"Welcome to the territory of the Norton family, Your Majesty." Lorist greeted the Second Highness as the next lord.
As Earl Kenmes said, Lorist was very embarrassed at the moment. Although the current Antinac Kingdom does not recognize the Norton family as nobles of the kingdom, this matter was done by Queen Kerry after all, and it has nothing to do with the Second Highness. If the Second Highness died or if he wrote the letter of exile himself, then Lorist would truly lose the upper lord.
Just like the founding emperor of Krissen hundreds of years ago, he was exiled to the north by the upper lord, and his title of nobility was also removed. The angry Earl Christen immediately dispersed his wealth and raised soldiers to declare war on his superior lord. He set up troops in the Northland, made his fortune in Winston Province, and then swept all the way to establish the Christen Empire.
Now Lorist's embarrassment is that he knows the purpose of the Second Highness, but he can't refuse. As the legal upper lord of the Norton family, if someone else usurped the throne, Lorist, as the lower lord, must stand up for his upper lord both morally and in the tradition of the aristocracy. In other words, even if you don't have that strength, you can't beat a dog in the water and refuse the request of your superior lord, at least provide your best ability to help the superior lord. This is the morality of the aristocratic tradition in Galintia for thousands of years.
I can't refuse! Lorist met His Highness the Second Highness at Maplewood Villa. Thanks to his cousin Chrisya, Fatty Shi originally wanted to limit their activities to Beihai City when he got the news that His Royal Highness and his party had come to the Northland. But Chris Ya had to clamor to go back to Maplewood Villa. She was from the Norton family, and Fatty Shi couldn't stop her. So he set off from Beihai City, passed Huyang Town, and then arrived at Fenglin Villa. Then, during the five days before Lorist came back, the Second Highness and others visited the seven towns of Fengleyuan, and even went to Nico Academy. I will visit several strictly confidential production bases in Ironforge and Blade's Edge Mountains.
The prosperity of the Norton family's territory in the North surprised the Second Highness, and his eyes were full of splendor. But Chrisya was purely out of showing off the strength of the Norton family. In addition, Elina, who stayed in Fenglin Villa, had never seen the world, and after welcoming the arrival of the Second Highness, Chrisya and others, she showed great respect to the upper lord of the Norton family, answering every question, and telling her what she knew. Or the rumors from the audience leaked out completely, and they even sent someone as a guide to take His Highness the Second Highness to Nico Academy and Fengleyuan, so that the Second Highness had a better understanding of the strength of the Norton family.
"It's really amazing that the wild and remote Northland in the past has flourished in the hands of the Norton family. I can hardly believe my eyes wherever I go these days, Fengleyuan The seven towns are so lively and densely populated. It feels like when I went out to play when I was a child and saw the grand occasions around the imperial capital. The Earl is really a genius. He can manage the Northland so well, comparable to those of the former empire. ah!"
While the Second Highness expressed his thoughts on the Norton family's territory, he stepped forward and patted Lorist's arm affectionately, making a gesture of talking with his arms, showing how much he valued and was intimate with Lorist. , seems to have no sense of the gap between the two when they were in the imperial capital.
"Thank you for your compliment, Your Majesty. The Norton family just keeps in mind the promise of their ancestors, guarding the northern frontier for the empire, and does not want to get involved in the affairs of the empire. Therefore, in this chaotic world, the family territory is still calm, absorbing a large number of refugees who were displaced by the war. It finally made the family territory look a little bit better." Lorist could only open his eyes and talk nonsense.
"I was wrong, I shouldn't have disobeyed your advice." The Second Highness smiled wryly, let go of Lorist's arm, and bowed to Lorist. Lorist was taken aback, and quickly supported the Second Highness: "Your Majesty, what are you doing? I can't bear it."
His Highness held Lorist's hand backhandedly, and said sincerely: "Locke, I sincerely apologize to you, it was my mistake. After defeating King Frederica, I have been regretting it all the time. If I could listen Your advice, don’t be so eager to unify the former empire, but pay attention to the people’s livelihood first, then I won’t end up in the current situation. It’s hard to return to a family, and it’s hard to vote in a country!”
Well, you asked for it. Lorist complained in his heart. However, His Royal Highness said that he had a family and a country that was hard to vote for now. Except for the Norton family territory in the Northland, no matter where he appeared, the final result would be to be sent to the current Queen Kerry of the Kingdom of Antinac. As the result of His Royal Highness dying of a sudden illness in the middle of the night, whether it is to avenge his father or for her own throne, Queen Kerry will definitely give the Second Highness the ending of sudden illness and death.
