowly turned around and wiped the blood from her nails with a handkerchief.

Three days later, on April 1, the Fox family's wedding procession slowly set off.

529 carriages, 2,500 Fire Fox soldiers, 800 followers, 11 first-level extraordinary people, 9 second-level extraordinary people, and 1 third-level extraordinary person.

At the front was the Count of Montreal wearing the fourth-level plate armor "Melting Embers".

At the same time, with Eagle Castle as the center, buildings were built at an extraordinary speed without any cost, in order to accommodate the VIPs from all over the Nord Province.

On April 5, after nearly a month of construction, the construction of the ancillary buildings that could accommodate thousands of nobles was completed at a cost of 6,928 gold coins.

On the same day, Raven made new progress in magic engraving.

According to the relevant records in "The Path of the Mage", if a third-level magician engraves third-level magic, it will take at least 3 to 5 years, and at most 10 to 20 years.

Raven chose the first-level magic fireball, which is dozens of times simpler than the third-level magic. According to the initial progress, Raven originally thought that he could complete the engraving within 3 months, that is, before the end of March this year.

But unexpectedly, although the fireball has only 9 basic structures, the more difficult it is, the more difficult it is. Now 4 months have passed, and Raven has finally completed the engraving of the first 3 structures.

In this process, Raven understands more and more why Sikoret asked him to choose the first-level fireball.

As the first-level magic with the longest history, in the process of engraving from scratch, Raven slowly began to understand what "flame" and "burning" are in the world of magic.

This is a process of understanding the essence of flame from scratch.

Even if only 3 structures are completed, Raven's speed of releasing fire magic has increased by about 15%, and the power has increased by about 20%.

He began to look forward to the day when the engraving was completely successful.

However, the practice must come to an end for the time being.

Because as the news of the wedding spread, the nobles came to congratulate.

On April 10, 18 days before the wedding, 31 nobles had already arrived. As the head of the family and the protagonist of this wedding, Raven certainly could not avoid seeing them and started the prelude to the wedding.

The wedding not only attracted nobles, but also many merchants, almost filling up the commercial square of Shining Gold Town. They had to temporarily set aside an area next to Eagle Town for merchants and tourists to buy and sell goods.

On April 23, in the 17 counties of Nord Province, except for Fox and Slater, all 214 noble families above the baron level arrived.

On April 25, the Fox family's wedding party arrived at Eagle Territory.

…