Not a Witch

Lorraine Hill extended his perception, accepting and analyzing more information, looking for valuable parts from it.

"These country bumpkins are too rampant... Hmph, that His Majesty is gone, and still dancing like this, I really think we can't beat them." From a certain corner, a small voice came into Lorraine Hill amidst the noise ears.

"Before, it was to win over and resolve domestic turmoil. Now that there is no second expedition to the west, I think their good days are coming to an end. The four dukes will clean up these people sooner or later, just wait."

"The glory of the empire always belongs to us, and it is our efforts from generation to generation that support this huge country. Those people survived by luck, why should they sit on our heads..."

This small voice circulated among several luxuriously dressed nobles, and judging from the coats of arms on their collars, they were all old families in the empire.

Is this the difference and confrontation between the old and the new nobles?Lorraine Hill lowered his head slightly, analyzing the conversations of several people in his mind, and slowly summing up their identities.

Finally, based on the noisy words of these nobles, the sound of the entire hall was slowly divided into two parties.One side belongs to the descendants of the former great nobles of the empire, and the other side is the small nobles or civilians who mostly rely on military merits to get high.

After the emperor passed away, there was no one to reconcile and balance the two sides, and the rift began to widen and slowly revealed.

"Then, the duel begins!"

Chapter 45 Duel Gunshots

The tense duel unfolded in the hall, some people looked forward to it, some gloated, some whispered, and there were all kinds of expressions.

"drink!"

On the field, Jihasen took the lead in attacking. He pulled out a sharp saber, kicked his feet, and quickly approached the opponent like a snake.The light of the knife danced like a phantom in the eyes of ordinary people, passing the sharp cold light.

Fenbull on the other side was a little flustered, and was slashed by the light of the knife several times. Fortunately, the expensive armor kept him from being seriously injured and fell to the ground immediately, leaving only a few long and narrow scratches where sparks flickered.

Watching the two keep wandering around and confronting each other, the nobles in the hall were like spectators at the Colosseum, shouting the names of both parties excitedly.

"Come on, Fenble, kill him!"

"He can't pierce your armor, coward!"

"Prick him in the face so he won't be seen again, Jihassen."

Compared to the two people in the arena, these people around are more fanatical.

Lorraine Hill, who was sitting outside the hall, watched this scene and shook her head secretly. In her eyes, this duel was like a farce, and the strength of both sides was evenly matched.

Jihasen has the strength of War Sequence 6, which is obviously stronger than Finbull of Natural Sequence 5, but Fenbull's luxurious extraordinary equipment has supported him. Unfortunately, if time drags on, Jihasen will find a flaw sooner or later.

Although in the eyes of the girl, such a duel is like pecking at each other, and it is far inferior to the competition in the Eastern School, but it is different for the audience present. They have not seen such a high-level duel for a long time.

"Both of them are talented juniors that I am familiar with. I don't know which Miss Lacey thinks will win." While the girl was thinking, Earl Howard on the side began to talk.

"I don't know, I can't see it." Lorraine Hill blinked slightly and said something against his will.

"Haha, it's normal for girls not to understand this. My daughter is also like this. She is more concerned about the latest fashion trends on weekdays. She said that fighting and killing are men's business..." Howard shook his glass and said casually to himself family.

"Oh, by the way, I don't know where Miss Lacey's hometown is. It should be a beautiful and gentle place to raise a good child like you." Slowly, the conversation between Howard and Lorraine Hill seemed to change. She has become an elder who cares about her, kind and talkative.

"My hometown is in a small remote province in the southern part of the empire. Because my father was busy with the business of the Chamber of Commerce all year round, I lived with my mother in a castle in the mountains when I was young, and had little contact with the outside world." The girl said the identity she had prepared in advance. .

"That's not bad. In fact, if you get in touch with various circles of the outside world too early, you can easily be led astray." Earl Howard shook his head slightly as he said, as if thinking of something.

boom--

While the two were talking, a gunshot suddenly exploded in the arena.

In the crowd watching, Jihasen fell to his knees while clutching his chest, while Fember was holding a smoking luxurious short gun with exquisite patterns carved on it, which looked like a boutique custom-made by nobles.

"mean!"

"This is simply a disgrace." Many people on the side pointed at Fember and cursed angrily.

It turned out that during the duel, Fimbull took out an alchemy musket from his arms when Jihasen was not paying attention, and fired directly at close range.Caught off guard, Jihasen was shot and fell to the ground.

Facing the accusations and contempt of the opponent's faction, Fenbull was also a little resentful. He didn't even think about taking out this custom-made short blunderbuss magic crystal gun, but seeing that he was about to lose when he was suppressed, he really couldn't bear it. I couldn't help it, and finally took it out.

