Although the old Duke has never mentioned the legalization of Laino's illegitimate status, many nobles in the Principality of Boulder, including Charlotte, have made speculations.
However, it is one thing to legalize an illegitimate child, but it is another thing to designate him as an heir.
No matter how miserable Earl Tulip was, he was once the designated heir of the principality and had been so for more than ten years.
The noble families from top to bottom in the Principality of Boulder have long recognized that Earl Tulip is the future heir to the Principality, and have made a series of plans and plans for this.
But now, the old Duke's words completely disrupted everyone's plans.
Especially at the end, he mentioned the Castel family.
Although it was not stated explicitly, the underlying meaning behind the words seemed to have something to say, causing the expressions of all the nobles who had thoughts about Castel to change slightly:
Could it be that... Castel has decided to marry into the Duke's family
This time Charlotte became the focus of the audience again.
All nobles understand that even with the platform of the Holy Royal Court, it is not easy for a legalized illegitimate child to completely control the principality. It is even more difficult than the Earl of Tulip.
Nobles value blood.
Under the pressure of theocracy, the nobles may not openly oppose it, but passive loyalty is their specialty.
The best way to destroy rule is to support it passively, which shakes the ruler's authority from the foundation.
But it would be different with the support of the Castel family.
As the largest and richest aristocratic family in the Principality of Bold, once the soon-to-be-extinct Castel completely turns to the Duke's Palace, even if there is a change of heir, the Bold family can smoothly survive the turmoil of the title change.
As a result, the right to decide the future direction of the principality came to Charlotte's hands in an instant, just like passing flowers on a drum.
It seems so.
But Charlotte knew that wasn't the case.
The old Duke's words sounded like he was protecting the Castel family, but in fact they pushed Charlotte to the forefront.
As the nominal heir to the Castel family, Charlotte has actually not inherited the title at all, and has no control over the territory or lower-level nobles.
At most, it is just a considerable amount of quintana collected from the territory every month.
She hasn't even received this month's money yet.
In this case, it is impossible for her to decide the direction of the situation in the principality.
If it is decided, it can only be done after a successful attack on the title with the support of the duchy.
Charlotte knew that this was a hint from the old Duke.
He hinted to her that he could help her completely control the family territory.
At the same time, this is also the foreshadowing of the old Duke's next words...
His eyes were once again cast on the girl, and he did not move away for a long time, and everyone's attention was also focused on Charlotte.
The old Duke smiled slightly and continued:
"Miss Charlotte, this is my sincerity."
"With the support from the Duke's Palace, and... with Leno's legal status, he will become a true nobleman."
"On this basis, there is also the entire Principality of Bold!"
"Haha, how about it? How have you considered the previous proposal?"
"Once you agree, you will not only be Count Castel, but also... the future Mistress of Bold!"
As soon as these words came out, all the nobles became commotion.
Marriage proposal!
This is a marriage proposal!
The Duke of Bold actually formally proposed a marriage to Castel at this time!
After hearing what his father said, Laino's face looked a little ugly.
He was about to say something, but he held back under the cold gaze of the old Duke.
The young male nobles were filled with resentment and looked at Lenno with hostility.
The unmarried ladies of various noble families focused their attention on Charlotte, with strong envy in their eyes...
In the strictly hierarchical feudal era, for the vast majority of aristocratic women who could not choose marriage on their own, there was nothing they looked forward to more than crossing class boundaries.
No matter how rich the Castel family was, they were only counts, and they were counts under a principality.
Not to mention the earl who has not yet succeeded.
But once she becomes the wife of the future duke, it not only means the stability of the title of earl, but also means becoming the mistress of the principality and standing on the stage of the entire Crescent Kingdom!
For the nobles of the principality, it is a broader world, which means entering the real upper class society of the kingdom, which is also a great honor!
In this case, what about legitimate illegitimate children
Rather, it is precisely because of the future Duke's legal illegitimate status that he will rely more on the noble daughter of Castel in the future to enhance his prestige and suppress other nobles' doubts about his lineage.
This is a good thing for the girls in Castres, because it means more say after marriage.
Of course, marrying the future Duke will naturally prevent you from getting married, and the Castel family is destined to be extinct.
But so what
who cares
Do you still want to rely on an underage only daughter to revive the family
Sincerity!
Really sincere!
