After the knighting ceremony, everyone left the church one after another.
The faces of most of the nobles were filled with joy. After all, this conferment of titles can be said to be the largest in the Northern Territory in recent years.
The generosity of the Duke of St. Hilde brought peace to the nobles of the North from the turmoil that had just ended.
They all firmly believe that the future of the North will definitely be even better!
Colin ignored his sister who was chattering excitedly, and deliberately stayed behind to chat with Marquis Garcia and test the big guy's mind.
Although the Marquis of Garcia did not explode on the spot, Colin knew that the Duke of St. Hilde's failure to keep his promise to make Adams his first heir had completely angered the Marquis of Garcia.
If before, the two brothers were deliberately acting, then now, the rift between them is real, and it can no longer be easily bridged.
To be honest, Colin didn't understand the Duke of St. Hilde's breaking promise.
This is not because Colin thinks that the other party should follow the virtues of chivalry.
He's not that naive.
An old politician who has ruled the northern border for decades, expecting him not to lie is like expecting a vampire not to suck blood.
What Colin didn't understand was why the Duke of St. Hilde wanted to tear himself apart with his brother in this way at this time.
Too impatient and too politically unintelligent.
If Colin was in the duke position, even if he didn't want to pass the duke position to Vera, he wouldn't cross the river and tear down the bridge so quickly.
At least he will first confer the title on Vera, recognize her as the first heir, and stabilize Marquis Garcia first.
Then, whether it is slowly weakening the Black Banner Army or fostering another military force that can be contended with, it will be more comfortable.
After all, Vera's succession to the Marquis position did not immediately become the Duke of the North.
In the future, she can also be deprived of her title.
Why rush now
Of course, Colin didn't feel that Marquis Garcia dared to really rebel at this time.
After all, most of the lords in the northern border have now been wiped out, and the rest have been reappeased by the Duke.
The Black Banner Army's previous "defeat" behavior has given Marquis Garcia the notoriety of "betrayer".
Even if he stood up to deal with his brother now, no lord would respond to his call.
As for the Black Cavalry Army, they have also been divided and recruited by the Duke with the acquiescence of the Marquis Garcia.
Would the vassals who had been loyal to the Marquis of Garcia, such as the Marquis of Dawson, still be willing to admit that they were members of the Black Cavalry after swearing allegiance to the Duke
Is it still like before, when Marquis Garcia gave an order, he chose to follow without hesitation
What's more, the fact that the Duke of St. Hilde broke his promise is actually only known to a very small number of people.
After all, the deal between the Duke of St. Hilde and the Marquis of Garcia was a secret at the beginning. If Colin hadn't been regarded by the Marquis of Garcia as his future son-in-law and thus learned the details of the deal, he probably wouldn't have known the details of the deal now. Will realize the Duke of St. Hilde's betrayal of his brother.
If Marquis Garcia chooses to rebel now, will he be regarded as a betrayal of his brother by the northerners
Is Marquis Garcia willing to bear such infamy again
"Master Marquis!" Colin approached Marquis Garcia and greeted him in a low voice.
Marquis Garcia glanced at Colin, did not speak, and continued to walk outside without stopping.
Colin knew that the boss was in a bad mood, so he didn't dare to say more, and followed him out of the church.
When he got outside, Marquis Garcia immediately got on his horse, glanced at Colin who was following him, and said indifferently, "Tell me, is it true that your loyalty doesn't ask for reasons, and doesn't distinguish between right and wrong?"
Colin's heart shuddered, and he secretly cried out that it was not good.
Facing the sudden attack of the Duke of St. Hilde before, Colin deliberately interpreted loyalty as a kind of unconditional obedience in order to please the Duke.
Unexpectedly, this was obviously misunderstood by Marquis Garcia.
But there was no way, how could Ke Lin have expected that the two brothers would break up again.
At that time, he thought that the Duke of St. Hilde, who had wiped out the threats inside and outside the North, had undoubtedly become the true master of the North.
And if Colin wanted to continue messing around in the north, grow the Angelet family, and even marry Vera, he had to be approved by the Duke of St. Hilde.
So, Colin took the initiative to flatter him.
Moreover, he had already realized the Duke's plan when he saw his new fief at that time, and he had already had an enmity with the Su Duo family, so he was already mentally prepared to become a knife in the Duke's hands.