Seeing his companions standing there without saying a word, the companions behind Fenbull couldn't stand anymore, they stepped forward and stopped Fenbull in front of him.

"Who said that muskets cannot be used in a duel? Guns are weapons like swords. I have never seen a duel where weapons are not allowed."

"That's right, a duel is like a battlefield. Could it be that if you don't use something good, you'll die just waiting to admit defeat?"

"But, it's not fair!" an acquaintance of Jihasen slowly helped him up and retorted angrily.

"Fair? Oh, what kind of fairness do you want, give up your strengths and use your weaknesses to fight with you?"

"Don't think that you feel good about yourself because you have won a few times on the battlefield. Your family has only inherited it for a few years? And we have been bleeding and fighting for this country since the establishment of the empire."

"Bullshit, can that be called struggle? It's just lying on it and sucking blood!" A nobleman who was born as a low-level officer couldn't bear it any longer, and smashed the cup in his hand on the ground.

"I fought for His Majesty the Emperor, expanded the territory for the country, and experienced life and death many times in the middle, so I have everything I have today. Why is it not more noble than you 'white bread'!"

'White Bread' is what the newly promoted military nobles privately call those old nobles. It means that these people wear white powder all the year round, their complexion is pale, their bodies are fat and fat, and they are particularly 'soft', without masculinity.

"You uneducated 'slutty dog'!" After hearing White Bread's insulting name, several young people from one side's veteran nobles were also furious, shouting and cursing, and both sides chattered frequently.

"Ahem, everyone be quiet." Seeing this scene, Earl Howard finally couldn't bear it anymore. After all, he is the host, and it would be the most embarrassing for him to spread such a scene.

"Everyone, please maintain the elegance that a gentleman should have." After Howard said, the two sides who were almost fighting on the court gradually eased up.

In any case, the earl is noble, and everyone will still care about it, and dare not contradict and offend at such a time.

Seeing that the hall had settled down, the Earl clapped his hands again, signaling to the musicians beside him, "Continue playing."

Then, he turned around.

"I'm really sorry that I surprised Miss Lacey. The young people present today went a little too far."

Seeing this, Lorraine Hill couldn't sit still, and then got up, saying that he didn't care, and hoped that everyone would not pay too much attention to himself or the like.

After that, the hall resumed the previous scene again, and some young nobles entered the dance floor to dance, serving as a foil for the crowd to ease the atmosphere, and the scene gradually calmed down again.

As the earl's mansion, there are naturally healing supernatural beings on standby all year round. After some treatment and treatment, Jihasen came back from the side with a pale face, accompanied by a few friends.

Seeing that he still wanted to approach Lorraine Hill and say a few words, Earl Howard waved his hand in a subtle way, and then several waiters followed quietly, leading Jihasen and the others to the other side of the banquet, and then let them Leave gradually.

Sitting down at the table again, Earl Howard said slowly to the girl who looked like a rose and a white moon: "I made Miss Lacey laugh today. It's because I, as the host, did not entertain well."

"I don't know if Miss Lacey will have time in the future, but I asked Madam to invite you to a small private party at my home."

"Please don't worry, there will be no rude people to disturb you this time, and there are only a few noble and unmarried ladies in the imperial capital present. Presumably, Miss Lacey will feel much more relaxed and interesting when she is with her peers." He issued again invite.

"Lord Howard's invitation, Lacey will come naturally. Speaking of it, I'm curious. I haven't had much contact with the circle of nobles before. I also want to know how everyone lives on weekdays."

"Haha, niece Lacey was joking. In fact, life among nobles is not as interesting as outsiders think. After a long time, they will feel empty and boring."

"This is also the reason why everyone has various hobbies, and they always have to pass some time. For example, I like to invite everyone to gather together. Watching the lively scenes, I don't feel lonely."

Hearing this, the girl nodded slightly.Perhaps that was the closest thing Earl Howard said to his heart tonight.

Chapter 46 Shadow of the Empire

Time passed quickly, and the banquet gradually came to an end after the relaxation.

During this period, Howard left his seat and went back to rest, and then some other nobles also stepped forward to talk to this beautiful girl, introducing themselves.

After Gihasen's position, Fimble, who had won with a firecracker, was pushed out again.

"Sorry, beautiful Miss Lacey, for frightening you."

Fenbull took off the duel armor he had used before, put on a white shirt and vest, bowed and apologized gracefully in front of the girl, and then slowly stood up.

In this regard, Lorraine Hill said that he should not care, and then asked.