No matter from any angle, the Bold family has shown great sincerity in this marriage proposal!
Even the most demanding nobleman could not think of any reason for the Castel girl to refuse...
As for love
The nobles were calm.
A political marriage is a political marriage, and love is love.
If you really want to pursue love, the two parties in the marriage can completely turn a blind eye to each other's private life after giving birth to an heir.
From this perspective, no nobleman in the Principality of Boulder could offer better marriage conditions than the Duke's family.
The young male nobles who had figured everything out looked ashen and regretful, as if they had seen the perfect goddess in their minds taking off her clothes and lying on the bed of a dirty bastard...
But Charlotte fell silent.
Are you sincere
there is.
But to her, it was worthless.
Rather, this is not even as good as getting married. At least if you get married, the initiative is in your own hands.
Of course, that's how she compared it.
Marriage
Don't even want to die.
Charlotte ran out of time.
She turns 16 in less than a year.
Once the marriage contract is concluded, and when she reaches adulthood one year later, according to the provisions of the "Sacred Code", the Duke can completely enforce the marriage contract and will not give her the opportunity to delay it at all.
Even if they just agree to the marriage, the Duke's Palace has reason to intervene in Castel's affairs.
the reason is simple.
The girl does not completely control the family. The Duke can take action under the guise of helping the girl control the family and clean up the moth.
High-sounding, hard to fault.
As for Laino's personal feelings during the marriage process...
It can be seen from the opponent's performance just now that it is meaningless under the authority of Duke Bold.
It was obvious that the old Duke had a greater appetite.
Not only did he want Laino to successfully inherit the principality and carry forward the family, he also wanted to completely annex everything in Castells in a reasonable and reasonable manner!
At the same time, Charlotte also realized another meaning of the old Duke.
No, or rather... a threat.
Accepting a marriage means accepting sincerity, successfully inheriting the territory and becoming the mistress of the principality.
But if you don't accept it, it will be a slap in the face of the Bold family on the spot.
If this is the case, it means rejecting the protection of the Boulder family, and the Duke's Palace will also turn a blind eye to other nobles' actions against Castel.
At that time, I am afraid that Castel will become the bait for the Bold family to feed the nobles of the duchy, in order to gain the nobles' support for inheriting the duchy of Nuo.
The fate of the girl would probably be quite miserable.
And in the carving up of the Castel family, there is no doubt that the more powerful Duke's Palace occupies the lion's share.
The nobles stood under the divine light, received the blessings of the gods, and wore gorgeous clothes.
But at the same time, the nobles also hide the most brutal and primitive darkness in the world under their coat.
To accept a marriage is to accept a blessing.
Rejection will usher in darkness.
This is not only a sincere marriage proposal.
At the same time, it is also a hidden malicious threat!
In this case, there is no choice for the heirs of the Castel family who cannot protect themselves!
However…
Is it really
In front of everyone, the girl wearing a white dress smiled brightly.
That innocent and flawless smile was like a spring breeze, blowing through the hearts of every noble, making everyone who saw it couldn't help but feel happy, and it was difficult to take their eyes away from that alluring appearance.
I saw Charlotte pinching the hem of her skirt, leaning slightly, bowing gracefully to the Duke of Bold in the front, and then said in a sweet voice:
"Your Majesty, thank you very much for your kindness..."
Looking at the respectful and obedient girl, Duke Bold showed a satisfied smile.
"but… "
Charlotte changed the subject.
She slowly raised her head, looked past the Duke, and looked at the high priest beside her.
To be more precise, he looked at Raoul, the old director of the church hospital next to the high priest, and at the black cat Nice next to Raoul.
Looking at Charlotte, the black cat Ness nodded slightly and gave the girl a look of understanding.
Raoul smiled slightly, and showed an encouraging smile at the high priest's vague signal.
At this moment, the corners of Charlotte's mouth raised slightly, and her pure blue eyes were as eager as a child and as cunning as a little devil's mischief.
Her cheeks were slightly red, she seemed shy and timid, her voice was thin and soft, and her expression when looking at the old priest seemed to be filled with pure joy:
"But... Charlotte's heart already belongs to her."
As soon as these words came out, everyone's eyes were focused on the old priest who could be the girl's grandfather, with a strange look on his face.
Raoul's face darkened, and he couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth.
The old Duke's smile suddenly froze.