"The year before last, I heard that His Majesty was defeated in King Federica and his whereabouts were unknown. I was really anxious. At that time, I wanted to lead the army to attack King Federica to find His Majesty, and sent a messenger to the imperial capital to request troops, but I was met with Scolding, asking our Norton family to keep things safe, and even dispatched the Third Royal Guards from the border front of the Principality of Madras to Qilin Port to monitor us, forcing me to withdraw my troops and come back... "
Lorist took the official document from Shi Huade beside him and handed it to the Second Highness: "Look, Your Majesty, these are the receipts from the two imperial capitals that I requested to send troops at that time. They rejected my request and forced me to I will not stop trying to find His Majesty. Thanks to the protection of the God of War, I am really happy that His Majesty can appear in front of me, and nothing is more important than His Majesty's safety."
Well, Lorist can only play the role of loyalty and courage in front of the Second Highness, even though he wished that the Second Highness would never appear in the world, but now that the Second Highness is standing in front of him, he can't help this loyal minister Inappropriate, at least you have to put on a show in front of everyone.
His Highness's face changed, and the hand that was holding Lorist was let go and clenched into a fist: "Those rebels, usurpers and traitors, they actually ceded the territory of the former king's kingdom to those merchants, in order to pay for it." They seek their own personal gain. I will never let them go. Brother Locke, to be honest, I came here this time to ask for your help, asking the Norton family to send troops to wipe out those rebellious kingdoms and help the kingdom restore the proper order... "
Lorist let out a long sigh, and the Second Highness finally made his request. As the head of the Norton family, he had to give the Second Highness a formal reply.
"Your Majesty, I would like to ask, if the Norton family sends troops, what will they get?"
The aristocratic tradition of the Galintia continent is that the lower lords have obligations to the upper lords, which is a fact. But at the same time, the upper lord must also agree to let the lower lord get the benefits he deserves. If there is no benefit, no lower lord is willing to do his best to work for the upper lord in vain. Now Lorist can only seize this point to gain benefits for himself. Otherwise, if he gave the Second Highness a sum of money and hundreds of pieces of armor, he would have fulfilled the obligation of the next lord, leaving people speechless.
"Locke, Your Majesty has agreed that as long as our family sends troops, he will make you Grand Duke of the Northland. All the territory you build in the Northland is our family's territory." It was Chrisya who said this, and she acted very well. Happy, it seems that the Norton family has taken advantage of it.
Lorist looked contemptuous: "Chrisia, do you understand the current situation in the Northland?"
The silly girl really shook her head.
"If that's the case, I refuse to send troops. In fact, the title of Grand Duke of the Northland is useless to the Norton family. Your Majesty, there are currently only four nobles in the Northland. In addition to the Norton family, there is Kenmy who occupies the eastern part of the Northland. Earl of Si, Baron Shaheen and Baron Felim in the south of the Northland. And the three of them are all allies of our Norton family. The Norton family will not tear up the covenant and fight with allies. Only the title of Grand Duke of the Northland , it’s the same for me as having or not.” Lorist said confidently.
Uh... Now not only the Second Highness had nothing to say, even Chrisya was dumbfounded. They didn't expect that there were only four families in the Northland, and they were still in the alliance. The Grand Duke of the North Land promised by His Highness the Second Highness not only has no meaning, but also has the meaning of sowing dissension and provoking disputes. No wonder Lorist could confidently reject the Second Highness's request.
"I'm very sorry, Brother Locke, I didn't mean it, but I didn't expect this to happen..." His Highness quickly explained.
"It doesn't matter, Your Majesty, you are new here and don't know the situation here. The banquet over there has been set up, please come and taste the flavors of the Northland, and please take a good rest in the Northland for a while. And we also need to study how to give Your Majesty supports and helps His Majesty return to the kingdom."
Lorist was really angry. This cousin, Chrisya, has a carefree personality. It is understandable for her not to know the situation in the Northland, but it would be nonsense for the Second Highness not to know the situation in the Northland. Although the Northland is remote, it has been several years since the four alliances have dominated the Northland. The entry and exit management of the Norton family's territory is strictly controlled, but the situation of the three territories is like a sieve. It would be a lie to say that the Second Highness didn't know about it. They are so downcast that they are homeless and have lost their throne. What kind of schemes are they doing? One side asks themselves for help and the other creates trouble for themselves. It is not believed that the Second Highness was unintentional when he killed Lorist.