But who knows, the Duke actually broke his promise to Marquis Garcia at this time.
This undoubtedly caused the worry of turmoil in the northern border that had just calmed down once again.
Therefore, Colin once again faced the choice of standing in line.
But this time, he really didn't know which side to choose.
Although in his heart, he agrees more with Marquis Garcia.
This was not only because the Marquis taught himself almost everything during the Battle of the Icefield, but also gave him retired veterans of the Black Cavalry to help the Angelet family form cavalry.
It is completely true that Colin was raised as a son-in-law.
Moreover, from a moral point of view, this matter is indeed that the Duke of St. Hilde is sorry for his brother.
He broke his promise!
However, facing the questioning from Marquis Garcia at this moment, Colin didn't know what to say for a while.
Are you just admitting that what you just said is fart
In this way, wouldn't one's "personality" collapse immediately
Who dares to trust a person who can throw away the oath at will
Just as Colin was in a daze, Marquis Garcia had already left on his horse.
Before leaving, he said one last sentence: "Go and understand the origin of [Judgment Blade] in your hand, and then rethink what true loyalty is!"
Seeing the back of Marquis Garcia going away, Colin stood there for a while, at a loss.
Until her sister Caitlin came over with a puzzled look on her face and led Colin back to the hotel.
…
For the next few days, Ice Rock City was calm.
Marquis Garcia didn't act too aggressively, as if he had completely forgotten about his brother's betrayal.
However, on the night when the conferring ceremony ended, Marquis Garcia left Ice Rock City.
It seems that he doesn't want to stay in this city for a second.
The departure of Marquis Garcia did not attract much attention, after all, the Marquis was used to being alone.
Moreover, the real owner of the northern border is still in the city at this time.
However, the Duke of St. Hilde did not stay in Ice Rock City for too long.
On the third day after the conferring ceremony, he set off to return to Winter City.
As the new owner of Ice Rock City, of course Colin had to go see him off.
It was a sunny morning, and a large number of northern nobles gathered outside the south gate of Ice Rock City.
The leader is naturally the Duke of St. Hilde.
Beside him was the newly promoted Viscount Angelet.
"Colin, are you satisfied with the new territory I awarded you?"
"My lord, of course I am very satisfied!"
Colin's words were not entirely flattering.
Because, the current territory of the Angelet family is indeed very large.
The original territory of the Su Duo family was Bingyan City and its surrounding area of about 30 kilometers. However, this territory did not directly border on the original territory of the Angelet family.
There are two baronies in between.
However, the two barons were beheaded in the previous rebellion, so the Duke simply awarded the two territories to Colin.
So, counting the original Graycastle Town, Colin's current territory is the sum of the area of the original viscounty and three baronies.
This definitely exceeds the territory of an ordinary Viscount.
If it weren't for the fact that the current northern border has too much land and too few lords, the Duke of St. Hilde would not be so generous.
"Hehe, so, are you satisfied?" Duke St. Hilde asked with a smile.
Colin blinked and smiled: "Of course not. No lord will be satisfied with the size of his territory!"
The Duke of St. Hilde laughed out loud, as if he was satisfied with Colin's answer.
After laughing for a while, the Duke said again: "Did you know? My grandfather also said something similar."
He raised his horsewhip and pointed to the east: "There is nothing to go to the ice field in the north. It is too cold and barren. However, if you want to expand your territory, you can try to go east."
After speaking, he didn't wait for Colin to respond, and immediately whipped his horse and left.
Colin froze in place, wondering what the Duke meant by his last words.
At this moment, a gorgeous carriage passed by Colin.
The car curtain was lifted, revealing a beautiful face.
"Colin."
"Miss Vera."
"My coming-of-age ceremony will be in one month, will you come?"
"Of course, it's my pleasure!"
Vera smiled sweetly and put down the curtain.
The convoy moved forward slowly, gradually disappearing on the horizon.
Colin stood outside the city gate for a long time, but instead of watching the Duke's leaving team, he looked towards the east—the direction that the Duke of St. Hilde pointed just now.
There is the eastern border of the empire.
and a small country between the North and the East—
Half-elf kingdom.
(end of this chapter)