"Is this the firecracker that has become popular in recent years?" She blinked her pupils, as if she was curiously looking for a place to hide the firearm on Fember's body.

Looking at this beautiful girl with a sweet smile, Fenbull blushed slightly, feeling a little embarrassed and embarrassed, and in the end it was his brother beside him who helped out.

"That's right, Miss Lacey, this is the advanced version of the musket, the magic crystal gun. It was first invented by mages, but now it is very popular in the noble circles. Fenbull's family has raised many high-level alchemists to make it. These things."

"I heard that Clancia also used a lot of muskets in the previous wars." The girl in the white dress turned her head slightly, showing a curious look.

"Yes, those countries in the west use more, because they have few people and can't afford archers."

"However, Miss Lacey doesn't need to pay too much attention to this musket. Although it is convenient to use, its power is just that. Unless it is a special magic crystal gun, it can pose a threat to the extraordinary."

Seeing that the girl was interested in this, several noble youths seemed to be greatly encouraged and began to introduce it endlessly.From their descriptions, it can be seen that the upper echelons of the empire have studied muskets and magic crystal guns, and know a lot about them.

"So, later, His Majesty the Emperor pardoned those mages who came in exile and asked them to make this kind of alchemy creation for the empire."

"Those gadgets made by mages are really interesting." Some noble youths commented.

Amidst the chatter, Lorraine Hill nodded slightly, gradually understanding the views of the upper echelons of the empire on those alchemy creations.Interested, curious, but not taken seriously.

Yes, the empire is indeed imitating muskets and building its own alchemy workshop, but in terms of strength and quantity, it has not met the girl's expectations.In other words, the so-called "emphasis" of the empire still underestimated the huge changes brought about by technology.

Natural science and social science actually influence each other, and new breakthroughs in natural science will inevitably drive changes in social systems and structures.See the past history of the earth, that is, the overthrow of the feudal society by the industrial revolution.

It's a pity that the current imperial people don't know what they will face in the future, and still think that this is just a trough wave that can be tolerated and foreseeable in the thousand-year history of the empire.In a few decades or hundreds of years, when the firearms and magic crystal guns in the empire are popularized, it will be the same as before, and the two sides will return to the same level.

However, in the materials that Lorraine Hill left to Crancia back then, muskets actually only accounted for a small part, and they were just a tiny prototype of industrialization.The iron and steel smelting, metal turning, machinery manufacturing, gunpowder chemistry, etc. behind it, after these truly form a complete industrial chain, will be like a roaring train, dragging the entire society into a new era.

With chemical fertilizers and breeding improvements, many lands do not need to be rotated multiple times, and the grain output can be doubled directly. After the steel and mechanical technology matures, railways and trains will connect all cities and regions one by one, and various resources will be exchanged and traded rapidly. , Since then, countless people will be freed from inefficient and complicated agriculture and put into more efficient industrial production.

Going forward along this line, industrialized products will exchange for huge wealth from other backward places in the world, and this wealth will in turn accelerate the accumulation of industrial countries and continuously promote the advantages of science and industry.

At that time, the empire, a country that relies mainly on farmers for agricultural production, will be abandoned by the entire era just like the feudal dynasties in history.

Even if no other country comes to invade, it will be overthrown by the envious people in the country, because everyone sees a better way and wants to live a better life. This simple and true desire is difficult for any ruler. Suppressed.In the end, the difference is no more than a respectable abdication or an undignified abdication.

Thoughts danced in their minds, seeing the girl listening so seriously, they felt a sense of excitement and joy of being recognized and valued, and they said more things.

In the end, Lorraine Hill could even calculate from the disclosed information, the approximate annual output of the empire's muskets and the stage of the craftsmanship.

In this way, until the banquet was completely over, everyone gradually dispersed with some reluctance.

Soon after, Lorraine Hill also bid farewell to the butler beside him, and wished Earl Howard good health.

After ten minutes.

Watching the carriage carrying Miss Lacey leave outside the courtyard, Howard slowly put down the cup in his hand on the window sill.

"Have you found out about that Miss Lacey's background?" He looked at the person behind him.

"Returning to the master, I only got some superficial information at present, and it may take some time for more detailed and real information."

"Well, I'm not too demanding of you, but at least tell me the final result before next Saturday."

"Let me give you a few suggestions. This Miss Lacey's background is definitely not an ordinary chamber of commerce. Find out which company is behind the certificate of their chamber of commerce. Go to the south and have a look. She is obviously more familiar with the south of the empire than the north. "

"Secretly inquire about the servants around her. They are by her side, so they naturally know about the unusualness of this eldest lady."