Come to another world and become a lord

Inside the palace, the magnificent columns were illuminated by soft light, and exquisite chandeliers hung on the high ceilings. The golden wallpaper and red velvet curtains gave the palace a solemn and solemn atmosphere. King Philip sat on his throne, and he was in a good mood now, not for anything else, but for the reconciliation between Morton and Carl. It had been a week or two since the war between the two. Since the two came to the capital, they had never stopped scolding each other and neither of them would give in. Every day, this matter made him uneasy.

To be honest, he never liked Morton. As for Karl, although he was the one who gave him the title, he was still a serf after all. The princes and ministers saw it. Although the nobles no longer said anything, they regarded it as a shame in private. He knew that if he was too biased towards Karl, it would inevitably cause more people's dissatisfaction.

In fact, he didn't care who won or lost, or who was more reasonable. He just wanted peace in the North and no trouble in Reikburg. That was enough. In his opinion, that broken place was not rich, and the tax revenue was not much. The so-called five earls of the North were not easy to deal with. They were all cunning and sly, and tax evasion was commonplace, but he didn't care. The only function of the entire North was to serve as the gateway of the kingdom and block the threat of the northern nomads for him. Apart from that, he didn't want to care about anything else, as long as there was no internal strife, as long as they didn't beat each other up, as long as the dukes of the other three territories didn't get involved, as long as they could stop the northern nomads... Well, thinking about it carefully, it seemed that there were still a lot of troubles. He even felt a dull pain in his head.

So he decided not to think about these messy problems, but to focus on the present. He looked at Carl and Morton standing under the throne and nodded with satisfaction:

"I'm glad that you two have finally reached a consensus. I hope that you can put aside your past grudges, turn enemies into friends, and work together for the stability of the North."

Morton snorted disdainfully and then said:

"Your Majesty, I naturally hope so, but my wishful thinking alone will not work. The key still depends on Baron Karl."

"Your Majesty~" Karl leaned forward and said, "I am just a small baron. My land and military strength are far less than that of the Earl. As long as he doesn't target me anymore, why should I bother him~"

"Yes, that's true~" King Philip nodded in agreement, then he paused and said, "But you are wrong about one thing. Karl, you are no longer a baron, but a viscount~"

"Viscount?" Morton next to him couldn't help but widen his eyes when he heard these two words.

But Philip continued:

"I have discussed this with the Prime Minister and others. In view of your outstanding performance in the fight against the Great Khan, we have decided to confer a higher title on you. And now Selena of Greyburg seems to have sworn allegiance to you. However, you two have the same title, so this status relationship... is indeed a bit strange. If I confer you a viscount, it will be more legitimate for her to be your vassal."

Not only was he conferred the title of Viscount, but Greyburg was also specifically mentioned. This was like rubbing salt into Morton's wounds, and the Earl clenched his fists involuntarily.

Philip seemed to notice his actions, and then deliberately asked:

"Molton, do you have any comments?"

"No, Your Majesty, I have no objection. Baron Carl has made great contributions in fighting the enemy and deserves such an award." Morton said gritting his teeth.

Viscount? Carl muttered this title in his heart. This was not an actual reward. Greyburg was won by himself. Everything he had got was obtained by gambling and hard work. King Philip only gave the title of reward with his mouth after everything became a fait accompli. But even so, he had to admit that this was the most practical reward. Becoming a viscount meant that his rule over Greyburg was more legitimate; becoming a viscount also meant that he had the right to confer lower titles, which would make it easier to expand in the future.

Thinking of this, he immediately knelt down to thank the king.

Seeing that both sides had no objection to this, Philip seemed particularly happy, and then he continued:

"Well, I plan to hold a grand ceremony for you. After all, I was a little too hasty when I made you a baron. I'll make up for it this time. Not only will it be grand, but there will also be a ball in the evening!"

At this point, he paused, then turned to Morton:

"Molton, you have to come and participate as well. Just consider it as the first step in your friendship."

"Yes, Your Majesty~" Morton said in a low voice, suppressing his anger.

Philip nodded with satisfaction, then raised his hand and said:

"Well, if there is nothing else important, today's morning meeting ends here..."

As he was speaking, he suddenly saw the Minister of Finance Samuel hurriedly squeeze out from among the ministers.

"Your Majesty, I have something to do~" he shouted, "I have something to do and I need Your Majesty to make the decision for me!"

"What's the matter? Tell me~" Philip said.

"I'm going to sue Morton for not fulfilling his contractual obligations and trying to embezzle my loan!"

"What? Why didn't I fulfill my obligations? Explain it to me clearly." Morton on the side shouted.

Philip just waved his hand, signaling him to be quiet, and then looked at Samuel:

"go on."

Samuel cleared his throat and spoke again, his voice clear and steady:

"Your Majesty, I borrowed 500 gold coins from Earl Morton a few days ago. According to the contract, Morton must use the land and finances of the Terreth Territory as collateral. Before paying off the debt, Morton must accept our personnel to go to Shadow Abyss Castle to supervise and review the property, otherwise it will be regarded as a breach of contract. However, just yesterday, the envoy I sent wrote back to tell me that after they arrived at Shadow Abyss Castle and explained their purpose, the guards at the gate not only refused to open the door, but also beat them up! Morton took my money, but did not fulfill his contractual obligations!"

"Bullshit! You know that Shadow Abyss Castle is in Carl's hands now!" Morton couldn't hold back any longer and started cursing. "Those guards at the gate are his men. You should go talk to him!"

"Your Majesty, it's signed in black and white. He clearly agreed to use the Terres Territory as collateral. Now he's saying that place is not his responsibility. It's obvious that he's here to cheat me out of my money."

Here it comes again, here it comes again, he said how come these two people reconciled, but secretly prepared to release this big move~ King Philip once felt pain, he asked again:

"Then...what are the consequences of breach of contract?"

"Ah~ It's written in the contract~" Samuel said, taking out a piece of parchment and reading:

"If the debtor fails to fulfill the contractual obligations, he will be deemed to have voluntarily given up the ownership of the Territory of Ceres, and the ownership will belong to the creditor."

"Bullshit! Is it reasonable to use the entire barony as collateral just to borrow 500 gold coins? Is it reasonable to give up ownership if you breach the contract?" Morton roared.

"But that's what's written in the contract, and you signed it..."

Samuel replied from the side, and before he could finish, Morton had snatched the parchment and read it carefully. Then he saw something about the so-called breach of contract written in unusually small font almost at the bottom of the scroll. The words were so small that they would not be noticed at all if you didn't look carefully.

"Your Majesty, this is a trap!" He threw the parchment to the ground and shouted, "They are teaming up to harm me!"

King Philip slapped his forehead, shook his head, and then said to Morton:

"Then why did you sign it?"

Yes, how could he sign it? Morton was stunned for a moment. He tried to recall everything that day. He reached a peace agreement with Carl under the mediation of Samuel. He was actually very careful. When the first contract was handed to him, he read it carefully four times and signed it only after he was sure there was no problem. After that, he started drinking. Then Samuel came to him to talk about borrowing money. The old fox poured him a glass of wine until he was unconscious. He had some impression of the loan contract. He signed it in a daze. Then the next day, 4 gold coins were delivered to his mansion in the capital. It was the second contract. They actually tampered with the second contract. After he completely relaxed his vigilance, he still fell into the trap.

King Philip shook his head helplessly at first, then stood up and waved to the Minister of Finance Samuel, motioning him to come forward, and then said to the ministers below:

"The Minister of Finance and I need to discuss something alone. Please wait once more."

After saying this, without waiting for anyone else's reaction, he pulled Samuel into the inner court.