During the banquet, His Highness the Second Highness wanted to bring the topic back to asking the Norton family to send troops to help him restore the country several times, but was rejected by Lorist who rambled about or directly said that he wanted to discuss with the family knights.
The depressed Second Highness got drunk and was sent to have a rest. Lorist finally escaped and went to the main building, where he took a bath under the service of Elina while thinking about what kind of reply he should give Second Highness.
Just as he was about to pull Elina behind him into the big bathtub to relax himself, he heard the guard shouting from downstairs: "Who!"
"It's me, Chrisia."
"Oh, what's the matter with Missy coming here so late?"
"I want to see Lorist."
"Sorry, miss, I don't know if your lord is asleep. It's so late, so don't disturb your lord. Is there anything we can't talk about tomorrow?" This was El's voice.
"Go away! I have something to do with Locke. I am his sister. Are you still afraid that I will not succeed in assassinating him?"
"Assassination? Hehe, miss, it's not that I underestimate you, and you are no match for my lord if there are ten more. But I have to report to my lord. If you have something to do with me, let's talk about it tomorrow."
"No, I must see Locke now..."
Lorist let out a breath, turned over and got out of the bathtub, wiped his body indiscriminately, put on a nightgown, came to the window, leaned out half of his body and said, "El, let her come up."
Chrisya quickly went upstairs, and Lorist held up a glass of Mycos brought by Elina: "Come and have a glass of Mycos, why are you looking for me so late?"
Chrisya sat down on the chair angrily: "Your guard is too rude, Locke, he actually blocked me."
"This is his duty, and he did it right. He doesn't look up to you just because you are my cousin. Because you are the royal knight of the Antinac Kingdom, not our Norton family knight, even if you were born in The Norton family."
Chrisya was speechless at once, Lorist was right, this is also one of the traditions followed by all noble families.
It took Chrisya a long time to come back to her senses: "Locke, I found that you have become too much, and I can no longer see the shadow of the crying child when I was a child."
Lorist laughed: "It can't be helped. If I were still that crying child, the Norton family would have ceased to exist. Everything forced me to change. Chrisya, you know a ten-year-old A six or seven-year-old child lost contact with his family. Do you feel like being a mercenary in order to survive? Fighting monsters to fill your stomach, and risking your life for tuition fees. Six or seven years passed like this until someone from the family came to find him Only then did he know that his family members were gone.
When he returned to the family territory, he realized that the situation was so bad. The Grand Duke of the North had no good intentions for the family, and the second prince was eyeing the family. He finally broke out, defeated the Grand Duke of the North and the second prince, and focused his energy on the family. In terms of the development of the territory, the family finally had a scene of prosperity. But now there is another trouble coming to his door. His upper lord wants him to send troops to help him reset, which is not good. Do you think he should agree? "
Lorist blocked the road first, which made Chrisya feel very awkward. After a while, she waited for Ai Ai to speak: "Locke, isn't this a good opportunity for the Norton family? As long as you help His Majesty Reset, your name will be recorded in the history books in the future, and the prestige of the Norton family will be passed down in the praise of future generations."
Lorist laughed and was overjoyed: "My cousin, are you stupid? Why should the soldiers of the Norton family shed blood and sacrifice for His Majesty's great cause? If this is spread, I am afraid that other nobles will treat the Norton family as fools." If Your Majesty does not pay the corresponding price, the Norton family will never send troops. However, we will give Your Majesty a large sum of money and a batch of military equipment to fulfill the obligations and responsibilities of our next lord."
Chrisya asked unwillingly: "Locke, what benefits do you need to send troops to help His Majesty reset?"
"Well, I have to think about it. But my cousin, can you tell me how you escaped from King Federica first? I am very interested in this, because no one can find your shadow Also, how much power does His Majesty have in hand? It is said that when you disappeared from the city of Federica, His Majesty's bodyguard also disappeared. There were 5,000 people. How did you hide it from those searching enemies? of?"
Krisya's face darkened: "When Your Majesty conquered the city of Federica, he found a secret passage leading to the outside of the city. This may be the way for the eldest prince to escape. Later, the city of King Federica was besieged, and His Majesty took us Leave this secret passage. At that time, we had a total of 6,000 people, but now we have less than 2,000 people left, because we met the missing eldest prince... "
"What did you say? The eldest prince?" Lorist was surprised.
"Yes, we didn't expect it either." Chrisya shed tears.
…